After a few days of running in, Wang Tiejun got to know his new teammates better.
Rasheed Wallace, the new inside partner, has average dribbling ability and average jumping, but his moving speed is pretty good.
In terms of offense, the offensive area is large, he can stretch out, and he can even shoot three-pointers. He is also good in low post singles, good in half-volume baskets, and has good skills behind the basket and facing the basket.
In terms of defense, the current single defense and assist defense levels are all in good shape, and the defensive area is very large.
Overall, both offense and defense match him well.
Moreover, Rasheed Wallace has a good playing style. He is not independent and does not stick to the ball. He likes to pass the ball, plays as a team, and has an overall view. This is liked by his teammates.
In the main lineup, the No. 2 position is alternated between Wilkins and newcomer Rekos Chapman. It can be seen that the coaching staff has not yet decided on the main No. 2 position, but Kobe will definitely be the substitute.
Chapman's new teammate is a white man. He suffered a serious injury last season and has a somewhat fragile physique. After entering the free market, no one cared about him, so he was taken advantage of by the Suns and signed with a minimum salary for two years.
In fact, he has just turned 28, and his strength is still at a normal level. As long as he stays healthy, he will have no problem getting a mid-level salary. But whether he can stay healthy is a question that is likely to happen. It is a basic salary anyway, and the Suns have no problem.
Care too much.
His three-point shooting is usable, but not very accurate. His shooting rate of 35% is not as good as that of Person, who was traded away. His overall shooting rate is 43%, which is average.
Among the new substitutes, Kidd has performed really well as an organizer and can be trained as the Lightning's successor.
In the first position, he has a broad field of vision, 360 degrees with no blind spots, a strong ability to organize fast breaks, a strong ability to control the overall situation, and a strong overall view.
When a player is double-teamed, he can accurately predict the vacancies of other teammates and will not miss any vacancies. This is very important for the Suns, because Old K is often double-teamed in the low post, and the vacancy rate in other positions
Very tall, he can play to his strengths of finding openings.
However, the offensive efficiency is really bad, barely 40%. He really doesn't like this kind of efficiency, so he strictly limits Kidd's right to shoot, and he will take it if he dares to waste it.
The strongest thing is that the defense is very good, which is very important, especially in the playoffs.
The last newcomer, Kobe, is a guy who looks cold on the outside but is full of enthusiasm for basketball on the inside. He is obsessed with offense, but he also works very hard on the defensive end.
But there are many shortcomings. The current shot is not rational, the technology is immature, the body has not grown strong, etc. It is still a piece of rough iron and needs to be tempered.
…
In the last few days before the start of the new season, the media and some stars also made various analyzes and predictions about the league's situation.
The Lakers were about to fail. Magic Johnson temporarily withdrew from the Lakers coaching staff. He joined ABC TV as a commentator. On the morning of the 26th, he expressed his views on the new season and said in an interview with the media:
"The Eastern Conference, the Bulls, the Knicks, and the Pacers are all the first-tier teams, and they will form a three-power struggle for hegemony, followed closely by the Magic and Heat.
In the Western Conference, the Suns and Jazz are in the first tier of teams, and Mosaic, the Spurs, Warriors, and SuperSonics are in the second tier."
"What about the Lakers? The Lakers have big dreams. Eddie Jones, Van Exel, and Ceballos are all very good star players. There are also many good role players on the bench. I think the Lakers should also belong to the Western Conference.
The first-tier team, Ervin, what do you think?" The reporter asked the question.
"Ahaha..."
Magic Johnson laughed a few times, "What a ghost in the first gear. The old man and West are trying to get Duncan. Can I destroy them?"
He quickly argued: "No, Dameng is old. I just received news that he was injured in the morning training and has a knee problem. He is currently undergoing injury evaluation. The situation is not optimistic..."
Then he talked about the problems of the Lakers. In short, the Lakers were no longer good, collapsed, could not make the playoffs, and were about to collapse, which left the reporter speechless.
Sure enough, at noon, the Lakers announced to the media through reporters accompanying the team that Dameng was injured during training with the team and would be out for two months.
"Lakers, you guys have no bottom line!"
Spurs, Popovich is going crazy. The Spurs haven't started to mess up yet, and I'm still hesitating whether to let David Robinson suffer a serious injury. Didn't I expect you and the Lakers to be so shameless?
