basketball pope

Chapter 317 [Lottery change, hold back the big move]

At the end of May, the lottery for the 5 NBA Draft ended.

There was no unpopularity, and the Knicks won the No. [-] pick with the worst record in the Eastern Conference. Because of its high commercial value, as long as the team manager has no problem with his mind, the No. [-] pick will definitely choose Yao.Many New York fans on the Internet immediately welcomed Yao Ming, and experts also believed that he could become the new inside pillar of the Knicks.

Only Yang Rui is a little worried about Yao Ming's future. I hope that the Knicks can send Sprewell away in the summer. When he first entered the league, he became teammates with this kind of neurosis, which will definitely affect the players' mentality.

And the Knicks also have Ben Wallace inside, Yao Ming and Big Ben partner inside... That picture is so beautiful.Big Ben, who is two meters tall, can't block shots and rebounds in the interior. Yao Ming goes out to guard against pick-and-rolls, right?On the other hand, if Yao Ming is in charge of resisting people at the basket and Big Ben goes out to defend against pick-and-rolls, then the data will be gone, it will be difficult to get double-digit rebounds, and it will be difficult to enter the All-Star Game.

Yao Ming joining the Knicks also has advantages. On the one hand, the high exposure rate is on the one hand, and on the other hand, the team is not bad money.In the future, as long as Yao Ming becomes the core of the team, the boss will definitely find him a good teammate and a good substitute, and he will not be as tired as he was in the Rockets.Of course, it may also be a group of high-paid and low-energy partners.

The Cavaliers were the No. [-] overall pick and had trouble turning around until they drafted a superstar.

The Warriors were the third overall pick with the worst record in the Western Conference.

The Wizards are only 12th in the East, they failed to get the top three, and the eighth pick is not bad.

Michael Jordan called Yang Rui and communicated with him on behalf of management.Now the Wizards are preparing for next season, and coach Doug Collins has retired to make room for Yang Rui.

"Jerry, do you want to trade another first-round pick before the draft?" Jordan's original intention for Yang Rui was to see his ability to build the team. This season, the Wizards will leave more than half of them and need new players.

Yang Rui has a plan: "We don't need too many first-round picks. Next season, we have to improve our performance and try our best to trade and sign players in the free market. There are too many rookies to cultivate. Let's trade for a second-round pick, preferably the top three. , plus the No. 8 pick is enough."

Jordan was silent for a moment, feeling uncomfortable. "Can you choose only three newcomers?"

"Two rookies will do. I will choose a best rookie for the Wizards. The Wizards' second-round pick can be traded out, because the team lacks defensive elites in the interior. If this problem is not solved, the team will not be able to play in the playoffs next season. Going too far. Draft day, I need a trade."

"Go ahead."

"Swap Hubert Davis and a second-round pick for the King's forward Gerald Wallace. He was a fringe in the King last season, and he can definitely get it. The King's side adds cash, and it should be a salary match. Wait. Whoever they want, we will choose whoever they want in the second round." Yang Rui replied.

"The guy who participated in the slam dunk contest? Isn't he a small forward? The offense is so bad, how can I have this kind of person as my backup?" Jordan immediately felt unreliable.

Yang Rui explained with a smile: "Michael, he is not your substitute, he is a substitute for the No. 4 position. I will let him play as a power forward. His strength can withstand most of the No. 4 positions. When it comes to fast breaks, no power forward can. faster than him."

"..." Jordan thought for a while and didn't refute.

The two-meter Ben Wallace has publicly thanked Yang Rui, and he can play a center at two meters. Of course, Gerald Wallace of 201CM has no problem playing a power forward.He showed amazing physicality in the dunk contest, beating Francis into the final.

"Any other requests?" Jordan asked.

"Not yet. When the free market opens, I will provide a complete list of signings. Don't worry, I have a plan. The Wizards will definitely enter the playoffs next season, and I have even thought about the tactics."

"Okay, I'll wait for you. I wish you a smooth victory over the Lakers and another championship." Jordan laughed.

"Haha, that's for sure."

Yang Rui does have a plan to build a team around Jordan. Jordan is the core of the team. To ensure offensive efficiency, he must play point forward tactics.Since the inside line is not pulled out to support, we can't use Princeton like the Raptors, and some changes must be made.

The key to change is to have players who fit the system, players who can run.Gerald Wallace is an important part, and he is called "Sakuragi" by some Chinese fans.As a frequent dunker, his physical quality is beast-level, and he can play more powerfully than a small forward as a power forward.

In the Bobcats, Gerrard peak season 18.2 points and 10 rebounds, height is not a problem at all.A guy with the speed of a guard who plays a power forward, can drive through the ball, even if the shot is close enough, the opponent can take it.

This season is not over yet, Yang Rui's attention is still on the finals with the Lakers. Due to the four more days of rest, the Raptors are fully prepared, and the coaching staff has conveyed everything to the players. The thing is to play.

The Raptors arranged closed training and did not accept media interviews, as did the Lakers. Both teams were holding back their big moves.

In 2000, Yang Rui asked Christie to provoke Kobe before the game and disturbed the mentality of the "OK combination". This season, he did not use the same method.Reed and Carter couldn't guard against Kobe, and he would send Kirilenko to the main defense.Kirilenko couldn't speak English, so he had to bring an interpreter for provocations.

This year, Yang Rui and Kirilenko communicated very little, and they both love and hate this Russian.His basketball talent is not inferior to the league's super forwards, or even better, but his language talent is indescribable.A season later, he still can only speak simple language, and he can't understand it very well.

There are some news from previous lives that Yang Rui has forgotten, otherwise he will be more obedient to Kirilenko.

In the 2007 Jazz playoffs against the Rockets, Kirilenko did not perform well. His wife Marsha accepted an interview and believed that the problem between her husband and coach Sloan was his poor English.

"It's disappointing, his English isn't very good," Marsha said. "Sometimes he can't explain what he's trying to say, and maybe he needs an interpreter."

She also mentioned that Yao Ming always has an interpreter by his side. "Maybe we'll hire one too. There's a language barrier between the coach and him, it seems like there's some misunderstanding between them."

In fact, Yao Ming has no need to translate in the second season of the league, and he often says some humorous words in interviews.Kirilenko joined the NBA a year earlier, and communication is not good.

Therefore, Yang Rui has always arranged very simple tactics for Kirilenko. He only has three things to do in the team, cut to the basket, catch and shoot, and defend the opponent's perimeter core.

After the regular season run-in, Kirilenko gradually integrated into the team. Even if there is no translator during training, Yang Rui only needs to tell him "anti Kobe", "anti Pierce", "anti McGrady", he knows what he should do.

As for the inside competition, the Raptors don't need to provoke O'Neal. All teams use the shark slashing tactics to deal with the Lakers. Yang Rui only needs to prepare a few meat shields.

Yang Rui used Jaren Collins to play in the garbage time of the previous series to accumulate experience in the playoffs.

In the team, Jalen has been practicing low-post defense. Jerome James will learn O'Neal's way of playing and turning around and shooting. What he has to do is to foul in time and not be marked as 2+1.

On the evening of June 6, the first game of the finals began.

(End of this chapter)