Chapter 392 391. Am I so colorful in this timeline?

After Zhang Yang received the news and hung up the phone, he immediately gave up the idea of ​​turning off the lights and going to bed. Zhang Yang turned on the computer again. Yao Ming and Zhu Fangyu also came over. Although it was late at night, domestic sports websites reprinted the transaction details as soon as possible.

The Mavericks made two trades with the Pistons.

The first was a player trade, sending out Harris and Diop, pulling out the retired Van Horn to sign a one-year mid-level contract, trading for Billups, and taking over the multi-year mid-level contract that the Pistons gave to Juan Dixon last summer.

Harris played in 70 games in the last year of his rookie contract last season, averaging 15.4 points and 6.5 assists per game. He reached a five-year, $5 million contract extension with the Mavericks during the All-Star Weekend and was rated as the league’s second-best speed-flowing scoring point guard.

DeSagana Diop can’t run after playing for more than ten minutes in each game. He is not an excellent center, but his value has increased greatly this year. It’s not because he played so well last season. Last season, he averaged 15 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in 1.2 minutes per game, which is just the level of a backup center, but because of Yao Ming… With a weight of 213 cm and 136 kg, he is one of the only two players in the league that Yao Ming can’t really move. The other is O’Neal. After Yao Ming won the championship, his value soared and he became a high-quality trading resource. His market value is almost the same as Muhammad, and he may not be exchanged for a late first-round draft pick.

Billups played 78 games last season, averaging 17.9 points and 6.8 assists per game. He renewed his contract early last year. The new contract is worth 5 million over five years. The starting salary of the new contract is similar to the starting salary of Harris’ new contract plus Diop’s salary.

Juan Dixon averaged 06 points, 07 rebounds and 12 assists per game in the 3-5 season and was regarded by the Pistons as an important rotation player. However, this guy wilted after getting a long-term contract. Last season, he averaged 6 points and 1.8 assists per game. In the playoffs against the Bulls, he averaged 10 points and 2 assists in 0.5 minutes per game. Although it is not fair to blame a role player for the loss, his performance was really too eye-catching.

Anyway, in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, when Yao Ming saw Juan Dixon come on the court, he knew they were about to gain an advantage.

However, the Pistons blinded Yao Ming by signing Van Horn, who had been retired for two years, to a one-year contract in exchange for Juan Dixon’s three years left on a garbage middle-class contract to help the Pistons pay the salary for the next two years in order to balance the player’s value.

In another deal, the Mavericks traded a future first-round pick, a future second-round pick, and two draft picks for Pistons head coach Philip Saunders.

This operation has happened many times in recent years. The head coach of the Magic, Jeff Van Gundy, was bought back by the Rockets with a draft pick; the former head coach of Yao Ming’s old club, Jeff Van Gundy, was also bought back by the Rockets with a draft pick.

Zhang Yang was quite surprised that Josh Howard was not a bargaining chip. He thought that if the Mavericks wanted to trade, they would definitely trade Josh Howard first.

However, after careful analysis, it is found that trading Josh Howard is not the best option.

Josh Howard has not suffered any injuries yet, has the ability to be on the verge of an All-Star, and has a long-term contract. No team would be willing to sell him off.

Moreover, the player being traded back is the core point guard, so keeping Harris would be redundant. The young general has already arranged the sixth man, and Harris is unlikely to accept being a substitute, so a point guard swap would be the most appropriate.

And the most important thing is that a new coach has come. With the goal of winning the championship, he has to be given a complete lineup so that he can decide whether to adjust the front line. Anyway, a player of Josh Howard’s strength will never be difficult to sell.

It was already late at night in China. These days, not many people have computers at home to check the news at night. There were not many discussions about this on portal websites and forums. It was very troublesome to browse foreign websites, and there might be supervision in the Olympic Village. Zhang Yang did not want to get into trouble, so he read the reports of several media and closed the computer again.

Watching Zhang Yang walk towards the bed, Yao Ming asked, “Yang Yang, can you still sleep?”

