Pick Westbrook

Chapter 151 All-Star Weekend

Hearing Li Lai's words, Paul was even more grateful, because the other party's suggestion was exactly a trading direction he was currently thinking about, and it was also a very beneficial trading choice for his future career.

Kobe is 32 years old, and he will announce his retirement after playing for a few more years. At that time, the scepter of the Los Angeles Lakers will be successfully handed over to Chris Paul. The two people who are extremely eager for victory have completed the era perfectly. The handover, and Paul will also lead the Lakers to a new legend like Kobe.

More importantly, Paul has only implemented the first year of his second career contract this season, and his salary is only 1400 million. It is very easy for the Lakers to balance his deal, just need to give Odom + Fisher .

Of course, such a trading chip may be difficult to impress the Hornets' management, so Fisher is very likely to be replaced by Gasol or Bynum, and at least one first-round pick must be brought.

Paul pursed his lips, he thought he was worth the bargaining chip.

"However, if it's not for the Lakers, I still suggest you stay in New Orleans." Li Lai continued.

Paul was stunned and said, "Why? I don't even know who I'm playing for now, why should I stay here?"

Li Lai explained: "It's one thing to suffer in one place or suffer in another. Of course, if you want to go to a big city, then the Knicks with money and space will be your best choice."

"But if you want to win and win a championship, then I suggest you don't go."

"Remember when Kobe made a fuss about going to the Bulls? He wanted to go there to inherit Jordan's will, but why didn't he go?"

Paul frowned, being smart, he quickly figured out the key to this.

The bargaining chips paid by the team that wants to trade him must be heavy, whether it is an immediate player or a future draft chip, it must be offered obediently. After all, even the current Lakers have to come up with Gasol, Oak Only two of Dom and Bynum can be traded to get him, let alone other teams?

But the crux of the problem is that after so many bargaining chips were traded to get him, what fighting power does that team have?Compared with the current Hornets, I am afraid it is not much worse.

So it is indeed as Li Lai said, if there is no chance to join forces with the current No.1 Kobe in the league, then it is better to stay with the original team and wait for the new owner to take over the Hornets or join forces with other big-name players in the free market.

Paul said: "Thank you, Coach Li Lai, I will seriously consider your suggestion."

on the field.

Game start.

Bucks regular lineup.

Hornets starting lineup: point guard Paul, shooting guard Marcus Thornton, small forward Peja Stojakovic, power forward David West and center Emeka Okafor.

This is a set of play with Paul as the core of possession. The other teams of the Hornets have almost no ability to attack the ball. The only David West who has a certain ability to hold the ball is still under the head coach Byron. At Scott's request, Crazy played a high pick-and-roll with Paul.

Speaking of Byron Scott, Li Lai looked envious. He had coached the Trident of the Nets and led the young Hornets to a 7-game battle against the Spurs. He would even coach Ou Shenxian and own Kobe in the future. The Lakers, in short, this guy's career is lucky, and almost every team he plays has future Hall of Famer players.

But good luck is good luck. Failure to win the championship is the biggest stain on him, and having so many star players in his hands makes his team's record not too bad. This also leads people to hate him. There is always some misjudgment.

Saying he is Popovich, a Zen master, etc., always feels a little bit worse, saying he is a low-level coach, but judging from the coaching record, it seems not bad.

The key is that this guy has a particularly good relationship with the star players of each team, so it's no wonder that fans in his previous life would call him a nanny coach.

Paul handles the ball up the frontcourt, and his center of gravity on the dribble is low.

Westbrook tried consecutive aggressive steals but failed to steal the ball. Instead, Paul evaded it calmly and was able to do well on the court.

Tyronn Lue couldn't help laughing: "A player who can steal the ball from Paul is enough for him to stinky all day."

Marshall pulled out the statistics and said: "Paul averaged 1.6 turnovers per game this season?!"

He was shocked when he saw this statistic. This is a point guard with the same ball-handling core as Westbrook, with an average of only 1.6 turnovers per game!How stable is this.

Looking at Westbrook's average turnovers per game this season reached 3 times, Marshall suddenly felt that his second place in the MVP list was not good.

Li said: "Even this season, Nash and Kidd averaged 3 turnovers per game. Although Paul is younger than the previous two legendary point guards, he is definitely a master of field control at the same level as them."

For such a field control master, Li Lai had only one defensive strategy before the game, and that was to play offensive and defensive passes, strangle Paul to drive the other players of the Hornets, and thus limit their overall offense.

Of course, Paul's personal offensive ability is not weak, especially in the two offensive areas of short-range throwing and mid-range shooting, he has a faint tendency to be invincible.

