Chapter 485 Upgrades for the Jazz Pacers

   At this time, general manager Jerry West ignored these operational matters. He was having a headache, how to build a championship lineup suitable for old K.

  Small forward, he found a good backup for Chris Mullin, 28-year-old swingman Rick Fox, Jordan’s North Carolina alumnus, and the green team’s main small forward for the first two seasons.

He averaged 35 minutes per game last season, consistently provided 15 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals, with a shooting rate of 45%, can shoot three-pointers, is good at offense and defense, and has good rebounding and assisting abilities. He is also a star and a man of the North Carolina University. If Mullin’s state is not good next season, he is ready to let Fox play the main force.

   And Fox joined the Lakers as a free agent. It’s not that the Lakers have a big contract. On the contrary, he opened a seven-year long-term contract, but the total contract value is only 22 million, and the contract for next season is 1 million US dollars.

   He is very satisfied with this signing, which is a powerful reinforcement.

   In addition, old K called a few days ago and talked about Nick Van Exel. He wants to find a new point guard now.

   There is a rookie Fisher from last year, but his talent and strength are average. He wants to find a better one.

   There is a Nash next door. He performed well as a substitute last year, but like Kobe, he can’t stand up as a main player, and he has no confrontation ability and no defense. It is not suitable for the main line of the old K against the point guard.

  Besides Old K, as a point guard, the offense can be average, and the organization can also be average, but the passing ability, fast break ability, ball speed, and defense ability must be strong.

At the No. 1 position, he has already found a veteran with a minimum salary, four-time All-Star point guard Mark Price. This veteran was selected to the best first team and three best third team. He is 34 years old this year and averaged 27 minutes per game last season. He can also average 11.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. Now, for the championship, I want to try my luck with the Lakers.

  It’s hard to find a good main point guard. If he can’t find it, he plans to let Mark Price play the fake main force, Fisher play the bench, and Kobe can also take it. There should be no problem.

   In terms of the No. 2 position, he wants to trade Mitch Richmond, the king’s signature player, and let Richmond play the main force for two years. Kobe should also grow up.

   He had previously contacted his agent. Richmond said that he also wanted to come over, because he is now almost 33 years old and has entered the late stage of his career. He wants to take advantage of the current state and fight for the championship.

   And Richmond told the Lakers that Old K had recruited him when he was in the Suns before, and he really wanted to be teammates with Old K, and said that he could reduce some of his shots.

  Richmond’s contract in the Kings has two seasons left of 5.5 million. The contract is not big, 3 million next season, 2.5 million next season.

   He has just submitted a trade application, and the chip given is Nick Van Exel, but the King does not need a point guard, and the first trade application failed.

   Now he doesn’t have much chips in his hand. The draft picks don’t want the Lakers, which is a bit of a headache.

   But not really, the Lakers have a signing right, which the King really wants.

In the 1996 draft, the Lakers selected the European Peja Stojakovic. At present, this player is still playing in Europe. There is still one season left on the contract there. He has already contacted him and finished the next season. Report to the Lakers in the future.

   With this signing right, Richmond can be exchanged, but Peja is only 20 years old, and Richmond is close to 33 years old. He is actually reluctant to change.

   And Peja can play from the 2nd position to the 4th position, the Lakers are also short of such people now, especially no one at the power forward position.

   But now he really can’t find a star-level shooting guard, so he can only grit his teeth and write Peja’s signing rights on the quotation.

   The Kings responded very quickly to the offer this time, because in the draft last year, the Kings wanted to select Peja, but they were cut off by the Lakers, and now they have a chance to get them back, just right.

   As for Richmond, who has been with the Kings for six years, he is getting old, and the next contract will definitely turn upside down, which is not worthwhile, so the management decided to give up.

  In this way, the transaction agreement is reached, and after the alliance approves, the transaction is completed.

   has secured the main No. 2 position, and West will then consider how to find a main power forward.

   In this regard, West has a candidate. The Big Bug and the Bulls have not negotiated a contract extension and have already announced that they will retire.

