NBA: Back to 97, to be the Jagged Bishop

Chapter 315 The New Season Begins

As Yao Ming began to put pressure on the Philadelphia management, Iverson was not indifferent.

The tattoo of the word "loyalty" on his body is not random. If you want to say that the person Iverson is most grateful to in this league, it must be Kumbu.

At the beginning, Comb left the Toronto Raptors and joined the Philadelphia 76ers. In Iverson's view, this was a gift from God.

Playing under Comb for three years, he won three championships plus countless other honors.

Now that Kongbu has left, the Philadelphia 76ers have done nothing about personnel, which makes Iverson feel ashamed and feels sorry for Kongbu's efforts in the past three years.

"If Yao can't negotiate with the Philadelphia 76ers, I will choose to implement my player option."

Iverson's contract also has a player option. If he executes the option, he will leave Philadelphia as a free agent.

The statement of the Yao Ai combination made Billy King very anxious. The key is that he still doesn't know where he offended Yao Ai.

Fortunately, he had a good relationship with Yao Ai in Philadelphia in the past two years, and he has been currying favor with these two bosses, otherwise he, the newly appointed general manager, might have to pack up and leave.

When Kumbu left the Raptors three years ago, it was a peaceful handover. Although the Raptors failed to continue to win the championship, they have always been a powerful team in the East.

The Philadelphia 76 is a bit messy. If Yao and Ai leave, although their remaining lineup is also very strong, it will be difficult to enter the top three in the Eastern Conference.

"What? Let me intercede with Yao Ming for you?"

"Billy, you called me with a big face, just to say this?"

"I'm not the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, why should I ask Yao Ming to sign a contract with you?"

Comb received a call from Billy King a day later, and he didn't give him a good face at all.

"Kong, I know why you are angry, but this matter really has nothing to do with me."

"Before the military expansion draft, I received a call from Rivers. He said that he had a special case of a $1500 million transaction and wanted to operate with us."

"After all, I don't have your rights when you were in the Philadelphia 76ers. I must tell the boss about this kind of thing."

"As a result, the boss went to contact Rivers himself. It really has nothing to do with me. I am willing to swear on my family!"

Billy King said aggrievedly.

He did not deceive Comb about this matter. It was indeed as he said. After Rivers was sure that Comb would select Hill, he immediately ran to contact the Philadelphia 76ers. deal.

"Kong, you know, it is absolutely impossible for me to do anything to betray you."

"And I don't have the courage, because I know that you have at least a hundred ways to prevent me from gaining a foothold in this league."

Billy King even had a tearful tone when he spoke.

Kumbu wouldn't be able to fix it straight away. He originally wanted to ridicule Billy King and then tell him to go away. He couldn't help him no matter what he said.

As the saying goes, shameless people are invincible in the world, and Billy King is a typical shameless person. His misfortune in front of Kong Bu made Kong Bu's anger a lot less.

There is no way, Kumbu has always had a soft temper all these years.

After a moment of silence, Combe sighed and said, "Billy, you and I have been together for three years."

"Whether Rivers took the initiative to trade with you, I will investigate this matter. If I find out that you deceived me, I guarantee that you will never be able to continue to be the general manager of the 76ers."

"As for Yao's contract, I will discuss it with him, you wait for my news."

Kong Bu decided to persuade Yao Ming, not because he wanted to help Billy King, but because he didn't want Yao Ming to suffer.

If Yao Ming insisted on only signing a one-year qualification contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, the 76ers would definitely compromise in the end.

But Yao Ming lost money, because the qualification contract is very cheap, either 125% of last season's salary, or the basic salary plus 20 US dollars, no matter which one he chooses, Yao Ming will lose money. You must know that he can sign with a maximum salary under normal circumstances.

Now that Yao Ming is still on the rise in his career, there is really no need to get too stiff with the Philadelphia 76ers.

"I guarantee that it was Rivers who came to us on his own initiative!"

"Kong, actually, if you think about it carefully, how did we know that you would choose Hill in the military expansion draft? Who in the world would have thought?"

"I didn't know you would choose Hill, so of course I didn't know that there was a special case in the Magic's hands."

