As Wang Zelin, Lillard, and Will Barton prepared for the rookie game, in the central conference room of the Rose Garden Arena, the coaching staff, coaches Tristos and David Vanderpool; general manager Nel Olsey, and operations staff President Mike Joerger held a mid-season meeting with the team.
First assistant coach David Vanderpool analyzed the Blazers' strength this season on the big screen.
The first picture is the Trail Blazers' current record: 40 wins and 14 losses, temporarily ranked second in the Western Conference.
"The team's results this year have exceeded all expectations and are the best performance since the new century..." David Vanderpool began to analyze.
"What's the biggest factor?"
After speaking, David Vanderpool clicked the mouse, and the second picture came out. It was a picture of Wang Zelin. Below it was an analysis of various comprehensive abilities, various effects on the team's efficiency, jersey sales and other information.
"Wang is undoubtedly Portland's biggest gain this year... He averaged 32 minutes per game, scoring 22.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2 blocks, and 0.6 steals. His offensive efficiency was the best on the team, and his win shares were also the same... "
After analyzing Wang Zelin, the next picture that comes out is Lillard.
Ten minutes later, David Vanderpool finished his speech, and Coach Terry took over: "Gentlemen, I think Portland has ushered in a great opportunity to win the championship for the second time in team history. God loves us so much... "
"The regular season is no longer our goal. We should set our goal in the playoffs in April. The team's starting lineup is both offensive and defensive, but our second lineup lacks enough aggression. Mike Roberts has more than enough defense and not enough offense. , the bench needs to be equipped with a player of sufficient weight..."
After speaking, Coach Terry set his sights on general manager Nel Orsi.
A large number of transactions always occur during the All-Star Weekend every year. Not only because the trade deadline is approaching, but also because after half a season of running-in, the team has already had its own problems and needs to seize the time to make final reinforcements.
The All-Star Weekend showed great prosperity, and behind the scenes, the management of each team had already been unable to hold back and started taking some actions.
Recently, espn listed a list of players that are highly sought after in the NBA trade market. The number one player is Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith, who has been at the forefront of trade rumors recently.
Last week, Smith just rejected the Eagles' three-year, $47 million contract, which made the educational messages related to him spread even more violently.
According to ESPN reporter Chris Broussard, the probability that the Eagles will send Josh Smith away before the trade deadline is 60%.
The Hawks' Eagle King Josh Smith's efficiency value this season is only slightly higher than the league average, and his overall data has declined compared with last season. Logically speaking, his trade value should not be large.
But don’t forget that Josh Smith, known as the poor man’s version of James, is at the peak of his career. For players of this age, a sustained downturn in one season often heralds an explosion in the next season.
All-round data of 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.2 steals...and he is only 28 years old.
That's enough to make any team salivate, including the Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers are a very youthful team, and a large number of rookies have brought ample salary space to the Trail Blazers.
In 2009, he signed a five-year, 82 million-dollar contract with Brandon Roy, the second largest contract in team history. Because Roy retired suddenly, the team management finally used the amnesty clause to cut him.
This means that although the remaining 63 million yuan in Roy's contract must continue to be paid, it does not enter the Blazers' salary cap.
Therefore, the Trail Blazers' apparent salary situation this season totals 73.66 million yuan, but after deducting Roy's 16.36 million yuan, the team's salary cap is only 57.3 million yuan.
You know, the NBA's salary cap in recent years is only about 58 million yuan, and the Trail Blazers' salary space is the richest among NBA teams.
In addition, Paul Allen, the owner of the Trail Blazers, is notoriously rich and willing to spend money.
The Suns and Bucks are currently pursuing Josh Smith very feverishly, with the former preparing to send away Marcin, Gortat Jared Dallion and a first-round pick as trade chips.
The Bucks are willing to trade Monta Ellis for Josh Smith.
The Trail Blazers were extremely calm on the surface and did not show any signs of competition for Josh Smith, but the management of the Suns and Bucks still remained vigilant.
There is no other reason. It is precisely because the Blazers' salary can bring too much room for maneuver, coupled with the super rich Paul Allen...
