Chapter 12 The Big Three is formed! The progress of the Griffin deal!
A few days later, the Heat announced that they had used two first-round picks and two second-round picks, plus a 14.5 million trade exception, to acquire LeBron James from the Cavaliers.
At the same time, Chris Bosh, the Dragon King who also became a free agent, also joined the Heat through a sign-and-trade.
The Heat's Big Three, which shocked the world, were established!
Three players from the 2003 golden generation chose to join forces at the golden age of their careers.
Cavaliers fans were so heartbroken that they came to the Quicken Loans Center and burned James' No. 23 jersey.
Miami fans were extremely excited. They seemed to see that a dynasty belonging to the Heat was about to be established.
The next day, the Heat held a press conference for the Big Three.
James, wearing his No. 6 jersey, told reporters in a conference room filled with guests:
"Not one, not two, but five, six, seven or eight!"
When speaking, the little emperor wore a confident smile, as if the NBA championship ring was already in front of his eyes.
Just when the world was shocked that the Heat formed the Big Three, Shen Fei officially completed the signing of three free agents.
This news was submerged in the news about the Heat's Big Three, without causing any ripples.
But Shen Fei didn't care at all.
His consistent style of life is to be insignificant, keep a low profile, and pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger.
Moreover, while most people are focusing on the Heat, there is also a lot of discussion on the Internet about Griffin, the Clippers' top pick.
ESPN's famous commentator - A-Smith said bluntly in a live broadcast:
"Judging from the basketball skills Blake Griffin showed in college, what he can do, Jordan can also do."
"Listen, DeAndre (Jordan) can put opponents in great danger on both offense and defense. Whether it's dunks or blocks, he's not necessarily worse than Griffin!"
tn.t radio commentator Chris Knight said:
"I think the Clippers manager needs to make a choice between the two."
"They both need the ball and space under the basket. If two insiders without outside shooting ability are crowded together, it will not be a good thing for either of them."
............
A private training facility in Los Angeles.
Blake Griffin had just finished training for the day and was sitting on the sidelines to rest.
A large amount of sweat continued to drip from his forehead. Griffin picked up a bottle of Gatorade and drank heavily.
With nothing to do, he took out his mobile phone and started scrolling through Twitter.
Griffin first saw the news that the Heat formed the Big Three.
He didn't feel much about this.
Although Griffin didn't play a single game last year, he watched a lot of games with the team.
Judging from the competitiveness of the Clippers' performance last year, they do not have the potential to compete for the championship this season.
Therefore, Griffin felt that as long as he did his part, it would be fine.
Winning the championship is the ultimate goal, but he is not in a hurry right now.
But soon, Griffin's expression changed.
Once again, he saw what the commentators thought of him.
"Are these people really professional football fans? They actually compare me and DeAndre."
"Is basketball only about physical fitness?"
Griffin muttered angrily.
If you just look at physical talent (combined with dynamic and static), Jordan is even slightly higher than him
But Griffin knows that his movement control skills, shooting level, and ability to combine man and ball are not comparable to Jordan.
"These people have obviously not seen my games in the NBA, so why can they judge next time?"
Griffin was confused.
He believes that Jordan's performance in the past two seasons can be surpassed by him in one season.
Griffin took a deep breath, exhaled it slowly, calmed himself down, and then continued reading.
Soon, his brows frowned even more tightly.
Another senior commentator compared him to Greg Oden.
"I'm very worried about Griffin's physical condition. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he misses as often as Oden does in the future."
"For an inside player to suffer a season-ending injury at a young age, this is very detrimental to his future."
"The top management of the Clippers, think about it carefully. If you want to get a better cornerstone for building the team, take action quickly while Griffin's value is still high!"
Seeing this, the anger in Griffin's heart was completely ignited.
He suppressed his anger and didn't drop the phone.
Finally, Griffin turned his anger into motivation and returned to training.
............
Despite the pressure of public opinion, Griffin still has not wavered in his desire to contribute to the Clippers.
However, the team's general manager, Lawrence Frank, didn't think so.
Yes, he was shaken!
Frank has basically seen the overwhelming discussion about Griffin on the Internet.
Whether it is professional basketball commentators or fans, Griffin is mainly compared with two people.
One is the Trail Blazers center Greg Oden who beat Durant to become the No. 1 pick in 2007.
Everyone in America knows how talented Oden is.
In the NCAA's "March Madness" in 2007, he dominated the paint in every game.
In the finals, with his left hand injured, Oden defeated the inside line consisting of Noah and Al Horford with only one hand.
You know, these two later became players on the All-Defensive Team in the NBA.
This shows Oden's dominance at the time.
Although Griffin also performed well in the college league, compared with Oden back then, he was still inferior.
However...so what if you have high talent?
No matter how talented you are, if you can't play in the game, your value will still be 0.
Oden, like Griffin, spent the first year after entering the NBA in a hospital bed.
Until now, the attendance rate of the Great Emperor is still dismal.
As for whether Griffin will make the same mistake as Oden, Frank doesn't know.
He didn't even dare to think about it!
The second is another young man in the Clippers team-DeAndre Jordan.
DeAndre Jordan has played two seasons with the Clippers.
As a second-round pick, the team initially only took a fancy to his explosive physical talent and did not have much hope in him.
But starting from the first season, Jordan started from the bench and gradually won the trust of the head coach step by step.
In the just-concluded 2009-10 season, in his limited playing time, he played very efficiently on both offense and defense, often performing shocking dunks and blocks.
These are exactly what Frank valued when he selected Griffin last year.
Unintentionally, if Jordan continues to improve, he will be enough to support the Clippers' inside line.
[If I replace Griffin with some young immediate talent, will it be better for the future of the team?]
Frank was confused.
Griffin hasn't played a single NBA game yet, so the possibilities are endless.
Of course, one possibility is that like Oden, he keeps wandering between injury and comeback, never being able to guarantee his health.
As soon as he thought about this, Frank suddenly remembered the price call he received from the Rockets half a month ago.
At that time, he hung up without thinking.
But after thinking about it recently, Frank's attitude is no longer so firm.
"How about making a phone call and asking to see what kind of offer the Rockets are offering."