On this day, Lao Wang only did recovery training and two systematic trainings. After the training ended at 5 p.m., he had dinner at the base.
“The food is okay.”
After taking a look at the menu, he saw that it was not as fussy as before. It was mainly beef and chicken, not much pork. He nodded.
Liu Yumin also brought a plate and said with a smile: "The national economy has improved somewhat this year, and the allocation has been a little more.
But it’s still not enough, so I ran up and down for sponsorships and took some money from the CBA, and part of it was spent on food.”
Gong Lumin said: "Originally we planned to go to the United States to play a few warm-up matches, but later we changed the plan. Our main opponent is not the American team, but a country that plays international basketball rules, so we arranged to go to Europe last month to play
A few warm-up matches. I played five games in total, lost two and won three, and the effect was pretty good."
"Is the opponent the national team?" Lao Wang asked casually.
Gong Lumin said a little awkwardly: "No, most of the players they sent are from the second team."
Lao Wang was speechless. He lost two games against the second team. Is this acceptable? Coach Gong, can you be more sincere?
A group of people chatted while eating, and naturally they talked about the Olympics and the third dream team.
Gong Luming said: "According to US media reports, the members of the Dream Team include O'Neal, David Robinson, Olajuwon, Karl Malone, Barkley, Pippen, Grant Hill, Richmond, and Reggie Miller.
, Anfernee Hardaway, John Stockton, Payton, the head coach is Wilkens.”
"I x, are they all here?"
Lao Wang opened his mouth wide. Can such a strong lineup be able to do it?
Hu Weidong had talent and strength and yearned for the NBA. At this time, he shouted: "Old K, tell us, what is so great about these people?"
Lao Wang shook his head and said disdainfully: "It's just so-so. These guys are the core and boss of each team. They must not obey anyone. They all do their own thing on the court. We have a chance."
Everyone's face twitched. They are all the core and boss of the NBA team. How can this be called ordinary?
Lao Wang introduced: "Let's talk about O'Neal first. He is useless outside the paint area. Don't worry about him. David Robinson is too inefficient. The more he scores, the more the team loses. Olajuwon, don't look at him.
He just won the championship and FMVP, and he is getting old. If I hadn't injured my finger this time, he might still have to hug his thigh. Others..."
"Ahem! That Iron Army..."
Liu Yumin quickly interrupted Lao Wang and asked him to continue. I am the best in the world, and everyone will be fooled to death by him. When the time comes, they will all be caught blind.
In the following time, Lao Wang began to practice with the national team to adapt to the rules of international basketball. He has played this before, but now he is just familiar with it. The process is very fast.
Regarding the tactics used by the men's basketball team, the whirlwind fast break mentioned earlier was the main style of play of the men's basketball team in this era. It was very distinctive and invincible in Asia.
But now that Lao Wang has joined, when he is on the court, the tactics must be tilted towards him, reducing fast breaks and playing more positional battles.
But his current speed is actually quite good, faster than Wang Zhizhi and faster than Bart. He is the fastest among the three major centers. He also participated in some fast breaks when he was in the Suns, so now he will also be in the national team.
Practice fast break tactics.
…
At 9 a.m. on July 5, the NBA officially announced that the salary cap for the 1996/97 season was US$25.28 million, an increase of nearly US$1 million from last season.
At the same time, this also means that the transaction freeze period has passed and the free market has officially opened.
Just after 9 o'clock, a series of free agent signings took place and were made public.
Olajuwon signed with the Lakers for $70 million over five years.
Mutombo joins Hawks for $56 million over five years.
With the signing of free agents, a series of trade requests have also been delivered to Stern's desk.
He took a look, Ewing to the Pacers?
Okay, anyway, the Magic don't know how to cherish it. Ewing went to the Pacers, which can just add a strong opponent for the Knicks and Bulls, fill the vacancy of the Magic, and prevent Jordan and O'Neal from being too invincible in the East and affecting the balance.
Other transactions, nothing important, were passed one by one.
Subsequently, a series of transactions occurred.
The Suns also acquired Kidd and Rasheed Wallace, as well as Kobe Bryant.
Ben Wallace has known about it for a long time. He was notified after the draft, and he and Wang Tiejun also talked on the phone, so there was no disappointment, so he packed his bags and moved.
After Kidd found out that he was traded to the Suns, he was very disappointed. He didn't expect that he didn't win the position of boss, and now he was thrown to the Suns. How could he fight for the boss in the Suns? He would be beaten to death by Old K.
I'm afraid what we have to fight for in the future is the main position, right?
