NBA: Back to 97, to be the Jagged Bishop

Chapter 219 Larry Bird's Small Abacus
According to Comb's plan, he plans to trade Reid during the offseason. With Reid being selected as an All-Star, he has a record of 13 three-pointers in a single game, and the madness of 60+ in a single game Performance, his trade value skyrocketed.

The value of shooting guards in today's league is too high, especially a shooting guard who can score is definitely a box office guarantee.

For a player like Reed who can put up such stats in his rookie season, without three first-round picks, it is certainly impossible to replace him from Comb.

Now the 76ers are definitely not weak if they are weak. If they are really weak, most teams in the league will have no way out, because they are so vulnerable in front of the 76ers.

Cocombe was still dissatisfied.

The obvious flaw is that the defensive intensity of the backcourt is too low. Iverson's defense itself is almost a big colander, and then add Reed, who is not very defensive. .

Ginobili's defense is better than Reed's, but he is a player with possession of the ball and cannot match Iverson.

And even if they can fit perfectly with Iverson, the combined defensive strength of the two is far from the level required by Kumbu.

The second is that there is no serious small forward in the team.

In this way, in the next draft in 2001, Combe had to get at least a shooting guard who was tough on defense and could shoot, and then he had to get a decent standard small forward.

The 2001 draft has a very high success rate. Although only four players averaged double figures in their rookie season, after their careers, there are 11 players who averaged double figures in their careers, not including Tyson Chandler. High quality blue collar.

But generally speaking, this year's rookies give Kumbu the impression that the offense is strong and the defense is weak. There are many strong offensive players, but only a handful of strong defensive players.

The general Arenas and the small sports car Parker are both point guards with a style similar to Iverson's, with strong offense and weak defense.

The No. 5 pick Jason Richardson and the No. 10 Eagle King Joe Johnson are the two best shooting guards this year, and they are both strong offensively and weak defensively.

At the small forward position, there is Richard Jefferson, the No. 13 pick. He has no offensive firepower. In his peak period, he was also a first-line small forward with an average of 20+ per game, but his defense is hot. He is the fee at the third position. Scheer, small forward ATM, typical offensive strong defensive weak.

The four best insiders are Gasol, Okur, Randolph and Chandler.

Except for the blue-collar Chandler, the other three are also typical of strong offense and weak defense.

But there are exceptions to everything. Among the players with strong offense and weak defense, there is still a special player, that is Elvis Presley Gerald Wallace.

If you haven't watched Elvis Gerrard play, you may never understand what it means to be a real desperate Saburo on the court.

There are many classic fighting scenes in NBA history, such as Rodman flying to save the ball parallel to the floor, but Elvis Gerrard is desperately fighting every offensive and defensive round, as if after this round, he will bid farewell to the game forever .

In the early stages of his career, he was a typical barbaric small forward with little shooting ability and mainly relied on his explosive physical fitness to hit the basket to score points.

In the later peak period, he gradually developed his shooting ability, averaging 19.4 points per game.

But scoring is definitely not what he is best at. What this guy is best at is defense. For decades in the history of the NBA, just like the king of blocks is generally born to the center group, the honor of the king of steals is generally only born to the guard group.

Kirilenko won the block leader as an outside player, while Elvis Gerrard was extremely rare as a forward and won the steals leader.

In decades of history, there are only two non-guard players who have won the steals title, one is Pippen, and the other is Elvis Gerrard.

He is willing to do any dirty work on the defensive end on the court, and he is very active in assisting defense and supplementing defense. In Combe's view, he is Iverson's excellent backcourt partner.

With a height of 201 centimeters and extremely strong physical fitness, he is fully capable of playing the second position after he has specially trained his shooting ability in the training field.

Some shooting guards cannot play the third position due to their height, but all small forwards, as long as they are physically fit, can definitely play the second position.

Even though there is still a long time in the draft, Combe has already decided in his heart that he will choose Elvis Presley Gerrard.

The key point is that his pick is still extremely low, only the 25th pick in the first round. The value of the first round pick in this range is not high at all, and sometimes it is not as valuable as the first pick in the second round.