Zhang Yang wondered, “Why can’t I sleep?”

Yao Ming: “The Mavericks are going to rise! Their lineup is already very luxurious. It can be said that they are the team with the most stars and the best depth in the league. Now Harris has been replaced by a point guard whose control ability is at least in the top three in the league, and the head coach has also been replaced by Sanders. That’s Sanders, you should know how powerful he is…”

Before Zhang Yang could reply, Zhu Fangyu interrupted and said, “Dayao, what does this have to do with you?”

Zhang Yang agreed: “Yes, what does this have to do with the two of us?”

“The Mavericks are going to rise again! They will be the favorite to win the championship in the next few years! Aren’t you worried?” Yao Ming’s originally low voice almost broke at this moment.

Zhang Yang: “Uh… the ones who should be worried are Kobe and Duncan, right?”

Zhu Fangyu echoed, “Yes, you are in the East and the Mavericks are in the West. Even if they become stronger, you two don’t have to worry about it. Those two should be worried. I think you two should be happy.”

Zhang Yang: “Yes, this is something to be happy about. If there is anything sad, it is that the Pistons lost Billups and Saunders. They are probably going to play badly and rebuild. The Pistons’ big five has completely become a part of basketball history. But after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, they dismantled the team and rebuilt it. It’s a decent ending.”

Yao Ming: “Yes, when I first entered the NBA, the Pistons were on the rise. During my 6 years in the NBA, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals every year, and also made it to the Finals twice and won a championship. During these 6 years, even the Lakers and Spurs were not as glorious as the Pistons…”

As he spoke he suddenly stopped. How had he been led astray by these two?

The feeling of being out of place is back again!

The little giant thinks he should stay under the car! Oh, and you can’t buy Xiaomi.

But he couldn’t refute what the two said. After listening to them, he felt that it really made sense and it seemed that they shouldn’t have a headache.

After being messed around by the two of them, his uneasiness and worries really disappeared.

Yao Ming: “Then… sleep?”

Zhang Yang: “What else? Do I need to call Kobe to tell him? It’s not impossible. I met him yesterday when I was visiting the Olympic Village with my mom. I got his international phone number!”

Zhu Fangyu’s eyes lit up: “Beat him! We must beat him! This kind of good thing must be shared with the person involved!”

Yao Ming looked at the two of them speechlessly, wondering whether he should stop each other in the middle of the night. However, Zhang Yang had already made the call at Zhu Fangyu’s instigation, so he had no choice but to give up.

After dialing the number, there was a “beep” sound for a long time. Just when Zhang Yang thought that the other party had turned on the mute mode and fallen asleep, the call was connected and he turned on the speakerphone.

“Hello, Jack, this is Kobe. I’m calling you so late. What’s up?”

The voice coming from the phone seemed to be suppressing some emotions, but still maintaining the necessary politeness.

Yao Ming originally thought that calling someone in the middle of the night was not a good thing, and when he heard Kobe being so polite, he began to think about how to apologize to Kobe later…

Zhang Yang replied: “It’s no big deal. Yao asked me to congratulate you. The Mavericks got Billups and Sanders. You may not be able to get out of the West. You don’t have to be defeated by him again!”

Little Giant: ???

Damn Zhang San, I’m going to strangle you to death!

…

The next day, the Mavericks traded for Billups and Philip Saunders, and the two deals fermented in the domestic basketball world.

The Mavericks’ move was as shocking as the Lakers’ acquisition of Kidd and Garnett last year.

Who is Billups? He is the number one point guard in the largest basketball forum in China, the one who punched Kidd and kicked Nash. Don’t ask how Billups performed against these two people. A FMVP can make his opponents speechless… Of course, Billups has very strong strength and leadership ability, which is exactly what the Mavericks lack the most.

Philip Saunders led the Pistons, who lost Ben Wallace, to two more Eastern Conference Finals and is one of the coaches with the best reputation in the past two years.

The main difference is the lineup between the Lakers and the Mavericks.

