Legend of Tomorrow

Big-name players in the NBA free market are signing and renewing contracts one after another. All-stars such as Duncan, Kidd, O'Neal, and Brand did not change teams and received big contracts worthy of their worth.

The Timberwolves are aiming for a championship and striving to perfect their lineup, and they traded swingman Trenton Hassell from the Bulls. This is an immediate player who is known for his defense. He often uses brown sugar-style defense to cause the opponent to make mistakes. Hassell was only drafted in the second round last year because his offense was too poor.

The Timberwolves also offered a six-year, 37 million contract extension to the main point guard Troy Hudson, who performed well last season.

For Hudson, the Timberwolves did not hesitate to pay a large amount of luxury tax.

What's funny is that this contract is 2 million higher than when the Pistons signed Billups. McHale's ability to spend money randomly is really unmatched by ordinary managers. Also paying the luxury tax, Billups' strength is at least two levels higher than Hudson's.

At this time, the Timberwolves' lineup can be said to be the deepest in the league, with outstanding players on the starting bench.

Starting Cassell, Sprewell, Szczerbiak, Garnett, Olavokandi.

The four of them have All-Star strength, with Olawokande averaging 12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.2 blocks per game last season. Although he missed many games due to injury, his terrifying physical fitness alone made everyone I feel that the Timberwolves made a lot of money by signing him in the middle class, and Mourning, who has kidney disease, has a higher salary than him.

The Timberwolves' rotation lineup consists of Hudson, Hoiberg, Hassell, Gary Trent, Madsen and others. The first-round rookie small forward Endy Ibe and the experienced inside veteran Earvin Johnson are all only Be able to be a marginalized person.

Many experts find it incredible that the Minnesota team can match up such a lineup. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is very willing to spend money and has worked hard to meet Garnett's requirements. If he switches positions with Clippers owner Donald Sterling, this approach can definitely create fierce competition with the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Eastern teams also made big moves. The Magic signed power forward Juwan Howard for 28 million over five years.

Because they listened to Guo Xu's advice, the Suns escaped disaster in the summer. Manager Brian was a little scared when he thought about it. In early July, the Nuggets tried to trick the Suns into signing and trading with them, and the target was Howard.

Now that Howard was let go for nothing, it proves one thing. No one is willing to sign with the Nuggets first and then trade for someone like Howard, unless they send a bad contract.

In Guo Xu's previous life, after Howard joined the Magic, the team not only failed to strengthen, but also fell directly from the playoff team to the bottom team in the Eastern Conference. The Magic management couldn't bear it and traded Howard and Tracy McGrady together in 2004. Rocket.

All the Rockets want is Tracy McGrady, and Howard is packaged with a bad contract.

The Heat signed power forward Lamar Odom with a six-year, 63 million contract. The Clippers did not choose to match the contract, and owner Sterling felt it was not worth it. In fact, based on Odom's overall performance, he is fully worthy of an annual salary of tens of millions. He is a rare organizational forward in the league. He is good at inside support and is also very good on the defensive end. He can not only prevent pick-and-rolls, but also protect rebounds.

Andre Miller, the starting point guard who played one season with the Clippers, was also poached by the Nuggets and signed a six-year, $51 million deal.

The Clippers, which once had a bright future in the summer of 2002, returned to pre-liberation after a season of injuries. All the boss did was laugh and watch players who were in their prime leave one by one.

Wang Zhizhi, who was doing well with the Celtics, specifically called Guo Xu to express his gratitude. He thought about joining the Clippers, but his career was basically over when he left. With the team's poor performance, of course his evaluation could not be higher.

Now that the Celtics are weak inside, Wang Zhizhi can get stable playing time and performance opportunities in the new season. He is expected to sign another good contract in the future, at least not worse than the last one.

There are also teams that have failed in their reinforcement efforts. In addition to signing Alston, the Raptors' biggest reinforcement move was the signing of Spurs fringe center Battelle with a minimum salary.

Carter proposed some of his signing ideas to the management, including asking Dr. J. Irving to be the head coach after coach Wilkens resigned. However, they were opposed by the management, who were unwilling to spend money.

In the end, the Raptors actually hired the inexperienced Kevin O'Neal as their head coach. They signed a short-term contract, and it looked like they wanted to mess it up.

With such a management, Carter almost went crazy and couldn't stay any longer.

You know, the Raptors used to be a small, inferior club. Even blue-collar insiders Camby and Little Flying Squirrel Stoudemire looked down on this place. Carter is the star who has stayed with the Raptors for the longest time. He has turned the Raptors into a team that is widely watched by fans. However, he has not received the rewards he deserves. There is no hope of a championship at all. Even the trade and draft No right to speak.

I have to say that the Raptors management is very good, they are just a bunch of idiots.

No matter how unfavorable the experts were about the Suns' prospects and how fans put forward suggestions online, the Suns management did not make any more trades.

Guo Xu's plan is to improve his strength through training, and developing the potential of young players is the key. Stoudemire, Nene, Haslem, and Diop had additional training during the holidays.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Stoudemire's mid-range shooting ability was developed this summer. This allowed him to score 20.6 points, 9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocks in the second season. He is very difficult to guard against both inside and outside. .

Stoudemire's data was obtained when Marbury was traded by the Suns after playing 34 games, and the team lost its star point guard. With Guo Xu as his partner, Stoudemire should be able to make full use of his personal abilities and be selected as an All-Star.

Nene has also improved compared to the same period. He played as a substitute for most of last season. When his performance was not as good as Stoudemire, he had no reason to be lazy. The two started a healthy competition. Nene only practiced mid-range shooting at one position in the middle, so he had some confidence.

The results of Stoudemire's shooting training are more obvious. He is good at five fixed-point mid-range shots, namely the center, two corner positions, and the left and right sides of the baseline. His shooting rhythm is very good, and he can shoot after receiving the ball.

Nene's advantage is that he is physically stronger and has extremely fast feet in the low post. With his feints and feints, he can break through and get to the basket for dunks, or he can also find space for layups. When the Suns need to attack in the low post, Nene can do it.

When four people practice one-on-one, it is much more effective to defend each other than to find a partner. Last season, Stoudemire could only face the frame, but now he has practiced back-up play, and his quick turn and wipe into the basket is also very powerful.

Haslem's offense has also improved. He is the height of a small forward and has an absolute advantage in moving speed in the interior. Especially his lateral speed is very fast. He has mastered the skills of changing directions with the ball and making jump shots in one step.

This was the advice Guo Xu gave him last season. He can't just rely on catching and shooting. If he can create space when facing big inside players, he can improve his role on the offensive end with a simple dribble change under the crotch.

Diop's offense cannot be developed, but his role as a sparring partner in the summer is the most critical. He is the kind of human shield blue-collar player that Stoudemire and Nene used to hate. Last season, there was no such person in the team for them to practice. Now they often challenge them one-on-one and have gained a lot of insights. Gradually, he knows how to use his own advantages to fight against the blue-collar player.

The four of them often chat with Guo Xu online and send him training videos. After seeing it, Guo Xu would praise them a few words, which made them more energetic and they all felt that their efforts were not in vain.

In the new season, the Suns are stronger overall.