basketball scientist

After the game on the night of the 23rd, the Eagles got a 3-day rest before welcoming the New Jersey Nets at home on the 27th.The players also got two days off to enjoy Christmas.

The players can relax, but the front office has work to do.For example, the team's financial report for this year; for example, the continuous follow-up of the rookie report; for example, the trade negotiations with the Rockets are still in progress.

After Tracy McGrady came back, the Rockets' record has improved. They have three wins and one loss in the last four games, and only lost one game to the Mavericks. The team's record has improved to 12 wins and 15 losses. Head coach Van Gundy has firmly established the strategy of exchanging draft picks for immediate combat power.

However, the real decision-maker for the Rockets is owner Alexander. On the basis of the trading ideas set by Dawson and Van Gundy, he put forward new demands. Juwan Howard and Swift's garbage contract must be brought go one!

In McGrady's deal, the Magic put Juwan Howard's 5-year 3000 million premium contract in the deal. Now that a season has passed, Howard, who has reached his age, has steadily declined. It's not bad, but the defensive end is slow, and there is only one mid-range shot left on the offensive end. The remaining 4 years of 2400 million contracts can be completely classified as "junk contracts"!

This summer, the Rockets waived Witherspoon through the "Alan Houston Clause", freed up a salary space, and signed Swift with a four-year 4 million contract.Playing so far is also very sad. Apart from his excellent running and jumping ability and violent dunking, this guy really has no advantages.

On the offensive end, he has no ball quotient, can't move, and the quality of pick-and-roll is poor, let alone shooting; on the defensive end, he has poor lower body strength, can't stand up to people, and has no awareness of assisting defense. He is also reckless and easy to be shaken.

These two people each occupy the space of a middle-class contract. The contract is stinky and long, but the actual combat effectiveness is very average.The decline of the former is irreversible, while the latter shows no signs of "opening up".It's no surprise that Alexander wants to take the opportunity to get rid of their rubbish contract.

However, if you hope that the Eagles will eat garbage contracts, then you won't be able to get any outstanding immediate combat power!

Dawson felt very embarrassed, but he knew that his boss Alexander was a miser.He doesn't care whether the team can advance to the second round or even hit the championship, and he doesn't care if the fans play "Alexander's dead mother song" every day. All he cares about is making money, making money with the lowest risk, and letting him pay the luxury tax. Don't even think about it, even under the salary cap, you can save every penny.

Van Gundy also finds it difficult to do. According to his original plan with Dawson, there are two plans for the trade with the Eagles. One is "Derek Anderson + Joan Barry + first-round pick" trade "David Lee + Matt Bahn The second is the "David Wesley + Keith Bogans + first-round pick" trade "James Posey + Mickey Moore + Pistons second-round pick".The Rockets also upgraded the two positions of power forward and small forward to increase their winning percentage in the playoffs.

Basically, as long as they make it to the playoffs, even if the draft pick is finally exchanged for the 15th or 16th pick and they can get Posey or David Lee, the Rockets will not lose money.

But Alexander gave an order, and the matter became difficult.

Calling Larry Sander, Dawson offered his own price: "Juwan Howard + Wesley + first-round pick for Matt Barnes + David Lee." (The Eagles have enough space to eat Howard's raw contract, no trim required)

"Carol, are you kidding me?" Larry Sander turned cold, "David's current market is already in the top ten of rookies in the 05 class, and this is still in the background of playing as a substitute! Use him to change I have to hesitate about your draft picks, you want me to take Juwan Howard's 4-year contract, 4 years!"

If he agrees to this offer, he, Larry Sander, will be ashamed to sit down as the general manager of the Eagles.

"But you have Milicic, he has more potential than David." Dawson reminded.

"Then do you think I can use David to discuss first-round picks with other teams, can we talk about it?"

There is no way to answer this question.It's hard to say now, after all, David Lee has only played 28 regular season games, and only two of them started the game.But as long as David Lee maintains this performance, after the end of the season and the draft lottery, the Eagles want to trade him for a marginal lottery pick, there is no problem at all.

"How do you plan to trade?" Dawson asked after a while.

"I want to say that in our original plan, there was no intention to swallow Howard's contract."

