Almighty Athlete Chapter 4: Enough? Do you want to add more?
The 2012-2013 Lakers have a very strong lineup on paper. They obtained Howard through a four-way deal before the start of the season, and then introduced Nash, plus the original Kobe and Gasol. , Forming a new "f4" combination. In addition, there are experienced veterans such as Ci Shiping, Blake, Jamison, and dynamic newcomers such as Jordan Hill. It can be said that the beginning of the season was for the championship.
This lineup is obviously for the "Zen Master" Phil Jackson. There is power center Howard, top passer Nash, there is a big man inside and outside Gasol, and there is the most comprehensive nba. Player Kobe, this is a good template for playing "triangle offense", what is missing is Phil Jackson.
But the conditions proposed by the "Zen Master" are unacceptable to the Lakers. Phil Jackson wants to enter the management of the Lakers, but the Bass family does not allow Phil Jackson to enter the management of the Lakers. So this set prepared for Phil Jackson, but no Phil Jackson to host, "f4" did not produce the corresponding chemical changes.
Without recruiting the "Zen Master" vocational education, the Lakers can only continue to retain Mike Brown vocational education, and then there are zero wins and eight losses in the preseason and one win and four losses in the regular season.
The goal of the Lakers team "f4" is the championship ring. How can this scum record work? So on November 9, the Lakers management fired coach Mike Brown and replaced Danny Anthony.
Although D'Antoni's coaching level is not weak, he can never save the current Lakers. Led by D'Antoni, the Lakers returned to the ranks of the playoffs at best, far away from the championship.
In fact, in the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers' "F4" combination was swept 4-0 by the Spurs. Then Howard left the Lakers to join the Rockets, and the Lakers' "F4" fell apart.
And the Lakers faced more than Howard’s departure. In the next 2013-2014 season, injuries became the Lakers’ biggest enemy.
First, Kobe Bryant, the Lakers’ star, broke his Achilles tendon last season and did not participate in the playoffs. On December 9, 2013, Kobe returned to the field, but he played against Ash on December 18. When he was a bear, he was pushed by Tony Allen and announced a truce for eight weeks. In fact, this is just for selling tickets. Kobe's injury, not to mention eight weeks, even three months, may not be able to recover.
The house leaks in the middle of the night. In addition to Kobe, another star Nash has always been troubled by his back, almost always resting.
Gasor’s situation is no better. Although there are no major injuries, the minor injuries are constant and cannot reach the level of previous years.
The Lakers don’t worry on the bench. Meeks, Jordan Hill, Nick Young, and Farmar are also constantly injured. The Los Angeles Lakers have become a casualty camp!
......
In the early hours of February 5, 2014.
The Lakers’ plane is flying from Niapolis to Cleveland.
In the evening, they had just finished an away game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the end, the Lakers lost 99 to 109 to the Timberwolves.
But this is just the beginning of the Lakers’ road trip. They have to play back to back, and the opponent is the Cavaliers in the next game. This back-to-back situation of playing the East and West teams separately is very physical. Fortunately, Minnesota to Ohio, where the Cavaliers are, is actually not very far. But the Lakers still had to fly to Cleveland overnight.
At this time, the players have fallen asleep. After all, after a night of fighting, they have consumed a lot of physical strength, but as the head coach D'Antoni, he can't sleep.
"16 wins and 32 losses!" D'Antoni looked at this bad result, his face was bitter. This result is not to mention that it has entered the playoffs. Fighting is not the last in the Western Conference, even if it is very good.
"That's okay, next year, I can definitely get a lottery pick. It's just that the Lakers head coach next year will not be me!" D'Antoni smiled self-deprecatingly.
For D'Antoni, the question of record is not the most important. The immediate urgency is that D'Antoni is no longer available.
Due to injuries, D'Antoni has only eight people available, and he is still old and young. Sackley, who was sitting at the end of the bench last season, has been mentioned as the starting center position. First-year rookie Kane Kelly is to be the starting power forward position. Thackeray and Kelly, one is the 60th pick, the other is the 48th pick, which is among the nba other teams, which are all marginal people who will be cut off at any time, and in the current Lakers, they have to be the starters. !
"This game can't be played!" D'Antoni sighed.
"Dingling bell..." The ringing of the phone suddenly sounded. This is a satellite phone on the plane.
D'Antoni was a little surprised. It was already early in the morning, and there were still people who would not hesitate to make a satellite call. It was so important that this would be the case.
The crew on the plane picked up the phone, then came to D'Antoni and said, "It was Mr. Bath."
Old Bath has passed away. Among the Lakers, only the current Lakers president, Jim Bath, can be called "Mr. Bath."
"Why did Bath call at this time? Was he dissatisfied with the result of the game just now? Ordinarily he should have known it a few hours ago! Could it have fired me? Impossible, If I was really fired, I wouldn’t be on the road, I would definitely go back to Los Angeles and talk about it again.” D'Antoni stepped forward and answered the phone with a confused look.
"Hey, my dear coach, I'm sorry to disturb you for the rest." Little Bass was very excited, and he continued: "I have great news to tell you that our savior is coming!"
"Savior? What savior?" D'Antoni asked, confused.
