In addition to Paul, Anthony Davis, another big fish who made a lot of noise during the offseason, has also determined his next home. The son of the United States finally chose to leave the West and join the Chicago Bulls in the East.
Just in mid-September, the Chicago Bulls and the New Orleans Pelicans reached a two-way deal. The Bulls used Jimmy Butler and Josh Smith as bargaining chips to acquire Anthony Davis, and the Chicago Bulls support team formed The Big Three combination of Rose + Davis + Noah!
As a result, the Bulls suddenly became the top team in the Eastern Conference. After entering October, in the new season team strength rankings of major authoritative media, the Bulls ranked second in the Eastern Conference, second only to the first Cavaliers. Team.
Among the 30 teams in the league, the Chicago Bulls also ranked 6th. The five teams ahead of them are the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Mosaics, Golden State Warriors, and Cleveland Cavaliers. team and the defending champion Portland Trail Blazers at the top of the Kochi table.
All major authoritative media agree that the top six teams currently ranked in the new season's strength list have the potential to compete for the championship.
In the new season, the Chicago Bulls seem to be ushering in the season closest to a championship since the retirement of "Basketball God" Michael Jordan!
But there is a premise, that is, the core players of the Bulls must stay healthy next season. After all, Rose and Davis are not in good shape. The former has suffered from injuries, and the latter has only played in a single season in the first three years of his career. The rate never exceeded 70 games.
Injuries are very likely to become a destabilizing factor for the Bulls next season.
…
Wang Zelin was also surprised when he saw the news. He really didn't expect that Davis would lock the Bulls as his next home.
If Wang Zelin remembers correctly, the Bulls will have bad luck next season.
First, center Joakim Noah was injured and played less than 30 games throughout the season. Without Noah, the Bulls' internal strength plummeted.
Secondly, Rose also suffered an injury in the middle and later part of the season and was immediately reimbursed for the season. The Bulls, without their two core players, inside and outside, were directly out of the playoffs in the new season.
Even though Davis has joined the Bulls now, the problem is that the Bulls have also sent away Jimmy Butler, the wing defender, and Josh Smith, who had a good chemical reaction with the Bulls last season. Without him, the Bulls' protection will be difficult. The frame and help defense will inevitably decline.
Can Davis alone really offset the impact of Jimmy Butler and Josh Smith's separation?
In Wang Zelin's mind, this issue is doubtful.
But thinking about it, the deal seems worth it.
Since God retired, the Bulls have been stuck in the past few years. Selecting Rose in 2008 is their best opportunity in the new century.
But Rose had just grown into a superstar, and in the next few years he continued to play in and out, suffering from constant injuries. Fortunately, last season's attendance rate and data were guaranteed, which made the Bulls management determined to give it a try in the new season.
And really speaking, other high-quality role players can be found slowly, but the chance to form the Big Three to compete for the championship may only be once.
Just like this, the Trail Blazers have one more major competitor in the new season... provided that the Bulls ensure the health of their personnel.
However, Wang Zelin became more and more excited as he thought about it. The crazy offseason created a crazy season. If the Trail Blazers can still break out of the Western Conference next season and finally win the championship, then the gold content of their championship will definitely be leveraged.
It is no exaggeration to say that the gold content of this championship can even replace two in an ordinary season.
Such a championship would be exciting to compete for!
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…
Preseason starts soon.
The Trail Blazers also immediately announced their 13-man roster for the new season, as follows:
Point guard: Lillard, Beverley;
Shooting guards: Will Barton, Connett Lee, Vince Carter;
Small forward: Batum, Moreau, Richard Jefferson
Power forward: Aldridge, Yi Jianlian, rookie Harrell;
Center: Wang Zelin, Jokic.
This summer, the Trail Blazers have not made any signings for the time being. It's not that they don't want to, but there are always some teams that jump out at critical moments to interfere with the Trail Blazers' signing targets in advance.
And this is also the only way to build a dynasty. No one wants to be a supporting role. The other 29 teams seemed to have discussed it with each other during the offseason. They would rather negotiate than see the strength of the Trail Blazers in the new season. There has been an increase.
