NBA backer king

Chapter 242 Trading Gliders

The Portland Trail Blazers were unlucky. Clifford Robinson was poached by the Bulls last season, leaving only one glider, Drexler, and the 33-year-old glider has entered the later stages of his career. In the past two years, due to tibia and knee injuries, his state has declined from the peak and does not meet the Blazers' reconstruction requirements, so the Blazers are preparing to rebuild.

In 83, the Blazers selected Drexler with the 14th overall pick in the first round, and valued his potential very much.

Even in the second year of the draft, because they already had Drexler, they used the second pick to select center Sam Bowie instead of Jordan. In fact, Jordan was ready to play in Portland at that time.

Jordan, Drexler, and Wilkins, these are the three guys who can be called flying men in this era of the league, because they are all flying above the basket to play.

But because of the Blazers' choice, when Jordan met Drexley later, he had to torture him to prove that the Blazers' choice was wrong.

Although Glider is suffering from injuries, he is still able to play. He has not aged completely. Last season, he averaged 34 minutes per game, 19.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals.

Just like the Suns traded Barkley, the Blazers wanted to trade him when they were still playing without a glider, laying a foundation for the team's reconstruction, and their goal was the first-round pick.

This season is the last year of Drexler's contract, and the annual salary is only 158 million. Compared with his data, this annual salary is definitely cost-effective. Many ball rights have already contacted the management, hoping to trade the glider.

For example, the Mosaic team hopes to get the glider to make up for the lack of outside lines, and has already promised the glider the main position.

Although Glider is unhappy that the team wants to trade him, he is also very willing to go to Houston. He doesn't have a ring yet and wants to go to Houston to get one.

Moreover, Dameng is his college teammate. He very much hopes to join forces with Dameng. Dameng also called him personally to invite him, hoping that he can go to Houston to help.

It's a pity that Mosaic didn't have the first-round pick in 95 and 96 that the Blazers wanted. They could only give a pick in 97. The Blazers believed that 97 was too long and would not be conducive to reconstruction. Although they did not directly reject Houston, they did not directly agree. The two sides are still negotiating.

Once Colangelo arrived in Portland, he contacted the Blazers management, and he also wanted the glider.

Now that both AC Green and Thorpe want to leave, their agents bother him every day and urge him to make a deal. He also has a headache. Since he can't keep it, he can only trade.

At least one must be traded. Although the remaining one will not get the main position, but can get the guarantee of playing time, it should be able to stay.

Now that the Blazers are going to rebuild, it just gives him a chance. If they can get the glider, although the inside bench lineup will suffer a lot, the outside line will be strengthened.

Old K has always been dissatisfied with Robert Horry's open shooting percentage. Glider Drexler is a swingman at the front and guard. If he is used to replace Horry, the strength of the Suns' main lineup will be greatly strengthened.

Old K, Danny Manning, Drexler, Dan Marley, Kevin Johnson, the five main players are all All-Stars.

Among them, the first three are still serious All-Stars, and although the latter two are no longer All-Stars, this main lineup still belongs to the All-Stars.

They will blow up the main lineup of the Mosaic team, even if they are very competitive against the Bulls, there is no problem with a weaker bench lineup.

Thinking of this, he was very excited.

However, there is a big weakness in actually forming this lineup, that is, the average age of the main lineup will increase.

Glider is old, Danny Manning is easily injured, and he is 29 years old. Kevin Johnson and Dan Marley are both old, one young and four old, with an average age close to 30 years old.

In the afternoon, he negotiated with the Blazers management.

When the Blazers received a call from Colangelo, they were very happy, because they knew that Mosaic's first-round picks in 95 and 96 were all in the hands of the Suns, and with their own, there would be at least four first-round picks in the next two years.

They issued an offer sheet, Otis Thorpe, and the Mosaic team's unprotected first-round pick in 96, but did not ask for the Suns' own pick.

The Blazers management knows that if the Suns get Drexler, then next year's first-round pick will become worthless.

This price is very expensive, especially the unprotected first-round pick in 96, which was a big year in the draft.

Because the glider is almost 33 years old, no one knows how long the current state can be maintained.

