warrior godfather

Chapter 604

Zhang Yu took over the compiled draft report from Larry Riley, mainly the list and brief information of the candidates, and looked through it.

On the same day that the Grizzlies lost to the Trail Blazers, the list of players who signed up for the 2015 NBA Draft in advance was released. There were 91 players in total, including 48 American players and 43 international players.

There will definitely be players who will sign up for the election in the future, but the number will not be too many. This year's rookies are mainly selected from these 91 individuals.

This draft report was just sorted out by the Warriors scouting department, and Larry Riley brought it to see Zhang Yu immediately.

With the deepening of the playoffs, the difficulty of the Warriors' schedule will gradually increase, and Zhang Yu will only become more and more busy. Larry Riley will take advantage of this rare free time to determine the initial direction of the draft.

This year, the Warriors only have their own No. 30 first-round pick and No. 60 second-round pick, both of which are the least valuable. There is no room for choice, and there is no transaction value.

Zhang Yu directly skipped the rookies predicted to be in the top 20, and started to look at the 21st pick.

He looked at ten lines at a glance, and often only looked at one name, and then looked at the next one. He didn't stop until he saw a familiar name, turned the direction of the draft report, and pushed it to Larry Riley:

"Kevin Looney, gather his data, watch his workout at the combine."

Larry Riley picked up the draft report and looked at it carefully:
“凯文-卢尼——生日：1996年2月6日；位置：SF/PF；年级：大一；身高：六尺九寸(2米06)；体重：220磅（100公斤）；大学：UCLA；NBA模板：艾尔-法鲁克-阿米奴，预测顺位：25-35……”

"This is... a 3D striker?" Larry Riley asked looking up.

"No, he's a center forward."

"Centre?"

"I'm going to move him to center."

"The center of the five small lineups?"

"No, a center in the regular lineup, a traditional blue-collar insider."

"..." Larry Riley was stunned, and murmured after a while, "Okay, I'll go and collect information on Kevin Looney..."

He had a hunch that this was another draft that would impact his cognition, but he had already learned enough lessons that he would no longer question Zhang Yu's vision, and even if he had an opinion, he would just bury it silently in his heart.

Although Zhang Yu will not refute his opinions, every time he worries, it has been proven wrong. He will ask and still be wrong in the next year, just like a fool.

Larry Riley has decided, and will never comment on Zhang Yu's decision in the future.

What's wrong with being a tool person with a high salary and don't have to worry about it?
"The No. 60 pick will be discussed in the draft. Anyway, at that time, we can only pick what is left by others, but you should focus on the center forward who is predicted to be picked at the end of the second round, and see if you can pick one. We have no room. Yes, the luxury tax can be saved a little bit." Zhang Yu reminded.

"No problem." Larry Riley agreed, and then changed the topic, "The team of Nemanja Bjelica and Bogdan Bogdanovic has submitted an application and wants to land next season. NBA, how do you think you should respond?"

Zhang Yu's eyes brightened:
"Tell them they're welcome on the team!"

Belica was selected by Zhang Yu in the second round in 2010. He first played in Spain and then switched to Fenerbahçe in Turkey. Last summer, his teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic was also selected by the Warriors.

Thus, the two Serbs who were teammates in Turkey became teammates again in the distant United States.

"What about the contract? Bogdanovic was selected in the first round, so it can be settled, but Bjelica has played in Europe for many years, and he is not young anymore, and his salary requirements may not be low." Larry - reminded Riley.

"Don't worry about it, wait until the playoffs are over. If Belica's asking price is too high, trade his signing rights, otherwise the luxury tax will be too high... By the way, the Champions League is not over yet, right? ? Fenerbahçe is strong, and if they can win the Champions League, many teams should be interested in Belica's signing rights." Zhang Yu said.

"Next year our luxury tax pressure is indeed not small. Chris, Danny, Yi, and Omer want to talk about contract renewals, and there are a lot of places to spend money..." Larry Riley was a little worried.

Zhang Yu smiled and did not discuss this topic further:
"That's something that only needs to be considered in the summer. Let's talk about it after finishing the playoffs first. I just don't know how long the Grizzlies will let us wait. If we wait any longer, the state we finally inspired will not be able to maintain..."

……

On April 4, the Warriors resumed training after a day off, and the Grizzlies and Trail Blazers also played their fifth game at the Moda Center.

The Trail Blazers, who fell behind by a big score of 1:3, showed a tough side and made a tenacious resistance at home.

This was a defensive battle. Lillard and Aldridge were severely restricted. Lillard's shooting percentage was only in the early 18s. Aldridge was defended by Gasol and only made 5 of [-] shots.