In view of the current situation, the main task of the Trail Blazers management in the summer was to renew the contracts of the main players and rotation players, and finally managed to keep 13 players on the team, ensuring that the championship lineup last season remained unchanged, and was still two short of the 15-man roster stipulated by the league. people.
Fortunately, there is still a lot of time before the trade deadline. It is impossible for other teams to keep an eye on the Trail Blazers all the time. As long as they dig hard, they can always find a suitable championship puzzle piece.
"Let the new season start quickly. I can't wait to see the match between the Trail Blazers and the Warriors."
"Portland championship! Long live the Trail Blazers dynasty!"
"I say, you better not set a flag for yourself, you can't say this, be careful of capsizing!"
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Fans are discussing it online and the new season is getting closer. Each team has begun to hold its own media conferences.
Various crazy transfer transactions during the offseason have made the Western Conference's competitiveness this year rare in history, and the attention it has received is unprecedented.
In particular, the Lakers' press conference is undoubtedly the focus of all media.
The big three of Kobe, Paul, and Jia's sister-in-law appeared together, attracting the attention of the media.
Also appearing with the Big Three were Nick Young, Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams, Brandon Bass, Robert Sacre, Jordan Clarkson and others.
After the Lakers formed the Big Three, Kupchak started his various operations again. The most eye-catching one was that he exchanged only a future second-round pick for the former Pacers main center and two-time All-Star insider Ronaldo. E. Hibbert.
I don’t know what kind of ecstasy the Lakers management poured into Hibbert. In order to reach this deal, he even made sacrifices and gave up part of his insurance money.
The Lakers acquired Hibbert in a trade, and the price paid by Hibbert was so small that it can be ignored, and his multi-million-dollar expiring contract is also very valuable.
Don't look at Hibbert's salary of 15.51 million yuan in the 2015-16 season, but this is already his contract year. If Hibbert does not perform well this year, the Lakers can clear up a lot of new room in the summer of 2016 and continue to chase big names. .
On the other hand, if Hibbert performs well after considering the new season, the Lakers will also complete a contract extension with him and continue to remain competitive in the increasingly intractable Western Conference.
Then Kupchak poached Lou Williams from the Raptors, using a three-year, 20 million-meter contract to lure last season's Best Sixth Man to Los Angeles.
Then he signed a contract with the old rival Celtics free agent Brandon Bass. During the regular season last season, this guy played 82 games for the Celtics, averaging 10.64.9 points in 23.5 minutes. Rebounds, 1.3 assists.
However, his performance in the playoffs generally only averaged 5 points and 2 rebounds per game, which caused the Celtics management to focus on other players during the offseason and ignore him.
This also contributed to Buss becoming disheartened and choosing to leave the team. Finally, he became interested in the Lakers Lang, and the two parties signed a contract.
After that, Kupchak followed up by signing veterans such as Stoudemire and Gerald Wallace with basic salaries in the free market.
This wave of operations by Kupchak is not bad. With the Big Three, the confidence is really strong, attracting veterans to come one after another. The Lakers' lineup is quite competitive.
This lineup also made Paul feel high-spirited during the media meeting.
"I know it may not be appropriate to say this, but this team has no other goal except the championship. I declare that no one wants to meet the Lakers in the new season!"
The heroic words were reported as headlines by many media, and also aroused heated discussions among many fans.
Lakers fans were in high spirits, but many fans complained that Paul was a little confused about his identity. He seemed to be speaking as the boss of the Lakers.
Has he forgotten that the Lakers are Kobe's team?
But then again, these words of Paul are indeed somewhat demeaning, but they are also excusable.
From the Hornets period to the Clippers period, Paul went from a young boy to the number one point guard in active service. It is not without glory, but behind the glory, there are also regrets.
Paul's biggest regret is that he has never made it to the Western Conference finals. You know, he is the league's number one point guard!
As a superstar who is ranked among the top ten in the league all year round and is known for his ability to lead a team, Paul has been unable to prove his upper limit in leading a team, which is really unjustifiable.
Now that the Lakers have joined forces, Kobe finally has a chance to show off his ambitions. It's not surprising that he would vent like this at the press conference.