The Lakers traded for Kidd and Garnett, tearing their home apart. When the trade was completed, apart from the Big Three, the best player was the long-criticized Luke Walton. Kwame Brown was still the number one bust draft pick at the time, and the role players filled in after forming the Big Three were also very poor. If Fisher hadn’t fooled the Jazz, they wouldn’t even have a usable backup point guard.

The forward and guard line is even weaker. Kobe’s first substitute is Vujacic; the best signing at the small forward position is Ariza, who is still in his growth stage and averaged 22 minutes per game last season and scored 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds. Kobe has to play small forward most of the time. The playoffs were the worst. In the first round, Kobe had to go against Anthony, in the second round he had to defend Matt Harpring, nicknamed the football player, in the Western Conference Finals he had to face Gay, and in the Finals he had to deal with Luol Deng.

When the Mavericks got Billups, they basically only used Harris as the only player. The stars in other positions remained unchanged. The depth of the lineup is still as luxurious as it can be.

After the end of last season, the Mavericks were predicted to be one of the teams that would not even make the playoffs next season. After this trade, they have once again become the favorite to win the championship among fans!

On the men’s basketball national team side, the main topic of discussion today was also related to the Mavericks. Fans could only speculate and discuss how the stars of each team viewed the Mavericks’ operation this time. They could directly ask the parties involved for their opinions. Yao Ming was surrounded by his teammates and questioned.

As for why Zhang Yang was not surrounded… he was practicing shooting and his teammates were embarrassed to disturb him.

Yao Ming cannot practice for several hours a day like Zhang Yang, and he is the star player of the defending champion team, so his teammates want to know his opinion more.

In private, when it’s just Zhang San and Zhu Ba, the little giant can show his worries and pressure, but when all his teammates are around, he can’t do that because he has to keep up appearances.

Yao Ming responded subconsciously: “I think this is a good deal. Kobe, Duncan, Nash and others will have a headache. I will just sit back and watch the fight in the East!”

After saying this, he was stunned for a moment. It turned out that his little giant had indeed been led astray by the bad boy Zhang San…

Another two days passed, and on July 7, after a morning of training, Zhang Yang received a notification from the “Gate of Experience” that he had accumulated 23 shooting points!

It took me about 10 days to get these 50 shooting points, but the actual time was shorter because I didn’t practice much during the seven or eight days between watching the draft and reporting back to China.

Over the past 20 days or so, a large amount of time and energy has been spent on learning new tactics and practicing cooperation with teammates.

Otherwise, with his current shooting ability and physical strength, if he doesn’t play games, doesn’t rest to reserve energy for games, etc., and keeps practicing, he can accumulate 10 shooting points in just over a month.

He did not stop training and continued to devote himself to personal training and team training. At night, he did not go to a party with the women’s volleyball team and figure skaters with Zhu Fangyu and Yi Jianlian, nor did he play games with Yao Ming. He took a shower, changed clothes and went to bed early. After he issued the command “start training” in his mind, the “door of training” popped up, prompting the next stop 80 timeline, 101419 shooting value deducted 10 and only left 4 digits. He didn’t want to sleep at this time, but sleepiness suddenly hit him and he fell into a deep sleep…

…

After waking up from a full sleep, Zhang Yang sat up and looked around… What a strange room, did he buy a house?
The memory of hearing Stern shout “porcelain” once at the end of the last training in the 80 timeline has been “awakened”. At that time, the bedroom of the house he rented did not look like this.

After looking around, his eyes stopped on the jersey hanging on the coat rack.

It is not Kaizi’s green jersey, but a jersey with a white base and orange text and edging. The number is still 34, but above the number is not the team name, but the city name – New York!

“This is the 80 timeline, right? Why do I have a Knicks jersey hanging in my house? Didn’t I just win the Finals MVP?”

Just when Zhang Yang was confused, a message came into his mind… “In the 86-87 season, you averaged 7 points with a hit rate of 50.9% in the 34.3 finals against the Lakers, led the Celtics to a comeback from 0-2, and finally defeated the Lakers 4-3 to defend the title, and was elected the Finals MVP.

