Pick Westbrook

Chapter 16 The Tragedy of the Bucks
Andre Ingram played well in the summer league, averaging 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game, and made 42% of his three-pointers.

It's just that his talent is really bad, with a height of 191cm, a wingspan of only 190cm, and a weight of 83kg.

Andre Ingram, with this kind of physical talent, should have played point guard, but he has almost no passing ability and is not good at dribbling, so he can only play shooting guard.

But he is too thin to play shooting guard, I am afraid that anyone can bully him.

Li Lai looked at Andre Ingram, who was about to cry, and couldn't bear to refuse him. Then he suddenly remembered the lonely dreamer who was the king of the development alliance in later generations, and he seemed to be called Andre Ingram. .

"Andre, what will you do if I reject you?" Li Lai asked tentatively.

Andre Ingram let the tears slide down his cheeks and said firmly: "I will continue to play in the Development League and wait for the opportunity. One day I will definitely enter the NBA!"

It's really you!

Thinking of later generations, Andre Ingram has struggled in the Development League for 11 years, and finally won a two-game two-game contract with the Lakers.

As a result, who would have thought that the three-point leader in the Development League could also perform well in the NBA, and made Los Angeles fans shout MVP with one three-pointer after another.

Li Lai exhaled and said, "Ingram, bring your luggage and family to Milwaukee!
But I want to remind you, if you fail to complete the task I gave you, I will kick your ass hard! "

Andre Ingram wiped away his tears in disbelief, and said with surprise on his face: "Don't worry, coach, I will definitely complete all the tasks you assign!"

Summer league is over.

……

Under the arrangement of Li Lai, Hammond made an appointment with Austin Crosher and Andre Ingram respectively, and signed two contracts.

One is a 2-year 1+1 veteran's basic salary contract of 180 million with team options.

一份是略高于联盟最低薪资35万，3年2+1同样附带球队选项的130万合同。

Hammond complained: "The team is already so difficult, why do you keep giving money out?"

Holloway reminded: "On August 8, the league will determine the regular season schedule, and we will also sell tickets in advance.

If the sales effect is not very good, the team may really have to sell it. "

Li Lai sighed.

Here comes the problem again.

He took out a bank card from his pocket and handed it to Holloway, who frowned slightly and didn't know what it meant.

"There are 500 million in it, let's take it to the team for emergency."

Li Lai, who has never seen 500 million US dollars in his life, has to hand it over for nothing before he warms it up. It would be a lie to say that he doesn't feel uncomfortable.

Once upon a time, he also had a dream, that is to pretend to be tough in front of thousands of people, saying that I am not interested in money, not at all.

But now, in order to keep the Bucks, he just handed over his dream.

Don't say it, because Li Lai has a good impression of that cheap dad who has never met.

Knowing that he was going to go bankrupt, Herb Kerr could still think of his prodigal son, and left a full $500 million for him. Such behavior is indeed a good father.

Looking at the bank card in her hand, Holloway was a little surprised, and still said: "The five million dollars can only solve the Bucks' urgent needs, and it is still a drop in the bucket for the Bucks' expenditure next season."

Li Lai looked at the two people in front of him and suggested, "Then why don't you lower your wages?"

Holloway said, "Get out!"

Hammond had already been frightened and ran away.

People are not ancient these days.

"October 2008, 10, NBA opener."

Seeing the detailed regular season schedule of the team in his hand, Li Lai didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Hammond said: "The Bucks haven't played an opener in more than ten years, and this is the first time this season.

It's just obvious that this is not a good thing for us now. "

Li Lai nodded.

There are a total of three games in the opening game, one of which is a replay of last season's championship showdown, the Lakers VS Celtics.

The classic yellow-green battle will never lack the attention of fans. In addition, the two teams just met in the finals last season. It is strange that the NBA does not arrange them to play in the opening game.

In addition to this highlight, the second opener is the Bulls against the Jazz.

After Jordan retired, the Bulls finally ushered in their chosen son, so it is not surprising that the opponent is the Jazz.

Who doesn't want to see if the No. [-] pick Rose deserves the name of Jordan, and who doesn't want to see if he can abuse the Bulls' old rival Utah Jazz like Jordan.

"It's just that the Jazz are really strong in the league under the leadership of Deron Williams, Boozer and Millsap.

Last season, they had a terrifying record of 54 wins and 28 losses and were ranked fourth in the West, and they also reached the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

In short, the Jazz are very strong, and the Bulls are probably going to hit the iron plate this time. ’ said Hammond sympathetically.

But even if they were to meet the Jazz team, the Bulls were not powerless. After all, they also had chaotic masters John Salmons, Jordan Luol Deng and Ben Gordon in their team.

And after owning Rose, the overall strength of the Bulls may not be much weaker than that of the Jazz.

But the opponent that the Bucks will meet in the opening game made Li Lai and Hammond feel powerless at the same time.

"They were the team that was able to tie the playoffs with the championship Celtics last season, even the Lakers failed to do so!
In the last tiebreaker, they almost beat the Celtics to create a miracle, 97:92, only lost by 5 points. "

Hammond still said with lingering fear.

The head star of that team bombarded a high score of 45 points in the tiebreaker. If it wasn't because of the lack of a helper, maybe the championship would not belong to his Celtics.

Holloway frowned slightly and said, "Why did the alliance suddenly arrange such an opening game?

We're clearly no match for the Celtics, and it's not about trying to make a fool of ourselves. "

Hammond said with a sigh: "I think our crazy move in the trade market, and some of the limelight in the summer league, has now impressed the fans and caused a buzz.

It is impossible for the group of people in the league office not to take advantage of this. After all, the most important thing in the opening game is to attract fans' attention to the NBA. "

Regardless of what the league considers, in short, the Bucks have confirmed that they will play the NBA opener for the first time in more than ten years, so the direction of thinking should not continue to stay at the level of why the Bucks are arranged to play.

But how to fight next!

Li Lai took a deep breath and said: "The opening game can attract countless fans, which is not a good thing for us."

Hammond understood Li Lai's thoughts, but shook his head and said, "I know you want to win back the trust of Milwaukee fans in us by winning that game.

But the premise is that we have to win! "

Li Lai sighed, it is indeed very difficult to defeat the opponent.

But if they win, it will be a great thing for the Bucks, and it is reasonable to lose, after all, there is a real chosen son in the opposing team.

"Let's put this question aside for now, the most important thing now is not to worry about the opening game of the regular season, after all, there is still a long time before that day.

How is the ticket sales for the new season? " Li Lai asked.

After the regular season schedule was confirmed, the Bucks had already opened the ticket sales window. Because the first opener was played at the Bucks' home court, and the opponent was that team, the ticket sales were not good. good.

It's just that the situation in the next few games is not very optimistic.

Holloway said: "Our average ticket price is set at $33, and the entire Bradley Arena can accommodate 18717 people. Except for the first game that was sold out for special reasons, the remaining games sold less than 10% of the tickets."

Holloway took a serious look at Li Lai and continued: "In addition to the 6% of the ticket sales that need to be handed over to the league, plus the maintenance and staff subsidies for the day, we can get about 50 US dollars in the opening game.

But the next game was miserable, and we only got about $[-] to $[-] per game. "

(End of this chapter)