NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

Lin Tian naturally wanted Yao Ming to keep quiet and not even think about any kind of deal involving a designated buyer.

Lin Tian didn't care at all about his good relationship with Franky.

No relationship can withstand the power of self-interest. What kind of good people could these general managers possibly be?
If Yao Ming says something like he'll only go to the Bobcats or that he wants to go to the Bobcats, or if Lin Tian expresses an extreme desire for Yao Ming, then Frankie's original intention of wanting two first-round picks will instantly turn into not selling less than four.

Businessmen don't care about relationships with you.
At most, if everyone's offer is similar, they'll prioritize sending you to the place you want to go. That's considered fair. So Lin Tian told Yao Ming to stay put and not worry about anything. If Frankie really asked, just say whatever comes to mind, like "it doesn't matter" or "it would be best to go to a big city"—just some platitudes.

As for the rest, ignore it.

As for Yao Ming himself, he just needed to focus on losing weight and practicing his shooting.

As for what level of training one can achieve in an offseason.

Anyway, with Yao Ming's shooting touch, it's no problem for him to develop a 36-7% three-point shooting percentage when he's open!
In particular, this guy is a giant at 226 cm tall. When Okur or Frye shoot, they can hardly be interfered with. When Yao Ming shoots, the opponent can't interfere at all!
Look up and see them off!

After essentially securing Yao Ming's services, Lin Tian made no attempt to contact the Brooklyn Nets beforehand. Instead, he went to ESPN and did a farewell commentary session with Van Gundy and Miller.

This is also why ESPN let Van Gundy go without any severance pay. It has to be said that big companies still have the manners they should have.

Of course, Lin Tian felt that this was also closely related to the fact that Mark Jackson had come to test the broadcast several times and the results were very good.

Now that a successor and replacement have been found, there's no point in forcing them to stay.

It's better to let them go cleanly; maybe we can find an opportunity to get a few interviews or something later.

But how should I put it about Lin Tian's commentary on this final match?

This guy is very unserious.

"Devin is amazing! He's one of my favorite shooting guards, he's incredible, he can do almost anything! Scoring, passing, defense, I rarely see such a great guy playing on the court."

"Especially since he hasn't renewed his contract with the team yet and will become a free agent this year, come on Devin, join my team, no, join my team, just like when we first met many years ago!"

"Gasol is not bad either. Has his contract expired? If not, then so be it. He's alright, he has some talent, but that's about it."

"Kevin is really good! He's always been a representative of exceptional talent. He can defend positions 1 through 5, and he can dribble, pass, and drive to the basket—a perfect all-around forward! What? His contract hasn't expired yet? I remember it expires this year!"

"He signed an early contract extension as soon as he joined the Suns? That greedy bastard! No wonder he's never won a championship. If he had earned less with the Timberwolves, he would have... well, he wouldn't have won a championship then either. But I'm still here, though he'll definitely lose to me a few more times!"

"Who else is there? Is this Shaq's last year? He signed a one-year mid-level exception contract last year? What does that have to do with me? I wish him a happy retirement."

"Pierce, he's alright! But I think he's not as good as Barbosa, because Barbosa's contract expires this year too. No! It's just that I've always admired Barbosa's speed. I've always liked fast players who can drive and shoot, and I see a reflection of myself in Barbosa!"

"I love Leandro! I love the Brazilian lightning!"

……

In short, Lin Tian did a lot of analysis and research that night. He didn't say much else that was useful, but he had a clear understanding of who had an expiring contract, who was in their last year, and who had a chance to go to the Bobcats.

How verbose and annoying was he? Stern, watching the game from his box, had already started writing up tickets.

Illegal recruitment! Openly illegal recruitment!
Too embarrassing!

You're going to be punished, kid!
In the end, the Suns emerged victorious, defeating the Cavaliers, who were making their first appearance in the NBA Finals, and winning Game 5 of the series!

This is also the Suns' fourth win in this series!

They won!

The series is over!

The Phoenix Suns have won the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time in franchise history, becoming yet another team to successfully win a championship!

And all of the team's key players, except for Prince, are winning their first championship!
Steve Nash, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal, Leandro Barbosa!

These guys are all winning their first championship!
Incredibly, the Suns, with almost no injuries, relied on just these six players to fight their way to the Finals and win the championship!
In this series, O'Neal averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds, much better than his regular season average of 9 points and 7 rebounds.

加内特场均19分12篮板5助攻2抢断2盖帽，也好于他的常规赛表现。

皮尔斯场均24分5篮板3助攻，普林斯场均14分5篮板2抢断，巴博萨场均也有15分入账！
Of course, the best performer on the team is their team spirit and leader over the past few years, who is also the foundation of this Suns team!
Steve Nash, the "Son of the Wind".

