Immediately after the game ended, both Butler and the Rockets were trending. Oh no, Harden was also trending. The title was: "Harden stood up for his brother and was taught a lesson."
In the locker room, Harden stared at the mobile phone screen and was depressed. Winning or losing the game was secondary. Losing in a fight would be very humiliating.
Jeremy Lin on the side laughed and comforted:
"It's okay. That guy will definitely be suspended and fined. Your beating is worth it."
The first half of the sentence was normal, but the second half changed.
Harden opened his eyes wide, smiled and cursed:
"Go away! I'd rather be suspended and fined than be subject to this kind of trending search!"
He knew that Jeremy Lin was joking to cheer him up, and he also enjoyed this kind of brotherhood without any sense of distance.
Butler also stepped forward, stretched out his right fist and touched Harden, then opened his arms and gave Harden a bear hug.
"Thank you brother!"
Hearing Butler's thanks, Harden smiled happily. Jeremy Lin was right, the beating was worth it!
The cohesion of the team has unconsciously improved to a higher level.
After a night's rest in Los Angeles, the team's morale was high early the next morning and they headed straight to Salt Lake City. They will challenge the Utah Jazz back to back tonight.
The league's penalty has also come out. Harden stood up for his teammates and the situation did not escalate. There was no additional suspension penalty, but this does not mean "acquitted" and he still has to pay a fine of 50,000.
Ci Shiping was miserable. His flagrant foul on Butler was strongly condemned by the league, and he was suspended for 9 games and fined 300,000.
In the afternoon, the team conducted simple pre-match training.
Xu Xin did not go with him, but stayed at the hotel where the Rockets team stayed. At this time, he had more important things to do.
Finding the saved number in the address book, Xu Xin took a deep breath, then dialed, and the call was quickly connected.
"Hello, I'm Angie."
"Hello, I am the acting general manager of the Rockets, Xu Xin."
"Oh? You are very popular recently. You are indeed a young hero. You won the Lakers yesterday. Congratulations."
Angie said politely.
"No, it's just luck. In terms of strength, it has to be you. To be honest, you have always been a role model in my mind!"
How could Xu Xin lose his sense of being a great nation and praise Anji for his rainbow fart?
"Haha, thank you. Tell me, what kind of deal do you want to negotiate?"
On the other end of the phone, Anji didn't hide the smile on his face. It was very helpful to him to hear such a humble, courteous, and most importantly capable manager praise and respect him without hesitation.
As one of the oldest general managers in the league, he still has a unique eye for people. He has carefully studied the two transactions Xu Xin made.
Although the outside world is not optimistic about this, Angie does not think so.
He believes that Xu Xin is playing a big game, hoarding talented forwards and defenders. Everyone can move, shoot and defend, and seize more opportunities to switch attacks and counterattacks. This style of play coincides with his. Xu Xin is going At the forefront of modern basketball.
The most important thing is that Xu Xin seems to have a good vision. He asked Bucks general manager Hammond about the specific details of the deal.
Xu Xin looked down upon any player on the Bucks, but named Butler.
Although the game samples are still very small, it seems that Butler does have the potential to become a top star, which is something he has never shown when he was with the Bulls in the past two years.
Therefore, he is also very curious about which young man in his team Xu Xin likes. As long as Xu Xin names his name, no matter how generous the bargaining chips Xu Xin gives, he will not sell him, but will focus on cultivating him.
This is not absolute. If Xu Xin is traded for Harden, Anji would support it with both hands.
"I want Garnett."
Xu Xin didn't know Anji's little plan, so he said six big words in a concise and concise manner.
Garnett?
Anji's face looked strange and he was cursing in his heart, "Why do you want Garnett?" Yes, I admit that the Rockets' record in the new season is indeed unexpected, but you wouldn't be so naive as to think that they can win the championship in the first year of rebuilding, right?
As expected, I am still a rookie, so ambitious.
Xu Xin didn't know that Anji had identified him in just a few seconds.
"Garnett is the core of our team and the hero of the championship. I have no reason to trade him now."
Angie refused.
In fact, he still hoped that Xu Xin could name a young man in the Green Kai team. But he was destined to be disappointed.
"I think there are reasons. To be honest, the Rockets kids are in urgent need of a experienced and experienced veteran to lead them and let them know how to better use their talents. Garnett is The right person."
Xu Xin fought for it.
Anji sighed. It seemed that Xu Xin was determined to get Garnett.
"I won't sell Garnett, he will retire with the Celtics."
Angie refused again.
"Mr. Angie, I don't think so. Garnett's contract expires in 15 years. Will you renew it at a high price after it expires? If the contract is renewed with a basic salary, do you think Garnett will agree?"
"Actually, we all know very well that Garnett will return to Minnesota for the rest of his life and retire as the Wolf King. This is the best destination for him."
Xu Xin made the essence clear in two consecutive sentences, and Anji had to re-examine this young man. What he said made sense, and exposed his little plan to use this excuse to raise the price.
"With all due respect, with the departure of Ray Allen this summer, with the core team of Pierce, Garnett, and Rondo, the window for winning the championship has been closed."
Xu Xin said it very directly, but also left half a sentence. He originally wanted to say that the team should be built around Rondo.
But then I thought about it, in the seasons when Rondo was the cornerstone, the team didn't have much competitiveness, so it would be better to say less so as not to give Angie any trouble.
"Then who do you think has more potential among the current young people in our team?"
Angie took the opportunity to ask what he had wanted to ask for a long time.
"Bradley may be the best one, but his ceiling is not enough to lead the Celtics to the championship."
Xu Xin looked at the Celtics team list, thought for a while and said.
He gave the correct answer and did not cheat Anji. After all, no one makes a one-time deal. Who would be willing to do a deal with you after your reputation is ruined because of this trivial matter?
Anji nodded secretly. Sure enough, his vision was similar to hers. Anji believed that Xu Xin was not telling lies.
"Tell me about your bargaining chip."
Anji doesn't hide it either. In fact, he has recently had the idea of cleansing the two elders, destroying and rebuilding. One man, one city, loyalty, in his opinion, is far less important than the championship.
So as long as Xu Xin's price is right, he will agree.