This is not only a part of negotiation skills, but also a true portrayal of Larry Sander's inner thoughts. One or two years of rubbish contract, he swallowed it while pinching his nose. Four years of rubbish contract, it will affect the future operation of the team too much!

"I need to talk to my team, Carol."

"OK, wait for the good news."

After hanging up the phone, Larry Sander looked at Ke Yan opposite him: "What do you think?"

"The Rockets' role players are too weak, and I'm quite sure that as long as one of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady is injured, the draft pick will be a lottery!" Ke Yan said, "This lottery pick can broaden our room for greater manipulation in the future. "

"But if the Rockets insist on letting us take Howard's four-year contract, are you sure you can make good use of Howard?" Larry Sand asked, "Or Swift, I think the Rockets may also be willing to accept giving up on him. "

You can't ignore everything. Even if the team's high-quality potential stocks + draft picks can bring superstars, Howard's junk contract will still restrict the development of the Eagles.

"You're right. This is a rubbish contract. I don't have the ability to make good use of him." Ke Yan admitted, "In the end, he, a player with an annual salary of 600 million, can only play the role of a player with a minimum salary. But I can Find basic salary players or rookie players, and play 600 million effects."

"..."

This pretense is a bit too much, but Ke Yan does use the basic salary players well.Anderson, Eddie House, Diop, Barnes during the Lakers period; Kittles and Mickey Moore during the Eagles period.

"I have to report this to Anthony, after all, it is a 4-year contract." Larry Sander said.

Ke Yan is not only achieving outstanding results now, but also stimulated the Eagles' football market by the way.As long as his request was not too excessive, Ressler would agree no matter what.

Larry Sander also understood this psychologically and insisted on reporting to Ressler for two purposes.The first is to throw the pot away, to make it clear that this transaction is not led by me, and any problems in the future are all the responsibility of Ke Yan; the second is to give this favor to Ressler, and let Ressler show his trust in Ke Yan.

Sure enough, after listening to Ke Yan's ideas, Anthony Ressler directly instructed Larry Sander to follow Ke Yan's proposal, and if the conditions are right, he can enter the contract of Howard or Swift.

Given such a trust, Ressler believes that there will be no major obstacles when he renews his contract with Keyan in the summer.

If it is normal, the initial negotiation is unfavorable, and the two sides always have to air the other side, take the bridge, and put on a show.However, in time for Christmas Eve, everyone wanted to reach an agreement as soon as possible, and the second negotiation started in the afternoon.

This time, Carroll Dawson brought in the Dallas Mavericks and proposed a more realistic trade plan.

The Rockets sent first-round picks, Juwan Howard, and Lucas III, and got Matt Barnes, Royal Ivey, and the Mavericks' first-round picks;

The Mavericks sent the first-round pick, Christie, to the Eagles' Mickey Moore;

The Eagles sent Mickey Moore, Royal Ivey, Matt Barnes, and got Juwan Howard, Christie, Lucas III and the Rockets' first-round pick.

This trade plan is relatively reliable on the whole. The Rockets sent a draft pick to get rid of a four-year garbage contract. At the same time, they strengthened the team's small forward position.

The Mavericks sent a draft pick at the end of the first round and an injury-ridden veteran in exchange for a more mobile insider, giving the team one more option for inside defense;

The Hawks sent Barnes at the end of the rotation and Mickey Moore who had fallen out of the rotation, swallowed the contracts of two veterans, and acquired a high-ranking rookie who is likely to enter the lottery.

This trading plan is not bad overall, but Ke Yan is still a little worried about the depth of the team's flank personnel.

Christie used to be a defensive leader at the second position in the league, a real "Kobe killer", but at the age of 35, he has been plagued by injuries this season. He has only played six games for the Mavericks so far this season, and has been plagued by ankle injuries since then .

Barnes' time in the rotation was not easy for him to replace, and he studied the rosters of each team, and finally set the target on Udoka of the Knicks, pulling the Knicks into a four-team trade .