Fortunately, McCollum stood up from the bench and made 20 of 12 shots, 11 of 7 three-pointers, 4 of 2 free throws, and scored 33 points. With his outstanding performance, the Blazers kept the point difference at Within 10 minutes.

In the last 2 minutes, McCollum and Lillard scored 12 points together, chasing the point difference to 6 points, but time was not enough, and the Blazers lost to the Grizzlies 93:99.

Black and White Shuangsha played steadily, Gasol scored a large double-double of 26+14, Randolph 16+8, Courtney Lee suddenly emerged, scored 20 points, and the Grizzlies swept the Blazers 4:1. , advanced to the second round.

In this round of the series, the most eye-catching thing is not black and white, not Lillard and Aldridge, but CJ McCollum who turned out.

In these two seasons, McCollum only played more than ten minutes per game and scored less than 7 points. He also performed mediocrely in G1 and G2 against the Grizzlies, but he broke out from G3 and scored 26 points, 18 points, and 33 points in a row. , and the hit rate is about 60% of the horror. It is precisely because of his outstanding performance that the Blazers did not have the Grizzlies sweep.

People began to pay attention to this short guard with mediocre talent. It is said that some teams are already interested in him, and they will start with him as soon as the trading market starts.

After defeating the Trail Blazers, the Grizzlies have three days to rest, and G1, the Western Conference semifinals between them and the Warriors, will start on May 5.

When the Grizzlies were actively preparing for the second round, the league announced the major awards of the regular season one after another.

……

On April 4, the league announced the selection results of the best defensive player and best defensive team.

The Warriors are the biggest winners. Green and Leonard were selected for the best defensive team. Among them, Green was also elected as the best defensive player with 265 points, and Leonard ranked second with 221 points.

In the regular season, the Warriors' defensive efficiency was 99.4, ranking first in the league and the only team with a defensive efficiency below 100. Green and Leonard contributed a lot, and the difference in the DPOY selection is not much different.

It's just that Green, as an inside player, participated more in protecting the frame than Leonard, and his defensive high-level data was more impressive, and finally won the highest crown of defensive players.

In addition, Paul, Tony Allen, and Jordan Jr. were selected to the best defensive team, and Wall, Butler, Duncan, Thick Eyebrow, and Noah were selected to the best defensive second team. They are all well-known defensive champions in the league.

However, Zhang Yu was not satisfied with this result. After the announcement of the best defensive team, he tweeted the defensive highlights of Antetokounmpo and Clay, and wrote:

"We are the best defensive team in the league. This is the credit of the whole team. Klay and Giannis should also be selected for the best defensive team..."

Clay and Antetokounmpo quickly liked this tweet, and Warriors fans also left messages below to complain about Clay and Antetokounmpo.

Especially Antetokounmpo, who has practiced the most in the past two seasons is defense, and he has improved the most in defense. He has played high-profile performances on the defensive end many times. In the regular season, he had 5 blocks in a single game 4 times and 2 blocks in a single game 5 times in the regular season. Steals are extremely impressive.

The fans are dissatisfied that Antetokounmpo lost the defensive team. On the contrary, Klay, as a solid defender, rarely has outstanding defensive statistics on the defensive end. People do not fully understand his value on the defensive end. .

However, after four years of growth, Clay has sufficient experience and physical fitness, and will not easily lose his position. He can make contributions in single defense, follow-up defense, assist defense, and frame protection. He can defend from the first position to the fourth position. He can even switch to the low position to defend against the center, which perfectly fits the Warriors' defense system, and the data does not reflect his defensive effect.

However, Zhang Yu knew very well that it was impossible for the league to give the Warriors all the spots in the defensive lineup. He did this to put pressure on voters.

The defense and DPOY largely depend on reputation. As long as the reputation is big enough, there is a chance to win awards. Many of the best defensive players who can only block shots before came from this way. Kobe’s defense declined seriously in the twilight of his career, but he relied on the accumulation of previous years. Fame, still took 1 first defense, 1 second defense.

Only with more presence, Clay and Antetokounmpo will have a greater chance of being selected for the defense.

……

On the same day, the league also announced the results of the best rookie and the best rookie team.

Wiggins, Mirotic, Jokic, Nerlens Noel, Jordan Clarkson were selected to the best rookie team, Dinwiddie, Zach LaVine, Alfred Payton, Bo Jan Bogdanovic and Nurkic were selected to the All-Rookie Second Team.

Jokic was elected as the best rookie with 67.5% of the votes. He attended 82 games and averaged 30.7 minutes per game. He could get 12.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals. The three shooting percentages were 51.3%, 33.5%, and 80.6%. , The efficiency is very high, the Nuggets are firmly established in the starting lineup, and they are the best players in this rookie class.