"Zhang Guan! It is Zhang Guan! I have negotiated with Zhang Guan, he is willing to sign the Lakers! Now he should be on the way to Los Angeles, it is estimated that he will arrive during the day, and as long as he goes through the procedure, he will be our ball A member of the team!" Little Bass shouted excitedly.
"Zhang Guan..." D'Antoni repeated the name, and at the same time, different pictures appeared in his mind.
Six years ago, in the finals of the Olympic Games, Zhang Guan made a three-pointer that killed the United States team. At that time, D'Antoni was the assistant coach of the United States team. He witnessed the scene with his own eyes.
Four years ago, in the finals of the Turkish World Championships, Zhang Guan, with its own strength, dragged the game into overtime, then the second overtime, the third overtime, the fourth Overtime... The American team was tired one by one, but the Zhang Guan was running tirelessly like a machine. The old k coach even used a wheel fight to deal with Zhang Guan, but in the end, the American team was still killed by Zhang Guan! At the time, D'Antoni was still the main coach of the US team. He once again witnessed that scene, a scene that shocked him all his life!
The current Lakers, even if James is close, there is no way to save them, but D'Antoni believes that if it is Zhang Guan, it can definitely save the Lakers!
At this moment, D'Antoni was suddenly full of hope.
The other half of the phone, and Baz continued: "At the Zhang Guan level, it’s not an exaggeration to get a top salary in the league, but he is also one of the shareholders of the Lakers. , So only a nominal salary of 10 million US dollars was paid."
If you are other players, you may not be able to mix an annual salary of 10 million in your life, but for Zhang Guan, the annual salary of 10 million is really only a symbol. If it is low, it does not meet his identity.
In fact, Zhang Guan is not bad at this point. With the value of Zhang Guan, there is no difference between 10 million and 20 million. Not only the salary of nba players, seven-figure and eight-figure are completely different perceptions, getting an eight-figure annual salary is more like a respect for Zhang Guan.
Although nba is a business, it is also necessary to respect star players. There is only one Patrielli who stumbles to shame, and there is only one Morey who holds a calculator and is good at calculations. Cuban issued a 25 million dollar pension contract to Nowitzki. This kind of money buys horse bones, which is more what the boss is willing to do.
However, D'Antoni said: "Mr. President, please allow me to remind you that we are paying luxury tax now. Beyond the salary cap, Zhang Guan does not apply to the Larry Bird clause, let alone It’s ten million, one dollar, and we can’t sign it!"
"Relax, I have applied to the nba headquarters for the injury exception. We have so many injured players this year. A 10 million injury exception can be exchanged for Zhang Guan to join nba. This sale is a good deal. Very, Xiao Hua, who just took office, will give it to us." Bath said.
......
Nba’s president David Stern has retired, and his successor, Xiao Hua, succeeded in taking office on February 1 and became the new nba president.
However, in the early morning, Xiao Hua received a phone call from Little Bass personally, and the Lakers asked for a special case of 10 million dollars in injuries.
"A special case of a ten million dollar injury?" Xiao Hua frowned slightly. He felt that some of Bass's demands were too excessive.
"The annual salary of 10 million US dollars is a star-level player. If it works properly, several multi-party transactions are possible in exchange for a 20 million-level superstar! What are the Lakers doing? Little Bass The guy is too greedy! Do you think I just took office, so bully!" Xiao Hua thought to himself.
Historically, after the Nash was scrapped, the Lakers also applied for special cases of injuries. At that time, the NBA gave the Lakers a special case of 4.85 million injuries, which is equivalent to a middle-class contract. A middle-level player may be able to help improve the team's performance, but it will definitely not have a qualitative impact.
If you want to make a qualitative leap in the team’s performance, you still have to rely on stars, big stars, and superstars!
"Bath, we have known each other for many years, so I won’t turn the corner on you. To be honest, I really can’t agree with your request. There are too many special cases of 10 million injuries. , I will give you at most one special case of injury of middle class value." Xiao Hua continued: "Moreover, today is already February 5, and there are only a dozen days left until the trading day deadline. In the playoffs, it is not possible to trade their stars, at most some role players. You want a special case of injury of 10 million level, it is too wasteful, it is better to ask for a special case of injury of middle class, That would be more cost-effective!"
"Middle class? That's not enough!" Bath said immediately.
"You are right, in the current situation of the Lakers, a middle-level player will not help too much. So I suggest you, this season is just a mess! The next season's draft picks, the Lakers Isn’t it in your hands? You can have a lottery sign when the time comes! This rookie quality is much better than the previous one." Xiao Hua said, he was obviously wrong.
"You misunderstood, I want this special case of injury, not to trade players, I want to sign new players!" Bath said.
"Signing a new player? Ten million?" Xiao Hua thought carefully, but never remembered, in the free agent market, there are other players worth $10 million~IndoMTL.com~ It's February. The trading window of NBA is about to close. Even the guys like Odom who have been abolished have gone to gold rush in Europe. "Level players.
"Isn't Bath going to encounter a fraudulent group!" Xiao Hua muttered and asked, "Who are you going to sign?"
"Zhang Guan!" Bath said impatiently: "Yes, the Zhang Guan you think!"
"Zhang Guan! He is willing to come to nba!" Xiao Hua screamed.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
It wasn’t until a dozen seconds later that Xiao Hua recovered, and he then asked: "A special case of 10 million dollars in injuries, is it enough? Do you want to add more?"
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