   As far as he knows, there is no team contacting Dachshund. Dachshund is injured all over, and he is 36 years old and has an eccentric personality. This is the reason why he is not popular in the free market.

   But when he contacted Big Worm’s agent, Darren Prince, Prince clearly rejected him, and the reason given was that Big Bug and old K were out of tune.

   In desperation, West had to find another way to beat others.

  Unfortunately, a good power forward is harder to find than a guard, and he couldn’t find it for a while.

   He had tried Rasheed Wallace’s idea, and Little Colangelo didn’t directly reject it, but he didn’t have a suitable bargaining chip and the transaction was not successful.

  …

   At this time, Popovich of the Spurs made a decision about the trade of David Robinson.

The plan failed, the team rebuilding had become the only result, and he told all the teams that wanted David Robinson, whoever could give him four unprotected first-round picks (within the next three years) could Take the admiral. Moreover, the draft picks limit teams, such as the Lakers, Pacers, Trail Blazers, Knicks and other teams.

   Several teams have started to collect first-round picks. How can other teams give this stuff easily? It’s not easy.

  In the end, Danny Ainge used the connections left by the Cardinals and traded the green team’s first-round picks for the next two years, taking the lead in getting four first-round picks and David Robinson.

   After the deal was announced to the public, the league chanted “Wolf is coming”.

ABC TV’s Magic Johnson said in an interview with the media: “The green team was bad last season, but its strength is not weak. Last season, eight players averaged 10+ points per game, and the lineup is very thick. Guard Robinson, plus Kidd, if the kneading is good, there should be a qualitative change and leap in strength, which will make this veteran giant a first-class championship-level team. After Big Bird retired, They’ll be in the race for a championship again.”

  New York, the Knicks are also trying their best to strengthen, but the team has no space at all, so it is just a small fight, and there is no major movement.

   In the small forward position, they used the veteran minimum salary to find 37-year-old Dale Ellis. The Nuggets’ main striker last season was dismissed, averaging 16 points per game, and there is still some oil.

  The point guard position is nothing to gain, and Charlie Ward will be the main point guard in the new season.

Jordan analyzed his team’s lineup. Of course, the inside line is stronger than the inside line teammates he has encountered throughout his career, but the outside line is weak. The Bulls’ proud outside defense can’t be seen in this Knicks, he It is no longer possible to rely on a strong perimeter defense to block the opponent’s perimeter offense.

   When it comes to defense, he feels that even if it is himself, I am afraid that he will have to reduce some defenses in the new season. After all, time is not forgiving. Although his physical state is quite good, he must save a little.

   On the inside, O’Neal is different from Old K. His physical fitness is not as good as Old K. He has always been strong on offense and weak on defense, so Oakley is the main defense on the inside.

   Overall, the Knicks’ defense is not the best in the league, both inside and out.

   In terms of offense, the five main players, veteran Ellis and Oakley should be able to provide 10+ stably, Charlie Ward should have no problem providing five points, and the rest depends on him and O’Neal.

   In this way, the Knicks are actually similar to the Bulls where they were originally. They depend on him and Pippen in the Bulls, and rely on him and O’Neal here.

   But the difference is that both he and O’Neal can attract double teams. One inside and one outside, they can play a very good cooperation, open the opponent’s defense, and improve the quality of the attack.

   In particular, O’Neal can provide high-quality low-post offense, which his former interior teammates could not do at all.

   All the Bulls lost three times to the Suns in the finals. Isn’t it because the low-post attack quality is too poor and too little?

   And even if O’Neal’s defense is not as good as the old K’s, with him there, it will definitely reduce the old K’s offensive quality, and he feels more confident.

   “Should be able to compete with the Lakers?”

   But thinking of losing one, two and three, he was a little worried.

   “Ah, why did you think of this **** from old K?” He scolded a little annoyed.

   It’s no wonder he lacks confidence. No matter the **** of war, after one loss, two losses and three losses in the finals, there will be a psychological shadow, it’s just a size.

  Thinking of this, he called the Knicks general manager Rayden and said, “Scott, please give me a copy of the Lakers’ current roster.”

