The older superstars of the NBA

Kevin. Martin's retirement is undoubtedly a big news, quickly surprised the fans in Minneapolis.

Although Martin can't play the role of a superstar like Zhao Feiyang in the team, it has to be said that his presence in the back line is still very important.

Not only can he lead the second team to play well, but he can also make up for Zach LaVine to play in the starting lineup from time to time when Zach LaVine is not in good form.

In particular, his stable long-range shots are definitely one of the most useful boosts for the Timberwolves.

Now that he is leaving the team, there will undoubtedly be a vacancy on the back line of the Timberwolves.Although Ricky Rubio can also play a role in organizing offense, his role in the second team is really limited.

If they want to continue to hit the championship next season, the Timberwolves must strengthen in various positions of the team.

Otherwise, they will never be able to cross the Golden State Warriors.

So, the day after Kevin Martin announced his retirement, the Timberwolves management held a high-level meeting.

Regarding the team's reinforcement, the management decided to start in the free market as soon as possible, and trade with other teams by the way, and must find a way to dig out those players with high enough cost performance earlier.

At this time, in a luxurious villa far away in Oklahoma City, Serge Ibaka, one of the former "Thunder Four Young Masters", was anxiously waiting for news.

The cause was a call from the broker.

"Serge, Durant is really gone...Russell should stay, but the Thunder management seems to have plans to rebuild..."

"Someone disclosed the news to me that they plan to trade you...I'm not completely sure yet, but the management is holding a meeting today, and after the meeting is over, there will be definite news... ..”

Ibaka, who heard that he was going to be traded, was a little flustered.

Since entering the Thunder through the NBA draft in 2008, he has never left the city.

Although this is just a small place that is not valued by most teams in the league, through many seasons of hard work, the Thunder has long become one of the most competitive teams in the league.

Especially in the past few seasons, it can be said that the Thunder are very close to the championship. Although they are always unfortunately eliminated at the last moment, they are definitely capable of winning the championship.

Ibaka sat lonely on the sofa, staring numbly at the replay of the game on the TV. His mood began to deteriorate, and his body seemed to have no strength. Only when he turned his head occasionally to see the old photo on the bookshelf Only then can his brain calm down briefly.

"No!"

Ibaka shook his head with a complicated expression.

That old photo reminded him of too many things, and made his mood even more uncomfortable at the moment.

That's right, the photo above is nothing but a group photo of the "Four Young Masters of Thunder".

It was an ordinary training day. After the four of them finished playing in the arena, they happened to meet a reporter who came to interview them. They took the photo with the help of each other's cameras.

In addition to Ibaka, the other three are Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and James Harden.

At that time, the relationship between the four of them was so good. They trained together and left the arena together, went to nightclubs to relax together, attended parties together, and brought their families to parties together.

They are like old friends for many years, mutual respect is full of joy.

At that time, their goals were also very consistent, that is, to work hard together to hit the championship in this underrated city.

They did.

In the 2011-12 season, they eliminated all the teams in the Western Conference to become the Western Conference champions, and met the Miami Heat in the finals.

They thought that their lineup was strong, and they fought from the stronger Western Conference. They thought that they could beat the Heat with the Big Three. Even if they couldn't, at least six to seven games would not be a problem.

It's a pity that in the end, the reality slapped them hard. They were eliminated by the Miami Heat, which owns the Big Three, in only 5 games.

In other words, they only won one game in the series full of confidence.

By the end of that season, James Harden was sent away by the team management, and their dream of "fighting side by side to win the championship" that they had expected was shattered.

Later, the "Thunder Four" became the "Three Thunder", and they are still struggling to chase the championship.

Until he was defeated by the Golden State Warriors for two consecutive seasons and Kevin Durant's contract ended, he finally no longer had the patience to choose to leave this place.

And Durant's departure is also one of the key reasons why this team eventually separated and collapsed.

Everyone knows that if Durant hadn't left, the Thunder might still have a chance. Now that he's gone, it's impossible for the Thunder to win the championship with the current lineup.

"I never imagined that one day I would leave this city..."

"It seems that maybe everything is destined..."

Ibaka said to himself.

Just when he was in a daze, the manager's call came again.

"Hey, Serge, the news is out... The Thunder front office decided to put you on the trade shelf...Man, it looks like we have to get out of here this time... "

"You don't have to worry, I will find a way to help you communicate with them, and try my best to help you find a team that suits you..."

Ibaka sighed helplessly, said a few words and hung up the phone.

He knew very well that the agent's words were all consolations. Once his contract had not ended, once he was put on the trading shelf, his fate would no longer be decided by himself!

Soon, the Thunder team management released news that they decided to officially trade Serge Ibaka.

Other teams in the league have also been waiting for news from the trading market. As soon as they heard that the Thunder had put such a player on the trading market, many teams immediately contacted them.

The Minnesota Timberwolves also got the news. Regarding the situation of Serge Ibaka, the team management held a meeting to discuss it immediately.

"Serge's performance is very good, whether he plays the [-]th position or the [-]th position, he is very strong... The most important thing is that this player is hard-working, and he has done a lot when he was in the Thunder. Dirty work..."

"I think he can be won! It even needs to pay some price. If he can come to the Timberwolves, our inside lineup will be greatly enhanced next season..."

"That's right, he averaged 12.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season... Definitely very valuable to us... His contract is just over $1200 million, Getting him with the cap space the team has is never going to be a problem..."