Colangelo's original plan was to hope that Mosaic would collapse in the 95/96 season. Of course, this is the best situation. If not, then he planned to use his first-round pick and Mosaic's first-round pick to trade upwards to try to get a lottery pick.

The Suns had four first-round picks in 95 and 96, and they could trade one or two high-ranking picks no matter what.

Now using this pick to select a veteran is actually not in line with the team's rebuilding principles. It will be useless after one to two years, and a first-round pick will be wasted in vain.

However, Green and Thorpe urged him too hard, and he had to speed up the pace of the transaction, so he couldn't take care of it.

In the end, he agreed to the Blazers' offer, but it was not the 96 sign, but the Mosaic team's 95 sign.

Considering Drexler's age and the fact that there were some good rookies in 95, the Blazers agreed to the offer.

Before getting off work, the two teams reported to the league, and it was quickly passed. At [-]:[-], the transaction was completed.

At the Trail Blazers training base, the team just finished the afternoon training and returned to the locker room. The players are changing their clothes.

"Clyde, just now, Lakham notified me that you were traded to the Suns, and the transaction has just been completed. Congratulations, Clyde, you will fight for the Suns tomorrow night, which is no worse than the Mosaic team, and you have the same chance of winning."

This is the core of the team, Drexler, who was stunned when he received a call from his agent.

"what?"

He didn't realize it, didn't he go to Mosaic to find Dameng, why did he go to the Suns?He was just rehearsing with the team how to play the Suns.

He really wanted to go to the Mosaic team because he was from Houston, which was his hometown team. In the 83 draft, he hoped to be selected by the Mosaic team. Unfortunately, Mosaic's pick was too high that year. He chose Ralph Sampson with the No. 14 pick and Rodney McRae with the No. [-] pick.

"boom!"

At this time, the locker room was pushed open, and Blazers general manager Jess Lakham walked in.

He glanced at Drexler, who was still in a sluggish state while holding the phone, and said, "Clyde, do you know?"

Everyone looked over, not knowing what happened.

Drexler nodded blankly, without speaking.

"Clyde, thank you very much for your efforts here..." Lakham said politely with a sincere expression and tone.

"..."

Drexler's eyes were a little hot. This is his home team. He has been here for 11 seasons, and it is now his 12th season. But today, he was traded, and the team traded without any nostalgia.

"Yes, and you, Tracy."

Lakham turned to the other player again.

Also being traded was Tracy Murray, a 24-year-old forward, the No. 92 pick in the first round of 18, but he had no strength. His annual salary this season was 116 million, which was used to match the deal.

Murray doesn't have as many feelings as Drexler. He is a marginal person, he can play as long as he has the ball, no matter where he plays.

The Suns also notified the deal.

Thorpe is both satisfied and dissatisfied. What is dissatisfied is that at his age, going to a rebuilding team means being a cornerstone.

What is satisfactory is that there are many opportunities for rebuilding teams, especially for teams like the Trail Blazers who have just started rebuilding. He can have more playing time, play better data, and strive for a bigger contract in the future.

After Robert Horry found out about this transaction, he sighed in his heart. Now my main position is about to run away, but what should I do?

But he doesn't have the qualifications of Thorpe and Green, and no one cares about his thoughts.

Wang Tiejun and other main players are very happy. With one more capable teammate, this year's chances will be even greater.

AC Green was also a little anxious when he saw Thorpe's deal was completed. At this time, Colangelo called him over and had a detailed discussion with him.

Colangelo said sincerely: "AC, you are 32 years old this year, even if you go to other teams, it is impossible to have a fixed main position waiting for you, why don't you consider staying?

The coaching staff will make a certain balance in terms of playing time. Danny Manning can play at most 30 minutes a game, and Old K's time will be kept at about 35 minutes. The rest of his and Old K's time is yours.