   “OK.”

Laydon must be staring at the Lakers every day, and he is very familiar with the Lakers’ lineup. He opened his mouth and said, “Michael, they haven’t found the main power forward. The main player is Chris Mullin. The guard got Mitch Richmond, and the point guard was Mark Price. On the bench, there were Kobe, Rick Fox…”

   Hearing this, Jordan’s brows were already wrinkled.

The Lakers’ main lineup, not a power forward, is already very strong, not worse than the Knicks, and the backup lineup, Kobe Bryant has not grown up for the time being, but Rick Fox’s strength is good, he and Chris Mullin combined , In the small forward position, the Knicks suffered a bit, and Laodi Dale Ellis couldn’t handle these two people.

  Raiden was still talking about the Lakers’ bench list, but there were no good players behind him, which made him relieved.

   Now the Knicks’ bench lineup is still okay, because when he was traded, except for Alan Houston, the Bulls only had a first-round pick, so the lineup was not destroyed. Except for the 3rd position, other positions will not be worse than the Lakers, or even stronger.

  …

   Just as Jordan was mulling the lineup, Reggie Miller and Ewing were discussing the Pacers and Knicks lineups.

   For the Pacers, the main opponent in the East has changed from the Bulls to the Knicks. Although they are Jordan’s teams, the situation is completely different.

   Last season against the Bulls, Ewing had an advantage in the paint, but next season against the Knicks, even he would not dare to say that he would have an advantage against O’Neal.

   On the outside, although Reggie Miller has a bad mouth and never accepts Jordan, he has no confidence in winning Jordan.

   To be precise, he knew that he and Jordan were not on the same level.

However, the team was strengthened again. Under the operation of Larry Bird, some space was released. Rick Schmitz was brought back from the disintegrated Bulls, and Ewing was found a good partner. Both of them feel that next season will have a good result.

  Reggie Miller said: “Patrick, you and Schmitz should be better offensively than O’Neal and Oakley, what do you think?”

Ewing nodded and smiled: “Schmitz can be pulled to a high position, his height, the old guy Charles is completely unstoppable, he is too short, only O’Neal can follow, then I can be in the Beat Charles under the basket, haha!”

Seeing Ewing laughing rarely, Reggie Miller’s mood also improved, and said with a smile: “You can play the low-post twin towers, and the high-low twin-tower tactics. At the same time, we are better than the Knicks as an inside substitute. To be strong, with Dale Davis and Antonio Davis, Derrick McKay, we face the Knicks, will have an advantage in the interior.

   Outside, the Knicks’ defense is definitely not as strong as the Bulls. Jordan couldn’t hold it alone, and he was one year older.

   And we have several good substitutes on the perimeter, Hu, Jaylen Rose, they are all good, I believe the new season will have a good result. ”

“Um.”

  Ewing nodded slightly excitedly.

  …

   Boston, Celtics, Danny Ainge are also racking their brains to come up with lineups.

This season, with the support of the cardinal, he became the new general manager of the green team, but with the retirement of the cardinal, the management of the green team immediately became chaotic, divided into several factions, some let him In a hurry.

  There is no way, even with the support of the cardinal, his qualifications are too shallow, he can’t hold back those old qualifications, and his position is not very firm.

But through a series of trades, he got four first-round picks, traded David Robinson in, and added Kidd, who was originally acquired from the Suns, and immediately gave the Green team the strength to hit the championship. This made his position firm.

David Robinson, Antoine Walker, Eric Williams, Dino Radia, Kidd, Ron Mercer, Kenny Anderson, Dana Barrows, etc. A strong player, he has a lot of confidence in the new season.

  David Robinson is sitting opposite him. This super center can’t wait for the new season. He just completed the transaction and rushed to Boston. Today, I came to discuss the lineup with him.

   “David, apart from us in the East, the Knicks and the Pacers are the Knicks and Pacers. I think our three teams will be the first teams in the East, and our strength will not lose to them at all.” He said confidently.

