"Ed, actually I'm really surprised that you don't seem nervous at all about entering the country." Seeing that Adrian didn't answer, Rashad Lewis said to himself: "
In fact, I really envy you. You always have such a well-thought-out attitude. It seems that nothing can trouble you or interfere with you. You can deal with the national team so easily, but I can't do anything about it.
arrive."
This sentence made Adrian Fa answer. Perhaps because his soul comes from a Chinese, he himself does not regard joining the US basketball team as a very honorable and important thing. For Adrian, this time the Beijing Olympics
If you can participate, then participate. If you really can't participate, it's no big deal. It's precisely because of this that Adrian is very relaxed about the Olympics.
But it was impossible for him to tell these things to Rashad Lewis, so he could only remain silent. And Rashad Lewis did not seem to be expecting Adrian's answer, but began to talk about his own affairs.
Thoughts. Not long after, Rashard Lewis began to talk about the last World Championships held in Indianapolis, USA. He applied to join the national team but was completely ignored by George Karl.
"At that time, I really felt that the world had collapsed. How could he treat me like this? Even if he felt that he didn't need me, he should at least call me and tell me. But in fact, it was not until the delegation boarded.
On the plane to Greece, I didn’t even receive a call from George Karl. No, not even from George Karl. I didn’t receive a call from anyone. Did he even ask an assistant coach to call me to inform me?
Don’t you have any time?”
"What's even more outrageous is that old bastard Larry Brown. I told the media that as long as I can join the national team, even if I am a substitute, it will be fine. How did he answer? He actually said that he has never considered someone of my level.
Players... players of my level!!!"
The more he talked about it to the end, the more resentful Rashad Lewis became. He also complained more and more about Larry Brown and George Karl. Adrian can completely understand this. Comparing his feelings, if
Adrian put himself in Rashard Lewis's position and was repeatedly rejected, ignored, and even insulted. He would have jumped up in anger and cursed his mother, even if he received an invitation to the national team again. In his heart
Although I was very happy, I probably didn’t want to go. If I just applied to join the national team and was rejected, it wouldn’t be a big deal. There are too many people who hope to join the national team, and only one or two people are rejected, but George
-The way Karl and Larry Brown dealt with it was more of an insult than a rejection. Especially for a player of Rashard Lewis's caliber!
"That's because those two guys were blind and rejected your application. Don't care about that. You see, they didn't invite you, so they all lost. And the situation at that time was very miserable. In Chinese terms, it can be regarded as a thousand people."
It ended quickly. Fortunately, you didn't go into that muddy water." Adrian could only comfort Rashad Lewis in this way: "And don't you also have the opportunity to join the national team now? Old K
You know the reputation of the coach. Coach K has affirmed you, which is much more honorable than those two guys with big eyes who affirmed your coming."
Fortunately, Coach K's reputation was big enough and he was able to calm him down. Adrian comforted him for a while, which finally calmed Rashard Lewis down a lot.[
"This time I must make it to the final list and go to Beijing to participate in the Olympic Games!"
Adrian didn't know what to say about Rashad Lewis's ambition. Rashad has this idea and this pursuit. This is good. Anyway, he will not hurt Rashad's self-confidence.
. But Adrian also knows that it is not easy to stay in the final roster. Under the premise that Dream Five, Dream Six and Dream Seven failed three times in a row, this time the US national team can be said to be
It is a gathering of strong players and the best players in the league. They want to break out among the top players in the league and keep a position. Adrian has considerable confidence in himself, but for Rashad, Adrian
An was not so sure.
However... Coach K has always preferred players with better shooting, such as Michael Reed. He is a pure shooter. It just so happens that Rashad is also a pure shooter, which is exactly the outside firepower needed in international competitions. If
If Rashad Lewis can perform well, he might be able to impress Coach K again.
As for helping, Adrian was completely helpless.
You must know that the sponsor of the U.S. national team, especially the U.S. national basketball team, has always been the Nike Group. As a sportswear giant in the United States, Nike Group has such a strong dominance over the U.S. Major League Baseball that it has a firm grip on it.
Control the sponsorship rights of many U.S. national teams.
As the basketball brand spokesperson of Adidas, Adidas has always been Nike's main competitor in the global market. Now Adidas has driven Adrian, a very influential nail, into Nike's history.
