Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 33 33. Trading "Penny"

When the time entered January, while the fans were still actively discussing the ownership of this season's championship, there was a news from the Timberwolves.

According to official reports from the Timberwolves, the team has officially reached a deal with the Knicks.

In this deal, the Timberwolves will send center Irvin Johnson + the 2005 second-round pick in exchange for the 33-year-old veteran "Penny" Hardaway.

As the deal came out, it immediately attracted active discussions from many fans. Originally, this deal could only be regarded as a painless deal in the entire league.

But due to the Timberwolves' excellent team record this season, all news related to the Timberwolves will become eye-catching.

What's more, although "Penny" Hardaway averaged only 7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.1 steals per game in the Knicks this season due to injuries, Hardaway is a famous former league star after all.

And it was one of the earliest successors of Jordan recognized by fans. Even Grant Hill could only look up to Hardaway at the time.

"Penny" Hardaway was the king of the 90s, combining size, strength, speed, field vision and jumping ability that ordinary people cannot match.

For the indispensable killer traits, Hardaway made the most perfect compensation with the purest basketball talent.

No one can tell exactly how many times "Penny" used his gorgeous performance to make the audience cry, there is no doubt that Hardaway is an uncrowned king.

It's a pity that just when Hardaway was about to enter the peak of his career, "Penny" began to suffer from injuries, until he was in a semi-retired state, and could only reluctantly join the league as a substitute.

Hardaway has always played the role of a bench bandit in the Knicks this season, but because the Knicks are really full on the back line, Hardaway has not been able to get many offensive opportunities.

Coupled with the fact that Hardaway's body does not allow him to play back-to-back games, this also led to Hardaway often fishing for three days and drying the net for two days in the Knicks. So far, he has only played a total of 15 games.

In addition, the Knicks have both Marbury and Crawford on the back line. On the contrary, they have been short of personnel on the inside, especially when Tim Thomas and Muhammad suffered injuries at the same time. Now, the Knicks' inside line has fallen into a state where no one is available.

It is precisely because of this that the Knicks reached this deal with the Timberwolves. While strengthening the inside line, they can also send away Hardaway, who is often absent.

After all, with Marbury and Crawford at the same time, the Knicks have no chance for Hardaway to express himself.

Instead of letting Hardaway sit on the bench and dawdle, it is better to trade players who are more helpful to the team.

As for the Timberwolves, it is entirely because the inside configuration is full, especially after signing Karl Malone, it has been difficult for Elvin Johnson to get playing time.

Relatively speaking, the Timberwolves are relatively weak in the position of forward and guard swingman. Even though they just signed the "European Big Bird" Nehbar not long ago, compared with the team's configuration on the back line and inside line, the front line The configuration is obviously lacking.

And the Timberwolves' record this season will definitely not be too bad, and they may even have the best record in the league. In this case, the Timberwolves' second-round pick is basically worthless, and there is a high probability that they will be the 30th pick in the second round.

With this pick, even Luke, who has the eyes of God, can't find a treasure. Instead of waiting to realize it at that time, it is better to use it as an additional bargaining chip in the transaction to strengthen the team.

"Penny" Hardaway's deal was negotiated by Luke and general manager McHale.

It's not that Luke has the confidence to bring Hardaway back to the top under his own hands, it's just that Luke has some ideas of his own in this regard.

Due to injuries, Hardaway's attendance rate in the past two seasons has not been very high, and he has also lost the frontal change that shocked the league on the court. However, the 33-year-old Hardaway has excellent court experience after all, and a lot of players. playoff experience.

So Luke hopes that the arrival of Hardaway can not only strengthen the team's striker, but also help Nehbar to grow.

It is no exaggeration to say that after Michael Jordan retired, Hardaway is the modern Jordan closest to the fans, and Hardaway with very comprehensive skills will definitely help Nehbar's growth.

In addition, Hardaway, who has been selected to the All-Star four times in his career and was selected to the best team twice, is far from reaching the stage of exhaustion.

In addition to the physical aspects that need to be treated carefully, Hardaway's contribution on the court must be far greater than that of Irvin Johnson.

Elvin Johnson basically had no chance to play in the Timberwolves, and with Karl Malone on the inside, Johnson's experience seemed somewhat tasteless.

So this deal is completely a win-win for the Knicks and Timberwolves, especially under the premise that the goals of the two sides are not consistent this season, the two sides basically get what they need, and they both get what they need.

Needless to say, the Timberwolves' goal this season is to launch an impact on the championship.

As for the Knicks, the championship is still somewhat far away, at least the Knicks' goal now is to reach the playoffs.

Even achieving this goal is somewhat difficult.

After this transaction, the current lineup configuration of the Timberwolves is complete. Whether it is in the back line, striker line or inside line, the Timberwolves have excellent lineup depth.

And "Penny" Hardaway and Karl Malone, the two veterans, can also provide the Timberwolves with a lot of playoff experience.

In a sense, the Timberwolves are also preparing for the playoffs in advance.

So far, the Timberwolves rank first in the league with a record of 26 wins and 5 losses.

Judging from the competitive state of the Timberwolves, although people cannot predict the final record of the Timberwolves, the ranking of the Timberwolves will definitely not be too low.

Once the Timberwolves successfully enter the playoffs, there will be many teams in the West that can cause trouble for the Timberwolves, especially in the past two years when the West is strong and the East is weak. A lot more intense.

If the Timberwolves want to make a breakthrough this year, then this deal will become very valuable.

Regardless of whether "Penny" Hardaway's running-in with the team is perfect, in Luke's view, this is a sure-fire deal.

As for the hidden dangers of Hardaway's injuries, it is not a big deal for Luke, who is proficient in load management.

Luke does not expect Hardaway to dream of returning to the top, nor does he expect Hardaway to revive the name of "Jordan's successor".

Luke only hopes that Hardaway can stay healthy, continue to play his residual heat steadily on the bench, and provide output decisively on the bench.

After all, "Penny" Hardaway was the only man who still led the team to eliminate Jordan in the playoffs after Jordan won the championship.

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(End of this chapter)