After defending the title, Cardinal Auerbach no longer indulged in the grief of losing Bias. He picked himself up and devoted himself to team building.

During the defending season, only six main players on the team were above average. Although they completed a miraculous comeback to win the championship and achieved the first NBA title defense since the 6s, the six main players were already exhausted.

In the regular season and playoffs, apart from the six main players, there was not even a player averaging more than 6 points per game, so it was called the “Crown of Miracles”.

Knowing that fatigue is the root of all injuries, the Cardinal did not covet the feeling of defending the title. When he was the head coach, he was tired of defending the title and decisively started the reconstruction.

He did not sign veterans who wanted to join the team and win the championship. Instead, he made frequent offers in the free market and poached free agents whose contracts had expired. Although he did not get the geniuses from the classes of 84 and 85, he managed to grab some young players, which at least solved the problem of the aging of the role players.

The six main players who won the championship were disbanded, leaving only you, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and the sixth man Danny Ainge.

Robert Parish, a four-time champion, was traded to the Kings in exchange for two draft picks, the 4th and 6nd.

After joining the Kings, Parish renewed his contract for 4 years and 900 million US dollars. In the two consecutive championship seasons, his annual salary was 70 US dollars. The salary in the first 11 years of his career added up to only half of the new contract. Although he changed teams at the age of 34, he got a big contract and was satisfied with the deal. He maintained a good relationship with the Cardinal.

The Cardinals selected North Carolina point guard Kenny Smith with the No. 6 pick, and used the 33-year-old veteran point guard Dennis Johnson, who had just been selected to the first defense, and the 22nd pick in the draft to trade for Buck Williams, the star player of the Nets who were in a slump.

Buck Williams, who was 27 years old and in his prime, averaged 86 points and 87 rebounds per game in the 18-12.5 season. Although he was not tall, he was one of the best defensive centers in the league.

Although there were no substantial gains in the free market, the Cardinals’ trading operations once again amazed the media and fans.

With almost no available resources, he relied on his intelligence network and personal network throughout the league to complete the updates to the point guard and center positions.

The Kings have always been eager to form a twin tower like the Rockets did back then. They have one of the best power forwards in Audis Thorpe and are very interested in Parish, who is older but still very capable.

After the trade, the Nets took the initiative to reveal that Buck Williams was dissatisfied with the team’s poor performance and would continue to be poor, and had already applied for a trade. If they did not accept the deal, they would lose this top defensive center in vain after Buck Williams’ contract expires in a year. At the same time, they needed an experienced veteran to assist their newly selected third pick, Rondenis Hopson, who just graduated from Ohio State University.

The team’s lineup was successfully rejuvenated, but its strength was also affected. After the start of the 87-88 season, its performance was not as good as the 86-87 season when the six main players fought hard.

Larry Bird reduced his playing time and ball handling to help rookie Kenny Smith grow.

Kevin McHale changed his defensive habits and worked with Buck Williams to rotate inside defense, and his performance was also affected.

But you got more opportunities, with the highest number of first shots on the team, playing 76 games, averaging 48.4 points per game with a hit rate of 27.3%, becoming the Celtics’ new leading scorer, plus 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.7 steals, and was selected to the second team and second defense.

你与场均25分6.6板6.2助攻入选一阵的拉里-伯德一起率队取得52胜30负的战绩。

This season, you have enriched your offensive skills, developed high-post post-up games, and catch-and-shoot shots without blind spots within the three-point line.

After the regular season, the media compared you with Human Highlights and Glider, discussing who was the second best shooting guard in the league.

However, your visible progress did not win the recognition of local fans. The regular season record declined, and the Boston media and fans, who had praised you for leading the team to a comeback and winning the championship and the FMVP, began to question your ability to lead the team.

After losing to the Eagles 2-4 in the second round of the playoffs and being eliminated, local fans attributed the responsibility of not being able to defend the title to you alone.

