Starting from the last bus in the NBA

Chapter 435 Attack on Athens
Amid the hustle and bustle, Wang Hao and the team appeared in Seattle's championship parade.

As the absolute core of the team, it is also the biggest project to complete the great cause of three consecutive championship dynasties.

When he appeared on the streets of Seattle, countless fans spontaneously chanted Wang Hao's voice.

"King, king, king..."

To be honest, this feeling is so easy to get addicted to, it’s so wonderful!

For a moment, Wang Hao even had the idea of ​​one person and one city in his mind.

Such a beautiful city, such moving fans, and such warm colleagues.

It seems that everything is so beautiful!

Fortunately, Wang Hao's mind was clear enough and he immediately threw this unrealistic thought out of his mind.

One person, one city?Is it stupid?

In the NBA, everything is profit. This may be a bit extreme, but it is true.

The fans are indeed touching, and the team is very comfortable, but the premise of all this is to win!

As long as you win, as long as you can continue to gain honors, then everything will not be a problem.

And as long as there is a day when the team has to stop, everything may change.

The hero of winning the game may also be given up, euphemistically, for the future of the team.

These words are nothing more than made up by the team owner to deceive the players and fans.

Anyone who really believes it will only be asking for trouble.

It’s not that this has never happened in the NBA, or even more than once, but history repeats itself time and time again.

Let's not talk about the distant future, let's talk about O'Neal. The Lakers have basically decided to give up on him.

Because of his conflict with Kobe?
Of course not. The conflict between O'Neal and Kobe has been going on for a long time, and the Lakers haven't seen any action?

To put it bluntly, O'Neal's contract will expire next season. To keep O'Neal, he must return to another big contract.

And this big contract will inevitably arouse comparisons between Kobe and when the time comes, we can only find ways to satisfy Kobe.

To satisfy Kobe, it must be a real payment of money, not to mention the subsequent luxury tax.

This is what makes all the wealthy teams most afraid.

If it is possible for the Lakers to win the championship, it is not impossible for the Lakers to bear these sacrifices.

However, it seems that the chances are slim at the moment.

Taking advantage of now, O'Neal has the highest transaction value, so he must take action immediately.

Not just O'Neal, Kobe too!
After O'Neal left, Kobe has been unable to lead the Lakers to achieve results. Do you think the Lakers have not considered selling him?

Even if Kobe leads the Lakers to win two consecutive championships, do you think his position is secure?
In fact, after Howard arrived, Kobe was once considered by the Lakers.

However, he happened to encounter the Lakers' internal struggle, and Kobe stayed by chance.

Otherwise, based on the Lakers' behavior, do you dare to imagine that they would give up Howard in his prime and keep the aging Kobe?
Later, Kobe stayed, and then the story of one man, one city came into being, and the Lakers had no choice but to finish the trick.

Otherwise, not only will you lose your reputation, but you will also lose your face.

Also, do you think Kobe really wanted to retire at that time?Don’t forget, this is the guy who scored 60+ in the final game!
In other words, Kobe at that time, at least in terms of financial conditions, could still play for two seasons.

It's just that Kobe is not willing to lose his core position, and the Lakers are not willing to continue to be bad.

Therefore, Kobe's retirement has become inevitable.

No matter how well Wang Hao does, he will only be treated like Kobe in the future. Either he will make way for the team's future, or he will retire honestly and play out the fairy tale of one man, one city.

In such a wonderful atmosphere, Wang Hao was worried that he would be brainwashed, so he simply left early.

After all, his contract has expired, and the next step is to renew it. The Sonics just have priority.
The celebration in Seattle is still going on, but he returned to China early and returned to his hometown.

However, even after returning to his hometown, he didn't stay quiet for a few days.

Relatives and friends from my hometown came to the door, and the surrounding fans heard the commotion and came to watch.

To be honest, these people have no ill intentions, they just want to see Wang Hao, a world star.

But even if there was no malice, the presence of so many people bothered Wang Hao.

Every few days, people from the local department would even come to visit.

Some hope that he can become a spokesperson to promote the local hometown and develop the tourism economy.

This is relatively reliable, but what's even more outrageous is that they actually came to Wang Hao, hoping that he would invest in building a factory.

