After hanging up the phone, Presti sat in the office and fell into deep thought.
After hearing Min Congda's trading chips, Presti admitted that he was moved at a certain moment.
This season, the Clippers have suddenly emerged under the leadership of an airborne manager in an incredible way.
Many of Smart-Min's operations and transactions seemed unreliable at first glance, but in Presti's opinion, they were all very sophisticated operations.
For example, keep Zach Randolph and renew Randolph's contract in advance because Randolph is in his prime.
Low-post players like him are rare in the league, and it would be a pity to give them up casually.
If you renew the contract in advance, you can use it if it is useful. If not, it has sufficient transaction value.
There was also the trade of Kaman in exchange for Gasol. At that time, the Los Angeles media was full of criticism.
When the Clippers entered the playoffs, Los Angeles fans discovered that Gasol was also very good.
As a 28-year-old center, Kaman's potential has been exhausted, and he overlaps with Randolph in terms of position and function.
Since Randolph is retained, it is natural to trade Kaman away in exchange for a younger insider with potential.
One signing and one transaction are both good operations in Presti's opinion.
The only thing that Presti can't understand is why Min Congda selected Curry with the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Seeing this unexpected choice at that time, Presti was already tempted to capture Griffin.
Unfortunately, Griffin was taken away by the Grizzlies with the second overall pick, and the Thunder could only pick Harden as originally planned.
Since Presti chose Harden, he is naturally very optimistic about this player's development.
But Presti himself is not particularly clear about how optimistic he is and what expectations he has for Harden's future development.
At least judging from his performance in the new season, Harden is pretty good and basically meets expectations.
It's just that his status in the team is the same as the time he came to the Thunder. He must be ranked behind Durant and Westbrook.
In Presti's mind, the Thunder's real assets are only two people, Kevin Durant and Westbrook.
Their potential and talent are obvious to the naked eye. Not to mention Durant, Westbrook's performance this season is also very good.
He and Durant burst out, shot, held the ball, and did not have the ball. Once they grow up in the future, they will definitely shine.
Presti is still very certain about this.
As for Harden, he is more like a snake oil player in Presti's mind.
In terms of personality, he is more lazy than Durant and Westbrook.
During normal training, Durant and Westbrook are the last to leave.
Both of them will practice until dark, and Harden will go home early to rest.
Durant is the core boss that the team needs to cultivate in terms of ability and team tactics.
But in terms of leadership qualities and toughness of character, Westbrook is even more outstanding.
Compared with Harden, there is no competitiveness. My little brother, I have no complaints about being a substitute.
Harden's data this season is 9.9 points per game, which is a bit lower than Gordon.
Gordon's performance in terms of statistics is basically the same as Westbrook's.
"Gordon can also play as a substitute, and his defense against Kobe is very good. Three-pointers and breakthroughs are all what the team needs. If he was in the Thunder last season, we would definitely not be squeezed out of the playoffs. However, But why would Smart give him to us?”
Presti is excited about Gordon trading for Harden.
But he couldn't understand Min Congda's motives.
The two teams are direct competitors, so why trade their top players?
Gordon is still very young and has great potential. After a normal team experienced Gordon's performance last season, they will definitely keep him and wait for him to grow and develop slowly.
Instead of replacing him with a player in the same position who also has potential but currently performs poorly.
Especially since the trading opponent is a direct competitor for the Western Conference playoffs, this is so unreasonable.
When something goes wrong, there must be a monster. Presti smelled the atmosphere of conspiracy and decided to hold a meeting to discuss it together.
So, Presti called the Thunder management people over and held an impromptu short meeting.
As soon as he explained the terms and content of the deal with the Clippers, the meeting room immediately exploded.
How can anyone trade like this? Everyone talked a lot, thinking that there must be fraud.
"Does Gordon have any health issues? He suffered a serious knee injury in college. This is a hidden danger."
"Smart is a person who has always been cunning and surly. He doesn't play by the rules, so he has to be cautious."
"Gordon is still young, and his injuries in the regular season did not affect his performance in the playoffs. I don't think there is anything to worry about injuries. Anyway, he will undergo a physical examination when the trade is made."
"Gordon is a better defender than Harden, and I think Gordon has a sure thing, and Harden...it's hard to say yet."
One of the team's scouts mentioned the word "certainty," which spoke to Presti's heart.
Whether it is a trade or a draft, it is essentially an investment, and the most averse thing about investment is risk.
How to minimize risks is always something investors need to consider.
Therefore, investors will try their best to do things that are certain or have high certainty.
In this way, the risk can be minimized, the profit may not be the highest, but the loss will not be the largest either.
Gordon entered the league a year earlier than Harden, and the age difference is almost the same.
The biggest difference is that Gordon played one more year and also played in the playoffs.
He has proven that he can be a very good shooting guard.
There is a possibility of entering the All-Stars. Maybe he will be able to enter the All-Stars next season.
And Harden has yet to show All-Star certainty in his first season.
From this point of view, Gordon is a better investment than Harden.
But Presti still couldn't get around one question: What was Smart's motivation?
He could see the certainty in Gordon, and Smart could certainly see it too.
So why would he give up such certainty and trade Gordon for Harden?
Could it be that there was something in Harden that he didn't see, and Smart discovered it?
Presti believes that his research on Harden is quite thorough.
But Smart's ability to read people made him have to doubt it.
Curry is a great example.
This situation is really confusing.
At this time, a senior executive came up with an idea.
He said: "Sam, I'm wondering, is Smart purging the players selected by the previous management out of a power struggle? You see, Jordan and Kaman have all been replaced. Now it's naturally Gordon's turn. Randolph and Davis have just been traded to the Clippers, and Smart gets along well with them. Those players who came to the Clippers earlier and were selected by Olshey will definitely have to leave."
As soon as I said this, my mind immediately opened up.
Someone said: "Yes, Olshey has been sent to China. What kind of basketball talent discovery is there? What can be discovered there? He has been sent."
"Not to mention Olshey, even Sterling is under control. Smart is suspected of usurping the power of the Clippers' senior management. It is said that he and Anschutz are very close."
"Smart is a power player. He is very good at it. The entire team is under his firm control."
Everyone was talking again, and Presti asked everyone to quiet down and said, "Where did you hear all these gossips?"
Someone said: "There is one on NBA-Batman that frequently updates the inside story of the Clippers' power struggle."
"Have you also watched NBA-Batman?"
"Of course, are you paying attention?"
"Follow it, I will check it every day."
"I heard that old Dunleavy had double eyelids when he was young?"
"Really? I said it was a little strange to look at his eyes..."
"Okay, okay!" Presti felt that the meeting was moving in a strange direction.
No matter what everyone says, the final trade decision still has to be made by Presti himself.
In fact, his heart had been shaken and he was determined to trade, but the last trace of reason told him that there was a problem.
He decided to ask the team’s owner for instructions, and Clay Bennett only asked one question after hearing Presti’s report: “Will the future salary space be healthier and save money after the transaction? ?”
Presti thought for a moment and said, "Okay."
"Then go ahead and do it boldly."
(End of chapter)