I was just preparing to compete for the top spot in the Mavericks, and in the blink of an eye I had to serve as a substitute for the Lightning. The contrast was too great, and I almost wanted to hit a wall.
Alas, if I had known this, wouldn't it be a good idea to fight for the boss, the Big Three? Why fight for a woman? Wouldn't it be better for everyone to drive a car together? If everyone shares the burden, the more drivers there are, the less tiring it will be.
After Rasheed Wallace learned the news, he was pleasantly surprised. He didn't have many opportunities with the Bullets. Now that he's with the Suns, he should have more opportunities, right? He also feels that he is a good match for Old K.
In Phoenix, Colangelo Jr. wrote the current lineup on paper and began to calculate the space.
Center: Wang Tiejun, Holt Reid Williams, Tisdale
Forwards: Rasheed Wallace, Robert Horry
Guards: Kevin Johnson, Kidd, Wilkins, Kobe Bryant, Rekos Chapman
They traded Rasheed and Kidd, and introduced inside player Holt Reid Williams and guard Rekos Chapman from the free market. Together with Kobe, there are now a total of ten contract players, including several marginal players last season.
Everyone has been cleaned up.
Veteran Tisdale originally had a one-year contract worth $3.48 million, but there was not enough space, so he had to buy out his contract and then sign him back with a base salary of $250,000.
This is also a rule of the NBA. Those who buy out their contracts can only sign with a minimum salary.
Holt Reid Williams can play the fourth and fifth positions. He is 34 years old. He was the main rotation center of the Cavaliers last season. He averaged 26.6 minutes per game last season and also scored 12.6 points and 6 rebounds. There is still some gas in the tank.
, is better than the current Tisdale and can become the first substitute at the fourth and fifth positions.
Rekos Chapman, 29 years old, was the No. 8 pick in the first round of 1988. He averaged 33.3 minutes per game with the Heat last season, 14 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3 assists and 0.8 steals. He still has some strength and can still be useful on the bench.
The main lineup he created is center Wang Tiejun, power forward Rasheed Wallace, small forward Robert Horry, shooting guard Wilkins, and point guard Kevin Johnson.
In this main lineup, Horry has three points and can pull away.
Rashid also has some three-point shooting, with a 33% shooting rate, but his two-point shooting rate is good, with a shooting rate of 40.3%, and his two-point shooting rate is even higher, reaching 45%, and he also has a strong ability to stretch.
However, the back line lacked the ability to stretch, and neither the Lightning nor Wilkins had three points.
Kobe will be the first substitute at the second position, focusing on training and strengthening the training of pull-up jump shots, as well as the training of long-range shooting.
However, in the shooting guard position, we need to discuss with Westphal in the new season to see if we should focus on training Kobe in the regular season. Anyway, Wilkins does not match the old K, and Kobe's shooting is better.
, first put Kobe in the main position and give it a try.
In addition, we still need to strengthen the small forward position. There are substitutes in other positions, but there is no substitute in this position.
The inside also needs to find a marginal player to make up the number. There is no space, so it can only find players with basic salary to make up the number.
He now needs to calculate the salary space of these 10 people and how much is left before he can continue to introduce players, otherwise there will be no way to sign anyone.
Old K, occupying a space of US$3.54 million, is fixed.
Holt Reid Williams is 4 million, Rasheed Wallace is 2.06 million, and Tisdale is 250,000.
Horry is in the last year of his contract, worth 1.7 million. The Lightning just signed a new two-year contract worth 7 million next season and 8 million next season. Kidd is still on a rookie contract, worth 4.41 million.
Wilkins made 250,000, and Rekos Chapman also joined with a basic salary, 550,000 in two years and 250,000 next season.
The rookie contract that Kobe just signed is $31, with a team option for the final year, which is $1.02 million in his rookie season.
"24.48 million, the salary cap is 25.28 million, leaving only 800,000 room."
He is a little envious of the treatment of the Knicks and Los Angeles. They can make up for the shortcomings of the contract in other ways, but the Suns can't. Now they can only use the last 800,000 to sign three basic salaries. The basic salary of 250,000 is just enough to sign a contract.
There are three, fifteen players, and there are still two left. Even if you want to find a reliable backup small forward, you can't.
Regarding Kobe's contract, he originally wanted to sign a child labor contract for two more years and at least six years, but Kobe and his agent refused.
Kobe and his agent have considered it very clearly. If K can still stay healthy in four years, Kobe will not be able to be the boss of the Suns, nor can he get a big contract. If K declines in four years, he can finish the game.