In this recognized "draft year", Embiid and Jabari Parker were reimbursed for their rookie season, and Aaron Gordon was reimbursed for half of his play due to injury.

Wiggins played as a substitute for a season, averaging only 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. His efficiency is not high. He only shines when defending and attacking the frame, except for a few dunks and big caps from time to time. , to show a strong bounce and confrontation, and did not play the performance of peerless genius that people expected.

Barkley said:
"The bubble of the 2014 draft has been blown. There is no decent rookie in this class. Who can become a superstar? Wiggins who has been playing as a substitute? Embiid, Parker, Gordon who have been reimbursed for the season? Or Jokic , a white center who can't jump? Hahaha..."

……

On May 5, the league announced the selection results of the best team.

Curry, Rose, James, Thick Eyebrows, and Gasol were selected for the best team; Harden, Westbrook, Aldridge, Butler, Cousins ​​were selected for the best second team; Clay, Paul, Griffin , Green, and Jordan were selected for the best three teams.

Curry and Rose won all the first ballots and monopolized the best first-team defender places for four consecutive years.

Rose's data is not obvious, only 24.3 points, 7.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals, but he led the Bulls to a record of 65 wins and 17 losses, second only to the Warriors and far higher than other teams. No suspense.

James also won all the first ballots and returned to the ranks of the best team. As the son of the United States, thick eyebrows are selected for the first team.

In this era of declining centers, Gasol is a rare traditional center with excellent offense and defense and comprehensive skills. He is also one of the few centers who are the core of the team. He won 65 first-choice votes and was selected as the best team.

With the pressure of Curry and Rose, other guards in the league are destined to miss the best team. Even though Harden's 27+7+5 and Westbrook's 28+8+7 data are extremely explosive, the records of the Rockets and Thunder are both Significantly behind the Bulls, can only be placed second.

Both Clay and Green were selected to the best third team, making the Warriors the biggest winner in the best team selection.

Clay averaged 22.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He scored 3.4 three-pointers and made 43.9% of his three-pointers. The league's second-leading scorer.

Clay's data is similar to Irving's, but he has advantages in attendance, efficiency, and record. He scored 125 points, 12 points ahead of Irving, and was selected for the best three teams.

Green can average 11.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.

After the best lineup was released, the names of the Warriors' Big Three and even the Big Four gradually spread.

Curry has an mvp + scoring champion, Clay was selected to the best third team twice, Green was selected to the best third team, was selected to the best defensive team many times, and was elected as the best defensive player. They are all out-and-out stars.

Leonard ranked second in the selection of the best defensive player and was selected to the best defensive team many times. In the selection results announced by the league, Leonard scored 158 points, only 10 points behind Green and 15 points behind Butler Points, almost can be selected for the best three teams

他本赛季场均能砍下18.6分5.7篮板2.1助攻2.1抢断1.2封盖，三项命中率分别为50.6%、42.3%、88.5%，高产高效，攻防一体，已经成长为联盟中的顶级锋线。

In the Warriors' first-round series against the Pelicans, Leonard's performance was even better than in the regular season.

He averaged 23.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.8 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. He made 53.6% of his two-point field goals.

The outside world generally believes that Leonard has the strength of the best team. The reason why he was not selected for the best team is that Curry, Clay, and Green diverted his votes and the selection mechanism for the best team is not perfect.

Leonard's data is far stronger than that of Jordan, but because the center occupies a position alone, and there is an extreme lack of excellent centers in the league, the reporters had to vote for Jordan.

The records and statistics of Gasol and Cousins ​​are not outstanding. If it weren’t for the center to vote alone, it would be difficult for Gasol to be selected for the best team. Good second team.

Bulls fans are also very dissatisfied. Gasol's average of 18+10 per game is far better than that of Jordan, but he also lost the best team.

This season, Gasol played the 5th position in the starting lineup, but became the [-]th position in the substitute lineup. Cannot vote for center forward.

Similarly, Duncan is also a frequently swinging center position this season, but he can only participate in the power forward voting, and lost the best team with a slight disadvantage.

Warriors, Bulls, Spurs fans, and more and more people believe that in this era of small balls, the positions of players generally swing upwards. It is out of date to separate a center position in the selection of the best team, and it should be divided into two backcourts , Three money markets to vote, it is the most fair.

They ran to the NBA's official social media to leave a message, and many commentators also had the same opinion.

Jeff Van Gundy said:
"Now is the small ball era, the status of the center has declined sharply. It has been a long time since there has been a super center. The last center that can be called a superstar was Howard, Cousins ​​and DeAndre Jordan in 2009. 10 years ago, it was absolutely impossible to be selected for the best team, but now they have become the only choice for people. This is not normal. Good frontcourt player, at least more worthy than DeAndre Jordan, maybe the league should reform."