In this series, Nash averaged 27 points and 13 assists, delivering one of the best series performances of his career!
This is also the most important reason why the Suns were able to almost win the championship with just these 6 players!

As for the Finals MVP, it was awarded to Nash without any suspense.

The entire city of Phoenix erupted in cheers at this moment, with everyone offering their blessings and shouting encouragement. The championship they had waited for for decades, the glory that Barkley, Kevin Johnson, and others could not bring them, had finally come to them at this moment!

A group of veterans embraced and wept at the moment of victory.

This is the last year of O'Neal's career. If the team hadn't managed to get Garnett, he would have wanted to retire after last season.

Garnett, Nash, Pierce, and others are all over 30 years old, and even Barbosa and Prince are veterans who have been playing in the league for several years.

This championship win by the Suns was definitely the last hurrah for the old boys, and they did it!
They reached the pinnacle; they fulfilled their promise!

Pierce, who was abandoned by the Celtics; Garnett, who wasted 15 years in Minnesota without achieving anything; O'Neal, who failed in Orlando, Los Angeles and San Antonio; and of course Nash, who was kicked out of Dallas!

This is an alliance of losers, a group of losers' resistance against fate and their last stand!
They did it!
They deserve all the cheers and shouts.

Until the end of the game, until all the ceremonies were over, until the end of ESPN's farewell commentary livestream, Lin Tian didn't say anything more, but instead offered his congratulations in a proper and conventional manner.

This guy is completely unlike himself.

After everything was over, Miller, who knew Lin Tian well, couldn't help but ask, "Why are you acting so normal tonight?"

"Normal? I can't even be normal?" Lin Tian rolled his eyes, indicating that this person was slandering him out of thin air!
"No, I don't believe it! You're definitely up to no good, you're definitely up to something! I don't believe you'd be so honest and dutiful in your commentary! You sent out a bunch of recruitment invitations before the match even started, and now you're behaving yourself after the match? I don't believe it!"

Miller shook his head, indicating that he knew Miller well and told him to stop trying.
"Alright, alright, I knew I couldn't hide it from you." Lin Tian helplessly spread his hands and said to Miller, "I just thought of something, or rather, something I can ask those old men Phoenix."

"If we ask this question, they'll lose at least 30% of their fun tonight. Considering these guys have waited their whole lives for this opportunity, I think it's better to be kind and not ask. I'll just keep it to myself."

"I'm a very sentimental person!"

"What do you want to ask them?" Van Gundy was also quite curious. What kind of question could make the Phoenix people, who were so reveling and excited, lose 30% of their joy?

"Do you remember how many times I've defeated each of you?" Lin Tian shrugged and smiled. "Do you think this question will cause them any pain?"

"can!"

Miller nodded quickly, and then actually started counting on his fingers: "Garnett once, Nash once, both in the Finals, Pierce, I remember, four times! Three in the Eastern Conference playoffs, one in the Finals." "How many times did Shaq do? Five times? Once with the Bulls, four in the Finals? Or five times? I can't remember, there were just too many!"

"And Prince, you must have defeated Prince twice, including once when you beat him with a black eight."

"I can't really remember exactly how many times I've defeated those bastards, but that's obviously not important. What's important is that this is how it is." Lin Tian shrugged and said, "If they can count them, they're in pain. If they can't count them, they're in even more pain."

"So, wasn't it quite kind of me not to ask this question?"

"That's really kind of you!" Miller gave Lin Tian a genuine thumbs up this time.

That's a real buddy of mine!
Don't let Lin Tian's usual outspokenness fool you; he can offend people with his words and make them shut up with his silence. But when it comes to something important, something that's the most important thing in someone's life, Lin Tian can actually hold back and give them a perfect night.

That's what a sense of boundaries is all about!

Miller, in any case, trusted Lin Tian even more.

As for Lin Tian himself?

This time, he really didn't intend to cause trouble.

He's not the kind of idiot who can't tell the situation from the right angle; he's very sensible.

In particular, he now has an even more important task.

The NBA draft is scheduled to begin less than a week after the NBA Finals.

Although Lin Tian has already decided to choose Hayward, there is still a lot of work to be done.

What if someone tries to snatch it away regardless of the consequences? What price would be appropriate to buy it back?
And what about the Yao Ming trade? What if the Nets really ask for an exorbitant price? What if some team has a penchant for big centers and insists on bringing in Yao Ming, who hasn't even played 80 games in the last two seasons combined, to fill the paint?
In addition, now that the decision has been made to purge most of the current Bobcats roster, Lin Tian has a lot to worry about and research regarding how to fill the roster, who to fill it with, and who to bring into the team.

In addition, there are many other tasks that Lin Tian needs to do, so he's very busy this year!
In short, Lin Tian's work has just begun, and he probably won't have much time to play during this off-season.