But the Bucks have the capital to let anyone in the league attack, except Kobe.

So even if Paul is allowed to play alone, the Bucks will win the game without any surprises.

Paul made another mid-range shot after using the pick-and-roll. He also made a good 3-of-3 shooting in the first quarter, but his teammates were not very efficient.

Sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic was entangled by Artest, let alone scoring, there was no chance to connect the ball.

Marcus Thornton was led by Curry all the way. Who would have thought that he, who is dexterous and not weak in moving speed, would be missed by Curry all the way, and at the same time, because of his great physical strength, he would shoot one after another. Conceded two goals.

Fortunately, David West hit a mid-range shot, but such fire support is too minimal.

As for Okafor on the inside, he can only be counted on to connect with Yi Jianlian, who defends Chaoyuan, so he is still thinking about scoring.

Paul looked back at the score on the field, 25:12.

"How dare you fight!"

Paul finally knows why the head coaches across the league are talking about how exaggerated the Bucks' offense is.

How can any team play like this before?Isn't it normal for a team to score more than ten points at the end of half a game, but it turns out that the Bucks are almost going to [-]!

It's no wonder that most teams can't beat the Bucks.

Paul suddenly thought how great it would be if he were Westbrook.

The game is over.

Paul, who noticed the defensive strategy of the Bucks, strengthened his personal offense. He made 30 of 17 shots and scored 42 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. 8:128 to win the game.

Bucks locker room.

Li looked at Westbrook, Curry, Yi Jianlian, and Iverson, who immediately responded with a smile.

After winning this game, they will also rush to Dallas non-stop, preparing for the next All-Star Weekend.

As for the other players of the Bucks, they can enjoy a 5-day All-Star vacation, go home to spend time with their families or travel to relax.

Dragic had already packed his tracksuit and headed to the local nightclub after the locker room meeting.

George Hill was expressionless, and curiously turned over Dragic's sports suit with his hands, and a bunch of internationally renowned protective brands fell out of it. George Hill was still expressionless and opened his eyes wide, but Germany Rajic was embarrassed.

He picked up twenty or thirty pieces of protective equipment on the ground, and then gave George Hill a weird look with small eyes, "You have a son without an asshole."

There was a burst of laughter in the locker room, and Rasheed Wallace said: "This little Teddy is going out again, but you must pay attention to your body, we cannot live without you."

Li Lai raised his hands slightly to stop the restless players, he said: "There is one more important thing to announce before the locker room meeting is over."

All the players cheered up, Tyronn Lue and Marshall also took out their notebooks and began to take notes seriously.

Li Lai smiled and said, "Don't be so nervous."

"Everyone knows that we are now the team with the best record in the league, so my being selected as an All-Star is the joint effort of our whole team, and this is also an honor for all of us."

"Overall this season we've all pulled the strings and headed towards the same goal, and we've all done really well so far."

"But now there is another problem before me, that is, as the head coach of the All-Star Game, I have to assign an assistant coach to coach the Rookie Challenge."

After hearing this, all the players finally relaxed. Villanueva whistled there. Artest watched the two head coaches of the team start applauding. Sid was beaten in the locker room.

Tyronn Lu and Marshall smiled at each other, and finally understood what the last thing Li Lai said was.

Marshall said seriously: "Brother, this is a good opportunity, and this opportunity should belong to you, after all, your qualifications are older than mine."

Although Tyronn Lu wanted to go, he still shirked at this time and said: "This is an opportunity for us, it doesn't make sense for me to take it like this, or rock-paper-scissors?"

Li Lai supported his head and was extremely speechless. Rock scissors lays your uncle, thanks to you Tyronn Lue can figure it out.

He said: "Lu, this time you go, go get some exercise, this year's Summer League and Rookie Challenge are all for you to lead the team, next season these opportunities will belong to Marshall."

Tai Lunlu nodded gratefully, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that Li Lai's words were a bit wrong.

Marshall was the first to discover what was wrong, and said, "Coach, don't fool me. It's uncertain what will happen next season. If I can't make it to the All-Stars by then, you will be responsible."

Li Lai nodded and said clearly, "By the way, the head coach can't be selected to the All-Stars consecutively, so it's impossible for me to be selected again next year. In other words, you won't have a chance until the year after next."

Marshall: Just knew your dude was shaking me.

dallas.

On February 2th, the All-Star Weekend officially begins. This day is also known as the All-Star Fun Day. The NBA will successively hold a fan carnival and an All-Star wheelchair basketball game.

