i have a coaching book

Chapter 41 The Arms Race
After losing to the Wizards, Lin Bai flew back to Cleveland with the Cavaliers that night. In the next game, the Cavaliers will face the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves at the Quicken Loans Arena.

On the training day, Paul Silas looked at the practice game on the field with a serious face. Carlos Boozer's injury report has been confirmed. His right foot is sprained. It is conservatively estimated that he will be absent for two weeks.

The Cavaliers lost an inside general, but then they will face the Timberwolves, who have the strength to compete for the championship.

In 2003, this summer was very turbulent, and the free transfer market was turbulent.

Among them, the Los Angeles Lakers showed their richness and became the instigator of the storm.

In 2003, the Zijin Lakers, who fantasized about four consecutive championships, did not expect to fall under the spurs of the silver and black Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.

Young and energetic, Kobe, who was at his peak, burst into tears. He understood what he had lost. He missed the opportunity to surpass Jordan, the god of basketball.

From the beginning, Zijin Lakers' playoff journey, it seems that even God is not willing to let the Lakers win the final victory of the series.

Starting from the first game, small forward Rick Fox, whose data is not obvious but whose tactical role is very important, was absent due to injury, leaving the "OK" combination without a fulcrum to help. As a result, they were suppressed by the Spurs' outside line and lost the first game.

Then there is power forward Robert Horry, who is known for his big heart. He actually missed a three-point lore in the fifth game of Tianwangshan. Even in the entire series, he made 18 of 0 shots.

Finally, the head coach Phil Jackson, known as the nemesis of the Spurs, also underwent heart bypass surgery because of a heart problem. When he returned from the sixth game, he was already powerless.

Facing the Spurs five times, Phil Jackson has a proud record, winning four of them, but the one he lost was absent because of a heart problem! !

Faced with such an almost aggrieved defeat, the entire Lakers team was naturally unconvinced, and even thought that the Spurs stole an NBA championship that belonged to their Lakers.As a result, Horry, who performed the worst in the playoff series, was directly ignited by the anger of the fans and became the scapegoat for the team's defeat in this game.

However, Huo Li is also stubborn, showing an unusual big heart at this time.Turning around and leaving the Lakers, he directly chose to switch to the rival Spurs, which made the Lakers fans dumbfounded.

The Spurs accepted the gift with a smile, and their strength is even more powerful.

The Lakers, who were troubled by internal and external troubles at this time, actually had a wild mind at this time, started a star group, and formed the "F4" to watch the meteor shower together, also known as the "Four Kings".

F4 can be born out of nowhere, and one person has to be mentioned-Shaquille O'Neal.

In 2003, O'Neal's contract with the Los Angeles Lakers expired.

Although the newspapers have reported that O'Neill and Kobe are fighting openly and secretly, it is almost to the point of having you but not me.However, O'Neal never thought about leaving the Lakers. He always wanted to get a high-paying contract extension from the Lakers.

But the Lakers don't want to pay more luxury taxes, and they want to preserve their ability to compete for the championship.Therefore, the Lakers negotiated with O'Neal and reached an almost absurd gambling agreement.

The reason why the Lakers were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals this year is because of the weakness of the power forward position and the point guard position. Therefore, the Lakers plan to carry out targeted personnel signings in the free transfer market, and the target is directly in this year's contract. Karl Malone and Gary Payton due to enter the natural market.

Within a certain salary cap, if O'Neal can recruit Postman Malone and Glove Payton, the Lakers will give him a corresponding tilt in contract extension.

In other words, the Lakers sent a cake with a total salary of three people, and then handed the knife to O'Neal. No matter how much cake he cut out, he shared it with Malone and Payton, and the rest The cake is all O'Neill gets.

This VAM agreement is somewhat challenging, even difficult, but even the temptation is very attractive. If O'Neill succeeds, he will get a sky-high contract extension that will make everyone dumbfounded.At the same time, the Lakers can continue to pursue the NBA championship.

O'Neill nodded and agreed to such a betting condition without blinking an eye.

You must know that in that era, the tradition of one superstar in one city was popular, and Malone was simply a legendary existence for the Utah Jazz.

