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

Chapter 174 The offseason is over!Crazy alliance situation!All heroes compete to show their abilities!
The next day, another blockbuster transaction happened in the league.

The Bucks sent small forward Richard Jefferson to the Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Curt Thomas.Hours later, Oberto was traded again by the Bucks, who traded him for power forward Amir Johnson from the Pistons.

The Spurs Bucks staged a blockbuster deal, and Jefferson went to the west to join hands with Duncan.

The outside world generally believes that the Spurs have made a lot of money in this deal. After all, the old Bowen is too weak to defend against others, and he is a burden on both offense and defense. On the other hand, Jefferson averaged 19.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season. The offensive firepower is not a little bit strong.

The Spurs were immediately regarded as the favorites to win the championship next season. They not only retained the core lineup of the troika, but also strengthened Richard Jefferson and DeJuan Blair through trades and drafts. The overall strength is obviously stronger. up.

Two days later, the Mavericks, Raptors, and Grizzlies completed a three-way deal, and Marion settled in Dallas.

In this deal, the Raptors sent Sean Marion, Chris Hampress, Nathan Jarvie and some cash to the Mavericks, and also sent a future second-round pick to the Grizzlies. The Mavericks get Devin George and Anthony Wright.The Mavericks also gave veteran Stackhouse and part of the cash to the Grizzlies, and the Grizzlies exchanged Buckner to the Mavericks.

After the deal is completed, the Mavericks will also have Kidd, Terry, Josh - Howard, Marion, Nowitzki, Gooden, and Dampier in the new season, and their strength has greatly increased.

Not long ago, the Mavericks just signed a three-year 2500 million contract with veteran point guard Kidd. The Dallas native set sail in the new season and officially entered the championship ranks, vowing to launch a snipe against the Supersonics.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Los Angeles Lakers announced the layoff of Chinese guard Sun Yue. So far, the only Chinese players remaining in the NBA are Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian.

The Supersonics' victory also triggered a new butterfly effect. Sun Yue, who originally followed the Lakers to win the championship, lost a ring, and it is almost impossible to achieve the double crown honor of CBA and NBA.

In addition, the Magic, which lost in the finals, still completed the destiny reinforcement, sending Alstom, Tony Batty and Courtney Lee, and getting Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from the Nets.

After getting Carter, the Magic already had three All-Stars, Dwight Howard, Rasheed Lewis and Carter.This makes the Magic one of the favorites for the Eastern Conference championship next season without any suspense. If they can keep another core player, Turkoglu, this will be a very powerful lineup for the championship.

The Nets are mainly to save money, saving a lot of expenses through the exchange.Both Alstom and Batty have only the last year left in their contracts, which allows the Nets to save 2010 million in the summer of 1650, thereby reducing the total salary below the luxury tax.

The impact of this transfer on the Eastern Conference is very significant. The Magic with Vince Carter made up for the last shortcoming of the lineup. They have enough capital to compete with James + O'Neal and formally establish two teams with the Cavaliers and Celtics. The situation of the top three in the East has been broken.

Lu Yong would be happy to see the situation in the Eastern Conference become more chaotic, so that no matter which team reaches the finals, it will definitely not easily advance.

But he really doesn't care about the Eastern Conference right now. With the Lakers, Spurs and Mavericks completing reinforcements, the Sonics' lineup advantage in the new season is not obvious. Whether they can reach the finals again is a problem, and the challenges they face And the difficulties are much greater than in the East.

In August, the former championship team Memphis Grizzlies became the protagonist. With players such as Lowry and Trevor Ariza leaving the team, this Grizzlies officially ushered in a new chapter, and the reconstruction was very thorough.

Since the firing of Fratello and re-hiring to the last second layoff, a series of cerebral palsy operations by the Grizzlies management have not stopped.Now the Grizzlies not only lack the core of Gasol Jr., but also passed Conley in the draft. Even Lu Yong doesn't know what the future will be like, and it is full of unknowns.

What's even more outrageous is that the Grizzlies management would rather let Ariza and Lowry go, but also firmly keep Reggie Evans, providing him with a three-year 3 million contract, so that Lu Yong scared to death.

Although Evans' rebounding ability is indeed strong, his lack of independent offensive ability is a flaw. The annual salary of 600 million is still a bit high, and he can be regarded as one of the winners of Lu Yong's instigation of the butterfly effect.

As the big-name players in the free market have found their next home, the offseason reinforcement of each team has basically come to an end, and there will be no more shocking deals.

After finishing his internal affairs, Lu Yong finally looked forward to the holiday, and flew to Miami Beach for vacation to enjoy the rare leisure.

At the beginning of September, the news that Lu Yong was photographed shopping with beautiful women was once again on the hot search, and it was the first time that he was discussed by fans because of something outside the stadium.