"I'll leave Yao's matter to you, I will always remember your kindness."

After listening to Comb, he also confirmed that Billikin was not lying, and that it was indeed Philadelphia that Rivers took the initiative to find.

In fact, Comb has never had much affection for Rivers. If it wasn't because McGrady was in the Magic, he wouldn't even have any relationship with Rivers.

In the memory of his previous life, the two deepest impressions that Rivers left on Comb, one is the essence of human reversal, no matter what kind of good game, no matter what kind of luxurious lineup, it will always collapse in his hands.

His coaching ability has a high lower limit. Give him a garbage lineup, and he can lead the team to achieve good results, but the upper limit is low. If it is not good luck to meet the Big Four of Garnett, Pierce, Ray Allen and Rondo , He will not be able to win the championship in a few lifetimes.

Another impression is that this person likes to cling to big shots.

Rivers' current operation, from the perspective of the Magic, has no problems and maximizes the benefits, but Rivers did not care about Comb's feelings.

Even if he greeted Kongbu in advance, Kongbu would not embarrass Rivers if he changed his mind.

……

After hanging up with Billy King, Kong Bu called Yao Ming.

Yao Ming just couldn't get enough of it. He felt that the Philadelphia 76ers were impersonal. He didn't want to stay on this team anymore.

It's a pity that he also knows that the Philadelphia 76ers will definitely not let him go.

Finally, under the suggestion of Comb, Yao Ming and Billy King renegotiated the contract.

The contract signed this time is 2+1, the last year is a player option, and it also has the right to veto transactions.

3 million in 3300 years, this is the highest salary that Yao Ming can sign so far.

Yao Ming signed the contract here, and Iverson also calmed down and chose to give up the player draft and stay with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Immediately afterwards, the Philadelphia 76ers began to recruit team coaches, and there were countless applicants. After all, the Philadelphia 76ers had a luxurious background. With the current lineup, they were definitely the number one favorite to win the championship. A championship ring.

Many coaches came here for this ring. You must know that many old coaches who have worked in the league for decades don't have a ring in their hands.

Even Larry Brown called Billy King, wanting to find out if he could return to coach the Philadelphia 76ers.

It's a pity that Billy King was not willing to accept Larry Brown. At the beginning, the two offended Comb. Larry Brown ran back to the NCAA alone and left Billy King behind. Billy King still holds a grudge.

The key point is that even if he doesn't hold grudges against Larry Brown, he still has to worry about Combe.

Everyone knows that Larry Brown was kicked out of the NBA by Comb, so take Larry Brown back here?It's no wonder that Kung Fu spared himself.

In the end, the Philadelphia 76ers management chose former Warriors coach PJ-Carlesimo to take over the coach of Combe.

In the past two years, Carlesimo has stopped working as a coach and turned to work for Stern, who is responsible for the rookie physical test and trial training before the annual draft.

Under normal circumstances, when Yao Ming participated in the draft in 2002, his trial training was actually presided over by Carlesimo.

When Kumbu learned that Carlesimo had replaced him, he couldn't laugh or cry. This guy choked the madman Sprewell a few years ago, and he lost all face. I don't know if he will restrain himself when he goes to Philadelphia to coach.

This guy's mouth is really stinky, scolding players is really merciless.

If he dared to scold the streets in Philadelphia, Iverson would be the first to deal with him.

In addition to bad mouth, Carlesimo's coaching ability is not good. He has worked as a coach for many years without any decent results, and his coaching style has no characteristics.

However, it is not necessarily a bad thing for such a mediocre coach to coach Philadelphia. Mediocrity means that he will not be too aggressive. As long as a team like the Philadelphia 76ers plays steadily, they are still the favorites to win the championship.

In addition, Kumbu remembered that Carlesimo was a super player. It should be a good thing that he came to coach Yao Ming.

When Jokic led the Nuggets to win the championship in later generations, some fans commented that Yao Ming would be worthless if he was placed in the small ball era. A reporter interviewed Carlesimo and asked him his opinion on this statement.

Carlesimo couldn't change his bad mouth, and bluntly said that fans who have this view are idiots.