Rookie contract, get a big contract, so I don’t want to be bound by the rookie contract, I am only willing to sign a four-year contract.
…
In Los Angeles, Lakers general manager Jerry West is also calculating salary space.
Although it was a big dream, the five-year, 70 million contract also took up quite a lot of space.
Dameng's contract for next season is 15 million, with only 10 million left in space, so before signing with Dameng, he had already cleared out many fringe players to free up space.
Anyway, next season will be a mess. This job is not difficult, but the real difficulty is how to build a lineup that can compete for the championship if Duncan is selected next year.
Such a lineup must not only consist of Dameng and Duncan. All other positions need to be reasonably configured, which requires salary space.
Of course, this is only if he can get the No. 1 pick. If he can't get the No. 1 pick, he will no longer believe in God.
The contract he estimated for Duncan, based on the standards for the top draft pick, was 300 in the first season, plus Dameng's 14 million, which is 17 million.
Fortunately, Eddie Jones's child labor contract lasts for 6 years, and there are still four years available. There is only 2 million for the 1997/98 season, which is 19 million.
Van Exel also has two years of child labor contract left, which is only 1.9 million.
These four main players have a total of 20.9 million, and the salary cap should be increased somewhat, so there should be no problem with space.
In order to succeed, he now plans to let go of Campbell. Campbell's second contract has ended and he is now a completely free agent. He has been waiting to renew his contract with the Lakers. There is no way, he can't sign it.
In fact, with the current lineup of the Lakers and the addition of Dameng, it is already very strong and even has the strength to compete for the championship. However, he is not satisfied because Dameng is old and who knows how long he can maintain his condition? So he insists on playing next season.
rotten.
Soon after the Lakers notified Campbell's agent, Campbell's agent immediately announced that Campbell had entered the free market. If you are interested, please contact him immediately. If you are the one, don't bother.
…
"Damn Lakers! These damn big teams, damn league!"
The Spurs and Popovich saw the Lakers giving up a 28-year-old center like Campbell, and they immediately cursed.
Campbell was the Lakers' main center last season. First they traded Divac, and now they give him up. What do the Lakers want to do?
An aging big dream would never be able to hold up the Lakers' inside line. It was immediately clear to him what the Lakers were planning.
It was very clear and had already been implemented. It was the same as his intention, which was to mess up the game. For this reason, he did not hesitate to clean up two good centers.
This is what makes him angry. The Lakers have big dreams, so why are you showing off? Aren't you planning to steal Duncan from me?
"Damn it, we will lose all the games we can lose next season. If anyone dares to win, I will never end it with him." He vowed.
He had always dreamed of grabbing Duncan, and imagining what it would be like for David Robinson and Duncan to join forces was enough to make him drool, but now this dream is threatened.
…
"Campbell?"
Jazz general manager John Morris saw Campbell entering the free market, his eyes lit up, and he immediately started to get a good deal.
The Jazz have always been short of a good center. Main center Spencer's contract has ended and he has left. The Jazz have no plans to renew the contract and are preparing to move Greg Ostertag to the main position.
But Greg has no talent. He was the Jazz's No. 28 pick in the first round last year. It was purely because of his youth that they wanted him to replace Spencer.
Although Campbell cannot be said to be a first-rate center, he is definitely above the second rate. He scored 15 points and 8 rebounds last season, and he is not too old. He is two levels better than Gregg and is worth having.
But the space needs to be cleared. Campbell doesn't have an annual salary of millions, so don't even think about signing him in. Better inside players are valuable, so you need to clear out several role players. You can only sign a few more fringe players with basic salaries and substitute players.
The thickness will be reduced, but there is nothing we can do about it. Reinforcing the main lineup is the most important thing.
Soon, after making a decision, he began to clear the contract and began to contact Campbell's agent.
In the end, Campbell joined the Jazz with a four-year, US$30 million contract. Next season's contract is US$7 million, which is also the Jazz's highest salary. John Stockton's contract is only US$6 million.
With his addition, the Jazz got an above-average second-rate center, and also strengthened the worst fifth position. The entire lineup is much stronger than last season, and they officially have the confidence to compete for the championship.
…
In Houston, Barkley signed a two-year contract with Mosaic. His popularity has always been good and he sold more tickets than Big Dream. Big Dream ran away, so the team didn't want him to run away again. It's 18 million for two years.
Not bad.
Mosaic's boss Alexander has no intention of winning the championship. This championship was forced by Big Dream. Now that Big Dream is gone, he just wants to rely on Barkley and Glider to sell tickets.
