Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

Chapter 151 End of regular season: The first team to win 60 games this season
At the press conference, Lu Yong praised "Martial Saint" Jackson with a smile on his face.

"Stephen played very well tonight. He is a seriously underrated star. I am very happy to see him usher in a breakthrough in the Sonics. This is good news for the team to hit the championship."

The news that Jackson scored 40 points in a single game was reported by many media, and Seattle fans were very excited. The better the player's performance, the greater the chance of winning the playoffs. This deal is absolutely worthwhile for the Sonics.

However, while the fans were happy, general manager Sam Presti had a headache ahead of time.

Regardless of whether the Sonics can win the championship this season, it will not change the cruel fact that many players on the team will become free agents this summer.

"Martial Saint" Jackson, Szczerbiak, Teletovic, Francis, Bunch Wells, Michael Finley, PJ Tucker, Carl Landry and others are all contract years.Thinking that the Supersonics would face the risk of being poached half of the country in the summer, Presti felt a throbbing pain in his heart.

The core players of the Supersonics are all rookies with little money and strong strength. The team's salary space is still healthy, but it is definitely useless to keep so many people at the same time, and it is difficult to renew all of them.

Veteran Michael Finley is likely to announce his retirement after winning the championship. At worst, he is like Francis and Bunche Wells who have successfully realized their dreams and made a fortune by taking advantage of the skyrocketing value. The first goal is to match the money. It is impossible to cut salary and stay in the team.

As for the "Martial Saints" Jackson and Szczerbiak, there must be teams willing to provide them with high salaries. The Sonics can match at most one, and keeping them all will seriously affect the salary health.

Taylor Tovic, PJ-Tucker, and Landry also showed their value. Will be sought after by other teams, no matter whose contract is matched, it will be a huge pressure on the supersonic salary space.

After all, the Supersonics still have a very important thing to do in the next two years, which is to free up enough salary caps for the two All-Stars, Durant and Noah, in advance, so as to avoid losing the big and moving. The foundation of the team.

The only good news is that in the summer of 09, many stars in the league tested the free market, including but not limited to Kobe, Nash, Iverson, and Boozer.

The supersonics have a lot of room to maneuver during the offseason. As long as they win the championship this year, they will not worry about not being able to sign stars. In addition to the big change in the lineup in the new season, no one can say whether the expiry of a large number of player contracts is a good thing or a bad thing. .

The biggest tragedy of the small ball market is that the players cannot keep people after they have earned their worth. In addition, the supersonic management team is not generous. In the parallel world, they can even send Harden away to save millions. Lu Yong He didn't even think about keeping them all, this summer he was burning his brains again.

The Supersonics is the first stop of his head coaching career. In the future, Lu Yong may stand on a broader stage to coach, but before that day comes, leading the team to compete for the championship is what he should do most.

On the 9th, the Sonics defeated the Eagles 113 to 102 away.

Szczerbiak was knocked to the ground by Josh Smith during a counter-attack layup. He lost his balance in the air and subconsciously supported the ground with his hands. As a result, he accidentally bruised his wrist and is expected to miss two weeks.

This injury made the Seattle fans nervous. Fortunately, the injury was not serious, and they could recover in two weeks, which would not delay the playoffs. This is probably a blessing in misfortune.

One day off, the Sonics challenge the Nuggets away.

In order to avoid being swept in the regular season, the Nuggets not only invested a lot of energy on the offensive end, but also increased their defensive strength, and implemented a full-court press from the first quarter.

Teletovic replaced Szczerbiak in the starting lineup. He was in a good offensive state. He scored 3 three-pointers in the first half and firmly grasped the opportunity.

It's a pity that Teletovic's defense is too poor. While playing well on the offensive end, he was also smashed by the "Brutalist champion" Kenyon Martin. One-on-one is just delivering food, and his physical fitness is not at the same level at all.

In the second half, Taylor Tovic was troubled by fouls and left the court early to rest. The only players available for the Sonics at the fourth position were Tucker and Landry, and their offensive firepower dropped sharply.

With the "Little Melon" Anthony making consecutive mid-range shots in the final quarter, the Nuggets defended their home court with difficulty and avoided the fate of being swept away this season.

