In addition to Paul, Anthony Davis, another big fish who made a lot of noise during the offseason, also determined his next club. The son of the United States finally chose to leave the West and join the Chicago Bulls in the East.
Just in mid-September, the Chicago Bulls and the New Orleans Pelicans reached a two-way deal. The Bulls used Jimmy Butler and Josh Smith as bargaining chips to acquire Anthony Davis, and the Chicago Bulls supported the formation.
Ross, Davis and Noah’s Big Three!
As a result, the Bulls suddenly became the top team in the Eastern Conference. After entering October, in the new season team strength rankings of major authoritative media, the Bulls ranked second in the Eastern Conference, second only to the first Cavaliers.
Team.
Among the 30 teams in the league, the Chicago Bulls also ranked 6th. The five teams ahead of them are the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Mosaics, Golden State Warriors, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
team and the defending champion Portland Trail Blazers at the top of the Kochi table.
All major authoritative media agree that the top six teams currently ranked in the new season's strength list all have the potential to compete for the championship.
In the new season, the Chicago Bulls seem to be ushering in the season closest to a championship since the retirement of "Basketball God" Michael Jordan!
But there is a premise, that is, the core players of the Bulls must stay healthy next season. After all, Rose and Davis are not in good shape. The former has suffered from injuries, and the latter has only played in a single season in the first three years of his career.
The rate never exceeded 70 games.
Injuries are very likely to become a destabilizing factor for the Bulls next season.
…
Wang Zelin was also surprised when he saw the news. He really didn't expect that Davis would actually target the Bulls as his next club.
If Wang Zelin remembers correctly, the Bulls will have bad luck next season.
First, center Joakim Noah was injured and played less than 30 games throughout the season. Without Noah, the Bulls' internal strength plummeted.
Secondly, Rose also suffered an injury in the middle and later part of the season and was immediately reimbursed for the season. The Bulls, without their two core players, inside and outside, were directly out of the playoffs in the new season.
Even though Davis has joined the Bulls now, the problem is that the Bulls have also sent away Jimmy Butler, the wing defender, and Josh Smith, who had a good chemical reaction with the Bulls last season. Without him, the Bulls' protection will be difficult.
The frame and assist defense will inevitably decline.
Can Davis alone really offset the impact of Jimmy Butler and Josh Smith's separation?
In Wang Zelin's mind, this issue is doubtful.
But thinking about it, this deal seems worth it.
Since God retired, the Bulls have been stuck in the past few years. Selecting Rose in 2008 is their best opportunity in the new century.
But Rose had just grown into a superstar, and in the following years he continued to play in and out, suffering from constant injuries. Fortunately, last season's attendance rate and data were guaranteed, which made the Bulls management determined to give it a try in the new season.
And really speaking, other high-quality role players can be found slowly, but the chance to form the Big Three to compete for the championship may only be once.
Just like this, the Trail Blazers have one more main competitor in the new season... on the premise that the Bulls can ensure the health of their personnel.
However, Wang Zelin became more and more excited as he thought about it. The crazy offseason created a crazy season. If the Trail Blazers can still break out of the Western Conference next season and finally win the championship, then the gold content of their championship will definitely be leveraged.
It is no exaggeration to say that the gold content of this championship can even replace two in an ordinary season.
Such a championship would be exciting to compete for!
…
…
Preseason starts soon.
The Trail Blazers also immediately announced their 13-man roster for the new season, as follows:
Point guard: Lillard, Beverley;
Shooting guards: Will Barton, Connett Lee, Vince Carter;
Small forward: Batum, Moreau, Richard Jefferson
Power forward: Aldridge, Yi Jianlian, rookie Harrell;
Center: Wang Zelin, Jokic.
This summer, the Trail Blazers have not made any signings for the time being. It's not that they don't want to, but that there are always some teams that jump out at critical moments to interfere with the Trail Blazers' signing targets in advance.
And this is also the only way to build a dynasty. No one wants to be a supporting role. The other 29 teams seemed to have discussed it with each other during the offseason. They would rather negotiate than see the Trail Blazers' strength in the new season.
There has been an increase.