However, the team went from 5 wins and 8 losses at the start to finally achieving a record of 52 wins and 30 losses and advancing to the second round. The team’s situation is very good, and the vibrant and prosperous scene is still before our eyes.

During the offseason, the Cardinals showed off their moves in the draft and free market.

In the first round, he selected Brian Shaw, who was a strong shooter and playmaker, to serve as Larry Bird’s backup.

从太阳队挖到了85届的优质内线艾德-平尼克，其在87-88赛季场均12分7板，极大加深了内线深度；
You got Jim Paxson, the 79 veteran, from the Trail Blazers. He averaged 21+ points per game in his peak two years, was selected to the All-Star team twice and the second team once, and averaged 1 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists per game in the season that just ended. Now you have an excellent substitute.

In addition, in the season that just ended, the coaching staff spent a lot of effort to train and cultivate young players. The team only spent one season and two offseasons to rebuild a championship-contending lineup with a strong core lineup and excellent lineup depth.

Therefore, in response to the public opinion of local fans, you chose to restrain your emotions and vowed to conquer the local fans.

It’s a pity that there are unexpected changes in the weather and people are subject to misfortunes and blessings at any time.

Larry Bird remembered what you said to him after drinking, ‘Don’t mow the lawn yourself. Those machines are unsafe and it’s easy to get hurt.’ He hired someone to mow the lawn and was not injured.

But when it came to repairing the roof, he was unwilling to pay the height fee, so he scolded the repairman and left. He climbed up to the roof to nail the wooden boards himself, but accidentally fell from the air and seriously injured his waist. He will be out for 6-8 months, and is basically out for the new regular season.

In the 88-89 season, you entered the solo leadership mode, and your only way of leading the team was to score points.

This season, the Celtics are not only affected by Larry Bird’s injury. During the All-Star Weekend, the team’s sixth man Danny Ainge suggested that the Cardinal use Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, two veterans over 30 years old, as bargaining chips to exchange for high draft picks or young potential stocks and build a team around you.

After the All-Star Weekend, Danny Ainge was sold to the Kings by the Cardinals without asking for any substantial return, and you lost the favorite for the best sixth man with an average of 15 points per game.

His shot count was already high before the All-Star Weekend. In the 30 games after losing Danny Ainge, his shot count reached 27 per game, and his season average shot count also soared to 25. He averaged 47.6 points per game with a hit rate of 31.2%, ranking second in the league, second only to Michael Jordan who averaged 33 points per game, becoming the first player in Celtics history to average 30 points per game.

You have further enriched your scoring methods this season, and your shooting ability has become more perfect. You average 40.6 three-pointers per game with a hit rate of 2.8%, becoming the three-point king of the league.

Your defensive skills have also become more complete. You were selected to the second team for the third consecutive year, defeating Joe Dumars and being selected to the first defense together with Michael Jordan.

In the regular season, you led your team to a record of 51 wins and 31 losses, ranking fifth in the Eastern Conference, and swept the Knicks in the first round.

In the three games of this series, you averaged 3 points per game with a shooting percentage of 52%, and broke down the outside line of Mark Jackson, John Newman, Kiki Vandeweghe, Rod Strickland and others.

After the first round, Knicks fans ran to Boston and held up signs saying ‘Jack, New York is your home.’

In the second round, you met the Pistons, the runner-up of last season. You were obviously at a disadvantage in strength and fell behind 0-3 at the start. You also had a serious conflict with Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman after being fouled. Although you did not suffer any loss in a one-on-two situation, your teammates were afraid of the notoriety of the Bad Boys and no one came to help, which disappointed you.

But when Larry Bird, who was standing behind the bench, saw you fighting against two opposing villains alone, he was so anxious that he almost fell out from behind his chair…

After the game, Bill Laimbeer madly laughed at your teammates for being a bunch of wimps, felt sorry for you, and advised you to join them and become their star player. Isaiah Thomas also agreed and said he was willing to give you unlimited firing rights.