The Sonics had a chance to win, but Durant and Jackson's successive strikes in the last 3 minutes of the final quarter made the team miss the chance to tie. 107 to 112, the Sonics swallowed their 10th loss of the season.

On the 13th, the Sonics defeated the Eastern powerhouse Magic in an away game, finally ending this exhausting road trip.The Sonics' opponents in the next few games are all big teams with a winning percentage of less than 40%. Lu Yong can breathe a sigh of relief.

On the morning of the 14th, Presti knocked on the door and entered Lu Yong's office, intending to discuss with him the team's signing crisis in the summer.

Boss Bennett said that this summer's team's reinforcement will be based on Lu Yong's intentions. From contract renewal to draft to free agent signing, Lu Yong can provide advice.

"Lu, originally I should have waited until the end of the season to talk to you about these things, but this year's situation is special. Half of the team's players are facing contract renewals. I'm afraid that talking to you too late will affect the summer's reinforcement." Presti sighed.

"It's okay, I probably understand the situation, what do you think?"

"After this season, it will be very difficult for the team to keep Szczerbiak and Jackson at the same time. If they both get high salaries, others will have to leave. No one wants to take a big salary cut to stay on the team." Presti sighed.

Lu Yong had thought about this issue a long time ago. Sczerbiak returned to the All-Star team in his second spring with the Sonics. Even if he can't get the maximum salary in the summer, it is definitely a big contract. Not to mention "Martial Saint" Jackson, he is at the peak of his career, no matter whether the Supersonics win the championship this year, his next contract will not be small.

Now that the salary caps of the teams in the league have not been greatly increased, the Supersonics are under great pressure to renew their contracts in the summer. In addition, Durant and Noah are both hanging, and the management still dare not blindly offer multi-year contracts to keep people. Whoever becomes the general manager will have a headache.

"Try to renew the contract. We survived the most difficult times. Now the wind and rain can only be regarded as happiness troubles. We will not lose anyone we keep." Lu Yong laughed: "If Szczerbiak is If the team poachs him, he must renew Wu Sheng's contract. Jackson's character and bad past are his points, and he is doomed to not get a maximum salary when he enters the free market. It is more cost-effective to keep him."

Szczerbiak's departure in the summer is almost a matter of course, but he can't shake the foundation of the Supersonics after being poached, and Lu Yong can't worry about finding a replacement.

The "Auburn Hills Palace Incident" made "Martial Saint" Jackson famous in the first battle, and it also made him notorious. No matter how good he played, he was the same as his former teammate Artest. His stay is quite good value for money.

As for the other substitutes and veteran Lu Yong, he doesn't care. There are many players who can replace them in the free market. It is nothing more than the Sonics undergoing a blood change in the summer, and they need to re-adjust their tactics in the new season.

Small teams rely on management and selection to win the championship. As long as there are stars of Durant's level in the team, they don't have to worry about not being able to get people in the free market.

In the next three games, the Sonics easily defeated several bad teams. The record of 56 wins and 10 losses still ranks first in the league, leading the Celtics, who are second in the league, by 4 wins.

There are only 16 games left until the end of the regular season. The Sonics have zero chance of tying the Bulls' record of 72 wins. The players have no pressure. Coach Lu Yong also began to rest players on a large scale to pave the way for the playoffs in advance.

On the 21st, the Sonics lost again, losing 107 to 112 at home to the Raptors.

Sean Marion, who was traded to the Raptors by the Heat in the middle of the season, played well. One-on-one not only defended Durant's singles, but also scored 24 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals on the offensive end. A good game.

克里斯-波什出战39分钟，23投14中，三分球5中2，罚球7中5，砍下全场最高的35分8篮板2助攻1封盖，加盟热火前没人敢说他是个“菜比”。

The injury of the all-star player Szczerbiak still had some impact on the Sonics. Fortunately, the team had a strong foundation in the early stage, and losing two games is better than the defending champion Celtics.

With a day off, the Sonics beat the Clippers by 23 points at home.

Durant bounced back quickly after a game, and scored 36 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block against Al Thornton, shooting 54.6% from the field, and the offense was unstoppable.

The Sonics went 3-1 the rest of the month, becoming the first team to win 60 games this season.

　There is another chapter in the evening, around 6 o'clock, the regular season is about to end.

　　Ask for a monthly ticket, ask for a recommendation ticket, and ask for your support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)