I'm not really a role player

Chapter 252

Before Radmanovic's deal was completed, Lowry's deal was officially announced first.

As expected, the Rockets made a ruthless move regardless of the cost, and their final bid was - Xiaobu and Justin Ridgah in the first round.

What they got was more than one Lowry.

This is a multi-party deal, and the third party that popped up suddenly was the Orlando Magic.

That's right, the Magic joined this deal because, not long ago, Jamal Nelson was seriously injured and was reimbursed for the season, so the Magic needed a new master.

In this way, they set their sights on Xiao Bu, who was able to shoot suddenly but couldn't organize an offense.

As far as the Grizzlies are concerned, they already have Mike Conley at the point guard position, so they naturally have a dispensable attitude towards Xiaobu.

So, when the Magic threw a first-rounder, the Grizzlies accepted it decisively.

So, this deal finally became: the Rockets bid for Xiaobu and Justin Ridge in the first round, and got Lowry and Matt Barnes.

The Magic bid Matt Barnes to add a first round to get Brock.

The Grizzlies offered Lowry for Justin Reid and two first-rounders.

In Li Ke's view, even if Lowry and Matt Barnes were finally obtained, the tear-wiping deal is still puzzling.

Because this season, the value of Matt Barnes is not high. He deviated from the historical timeline and joined the Magic with a basic salary one season earlier.

However, due to the growth of young players such as Redick and Courtney Lee, the playing time they got was not as good as expected.

Even if Jr. changed Lowry, the Rockets had Justin Ridgar in the first round before switching to Matt Barnes, who was not worth much at this time.

In contrast, in this deal, the Grizzlies made a lot of money, the Magic made a profit, and the Rockets lost their underwear.

On the contrary, Jonathan Fagan, the head reporter of the Houston Chronicle, combined with the information he had obtained, gave a reasonable explanation——

"The Rockets don't need Aaron Brooks' bench firepower, because Carl Landry, Luther Head and Brent Barry can provide it..."

"The Rockets need Kyle Lowry's organization and defense, and Matt Barnes' wing defense. This season, Rick Adelman's team has obviously changed their style. Defense is the foundation of this Rockets."

"The defeat in the Christmas game proved that the Rockets' defense still has a lot of areas that need to be improved. This deal has improved the Rockets' overall defense to a large extent."

Seeing the analysis of the Houston Chronicle, Li Ke rubbed his chin and pondered for a while.

"A wing defender, plus a point guard defender, these two hands of wiping tears are very targeted..."

Matt Barnes is targeting Kobe, Lowry is targeting Chris Cannon, and the two most popular teams in the West at this time have been taken care of. The goal of the Rockets is self-evident, at least it is the finals.

……

A day later, the Radmanovic deal was done.

Similarly, the final outcome of this deal also exceeded Li Ke's expectations.

"Radmanovich went to the Cavaliers? Michael, you are an enemy!"

In Boss Qiao's office, after hearing Li Ke's seemingly indignant reprimand, Old Qiao spread his hands:

"At least, I saved a draft pick, didn't I?"

Of course the enemy was joking, and Li Ke knew very well that one Radmanovich was not enough to help the Cavaliers.

Instead, the Cavaliers joined the deal, allowing Jared Jack to join the Bobcats smoothly.

Specifically, the Bobcats offered Radmanovich and Earl Boykins to get Jared Jack and Jamal Tinsley from the Pacers,

The Cavaliers offered Eric Snow and two rounds to get Radmanovic from the Bobcats.

The Pacers offered Jack and Jamal Tinsley, Earl Boykins from the Bobcats, Eric Snow and two rounds from the Cavaliers.

For the Pacers, in fact, the deal can be completed, the most important thing is Jamal Tinsley.

This guy is seriously injured and can't play in the game. Not counting this season, he still has a contract of more than 1400 million US dollars for two seasons in the future, that's all...

Even, he has many conflicts with the Pacers management, which has reached the point of irreconcilability, and even affected the locker room.

Rather than saying that Larry Bird helped Boss Joe, it is better to say that Larry Bird relied on Boss Joe to clean up Jamal Tinsley's difficult garbage contract.