As for Arenas, Parker and Okur, who are lower in the draft, Kumbu is definitely not willing to miss them. Even if he can't use them, it will be a good deal to sell them at that time.

The foundation of the 76ers is too weak, and there are too few players with trading value in the team.

If there are enough chips, Kumbu will not miss Uncle Mu a few days ago, giving the Knicks a chance to greatly strengthen.

Players with a relatively high pick like singles Joe can only depend on luck, the price/performance ratio is not very high, and Kumbu is not very interested.

……

Time passed quickly, and it was early April in the blink of an eye.

The regular season is over, and it has been half a year since Combe came to Philadelphia before he knew it.

In the past six months, many things have happened.

The most sensational of course is the change of ownership of the Philadelphia 76ers, but this matter has no effect on Comb. The new boss Josh Harris has rarely shown himself since he chatted with Comb for half an hour.

On the contrary, the two small shareholders of the team had a strong sense of presence, and they ran to Kumbu's office to show their faces when they had nothing to do.

A small boss is Michael Robin, who holds a 76% stake in the 10ers.

This Robin is the CEO of Fanatics, which specializes in the production and sales of jerseys, and has a close relationship with the NBA. The reason why he wanted to buy shares in Philadelphia was mainly because of Iverson.

Iverson's jersey sales can be called Konbu, and he was overwhelmed by Tracy McGrady and Kobe in the first two years. Since the arrival of Konbu, his jersey and sneaker sales have directly become the first in active service, and he even has the ability to catch up with Jordan. trend.

Michael Robin relied on the acquisition of 76% of the shares of the Philadelphia 10ers, and the market value of his company has skyrocketed a lot.

After enjoying the sweetness, he is now looking for every opportunity to show his face in front of Kumbu, and wants him to get another highly popular player next season.

Reid scored a lot, but unfortunately he has a bitter face, no scandals about him, and his style of play is not the best. Not to mention compared with the top four shooting guards, he is even far inferior to Ray Allen.

Michael Robin looked down on Reed, he wanted Combe to get McGrady over.

"Michael, are you still dreaming?"

"Do you know what McGrady's stats are this season? Even if Iverson is traded for McGrady, he may not be able to get McGrady back."

"What do you want me to trade? Trade myself to Orlando?"

Kong Bu said angrily.

"Think of a way, Kong, your methods are as good as the sky, what can stump you?"

"Even if you can't get Tracy McGrady, the draft will be coming soon. You can just choose a shooting guard with an elegant style. This is not a difficult task for you." Michael Robin said, licking his face.

"There are shooting guards, but you don't need to think about the elegant style of the ball. My main goal is the championship, and defense can win the championship."

"In addition, I don't like others meddling in my team operations. I have told you several times about this."

Kong Bu said with a cold face.

A small shareholder like Robin is not enough to make Kong Bu fearful. If he is not happy, he can drive Robin out of his office at any time.

"Kong, I'm just talking casually. Of course, you have the final say on team operations."

"Don't be angry, just pretend that I haven't been here today."

Robin is also a bachelor, and when he saw that Kongbu was unhappy, he laughed directly.

After he left, Kong Bu had just been quiet for less than 5 minutes when a couple walked in.

Also a minority shareholder of the Philadelphia 76ers, Will Smith and his wife.

That's right, it's the Hollywood movie star Will Smith, who invested 5000 million US dollars and won a five-point stake in the 76ers.

"Kong, are you ready?"

Mrs. Smith, who had short hair, asked with a smile.

"Prepare for what? The playoffs? Of course we are ready." Combe said with a sigh.

"What a workaholic, no wonder I'm still single."

"Am I talking about getting the evening gown ready? We are going to a banquet tonight. There will be many sports stars, movie stars and singers present. I guarantee you can find the right girl tonight."

"No matter which one you like, there is always something suitable for you." Mrs. Smith was like a procuress.

Just as Kong Bu wanted to say something, seeing Will Smith beside her, he honestly shut his mouth.

"No, you go."

"It's the playoffs in two days. I don't have time to go to Los Angeles with you."

"Let's talk about it in the offseason."

Kong Bu waved his hands and declined.

The couple left disappointed, and Kong Bu finally calmed down completely.

