In the VIP room in the Rose Garden, Trail Blazers general manager Olshey had stood up and looked at the players and fans dispersing on the field.
"Mr. Orsi, the Bobcats and Magic have responded to the message."
Next to him, Hannah, the secretary to the general manager, put down the phone and said.
"Oh, let's do it. All Trail Blazers fans will get a big surprise tomorrow."
Orsi nodded, raised his glass and looked into the distance.
This transaction is mainly to strengthen the team's defense and realize the boss's championship dream as soon as possible.
Orsi's only worry now is whether Hickson's departure will affect the good internal chemistry and atmosphere.
Especially when he heard that Wang Zelin and Hixon had a very good personal relationship, and that the people of the Celestial Dynasty always valued love and justice, this made him a little worried.
…
At 2 o'clock in the morning on the 10th, many staff were working all night at the NBA headquarters on Fifth Avenue in New York, and the executives responsible for the league's player operations were called up to work overtime again.
At 5:10 in the morning, a three-party transaction was officially confirmed by the NBA, and major media began to reprint the announcement.
The first trade was officially born in December 2012, when the Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Bobcats and Orlando Magic conducted a three-way trade.
The Charlotte Bobcats acquired JJ Hixon and Ronny Price from the Trail Blazers in exchange for Hame Kivalek and a 2013 first-round pick.
The Magic sent Mike Roberts and a second-round pick to acquire Hame Kivarik from the Bobcats and Meyers Leonard, who has a guaranteed contract from the Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers sent away three players, JJ Hixon, Meyers Leonard and Ronny Price, and received Mike Roberts and a second-round pick from the Magic, as well as a first-round protected right from the Charlotte Bobcats.
.
As soon as the three-party trade came out, it still involved the popular Portland Trail Blazers. In the early morning, all the media, large and small, were busy again.
However, compared to NBA officials, these media people are happy from the bottom of their hearts.
Big news again!
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7:00.
"What? JJ was traded!"
Wang Zelin, who had been a general all night, charged into battle, and conquered the city as if he were on the ground, took a shower in the morning, and saw this transaction when he checked his mobile phone.
All major media sections on the entire Internet were dominated by news about the three transactions between the Trail Blazers, Bobcats, and Magic.
Most of them are saying that the Blazers lost money on this deal!
Wang Zelin clicked in and took a look, only to find that his younger brother, Hickson, whom he had recently acquired with his strong personality and charm, had been traded.
?JJ Hickson averaged 15 points, 8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game last season. Although his performance was affected this season due to the arrival of Wang Zelin, he also averaged 12 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist.
Whether it is a weak team or a strong team bench gangster, Hickson is capable of taking on this position.
Then, now the Blazers management actually traded away the team's sixth man, in exchange for Mike Roberts, who averaged 9.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.71 assists and 1 block from the Magic.
Although the team also received a first-round pick and a second-round pick, Wang Zelin still couldn't figure it out.
Next, he turned his attention to the Bobcats' protected first-round pick.
So-called protected?
The top three picks go to the Bobcats, and the other picks go to the Trail Blazers.
If I remember correctly, the Bobcats' first-round pick in 2013 happened to be fourth, which is very interesting.
However, there doesn't seem to be any player with a good number in the 2013 draft.
The most famous one is undoubtedly Anthony Bennett, the number one parallel import pick. Among the remaining players, Wang Zelin has some impressions of Trey Burke, Kole Zeller, CJ selected by his own team and... the first-generation card with "one card and eight" strength
Front——Aquaman Adams.
After learning the news, Wang Zelin had no plans to do morning exercises.
…
"Wang, do you know? JJ has been traded."
At 7:30, after Lillard saw Wang Zelin appear in the team training hall, he ran over and asked.
Hearing this tone, Lillard still felt a little sad.
After all, during this period, Hickson and the two of them had the best time.
"Well, we saw the news when we got here."
Wang Zelin's tone was a little low.
"If a player with 12.9 points is traded for a player with 9.7 points, I really don't know what the team's top management is thinking."
"We'll see what Coach Terry says then."
…
At 8:00, Coach Terry gathered everyone together.
"Guys, I think everyone knows by now that three players on the team will be traded elsewhere. I am also surprised by this, but we must put it down and move on."
"This is the NBA, this is a business league, and you have to get used to this kind of life, because the next player to be educated may be one of you."
Immediately afterwards, Coach Terry explained to everyone the inside information he had received.
The original intention of this transaction was just 4 words.
Strengthen your defense!
According to General Manager Orsi's statement to Coach Terry: The team already has enough scoring points, there is no need for another Hixon to distribute the ball. What is lacking now is defense, especially interior defense.