In view of the current situation, the main task of the Trail Blazers management in the summer was to renew the contracts of the main players and rotation players. Finally, 13 people were retained on the team to ensure that the championship lineup of last season remained unchanged, which was still two short of the 15-man roster stipulated by the league.
people.
Fortunately, there is still a lot of time before the trade deadline. It is impossible for other teams to keep an eye on the Trail Blazers all the time. As long as they dig hard, they can always find a suitable championship puzzle piece.
"Let's start the new season quickly. I can't wait to see the match between the Trail Blazers and the Warriors."
"Portland championship! Long live the Trail Blazers dynasty!"
"I say, you'd better not set a flag for yourselves. You can't say this, or you may capsize!"
…
Fans are discussing it online and the new season is getting closer. Each team has begun to hold its own media conferences.
All kinds of crazy transfer transactions during the offseason have made the Western Conference's competitiveness this year rare in history, and it has received unprecedented attention.
In particular, the Lakers' press conference was undoubtedly the focus of all media's attention.
The big three of Kobe, Paul, and his sister-in-law appeared together, attracting the attention of the media.
Also appearing with the Big Three were Nick Young, Royce Hibbert, Lou Williams, Brandon Bass, Robert Sacre, Jordan Clarkson and others.
After the Lakers formed the Big Three, Kupchak started his various operations again. The most eye-catching one was that he exchanged only a future second-round pick for the former Pacers main center and two-time All-Star insider Luo
Yoon Hibbert.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! I don’t know what kind of ecstasy the Lakers management poured into Hibbert. In order to reach this deal, he even made sacrifices and gave up part of his insurance money.
The Lakers acquired Hibbert in a trade, and the price paid by Hibbert was negligible, and his multi-million dollar expiring contract is also very valuable.
Don't look at Hibbert's season salary of 15.51 million yuan, but this is already his contract year. If Hibbert does not perform well this year, the Lakers can clear up a lot of new room in the summer of 2016 and continue to chase big names.
On the other hand, if Hibbert performs well after considering the new season, the Lakers will also complete a contract extension with him and continue to remain competitive in the increasingly intractable Western Conference.
Then Kupchak poached Lu Wei from the Menglong team, and used a three-year, 20 million-meter contract to poach last season's Best Sixth Man to Los Angeles.
Then he signed a contract with the old rival Celtics free agent Brandon Bass. During the regular season last season, this guy played 82 games for the Celtics, averaging 23.9 rebounds and 1.3 rebounds per game.
assists.
However, his performance in the playoffs generally only averaged 5 points and 2 rebounds per game, which caused the Celtics management to focus on other players during the offseason and ignore him.
This also contributed to Buss becoming disheartened and choosing to leave the team. Eventually, he became interested in having a concubine with the Lakers Lang, and the two parties signed a contract.
After that, Kupchak followed up by signing veterans such as Stoudemire and Gerald Wallace with basic salaries in the free market.
This wave of operations by Kupchak is not bad. With the Big Three, he is really confident and has attracted veterans to pitch in one after another. The Lakers' lineup is quite competitive.
This lineup also made Paul feel high-spirited during the media meeting.
"I know it may not be appropriate to say this, but this team has no other goal except the championship. I declare that no one wants to meet the Lakers in the new season!"
The heroic words were reported as headlines by many media, and also aroused heated discussions among many fans.
Lakers fans are in high spirits, but many fans complain that Paul is a bit unclear about his identity. He seems to be speaking as the boss of the Lakers.
Has he forgotten that the Lakers are Kobe's team?
But then again, these words of Paul are indeed somewhat demeaning, but they are also excusable.
From the time of the Hornets to the time of the Clippers, Paul went from a young boy to the number one point guard in active service. It is not without glory, but behind the glory, there are also regrets.
Paul's biggest regret is that he has never made it to the Western Conference finals. You know, he is the league's number one point guard!
As a superstar who is ranked among the top ten in the league all year round and is known for his ability to lead a team, Paul has been unable to prove his upper limit in leading a team, which is really unjustifiable.
Now that the Lakers have joined forces, Kobe finally has a chance to show off his ambitions. It's not surprising that he would vent like this at the press conference.
