I just play ball

Chapter 144 Surprise victory
Compared with popular surnames such as Richardson and Williams, Curry is very rare in the long NBA history of the NBA. The more famous ones are Dell and Stephen and his son, as well as Eddie Curry and Michael Curry.

Thinking of this, Li Yue speculated that this Curry might be related to the Golden State Warriors based on his age.

But when he thought about it carefully, he couldn't match the surname 'Curry' in the profile data he downloaded earlier.

After struggling for a while, Li Yue decided to put this matter aside and observe for a few more minutes.

As the game progressed, the white team's lead became bigger and bigger. In addition to Curry, Covington also began to shoot three-pointers. The situation was a bit one-sided. The coach in charge called a timeout and replaced with another group of players.

Li Yue stepped forward quickly, ready to ask in detail, and met Rockets scout Gerrard again halfway.

"Is there a fancy player?"

Seeing that the coach of the white team called the whole team to talk about tactics, Li Yue stopped immediately and said, "I don't have any information about the player named Curry, do you understand?"

Gerald turned his head following the gesture, looked at it for a while, and his face showed relief.

"His name is Seth Curry. He is the younger brother of Stephen Curry in the Golden State Warriors. He comes from Duke University, a famous basketball school. He serves as the core of the outside offense. He averaged 32.3 minutes per game, with 17.5 points and 1.5 assists and a high three-point shooting percentage. 43.8%, he received surgery for a tibial injury before and did not participate in the joint trial training, so naturally there is no physical test data."

Hearing so many specific data, Li Yue couldn't help giving a thumbs up in his heart, and lamented that Gerald was proficient in business.

Before he had time to express his praise, Gerrard continued: "You'd better not waste your time and find someone else."

"Why?" Li Yue was confused.

"First of all, he has poor immediate combat ability and does not fit the positioning of your team at all. Even if he has potential, it will take many years to wait patiently. Maybe he will still be trained for others, and with the help of Stephen Curry, he may Representing the Golden State Warriors in Summer League doesn't necessarily require you to provide an opportunity."

Hearing this, Li Yue hesitated a little, because what Gerald said was indeed reasonable.

But after thinking about it for a while, he still decided to have a talk. Not all players representing the Lakers in the Summer League will eventually sign contracts. As long as one side is interested and the other side is willing, then they can cooperate, even if they can only cooperate with drills to try some novel tactics. , It can also be regarded as a contribution to the team.

As soon as the decision was made, the coach of the white team just finished the arrangement. Li Yue bid farewell to Gerrard and went straight to Seth.

"Hi, interested in chatting?"

Seth was stunned for a while, and nodded expressionlessly, obviously not as excited as Covington.

Perhaps this is the representative temperament of a rich kid. He followed his father Dell Curry to witness all kinds of wonderful moments at many NBA home courts since he was a child. What.

Li Yue took Seth directly to the previous office and sat down face to face.

"May I ask, the draft will be held soon, have you already received relevant promises?"

"No, I lost the election [-]%." ​​Seth looked calm, and he didn't care about the loss. Unlike Covington, he was afraid that others would look down on him and forced himself to speak big to support the sidelines. The rich second generation was full of confidence.

"So are you interested in representing the Lakers in the Las Vegas Summer League?"

"My first choice is to represent the Golden State Warriors. Where my brother plays, he can give me some help." Seth said bluntly, not worried that Li Yue would think that he entered the game through his relationship, without any embarrassment on his face.

Li Yue was speechless for a while, feeling that it was difficult to continue the conversation.

Then I thought about it, since I was so sure, why did I still accept the invitation to talk?
After a little thought, Li Yue figured out why.

Seth seems to have found a job with more money by doing this, but he still wants to find another job with less work and close to home on that basis. If he wants to represent the Lakers in the Summer League, he must come up with more more attractive conditions.

"What role did the Warriors arrange for you?" Li Yue asked.

"Sorry, it's inconvenient to disclose." Seth crossed his legs, "But I can tell you, at least the first backup point guard."

"I can let you be the starter of Xialian," Li Yue understood Seth's appeal in seconds, "guaranteed at least four consecutive games."

"Then I have to think about it." Seth sat up straight after hearing the words, and then looked puzzled, "This kind of invitation should be done by the Lakers coaching staff and management, why are you here now?"

"I'm going to be the coach of Summer United, I'm building my own team, and I'm doing a little bit of work along the way."