He compared Yao Ming and Jokic, and said that if Yao Ming was in the small ball era, he would achieve higher achievements, not worse than Jokic at all.

The reason he gave was that Yao Ming has a good ability to respond to the basket and has a precise basket. In the small ball era, he can also practice three-pointers. The offensive ability at the basket is a bug in the small ball era.

Specifically, his statement is unscientific and different people have different opinions, but at least it can be seen that he truly recognizes Yao Ming's strength.

Kumbu is relieved to let him take over his class.

……

Time flies, in the blink of an eye, two months have passed, Kumbu's training camp has ended successfully, and the new season is about to begin.

On October 10, the Charlotte Bobcats started their preseason tour.

Even if it's just a preseason game, the Bobcats' game has attracted the attention of countless people. Everyone wants to see what kind of level this new team can play in its first season.

It's a pity that Combe didn't let his main players show up in the preseason. The biggest player among the players who appeared may be Haslem.

Originally, Kumbu wanted to take advantage of the preseason to train the rookies, but Jordan refused to let him say anything.

It is said that it is necessary to maintain a sense of mystery and to maintain surprises until the real race comes.

The fans waited for another half a month. On October 10, after the Knicks and the Philadelphia 16ers played the opening game in the East, the Bobcats ushered in the first game in team history the next day, challenging the Los Angeles Clippers away.

The first game in team history was an away game, and Kumbu really wanted to call Stern and ask him if he had any humanity.

Fortunately, the opponent is not strong, just the Clippers.

In the middle of last season, Gentry was fired by the Clippers general manager Baylor, and Dennis Johnson, a direct assistant coach of Comb, took over Gentry's position.

Although Dennis Johnson failed to improve the Clippers, because of Comb's face, Baylor did not fire Dennis.

"Kong, we won't be massacred by you tonight, will we?"

"Probably not?"

During the warm-up of the game, Dennis Johnson leaned over to Combe and asked anxiously.

The Bobcats are a brand-new team. Except for the rookies, there is no high-level star in the team. Hill was a high-level player in the past few years, and there is no such player in the past few years.

If he was abused by such a team for dozens of points, Dennis would feel a little embarrassed.

"I really can't say this well, Dennis, I try not to let your Clippers lose too badly."

Kong Bu smiled confidently.

Although the current Bobcats lineup is far from meeting Kumbu's requirements, if even the Clippers can't clean up, Konbu's offseason work will be in vain.

"Well, try to keep it within ten, but not too much."

"I'm wondering, our Clippers lineup actually looks good, why can't we have a record?"

"If there is a problem with my coaching ability, but when Gentry was here, the team's record was not good."

"Where is the problem?"

Dennis Johnson was frowning. He has been thinking hard about this question, but unfortunately there has been no answer.

Just looking at the lineup, the Clippers have the No. [-] pick Elton Brand, the muscular Maggette, Bobby Simmons and Chris Wilcox, and the quasi-All-Star player Quentin Lee. chardson.

In theory, this lineup has a chance to make the playoffs, and it will definitely not be the last in the league like it is now.

"Dennis, don't you find that your lineup is weird?"

"I don't know what kind of special hobby Elgin Baylor has for muscular men. Why are all the muscle bumps in your lineup?"

"Are you a basketball team? Or a bodybuilding team?"

Kong Bu said dumbfounded.

Baylor's team management philosophy is really outdated. His philosophy may still be 30 years ago. Whoever is stronger on the court will win the game, so he has a bunch of super strong men.

Needless to say, Brand, his body looks shorter and stronger than Ben's. Maggette, Wilcox and Bobby Simmons all have muscle bumps like they have been injected with steroids.

"You mean our roster lacks flexibility?" Dennis Johnson asked.

Kongbu nodded, "That's what it means. It's already the 21st century, so don't keep thinking about using your muscles to win."

Dennis Johnson smiled wryly after hearing this. He really wanted to record Combe's words and play them to that old antique Lord Baylor.

Soon the game will officially start.

Comb's starting lineup tonight is Bosh, David West, Hill, Josh - Howard plus Barbosa.

With no point guard and no traditional center, the lineup looks rather weird.

(End of this chapter)