For the Bobcats, although Tinsley's contract is difficult to deal with, Jared Jack, who averaged 13.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game this season, is too sweet.

If you want to get Jack, you have to eat Tinsley's rubbish contract. This is called: what you gain, you lose.

For the Cavaliers, once the contract expires plus two rounds, they will get a wing shooter they continue to earn. The only problem is that they earn more and earn less.

"What are your thoughts on Jamal Tinsley?"

Old Joe then threw Tinsley's question to Li Ke.

Li Ke thought for a moment: "Let's keep it. In this deal, Earl Boykins and Jared Jack are swapped. We just left one Radmanovich, but in the same position, we still have Jared Dudley. We don't need further signings."

"You think it's better to stay? Well, then I'll listen to you."

Obviously, Old Joe originally had some other ideas, such as laying off Tinsley to make a vacancy...

However, it is difficult for the Bobcats to get any discount for waiving Tinsley at this time, because Tinsley can't play, and it is impossible to agree to a discounted termination fee.

It's better not to cut it, keep it, maybe it will have miraculous effects in the future.

……

After the trade, Radmanovich and Earl Boykins had already left the team before Jared Jack joined the team.

Therefore, starting from Charlotte Airport, passing through Los Angeles International Airport, the destination is China's Bobcats on the other side of the ocean. They can only face the first Spring Festival game in NBA history with an incomplete lineup.

In addition to thinking about how to defeat the Lakers, Li Ke is more puzzled about——

"You say, whose home game is this game?"

"It stands to reason that we should be counted, because half a month ago, we went to Los Angeles to meet the Lakers. No matter how you say this game, it should be our home game."

"But I heard that the ticket revenue for this game is split in half?"

Lao Du, who discussed this with Li Ke, nodded and confirmed this point, and Li Ke immediately felt that it was outrageous: "Michael actually agreed?"

"What can we do if we don't agree? Can Michael refuse David Stern? And we will earn more money by going to China to play this regular season than staying in Charlotte. If you don't want to, David Stern can say: This opportunity next year can be reserved for other teams."

When Li Ke heard the second half of Lao Du's sentence, he immediately shook his head: "Remember, Jared, David Stern will not rule out anyone who will be excluded in the Spring Festival war, because the Bobcats have me."

But he still agrees with the first half of Lao Du's sentence, especially the point of making money, what Lao Du said is absolutely correct.

The significance of the NBA regular season outside the American continent is more than just a regular season. In Li Ke's view, it is more like a trade fair.

Use one game, as well as the popularity inside and outside the game, to show the popularity of the NBA, to show the popularity of the four teams participating in the Spring Festival war, to show the popularity of the leading stars such as Li Ke, Kobe, Lebang, and Dayao...

In the end, they can gain more fans, more sponsors, more dollars...

Just like Bobcats, Boss Joe didn't follow the team, but rushed to China one day in advance, the purpose is to prepare in advance and attract investment...

From Charlotte to Los Angeles, it's a regular flight, but then the flight from Los Angeles to the capital is a long-distance trek.

Halfway through the flight, Li Ke knew that this Spring Festival battle was not just a regular season with a completely different experience, but more importantly, almost all players' physical fitness would be overdrawn.

When thinking of physical fitness, Li Ke immediately thought of Kobe.

"Kobe, the iron man who likes to forge iron, should be the least affected..."

Shaking his head, Li Ke also knew that although physical fitness is very important, what is more important is to perform on the spot.

Speaking of which, although the Bobcats and the Lakers played against the Lakers half a month ago, although the Bobcats lost in the end, there were not too many waves after the game.

On the one hand, it was because Kobe was amazing in that game, no matter how he shot, the Bobcats were not knocked down tactically, it was more like being smashed by a wave of opponents in better condition.

Of course, on the other hand, the performance of the Bobcats has been struggling this season, and it is reasonable to lose to the Lakers.

But the defeat half a month ago still affected the reputation of this Spring Festival war.

The moment the Bobcats rushed to the capital on the other side of the ocean, the predictions of the media, experts, and commentators on the two Spring Festival wars had already been put on the table.