In the 2002-03 season, although Ma Long was 40 years old, he did not lose his skills and physical fitness. He was still able to play 81 regular season games, averaging 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and 46.2 % hit rate.

And don't forget, how can a superstar like Malone have such a low annual salary, last season's annual salary reached 1900 million US dollars.

Even if it is a 900% discount, it will cost [-] million U.S. dollars, which can make O'Neill's heart ache half to death.

Fortunately, O'Neal's thigh temperament and negotiation talent suddenly began to shine at this time. The free market had just started, and O'Neal made a phone call.

Very straightforward: I need a postman to help me mail back next year's championship ring!

Malone paused for a moment, his eyes moistened. This tough tough guy was hit in the soft spot of his heart. He nodded and agreed to join the Lakers, even at the legendary cabbage price, a basic salary of $150 million for a veteran.

After fooling Ma Long, the expression on O'Neill's face was even more excited than receiving three championship rings. It turns out that he still has such a bastard temperament and talent, why did he only find out now!

Without stopping, O'Neal made another phone call to the legendary glove Payton, who is also a legend for the Seattle Supersonics, and the difficulty of persuasion is no less than that of Malone.

2002-03赛季，佩顿依然能场均砍下20.4分8.3助攻4.2篮板1.7抢断，有着45.5%的命中率。

Although Payton's annual salary was not as high as Malone's last season, it also reached 1300 million US dollars. He is younger than Malone, only 35 years old.

At this moment, O'Neill brought the protagonist's halo to the fullest, and directly launched his big move.

Hey buddy, let me tell you a joke, that Malone guy would actually ask to join the Lakers, all he needs is a veteran contract of $150 million.

He also told me that as long as the Lakers agree to his joining plan and fill the power forward position, the Lakers will be the strongest contender for the championship in the 03-04 season, not one of them.

In the end, I was actually persuaded by him and agreed with him to join the Lakers.However, Malone actually analyzed to me that the Lakers still lack a point guard, and asked me directly, can John Stockton be competent?

I just feel like he's getting old...

Payton thought for less than half a second, and immediately talked to O'Neal calmly: Shaquille, Stockton is 41 years old, with old arms and legs, not suitable for the Lakers.I'm 35 years old, and I don't have many requirements. My annual salary is a little more than three times that of Malone. It's a real half-sell, half-free deal, with a buy price of 480 million US dollars.

With my gloves, next year's championship ring will be secured! !
Since then, Kobe, O'Neal, Malone, Payton, the four superstars have come together to form the legendary F4 combination.

The four superstars are teamed together, and the Lakers lineup is so strong, will they let other teams live?
As soon as the news was reported, even Lakers fans fantasized about breaking the Bulls dynasty's record of 72 regular season victories.

Western teams interested in contending for the NBA championship couldn't sit still, and once they succeeded, think about how many contemporary superstars Jordan stepped on as his stepping stones, all those who don't want to follow in the footsteps of these sad old The superstars also began to exert their strength secretly.

The most powerful arms race in history kicked off just because of a shark gambling agreement.

Immediately afterwards, the Dallas Mavericks, who possessed the 'three carriages' and had the strength to compete for the championship, were not silent and took the lead in fighting in the free market.

Frankly speaking, the NBA is a commercial league, and there is no friendship between team owners and players.

If you have to choose a pair of friendship, I hope that the friendship between Dallas Mavericks owner Cuban and Nowitzki is true, and they can stand the test of time.

The boss, who was as fanatical as a child and was willing to spend money, was naturally the first to jump out. He didn't want Dirk to be wronged in the slightest and become one of the tragic superstars that people said.

On the advice of the mad scientist Nelson, the great man Antawn Jamison was signed. He was drafted in 1998. He used to be the big brother of the alien Vince Carter. He had back-to-back 50+ feats, and Kobe In the same field, the score is not lost.

That's not counting, and then the Mavericks also traded with the Celtics of the Celtics in exchange for Anthony Walker, nicknamed Fat Toutuo, one of the representatives of the 96 Golden Generation.

When he was selected by Boston, he was called "Big Bird's successor" by the media. He likes to shoot three-pointers. He has scored 20+ points for many consecutive seasons. He has a good performance in rebounding and supporting assists. He even created an original "hip shaking dance".

