Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 387 Darkness Chen Cang
The away win over the Spurs, Jim let out a bad breath.

Relying on Duncan's salary cut, the cabbage contracts signed by Tony Parker and Ginobili by "sacrificing themselves", plus many veterans with basic salaries, Prince's rookie contract bonus, the Spurs can maintain the current lineup, but until next year , the contracts of Prince and Rasheed Wallace have expired. Judging from the money-spending style of San Antonio, a small ball market, it will be difficult to maintain this lineup. two years.

For the Lakers, it is still very important to have a psychological advantage in the regular season. After all, they failed in the Western Conference Finals last season. In the eyes of many fans, the substantive reinforcement in the summer even weakened itself. There are three rookies, and Louis Williams and C.J. , It can be said to be a prodigal.

But Jim didn't consider catering to the fans' reputation. He only played 240 minutes in total. The more people who can play, the more fragmented it will be. The change is the right way. The contract between Nene and David West It expires soon, whether to renew or how to renew is a problem, it is better to give it away for a medium-priced long-term contract.

"Jim, I got a call from Kevin O'Connor." Kupchak entered the office, interrupting Jim's meditation.

This general manager with the same name as a famous movie star has high prestige and has a close personal relationship with the head coach Jerry Sloan. Eli finally persuaded the Jazz to participate in the transaction, but now it seems that it is not going very smoothly.

"It must be Danny Angie's idea again. I dare say, if he knows that we are behind this transaction, he will definitely not even answer the phone." Jim sighed.

"Yeah, they're not willing to trade Al Jefferson or Delonte West at all, and have little interest in swallowing Gordon Girisek's expiring contract. The Celtics are in a rebuilding phase. , Danny Ainge said that they need more draft picks, preferably more than one. This is not in line with the conditions we agreed with the Jazz at the beginning, and the negotiations have reached an impasse. Considering our plan, the Jazz must complete the transaction one month before the transfer deadline , there is not much time left for us." Kupchak reported truthfully.

"Actually, if the Jazz are willing to play Matt Harpering, maybe there is no chance. Their front line is already very crowded, and Harpering is an expiring contract of $600 million. The Celtics will like it...you Replying him in this way, the asking price can be lower, and become Tony Allen and Kendrick Perkins. If necessary, a future first-round pick can be made, and we can make compensation in the future and increase our bargaining chips. Andris Nocioni joins the trade, or makes up a future first-round pick." Jim thought about it and decided to spend the money.

Kupchak gave Jim a deep look.

"You weren't aiming for Al Jefferson in the first place, were you?"

"We have David Lee, what's the use of Al Jefferson? There are too many people who can attack, but there are also people who can do dirty work." Jim did not deny Kupchak's words.

"As for Tony Allen, he was injured this season and his performance has declined from last season. I think if you want to supplement the scoring ability of the bench, it is better to offer Gerald Green or Ryan Gomez... ’ suggested Kupchak.

"What I'm looking for is not Tony Allen's scoring ability. As for the vacancy after sending Nocioni, I already have a few good candidates. Let's do it, I believe Danny Ainge will not Refused." Jim gave a conclusion.

In the first game in December, the Lakers challenged the Utah Jazz away.

Jazz's main small forward Andrei Kirilenko was absent due to injury, the team discharged the inside combination of Jaron Collins and Chris Humphries, Gerald Wallace served as small forward, Deron Williams James and Gordon Girisek partnered in the backcourt.

In the game, Chris Humphries performed bravely and angrily grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. Gordon Girisek also hit 4 three-pointers and scored the team's second-highest 19 points, but the overall strength of the Lakers was higher than First, Odom continued the good form of the previous game, contributing 9 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. The six Lakers scored in double figures and beat the Jazz 114 to 101.

Next came back-to-back games against the Timberwolves at home, but they were defeated by Gilbert Arenas' special bonus at the Staples Arena. Arenas made 10 of 7 three-pointers and scored 48 points. All kinds of unreasonable goals made the Lakers helpless.

Fortunately, the next opponent is the underdog Charlotte Bobcats in the East. The Lakers worked together and adjusted their state. They beat the Bobcats 121 to 97 at home and regained the first place in the West.

It is worth mentioning that Kobe had a blast in this game. It took only 3 quarters to make 25 of 17 shots and scored 47 points, sending the game into garbage time early.

Here the Lakers play offensive basketball under the leadership of Don Nelson, leading a visual feast with the number of rounds and scoring average per game that rank first in the league. After wrangling, sent two expiring contracts of Gordon Girisek and Matt Harpering, as well as Chris Humphries and a future first-round pick, and got 4 years and 3000 million from the Celtics Contracted Mark Blunt, Tony Allen and Kendrick Perkins.

As the No. 97 rookie in 26, Mark Blunt played the best performance of his career in the first month of this season, averaging 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. to 110 kg.But compared to the Jazz's Jaron Collins and Robert Wiley, Mark Blunt's level is already very good. Although the attack at the basket is not very good, his mid-range shooting level is still above the level.

As for Kendrick Perkins and Tony Allen, the general speculation is that they will give way to the more talented Gerald Green and Al Jefferson. The first month of the season saw few opportunities to play.

In short, the Celtics are aiming to be bad. Except for Paul Pierce and a bunch of rookies, all the teams are on expiring contracts, which gives the Celtics a lot of room to operate in the next few years. , Danny Ainge's ambition is to bring the Celtics back to the top of the league.

(End of this chapter)