O'Neill's rhetoric was even more intense:
"I never thought that a blue-collar center could also be selected for the best team. Last year's Noah, this year's DeAndre Jordan, the selection mechanism for the best team has fallen behind. I would rather not have a center selected for the best team. I don't want to see people say to me-Hey, Shaq, Noah is the best first team + best first defense center, you never got it, is he better than you? Please let the blue-collar center go to them They should go to the position where they should go, and they should participate in the selection of the best defensive team!"

There are more and more people with similar views. Faced with doubts, Xiao Hua responded in an interview:
"Center is a great position. Many superstars have emerged. The league will not change the selection method of the best team at will. There are many outstanding center players in the league, and they should be respected."

Xiao Hua's words sealed the case. No matter how dissatisfied the fans are, they can't change the status quo. The center will still participate in the voting for the best team alone, and the turmoil caused by the best team has gradually subsided.

……

On the same day, the league also announced some individual awards, and the Warriors also ushered in a bumper harvest.

阿德托昆博凭借13.5分7.3篮板2.8助攻1.1抢断1.3封盖的全面数据，成功当选最佳第六人。

Originally, Lou Williams would be the best sixth man of the year, but besides being able to score points, his efficiency and defense are very bad. Antetokounmpo's role as a substitute is to reduce dimensionality. Can compete with him for this award.

The most improved player was won by Gobert. After Durant was injured, Westbrook took care of everything. As a rookie, Gobert also got more opportunities to play and exercise.

This season, he averaged 28.6 minutes per game, scored 10.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 2.3 blocks in an affordable double-double.

The best coach naturally belongs to Zhang Yu, who led the team to 74 wins and 8 losses. This is the result that everyone can expect, and it did not cause any waves.

But it is different in China. This is the first time in NBA history that a Chinese head coach has won the best coach award twice. The Chinese media reported it extensively and praised Zhang Yu extremely.

No way, after Yi Jianlian's playing time gradually decreased, Zhang Yu became the representative of Huaxia in the NBA. He symbolized the highest level of Huaxia basketball. Although he was only a coach, Huaxia basketball was not as good as others on the court and could win off the court. Overcoming others is also a way to save the country with a curve.

In China, the media has already praised Zhang Yu as a basketball genius, but he is just a genius in coaching and has the highest basketball IQ in the world. Otherwise, it would be impossible to select and train so many good players and lead the Warriors to two championships. , Breaking the Bulls' record of 72 wins is proof.

In the sport of basketball, Wang Zhizhi had a small win before, Yao Ming won a lot later, and now Zhang Yu has won a lot. Huaxia can be said to have won a lot.

Although the NBA is the world's number one basketball league, it is the Chinese team that rules the NBA. Zhang Yu gave the Americans a little Chinese shock. This is the victory of Chinese basketball!
But the fans in Huaxia are not stupid. The gap between Chinese and American basketball has nothing to do with Zhang Yu. No matter how many championships the Warriors win, Huaxia basketball should be weak or weak.

Zhang Yu just cultivated Yi Jianlian, so that the Huaxia men's basketball team can still dominate in Asia, but in the world, the level of Huaxia basketball is still not good.

Moreover, Yi Jianlian could not compete with Antetokounmpo this season, and his playing time in the Warriors has also been greatly reduced. He only played 63 games and averaged 13.5 minutes per game.

……

On May 5, the league announced the results of the MVP selection.

这是一个没有悬念的奖项，库里凭借历史唯一的180俱乐部30分得分王+74胜8负战绩，当选2014-2015赛季常规赛mvp，这也是他的第三个mvp奖杯。

But Curry's election is still shocking. He won all 131 first-place votes, and with a record 1310 points, he became the only unanimous MVP in NBA history!

This is an achievement that legendary superstars such as Jordan, Magician, Bird, and O'Neal have not had. The closest thing is that in 2000, O'Neal was elected mvp by one vote and missed this achievement.

Because when the Warriors won 74 wins before, people knew that Curry would win the mvp, and it was even very likely that he would win the unanimous mvp. The fans were not very excited, but simply gave an acceptance speech, thanking their family, teammates, coaching staff and fans for their support and help.

Facts have proved that if you get too much of anything, there will be no novelty, even the precious mvp trophy.

Curry's unanimous mvp brought a successful end to the Warriors' regular season. The 74 wins allowed the Warriors to reap many honors from Zhang Yu to Dinwiddie and become the biggest winner of the regular season.

But the next playoffs are the only criterion for determining the success of the Warriors this season.

Only the team that wins the championship is the real winner.

　Congratulations to Peyton Jr. for coming home!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)