You will be the first substitute in positions 30 and [-]. With Thorpe gone, your playing time is guaranteed, not less than [-] minutes. When you enter the bench lineup, your shots are more guaranteed than in the main lineup.An ordinary main force is no more glorious than the team's sixth man. Why does the league set up a separate award for the sixth man?Because he is very important. "

Under the sincere persuasion of Colangelo, AC Green felt that it made sense. After all, he was not young and his state was also declining. The salary the Suns gave him was the highest in the team, and Thorpe left. Playing time is guaranteed, and the status of the sixth man is not unacceptable.

He said that he had to discuss with his agent, and Colangelo was very happy. He didn't directly refuse, which means there is hope.

Thorpe is gone, and Green doesn't want to let him go. Green's style of play is similar to that of Danny Manning. He is good at long-range shots and matches the old K very well. He will not squeeze the old K's space in the penalty area like Thorpe. He is a very suitable inside substitute.

And if Green leaves again, the team will have no inside substitutes, and the original strength will directly become a weakness.

As long as Green stays, the bench has Green on the inside and Horry and Danny Ainge on the outside, it's not too bad.

Generally, the resources of a strong team are concentrated in the main lineup, and the bench lineup will not be very good. The Suns' bench lineup is not bad.

After sending off AC Green, Colangelo went to the coaching staff to discuss the next team's lineup and tactics.

The team introduced Drexler, and the third position, which has not been strong enough, has been strengthened. Everyone is very excited.

But Colangelo raised a question. With K, Danny Manning, Drexler, Dan Marley, and Kevin Johnson as the starters, then this lineup can actually establish four core points, because except for Dan Marley, the other four have the strength to become the core of the team. Then the question comes, is it really necessary to build four cores?

Coach Westphal shook his head and said: "It is absolutely impossible to have four cores, then the field will be chaotic. And if they all become the core, our locker room will also be chaotic."

Colangelo nodded and said: "And this lineup is only a transitional lineup, because except for old K, the age of others does not meet our reconstruction requirements.

With this lineup, we have the same strength as last season, and we have the strength to hit the championship, and we are even stronger than last season.

But it's really just a transitional lineup. We have to get more rookies and slowly complete the real reconstruction. "

Westphal nodded, looked at Colangelo and asked, "Boss, what do you mean?"

Colangelo said firmly: "Continue to take the old K as the core, continue to strengthen the core and leadership of the old K during this period of Kevin Johnson's aging, and build a team with a true traditional center. We cannot change our immediate reconstruction requirements just because we have introduced Danny Manning and Drexler."

Westphal didn't think too much about it. The boss said what he said. He just asked with a strange look: "Then if we win the championship this season, some people seek a higher team status?"

Colangelo was right when he thought about it. Just like Barkley in the past, he could tolerate old K taking away part of his core position before winning the championship, but he couldn't after winning the championship. This situation may also appear in the future.

Thinking of this, he also said with a strange expression: "If any of them are not convinced, then trade them, and just use them to complete our reconstruction."

……

After the deal was announced through the media, it immediately caused a sensation and heated discussions.

The most obvious one is that ESPN immediately adjusted the Suns' championship probability overnight, directly rising from 10% to 31%, higher than the Mosaic team, becoming the team with the second highest probability of winning in the league, second only to the Bulls.

The reason given by ESPN is that the joining of Drexler has made up for the strength of the Suns' outside line. Glider's 36-point shooting rate this season has been as high as [-]%, which has further increased the Suns' ability to stretch the outside line, which is more conducive to the play of low-post singles tactics.

Then Drexler's breakthrough ability also made up for the negative impact of Kevin Johnson's decline.

At the same time, Danny Manning's state has remained pretty good. This lineup has more advantages against Mosaic, so the Suns' chances of winning the championship can surpass the Mosaic team.

"Patterson, didn't you say you were going to bring Claire to Houston? How did you do it? Are you fooling me?"

After Dameng heard the news, he was dumbfounded and a little desperate. He called the general manager Steve Patterson and questioned him continuously in a roaring tone.

It's no wonder that he is so angry. Barkley is seriously injured. It's been a few months since the offseason and he hasn't come back yet. Now the rival Suns have snatched the glider again. Isn't this killing him?

"Hakeem, we don't have bargaining chips. Trading Barkley has overdrawn our potential, you know that."