No, he is just a basketball player who knows nothing about investing in and building factories. Who came up with such unreliable advice?

After staying for a few days, he simply left with his parents, not daring to come back again.

A family of three was in China and drove around for a while.

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of June, and Wang Hao no longer delayed, bid farewell to his parents and headed to the capital to report to the national team.

The schedule for the Athens Olympics has been announced in advance, and the competition will start on August 8.

The opening ceremony will be held on August 8th.

The men's basketball game will also be held after the opening of the Olympic Games. The Chinese team's first game will be around August 8th.

The specific schedule has not been announced yet, but the group stage groupings have been announced.

The Chinese team is in the same group as Argentina, Spain, Italy, Serbia and Montenegro and New Zealand.

I have to say that this group is very strong.

Needless to say, Spain, Yakin lost to the Lithuanian team in last year's European Basketball Championship.

Italy is not bad either. No. 3 in last year's European Basketball Championship, Yuanshikong also won the silver medal in this Olympics.

Needless to say, Argentina, the original Athens Olympic gold medalist, defeated the strong team of the United States.

As for the Serbian and Montenegrin team, it should not be underestimated. This team inherited the 2002 World Championship champion Yugoslavia.

It can even be said that the main lineups of the two teams are almost the same.

In other words, at present, it seems that the only one New Zealand team that the Chinese team can have an advantage over is the New Zealand team.

As for the other teams, the Chinese team collided head-on. They have a chance, but they are not 100% sure.

According to the arrangements for the Athens Olympics, the participating lists of each national team will be announced one after another in July.

Therefore, the China Men's Basketball Team will also completely determine the 7-man roster in July.

Wang Hao arrived in Beijing on the 1st, but he first went to the Olympic Organizing Committee to report and confirm some matters.

He has been confirmed as the flag bearer of the Chinese team at the Athens Olympics. There is no dispute about this.

Whether it is Wang Hao's achievements or his global popularity, this is indisputable.

"Dayao, Your Majesty!"

Wang Hao arrived at the national team's training center early the next morning, and the players from the training team just entered the arena.

Wang Hao knows most of the people who have played in the national team for several consecutive years, except for a few people.

They are all old teammates and are very familiar with each other. They greeted each other while entering the training hall.

"Del, long time no see!"

"Wang, long time no see!" After greeting all his teammates, Wang Hao quickly found an old man with gray hair.

Del Harris, an American coach known as the Silver Fox, is also the current head coach of the national team.

As for Wang Fei, who once led the Chinese team to win the bronze medal at the World Championships, he has also become an assistant coach.

I don’t understand the national team’s thinking at all. Wang Fei actually did a good job, but ended up being dismissed from get out of class.

As for Harris, it’s not that his coaching level is not good enough. On the contrary, he has brought a lot of American basketball concepts.

However, I always feel that these decisions are unreasonable and seem to be made by some people at the drop of a hat.

The only good news is that Wang Hao and Harris are relatively familiar with each other, which avoids a lot of trouble.

For him, as long as he can ensure that the national team is positive and performs well, that is enough.

As for the ownership of the national team's head coach, this is not his responsibility and there is nothing he can do.

Wang Hao and Harris chatted for half an hour, mainly focusing on the tactics of the national team.

In fact, this is not the first time the two have discussed this topic. They have contacted each other on the phone many times before.

Harris's tactical thinking is also very clear. He still builds an offensive and defensive system with Wang Hao and Yao Ming as the core.

The combination of the two of them, inside and outside, is the best in the world.

After a short communication, Wang Hao quickly devoted himself to training.

Of course, he has not played any training matches for the time being. After all, after half a month of rest, he still has to adjust his condition and adapt to the game.

In this process, he also needs to gradually become familiar with tactics and adjust the game mode from NBA to international basketball.

Don't underestimate this, it's very important. After all, there are differences between international basketball and the NBA.

Although the difference is not big, when it comes to the game, a little mistake may ruin the game.

On July 7, the China National Men’s Basketball Team officially announced its roster to the outside world.

Center: Yao Ming, Battelle.

Power forwards: Wang Zhizhi, Du Feng, Yi Jianlian.