"Understood, if I join your team, what role will I play and what will I need to do?" There was a hint of excitement in Seth's tone, and the psychological defense line was obviously loose.

"I am going to arrange you to be the initiator of the offense, and then look for opportunities by running without the ball, and finish at the right time. You need to be very familiar with various tactics and be flexible."

"I'm competent enough." Seth pouted slightly, as easily as talking about how to unscrew the cap of a drink bottle.

"Then do you mind testing it now?" Li Yue showed a provocative look, intending to kill Seth's spirit, and he must convince the other party psychologically, "I will pick five tactics at random, and you can predict the change process, and three will count. qualified."

The reason for this idea is also considering that Seth is from Duke, and the old K coach’s tactical system is very simple. On the one hand, it is because college games don’t need to be so complicated, and on the other hand, old K is better at player management.

In short, Seth's tactical literacy may be relatively low, and nine out of ten he will not be able to complete the test.

"Just ask, I've studied various tactics since I was a child." Seth said confidently, "You don't even need to tell me the name of the tactics."

"OK, I like your confidence."

Li Yue smiled, took out his mobile phone to log on to Twitter, searched for the keyword 'basketball tactics', and 1+ related tower roads appeared in an instant. After careful observation, he chose the video of 'Warriors' Tactics Explained'.

"Come on, tell me what tactic this is?"

Li Yue pushed the phone over, and on the screen, Stephen Curry just passed the ball to David Lee at the top of the arc, running towards the right sideline.

Seth looked at it for a while, his expression gradually changed from confident to hesitant, and finally said forcefully: "It should be using the cover to cut in, walk the bottom line and use the big man to cover to move to the left half, and then pass back to shoot a three-pointer or hit the inside. "

"Wrong!" Li Yue grinned, as if a second-year junior high school student despises a first-year junior high student, full of pride!

"Why?" Seth tilted his head to stare, "Have you seen the back part just now?"

"Absolutely not," Li Yue waved his hand, "Look at David Lee's toes, and then look at Ai Zeli's body, both of them obviously want to move to the right, and it's clear that they have to pass double screens to create room for your brother to run back and shoot. .”

Seth immediately pressed the play button, and found that the basketball transfer process was just as Li Yue said, and he was surprised.

"It's normal for you to be wrong. This kind of detail requires long-term training to notice, and what you just said is also a tactic. The Spurs often play. The difference lies in the technical characteristics of the finishing players. Parker is good at mid-range shots and assaults. The tactics should be for He clears the basket space, and your brother is good at three-pointers, the tactics must create outside space for him."

"I'll find one." Seth was still not so convinced, and dragged the progress bar to the end, "Can you predict it?"

Li Yue lowered his head to observe. On the screen, Stephen Curry passed the pass to the left winger Thompson, and his body was facing the center, preparing to attack. Azeri stood in the middle of the free throw line, David Lee stood on the right side of the free throw line, and Barnes squatted on the bottom right side. horn.

Obviously, such a position is to clear the space under the basket, but Stephen Curry will definitely not attack directly, and Thompson does not have that kind of passing skills. Line Move Tactics

"This tactic is very simple. The key is that after Thompson passes back, he needs to move to the bottom corner with the help of screens with your brother at the same time, forcing the opponent's center to be unable to shrink and intercept under the basket." Li Yue talked eloquently.

Seth clicked the play button dubiously, and found that the basketball transfer process was just as Li Yue said.

"I'm convinced!" Seth nodded sincerely, "I want to learn from you."

"OK!" Li Yue stood up and raised his hand, "I hope we can have a happy cooperation."

...

After finalizing Seth, Li Yue returned to the court and observed for a long time, but did not find any more potential players. Considering that a point guard and a small forward are enough to build a set of tactics, he decided to temporarily put aside the search for Xialian players and just pay attention to observation.

At 12:[-] noon, Li Yue left the Orange Sports Center and drove straight to Irvine.

The second uncle's house just made lunch, and after eating, we chatted for a while, and then drove back to Los Angeles.

After entering the apartment, Li Yue took a shower to relax, changed into slacks, sat in front of the computer, and began to write the scouting report.

It took half an hour to finish everything, carefully typesetting, revising and proofreading, and sent it directly to Kupchak. I wanted to mention the episode of Jesse and Bonnie, but after thinking about it, I decided not to talk about it, so as not to get involved in family business disputes and cause more trouble .

