"Anyway, I've seen people in Houston at four in the morning."
Harden walked out of the arena, took a breath of fresh pre-dawn air, and said.
"I've seen it before."
Butler shrugged. He is a native of Houston. In high school, he would often practice alone until early morning.
"I've also seen New York at four in the morning, when I was sleeping on the sofa at a friend's house."
Jeremy Lin sighed.
"I don't sleep on the sofa very often, but I often sleep on the benches in the park."
Butler was a little puzzled. Tonight's extra practice reminded him of various past experiences in his childhood.
Harden and Jeremy Lin looked at each other, patted Butler on the shoulder and said:
"Brother, everything will be fine. With your current performance, once the rookie contract is over, our manager Xu will definitely sign you at the maximum amount."
Butler smiled shyly, looked at Harden and asked:
"You signed a big contract, how do you plan to spend it?"
"Then it must be a beautiful woman with a luxury car and a watch. Oh yes, it must have a big butt. Go to a nightclub and spend three days and three nights, spending money every day!"
Harden said scornfully.
"Look at how promising you are, you are full of life and debauchery. Why don't you learn to invest and manage money, and then do charity?"
Jeremy Lin said.
"I do both, but it doesn't conflict with my coolness."
Harden said with a smile.
"What about you, how do you want to spend it?"
Jeremy Lin looked at Butler and asked.
His response was silence.
"I will still forgive her. I will buy a house and a car for my adoptive parents, and the same goes for my mother. After all, she also had difficulties back then."
After a moment of silence, Butler said slowly.
Harden and Jeremy Lin will not be able to deal with this. They knew that Butler lived in poverty when he was young, but they did not expect this to be the case. His ideas are completely different from many stars who came out of the slums.
Butler noticed the embarrassment of the two of them, laughed, and regained his composure:
"Don't think about it now. Get ready for the next game. Tonight's training was very effective. I feel like I can score 40 points tomorrow night!"
"That's necessary. Just show your strength and fight against the Wizards. You and I are not going to fight casually."
Harden responded.
"You defend well."
Butler shrugged.
"Okay, why isn't it good? Your questioning of my defensive ability is exactly like a eunuch watching a meeting. Manager Xu taught me."
Harden said confidently.
"The eunuchs are having a meeting?"
"What do you mean?"
Butler and Jeremy Lin were stunned.
"That's nonsense!"
Harden spread his hands.
"roll!"
"See you in debt!"
"Hahaha!"
The three of them drove away in their cars.
In the home game against the Wizards the next night, Butler fulfilled his promise.
Carrying the team's offensive banner, he scored 45 points on 16 of 23 shots, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals, and made no mistakes, filling the data column.
Harden and Jeremy Lin played very restrained in this game. Seeing that Butler had good touch, they created more opportunities for Butler. The three of them had a perfect understanding on the court.
Rockets fans are very excited. No one expected that an older rookie who was picked 30th in the first round and played as a substitute for two years could complete his transformation after coming to the Rockets. The extent of his progress is staggering.
But some people are happy and some are worried. Butler's outstanding performance has made many people in the team complain that he can only play as a substitute.
Parsons has a tendency to become the target of public criticism because he is the starting small forward and plays the same position as Butler.
The next morning, Parsons knocked on Xu Xin's office door.
"Please come in."
Xu Xin said.
Parsons opened the door and walked in, greeting Xu Xin with worry written all over his face.
"Good morning, Chandler, what's wrong? Why are you looking so sad?"
Xu Xin was holding a cup of coffee and talking while drinking it.
"I'd like to apply for a trade."
Parsons gritted his teeth and expressed what he had been thinking about for many days.
"reason?"
Xu Xin said with a smile, his face calm and not surprised.
"I feel that based on my ability, the coach's emphasis on my tactics is completely insufficient. Any substitute in Butler can use the tactics of holding the ball and attacking, but I can only stay in the bottom corner and wait for opportunities."
Parsons said gloomily.
In fact, there is another thing he didn't say. The team now generally believes that Butler's ability is better than his. This feeling is very bad.
"Okay, I agree, but when making a deal, I will definitely consider you on the basis of the team's profit. I hope you can understand this."
Xu Xin said seriously.
"I know that, thank you manager."
Parsons didn't expect Xu Xin to be so easy to talk to, but he didn't know that Xu Xin was already happy. He was worried that he didn't know how to tell him about being traded, so he took the initiative to come to his door.
She has really big eyes and double eyelids, and she looks like a very particular person at first glance.
After the transaction is completed in a few days, it can be said at the press conference that Parsons took the initiative to apply for the transaction.
It's not that Xu Xin is afraid of being scolded, it's just that if Garnett comes to the team and the first few games don't work well, fans will criticize Xu Xin and also criticize Garnett, and this will have a huge impact on the team. Oh no.
But if it was Parsons who took the initiative to apply for the trade, then the fans would have no reason to complain. I passively made the trade and got Garnett in exchange. What else do you want?
After Parsons left, Xu Xin called his assistant.
"Speak to the team reporter and ask him to release the news that Parsons has voluntarily applied to leave the team."
"Okay, manager."
The team secretary worked very efficiently, and in less than an hour, everyone knew about it.
The general managers of several teams called Xu Xin to conduct preliminary quotation tests.
Xu Xin just smiled and said he would think about it again.
At this time, one person couldn't sit still, Celtics general manager Angie.
He called quickly.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Angie."
Xu Xin said with a smile.
"Good afternoon, Manager Xu, we can trade after tonight. Let's apply to the league now."
Anji got straight to the point and said.
"OK."
Xu Xin agreed.
"The chips remain unchanged, that's it. See you tomorrow, Manager Xu."
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Angie."
In the early morning of the 15th, Wo Shen was well-informed and posted this blockbuster transaction on social media:
"The Rockets and the Celtics reached a blockbuster deal. The Rockets used Chandler Parsons, Daequan Cook, the Rockets' first-round pick in 2013, plus the Rockets' first-round swap rights in 2014 + a 5 million transaction exception. Acquire the Celtics’ veteran veteran, Kevin Garnett.”
As soon as the news came out, even in the early morning, it quickly aroused heated discussions among netizens.
"Oh my God, the Rockets actually traded Garnett! No, they really have ideas for the championship!"
"But the stakes are too high. Garnett is already thirty-six, and he will retire after playing for another two years at most."
"I agree, the Rockets not only paid for potential new stars, but also paid for two first-rounders."
"Mind you, it's not two first-rounders, it's a first-rounder and a first-round swap."
"You've only played a dozen or so good games. You don't really think their regular season record will be higher than the Celtics."
. . .
