Legend of Tomorrow

Guo Xu and his agent Happy Waters met with Suns owner Jerry Colangelo at the Malibu Coast Club.

This is a private club that reporters cannot enter. It is located in the vibrant Malibu community surrounded by the beach. It is full of sunshine, where you can enjoy eating, partying, entertainment and relaxation, and it is more suitable for discussing business.

After introducing himself, Guo Xu understood why Jerry would find a private place to meet. He was determined to win Guo Xu. If the Suns still didn't improve next season, he would be ready to sell the team. In the previous life of 2004, the Suns not only rebuilt the team, but also changed the owner. Robert Savile bought the Suns for US$401 million.

The Suns have to give the media a false impression in the summer, otherwise it will be difficult for other teams to raise prices. Even if they send away their players, it will be difficult to exchange for draft picks and expiring contracts.

Jerry is a legend in the basketball world. In the Suns, his roles include general manager, coach, chairman, and current owner.

This is no joke. In the 1970-71 season, Jerry himself served as the team's head coach. He built the team around Connie Hawkins, who averaged 26.4 points per game and led the Suns to the playoffs for the first time.

The current general manager of the Suns, Brian Colangelo, is Jerry's son. Both father and son hope to bring solar energy back to life, and this key figure is Guo Xu.

Their rebuilding plan is to clear out Marbury and Hardaway, and recruit Guo Xu to be the core of the team. He is young, capable and popular, and is far from the lone wolf and penny.

Without Guo Xu himself making any request, the two father and son talked about the various benefits of joining the Suns.

The first is a six-year maximum salary. They will never treat Guo Xu badly in terms of money, which is a long-term guarantee.

The second is the team’s geographical location. Phoenix was the sixth largest city in the United States in the 2000 official census. Although it is not as good as Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Chicago, and Houston, it is considered second-tier in the NBA, not inferior to cities such as Miami, Dallas, and Washington.

The third is the absolute core position. Guo Xu will be a privileged player after he leaves, and the Suns will build a team around him.

The fourth is the right to speak within the team. If he is dissatisfied with the team's lineup, he can make suggestions to the management. If what he says makes sense and can convince everyone, the manager can consider trading players according to his ideas.

In addition to not mentioning the right to veto the transaction, Jerry was so sincere that Guo Xu couldn't think of anything else he could ask for.

The Suns are betting on his future. Now he is only 21 years old and is more popular than Iverson.

As long as he doesn't get seriously injured and decline, the Suns won't have to change their core for 10 years, which is very attractive to any rebuilding team.

Guo Xu didn't waste any time and directly signed a simple agreement with Jerry. As long as the Suns cleared their salary below the salary cap and offered him the maximum salary, he would join immediately. Before that, he would not negotiate with other teams. Waiting for the sun.

If it was just a verbal agreement, no one would be at ease. If Guo Xu was willing to sign a written agreement, Jerry knew that 80% of the goal had been achieved. He was not afraid of not being able to send out the players in the team, but he was afraid of moving too slowly. Guo Xu had already made his choice.

After finalizing the cooperation intention, Guo Xu waited at his home in Los Angeles while Jerry returned to Phoenix to work with his son as soon as possible.

These matters must be carried out in a confidential manner. Even if they are good friends, Guo Xu cannot disclose them casually.

If he told O'Neal and Kobe, if their loudmouths spread through the media, his plan to join the Suns would be ruined. As for why some people questioned why he chose the Western Conference team afterwards, he would apologize to the fans. At most, he was just talking without keeping his words. The fans will definitely forgive him.

The NBA free market opened on July 1, and several big deals immediately appeared.

In Guo Xu's view, the Bulls management anxiously contacted the Pacers as if they were worried that the battle at the Palace of Auburn Hills would not happen.

The Bulls traded Artest, Brad Miller and Kevin Ollie for Jalen Rose, Norman Richardson and a second-round draft pick from the Pacers.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Artest had the peak performance of his career with the Pacers. In the 2003-04 season, he averaged 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. He was selected as an All-Star and was also elected as the Defensive Player of the Year. players.

Miller also played well in one season with the Pacers and is a qualified center.

The Bulls exchanged a player who is about to turn 30 years old and has good statistics but cannot lead the team to win.

When the press conference was held, the Bulls manager was still very happy, believing that the team will definitely rise next season. The perimeter composed of Jay Williams, Jason Richardson, and Rose has the deepest lineup in the league. .

In fact, these three people can't even distribute the ball. Rose needs to hold the ball to attack, but Jay is difficult to train. Richardson can play without the ball and is less affected. To make matters worse, the Bulls' wing defense will be terrible, and Miller will be missing in the paint who can open up the space and shoot.

The Clippers and Cavaliers made a trade, and Darius Miles and last season's assist leader Andre Miller exchanged clubs. The Clippers now look very promising.

The Celtics' backup forward Rodney Rogers joined the Nets on a free basis.

He is a power forward with a height of 201cm and a weight of 107kg. He is good at defending pick-and-rolls. He mainly relies on catching and shooting to score. His shooting range reaches beyond the three-point line. He played 27 games for the Green Army last season and scored 10.7 points, 4 rebounds and 1.5 assists. The shooting percentage was 48.2% and the three-point shooting percentage was 41.1%.

Rogers is not doing it for money. He is optimistic that the Nets will win the championship in the new season. Except for Kidd and Kittles, the core players are all young and have a lot of room for improvement.

In order to rush to the championship, the Nets also sent Van Horn and acquired veteran Mutombo from the 76ers in order to strengthen defense.

Although Mutombo couldn't guard O'Neal in the 2001 Finals and will be 37 years old in 2003, his defensive ability is still much more reliable than Van Horn.

The 76ers management has further strengthened the team's offense in an effort to satisfy Iverson. They reached the finals the previous season, but this year they stopped in the first round. The dismal record suddenly plunged the 76ers into chaos.

At the subsequent press conference, Iverson went crazy. Later, according to statistics, during the entire interview, Iverson said the word training a total of 22 times. The frequency was so impressive that the touching part of his statement was forgotten.

If I'm injured, it's really an injury. I won't pretend. If your daughter is harassed and threatened, if your family needs your personal care, will you still go to the training ground? If the injury is too serious, it may affect your career. Career, will you still go to training? Have I played in few games with injuries? Now my body is not fully recovered, and my heart has been hurt by one of my own.

Iverson said that the view that as long as Iverson does not miss training, his teammates will be more powerful is ridiculous.

Because of this press conference, the management knew that Iverson was dissatisfied with the performance of his teammates and made a big trade as soon as possible. Van Horn was also a player who had played in the finals once. They felt that they made a lot of money by exchanging the old for the young.

On July 4, the Suns also finalized a big deal that shocked the league and successfully stole the limelight from all teams. Various media reported on it because everyone thought the Suns management was crazy.