Legendary basketball manager

"Boss, this kid's defensive and learning abilities are really good!"

"George just defended his pull-up jumper, he learned it immediately, and almost reproduced it 1:1..."

Mark Jackson said with a sigh.

He is also a player, so he naturally knows the gold content of Leonard's operation.

Although George's ball handling is not the top in the league, it is considered good among the younger generation, and he has also experienced the baptism of the finals...

But this ball, his ball path and the timing of his shot were all perfectly predicted by Leonard!

It's hard to imagine that a rookie who has not yet entered the league can have such judgment on the defensive end!

Shen Fei smiled slightly upon hearing this.

Where is this...

What you see now is someone who will have the opportunity to compete for the best perimeter defensive player in history in the future!

In addition, Leonard + Danny Green, the pair of "sighing brothers" who should have appeared in the Spurs, now have the opportunity to gather in the Rockets.

Needless to say, the compatibility of the two of them is the perfect combination that won the championship for the Spurs in the original time and space!

Shen Fei was already looking forward to what kind of turmoil the two of them would create in the alliance when they teamed up!

............

The heads-up between George and Leonard ended in the former's bloodless victory.

The current small card is indeed as Mark Jackson said, it is still relatively rough.

Back-ups, mid-range singles with the ball, these tricks that he is best at in the future, he doesn't know yet.

It's not surprising that he can't beat George, who has been "training" in the Rockets for a year.

You know, George spent most of this year training under the 10 times buff of [Spiritual Time Room]!

Today, his strength has basically reached the peak.

The only difference between him now and his peak self is the strength of his body and the accumulation of experience.

And Leonard is almost a blank slate now, and he can make a few tricks in George's hands, and there are a few outstanding performances, which is really not bad.

After the two left the field, George walked up to Shen Fei and Mark Jackson, chatted with them for a while, and then went back to another field for training.

On the other hand, Leonard stood quietly, wiping his sweat with a towel, with no expression on his face.

"Hey, kawaii, come and talk?"

Shen Fei took the initiative to shout to Leonard.

Leonard nodded upon hearing this, and walked over quickly.

"How does it feel? Is there a lot of pressure to play against Paul?"

Mark Jackson asked as usual.

"It's okay...he's playing well."

"I can't beat him."

Leonard's tone was flat, and his views were very objective.

I don't know, I thought he was talking about someone else.

"You just can't beat him now."

Shen Fei suddenly spoke.

Leonard froze for a moment, then nodded unexpectedly: "I will work hard."

Mark Jackson chuckled.

He didn't expect that this seemingly dull rookie would have such confidence.

"Then you have to work hard. Paul is a player who entered the best defensive team in the first grade. This kind of performance is unique in history. Are you confident that you will enter the first defense in the first year?"

Mark Jackson asked with a smile.

Xiaoka scratched the back of his head, and after thinking for a moment, he replied seriously: "I don't know either..."

Mark Jackson and Shen Fei looked at each other and smiled, this young man is too honest~

"Kawhi, if I give you a draft commitment, will you reject other teams for the Rockets?"

Shen Fei asked straightforwardly.

For these rookies, he didn't even bother to hide his intentions.

Showing sincerity and clearly telling the other party that we want you is the most efficient way in Shen Fei's opinion.

This time Xiaoka didn't hesitate, and nodded immediately.

The Rockets are definitely the most popular team in the United States right now.

In addition to setting various records and successfully winning the championship, the Heat who defeated the Big Three are also a major reason for the Rockets' popularity.

Last season, the Heat or James was the image of a public enemy in the league.

In the entire beautiful country, 90% of the big states regard the Heat as the most hated team.

The Rockets can beat such a team as a dark horse, and they will naturally win a lot of fans.

Xiaoka became a Rockets fan during the season.

He likes the Rockets' style of play and the team's age structure.

Like George, who just played against him, is about the same age as him, but he has already gained a lot of honors.

This is very attractive to Leonard.

[This team, as long as it is capable, can play!No need to talk about seniority! ]

Under Xiaoka's calm expression, his heart is actually turbulent.

"Okay, then I hope that you will not accept trial training from other teams."

"By the way, have the Spurs invited you to try out?"

Shen Fei asked.

"Invitation, originally scheduled for today, because I came here, I postponed theirs by one day."

