God of basketball

Chapter 705 0707: [Clippers Elders]

Jermaine O'Neal, a super power forward of the 96 golden generation, is an outstanding representative of the high school draft.At his peak, he averaged 20+10+2 per game, and was once hailed as the successor of the league's top four forwards.

Jermaine O'Neal is Isiah Thomas' favorite student. He broke out after being traded from the Trail Blazers to the Pacers under Isiah's coaching.Isaiah specifically designed the end of the pick-and-roll battle for this talented high school student, unleashing his mid-range shooting ability.And with his excellent lateral movement ability on the defensive end, he has become a superstar in the league.

At his peak, O'Neal was omnipotent. He had an excellent mid-range shot, the ability to cut through the defense in singles in the penalty area, as well as flexible steps and terrifying ability to protect the basket... At the best moment of his career, he was a super defensive player who could defend from the outside to the inside. (The defensive coverage area is not even inferior to today's Anthony Davis)

After Jermaine O'Neal ended the last year of his high-paying contract, he went to Los Angeles without hesitation.

He and his mentor Isiah Thomas appeared at the press conference at the same time, announcing the signing of a three-year $3 million contract with the Clippers.

He also appeared at this conference with Ron Artest and Vince Carter.

Ron Artest finally got his wish and became Li Zhen's younger brother. Although they had some grievances on the court in the past, in recent years, he has been praising Li Zhen in the media and can't wait to become a member of Li Zhen's command.

Although Artest is no longer as brave as he used to be, as a heavy small forward, he still has a certain degree of single-defense ability, and this is a player with strong mental attributes. With him on the court, young players will be more confident.

Of course, the most important thing is.He only needs $98 a year.

And he also took $700 million from the Los Angeles Lakers last season.

This is undoubtedly a good and cheap business.

The arrival of Vince Carter made the City of Angels full of surprises. The most entertaining and representative shooting guard at the beginning of this century, after the Phoenix Suns bought him out for $1900 million in the last year, he chose to join the Los Angeles Clippers with a three-year mid-level contract of $3 million.

There are other teams willing to pay him a higher price.

In fact, both Jermaine O'Neal and Artest turned down more money.

The Clippers won the hearts of all veterans in the trade of Stephen Nash and Jason Kidd, and they saw the team's respect for veterans.Therefore, they would rather accept some money difference and choose the Los Angeles Clippers.

What's interesting is that the New York Knicks were very proactive in recruiting O'Neal Jr. and Vince Carter, and they gave more money because they were rich.

However, for these veterans, respect is far more important than money.

The most important thing is: They all know that when they come to the Los Angeles Clippers, there will not be so many people saying that they are hugging their thighs. After all...Compared to the Big Four in the Big Apple, the Los Angeles Clippers have Bruce as a superstar.

People will just say they're a group of dying veterans huddling together for one last stand.

This is an extremely exciting emotion for them.They are all struggling to prove themselves.

And, for these long-established former superstars with their glory days, it's a treat to be able to play with the point guards they once aspired to.

Jason Kidd, Stephen Nash... These two are the most charismatic and attractive point guards among the older generation of stars.Playing with them before, you need to wait for the All-Star Game.

With the arrival of Jermaine O'Neal, Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, Ron Artest, Stephen Nash, and Jason Kidd, the Los Angeles Clippers have jumped from the team with the youngest average age in the league to the top three teams with the highest average age. Only the Boston Celtics can wrestle with them.

"We came here to burst out all the energy in the fuel tank." Vince Carter told reporters at the press conference: "This is the closest we have been to a championship in our career."

As one of the four major shooting guards of the year and the number one slam dunk leader in NBA history, Vince Carter is full of desire for the championship. He hopes very much to win a championship ring when he can still provide contributions.

Jermaine O'Neal also expressed the same idea, and he also emphasized that he can impart experience to young players.

However, the media are more willing to report on this veteran feeling.

Instead of giving much hope to their championship road.

Old people do not rely on muscles and bones for energy.

In the face of so many super teams that are grouped together at the peak, there are too many uncertainties in this team.

Although the Los Angeles Clippers won the championship last season, the time and space environment is different now.

The New York Knicks made targeted reinforcements, including poaching Ty Gibson from their opponents in the Eastern Conference Finals with a lot of money, and at the same time signed James' old teammate Ilgauskas with a two-year minimum salary.

In addition, LeBron James also lost weight after strengthening the team's interior, and all the news throughout the offseason showed that he was undergoing hard training technically. His appearance at the end of September made people see a welcome change.

At the same time, many TV programs during the offseason found through analysis that the Los Angeles Clippers' 4:0 sweep was really high in luck. If they did it again, it would be really difficult for them to replicate their success.

The main reason why the Clippers are not optimistic is... the Los Angeles Lakers.

After the Lakers acquired Yao Huang and Paul, their desire to win the championship has surpassed that of their rivals in the same city. Some people even began to discuss the question of who is stronger when the Lakers meet the OK team that won three consecutive championships.

Bryant spoke on Time Warner TV in early October.

Time Warner has purchased the exclusive right to broadcast the two teams of the Lakers and Clippers, and they will report the details of the two teams from all directions.The terms of the contract include interviews with major players before each season.

Bryant claimed that the Lakers are now at the peak of their long history, and will give full marks to the perfect operation of this offseason in June next year.

Two 10-minute interviews, he had 15 minutes to praise the management, Yao Huang and Chris Paul.

It shows the happy atmosphere of this team.

This makes the fans of the Zijin Legion look forward to the arrival of the new season... Although the labor agreement is still being discussed frantically, because of the surge in broadcasting costs, the player union's salary cap requirement has increased by more than 50.00%.

