After being eliminated by the Bulls, Lin Yu was too lazy to pay attention to the playoffs. He only knew that the Bulls would definitely win the championship.
What Lin Yu has to do now is draft and trade.
Originally, Lin Yu didn't have high expectations for the 1997 draft. After all, there was only one martial artist who could be selected. However, the New Jersey Nets came to send warmth, which directly made Lin Yu have expectations again.
The Nets' idea is quite simple. The 1997 draft is regarded as a small draft year. Except for Duncan, no other rookie has shined.
Instead of using the No. 7 pick to try to find a needle in a haystack to try to get lucky, it would be better to trade the ready-made Davis with the Bullets, which at least guarantees no loss.
As for Unseld's suggestion that they package Childs from the Knicks, the Nets agreed without hesitation. They lacked stars in the Nets lineup, but they did not lack the kind of role players who could not slip through. Just find two. It's not a big deal to trade with the Knicks.
Besides, they had to bring out players to equalize Davis' salary, so it doesn't matter who they use to match it.
In Lin Yu's opinion, there is nothing wrong with the Nets' operation, because if they really let them choose, they can only choose power forward Tim Thomas with the seventh pick.
A big man with a height of 208 centimeters, although his offensive ability is pretty good, his career average of four or five rebounds per game is unjustifiable, and his value is much worse than Davis.
Lin Yu got the No. 7 pick, so he can choose Tracy McGrady, so this is a real win-win deal, with both parties getting what they need.
To say that this deal is only good for the Bullets, that is not the case, because after Davis leaves, there will be no substitute.
It is impossible for a game to last forty-eight minutes forever, and AC Green, who practices boy skills, cannot do such a perverted thing.
Fortunately, O'Brien can play center. Although his effect as a center is not as good as that of a power forward, it is still better than having no center available.
Xiao Ao's transaction was mentioned at the top of the agenda by Lin Yu.
Lin Yu was sitting in the general manager's office early the next morning, discussing the next trading plan with Unseld.
Unseld is currently very convinced by Lin Yu. He knows very well that he has not got a penny of credit for the Bullets' brilliant record this season. It is all because of Lin Yu's keen eyesight, and he has successively discovered Ben, Jaylen Rose, Mashburn et al.
Unseld had to be convinced by Lin Yu's vision in selecting people, so when talking about the deal now, he gave Lin Yu a lot of autonomy.
"That Jermaine O'Neal of the Trail Blazers, I have already said hello to their general manager Bob Sr."
"The trade is possible, but old Bob wants to make a big one. He wants Mashburn, let us sign and trade first, and is willing to give us Leder plus Clifford Robinson, and there is also a first-choice team for next year. The draft picks, of course, include the young O'Neal you want."
After hearing the Trail Blazers' offer, Lin Yu could only shake his head repeatedly. The offer was actually quite sincere, but it was not realistic at all.
If the Bullets had the salary space to sign Mashburn, how could they sell him? The top three small forwards in the league cannot be bought with money.
Signing first and then trading will also take up salary space. Unless Pauline spends a lot of money and is willing to offer a salary level like the Knicks, renewing Mashburn's contract is simply unrealistic.
Lin Yu is quite impressed by Trail Blazers general manager Bob Whist. This guy is also a lunatic.
Nelson is a lunatic in tactics, while Whist is a lunatic in trading. He likes to engage in all kinds of blockbuster transactions, so he also has a nickname, "Trader Bob".
In addition, he also likes to sign players with thorny criminal records, turning the Portland Trail Blazers into the Portland Prison Team. He is affectionately nicknamed "Warden Bob" by the fans of the home team.
"Wes, we don't have room to sign Jamal at all. Let's not make this deal so big."
"Just focus on Jermaine O'Neal, I just want him."
Lin Yu said slowly that he was a little worried that Whist thought the deal was too small and was too lazy to do it. After all, that guy was a big deal maker.
"Okay, then I can only exchange it for Legler. Bob asked for it by name, and I'm a little reluctant to give it up."