In addition to the Lakers, the media meetings of the defending champion Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Mosaic, the first tier teams in the Western Conference, have also attracted much attention.
The lineups of the Trail Blazers and Warriors have basically remained unchanged this year. The former has just successfully defended their title, and the latter has just refreshed the best record in team history and returned to the Western Conference Finals after decades. There is no need for the two teams to change their lineups at all.
The Mosaic team's lineup has not changed much, but they have added an accurate star point guard, Ty Lawson, who averaged 15+9 per game last season. Together with the modern combination, they formed the Big Three, which also rekindled Houston fans' hope of winning the championship.
However, Ty Lawson was restless during the offseason and was involved in off-field troubles. At the end of July, he was arrested by the police on suspicion of drunk driving on a California highway. This was his second rescue time in less than half a year. .
According to people familiar with the matter, after Ty Lawson was arrested for drunk driving for the first time in January, the news of being arrested for drunk driving was exposed again half a year later. The Nuggets management finally made up their mind to part ways with him and finally reached a deal with Mosaic.
The trade plan is for Mosaic to send Panigolaou, Prigioni, Dorsey, Nick Johnson and a 2016 protected first-round pick in exchange for Ty Lawson and the Nuggets' 2017 second-round pick.
All we can say is that Ty Lawson is really capable of seeking death. Speaking of which, he was also one of the outstanding point guards in the vacant year in 2009. He has been playing for the Nuggets since entering the NBA. If it were not for personal reasons, the Nuggets management would really not want to let this outstanding point guard go.
Unexpectedly, He's old club's repeated tolerance was rewarded by Ty Lawson's self-indulgence again and again, and the fate between the two parties came to an end.
…
"We are ready for the new season!"
At the Trail Blazers' press conference, the Trail Blazers' coaching staff and all players were present, and Wang Zelin's speech was concise and comprehensive.
This sentence can be understood in many ways. It can be understood as being superficially ready for the new season, it can also be understood as preparing them to build a dynasty, or it can be understood in other ways.
But no matter which one it is, there is a sense of confidence!
And this confidence is not only reflected in Wang Zelin's words, but also on the faces of every Trail Blazers player.
In the past two seasons, they have proven that they are the best team in the league.
This year will be no exception.
…
…
On the night of October 5th.
19 o'clock sharp.
The Trail Blazers' first preseason game of the new season begins in the Rose Garden at home.
Tonight's opponent, the Kings, is very average, so this summer they have strengthened the No. 1 position and brought in Rondo, but neither Rondo, who just joined the Kings, nor core Wiggins are enough to challenge the Blazers. pose any threat.
Compared with tonight's game, during the pre-game warm-up period, the Trail Blazers' new mascot actually won applause from the audience.
Since 2002, the Flame Cat has become the mascot of the Trail Blazers. After the first contract between the two parties ended, the Trail Blazers signed a 10-year contract with the Flame Cat in October 2005, and his annual salary was also It was raised to 120,000 yuan.
Just last season, after the Trail Blazers won two consecutive championships, after repeated consideration by the team's top management, they made the decision to change their mascot.
At first, this decision caused doubts and dissatisfaction among many local fans, because the Flame Cat has been working for the Trail Blazers for more than ten years, and local fans have become accustomed to his presence. Suddenly, the mascot was changed, which made them A bit unacceptable.
Moreover, determining the new mascot is also a big problem. After all, it not only represents the image of the Trail Blazers, but also represents the image of the entire city.
But, in early October, when the Trail Blazers decided on the team’s mascot selection for the next five years and announced the image of Star Business, the fans who were still chattering before started shouting:
Ouch, it smells so good!
Just because the new mascot of the Trail Blazers is not any other animal, but the national treasure of China-Panda!
During this offseason, when the team conveyed the idea of changing the mascot to Wang Zelin, he was surprised and delighted, and agreed without thinking.
That's Panda! Who doesn’t love it!
Then, with Wang Zelin's help, team owner Paul Allen personally came forward to meet and negotiate with the leaders of Chengdu Panda Breeding Base. After the two parties reached a five-year, 5 million yuan agreement, this also contributed to the most valuable person in NBA history. The expensive team mascot is born.
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