Garnett's absence from the Magic was not just a single incident, a chain of events soon occurred - Payton officially signed with the Heat.
Historically, the reason why Payton's signing with the Heat took until the end of September, a week before the start of the preseason, was mainly because he was wavering between the Suns and the Heat.
Historically, the Suns made it to the Western Conference Finals last season, but came back disappointed in the end. Many people felt that if it hadn't been for Joe Johnson's unexpected injury, the Suns would have been able to defeat the Spurs and win the championship. So when the Suns invited Payton
At that time, one can imagine what Old Glove was thinking. It was the thickest thigh in the league at that time.
In the end, if Big Shark hadn't been persuading him all summer long, maybe he would have really gone to the Sunshine.
But now history is different. Although the Magic also reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season, they obviously cannot be compared with the old version of the Suns. Moreover, Hill, the team's leading scorer, is out for the season again, so you can imagine the Magic's attraction to Payton.
And know.
Edison originally said, "We may have Garnett next season", which was an important reason for Payton not to completely switch to the Heat, but now this reason is gone. So Payton no longer has any hesitation.
There was only one choice, so he quickly reached a consensus with others and announced a one-year contract with the Miami Heat. The contract amount was the same as in history, which was still 1.1 million.
In just a few days, Edison lost two recruiting targets in Garnett and Payton, and its original summer plan was completely disrupted.
Among them, it’s easy to say that Payton won’t come. Now that the Magic have Nash as the leading role, the young Rondo can also come out to support the scene, and Hardaway, Tony Allen and Roy can also play the point guard position. Payton is not here,
That is to say, Magic continues to lack experience, and is still a little immature in handling critical moments, but experience comes naturally, and it will come naturally as long as you play more, so Edison is not particularly anxious about it.
But if Garnett doesn't come, this will be a bigger problem. If Edison and the Magic still plan to hang out for one year like last season, then there is no need. Josh and David Lee are enough, but if they plan to
To go one step further and challenge for the championship, the inside line must be strengthened. You can't bet on character and expect Josh and David Lee to suddenly break out and develop a set of low-post skills.
So Edison began to search for insiders in the league again, hoping to find a suitable candidate.
As it happened, he soon discovered that there was another very suitable candidate beside him, and the team this person was in was also in a period of turmoil, so he could be traded.
In the eyes of many people, there is only one NBA team in Los Angeles because there is only one arena here - Staples Arena, which is the home court of the Los Angeles Lakers. But in fact, there are two teams in Los Angeles, Staples Arena
The arena has 2 owners.
The Los Angeles Clippers are a very popular team now and are expected to compete for the Western Conference championship. However, in the 2004-05 season that just ended, this team was still in the quagmire. Last season, they had 37 wins and 45 losses.
, tenth in the Western Conference, once again missed the playoffs. The last time this team made it to the playoffs was in the 1996-97 season. The only thing that can make the Clippers comfort themselves is that the Clippers finally defeated their brothers in the same city this season.
, the disintegrated Lakers only achieved 34 wins.
The poor record is not the worst thing. What is even more tragic is that the Clippers' strong forward last season, Bobby Simmons, who won the league's Most Improved Player, signed a five-year, 42 million contract with the Bucks after the end of the season.
He moved to Milwaukee. This undoubtedly gave the Clippers' front office a slap in the face and cast another shadow over the team's prospects for the new season.
The Clippers team also has a very interesting habit, that is, they always want to make money with the Lakers. Whether it is record, media exposure or other aspects, they always want to compare with the Lakers...
So when the Lakers let go of Butler and traded for Kwame Brown, the Clippers' front office began to become restless. They also wanted to make some moves to find their own presence, so they started calling the league's top executives one by one to see what they were doing.
See if you can make any trades.
And Edison's eyes are also fixed on the Clippers' roster - Elton Brand, the current Clippers star, known as Little Duncan, the most stable 20+10 player in the league.
"Skilled low post play can just make up for the team's shortcomings; he weighs 120 kilograms and is full of muscles. As long as he is not at the level of Duncan or O'Neal, ordinary insiders can't hit him at all and can beat the opponent.
He can push out of the penalty area, and his foot speed is not slow. He can turn around very flexibly and can guard one side of the penalty area. He is an ideal partner for Howard. He was born in North Carolina and has a very high basketball IQ. He is used to teamwork. He has a humble personality and never makes trouble or picks any trouble.
, Don't fight for the boss. This guy is really good." Edison nodded secretly while recalling Brand's information in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more perfect he became. "This guy is simply more suitable for the Magic team than Garnett. Garnett is here.
I am also worried about causing conflicts within the team and whether he will listen to me or not, but this guy doesn’t have to worry at all.”
After making up his mind, Edison contacted Old Pat and others again and told them his idea. Because this time he chose not a popular superstar in the league, Dev and others did not care so much. In the end, Old Pat made the decision and let Edison personally
Just make the decision.
When Edison saw that the team's management agreed, he started the actual trading operation.
This time Edison learned from Garnett's experience and did not approach the Clippers' management directly. Instead, he started with Brand, so he called Brand's agent.
Speaking of Brand's agent, that's really amazing - David Falk, the league's top agent. His players at that time included Jordan, Ewing, Mourning, Stockton, Mourinho
Tombo, O'Neal and many other superstars. Because his superstars have such a great influence on the league that they can even decide the victory or defeat of a team in a single thought, so there are two legends of David circulating in the NBA in the 1990s.
statement.