The leg brother's annual salary is only 450,000. Before Lin Yu came, his performance was indeed only worth 450,000. However, after Lin Yu captured him, he averaged 7.8 points per game and shot 48.2% from three-point range. , is definitely a good scorer on the bench.
The Trail Blazers are not a team in the rebuilding period. Their current lineup is aiming for the championship. They really want a cost-effective substitute player like Legler.
Not to mention Unseld's reluctance, Lin Yu was also reluctant, but when he thought that the leg brother could be exchanged for Xiao Ao, there was no need to talk about this deal, and only a fool would not do it.
"Where's Steve Nash of the Suns? What did they say?" After Lin Yu got rid of Xiao Ou, he asked about Nash again.
"That nightclub maitre d'? His deal is easy to negotiate. I contacted their general manager Danny Ainge a few days ago, and he named Tracy Murray, but I haven't agreed to him yet."
"It's an unequal deal and I have to make them pay extra chips."
Unseld really didn't look down on Nash at all. If Lin Yu hadn't insisted, he would never have looked at Nash in his life before Nash became famous.
Lin Yu was speechless, unequal transaction? At his peak, Nash is the number one point guard in the league. Isn’t that just unfair?
But judging from the current performance of Murray and Nash, Unseld is actually right.
Murray came off the bench for the Raptors last season, averaging 16.2 points per game and shooting 42.2% from three-point range. Nash averaged 3 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound per game this year, which is indeed unequal.
Lin Yu was afraid that he would have long nights and dreams. After all, even if he traded Murray for Nash, he would still make a lot of money, so he decided to persuade him.
"How about agreeing to them? The worst case scenario is that they will give you a draft pick. They probably won't give it to you in the first round, but they can do it in the second round."
Unseld nodded, "I really don't know why you are so concerned about that kind of white boy. Are you going to open a nightclub?"
"I'll push this deal forward. Don't worry, I'll definitely get that guy for you."
"Where is Kobe?" Lin Yu couldn't help but ask.
Even if he is sure to get Tracy McGrady, O'Neill and Nash, Lin Yu still wants Kobe.
In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Bulls, Lin Yu had realized that, let alone the Bullets' remnant lineup, even with a complete lineup, they were definitely no match for the Bulls.
The Bullets have no way of limiting Jordan. Jaylen Rose's defensive attributes are not very good. Even if he randomly gets some auras that can improve his defensive attributes, he will never be able to guard Jordan.
In this case, you still have to find a shooting guard with strong defense. Kobe is very young and is far from his peak, but his current defensive performance is indeed good enough. Lin Yu remembers that Kobe’s defensive efficiency value has already been modeled in the second grade. That's it, he is much better than the current Jaylen Rose anyway.
Doing this is equivalent to saying that Medico is better than Nash and Lin Yu wants them all.
"Forget it, I almost called Jerry West and asked about his family. Guess what this old guy wants from me?"
"Juwan adds big money and wants our first-round pick next year, and then he has to help them swallow up Eldon Campbell's garbage contract with an annual salary of seven million. By the way, he even wants me to pay $300,000. cash subsidy.”
Unseld became more and more angry as he talked. Of course he knew that Kobe was expensive, but the Lakers' offer was simply humiliating him.
Lin Yu was also dumbfounded. Kobe was a substitute in his rookie season and averaged less than 10 points per game. Is the LOGO man crazy and dares to say such a thing?
In fact, both of them ignored one thing, and that was Kobe's commercial value. He was the youngest shooting guard in NBA history, and his popularity in Los Angeles was frightening. Adidas had overwhelming advertising to promote Kobe.
You must know that the second-year Kobe is also a pure substitute, but he has been selected into the All-Star lineup and even started!
This is enough to prove how popular Kobe is, and high popularity means high commercial value, allowing the team to make more money.
The general manager of a team has to consider not only the record, but also the profits. If the team loses money every year, he, the general manager, will be useless.
If the Lakers didn't offer a big deal, Lin Yu might have gritted his teeth and persuaded Unseld to agree.