Facing the reporter's interview, Lu Yong smiled and said: "Don't get me wrong, we are just friends."

The holiday time passed very quickly. At the end of September, each team ushered in the media open day.

This time Lu Yong was relatively low-key on the media day. Although he still emphasized that the goal of the Sonics in the new season is to compete for the championship, he did not predict too much about the league structure and the team's record.

The reinforcements of western teams such as the Lakers, Spurs and Mavericks make him feel like he is facing a formidable enemy. It may not be easy to defend the title this year. Lu Yong can only do his best to take the Supersonics further.

On the second day, the Supersonics held a public training camp in the arena, accommodating fans to watch the game for free. The original intention was to show the level of the rookies, but it has evolved into a group performance for fans and the media. The intensity is stronger than that of the All-Stars. Still low.

Lu Yong did not leave the field to coach in person, but asked the assistant coaches to divide into two groups to confront each other.

Old players like Durant, Noah, and "Martial Saint" Jackson are not very interested. After playing, they mainly pass the ball, and they are replaced after a few minutes of playing.

The newcomers are particularly excited when facing this kind of occasion, all of them are full of firepower, seizing every opportunity to show themselves to prove themselves.

"Nine-Finger Dunk King" Gerald Green unexpectedly became the C position. The fancy dunks in several fast-break counterattacks aroused the cheers of the fans. Even Lu Yong, who was sitting on the sidelines watching the game, gave him applause. The game viewing is simply invincible.

Green's style of play fits perfectly with the Supersonic's offensive system. He has a one-stop catch-and-shoot + counterattack fast break in positional battles. Although it is the first time he represents the team, he is in surprisingly good condition. He scored 11 points in a single quarter to prove that he is just lacking. Bole.

Beverly and Matthews also scored a few three-pointers. The two have an obvious advantage in opening up space. They are both rookies with both offense and defense.

夏天刻苦训练的巴丁格成为了对抗赛发挥最好的球员，全场出战32分钟对飙杰拉德-格林，17投10中，三分球7中3，罚球4中4，得到27分5篮板1助攻。

He played in the way that Lu Yong emphasized, running off the ball to catch and shoot, and using his athletic talent to make a breakthrough when he was close to the body, he brought his physical fitness to the extreme.

Budinger also staged a one-handed dunk from the free throw line when he was on the fast break, paying tribute to his predecessor Barry, and properly "white people can fly".

After watching this match, Lu Yong believes that Budinger will be able to integrate into the team in the new season and fully demonstrate his proud athletic talent.

If he can play the role of off-ball offense well and is familiar with the tactics of the Supersonics, Lu Yong wants Budinger to start the new season, let "Martial Saint" Jackson be a guest guard, and send a set of players with an average height of more than 2 meters. The starting lineup, in addition to being able to pull out a large number of opponents, can also adopt an unlimited defense system, which has great advantages on both offense and defense.

Lu Yong told Budinger to learn more from Neil. Neil is not athletic, but he is very good off the ball and focuses on catching and shooting, which can help Budinger in terms of experience.

Budinger seized the opportunity and was very knowledgeable. He quickly became familiar with the route and style of running without the ball. His 41.2% three-point shooting percentage proved that he has the potential to become an excellent pitcher. Difficult to be ignored by opponents.

It is Lu Yong's deliberate decision to let Budinger start. Dragic's organizational ability is stronger, but his defense is slightly weaker. He is easy to be targeted by opponents in the starting lineup. On the defensive end, his teammates need to put in a lot of energy to help defend.

Beverly's defense is strong, but his height of only 1 meters is also flawed. The offensive end is definitely not as stable as Budinger, and it will take time to sharpen.

Therefore, from the perspective of lineup extension, Budinger, who has played in college for three years, is undoubtedly more suitable to be the starter. Letting Dragic be the sixth man to lead the bench can enrich the offensive firepower of the two lineups.

In early October, the NBA preseason officially kicked off.

Boozer only played one game against the Trail Blazers in the first game, and then was arranged to rest by Lu Yong.

Facing young star Aldridge, Boozer made 21 of 9 shots and 5 of 2 free throws in the first 2 minutes of the game. He scored 12 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block, and his shooting percentage was 55.5%.

Last season, he had just experienced a season-ending serious injury, and Lu Yong was very careful about using and protecting Boozer.

After joining the Supersonics, Boozer did the same thing on the offensive end as the Jazz. He mainly focused on mid-range shooting after the pick-and-roll.

Durant was also scheduled to take a rest. He only played two games on behalf of the team and maintained a good state. He didn't need to find his state through the preseason. After all, Adu was the MVP of last year's regular season.

Although both felt that the coaching staff was too cautious, Lu Yong had seen too many cases of star injuries in preseason games, and he didn't want to invest too much energy in such meaningless games.