“Guys, ask yourselves, do you think we really need Josh Smith as a player?”
Nel Orsi smiled brightly.
This rhetorical question instantly made everyone fall into deep thought.
yes!
Do we really need a Josh Smith?
"Bah bang bang!"
Seeing everyone lost in thought, General Manager Nel Orsi's smile became even brighter.
"We already have two All-Stars. If nothing happens, Damien will definitely have the ability to become the team's third All-Star player in 1 to 2 years at most. By then we will have three All-Stars. Already..."
"It can be seen that Wang, LaMarcus, and Damien are the most important framework for the team in the next 3 to 5 years. No matter what, reinforcements must be centered on them..."
"In this case, why should we compete for an Eagle King who has never been an All-Star..."
"In my opinion, minor repairs are fine, but if you rush to trade a player who appears to have unlimited potential, you will actually lose more than you gain, and may even destroy the team's current good chemical reaction!"
After talking for a while, general manager Nel Orsi expressed his thoughts.
It’s better to be still than to move!
After some remarks, many people present agreed and nodded.
Mainly because the Blazers are now confident and straightened up.
Second in the Western Conference record!
It is still a team with a young player structure...
Even without reinforcements, the Trail Blazers will only get better year by year with the potential room for improvement of their young players.
"Mr. Orsi, I didn't think well!"
Coach Terry scratched his head in embarrassment.
This is actually one of the problems of rookie coaches. They are easily influenced by the young people on the team, which leads to enthusiasm and lack of consideration for the overall situation.
"What you said is serious," General Manager Nel Olsi stepped forward and held coach Terry's hand: "Terry, actually it's not that I don't support reinforcements, but the value of Josh Smith is really not attractive enough to me. In this way, I think even Damien may not be worse than Josh Smith in the future..."
There was still something he didn't say in his mind: "Unless it's a superstar like Kobe, LeBron, Durant...then you can still consider it!"
Nel Orsi actually has greater expectations for the Blazers' third young master than anyone else.
Having established the strategic policy of "no movement is worse than silence", everyone focused on several other valuable players.
For example.
Andrea Bargnani, Raptors
DeJuan Blair, Spurs
Courtney Lee, Celtics
Yonus Jerebko, Pistons
Eric Maynor, Thunder
Derrick Williams of Timberwolves
Marvin Williams of Jazz
Counting Josh Smith, the above eight players are the most valuable players before the trade deadline.
General manager Nel Orsi and coach Terry first passed on the interior players.
No matter how strong he is, no matter how potential he has... is it possible that he can still beat the combination of Wang Zelin + Aldridge?
Ever since!
Connett Lee, Marvin Williams, and DeJuan Blair became the targets that the Trail Blazers decided to pursue.
The first target is undoubtedly Celtic's Connett Lee.
He is good at shooting, with a 40% three-point shooting rate all year round, solid defense, and rarely commits fouls...
In future generations, he will be considered a 3D player.
Now, it is also very suitable for the current Trail Blazers team, which is a plug-and-play type.
The second target pursued is not Derrick Williams, a superstar in college, but DeJuan Blair, an unknown second-rounder.
The reason is very simple.
He's a Spur!
It is said that Mosaic's former players are quite miraculous in the NBA, and can often produce unexpected surprises... The players from the Spurs are not necessarily that bad either.
What is commendable is that Dejuan Blair, who was drafted with the 37th pick in the second round of 2009, was successfully selected for the rookie game after being trained by Simawicz. He also broke the 2000 rookie game led by former Clippers captain Elton and Brand. The record of 21 rookie rebounds created in the game helped the first-year team beat the second-year team 120:128. The writer, Kings super rookie Tyrese Evans, jointly shared the MVP of the Rookie Challenge.
I don’t know how many people’s attention was shocked at that time.
What's even more outrageous is that after the All-Star Game, DeJuan Blair played the strongest game of his career. In the game between the Spurs and the Mavericks, he scored 27 points and 23 rebounds...
This guy is a newbie!
