It was also on this day that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak began to contact some teams and prepare to trade O'Neal.

The news that O'Neal was put on the shelf soon spread to all teams in the league.

The Mavericks reacted quickly and immediately contacted the Lakers and submitted their offer. Everyone except Nowitzki could become a bargaining chip.

Then the Timberwolves also sent in a quotation, and except for Garnett, everyone else was a bargaining chip.

The Grizzlies also sent in an offer sheet, Gasol, Mike Miller and White Chocolate's 2004 first-round draft pick.

These are the offers from three Western Conference teams. Although the Lakers don't want to keep O'Neal in the Western Conference, if the chips are right, it is not impossible to consider.

For example, Nowitzki of the Mavericks is what the Lakers want.

After thinking about it, Kupchak responded with an offer to the Mavericks, only for Nowitzki, but the Mavericks did not consider it and directly rejected it, and the transaction failed.

Nelson, the general manager of the Mavericks, knew very well that O'Neal was getting old, his condition was declining, and his weight was difficult to control, so it was not cost-effective to trade Nowitzki.

Then the Lakers contacted the Timberwolves, asking for the only person not on the Timberwolves' offer list, Garnett, who was also rejected.

Kupchak studied the Grizzlies' quotation again and thought it was pretty good. After contacting the other party, everything was ready. He finally called Phil Jackson to ask his opinion on the deal.

Phil Jackson immediately expressed his opposition, saying: "If the Lakers still want to make a difference, they cannot keep O'Neal in the West.

He and Lao K are both in the Western Conference. No matter what our new lineup is, there is no chance to break out of the Western Conference. There is no chance. At least, not within three years."

The head coach disagreed. As a general manager who had just taken office for one year, Kupchak could not force a trade and could only terminate the deal with the Grizzlies.

At this time, several more Eastern Conference teams sent in quotations, including the Green Team, Wizards, and Heat.

Kupchak studied the Green Team's offer list, which was pretty good, with three first-round picks in the future for Ricky Davis and Mike James.

The Wizards' one was a little worse, so he threw it aside.

Picking up the Heat's offer sheet, he also thought it was pretty good. Caron Butler, Odom, and Bryan Grant were the first-round pick in 2006.

There is no All-Star, but the three players are all very reliable main players, all forwards. Odom can even play five positions. Butler averaged 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game this season, and Grant averaged 8.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Odom averages 17.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. With these three players, the Lakers can directly complete the lineup construction.

"It's just the heat."

After repeated consideration, Kupchak decided.

There was another factor that made him decide. Pat Lailey was a meritorious coach of the Lakers. Under his leadership, the Lakers played a showtime era. The Lakers were very willing to send Shaquille O'Neal to Pat Lailey.

Under Lee's command.

After he and Pat Riley negotiated the deal, the deal was finalized and was only to be announced later, without notifying O'Neal in advance of the chips being traded.

On the night of the 10th, the Nets defeated the Heat and took a 2-1 lead. The Trail Blazers defeated the Timberwolves 3-1 and got the match point.

On the 11th, the Pistons defeated the Pacers 3-1 and got the match point.

On the 12th, the Trail Blazers lost, 3-2, and the Timberwolves saved a season point.

On the same night, the Nets defeated the Heat 3-1 and got the match point.

On the 13th, the Pacers defeated the Pistons 2-3, saving a match point.

On the 14th, the Trail Blazers defeated the Timberwolves 4-2 and met the Suns in the Western Conference Finals. The second round of the Western Conference ended.

On the same night, Dayao failed to perform, and the Nets lost to the Heat, 3-2, and still had match points.

On the 15th, the Pacers defeated the Pistons and once again saved a season. Three to three, the two sides will engage in a tiebreaker.

On the 16th, Yao broke out, scoring 38 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks, defeating the Heat with a big score of 4 to 2 and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the third consecutive season.

On the 17th, the Pacers and Pistons had a tiebreaker. In the end, the Pistons defeated the Pacers and met the Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals. The second round of the Eastern Conference ended.

This afternoon, the Blazers arrived in Phoenix.

On this day, ESPN announced its latest championship probability prediction.

The Suns ranked first, with a 45% chance of winning the championship.

The Trail Blazers ranked second, with a 40% chance of winning.

The Nets are third, with a 10% chance of winning.

The Pistons are the lowest, with a 5% chance of winning.

This prediction is supported by mainstream media and most fans.

Everyone knows that the current situation is that the East is weak and the West is weak. The Nets got a bargain last season. Unless the changes in last season's Western Conference Finals happen again this season, it will be almost impossible for either the Nets or the Pistons to defeat the Suns or Trail Blazers in the finals.

