NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

Although he earned a decent salary after years of playing for the Heat, he never lived up to his potential. The "left-handed magician" had long since become the "king of distraction," and his silly mistakes and comical moments could almost be edited into a 10-minute video.

It's just that O'Neal had only recently retired and hadn't had time to develop his own "Shaqtin' a Fool" series yet; otherwise, Odom could have single-handedly dominated the segment.

What's worse for Odom is that after playing as the core player for the Heat for many years, he was suddenly traded to the Lakers by Riley. In addition to Kobe, the Lakers also have two undisputed starting forwards, Kirilenko and Durant.

Odom has to accept a substitute role here.

And because he arrived too late, he didn't get to meet Kohler and they didn't develop a romantic relationship.

Whether this is good or bad is something we can't comment on at the moment.

Unfortunately, Odom, who went from being the team's leader to the sixth man and a substitute, was completely unable to adapt to his new role, and he played poorly and struggled.

Throughout the season, he averaged only 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists per game, playing incredibly poorly.

Even worse, when the playoffs came, Phil Jackson realized that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't activate Odom, so he simply chose to DNP him and completely abandon him.

This basically means that Odom's Lakers career is over.

It lasted only one year, a short and unsuccessful period.

From any perspective, the Lakers will not re-sign Odom.

It's also worth mentioning that Tracy McGrady, whom the Heat acquired for a hefty sum, was completely hampered by injuries and failed to deliver any outstanding performances. Riley has once again lost his gamble.

This deal can be described as a lose-lose situation for both parties.

Because of his terrible performance with the Lakers that year, Odom found himself in a situation where no one wanted him. This all-around forward, who could score 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists with the Heat the season before last, was now facing the misery of being unemployed or only able to accept a minimum salary.

All I can say is that opportunities and mindset are truly unpredictable.

In late July, Lin Tian appeared in a dimly lit club in Los Angeles, filled with ambiguous lights and suggestive breathing sounds.

This is definitely not the best strip club in Los Angeles; on the contrary, it's completely lowbrow and full of drugged black men.

Lin Tian, ​​an Asian, seemed quite out of place here.

It was only because he was tall enough and had three formidable black bodyguards with him that no one at the scene dared to provoke or cause them any trouble.

"What's Lamar doing here? He earned 1400 million last year, how could he stoop to having fun in such a low-class place?" To Lin Tian's left was a burly man with a bald head and a mustache. This guy looked exactly like a villain in a movie, and he was none other than Boozer, who had just been signed by the Bobcats.

As for Lin Tian's right, there was Derrick Ross, a street kid with considerable connections and status in Chicago.

Leading the way for them was another guy, even thicker than Ross, whose neck was so thick you couldn't even see his neck.

This is Russell Westbrook, a local star who is quite popular in Los Angeles, and who entered the league the same year as Rose.

The fact that these people are here together clearly means they're not here to have fun.

"Maybe he's looking for attention, or maybe he really needs someone to help him out. In any case, this guy is definitely in trouble." Lin Tian kept shaking his hand, trying to fan away the pungent smell, but it was obviously in vain.

When they reached the outside of a private room, Westbrook stopped and said, "This is it."

"Thank you, Russell." Lin Tian patted Westbrook on the shoulder. If it weren't for this local's help, he really wouldn't have been able to find Odom so easily.

He originally wanted Kobe to help him, but that idiot Kobe actually searched all the gyms and courts in Los Angeles for him and then told Lin Tian that he couldn't find Odom.

What kind of good person would disappear into a sports stadium or gym?
Odom has been out of contact for almost a week now, and even his agent can't find him.

As a result, Odom's market value plummeted, and even several teams that had originally wanted to contact him gave up on the idea.

Nobody likes a veteran who's in poor form and could cause locker room problems at any moment.

This also means that it will be much easier for Lin Tian to take down Odom!

After all, if this guy hadn't performed poorly for the Lakers and hadn't disappeared so early in the offseason, his market value would have been between $1000 million and $1200 million.

The Bobcats simply don't have the money to sign him.

But now, anything is possible.

Lin Tian twisted the unlocked door and pushed it open. An even more unpleasant smell wafted out. Odom and two strippers were dancing excitedly, and Odom was constantly throwing US dollars into the air.

"Not bad, he's not crazy." Lin Tian muttered, "He only threw one knife. If he had just thrown 100 knives like that, he would have been hopeless."

"Who are you? Get out! Get out of here... Lin? Russell? Carlos? Derek?" Odom, annoyed that his fun had been interrupted, stood up angrily to kick them out, but suddenly recognized several people.

Okay, another piece of good news: this guy isn't completely drunk yet, he's still relatively sober.

"Want to chat?" Lin Tian glanced at the two strippers and said, "Just the few of us."