In the nb league, which regards it as a taboo, it can be called a thorn in the side of Nike. If David Stern, the league president, had not been very strong and banned these giant sponsors from participating in the game process, if not
With the rapid development of the league over the years, a large number of small sponsors, especially sponsors from China, have poured into nb, which has dispersed Nike's influence. If it were not for the rapid development of the league, the league can compete to a certain extent.
If these giant investors were the sponsors, Nike would have already bypassed the alliance or directly used the alliance to force Adrian to wear small shoes.
The black whistle, the schedule, and the slander in the news made him quit and obediently turned to sign a contract with Nike.
It is precisely because of this that Coach K was able to overcome all difficulties and put himself on the national team roster. Adrian is still a little surprised. It is not difficult to imagine that in order to put himself on the national team roster, Coach K and
What kind of arduous negotiations went on between Nike and Nike.
But the national team is different. The rapid development of the league means that Nike can no longer speak for itself in the league. But in the national team, Nike still has a decisive influence. Therefore, as the spokesperson of Adidas, Adri
It is impossible for An to help Rashard Lewis on the playing list in a national team that is almost entirely Nike. He can only rely on his own efforts. Fortunately, Lewis's sneaker contract is also signed with Nike, and it also belongs to Nike.
As a member of the department, at least you don’t have to worry about Nike wearing small shoes for Rashad because of Adrian.
Being so disturbed by Rashad, Adrian was no longer sleepy, so he simply chatted with Rashad about the national team. It was the first time for Adrian to participate in the national team, and so was Rashad.
People really don’t have much to talk about the national team. So after chatting, the two of them walked away and started talking about the Magic. Gradually, the topic of the two of them shifted to the 2008 summer draft that had ended.
superior.
When the general manager of the Grizzlies pulled out the fifth pick, the general manager of the Timberwolves turned green. When the trade happened, no one thought that the Memphis Grizzlies would be so bad in the end.
So much so that he picked the fifth pick with one hand. Magic general manager Otis laughed so hard that he chose Kevin Love from UCLA as usual in history.
Adrian had discussed this candidate with Otis a long time ago. Adrian's advice to him was to choose Kevin Love if he could. If he couldn't, choose Kevin Love.
If Fu was picked up by the previous team, then Roy Thibert would be selected. All in all, what the Orlando Magic needs most is a tall and strong inside man to fill the vacancies and deficiencies in the inside line.
Except for such an unexpected No. 5 pick, the Magic did not gain anything else in the draft, and they did not have suitable trading chips. Someone wanted Marcin Gortat, at least Mark Currie of the Mavericks.
Ben is very interested in him. But his annual salary is too low, making it difficult to trade, and it is also difficult to trade the players the Magic want.
In addition, other players who are suitable as bargaining chips are either unwilling to be traded by the Magic, or else it will be difficult to exchange them for championship pieces that can significantly enhance the team.
This summer, the Magic are determined to catch a big fish in the free market.[
This year's NBA salary cap is 58.68 million U.S. dollars. As for the Magic's salary at this moment, Adrian's annual salary is only 6.65 million U.S. dollars. Kwame Brown signed a two-year minimum salary contract and this year's annual salary is 182 million U.S. dollars.
Wan, Marcin Gortat's annual salary this year is only 700,000, Millsap is still on his rookie contract, and he is a second-round pick, his contract this year is only 3.18 million, veteran Keith Bogans's
The contract amount is 4.21 million, Maurice Evans’ annual salary is 4.1 million, Rashard Lewis’s annual salary this year is 22.2 million, excluding other contracts, the Magic’s salary is
The cap still has nearly 11 million in salary space. Even including the newly signed contracts of Marc Gasol and Kevin Love, the Magic still have 4.86 million in salary space away from the salary cap and 4.86 million away from the luxury tax.
The levy of 67.23 million also leaves 13 million in salary space. Such a huge salary space is completely enough for the Magic to find a big fish in the free market to enhance the team's strength. This is why expert media always evaluate
The reason for the limited potential of magic.
When the existing lineup is already so strong, it still has the salary space to sign first-line stars without having to pay luxury tax. This has to be scary!
The Magic's idea is to use this salary space to find a strong swingman to enhance the team's offensive and defensive capabilities. After all, Keith Bogans is too old, so let him play for thirty minutes.
It is completely an inhumane act. (To be continued.)