You tried your best and averaged 27.2 points per game in the series against the Pistons, but in the end you still lost to the Pistons 1-4, and your journey as the team leader ended in the second round.

After the season ended, you encountered even more fierce criticism in Boston than last year.

Guessing that you would face such a situation if you lost in the playoffs, you rejected all conversations with the management regarding early contract renewal during the season. In July, after the free market opened, when the Cardinal formally invited you to participate in the contract renewal negotiations, you asked for an annual salary of 7 million.

This offer is far higher than the Cardinal’s expectations. Larry Bird’s annual salary next season is 275 million, Michael Jordan’s salary next season is 250 million, and the league’s highest-paid player, Earvin Johnson, will make 310 million next season. The Cardinal can only suspend the contract renewal negotiations, saying that he will discuss it with the owner and begging you to wait.

After your asking price for a contract extension was leaked by Celtics staff, you encountered even more fierce attacks from the Boston media and fans, and scared off the management of several teams that were preparing to make an offer to you. However, two teams that were originally on the sidelines came to your house and made offers the day after your asking price was revealed – Lakers general manager Jerry West and Knicks general manager Ernie Greenfield.

When they hear your asking price, they know you are determined to leave.

It was an easy decision for you to join the Knicks.

The Knicks own the Apple City and are the most profitable team in the league. The final offer they make to you is even higher than the price you asked the Celtics for. You sign a three-year, $3 million contract with the Knicks, becoming the first player in NBA history to earn $1500 million a year.

After you joined the Knicks, instead of regretting it, the people of Boston scolded you even more fiercely.

The Boston media also followed you to New York and attacked you at the press conference when you joined the Knicks, saying that you were disloyal to the Celtics and that you were unworthy of the Celtics’ training of you.

You responded mercilessly: “Let the Celtics throw the 87 championship trophy into the Pacific Ocean before you say that.”

Then, you traveled to Los Angeles and applied for a booth at the Los Angeles County Museum, the largest museum in Los Angeles, and exhibited the 86-87 season FMVP trophy there.

The slogan the museum owner put on the display case: No one dislikes Jack, except Bostonians.

When you join the Knicks, you truly feel how a young superstar should be treated. All the media praise you, all the fans love you, the spotlight is on you, and you seem to own the whole world.

You just beat Mark Jackson, Kiki Vandeweghe, John Newman and others in the playoffs. When you join, you will be the number one star on the outside. Everyone will be convinced and willing to attack around you and Patrick Ewing.

However, in such an environment, you still kept your original intention. The various difficulties you encountered in college and during your time with the Celtics have trained your mind, allowing you to look at everything more calmly and not lose yourself.

This season, in order to better cooperate with your two star teammates Mark Jackson and John Newman, you played mainly as a small forward and increased the proportion of attacks with the ball. From finishing first, you now have an equal proportion of initiating attacks and finishing.

本赛季你82场比赛全勤，以50.7%命中率场均拿到28.4分，外加6板4.5助攻2.6抢断1盖帽，与场均24分11.2板2助攻3盖帽的帕特里克-尤因一同率队取得60胜22负的战绩，比起上赛季提高了8个胜场，排名也从东部第四飙升到了东部第一、联盟第二，仅次于62胜20负的湖人队。

After the regular season, you were selected into the first team along with Earvin Johnson, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing, surpassing Karl Malone and Larry Bird, whose performance after his comeback was not as good as before but was still good.

At the same time, in the competition for the best defensive team, he defeated Celtics forward Buck Williams and was selected into the first defense along with Joe Dumars, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Hakeem Olajuwon.

You became the first perimeter player to be selected to the double first team since Michael Jordan.

In the playoffs, you averaged 29.7 points per game in the first round and led the Knicks to a 3-0 sweep of the Pacers.

It is April 1990, 4, the day after the first round of the playoffs. The two teams on the same qualifying line are the Celtics and the 24ers. You may be about to face your old team in the second round…”

(End of this chapter)