Legend of Tomorrow

After receiving Stern's call, Guo Xu felt particularly good.

If the league pays enough attention to it, it will definitely vigorously promote the musical Phantom of the Opera starring him. There are only two and a half months until the All-Star Weekend, and the attention will definitely explode by then.

Guo Xu knew very well that it would not be his turn to win the All-Star MVP this time. He had already won the award three times. The league would not allow him to easily set a record and tie Bob Pettit. If he played aggressively, he would only be eliminated quickly. Replace.

He won the challenge championship the next day. He was interested in the slam dunk contest, but his jumping ability couldn't improve. He couldn't play new tricks and didn't want to compete. He had to do something else on the weekend to enjoy himself.

The Suns' opponent was the Pacers in the next game. There was no suspense about the outcome. Everyone in the Suns was very relaxed, as if they had taken a week-long vacation and their physical strength had returned to their best condition.

The Pacers' trident has been suspended, and the remaining players are not strong enough and may not make the playoffs this season.

Reggie Miller was interviewed and said disappointedly that he never expected that this would happen just after he retired, and that the team had fallen in a way that it shouldn't have.

This is actually Miller's luck. He played in one more finals. Although he failed to win the championship, he became a tragic hero that fans will always remember. This is much better than last season when he was forced to lead the remnant Pacers to the playoffs. . More importantly, Miller avoided the controversy of Pacers players beating fans and was not disgusted by the president before retiring.

Guo Xu realized that the trend of the league has once again changed significantly, and many teams will be affected.

In his previous life, Artest was suspended during the 2004-05 season. After returning this season, he was sent to the Kings by the Pacers in exchange for star forward Peja Stojakovic. Later, the Kings traded Artest to the Rockets. After playing for one season, he joined the Lakers and won the 2010 championship with the Lakers.

Now that the time of the battle between the two teams has changed, the transaction may also change, and Artest has become a good target. Now Guo Xu is not sure where he will stop next. If he joins a strong team, it may affect the league's pattern.

The Pacers will definitely trade Artest. The impact of this fight is too bad, but he probably has no chance with the Kings. The Kings obviously don't want to keep Peja until next year. They will find a way to send him away in the middle of this season. The Pacers will not be able to put Artest on the shelf until next summer.

After training in the morning, Suns owner Brian Colangelo called Guo Xu and D'Antoni to the manager's office and expressed an idea of ​​his.

I want to propose a trade with the Pacers next summer and trade Josh Howard for Trevor Ariza in exchange for Artest.

Do you think it's feasible?

Bryan has always wanted to make the Suns lineup stronger and ensure the championship. After Marion was injured, he wanted to trade in exchange for a star to assist Guo Xu to help the Suns defend their title this season. As soon as something happened to the Pacers, he started thinking about trading again.

Now Howard seizes the opportunity and rushes to take action. His desire to get more ball rights is Sima Guang's vat, and everyone knows it.

As the team's second scoring point, Howard plays a key role. The embarrassing thing is that he will be in a contract year next season, and the Suns are not in a good position to renew his contract with a high salary. There are already three maximum-paid players on the team.

If Artest is recruited into the lineup, the Suns will be too sure to win the championship next season, and the team's defense will become very scary. The only hidden danger is that Artest is a thorn in the side, and now his character has collapsed.

D'Antoni thinks it's feasible. Ariza is 203 meters tall and is suitable for developing into the 3rd and 4th positions. Playing the 2nd position is a bit tall. If Howard can't keep him on a long-term contract with a high salary, it would be a loss to let him go for nothing in just one year. Artest seems to be a good addition, the contract is not big, the salary is low and the ability is high, and it only expires in 2009.

If Artest wants a high salary in 2009, the Suns can just not renew his contract. He will be super strong on the wing in the next three years.

Guo Xu rejected it outright. We have Sean (Marion) here, and we don't need Artest. Their positions overlap. If Sean is played together, he will have to play the 4th position, and the defense will not be much better. Artest is here to play the ball. It’s not easy to separate Quan. He has been selected to the All-Star twice and may not be willing to be a blue-collar player, but we don’t need him offensively.”

Guo Xu is adamant that he doesn't want Artest. He is very famous. If he can't produce statistics when he comes, he will appear to be a waste of his teammates. He doesn't want any famous players. If he wants to find a swingman to replace Howard, he would prefer to choose an all-around rookie with potential.

Stoudemire and Marion will be back next season, and the Suns' lineup will be very scary. What's the point of adding an All-Star? Makes people question whether the Big Four are uniting? David Stern, the boss, might stop the deal for basketball reasons.

Brian smiled and said: Jason, you are really helping me save money. If you say no, then don't. Will Josh stay next summer?

With Guo Xu here, the Suns will never sign a high-paying long-term contract with Howard. Even if his strength improves year by year, signing him will not have any good results. Guo Xu didn't chat much with Howard. I just saw that this guy had a fun-loving personality and liked to make friends. He was definitely the kind of person who would turn bad as soon as he got rich.

Guo Xu shook his head. If you don't keep him, he wants more ball rights and a big contract. Send him to a bad team to be the boss and everyone will be happy. We will discuss the details after the season. It's too early to talk now. I suggest changing him back. Proper rookie development.”

Okay. It's up to you. Brian smiled.

He 100% believes in Guo Xu's vision. None of the rookies Guo Xu proposes to select are incapable of playing, and they are all suitable for the Suns system. Since he was able to draft Howard with a low pick to replace Joe Johnson, it would be natural to draft an excellent replacement.

On the 30th, the Suns played against the Pacers at home. Guo Xu really wanted to score high points and beat the losers, but unfortunately he failed to do so. The Suns beat 109 to 71 by 38 points.

The Pacers' lineup is so bad that even the Suns can't let go. Eddie Gill, David Harrison, and Jaskovicius, unless you are a fan who knows the NBA very well, you don't even know the names of these people. Crohill is even a somewhat famous person, but he is a highly paid and incompetent player whose condition has seriously declined.

Guo Xu only played 27 minutes and clocked out early, scoring only 30 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. He played more than 27 minutes, and the team had already secured the victory at halftime. In the third quarter, he played 9 minutes to get 30 points.

The Pacers actually allowed Guo Xu to grab 8 rebounds, which shows how bad they are. No matter how relaxed their defense is, they still mostly miss shots.

After the game, Guo Xu made big news, not because he defeated the Pacers and won four consecutive games, but because he announced that he would perform Phantom of the Opera at Star Weekend.

Yes, you heard it right, I'm not joking. I'm going to give a concert during Star Weekend and play the lead role of Phantom. From now on, I will take some time to practice singing and rehearse, and try to give everyone a classic performance.

In the venue, the reporters were stunned for a few seconds.

A local acquaintance reporter asked: Aren't you afraid of affecting your playing status by doing this? The Suns have a good record and situation now. Don't you want to achieve better results?

Think about it, I won't miss the team's training sessions and will only practice singing in my spare time. I promise it won't affect my condition. Singing is a good exercise for me and it helps me practice my Qi.

All the reporters didn't know what to ask, and the scene was very embarrassing.

Practicing Qi? Shouldn’t your next step be to practice Qigong waves?

Obviously, no one thinks he can play such an advanced thing as a musical...——

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