The rest of Durant and Boozer made Lu Yong discover new surprises. Batum has become more and more mature in the new season. He can shoot and organize when he comes off the bench. The characteristics of an all-round fighter are gradually revealed.

Lu Yong even made Batum a cameo as a power forward, pulling the opponent out of the penalty area by shooting. Once the opponent switches defenses or shrinks to the basket, Batum can use the dislocation to play singles.The most important thing is that Batum's height of 2 meters will not become a defensive black hole, and occasionally appearing in the fourth position can also play a role of surprise.

Veteran Juwan Howard also performed very well in the preseason, replacing Boozer in the pick-and-roll and focusing on mid-range shooting. After the first four games, his shooting percentage was as high as 62%, which proved to the outside world that he still has stocks in his fuel tank. Not joining the Sonics as a bastard.

Lu Yong knew that Juwan Howard was accurate in mid-range shots, and the preseason gave him a chance to perform. As long as he arranged pick-and-roll tactics, his efficiency was still very good.He partnered with Dragic as a substitute, one who is good at passing the ball after the pick-and-roll, and the other who is good at jumping after the pick-and-roll, playing very comfortably.

Budinger didn't have much playing time in the preseason, averaging only about 15 minutes per game. Most of his offensive areas came from outside the three-point line, obviously hiding his clumsiness.

Now that Budinger has been decided to be the starter, Lu Yong naturally does not want him to expose his strength prematurely and be missed by his opponents in advance.

Jerome James was the worst player in the preseason of the Sonics. He has the weight comparable to O'Neal, but he does not have O'Neal's offensive skills.Regardless of post-up singles or rebounding, the best way out in the new season is to be a meat shield and appear against heavy centers.

The undrafted pick Matthews showed a stable long-range three-point shot, with no flaws on both ends of the offense and defense. Although he is not eye-catching, he is a very practical player.

After six games in the preseason, the Sonics have achieved 4 wins and 2 losses while resting their main players, and are ready to shine in the opening game.

In mid-October, ESPN launched the first team battle list.

The defending champion Sonics are looked down upon, behind the Lakers, Cavaliers and Magic, only ranked fourth.

The Celtics with the Big Three are even worse, ranking fifth, followed by the Spurs, Mavericks, Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Eagles and Suns.

The Eagles became the team with the most rise in rankings in the new season, because they had the fourth record in the Eastern Conference last season. In the offseason, while retaining the original core lineup, they introduced Jamal Crawford, who averaged 20+ per game. Germany, the strength has improved significantly.

The eagle paper lineup also has many outstanding players such as Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Al Horford, Crawford and Joe Smith, and is considered by experts to be A dark horse that is most likely to counterattack successfully this year.

The Grizzlies, which entered the rebuilding period, are the team with the most decline in rankings. They jumped from the top ten in the league last season to the bottom four in the league, which is only better than the Kings, Timberwolves and the Nets who sent away Vince Carter. , the number of predicted wins is less than 30 games, ranking last in the West.

Paul Gasol and Mike Miller left the team one after another. No one still thinks that this Grizzlies team can create miracles again.

The Lakers jumped to the top of the combat power rankings. In addition to the former MVP player Paul Gasol joining, the signing of Artest in the free market is also the key.When a team has two MVP-level players at the same time, it doesn't seem strange to be favored before the season starts.

The same is true for the Cavaliers. Even if the "big shark" O'Neal's state has declined seriously, the lean camel is bigger than the horse. The combination of James and O'Neal is a hot topic. Even for traffic, ESPN will definitely rank the Cavaliers in the top three.

Of course, what makes Seattle fans feel uncomfortable is that ESPN actually ranked the Magic, the loser of last year's finals, ahead of the Sonics.

Although the Magic lineup after strengthening Vince Carter is indeed luxurious, and its popularity is higher than that of the Supersonics, but in just a few months, they were swept away by their opponents in the finals. This kind of ranking is indeed very disappointing. Comfortable.

The Rockets' ranking decline is also serious. Chinese star Dayao was injured while participating in an international game and was reimbursed for the season ahead of schedule due to a stress fracture in his left ankle.To make matters worse, McGrady's state in the new season is also very bad, his body is so fat that even dunking has become a problem.

According to the Houston media, McGrady's poor performance in the preseason has made the management very dissatisfied. He is likely to be traded, and his next home includes the Knicks, Clippers and Bucks, which have ambitions but no strength.

The "Yao Mai Combination" has officially entered the countdown, and the two are not far from retirement.

Lu Yong was interviewed and still firmly stated that the team's goal is to defend the championship. "Before I accepted the interview, we were already champions. In the new season, the reinforcements of all teams in the league are crazy, but no matter how strong the opponent is, the Sonics will stick to it and attack the championship again!"

(End of this chapter)