"You two can go out now." Odom waved his hand, then rubbed his head vigorously with both hands: "What do you want from me?"

"What can we do?" Lin Tian retorted. "We came to you for what else? We certainly didn't come to join your clique."

“But I’m already considering retirement.” Odom shook his head and said, “I’m no longer…”

"Stop fucking talking nonsense." Lin Tian rudely interrupted Odom, saying, "Do you have any goods here?"

“Goods?” Odom shook his head and said, “I don’t touch that stuff.”

"I haven't even touched it yet," Lin Tian muttered to himself, then continued, "The boss said you've been here all day, but there aren't many bottles of liquor here, and you're still somewhat sober. Similarly, I haven't seen any merchandise here, nor any hookah or anything like that."

"Lamar, you're just doubting yourself and have lost confidence, but you haven't completely given up on yourself yet. You still think you can do it, right? You still have a bottom line. You still know what you can't touch. You still know very well which paths you can't take if you want to return to the league."

"You haven't reached a dead end yet, you still have a chance."

"So, now you can answer my question again: are you really determined to retire, to give up, to never touch basketball again, to never return to the NBA court, and to spend the rest of your life in this filthy sewer?"

"If so, I can help you find a few vendors who offer good quality at low prices and supply you with all the junk you need."

"But before that, shouldn't you ask yourself carefully, are you really willing to accept this?"

"I'm not reconciled." This time, Odom didn't hesitate for long, but shook his head and said, "But I just can't play well, I just can't adapt to the role the Lakers gave me. They all say I'm trash, earning a huge salary every year but doing nothing!"

“Everyone has their own role, and everyone has to adapt to a new environment.” Lin Tian continued, “You just have a longer adaptation period, but at least I think there is still hope for you, and I have no intention of giving up on you.”

"If you're willing to give yourself another chance, there's not much I can offer you, just enough to be middle class."

"But I think this is probably the highest offer you can get on the market, because even your agent is already considering giving up on you. You should know that he couldn't contact you for a whole week."

"So, Lamar, you know what? I'm not here to ask you to join the Bobcats. I'm here to pull you out of the abyss. I might even be the only person in the world who is willing and able to give you a hand."

"Your last chance is here. Will you continue to wallow in darkness, or seize this last opportunity to walk towards the light? The decision is yours!" "Lamar, come on, tell me, are you still willing to stand on the field? Even if you're just a substitute, even if you can only be the sixth man, or even the seventh or eighth man, are you willing to give everything to prove that all those who look down on you are idiots?"

"Come on, Lamar, tell me your wish now, tell me what you want most right now!"

"Lin, I want to play basketball!" After Lin Tian finished speaking, Odom looked up at Lin Tian and said, "I want to play basketball!"

"Mr. Lamar's takeout has arrived."

Just as Odom was about to burst into tears, the door to the private room suddenly opened, revealing a rather thin black man dressed in gold and silver. This guy clearly couldn't believe that a group of burly men were sitting in a private room of a strip club, and there wasn't a single girl.

What kind of play is this?

The young man instinctively tightened his grip on the bag in his hand. He wondered if he had fallen into a trap set by a rival gang! Were those bastards deliberately lying in ambush to kill him?

"How much?" Lin Tian winked at Buzer, who stood up, holding several $10 bills that he had casually picked up from the floor.

That's really stingy! They won't even take out their own wallets!
"Enough!" The young man snatched the wad of money from the manger, handed the brown paper bag back to the manger, and then turned and ran.

His instincts told him that this place was quite dangerous and he shouldn't stay any longer!

We must get out of here immediately.

Buzer handed the bag to Lin Tian, ​​who opened it, glanced at it, and then threw it on the floor.

"It was my first time, and I just wanted to find some light in the chaos." Odom quickly waved his hands to show his innocence: "I swear, it was my first time!"

"I hate it when people lie to me the most," Lin Tian said, looking at Odom. "But I don't care what you did before."

“But from the first day you arrived in Charlotte, you’ve been subjected to a urine test every single day!”

“If, even once, someone finds something out of your excrement, Lamar, I guarantee you won’t survive in this league! I’ll tell everyone you touched that damn stuff!”

"The same goes for the rest of you. If any of you dare touch these things, I guarantee you'll suffer a terrible fate!"

“Russell, including you! Even though you’re not on my team, if I find out you’ve touched this stuff, I’ll make you pay!” Lin Tian said to Westbrook, the only player not on the Bobcats, “Because I have faith in you, and I don’t want you to be ruined by this stuff, understand?”

"Don't worry, I will never touch these things!" Westbrook said confidently, indicating that he would rather die than touch these things.

"The others?" Lin Tian's eyes swept blankly over everyone else in the room. At this moment, Lin Tian had lost all trace of the relaxed demeanor he had just displayed. He alone had caused the temperature in the room to drop by at least five degrees.