The Rockets sent first-round picks, Juwan Howard, and Lucas III, and got Matt Barnes, Royal Ivey, and the Mavericks' first-round picks;

The Mavericks sent the first-round pick, Christie, to the Eagles' Mickey Moore;

The Eagles sent Mickey Moore, Royal Ivey, Matt Barnes, Dota Smith, and got Juwan Howard, Amy Udoka, Christie, Lucas III and the Rockets' first-round pick.

The Knicks traded Amy Udoka for Dota Smith.

A large transaction involving ten players was finalized in the management liaison, and everyone tacitly did not immediately process the documents required for the transaction.

On the one hand, today is Christmas Eve and tomorrow is Christmas. I don’t want the players to spend the New Year in turmoil; more importantly, the league’s staff is also on holiday for Christmas, and no one has reviewed the documents submitted. Review transaction documents.

There is no doubt that this deal is a short-term harmful but long-term beneficial operation for the Eagles.The team's immediate combat power must have declined.

In order to promote this deal, Ke Yan definitely needs to support the team's performance, which also requires him to pay more energy in the command of the next season.

Ke Yan also felt a bit of a headache. He walked out of the office and kept rubbing his temples.

The weather was a bit cold, Ke Yan rubbed his hands together and let out a long breath.

"Didi!" The horn of a car in front rang twice, and Ke Yan recognized Wang Zhenyao's car, a little surprised.

The window was lowered, and a familiar figure sat in the driver's seat.

Ke Yan was a little dazed. In the previous call, Wang Lifan said that he planned not to come back for Christmas.

Wang Lifan looked at him for a while, and seeing that he still didn't come in, he pressed the horn twice again.

Ke Yan came back to his senses, quickly opened the car door and entered the co-pilot, and asked with a smile on his face, "When did you come back?"

"I didn't plan to come back, but my boyfriend made wishes to Santa Claus through the media, hoping that I would come back, what can I do, is it against Santa Claus's will?" Wang Lifan said coquettishly, "Isn't there no competition? What? Come to the training hall today?"

"I have a deal to discuss, and I have been busy here all day." The smile on the corner of Ke Yan's mouth could not be restrained: "Thank Santa Claus, thank Jesus."

"Fool~"

Because it was Christmas, there were not many cars on the road, so we soon arrived at Wang Lifan's house, which was opened by Wang Zhenyao.

"Uncle, aunt, Merry Christmas." Ke Yan said, a little embarrassed.

She didn't know that Wang Lifan was back beforehand, and she carried herself all the way back, so she didn't have time to buy gifts.

It is a bit embarrassing to come to the door empty-handed during the big festival.

But Wang Zhenyao and Zhou Yun didn't care about this, and quickly let Ke Yan in: "Come in quickly, I'll wait for you to eat."

Different countries have different Christmas customs. In the United States, the must-have foods for Christmas are: turkey, pudding, roast ham, and polenta.It has been 20 years since the Wang family moved to the United States, and they have already followed the Romans in some aspects, and they have everything they should have.There are also Cantonese dim sum such as rice cakes, glutinous rice balls, and fried rice cakes.

"You don't have to be restrained, it's like being at home, can you drink?" It's a rare holiday, and Wang Zhenyao obviously wants to have a few drinks.

"I don't usually drink much, but for the holidays, I'll be with my uncle." Ke Yan said straightforwardly.

Wang Zhenyao is the chief doctor of cardiothoracic and pulmonary surgery. He is busy with affairs on weekdays and has operations almost every day. He rarely has the opportunity to drink freely. It is rare to drink once. Zhou Yun and Wang Lifan didn't stop them and directly opened a bottle of champagne for them.

"You did a good job in the Eagles. Many people in our hospital are now Eagles fans. In the past, everyone didn't bother to mention the Eagles." Wang Zhenyao's words are really not a compliment, but a fact.

It's only been less than two months, and the Eagles have already won more balls than last season!

"It's easier to go from 0 to 60 points, and the real test is to go up." Ke Yan said modestly.

"That's not necessarily the case, isn't there a saying, 'Everything is difficult at the beginning'?" Wang Zhenyao said, raising his glass, "It's not good to be too modest."

"He is like this. He is already very good, but he still feels that he has not done enough." Wang Lifan was cueing Ke Yan on the surface, but he was still praising him.