Lao Wang made a phone call to Dayao and warned: "Be careful with the piston, especially you. If Big Ben pushes you, the sprayer will come to you immediately. You can't hit it in the low position, and you can't open it outside."

, don’t be killed by the piston.”

"I know, brother, I will be careful." Dayao said cautiously.

On the 18th, the Western Conference Finals begins.

At eight o'clock, both sides announced the starting lineup.

Trail Blazers: Duncan, Zach Randolph, Darius Michaels, Derrick Anderson, Payton

Suns: Wang Tiejun, Amar'e Stoudemire, Marion, Joe Johnson, Nash

The Western Conference Finals will be broadcast live nationwide by TNT, and the commentators are Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.

Barkley analyzed: "After Old K returned in the regular season, the Trail Blazers did not perform at their full strength due to too many injuries in the interior, so the records of the two teams in the regular season cannot be used as a basis for evaluating the Western Conference Finals.

The records of the two teams in the past playoffs are meaningless, because the Trail Blazers have one more Payton, and his offense is nothing, but the Suns must pay attention to their glove defense."

Kenny Smith said: "Fortunately, Payton is in average shape this year, especially after entering the playoffs. His performance is obviously not as good as in the regular season, either because he is obviously old or due to injuries.

Nash is very fast. Gloves can't lock him down in positional battles, and he can't keep up with him on fast breaks. Anyway, gloves basically can't lock Nash down. It's still possible with gloves in his prime."

Barkley laughed: "The Blazers' strongest point is their low-post offense. Both Duncan and Randolph are good at low-post offense.

So if the Suns want to win, they must strengthen their low-post offense. If Old K still reduces his shots like in the second round, it will definitely not work. If there are more outside shots, the overall efficiency will not be as good as the Blazers.

I think it will be difficult for the Trail Blazers to defend Old K. Although Duncan is top-notch defensively, Randolph's defense is average.

It is also very difficult for the Blazers to win against the Suns. They must not only face the strong defense of Old K on the offensive end, but also limit the offense of Old K on the defensive end, and at the same time guard against the Suns' fast break."

Kenny Smith said with a smile: "Duncan's current tonnage should be 118 kilograms, and Old K's is 130 kilograms. However, compared with mobility, Old K's obviously larger tonnage is faster. This is also determined by talent, so Old K is very

Maybe I'll beat Duncan like I did O'Neal."

"It's possible." Buckley nodded.

At half past eight, the game starts.

On the jump ball, Lao Wang jumped a little early, and the Blazers attacked.

Payton rolled over Nash and advanced to the top of the key. After observing the situation, Duncan was blocked by Old K and could not enter. He immediately moved to the right and suddenly passed the ball to Randolph in the low post on the right.

Randolph caught the ball and dribbled the ball, using his strong body to arch inward twice. Stoudemire couldn't hold it, and after entering the paint area and getting closer to the basket, he immediately turned around flexibly and hit a goal with a small floater.

Lao Wang had already returned to the basket. He didn't expect that Randolph wouldn't go in, so he couldn't defend it in time.

The Suns attacked and opened up, with Wang Tiejun hitting Duncan in the low post on the left wing.

Randolph was also pulled to the right waist position of the paint area by Stoudemire. He wanted to double-team him in the low post on the left wing. It would take time to cross the nearly five-meter paint area.

Payton strengthens his defense. He is the first step in defending Old K. He directly cuts off Old K's offense from the source and prevents him from catching the ball.

So he guarded Nash's front, while the sides were exposed.

Nash casually pushed the ball to Marion on the left wing. After the latter took the ball, he quickly lobbed the ball low through the defender Max.

Lao Wang stuck his left elbow and caught the ball with his right hand. The next moment, the attack began.

While catching the ball, he took a step back to face the basket. His right hand holding the ball quickly rose up to make a fake hook. After shaking Duncan, he immediately collected the ball and broke through with a low body. He took a fierce step and hit Duncan from under the ball.

The bottom line on the side begins to break through.

"Sudden!"

Buckley shouted excitedly.

Duncan knew that Old K was likely to break through, but Old K was also very powerful in mid-range hooks and took a lot of shots. He was still shaken by the fake move. When he reacted, Old K was already full of energy.

The wind rushed past his lower side.

From the right waist position, Randolph quickly defended the basket.

Lao Wang didn't even look at Randolph and took off directly.

"squeak!"

Randolph was not a strong defensive player. When he saw Old K taking off, he hurriedly stopped.

"Bang!"

The next moment, under the fierce dunk, the US West Arena heard a fierce sound of the basket exploding.

"boom!"

Suddenly, high cheers suddenly sounded.

"Well done! The Suns beat Tim Duncan off the post, scared off the coward Zach Randolph with a look, and then dunked over the Blazers' rim."
To be continued...