The playoffs are about to start, and the 76ers' opponent in the first round is the Indiana Pacers led by Larry Bird.

If he plays against the seventh-ranked Magic or the sixth-ranked Hornets in the Eastern Conference, Combe won't take it too seriously, because he is sure to win against these two teams.

But playing against the Pacers who are good at shooting is different. If the Pacers really miss the shot and let them win three games in a row, there is a possibility that Kumbu will be frustrated.

In addition, the reason why the Pacers rank eighth is definitely not because of their combat power. On the contrary, their current lineup is extremely top-notch among all teams in the league.

Larry Bird has the means. The Pistons are going to be rebuilt, and Al Harrington was dug over by him, and then he dug Ao from the Supersonics.

The Sonics have always wanted to play in the backcourt, playing the backcourt combination of Billups and the old cat Mobley, which made Xiao Ao very unhappy, forcing the Palace team to trade himself, and returned to the East.

Jermaine O'Hara, Harrington, Miller, and Jaylen Rose. This Pacers team is pretty good. If it weren't for the wave of injuries in the middle of the season, they would not be just the eighth in the Eastern Conference. record.

On the night the Pacers arrived in Philadelphia, Comb spent a lot of money to invite their coaching staff and generals to a meal.

Larry Bird is also an old acquaintance. He has been fighting for so many years, but Bird Bird has never won against Combe.

Xiao Ao and Harrington are both disciples of Kong Bu, especially Xiao Ao, who is no different from Kong Bu's own son.

"Boss, you came to Philadelphia so suddenly."

"If you had informed the outside world earlier, or told me earlier, I would definitely not go to the Pacers, and I would definitely go to you as soon as possible."

"I feel that my partner with Yao is definitely at the historical level."

This is not the first time Xiao Ao said such things to Comb. Every time he played against the Philadelphia 76ers, he had to nag Comb.

Kong Bu was also speechless. It seemed that since Yao Ming entered the league, he could hear people saying how good he and Yao Ming were partnering all the time.

But Xiao Ao didn't talk nonsense. If he partnered with Yao Ming, he would indeed have a very strong lethality.

Big Zhi, Daba, Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki are all lethal. Anyway, they are powerful power forwards, and they are not far behind.

"Be careful, if Miller hears this, he will scold you forever." Kong Bu motioned Xiao Ao to lower his voice, because the troll king Miller was not far away.

"It's okay, Reggie is a good man, he rarely sprays his teammates, and if he wants to spray, he also sprays his opponents."

"But the boss, you have to be careful, but don't spam with him. It's really impossible for you to spat him."

"I don't even think ten 50-year-old black neighborhood women can beat Reggie."

Xiao Ao looked at Reggie Miller with admiration in his eyes.

Miller didn't know if he heard something, and looked at Combe with a strange expression.

Kong Bu hurriedly dodged his eyes, and he told Xiao Ao that he was afraid, and if they really sparred each other, he might really not be Miller's opponent.

They ate and drank very happily during the banquet. The players definitely wouldn't drink, but the coaches of both sides had some drinks.

Bird drank only two cans of beer, his face turned as red as a monkey's buttocks, and he hooked Kumbu's arm and began to dig out his heart and lungs.

"Kong, promise me one thing."

Bird leaned close to Comb's ear and whispered.

"What's the matter? You go first."

Kong Bu would definitely not be fooled by the devils, and it would be no good for these old guys to find him.

"You promise me first!"

"You speak first!"

"You... well, let me talk first."

"The next round of the playoffs, if we win, then nothing happens."

"If we lose, can you let Reggie join your team? He is not young anymore. He has dedicated his entire youth to the Pacers. He needs a championship trophy to reward himself."

"Everything you did for Payton before, we all see it in our eyes. If you can make Payton have no regrets in his career, you can definitely make Reggie have no regrets."

Byrd said sadly.

Kumbu was speechless, no wonder Reggie Miller looked at him that way just now.

But is it really that simple?Combe knew all too well the jingle of Byrd's little abacus.

When Combe was in the Raptors, what bargaining chip did he pay for Payton?Three All-Star players!
Now trading Miller with the Pacers, can the bargaining chip be less?
(End of this chapter)