The fan carnival is also called the children's basketball camp. Retired NBA stars serve as coaches to guide the children to play basketball. In addition, there are many exhibition halls lined up with the records and legends of NBA historical stars. At the same time, there will be signatures and photo session.

Foodie Wang Lishen heard that there would be a lot of street food around the arena when the All-Star weekend started, so she clamored to follow from Milwaukee, and at the same time reported the current situation of the factory to Li Lai.

"Because the funds are in place ahead of time, the construction of the factory is progressing very quickly. We have already arranged 8 assembly lines in advance, and the rest will be completed soon."

"The new general manager Johnson II did not live up to your expectations. He worked very hard on his job. He recruited new employees and trained them personally. All these were done in an orderly manner."

"In short, the factory is running smoothly, and all of this is based on the premise that Westbrook's first generation is selling well."

Li Lai had already guessed the situation when he watched countless fans gather around Westbrook asking for autographs in the exhibition hall outside the carnival.

Of course, Johnson II's hard work did not surprise him at all. Whether it was his father's illness or living conditions, these had to force him to work hard. Johnson II himself was also a very motivated, meticulous and filial man. people.

Wang Lishen continued: "Li Lai's headquarters has informed us in advance that he will design his exclusive sneakers for Curry, because his performance this season has convinced Mr. Zhang Zhiyuan of his potential in the future, so our assembly line will soon have to manufacture new shoes. sneakers."

Li Lai was quite surprised by this news. Curry has only shown his shooting ability but not fully demonstrated his dominance on the court. It is indeed radical that Zhang Zhiyuan is willing to directly plan the player version of the boots for him now.

Of course, from Li's point of view, this may be Zhang Zhiyuan's trust in him.

Because Li Lai's words have been fulfilled no matter the list provided before or Curry's performance in the Bucks, Zhang Zhiyuan is willing to take risks.

"This risk, while radical, was the right decision."

It's just that the production of Westbrook's first-generation sneakers is already in short supply, and Curry's sneakers are about to go online. I'm afraid the factory production line will have problems again.

After Wang Lishen reported the work situation, she looked at Li Lai with wide-eyed and cute eyes, and her expression was almost enough to compliment me directly.

Li Lai naturally knew what the little girl wanted, and said directly: "Today, I will take care of your food, just eat as much as you want."

The All-Star wheelchair basketball game is specially set up for those basketball players with lower body disabilities. It has to be said that the NBA is very humane in many cases.

It was already late at night after Li Lai and Wang Lishen finished watching the first day of the All-Star Weekend, and the little girl had a stomach ache and could no longer walk.

Li Lai had no choice but to carry her back to the hotel prepared by the league for the All-Star guests. Only then did he realize that the little girl looked very small, but she was actually dead.

"I finally know where all the food you ate went, it weighed like a pig."

Wang Lishen: "If you dare to say that my butt is big, I will bite you."

2 month 13 day.

The fan carnival continues, in addition to the NBA Cares Action, the All-Star Celebrity Game, the NBDL DreamWorks Skills Competition and the Rookie Challenge.

The All-Star Weekend finally ushered in competitive games.

Li Lai had no interest in other programs, so he came to the arena of the Rookie Challenge early and waited.

Cuban, the owner of the Mavericks, learned from the staff below that Li Lai wanted to watch the game, so he asked the staff to add two stools beside the spectator passage.

Li Lai knows that Cuban is worth as much as 13 billion U.S. dollars, but he is a man of temperament. Li Lai was not surprised at all.

Cuban looked at the game that was about to start on the court and said: "Lee, to be honest, I really envy you. You know, I also want to be the head coach of the Mavericks, but I am entangled in other commercial projects. It was also severely stopped by other staff members of the team."

"They said I wasn't that material at all. In fact, I thought I knew a lot about basketball. Hand the ball to Dirk. It's as simple as that."

Li Lai looked at Cuban in embarrassment and said, "You and Tyronn Lue have the same coaching style."

Curry looked at Tyronn Lue, who was coaching the rookie team on the court, and shook his head again and again: "I'm not the guy who looks like a fish. I feel that I am better than him."

Li Lai really wanted to say that Tyronn Lue knew thousands of tactics, which you Cuban didn't have.

Cuban saw that it was difficult for him to form a common topic with Li Lai tactically, so he finally couldn't help but talk about his purpose.

"The first generation of Westbrook is a big seller. I heard that the Li Ning factory you established in Milwaukee can no longer support the movement of goods?"

　Also at night.

　　What, the votes are not strong recently, brothers.

　　Please bombard me with votes.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)