Legend of Tomorrow

Online fans often discuss Guo Xu's overwhelming performance in the Drew League, and the coaching staff will certainly not ignore it. Head coach Phil Jackson, who is on vacation, and his girlfriend Jenny Buss also talk about him in their free time.

Jason Guo, young man, what do you think? Jackson asked.

Jenny put down the newspaper in his hand and said with a smile: I don't think he is like a young man. Every step he takes has a plan and he achieves the goal he wants. As long as you give him enough ball rights in the new season, I think his performance will be good. It will surprise everyone.”

Yeah, but I haven't figured out how to use him the most. Jackson sighed.

Why? Jenny frowned. She is a person who always puts work first and cares about the team's affairs very much.

Jackson smiled bitterly: Because Mitch signed Isiah Leder, I am going to let him play as a substitute, so I am a little hesitant whether to train Jason to be a starter or a substitute. The two may have a conflict over the ball.

Two days ago, the Lakers announced that they had signed the 196cm tall and 98kg forward and guard swingman Isiah Ryder with a veteran's basic salary. Most Los Angeles fans welcome him because he has a lot of fame and good personal ability.

Ryder played 60 games for the Hawks last season, averaging 19.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, shooting 41.9% from the field and 31.1% from three-point range. He had averaged close to 20 points per game in many seasons before.

However, Ryder has never been selected as an All-Star, and he is a recognized thorn in the league. He causes trouble everywhere. No team is willing to give him a big contract. He was desperate and chose to cut his salary and join the Lakers to work hard for a championship ring.

Looking at Ryder's resume, his short basketball career can be described as bad spots, and his personality is even worse than Rodman.

Although Rodman behaved strangely, he worked hard on the court, while Leder had countless off-court misdeeds and long-term violations of training disciplines, including being late, absent from training without excuse, missing the team's plane, and asking fans and airport staff spitting, attacking others and possession of marijuana, among others.

In 1993, he started running late to practice with the Timberwolves. In 1996, the Timberwolves management had no choice but to trade him to the Trail Blazers. The price of the transaction was extremely low. The two players in exchange were both marginal players, plus a first-round pick.

Last season, the Hawks couldn't bear to cut him at the end of the regular season, and threw away the team's leading scorer before the game was over. This kind of thing has never happened before in NBA history, and has never been done again.

The Eagles, who have been among the top four in the Eastern Conference all year round, wanted to improve their record before trading Steve Smith for Ryder. However, the Eagles, whose lineup did not change significantly, fell out of the playoffs early despite adding newcomer Terry. The ranks of competitors. On the surface, Ryder is the core, but in fact it is a cancer of the team.

Kupchak signed Leder because he liked his personal ability. This was a move he had no other choice. In order to strengthen the No. 4 position, he planned to send out former All-Star small forward Glen Rice. The Lakers did not have the salary space to sign another big name. As a wing player, Ryder is already the strongest candidate the Lakers can find in the free market.

The original intention of the management is that Ryder will bring a substitute in the second quarter and attack with the ball. But Guo Xu was a blockbuster in the summer league, and he is obviously capable of leading the bench to attack with the ball. Leder has been famous for many years. Even if he makes a sacrifice when he comes off the bench, if he doesn't have the ball, maybe he will do something to disrupt the harmony in the locker room if he is mentally retarded.

Jenny thought for a while and said seriously: I think the two of them can work well together. Regardless of the summer league or the Drew League, Jason has shown strong breakthrough ability. He is good at launching fast breaks. If he is allowed to do so in the second quarter, The two of them playing fast breaks together should ensure scoring efficiency. George is also a player with strong impact. Why don't you consider speeding up the offensive rhythm next season? If they open up, the OK combination can also get more rest time.

Jackson nodded.

It's definitely a solution, and I'll try it in training.

Many people think that Zen Master doesn't like fast breaks, saying that his tactics are rigid, which means OK combination offense and others to defend. As the third scoring point, Glenn Rice's statistics last season were very average. The playing time of the OK combination is very high, and many media say that he relies on stars.

In fact, when Jackson first became the head coach, he was good at fast breaks. The Bulls' first three consecutive championships relied on defense and quick offensive and defensive transitions.

Before Jackson coached the Bulls, the Bulls were basically a Jordan-only team. Facing strong teams like the Pistons in the playoffs, they could only rely on Jordan's personal performance to barely win a few games before being eliminated.

At the beginning of the 1989-90 season, the Bulls obviously improved to a higher level. Under the guidance of Jackson, Pippen began to participate more in the offense. Role players such as Patterson and Cartwright were able to confidently play in isolation when facing strong teams.

On the defensive end, Jackson is good at setting up defensive traps on the wings, exerting strong pressure on the ball carrier and intercepting passing routes. While effectively defending, he also brings a lot of fast break opportunities! Compared with previous seasons, the Bulls' offensive and defensive improvements have been too great.

In addition, Jackson also used the precedent of the sixth man, and he is very good at training Kukoc.

Jackson prefers to let Guo Xu be the team's sixth man. Only in this way can he not waste his offensive talents and stagger the playing time with Kobe. He can take more shots at a certain period of time. Forget about Ryder, let a thorn take control of the ball and hinder the cultivation of new players, it is better to lay him off directly.

The Drew League is still going on, and there is often news about Guo Xu and others on the Internet, and their popularity is increasing.

The Lakers management has not been idle either. They have participated in the league's largest multi-party transaction of the summer.

The Knicks acquired veterans Glenn Rice and Telvis Best from the Lakers; they acquired veteran Luke Longley from the Suns; they acquired Maxwell, Stampagna, and Lazarou from the SuperSonics. - Burrell. They put together a bunch of junk contracts and bench players, and strive to make coach Jeff Van Gundy lose his hair in the new season.

Among the well-known stars, Ewing had the most miserable life in his later years. He dedicated his golden career to the Knicks, but was booed and spurned by New York fans in his later years, and was forced to leave the city he had devoted 15 years to. In Guo Xu's previous life, the Knicks were cursed and were still a bad team until 2018. With such an inhumane team, the stars will not have a sense of belonging.

The Sonics acquired Patrick Ewing from the Knicks and planned to rely on King Kong's popularity to sell some game tickets. The championship was just a cloud, and they didn't even consider it.

The Suns received Chris Dudley and a future first-round pick.

The Lakers acquired Horace Grant, Greg Foster, Chuck Berson, and Emmanuel Davis. The two inside veterans are urgently needed by the Lakers, and the other two fringe players can be directly waived. They have become the only winners of this transaction.

In Guo Xu's previous life, the Lakers didn't just rely on OK combinations to build a dynasty. Their lineup depth was among the best in the league. Cobra Grant will have a salary of 6.5 million next season. He is still an outstanding blue-collar power forward. On the offensive end, he also has a mid-range shot. Averaged 8.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

After this transaction, the Lakers' core lineup for the new season has taken shape.