  David Robinson nodded, but said, “Danny, I think the inside line is still lacking some thickness, can it be reinforced?”

  Danny Ainge said with a headache: “It’s difficult, it is said that the Lakers haven’t even got the main power forward, and we still have Dino Radia and Eric Williams.

David, Dino is very good. He can play in the fourth and fifth positions. Last season, he averaged 14 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in 35 minutes per game. There are some injuries, but I believe he can help you. ”

  David Robinson nodded. If Radia can maintain the level of last season, it will really help him a lot, even if there is a problem with his injury.

  …

  West, Jazz general manager John Morris is also studying the lineup for the new season.

   The failed pursuit of David Robinson left him out of hope of building a luxurious interior combination.

In fact, the combination of Campbell and the Postman is already a first-class interior team in the league, but the main opponent is too strong. The Lakers have Old K, and the Blazers have Big Dream + Duncan. These two opponents, what about the championship?

   He squeezed the quotation in his hand, and after deliberation, he called his assistant in and explained that he would send it to the Suns immediately.

  He took a fancy to Sabonis, and the chip was Campbell.

The Jazz were eliminated by the Suns in the Western Conference finals last season, mainly because they did not have high-quality low-post offense. Neither the Postman nor Campbell could provide the team with high-quality low-post offense under the defense of Old K and Rasheed Wallace. He wants to change that.

   And Sabonis, who is 221 cm and weighs 127 kg, should allow him to achieve this goal.

  Phoenix, Colangelo Jr. received two trade offers, one from the Jazz, who wants Sabonis, and the other from the Lakers, who wants Clifford Robinson. He is considering whether these two transactions are feasible.

  The Suns now have Sabonis, Clifford Robinson, and Rasheed Wallace in the interior. All three can play the main force, and they can indeed trade one.

  The Lakers don’t have any decent chips. The Jazz’s chip is Campbell. Emotionally, he is more willing to trade with the Lakers, but intellectually and professionally, he is more willing to trade with the Jazz.

   However, Campbell’s contract is huge, with an annual salary of 7 million, which is too expensive. This does not meet the current requirements of the Suns to tighten spending. It is better to keep Sabonis and trade Clifford Robinson out.

   However, Sabonis has only one year left on his contract, $3.08 million. If he doesn’t trade it out and renew his contract next season, he will definitely give him a large contract of tens of millions, which is not in line with the current requirements of the Suns.

   The current requirement of the Suns’ lineup is to try to maintain the strength of the playoff lineup, and at the same time try to reduce the salary burden, try to find some cheap and easy-to-use players, and rookies are the best.

   So after some consideration, he agreed to the Jazz deal.

   As for the Lakers trade, he did not agree, because Clifford Robinson’s contract is not large, and the Lakers do not have a good bargaining chip.

   As for the traded Campbell, he plans to put it on the shelf for sale, and replace some cheap and easy-to-use players, or change the draft.

   “Mr. Morris, they agreed.”

  Jazz headquarters, the door of the general manager room was pushed open, and the assistant excitedly reported the transaction results to Morris.

   “Great!” Morris clenched his fists excitedly.

Strengthening the No. 5 position, the combination of Sabonis and the postman inside, the Jazz’s inner strength should be improved by half a grade, and with Sabonis’ all-rounder, it is also beneficial for the overall strength of the Jazz to improve, this is a time Standard reinforcement upgrades.

As for the Jazz’s main opponent in the West, the Lakers, the old K has not yet found an inside helper, the combination of the Trail Blazers Dream + Duncan. He believes that the old and the young should not be a threat to the Jazz, and the Jazz will be very hopeful in the new season. Get out of the west.

“Ugh!”

   Los Angeles Lakers headquarters, West shook his head and was rejected by the Suns again.

   “Sir, the Suns put the newly arrived Campbell on the shelf, shall we get him back?” At this time, the assistant opened the door and reported to him.

   “Campbell?”

   He thought for a moment and shook his head.

   What he’s looking for is a power forward, Campbell is a center, it’s not worth it on the bench, and the cap space can’t bear it.