Li Zhen also talked about this issue in the interview the next day.

As the most peculiar existence in the league, he is not only the strongest player in the entire league, but also the team owner.

"I will not express any opinion on this matter. No matter what agreement is finally reached, I will accept it frankly."

Li Chen had only such a simple one-sentence response to the labor negotiations.

He's been on a frantic squeeze this month as negotiations have stalled.He always gave everything, never left a drop.

He really wishes there was a union of men who would stand up and protect men as well.

It's a pity... Even if there is a men's union, the first thing the union does is to expel Li Zhen from the union.Because... other men don't have a dozen juicers waiting to be fed.

"They are the idols of the times. Being able to play with them is a dream come true for me. I like them so much. Although the training camp has not yet started, we have been training together for several days, and everyone is recovering very well."

Li Zhen told the media: "Also, I have asked Jermaine to deal with his toe first. He needs a minor operation."

"Ron Artest also needs surgery, he's been affected by a finger injury that he claims is affecting his shooting, although everyone thinks it's his excuse."

"And Vince and Allen, they also need to rest, I will not let them waste their energy on pointless back and forth running. Anyway, Allen doesn't like training, they are all soaking in the Pacific Ocean, swimming and physiotherapy."

"But our philosophy is ... to make it easy for these old guys. They need to come back to the game in a fully healthy state. We have historically been indifferent to winning or losing in the regular season."

Li Zhen seems to want to vaccinate the fans.

However, Iverson said two days later: "That guy is deliberately dismissing us scorers. He wants to win this year's scoring champion."

"He has never got his hands on that thing. Many commentators are saying that the GOAT in basketball should have that thing. So, he took the lead in attacking us."

Iverson is throwing the pot on TV.

Judging from the smile on his face, they got along very happily, and they had already fast forwarded to the stage where they could joke with each other.

However, the news that came out at the end of October made Clippers fans worry.

Bruce Lee and Blake Griffin had an altercation at a bar in Las Vegas.

Some gossip media reported that the two teammates fought because of a stripper's jealousy.

It's hard not to worry about the team's internal unity.

Some people even think of the collapse of the 3J combination of the Dallas Mavericks: the Mavericks, who were in full swing at the time, fell apart because of three players because of a fight over a woman.

"So, that's why the Los Angeles Clippers brought in Jason Kidd? He brings advanced jealousy?"

Vicious commentators can always find something to mock.

But Li Zhen kept silent about this matter.

……

The time even has to go back to the night when the Los Angeles Clippers won the championship. The young and famous Blake Griffin enjoyed the pursuit and spotlight that he had never enjoyed in his life.

He was introduced to various Vanity Fair parties in Los Angeles as a rising star of the Clippers, a future superstar of the league, and a championship winner.Young and strong and outgoing, he quickly became a party favorite and he had a huge following.

These pursuits made him forget himself.

Like all smug young people, he frequented various bars and nightclubs.

Paul George's departure did not bring him the slightest vigilance.

He even made it to Las Vegas.

Before that, Li Zhen had heard about his promiscuous private life.He verbally criticizes Blake Griffin, who promises he'll definitely be back in top form before the season starts, and he promises never to hang out again from that moment on.

Frankly speaking, Li Chen has no obligation or right to manage the private life of another adult.

However, as the big brother of the team, he does not want Griffin to go astray.

Therefore, all of them are persuading him.

Griffin has also kept promising how clean he is.

Until Li Zhen participated in a business event in Las Vegas, and was inevitably taken to a famous club.Immediately afterwards, he saw Griffin, who was puffing out clouds and sitting beside a few girls in cool clothes.

This made Li Zhen very sad.

But he didn't stop Griffin, or spoil him.

Until the two left, Griffin said to Li Zhen: "This is really my first time this month..."

Griffin was explaining.

He emphasized that he did nothing depraved.

He even grabbed Li Zhen's shoulder.

"I don't want you to think badly of me."

Griffin looked very sincere and said.

However, he didn't know that this intimate action of his made Li Zhen increase his jumping talent by 4 points.

Li Zhen was very disappointed.He doesn't like a man who tells a lot of lies.

"Originally, these are your private affairs. As an adult, as long as you don't violate the law, you can do anything. However, I always think that you can become a top player in history, even someone on par with Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett..."

"I'm a little bit disappointed."

Li Zhen told Griffin, and he turned and left.

It may be his disappointed eyes, or Griffin's mood is not stable enough.

He actually yelled loudly from behind: "Didn't you just appear here? Why can you and I can't?"

Li Zhen did not respond.

But the media exposed this matter and made a big fuss.

As a result, the Clippers' public opinion is in chaos before the new season begins.

If Bruce Lee really fell out with Griffin, it would definitely be a disaster for this young team that just won the championship.

Too many promising teams have been ruined by conflict within the team.

The Mavericks led by Jason Kidd is a living example.

Kidd even took the initiative to call and ask Li Zhen: What's going on?

Li Zhen told Jason Kidd exactly what happened.

Then Jason Kidd discussed with the members of the nursing home, and they decided to have a good chat with Griffin after the training camp started.

The old players of the Clippers, except for Stephen Nash, may be a little more honest.

Who else was not the master of romance when he was young?

Even Vince Carter, who looks the most serious, managed to become the most prestigious bar and nightclub in Canada in the icy and snowy Toronto, and became a holy place for NBA players to check in.

They all agreed that persuading a young man who had taken a detour was no problem at all.

……

……

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(End of this chapter)