For this reason, the team traded for defensive star Mike Roberts from Duke University.
This white insider has excellent tactical qualities, good defensive awareness, is a good shot-blocker, has excellent running and jumping ability among white insiders, and has good support ability.
Moreover, Mike Roberts was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the seventh overall pick in the second round of the 2007 draft. This can be said to be Roberts' home team, which is very convenient for him to integrate into the team.
The most important thing is that the Trail Blazers already have Wang Zelin, so they naturally don't need Hickson, a short insider who prefers to attack.
As for the other two players in this deal, they can only be regarded as additions. Their only function is to clear out the bloated number one position and inside line in the team.
Currently, the Trail Blazers have a total of 15 players, reaching the extreme limit of the regular season roster stipulated by the NBA.
I don’t know if the management is scared by the center curse, but there are as many as 8 inside players in the 15-man roster, and half of them are gone.
Among the remaining 7 players, 3 of them mainly play the No. 1 position, but now that the team has Lillard, the iron man, two substitutes are a bit too much, so leaving one is enough.
After listening to Coach Terry's explanation, Wang Zelin and others lowered their heads in silence, thinking about the rationality of the deal.
In the end, everyone had to admit that Hickson's departure would indeed help the team go further to some extent. Wang Zelin and others could only accept this cruel reality.
"Now that everyone knows it, let's start training!"
Coach Terry brought everyone's attention back to the court.
…
12 noon, Portland Airport.
Wang Zelin and Lillard are sending Hickson off.
“JJ, have a safe journey and continue to make a fortune along the way.”
"Hahaha, the same goes for you, King!"
"I wish your new team still performs well."
"Thank you, Damien."
After hugging the two of them, Hixon was not only a little emotional.
?When he was traded with the Cavaliers and Kings before, he had never seen any of his teammates come to send him away.
Especially in his third year with the Cavaliers, after LeBron James left for Miami, Hickson became the transitional core of the Cavaliers that season, averaging 13.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
"I just signed a four-year, 20 million contract with the team last year. I originally thought I could fight hard for the finals with you, but I didn't expect that I..."
Hickson finally shook his head and boarded the cabin door, looked back at the land of Portland, said his final goodbyes to Wang Zelin and Lillard, and then turned around and entered the cabin.
"Wang, do you think we will be traded by the team one day? Like JJ."
Lillard looked at the departing plane with a bit of confusion in his eyes.
"No..." Wang Zelin wanted to say no, but the NBA is a business league after all, and he couldn't guarantee this.
"Let's go back to training. I heard that our new teammates are coming this afternoon."
Lillard turned his head and patted Wang Zelin on the waist.
"Um."
…
In the Blazers' general manager's office, coach Terry and general manager Orsi were puffing away their words.
Use JJ Hickson, a 26-year-old potential big man who averages a double-double per game, to replace Mike Roberts, who averages 9.7 per game.
One is the 19th pick in the first round, and the other is the 7th pick in the second round. No matter how you look at it, the Blazers are losing money.
It has been seven hours since 5 a.m., and local fans are still scolding the team's official website.
The only thing we can hope for now is that Mike Roberts can perform well on the defensive end in the next game, otherwise we will really lose big.
After a while, the cigarette was finished. The two looked at each other and lit another one.
…
This three-way deal has undoubtedly shaken up basketball circles of all sizes recently.
In the eyes of the outside world, the Bobcats are undoubtedly the biggest winner in this transaction.
?JJ Hickson averaged 12 points and 9 rebounds per game this season. Although he still has a contract of about 15 million for three years, he is just 26 years old and is in his prime. This deal for the Bobcats can greatly
Improve the team's interior and make adequate preparations for the second playoffs in team history.
Another player, guard Ronnie Price, is a veteran who has played in the NBA for nearly 10 years. Although his strength is average, he has enough experience to guide the young Kemba Walker.
For a time, the outside world's view of Michael Jordan changed a lot.
He actually has today!
The second winner was undoubtedly the Magic, who traded Mike Roberts, a second-round pick of that year, for Meyers Leonard, the Trail Blazers' first-round pick, and won the future.
The biggest loser is undoubtedly the Portland Trail Blazers, who gave away the team's best sixth man for nothing and suffered a setback in their bench depth.
Even though he got a first-round pick and a second-round pick, who would put aside his good immediate strength and choose to gamble on his luck a year later?
Isn’t this nonsense?
Everyone knows that Paul Allen is very rich and has never been stingy with spending money, but he can't stand it!
I'm afraid Trail Blazers general manager Orsi is not an undercover agent!