With the same height of two meters and the same swing at positions 3 and 4, DeJuan Blair is much more popular than Derrick Williams.
DeJuan Blair's various statistics have declined to varying degrees this season, but the outside world is more convinced that this is because the Spurs supported Kawhi Leonard and delegated him to the second team.
After finalizing the selection, general manager Nel Orsi began his busy journey.
…
Among O'Neal's 10-man roster, the Trail Blazers account for nearly 1/3, making them undoubtedly the most powerful group in the team.
For now, Coke Thompson and Harrison Barnes of the Spurs are in the same group, and the remaining loose ends are in the same group again.
A team is divided into three camps, this is not...
Team Barkley wasn't much better.
Kyrie Irving, who has a high-spirited attitude, did not do any serious work during the warm-up period, and kept pulling TT into cliques.
As a result... not many people liked him.
Leonard showed his facial paralysis at a young age, and he is indeed a born Spur... If the series of messy things did not happen later, there is a 99% chance that Leonard will stay with the Spurs forever.
Anthony Davis is also not as friendly as he seems on the surface. He had a pleasant chat with Bradley Beal and the unpopular Isaiah Thomas early on.
The remaining few are almost fighting on their own... almost catching up with the girls' dormitory where 4 people in a dormitory formed 5 groups.
Fortunately, there is no such thing as first grade vs second grade.
Otherwise, just Wang Zelin + Anthony Davis + Lillard, 200% or 200%, can deal with the stragglers on the opposite side and deal a dimensionality reduction blow.
On the Barkley team, although not many people believe in the European champion, with a comprehensive rating of 83, they are the absolute leader of the Barkley team.
The number one pick in Europe was able to be selected as an All-Star substitute in his second year. In addition to his aggressive dribbling, he is also really strong.
Among the defenders in the second decade of the new century, he is currently second to none in terms of pure strength.
But, I looked back and glanced at Lillard, who was 82% next to me... Attack against attack, Irving really might not be able to overpower Lillard.
Not to mention defense.
…
As O'Neal and Barkley came to midfield to take photos, the 2013 All-Star Rookie Game was about to begin.
The rookies from the two teams found their own friends and each played their own way.
There is a saying: a snake cannot move without a head, and a bird cannot fly without a head.
As a team-oriented player, Wang Zhelin doesn't want to accept the chaotic situation in front of him, he still wants to win!
"Bah bang bang! Guys, geniuses, I want to say a few words, okay!"
What kind of plane does this Asian center want to do?
The young Buddha was chatting with Barnes about which nightclub to go to after the game. When he heard this, he looked confused.
"What do you want to say? Do you want to be the boss and lead us?"
Gao Fushuai's Mosaic team was severely abused several times by the Trail Blazers led by Wang Zelin. The two people who had the biggest conflict in O'Neal's team were none other than the two.
"So what?" Wang Zelin walked over, looked down at Chandler Parsons, and said with disdain, "Do you have any objections?"
"Haha, it's not that I have any opinions? I just want to hear everyone..."
"Come on, come on, I want to tell you right now, I have the final say on this team now. Who is in favor? Who is against?"
Wang Zelin turned around and glanced at the people playing around, not hiding his desire to control the team.
"I have no opinion!"
"me too!"
Lillard and Will Barton agreed.
"what about you!"
Wang Zelin takes a look at the Warriors duo.
"I don't care, as long as I can guarantee victory!"
Klay Thompson let go of his hand on Barnes and shook his head like his good friend.
""
Wang Zelin turned around and glanced at the people playing around, not hiding his desire to control the team.
"I have no opinion!"
"me too!"
Lillard and Will Barton agreed.
"what about you!"
Wang Zelin takes a look at the Warriors duo.
"I don't care, as long as I can guarantee victory!"
Klay Thompson let go of his hand on Barnes,
Wang Zelin turned around and glanced at the people playing around, not hiding his desire to control the team.
"I have no opinion!"
"me too!"
Lillard and Will Barton agreed.
"what about you!"
Wang Zelin takes a look at the Warriors duo.
"I don't care, as long as I can guarantee victory!"
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