pinnacle swinger

Chapter 161 Shrinking Season
The news that Tang Wenlong and Anthony were training together in Los Angeles was exposed by a well-informed reporter, which immediately caused quite a commotion.

The two are alumni, and both are offensive superstars in the NBA. Now that the lockout will end without knowing when, does it prove that the new NBA season should start soon?

But this is destined to be just speculation by the reporters. The two really just met by chance. They trained together because they were players of the same level. Among the other players in the training center, there are quite a few players who have not even entered the NBA. other league players.

At the beginning of October, it was supposed to be the start of the NBA preseason game, but because of the lockout, there was no movement in the league, and all the itineraries originally arranged to play preseason games in other countries were also cancelled.

In mid-October, Tang Wenlong and Anthony had been training together for two weeks, but the news that the lockout still hadn't ended came. The players' union representatives and the owner's representatives negotiated endlessly, but they still couldn't reach a unified understanding.

In late October, Tang Wenlong and Anthony's special training came to an end. He felt that his defense had made great progress. Tim Grover took advantage of his height, wingspan and amazing bullet speed and found McGrady. In the video of the Raptors' defense, according to McGrady's defensive ability at that time, he set up a training plan for Tang Wenlong.

Including the most critical reaction ability and judgment ability, after observing Anthony's defense, the best defensive method to make.

At the beginning of the one-on-one match with Anthony, Anthony scored 10 out of 7 goals, and Tang Wenlong's retreat defense almost collapsed.At the end of the special training, Anthony could only score 10 of 5 goals at most, and this also included the hard work of relying on his body at the basket.

"Your defense is getting better and better. Shit, how will you play against you in Philadelphia from now on?" Anthony was very depressed. Seeing Tang Wenlong's progress speed that could be seen with the naked eye, he was also anxious in his heart. He trained more seriously and slowly Also started his own progress.

At the end of October, the two ended their one-month special training and were very satisfied with each other.

"I really want to play with you on the first team. Your learning ability is really great." Anthony and Tang Wenlong separated at the airport, their eyes couldn't hide the heat.

"But the Knicks can't afford that much salary." Tang Wenlong laughed and politely rejected Anthony's proposal.

Disappointment flashed across Anthony's eyes, and then he cheered up and shook hands with Tang Wenlong to say goodbye, "How many offensive skills have you secretly learned from me this month? Next time I meet you, I will definitely blow you up. "

Tang Wenlong smiled and said, "Okay, I will do my best."

It is inevitable for the NBA to enter a shrinking season. According to reason, at the end of October, the journey of the regular season has already begun, but now, the negotiations still have not made any substantive progress.

When Tang Wenlong returned to Philadelphia, news came from his agent that he wanted to return to the CBA to play basketball for a period of time. The Jiangsu Nangang team had been in contact with him, hoping to invite Tang Wenlong to return to China for a game. As soon as the NBA started, Tang Wenlong would be allowed to leave.

Tang Wenlong thought about it, but still refused. He is not a free agent, and he still has a three-year rookie contract with Philadelphia. During this period, it is impossible to play elsewhere, which is risky.

In early November, Tang Wenlong went to New York to look for Fang Chuxia. The two rented a suite in New York and started a happy cohabitation life.

At the same time, Tang Wenlong temporarily found a basketball club in New York, and conducted normal basketball training every day to ensure his state.

In late November, NBA players who had lost more than a month's salary began to be unable to withstand the pressure on them. They are not big business owners, and their salary is the guarantee of their life. Without economic income, there is no way to complete basic tasks. Daily needs.

After one party's attitude softened, things became much easier.

On November 11, after 26 hours of final negotiations, the representatives of the players union headed by the old fish Fisher finally reached an agreement with the management, ending the long lockout that lasted for 15 days.

Afterwards, the NBA official website released the news, and it quickly spread to the whole world. NBA players who went to other leagues around the world began to commotion, preparing to return to the NBA to participate in the game.

Not long after, the NBA officially announced that the new season will start on December 12th, Christmas Day. The season is a shortened season, and each team will participate in 25 games. Because of the tight schedule, the game density is very high, even including Back to back games.

This made the players who were originally excited about the start of the new season complain endlessly. They are already tired enough back to back, how can they break back to back?
At the beginning of December, the free market and the trading market will open, so the teams will start the team plan before the lockout, and the NBA will rise again.

At this time, Tang Wenlong returned to Philadelphia, and the 76ers also notified each player to return to Philadelphia to start the team training before the start of the new season.

"Point guard: Kyle Lowry, Lou Williams, shooting guard: Tang Wenlong, Meeks, small forward: Iguodala, power forward: Speights, center: Hawes, Whiteside .There are only 8 players, there is still a lot of people away from the 15-man roster, and the salary space is sufficient, with 3243 million."

The secretary handed over a thick stack of documents to Stefanski's desk, and Stefanski's face turned black, "Why are there so many documents?"

"Of course it's too much," the office door was pushed open, and coach Collins walked in.

"Counting our new draft picks in swingman Jimmy Butler and power forward Jon Leuer, we have at least three or four players to sign."

"I think Marc Gasol of the Grizzlies is very good, have you had contact with him?" Collins asked.

Stefanski gave him a blank look, "My dear Coach Doug, how could I possibly get in touch with the players, shouldn't it be the general manager!"

"Like a talented player, we should give him a feeling that we attach great importance to him. Marc Gasol is young, has a high IQ, and has room for improvement and improvement. worth it."

"Ten million annual salary, shit, are you crazy?" Stefanski screamed as if his tail had been stepped on. "Do you know what Andre Iguodala's annual salary is now? It's just over 300 million!"

Collins looked serious and serious, "If you just want to save money for the boss, there is no way to complete our reinforcement work. You can take a look at this quotation."

After speaking, he handed over a blank sheet of paper, on which was written the Rockets' private offer to the Grizzlies Marc Gasol.

"4 million in 5500 years? Will Morey's guy, Alexander, not hack him?" Stefanski's eyes fell out when he saw it, and Marc Gasol performed a little better when he played for the Spurs. Only 11.7 points, 7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in the game, not even as good as Dalembert, why is he suddenly worth so much?

"This is the price that the Rockets secretly quoted to Marc Gasol's agent. I also got it through a certain relationship. It is estimated that even the general manager of the Grizzlies doesn't know about it. Think about it yourself. We There is an inherent salary advantage, if we fight the price, we will definitely win."

Stefanski lit a cigarette and took a deep breath, "Doug, let me think about it again."

Collins nodded and continued: "Tyson Chandler will also leave the Mavericks, but his asking price will definitely be higher. Now there are only a few high-quality centers on the market. How did we lose to Kay last season?" As a Walter, you know in your heart that although Tang Wenlong is young, I can see his desire for the O'Brien Cup, so you should take good care of it yourself."

(End of this chapter)