"Hello, Mr. Falk, I am Paul Edison, the head coach of the Orlando Magic." Edison introduced himself on the phone in his signature style.
"Hello Paul, I'm so happy that you can call me. I don't know what you want from me." Falk's hearty laughter came from the phone.
Edison spoke to the phone and repeated to himself, "Don't be affected by this guy's words and emotions. His happiness is just acting, and what he says are all lies. You can't believe it."
As for why Edison is so careful, I have to say that David Falk's character is really inferior. Although after the lockout, Stern began to suppress super agents like Falk, coupled with Jordan's retirement
, for two reasons, Falk's status and influence in the world are not what they were back then, but he is still a well-known figure now. And now what he relies on to get around in the world is his mouth that can talk the dead into life, especially his
The series of lies makes people have to guard against them.
Someone once made a ranking list of lies for everyone in the NBA. Falk ranked second and was the only agent on the list.
Edison can still clearly remember that Falk, who had not done anything for many years, returned in 2008 and used a little trick to trick everyone on the Clippers into acting like idiots. He easily helped Elton Brand elope to Philadelphia, causing an uproar in public opinion.
, for a while the team manager who had players under Falke's name in the team was in danger.
It can be said that the only person in the league who can lie as well as Falke is another David - David Stern.
Fortunately, our generation has caught up with David Stern's pinnacle of lying. When Donaghy's referee scandal occurred in the NBA, even if there was so much evidence that the referee manipulated the game that it would make the lawyer's work meaningless,
Even if the person concerned has pointed out other games that were manipulated by referees, even if George Karl sarcastically said, "If it hadn't been for this, the league would have told us that there was no problem - in fact, we can imagine everything." Even if everyone
Everyone knows what the truth is and how dark the referee is. But the president remains calm and unafraid of power, raising his arms and shouting, "We firmly believe, and have never doubted, that Mr. Donaghy is the only person who has committed criminal acts. He
He is a person with no accomplices and no one has his soul possessed by him. We believe that other than him, the other referees are innocent."….
Okay, now that we have digressed, let’s let it go. Let’s talk about the other three liars on the list.
Ranked third is Cardinal Auerbach. This ancient great god never tells the truth to the outside world, just like a monk never lies. Don't expect to get a true answer from the bishop for any simple question. "I heard that Sa
"M. Jones practiced shooting alone last night?" "No, he was just doing push-ups."
And in addition to verbal deception, every move of the Cardinal is full of deception. Everyone knows that the Cardinal has another nickname, "Victory Cigar", because whenever Boston wins, he will light one and swallow it.
He puffs out smoke to show his leisure and relaxation. Some people even say that in the history of mankind, Churchill is probably the only one who can compare with his love for cigars.
But I didn't expect the Cardinal to use this behavior to deceive the opponent. In the finals, the Celtics once again met their old rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. In the fourth quarter of the game, the Celtics trailed by 20 points, and it could be said that they were on the verge of death.
That's it. But I didn't expect that the old man suddenly lit up his cigar and then stammered. When the Lakers saw it, they were shocked and asked, "So the old man still has a big move yet to be unleashed?", so his movements began to freeze and he became timid.
The Celtics players thought that their coach had a good idea, so their confidence soared and they went all out to reverse the game. Afterwards, the Lakers regretted it, but it was no use. The championship trophy had already been collected by others.
Ranked fourth is another legendary coach, Zen Master Phil Jackson. Everyone is familiar with this person, so I won’t analyze it too much. I will just list the content of the old man’s lies.
"Shaquille, you are the cornerstone of our team. That high school student is nothing." "Kobe, you are so stupid. You can do the work of Jordan and Pippen by yourself. You should take on more responsibility than that fat guy."
Pigs have more responsibilities, I trust you."
"Kobe's hand is broken. He won't be able to play for at least a month." Then the next day, Kobe played again with a white cloth band tied to his finger.
"This Lakers can't win 50 games." Jackson said bitterly at a press briefing in December 2007. As a result, Gasol joined the Lakers one month later, and the team went all the way to the Finals.
Once the Lakers narrowly defeated the Trail Blazers, at the post-game press conference, Jackson talked about how powerful their opponents were:
"Portland is an amazing team, very aggressive both offensively and defensively. Especially Brandon Roy, who caused us huge trouble in the game..."
"Well, I said, sorry, Mr. Phil Jackson, Roy did not appear today..."
"...I need to calm down."
Of course, the above can only be regarded as small talk. I personally think that the most classic, legendary, representative and widely circulated sentence is the following sentence - "I swear, I will never coach Los Angeles and Kobe Bryant again."
Got it.”╮(╯_╰)╭
The fifth is also a very familiar figure, Shaquille O'Neal. His biggest characteristic is his capriciousness. His classic quotes are as follows.
In 2001, "Phil is my white dad and I respect him very much" - in 2005, "He is a liar."
In 2002, "Kobe is better than Michael" - in 2006, "He will accomplish nothing if he leaves me."
In 2005, "Pat Riley is a true championship coach" - in 2008, "Miami is bullshit."
God knows which of these contradictory words is true and which is false. Is it because there is no truth from beginning to end, or is it because the shark just says whatever he wants? In short, you don’t have to guess what the shark is thinking.