In addition to the Lakers, the media conferences of the defending champion Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Mosaic, the first tier teams in the Western Conference, also attracted much attention.
The lineups of the Trail Blazers and Warriors have basically remained unchanged this year. The former has just successfully defended its title, and the latter has just refreshed the best record in team history and returned to the Western Conference Finals after decades. There is no need for the two teams to change their lineups.
The Mosaic team's lineup has not changed much, but they have added an accurate star point guard, Ty Lawson, who averaged 15.9 per game last season. Together with the modern combination, they formed the Big Three, which also rekindled Houston fans' hopes of winning the championship.
However, Ty Lawson was restless during the offseason and was involved in off-field troubles. At the end of July, he was arrested by the police on suspicion of drunk driving on a California highway. This was his second rescue time in less than half a year.
.
According to people familiar with the matter, after Ty Lawson was arrested for drunk driving for the first time in January, the news of being arrested for drunk driving was exposed again half a year later. The Nuggets management finally made up its mind to part ways with him and finally reached a deal with Mosaic.
The trade plan is for Mosaic to send Panicolaou, Prigioni, Dorsey, Nick Johnson and a 2016 protected first-round pick in exchange for Ty Lawson and the Nuggets' 2017 second-round pick.
It can only be said that this guy Ty Lawson can indeed seek death. Speaking of which, he is also one of the outstanding point guards in the 2009 vacant year. He has been playing for the Nuggets since entering the NBA. If it were not for personal reasons, the Nuggets management
I'm afraid I really don't want to let this excellent point guard go.
However, He's old club's repeated tolerance was rewarded by Ty Lawson's self-indulgence again and again, and the fate between the two parties came to an end.
…
"We are ready for the new season!"
At the Trail Blazers' press conference, all the Trail Blazers coaching staff and players were present, and Wang Zelin's speech was concise and to the point.
This sentence can be understood in many ways. It can be understood as superficially preparing for the new season, it can also be understood as preparing them to build a dynasty, or it can be understood in other ways.
But no matter which one it is, there is a sense of confidence!
And this confidence is not only reflected in Wang Zelin's words, but also on the faces of every Trail Blazers player.
In the past two seasons, they have proven that they are the best team in the league.
This year will be no exception.
…
…
On the evening of October 5th.
19 o'clock sharp.
The Trail Blazers' first preseason game of the new season begins in the Rose Garden at home.
Tonight's opponent, the Kings, is very average, so this summer they have strengthened their position at No. 1 and brought in Rondo, but neither Rondo, who just joined the Kings, nor core Wiggins are enough to challenge the Blazers.
pose any threat.
Compared to tonight's game, during the warm-up period before the game, the Trail Blazers' new mascot actually won applause from the audience.
Since 2002, the Flame Cat has become the mascot of the Trail Blazers. After the first contract between the two parties ended, the Trail Blazers signed a 10-year contract with the Flame Cat in September, and his annual salary was also increased to 12
Thousands of dollars.
Just last season, after the Trail Blazers won two consecutive championships, after repeated consideration by the team's top management, they made the decision to change their mascot.
At first, this decision aroused doubts and dissatisfaction from many local fans, because the Flame Cat has worked for the Trail Blazers for more than ten years, and local fans have become accustomed to his presence. Suddenly, the mascot was changed, which made them
A bit unacceptable.
Moreover, determining the new mascot is also a big problem. After all, it not only represents the image of the Trail Blazers, but also represents the image of the entire city.
But, in early October, when the Trail Blazers decided on the team’s mascot selection for the next five years and announced the image of Star Business, the fans who were still chattering before started shouting:
Ouch, it smells so good!
Just because the new mascot of the Trail Blazers is not any other animal, but the national treasure of China - Panda!
During this offseason, when the team conveyed the idea of changing their mascot to Wang Zelin, he was surprised and delighted, and agreed without even thinking about it.
That’s Panda! Who doesn’t love it!
Then, with Wang Zelin's help, team owner Paul Allen personally came forward to meet and negotiate with the leaders of the Chengdu Panda Breeding Base. After the two parties reached a five-year, 5 million yuan agreement, this also contributed to the most valuable player in NBA history.