Xiaoka said frankly.

"Well, then don't go tomorrow."

Shen Fei said lightly.

"it is good."

Xiaoka didn't hesitate, just nodded and accepted.

Mark Jackson stared blankly at the side.

[Is the current negotiation so "straight-ball"?This Leonard didn't need to discuss with his agent, just agreed? ]

Mark Jackson suddenly felt that he was a little behind the times.

............

After chatting with Clay and Leonard, Shen Fei left the arena.

According to his plan, the Rockets use the No. 10 pick to select Clay and the No. 12 pick to pick Kawhi.

After half a season, these two can basically reach a good level.

At that time, Xiaoka mentioned the position of the starting small forward, and Thompson temporarily replaced Jeremy.

Coupled with the Huaxia Twin Towers, and the further Curry...

The competitiveness of the Rockets next season is also the most powerful contender for the championship.

Maybe the record in the regular season will decline, but when these two rookies mature, the Rockets may be even more terrifying than this year!

Thinking of this, Shen Fei who was sitting in the luxury car happily hummed a ditty.

With nothing to do, he took out his mobile phone, turned on the speakerphone, and dialed Ajiali's number.

"Hello, Ajiali, I'm back."

"Things are going well, seeing some good players."

"Watch the rookie training with you? Yes, then I'll go find you. I want to see your lion do a backflip..."

............

Near noon, Shen Fei returned to his mansion.

At this time, the assistant sent him a text message.

The two Huaxia players who returned to Houston with Shen Fei have now been settled.

Xu Yong was admitted to the best hospital in Houston, waiting for Shen Fei's next treatment.

Ding Yanyuhang became neighbors with Zhou Qi and Sun Yue, and the three of them will receive training from Cannon-Baker together during this period.

Shen Fei planned the time and decided to settle the affairs of these people within a week.

The approximate order is - Zhou Qi, Xu Yong, Ding Yan Yuhang.

Among them, Zhou Qi's development direction has been determined, and the future is to train in the direction of Antetokounmpo.

He will also be the biggest secret weapon of the Huaxia men's basketball team in the Olympics next year!

With Xu Yong's words, Shen Fei has no definite plan yet.

The top priority is to use [Holy Light Therapy] to help him heal, so that he can resume basketball activities, and then make plans for the next step.

Ding Yanyuhang's position is clear, that is, the firepower of the Huaxia men's basketball bench in the future.

Shen Fei also has an [Epic Star Skill Pack], if he can unlock offensive skills, he will use them for Xiao Ding.

If all goes well, Shen Fei intends to sign Xu Yong and Ding Yanyuhang as undrafted players after this year's draft (Zhou Qi is under 18 years old and can't play in the NBA), and then spend the whole season to slowly cultivate them!

But when he thought about training these two into players at the NBA level, or even at the All-Star level, Shen Fei couldn't help muttering:

"There is a long way to go..."

............

The next day, Shen Fei took a private plane and arrived in Sacramento.

In the afternoon, he showed up at the Kings' arena to watch the rookie's trial training with Ajiali.

The two rookies present today are Jimmy Butler and Isaiah Thomas that Shen Fei had recommended to Ajiali before.

The two are players with completely different styles of play.

At this time, Butler is in a similar state to Leonard. They both belong to the type with good physical talent but rough skills.

In the trial training, Butler even missed 5 consecutive three-point shots.

This made the coaching staff of the Kings can't help frowning.

Before today's trial training, they knew that Jimmy Butler was personally recommended by Shen Fei to the Kings.

And the current person in charge of the team - Ajiali, has great trust in Shen Fei, and has already decided to sign Butler with the first round pick.

Moreover, Ajiali also has extremely high expectations for Butler.

But judging from Butler's performance today, he does not have the ability to start in a short period of time.

He's really... so rough!

But another rookie in the workout, Isaiah Thomas, performed very well.

Not only is he extremely fast, he has an excellent dribbling rhythm, and his shooting ability is also very good.

But the King's coaching staff is still not very optimistic about Thomas Jr.'s NBA prospects.

The reason is simple, he is too short...

With a height of 175 after wearing shoes, what can he do in the nba where there are many tall people?

Fortunately, Ajiali said, as long as Thomas Jr. is selected with a pick at the end of the second round.

For the Kings, who hold multiple draft picks, there is no pressure.