About 5 minutes later, Kupchak returned the call.

"I've finished reading the report. It's very detailed. It seems to be written by someone who has been working as a scout for many years. But I want to tell you directly that we have already reserved a candidate for the 48th pick. His name is Ryan Kelly. As for you Proposed Robert Covington and Seth Curry, if the coaching staff thinks it is appropriate after research, we can offer a two-way contract."

Li Yue was a little confused when he heard the words. He didn't know why Kupchak didn't directly explain it before, but he didn't have time to think about it.

"The competitiveness of the two-way double-team contract is too low. The Rockets are also very interested in Covington. I suggest providing a three-year minimum salary contract. If you are worried about the lack of cash potential, you can only set the full guarantee for the first year."

The three-year minimum salary and one-year guarantee is a common contract for second-round picks and undrafted picks. The purpose is to maximize the protection of the interests of players and the team. Playing well can be converted into early bird rights, which is convenient for the team to renew the contract first, and the players can also get more benefits. With a big contract, you can terminate the contract without any scruples, without worrying about any trouble.

"I understand what you mean, but at the earliest, it will be their turn to wait until other things are settled. I hope you can understand."

"Understood, you are busy first." Li Yue hung up the phone.

He knows that Kupchak must be very busy now. The Lakers' salary space plan for next season alone is a big job. It is necessary to consider how to operate Howard if he stays, and how to make up for Howard's departure. whole body.

In case Howard waits until mid-July to make a decision, the front office can hardly do anything until then.

Of course, the management may first use the amnesty clause on Artest to get more salary space.

This matter was widely known last year, and the salary space is so tight this year, it is very likely to come true.

If Artest leaves, the position of the small forward is still missing the first substitute or starter, and it is best to get it done as soon as possible.

After thinking about it, the alarm clock sounded at four o'clock in the afternoon.

Li Yue withdrew his thoughts, picked up his mobile phone and called the team's assistant coach Dan DeAntoni, asking if he had learned from his brother, Mike D'Antoni, about his unreasonable request to be the head coach of the Summer League.

As expected, Dan said that Mike had called him in the morning and would definitely cooperate and let him have a good time.

Li Yue thanked him again and again, and after he died, he called Kobe to ask about the details of his injury.

Kobe informed that he will undergo surgery after the championship parade. It is estimated that he will not be able to return until the middle of next season, that is, around the All-Star break. However, if the recovery speed is good, it may be brought forward to the end of the year.

When Li Yue talked about the recruitment of free agents, Kobe expressed that he had no interest. Those who should come will always come, and those who have to leave can’t be kept. In turn, he advised him not to rush, enjoy the holiday, return to training as soon as possible, and prepare for defending the title in advance .

Li Yue expressed his understanding, hung up the phone, opened Google, and searched for keywords: Ryan Kelly.

The first piece of news was that Kelly joined Duke University, and the second piece of news was that Kelly won the McDonald's Three-Point Contest.

After reading the news one by one, Li Yue has a general understanding of what kind of player Kelly is: the beggar version of Kevin Love.

Both belong to the white power forwards. They play softly and are good at three-pointers.

The management can take a fancy to Kelly, mostly because of that three-pointer, which is very suitable for D'Antoni's tactical system, and can leave as much interior space as possible for the center, that is, Howard. Gasol had the same experience at the beginning.

With only this one candidate, Li Yue understood that the management wanted to keep Howard with all his strength.

It's normal to think about it. Although Howard is threatening, he is the league's number one center after all.

Knowing this, Li Yue also figured out why Kupchak didn't say that the No. 48 pick had already been reserved, probably because he didn't want to directly deny his proposal, and now that he said it, he should hope that he would not give those players false hopes.

After reading Kelly's information, Li Yue logged on to Twitter to check the 13-year free market trend.

The first choice is to look for a player who can switch between No. 23, and only need to be good at three-pointers and defense.

After some screening, Kyle Korver's name came into his view.

Korver has 10 years of professional experience and is about to become a free agent this summer. Last season, he made a total of 189 three-pointers and ranked fourth in the league, and his shooting percentage was as high as 45.7%, ranking second in the league.

The key point is that Korver's previous contract was 3 million U.S. dollars for 1500 years, and the re-signing of this game will not increase too much, which can be described as great value.

But Korver must be very sought-after, and the Lakers must win by surprise if they want to get him.

(End of this chapter)