The Mavericks continue to polish this offensive sword, coupled with the original "Three Musketeers", Nash, Nowitzki and Finley, thinking about the offense, the prospect is simply picturesque.The offensive lineup has reached the extreme, and the Mavericks' wave of play is setting sail.

The Dallas Mavericks have a good owner and a good fan, so that this team can call the wind and rain in the free market, and it is unspeakable.

With the Dallas Mavericks taking the lead in responding, the flamboyant Sacramento Kings dare not fall behind.

Although Rick Adelman created Princeton's tactical system single-handedly, making him a master of the generation, he lacked a strong proof of a strong championship ring.

Taking advantage of the tail of the Kings when they were still in their prime, they brought in Brad Miller to fill Chris Webber's vacancy?In fact, they didn't think about how luxurious the King's inside lineup will be after Webber's comeback.

Because they have always relied on the Princeton system, not individual stars.

In fact, the most surprising thing is the Minnesota Timberwolves, which has always been known for being stingy. With no heart, the Timberwolves can only fight.

The Timberwolves staged a criss-cross and close-attack drama, snatching the madman Latrell Sprewell and the alien Sam Cassell, and formed the "three-headed monster" with Garnett .

First of all, when he learned that the championship opponent, the Spurs, was planning a four-team joint deal, he decisively contacted the other three teams, the 76ers, the Knicks, and the Eagles, to make a deal first and steal the results of the Spurs.

The Timberwolves sent Brandon to get Sprewell; the 76ers sent Keith Van Horn to get the big dog Glenn Robinson to assist Iverson; the Knicks sent Sprewell to get Van Horn ; The Eagles sent Glenn Robinson and got Brandon.

Secondly, Joe Smith and Anthony Peeler took advantage of the discord of the "Three Musketeers" of the Milwaukee Bucks to grab Elvin Johnson and Sam Cassell.

Then, the big-hearted Timberwolves swiped the prize once and signed the famous parallel import champion Michael Olowokandi, but it turned out to be a miss.

However, Shibie 4rd should look at them with admiration. Even ESPN's expert group is very optimistic about their strength, thinking that they are the only team with the strength to compete with the Lakers' F[-] combination.

Because the Timberwolves have gathered a good hand of cards and a lot of talents.

Not only the "Three Monsters", but also an All-Star pitcher Wally Szczerbiak. It can be said that there is nothing wrong with the four All-Stars, except for Troy Hudson, a spoiler. He blocks and kills gods at the right time, and never relents at critical moments. He is a trustworthy key killer.

On the defensive end, there are also power forward Mark Madsen, nicknamed Mad Dog, and excellent defensive forward Trenton Hassel and so on.

Although the Timberwolves' playoff experience and lineup may become a weakness, but with their strong lineup, they are not afraid of any team's challenge at all.

Originally, the players in the Western Conference, in order to compete for the NBA championship, fought in the chaos of the free market.
When Paul Silas saw this information, he would only laugh it off, but he didn't take it seriously, because the Cavaliers were positioned to rebuild and train the little emperor James. They didn't have the strength to win the championship at all. , I dare not say that I will be able to get in in the end.

Unexpectedly, under the leadership of James, the Cavaliers actually turned the Cavaliers upside down. The stagnant Cavaliers actually survived, and the regular season once ranked first in the league.

Even in the face of the No. [-] Pacers, they were able to fight until the last moment. It was only because they missed the three-pointer that they were only two points behind and lost.

Now, it is found that the strength of the Cavaliers is not that bad, and they have a chance to become the dark horse of this season and break out of the tight encirclement.

Thinking of the next team, the team they will face is the Timberwolves, who have made great achievements in the turbulent transfer market this summer.

Paul Silas originally wanted to test whether the Cavaliers were qualified to fight for the championship, and tested it with the Timberwolves, who hadn't run into the new lineup yet.

Unexpectedly, Boozer fell first, and the fixed starting lineup that had been winning all the time was dismantled. What lineup will he use to test?What player to replace Boozer's position?

We can only readjust the lineup, try other tactics again, and find a way to win.

(End of this chapter)