But after watching the training of the two, the coaching staff of the Kings unanimously speculated...

[This year's rookies are obviously good, there are better choices, why would Shen Fei recommend these two players with obvious shortcomings? ]

[Could it be a mistake? ]

[Or...wasn't the Rockets' pick, so he didn't pick responsibly? ]

Of course, the coaching staff dared to secretly speculate on these ideas, and did not dare to really question them.

After all, the relationship between Shen Fei and Ajiali is too ambiguous.

If you question it now, the subsequent development of these two players will really be as Shen Fei predicted...

Then their jobs might be lost!

............

On the other hand, Ajiali was not very satisfied after watching Butler and Thomas Jr.'s trial training.

Shen Fei saw her frowning slightly, and said with a smile:

"Don't worry too much, these two players are fine."

Ajiali trusted Shen Fei very much, and upon hearing his affirmative words, her uneasiness immediately dissipated.

What she was worried about just now was that maybe Shen Fei hadn't seen Butler and Thomas Jr. play live, and there might have been a mistake in judgment.

But Shen Fei's attitude towards the two of them now has not changed from before, so Ajiali is relieved.

"It shouldn't be a short time for the two of them to grow to the level you said?"

Ajiali asked curiously.

She now believes that both can become stars, but at this level, they both have a long way to go.

Shen Fei heard the words and tried hard to recall the careers of Butler and Thomas Jr.

In his impression, Butler became famous when Rose was reimbursed for the second season.

"It will take about 3-4 years for Jimmy to complete a qualitative change and become a first-class insider."

Shen Fei said seriously.

Ajiali nodded, expressing her approval of this time.

Reconstruction is a long process.

"Civilian" teams like the Kings are no better than giants like the Lakers and Celtics in attracting stars to join.

3-5 years is an acceptable time for them.

You know, the last time the Kings made the playoffs, it dates back to the 05-06 season, and it has been more than 5 years.

In the original time and space, the Kings would not even re-enter the playoffs until 2023.

If Butler matures three years later and the Kings can successfully rank among the top in the Western Conference, it will definitely be regarded as accelerated reconstruction!

"What about Isaiah? He seems to be quite mature in all aspects of technology."

Ajiali continued to ask.

"Isaiah... given enough time, he could score in double figures in his first season."

"You can make him the sixth man, he can provide a stable firepower output."

"Once the King's offense stagnates, Isaiah can also act as a 'speed changer', using his personal ability to change the rhythm of the game."

Shen Fei said lightly.

Ajiali nodded while recording the main points of Shen Fei's words in a small notebook.

After the trial training, Ajiali decisively gave Butler and Thomas Jr. a draft commitment.

Both rookies are very grateful for this and expressed their willingness to do their best for the Kings!

............

In the evening, Shen Fei and Ajiali had dinner together.

After the romantic candlelight dinner, the two returned to Ajiali's villa together.

Instead of watching lions do somersaults, they studied the mysteries of life.

After some back and forth discussions, Shen Fei lit a cigar and comfortably puffed out smoke rings.

Ajiali lay lazily on the bed, seemingly exhausted.

"By the way, Brandon and Kyle's trading chips, have you thought about it yet?"

Shen Fei asked.

When it comes to work, Ajiali quickly "cheers up".

"I've been thinking about it for a long time, and the team roster is almost broken by me. It seems that there is no bargaining chip to match."

"You see, can I offer some draft chips?"

Ajali asked.

The current composition of the Kings is indeed embarrassing.

The two players with the highest transaction value in the team-Cousins ​​and Evans, one is the cornerstone of the team and absolutely not for sale; the other is a problematic player who has been suspended by the league for two years and his transaction value has returned to zero.

In addition, Scola and Battier, who joined the Kings from the Rockets last season, are the strongest.

But the Rockets gave up on them last year, and it is even more impossible to invite them back now.

Further down the row, the Kings are left with a few "cats and dogs."

John Salmons at $850 million, Marcus Thornton at $700 million, Francisco Garcia at $580 million...

These three highest-paid players, Ajiali is sure, they can only be waved towels in the Rockets...

And the strength of Roy and Lowry is, to say the least, at the All-Star level.

Compared with the two, the Kings' chips are too low...

"Draft pick? It's okay..."

Shen Fei murmured.