"The Rockets vs. Cavaliers. The focus of this game should be the battle between Yao and Yi, but the strengths between the two are extremely unequal. So in fact, the biggest highlight of this game is the dislocation heads-up between LeBron and Yao. As a center, Yao's disadvantage is that it is difficult to catch the basketball. Therefore, in this heads-up, I am more optimistic about the Cavaliers."

In Bill Simmons' column, he first predicted the Spring Festival war between the Rockets and the Cavaliers. He believes that the Cavaliers have an advantage.

There are also expert commentators who are optimistic about the Rockets. They believe that, compared to the situation where Radmanovich has not yet joined the team after the Cavaliers trade, the Rockets, Matt Barnes and Kyle Lowry have both completed registration and can play in the Spring Festival.

The bench and surprise soldiers are ready, so naturally the Rockets have a greater chance.

"The Bobcats vs. Lakers. The match half a month ago actually explained something. Shelton's single defense was excellent, but Kobe was just the one he couldn't limit. Last year's finals, the Olympics, and the game half a month ago all showed this point."

Li Ke's single defense is still the winner, and the group of bricks headed by Bill Simmons does not think that Li Ke can find the feeling of defending Kobe.

Thus, the overall situation of the game seems to have been determined.

Unlike the Rockets vs. Cavaliers, few pundits are bullish on the Bobcats.

The reason is that, in addition to Li Ke's one-on-one defense, the Bobcats have been struggling this season, which is also decisive.

Although the Bobcats beat the Celtics, Cavaliers and Rockets, they proved that they are still the favorites for the championship.

But there are still some expert commentators who believe that the Bobcats have long been out of the championship.

Because in the East, they can't beat the Magic, in the West, they can't beat the Hornets, and the Lakers in front of them will also be the hurdle that the Bobcats can't get around.

Therefore, in summary, the Bobcats are not favored, which is nothing more than normal.

"These critics all think we will lose the Spring Festival war."

After getting out of the airport and getting on the bus, Li Ke flipped through the relevant news reports, and brought up this topic in front of Lao Ai, Lao Sha and Hua Laoer.

The feedback Li Ke received was also within his expectations——

Lao Ai spread his hands, showing no concern.

In fact, it wasn't that he didn't care, it was just that before the match started, Lao Ai didn't want to make any promises.

Old Shark had a serious expression on his face, and said, "Hey, let me tell you, everyone should know how important this Spring Festival war is. I think we must win this game. Apart from that, there is no other way to go."

Second Hua followed behind Lao Sha and nodded succinctly: "We can't be double-killed by the Lakers this season. Too many teams have double-killed us this season."

Li Ke showed a very satisfied smile and clapped his hands: "That's right, guys, we must win this game, not only because Shaq can't accept the feeling of losing to Kobe..."

Lao Sha let out a hey pretending to be ashamed, and reached out to pat Li Ke.

"It's not just because we can no longer be double-killed by any opponent."

"More importantly, the NBA regular season was placed outside the continent of America for the first time. This is a historic moment. Whether we win or lose, we will leave a mark in history. I think no one wants history to be written in a few days. In the NBA's first overseas regular season, the Charlotte Bobcats led by Allen Iverson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Gerald Wallace were beaten hard by the Los Angeles Lakers led by Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, right?"

Lao Ai frowned, and in the next second, he said loudly: "Yes, if history really has to be written, it will only be Allen Iverson leading the Charlotte Bobcats to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers led by Kobe Bryant in the NBA's first overseas regular season!"

"No, Aaron, you forgot to mention me and Gerald's names..."

Lao Sha protested, Lao Ai spread his hands, and the bus was full of laughter.

When the bus arrived at the hotel, Li Ke found Sam Vincent, greeted him, and left the hotel.

Outside the door, the special car arranged by Lu Ning picked up Li Ke.

For Li Ke, this trip to the Spring Festival Wars gave him a chance to spend New Year's Eve and Spring Festival with his family.

The special car drove for a while, and drove into a courtyard within the second ring road of the capital. Li Ke met Li's father and mother who stayed in the capital for the reunion.

"This Spring Festival battle is really good, at least Xiao Ke can come back for the festival."

"Watch the Spring Festival Gala together on New Year's Eve, and then on New Year's Day, your dad and I will go to watch your game live, and your seven aunts and eight aunts will also come..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)