This is the most real and terrifying side of the tyrant Lin Tian.

His bottom line is one that no one is allowed to cross.

"We understand!" Everyone else was stunned by Lin Tian's words. They nodded almost simultaneously, indicating that they understood Lin Tian's meaning and would definitely not cause him any trouble.

Then, the group spent a few more days in Los Angeles to relax before finally going their separate ways to have some fun.

Lin Tian set August 20th as the date for the team to assemble ahead of schedule. He required all players on the team to come to Charlotte on this day for a self-organized team training camp.

This training camp won't last too long, only about half a month.

The main purpose of this training camp is to allow players to get to know each other, understand each other's habits, develop initial chemistry, and understand the team's tactics.

The training camp will disband in early September, and the players can continue training on their own or rest as they wish.

Then comes the NBA official training camp in early October.

At that time, the Bobcats will begin their formal training camp.

Get all the players fully engaged and firing on all cylinders, and make final preparations and adjustments for the new season!
After securing Odom, Lin Tian's offseason transformation of the team was essentially complete. The remaining tasks were minor adjustments, such as using the biennial exception to sign Matt Barnes, his former Knicks teammate, to improve the team's toughness.

For example, he also signed Shannon Brown, a guard who had been struggling to find his place in the rotation with the Knicks, to a minimum salary contract.

By August 20th, not only had the Bobcats' roster been largely finalized, but the NBA free agency market and the frenzied summer arms race had also essentially come to an end. Teams that needed to strengthen their rosters continued to do so, while teams targeting Kyrie Irving were frantically giving away players for free.

In short, this offseason, which was crazy because of the 03 draft class, is finally over.

Besides the aforementioned 03 generation of players forming and changing teams, several established powerhouses have also made certain reinforcements.

For example, the 09 NBA champion Celtics traded away Ron Artest, whose performance declined with age. Well, now he's known as Metta World Peace, or "Charity World Peace" and also as Wayne Wadspiel.

They traded Ron Artest and a first-round draft pick for Stephen Jackson, nicknamed "The Martial Saint," to increase their rotation depth.

The defending champion Suns were constrained by salary cap issues after O'Neal's retirement and were unable to make any major adjustments. They simply acquired Brandon Haywood from the Wizards to fill the void in the frontcourt left by O'Neal's departure.

The Lakers are still making minor adjustments. While maintaining their core quartet of Kobe, Durant, Kirilenko, and Bynum, they brought in the waived Artest. This team's wing defense is already incredibly deep.

The Mavericks didn't stop after acquiring LeBron James. They quickly acquired Caron Butler, a two-time All-Star who was a bargain with an annual salary of just over $800 million, from the Wizards, who were rebuilding due to Arenas' serious injury.

Bringing in Butler was certainly not to have him as a substitute, and James, another small forward, is even less likely to be a substitute.

As a result, many people have already seen the Mavericks' ambition and initial tactical plans in their actions.

It seems LeBron James will have to switch to playing point guard full-time and sharing the ball and controlling it!

The only regret is the Spurs. They failed to retain James, and due to salary cap constraints, they were unable to bring in any reliable players to replace him. Although the team still has players like Bosh, Martin, and Francis, their journey in the new season will definitely be quite difficult.

As for the Bobcats, their current roster is basically finalized. Under Lin Tian's management, the team has made some trades, some replacements, and some abandonments. Compared to last season, the roster has undergone a complete transformation!

It's worth mentioning that Lin Tian also managed to acquire the Wizards' backup center, Itang Thomas, to replace Yao Ming. The Wizards were essentially ripped off by various teams.

If the Wizards hadn't had to keep Jamison to fill out their roster and not be completely without any capable players, they definitely would have traded Jamison as well!
The Bobcats' current roster is as follows:

Centers: Yao Ming, Itang Thomas
Power Forwards: Carlos Boozer, Lamar Odom, Marvin Williams

Small Forwards: Gordon Hayward, Matt Barnes, Landry Fields

Shooting Guards: DeMar DeRozan, Shannon Brown, Lance Stephenson

Point guards: Derrick Rose, DJ Augustin, Jeremy Lin
Lin Tian adopted the same approach as Bird, leaving only 14 names on the roster and one spot open for someone to join.

If any veteran players are bought out midway through the season or the team suffers injuries, then Lin Tian will have to use this last roster spot to find a way to strengthen the team.

But that's all for later. Anyway, the Bobcats' overall roster is basically complete now!
This group of people, this lineup, no matter how you look at it, is quite competitive!

Yao Ming, who successfully lost weight, was paired with his former lifelong rival Boozer. The two had quite complementary styles. Both could shoot, both could post up, both could facilitate, and both were good defenders.

This twin-tower combination is considered by many media outlets to be a top-five tier of interior twin towers for the new season! (End of Chapter)