But now that the Lakers want Big Ben, Lin Yu definitely can't agree. Big Ben is his own brother, and adding money won't do the trick.
"Then let's wait and see. Anyway, there is no rush to do this." Lin Yu said this, but he knew in his heart that if he failed to win Kobe this offseason, his coaching career would be doomed. No chance with Kobe anymore.
Kobe Bryant will start in the All-Star Game next season, and the Lakers may not be willing to trade Webb for an All-Star starting shooting guard who is less than 20 years old.
Unseld shrugged, "I think it's definitely out of the question. That old guy Jerry regards Kobe as more important than his own son."
"Kobe is out of luck, but I have another plan here, which is definitely not worse than Kobe."
Lin Yu suddenly became energetic, "Tell me, no, let me guess, have you negotiated a deal with the Kings and are you going to trade Zhu Wan for their rocky Richmond?"
Unseld's eyes almost burst out, and he asked in shock: "How do you know?"
He had just finished a phone call with Kings general manager Jeff Petrie half an hour ago.
Petrie is a star of the same generation as Unseld. When he was young, his handsome face fascinated thousands of girls. As a Trail Blazers star, the Trail Blazers retired his jersey.
When Unseld was discussing O'Neal's deal with the Trail Blazers, he suddenly thought of Petrie, who was at the helm of the Kings, and then thought of the Kings' boss, Rock Richmond.
He and Lin Yu have the same view. They both think that if the Bullets want to surpass the Bulls, they still have to prioritize improving the strength of the second position. Jaylen Rose is not bad, but he is not enough to check and balance Jordan.
And Rocky Richmond fits that perfectly.
As Jordan himself said, his favorite thing in life is to destroy talented young guards, not only on the court, but also off the court.
When Iverson entered the All-Star Game for the first time, he wanted to say hello to his idol Jordan, but Jordan called him a little brat...
After McGrady grew up, many people said that McGrady was Jordan's successor. Jordan scoffed at this, which made McGrady very embarrassed. Fortunately, McGrady was also smart and simply refused to admit that he admired Jordan and said that his idol was Penny Hardaway...
In 2003, Jordan and Kobe talked trash, I have six championship rings, and you only have three.
Later, Kobe followed suit. Whenever he had an argument with someone, he would immediately hold out five fingers to show that he had five championships.
Kobe was serious about imitating Jordan. He followed Jordan's footsteps non-stop throughout his life.
These talented guards have all been repaired by old gangsters, and few shooting guards of the same generation can catch Jordan's eye, but Rocky Richmond is an exception.
After Jordan retired, he publicly praised many players. However, when he was a player, the only non-teammate he praised was Richmond.
"He is the best shooting guard in the league after me!" "He is the most difficult defender I have ever encountered!"
Just these two comments from Jordan are enough to show how powerful Rocky Richmond is.
Lin Yu was also very excited. Although he remembered that Rock's combat effectiveness has declined year by year starting from next season and is no longer as brave as before, at least next season his immediate combat effectiveness will definitely be stronger than Kobe.
"What did the king say? It's impossible to only have one Zhu Wan, right?" Lin Yu asked curiously.
Under normal circumstances, the Bullets did trade Richmond with the Kings, but instead of Juwan Howard, they used Webber!
After Webb went to the Kings, he gradually became a historical super power forward.
Richmond is the current head coach of the Kings and is almost considered the number one player in the history of the Kings. Lin Yu doesn't think Uncle Huo can replace him alone.
"In addition to Juwan, we also need Cassell, and we also need our first-round picks from 1998 and 2000."
"I think it's still acceptable, what do you think?"
Lin Yu sighed silently. He knew that Richmond would not be so easy to get. Lin Yu was a time traveler. The two first-round picks were in the draft years of 1998 and 2000, which were almost equivalent to two All-Stars.
Good guy, Uncle Huo plus Cassel, plus two All-Stars, equals four All-Stars for one old rock. How can this transaction be considered a loss?
However, compared to the asking price of the Lakers, at least the Kings can accept it with gritted teeth.