Tim Patterson was very annoyed by Dameng's attitude, but suppressed the anger in his heart, and explained rather helplessly:
"We applied for the first-round pick in 97 and wanted to give it a try, but the Trail Blazers refused. They didn't want the 97 sign, they only wanted the two years, and the Suns had our first-round pick for the two years."

"boom!"

The extremely angry Dameng hung up the phone directly.

After thinking about it, he was unwilling to call Drexler again: "Clyde, what's going on? Why did you go to the Suns? Didn't you agree to come and help me?"

At this time, Glider was having dinner. Although he was traded by his home team, joining the Suns was also a good choice. He had a chance to win the championship, so he was not in a bad mood. Hearing this, he explained helplessly: "This is a deal from the management, Hakim, I can't decide anything."

"Damn it, they traded you for Thorpe and our first-round pick, it's too much!" Dameng complained.

Drexler can only express his helplessness towards Dameng's hooligan attitude. They gave you a Barkley, but didn't they take your lottery for nothing?

After hanging up the phone, Dameng was silent for a long time, and suddenly hated his own management. The people who got their hands obviously were taken away by their opponents. This must be because the stingy Alexander was reluctant to give more chips. He said angrily, "If this continues, I won't win the championship, and I will leave."

He's not kidding, he played with the team in '92.

In March of that year, after defeating the Clippers, he had to fight against the Lakers. He suddenly announced that he was injured, saying that he had a strained hamstring in his left leg, and he would have to rest for two games.

Of course, in fact, he thought his salary was too low. His annual salary that year was 317 million U.S. dollars. Although it was good, he felt that it was not in line with his status as a super center. It happened that the contract was about to end, so he wanted to use this opportunity to increase his bargaining chips.

At that time, the Mosaic team was hitting the playoffs and was at a critical moment of competition with the Lakers. That game was very important. If they won the Lakers, they could enter the top eight. The management immediately arranged for several expert consultations. The results were shocking. He was healthy.

The team let him play, but was rejected by him and his team. At that time, the boss was Charlie Thomas, who thought that Dameng was a fraudulent injury, very annoyed, and directly ordered him to be suspended indefinitely.

In the end, Dameng came back after being suspended for five games, but the team had already left the ranks of the playoffs. Mosaic did not make the playoffs that year, ranking ninth in the West.

The comeback Dream also announced that he would leave Houston, and was put on the shelf for a while. In the end, the deal was not negotiated and he stayed in Mosaic.

Then the team changed owners, Charlie Thomas stopped playing with him, and Alexander became his new club.

However, he didn't expect that Alexander was as stingy as he couldn't even get a glider, which made him so disappointed, and he wanted to leave Houston again.

The news about the glider is not only a headache for the Mosaic team and Dameng, but also for several teams.

The Spurs, Admiral David Robinson, had great hopes for this season, and after getting this news, everyone was very disappointed.

Especially David Robinson, who can't handle the thorny Rodman inside the team, and now that the old rival Suns have strengthened again, he is so anxious that his throat is full of smoke.

In the East, the same goes for the Bulls.

Although the Bulls are still very strong, Grant's departure still caused the team's strength to suffer some losses.

Toni Kukoc's performance is very good. His scoring ability is not inferior to Grant's and his assist ability is better. However, the Bulls lack Grant's cutting ability and rebounding. Kukoc is not as good as Grant in these aspects, and Grant is also better in defense.

The Bulls reacted cautiously to the news that the Suns had strengthened their perimeter.

Head coach Phil Jackson immediately analyzed the impact of this change on the Suns and Bulls.

This analysis shocked him very much, because the Suns with the main lineup of old K He, Danny Manning, Drexler, Dan Marley, and Kevin Johnson are not weaker than the Bulls at all.If the Bulls meet the Suns in the finals, the result is unpredictable.

Jordan did the same, even more cautiously.

He wants to defend his title this season, and then complete three consecutive championships next season to create his dynasty and era. Now everyone is saying that this is his era, but without the dynasty, his era will not be bright enough.

However, the reinforcement of the Suns cast a lingering shadow over his title defense.

……

(End of this chapter)