redvbooks Chapter 570 San Antonio, unwilling to be lonely! 【Subscription】
Chapter 570 San Antonio, unwilling to be lonely! 【Subscription】
In this year's free market, whether poaching or being poached, the Celtics are the absolute protagonists and core team. Half the league's eyes have been locked on them, waiting for them to make moves.
Of course, in addition to the Celtics, there are also several other teams. They are unwilling to be lonely, do not want to see the Celtic family dominate, and want to take advantage of this year to do a good job!
Take the Orlando Magic, for example, after acquiring Grant Hill, they brought in Tracy McGrady, a super talent from the Raptors! Then they targeted the same 1997 rookie, who was already a top star in the league but Always unable to enter the finals of the super power forward, Tim Duncan.
It's a pity that Duncan is more like a free tour to Orlando to eat and drink. After playing around at Disney and having a few dinners, this guy only left one sentence, "You wait for my news." On the way back to San Antonio.
The pair of Buford and Popovich knew that if they wanted Duncan to stay, relying on the aging David Robinson was definitely not enough, and it was not enough to show their sincerity.
So, the two took advantage of Duncan's trip to Orlando and began casting a net everywhere, looking for a suitable reinforcement-opportunity.
Their goal, first of all, aimed at those top power forwards.
Like the Minnesota Timberwolves, they want Garnett!
In Popovich's plan, the league can play against Lin Long, and Garnett is definitely one of them! His agility, talent and sense of space are the perfect complement to Duncan.
It's a pity that the Timberwolves didn't wait for him to say Kevin's K, they replied with a series of swear words, and then hung up the phone.
Then they fell in love with Chris Webber of the Sacramento Kings. This guy known as the King is now at his peak. He has the vision and passing skills of a point guard, and has unparalleled offensive firepower. !
It's a pity that the management of the Kings is barely higher than the Minnesotans. Although they didn't swear, they hung up the phone without saying a word.
The relentless Popovich and Buford continued to attack, looking for their ideal reinforcement.
It's a pity that the reality is far more skinny than imagined. Their first round of targets either directly ask for Duncan, or hang up the phone and tell them to get out of the way. After a circle, the two of them were scolded and didn't know how many dirty words. It turned out to be nothing!
As a last resort, after the two met each other, they started the second round of plans and goals.
After a whole week of operation and busyness, although not so satisfactory, they have finally completed the reinforcement of the team!
First, they poached defensive engineer Bruce Bowen from Boston for 3 years and 20 million!
He has now grown into a nightmare for the league's perimeter core players.
Then, they bought the Kings' European sharpshooter, Peja Stojakovic, at a low price.
Today's Peja is still in limbo, and he didn't perform well in the Kings last season, so when the Spurs said they wanted a shooter, the Kings didn't hesitate to make this look soft and slow, except for shooting. The guy with no special skills sent it out easily.
Peja, like Ginobili, is a new star discovered by Popovich's scouts in Europe. As early as when he played in Europe, Popovich has been paying attention to Peja for a long time. Failing to get the right pick in the draft, failing to capture the European shooter he was very interested in, cost him a while with the Kings.
It's just that the Kings and Spurs certainly didn't know that Peja would soon usher in an explosion. He could grow into the leader of a team at any time. Originally, he could form the most gorgeous Princeton in the new century together with Webber and others. king!
It's a pity that the Kings did not have that patience. The existence of the Celtics made them feel hopeless for the championship.
Because of Lin Long's arrival, it's hard for that gorgeous Kings team to appear again.
In addition to winning Peja, Buford contacted Milwaukee in the bitter cold land, and exchanged draft rights and players for Milwaukee's leading point guard, "Alien" Sam Cassell!
Cassell just suffered a season-ending knee injury, and everyone was worried that this guy wouldn't be able to continue to play well.
So he is at the trough of the transaction price at this time, so the Spurs got him without paying too much.
In particular, Popovich is sure that Cassell, who plays with brains, rhythm and shooting, won't lose too much energy due to injury, nor will he quickly degenerate due to lack of athletic ability.
・・・・For flowers・・・
This kind of player who relies on his brain to play has always been his favorite! After some operations, the Spurs have finally created a gorgeous lineup of their own, including double towers in the interior, ace shooters, point guard old monsters, and Defensive elites, at least when facing the Lakers, they will no longer fall into absolute passiveness!
The only thing to do in the end is to take down Tim Duncan! Don't let the true core and hope of this team leave.
Contrary to Popovich and Buford's expectations, this guy who went to Orlando for a lap didn't hesitate and agreed to sign a multi-year contract with the team without making the team bother.
Until the moment the contract was signed, both Popovich and Buford were a bit baffled.
This big man, why did he go out for a spin?
But in any case, the Spurs have finally completed their team formation and continued their status and strength as championship contenders.
Finally, when the offseason is over and all the teams go into training camp...
The Celtics' lineup is still strong, and the rotation lineup is still full of thickness!
When the dust settles, the Celtics' specific lineup has changed a little bit.
Centers: Ben Wallace, Tony Batty.
Power Forwards: Rasheed Wallace, Mark Blunt, Jeremy Moiseau.
Small Forwards: Lin Long, Rashard Lewis, Steve Jackson.
Shooting guards: Mitch Richmond, Manu Ginobili, Chris Herron.
Point guards: Gary Payton, Ron Harper.
Auerbach temporarily only gave the team 13 guaranteed contracts, the remaining 2 places, he wants to stay in the middle of the season, according to the team's performance, injuries and specific performance to decide how to use.
But that will only be minor repairs. The final framework of the Celtics this season has been basically completed! Just waiting for the official start of the season, they can start to impact their 4th consecutive championship!
Among the championship odds given by the Las Vegas bookmakers, the Celtics are still the most optimistic, and undoubtedly top the list!
The rest of the Lakers, Spurs, 76ers, Heat and other teams are ranked 2-5.