With the end of the season and with O'Neal officially announcing the end of his long career, leaving the league with a championship to join the TNT commentary team, the 2010 NBA Draft officially began!
The top three picks in the draft were exactly the same as those in Lin Tian's memory. After making the league completely different from what he remembered, even to the point of chaos, it was quite strange that such a coincidence could still occur.

The Wizards drafted Wall, the 76ers acquired Turner, and the Nets added Favors to their roster.

As for the subsequent picks, Lin Tian didn't pay much attention to them; his focus was mostly on the other side.

Trade rumors surrounding the Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets had already announced their intention to trade Yao Ming during the offseason late in the season. The games they had Yao Ming play in March were less of a warm-up for him and more of a showcase for various owners.

Look! Our big man, even though he's thinner, injured, and jumps lower, his fundamentals are still there! Give him a chance, and he'll still be a top-class center. Don't miss out!
But how to say it.

A yellow-skinned center, a big man whose athleticism was not top-notch to begin with and who suffered repeated serious injuries, a guy who was already 31 years old and had suffered serious injuries for two consecutive seasons.

Yao Ming's market price is much lower than expected, and there are very few people who want him.

The offers from various buyers to Nets general manager Frank were all pitifully low.

It's not about randomly picking role players and bad contracts; it's about offering only one or two draft picks to try and trade Yao Ming away.

Obviously, team managers aren't stupid; they certainly wouldn't be willing to gamble too much on a player of Yao Ming's age and with a history of serious injuries.

Of course, the Nets could also wait for a better price. They could let Yao Ming continue playing in the new season and then sell him when his value is high enough.

At that time, there were plenty of people who wanted to improve their performance and wanted a center, so they offered high prices to acquire Yao Ming.

But how to say it.

Risk and return are corresponding.

The Nets themselves don't believe Yao Ming is healthy, and they are worried that he might get injured again.

At least now, Yao Ming can still be sold as a positive asset and a valuable asset.

But if Yao Ming gets injured again in the middle of next season, then it's all over!

If Yao Ming gets injured again, given his age, he will definitely become a complete liability and a liability. If the Nets want to get rid of Yao Ming then, they will have to pay him a draft pick.

The gain outweighs the loss!
It's worth noting that Yao Ming in this life entered the league in 2001. After a four-year rookie contract, he signed a five-year maximum contract with the team. Then, at the end of the 2009 season, Yao Ming opted out of his contract a year early and signed a four-year maximum contract worth 80 million with the team.

This means that Yao Ming is currently carrying a huge contract with 3 years and 6000 million dollars remaining.

If this results in injury and out-of-pocket expenses, it would be an absolutely awe-inspiringly bad contract.

Therefore, Franky is currently facing a considerable headache.

Should they play it safe and trade Yao Ming early in the offseason, or take a gamble and let Yao Ming play for another six months for better and greater returns?

Just as Franky was struggling with this dilemma, his phone rang again.

"Hey Frankie, this is Lin!" Lin Tian's voice came from the other end of the phone. Lin Tian said casually, "I heard you guys are selling Yao Ming? What kind of return are you looking for?"

"Yao Ming is the core of our team. He has been an NBA All-Star starter for many consecutive years, the All-Star vote leader last year, and has been named to the All-NBA First Team multiple times. His price is not low!"

"If it's not low, then forget it." Lin Tian said, "I've just taken over the team, and I hope there's someone I truly trust on the team who can keep an eye on things for me, so that the people below won't disobey me."

"I'm using Yao Ming as a locker room leader. If his asking price is too high, it's not worth it. I might as well go to Toronto!"

See you next time, Franky.

After Lin Tian finished speaking, he was about to hang up the phone.

"No way! Name your price, I'll hear it." As soon as Franky heard Lin Tian's words, he felt like he was being taken advantage of!
You're in charge of the team, you want one of your own, and you're a new management member. No matter how glorious your past was, that belongs to your playing days. I'm going to take you down today!
Especially when he heard Lin Tian's trembling and somewhat unconfident voice, Frankie felt even more certain: he had found an easy target! He wasn't going to let Lin Tian hang up; he had to talk to him some more.

“I’m willing to offer our backup center Tyrus Thomas and Nazir Mohammed, and then I’ll give you a first-round draft pick!”

"This year's?" Franky pressed.

"This year's won't work. I've decided to pick Paul George this year! He's a top small forward I'm rooting for! How about next year's, or the year after? You can pick one, really, I need Yao."

"You need Yao, but you're only willing to give up a first-round pick and two mediocre rotation players. Isn't that going too far? Lin, I respect your performance and energy on the court, but a trade is a trade. I can't do a deal at a loss!"

"How about I contact Toronto? Xu is younger and has more potential. I'm willing to offer more, even 3-4 draft picks. But for Yao, that won't do. Sorry, Frankie, maybe next time!"

After Lin Tian finished speaking, he hung up the phone without waiting for Franky to say anything more. (End of Chapter)