"Because my grades are still empty now, and I don't have any real honor in my hands." Ke Yan said, "Word-of-mouth is the most untrustworthy thing."

"That makes sense~" Wang Zhenyao appreciated Ke Yan's words very much.

"Uncle, I respect you~"

Wang Zhenyao continued to pull Ke Yan to talk, Zhou Yun kept sending dishes to Ke Yan's plate, Wang Lifan twitched his mouth, who is your own~

The two of them finished off a large bottle of champagne, Ke Yan felt that it was almost in place, excused that he would pass out if he drank any more, and ended the banquet.

Helped clean up the dishes, the mother and daughter were doing aftermath work in the kitchen, and Wang Zhenyao and Ke Yan were sitting on the sofa.

"Do your parents know about you and Never?" Wang Zhenyao asked suddenly.

"I have mentioned it to them and seen the photos," Ke Yan said.

"The two elders are against Never..."

"I have a good impression. My parents also hope that I can find a more stable girl." Ke Yan gave Wang Zhenyao a reassurance.

There is no job better than a doctor, let alone a doctor in the United States, with high social status and stable income, and being able to be admitted to a medical school in the United States shows that the IQ is very high, which is also valued by some families.

"Never used to be more playful, but after going to college, he stabilized a lot." Wang Zhenyao said firmly, "Your parents are public servants, so it is not convenient for you to go abroad. Then when the season is over, our family will return to China to visit your parents."

"Huh?" Ke Yan was startled.

"what do you think?"

"Uncle, let's listen to Never's opinion. I,,,,,, don't really want to put pressure on her."

"Never, let me tell you."

. . . . . . .

After Christmas, the four teams released a blockbuster to the league. A big deal involving four teams, 10 players, and 2 draft picks detonated the league.

At first, public opinion gave mixed reviews to the deal.In the eyes of the fans, Howard can bring experience to the team as a veteran, and his statistics are not bad; Christie is also someone who has seen big scenes; there is also draft compensation.

But when the experts called out that Juwan Howard's 4 million contract in the next four years would greatly affect the future operation of the Eagles, the fans realized the danger. 2400 years too!

All of a sudden, doubts arose!

Fortunately, Ke Yan had a vicious vision in this year's draft. Both Paul and David Lee's performance exceeded expectations. This made the fans think that Ke Yan agreed to the deal because of which rookie he took a fancy to.Moreover, Howard's contract expired in 09, which does not affect the Hawks' renewal of Paul and David Lee in 09, and even negotiated a contract with Joe Johnson in 10 years.

The fans of the Eagles felt that they had suffered a great loss, and they managed to calm down because of Ke Yan's face, and did not attack on social media.Rockets fans also feel that they are losing money!

The team sent away Juwan Howard and introduced Barnes, saving money is indeed saving money, but the strength does not seem to have increased much!There is a good or bad, falling out of the playoffs list, this is a lottery pick!

TMD uses lottery picks to take away junk contracts to save money!Is there still Wang Fa?Is there still a law?

The only ones who feel that they have made a profit are the Mavericks fans. They are a championship team, the draft picks are destined to be at the end, and there is no time to cultivate rookies. In exchange for an experienced and distinctive insider, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

However, Ke Yan has always believed that it is best to evaluate a transaction after all the chips are cashed out.Whether the Eagles make a profit or a loss depends on what the Rockets' draft pick is!

On the morning of December 12, the Eagles completed the physical examination for the four players, and then the four of them participated in the press conference with the team staff and took pictures in front of the media with their new jerseys.

Among them, Lucas III is the most excited. He joined the fast-paced Eagles and played under Ke Yan, who is good at using young people. Scrambling for the idea of ​​a backup point guard.

Udoka is also very excited, not because of joining the Hawks, but because of leaving the chaotic Knicks.Young players still need a good environment to grow.Obviously, the current Knicks do not have this condition.

Christie is suffering from injuries and is already thinking about retiring. After all, he joined the Mavericks with the intention of grabbing a championship ring. There is no hope for the Eagles for the time being. Instead of this, it is better to retire early and enjoy life!

Juwan Howard has the attitude of "whatever comes, let's settle down". He just wants to get his contract of 4 million yuan for the next four years, and he doesn't care who pays it.