Small forwards: Wang Hao, Zhu Fangyu, Li Nan, Chen Ke.

Defenders: Liu Wei, Guo Shiqiang, Zhang Yunsong.

To be honest, the average age of this lineup is not too old, and it can be said to be a team full of vigor.

However, with the announcement of the big list, many different opinions appeared in the media.

For example, there are too few people in the back line and Moko was not selected.

Harris also answered reporters' questions at the press conference and finally gave his own thoughts.

Wang Hao can definitely play a guest role in the back line, and even at certain times, the organization of the offense can be left to him.

As for Moko's defeat, he was actually squeezed out by Yi Jianlian.

In the original time and space, a very important reason why Yi Jianlian was able to enter the squad for the Athens Olympics was the absence of Wang Zhizhi.

Now, because of Wang Hao's influence, Wang Zhizhi is not absent. Logically speaking, there are enough insiders.

The three moving Great Walls, plus Moko and Du Feng.

In fact, this was also the case in the previous national team training sessions, and Moko was more likely to stay.

Moko's playing style is actually similar to that of Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi, both of which focus on singles with the ball inside.

Yi Jianlian is a little different, his athletic ability is stronger.

In previous training, both Guo Shiqiang and Liu Wei have become accustomed to partnering with big centers.

Every time they attack, they are accustomed to dribbling the ball steadily across the half court and settling into position.

But Wang Hao is different. If given the chance, he will definitely play fast break with great determination.

Wang Hao really needs to be like Liu Wei, dribbling the ball across the half court, waiting for the inside to take position, and then passing the ball to the inside.

This use of Wang Hao is simply a waste.

He himself is definitely unwilling to implement such tactics, and it is impossible for Coach Harris to do so.

Therefore, when Wang Hao entered the national team, the national team's tactics became richer and he also had great autonomy.

And once it is required to play fast, the requirements for the entire team will also increase significantly.

Not only do you need a three-pointer from the outside to open up space, you also need the athletic ability to hit the inside.

Of course Wang Hao can attack the inside, but he also has to lead the fast break, so it's not enough.

At this time, Yi Jianlian's good athletic ability has come into use.

Compared with Moko, Yi Jianlian can also better enrich the Chinese team's tactical play. This is the reason why he can go to Athens.

The time for the Athens Olympics is getting closer and closer. Not only the Chinese team, but also every team has announced its own roster.

The one that attracts the most attention is naturally the American team.

The big list includes: Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Dwyane Wade, Carlos Boozer, Caron Methoni, Emeka Okafor, Shawn Marion, Star DeMyer, Lamar Odom and Richard Jefferson.

What about this lineup?

It looks pretty famous, but in reality it's rubbish.

Except for Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan, no one can be considered a top star in the current NBA.

The reason why they seem to have so many stars is simply because of the three members of the golden generation in 2003.

However, these three are currently too immature and far from being considered the top stars in the NBA.

Compared with last year's America's Cup, many stars including Tracy McGrady, Kidd, Carter and O'Neal refused.

As for the reason, Kidd and O'Neal are naturally trying to ensure their condition and health.

After all, the Nets and Pacers both want to compete for the championship and have to start preparations early.

Because everyone knows that the Sonics have reached a moment of choice.

This season, Wang Hao's contract expires, and after completing a large number of contract extensions last year, the Sonics no longer have enough salary space.

If you want to guarantee the complete championship lineup last year, it means a huge luxury tax.

Once the SuperSonics lineup changes, it will be the best opportunity for the current teams.

Kidd and O'Neal saw the opportunity, and the Nets and Pacers were also preparing early.

As for the brothers Carter and McGrady, they were worried about terrorism and gave up going to Athens.

Yes, today's Europe, even Greece, is not peaceful at all in terms of terrorist activities.

As for contract renewal negotiations, Wang Hao has already arranged for his agency team to negotiate slowly with the SuperSonics.

That's right, he was not in a hurry. After all, the Olympics were coming soon, and he didn't want to be too distracted.

In addition, he must also ensure that the Sonics are competitive enough to help him compete for the championship.

He is very satisfied with the city of Seattle, but he does not intend to fail with this team.

(End of this chapter)