As for Barkley, now that he has two championships in hand, he is in a state of mind without desires. He no longer wants to work hard, he just wants to play health ball, retire after completing the two-year contract, and then work as a commentator. This
It has been planned for a long time.
…
On July 10th, in the capital, the atmosphere of the Olympic Games was already very strong. It was either intense or intense preparations. Long Olympic banners were hung at the training bases of various events, urging athletes to make final preparations.
The men's basketball team achieved its best result in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, ranking 10th, then in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, ranking 11th, and the last 1992 Barcelona Olympics, ranking in the bottom 12th, each year after year.
Not bad. Fortunately, I finished eighth in the 1994 World Championships, which was considered a rebound. However, my performance in the Olympics really needs to be improved.
This time, the Sports Committee issued a target to the Basketball Department. They must achieve a breakthrough and be among the top eight in the Olympics, which means they must make it out of the group stage and enter the knockout rounds.
This is the minimum goal, but the sports committee does not dare to set a higher goal. Although Wang Tiejun is recruited, one person's strength is always limited. The men's basketball team is drawn in the group of death. It is not easy to make it out of the group stage.
On the 13th, Da Yaer Ya’s TOEFL test results came out, which were excellent and she passed the language test for studying abroad.
This time the two sisters wanted to go to the same university and applied to many American universities, including Stanford University, MIT, Harvard, and Princeton. Whichever university accepted them at the same time, they would go to that one.
As for whether they can be admitted, the two sisters have no worries at all. After three years of college, they have no worries about food and clothing, and their families are superior. They study wholeheartedly, and their talents in learning have fully exploded, giving them full self-confidence.
In addition, they also completed their credits ahead of schedule and obtained graduation certificates and degree certificates from Tsinghua University and Jiaotong University. Each of them received three degree certificates.
On the 15th, the men’s basketball team will compete in the Atlanta Olympics and leave for the United States.
Of course, there are also many national teams, basketball teams, table tennis teams, diving teams, weightlifting teams and so on.
The basketball team was all big, so it was a bit slow to get on the plane. When they got on, the other teams were already seated, waiting for them.
"It's a lot of pressure. They are all our country's dream team."
Lao Wang lowered his head and entered the cabin. When he saw the table tennis team, the diving team, and the weightlifting team, he felt pressure, because at a glance, he saw at least five Olympic champions.
"Liu Chu, why don't we change the plane? Sitting with champions like them, we feel very humble." He shouted to Liu Yumin in front of him.
"Pfft, haha..." The cabin burst into laughter.
"Hurry up, hurry up."
Liu Yumin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and repeatedly called the team members to move forward. They were big and were arranged in the front, which was the business class of the passenger plane. Wang Tiejun and other insiders were arranged in the first class cabin, where the seats were more spacious.
"Hello, I am Wang Tiejun, a newcomer to the Olympics. You can just call me Lao Wang or Lao K. Please take care of me in the future." Lao Wang walked forward while greeting people from other teams.
Liu Yueban, a male table tennis player, yelled: "Old K, you lived in the United States and went there, please take care of me!"
"You can greet me if I need anything."
"Yes, you are half a landowner over there, how are you going to entertain us?" Fu Minxia from the diving team stood up and leaned on the back of the chair and asked with a smile.
"I didn't say anything. I will entertain you as you say, Miss Fu Da."
"Old K, how about I exchange some U.S. dollars with you? We want to buy something to take back home, but we don't have enough foreign exchange." Zhan Shugang from the weightlifting team asked with a smile.
"For small things, dollars are enough."
"What are you talking about? There are hundreds of people in our Olympic team," Deng Yaping shouted.
"Who is talking? Who? Can you stand up and let me see you?" Lao Wang looked around.
"Old K, don't go too far and bully us who are short." Deng Yaping, who had been standing the whole time, said with a smile.
"Haha..." There was another laugh in the cabin.
Lao Wang greeted Deng Yaping with a smile and said to everyone: "If you want to exchange dollars, just come to me when you get off the plane. There are hundreds of people in the Olympic delegation. No one will be included. The official exchange rate is guaranteed."
"Oh, great!"
The cabin immediately burst into cheers.
In fact, the domestic foreign exchange situation has improved in the past two years. It was less than 20 billion in 1992, 50 billion in 1994, and 70 billion last year. The situation is better this year, but the country is too big, so foreign exchange controls are still very strict.
Yes, the amount that can be exchanged when going abroad is not much. Athletes participating in the Olympics can only have one thousand US dollars in their pockets.
When he said this, not only the athletes, but also the coaches and managers were moved.