Now he has a headache. The Lakers are ahead of the game. If he injures David Robinson immediately, it will be too obvious, so he will have to wait for a while.
However, the general cannot be injured now, and someone can be injured. Sean Elliott has been suffering from back pain recently, so let him be injured once.
In the afternoon, the Spurs released injury news. The team's main star small forward Sean Elliott suffered a back injury. They also released a video of Elliott going to the hospital for a physical examination. The preparations were done well.
"Greg, it's not good..."
But two hours later, Popovich was dumbfounded and received extremely bad news.
Sean Elliot really discovered that he had kidney disease, and it was not serious. The doctor even recommended a kidney transplant.
"Is God going to kill my spurs?" he couldn't help but lament.
…
In accordance with the practice of previous years, ESPN has given the predicted probability of winning the new season. The top five are the Bulls and Pacers, Suns, Knicks and Jazz.
Due to their love for Jordan, the Bulls still rank first, with a predicted probability of winning the championship as high as 25%.
The second is the Pacers' 21%, the third is the Suns' 20%, the fourth is the Knicks' 19%, and the fifth is the Jazz's 14%.
ESPN also gave its own analysis of the top five: "In the new season, the strengths of all the strong teams are relatively average, and there is no such thing as a single team.
According to media reports, His Majesty the Flyer still conducted brutal training in the offseason. He is almost 34 years old, but his condition is better than that of a 24-year-old player. This is the most important reason for our confidence in the Bulls.
The Pacers are already a first-class team with a very solid lineup. The addition of Ewing will form a huge chemical reaction. The inside cooperation between him and Reggie Miller will push this team to a higher level.
The Suns selected a high school student who is temporarily unavailable. His future is uncertain. As for the lineup, they traded last season's main shooting guard Person. Wilkins does not match the old K, and Chapman
Another glass man, with a 20% chance of winning the championship, purely because of the strength of Old K. But with the introduction of the K Law, it is a huge question whether Old K can still be as powerful.
The Knicks, with a strong lineup and another behemoth, are only ranked fourth because the top three teams are indeed stronger.
After the Jazz strengthened the fifth position, this completely mature team should begin to radiate its power and launch the strongest impact on the championship. Especially the introduction of the K Law, this is a huge impact for the Jazz
The good thing is that the postman will no longer consider Old K’s terrifying lethality, which will help him exert all his abilities.”
…
On the afternoon of the 27th, Zhang Lili and a group of five people from CCTV rushed to Phoenix and went to the martial arts gym to have dinner in the evening.
There were many people taking martial arts classes in the martial arts gym, and among them there was a young man who was considered very tall among ordinary people and Zhang Lili felt very familiar with him.
"Hey, is this...the No. 7 pick Kobe?" he said in surprise.
Lao Wang came over and said, "Who is he?"
"He doesn't practice football, but comes here to practice martial arts?"
"Someone beat me up on the field and shouted that he wanted to practice fighting. I asked him to practice the basics here first." Lao Wang said with a smile.
"Haha..." Lao Zhang was startled at first, and then laughed.
"Old K, you made me 150,000 US dollars today, please pay me back my hard-earned money." At this time, Kobe shouted.
"Practice your basic skills." Lao Wang scolded.
Not two minutes later, Kobe shouted again: "Old K, can you give me a discount on baby chickens? I really can't afford to eat one every day!"
"Shut up! That will be of great benefit to you and will make you immortal."
"Old K, you exploiter! All my hard-earned money will be sucked away by you." Kobe's voice rang again two minutes later.
"Damn it, you are a rebellious disciple. Master can earn some hard-earned money. How about you support these two thousand brothers and ten thousand family members in the martial arts school?"
"Master, please stop talking, I will go bankrupt if you continue."
"Haha..." Zhang Lili and others had already fallen to the side laughing.
That night, after the last medicated bath and medicated oil massage, Wang Tiejun completed the first period of 200 times. His physical potential increased to the limit of 105. His physical fitness is still 101. He needs physical training to continue to improve his ability to resist injuries and potential.
Upgrade to level 97/105.
At this time, the system prompts: "Please know that the host is aware that the effect of medicated baths on improving physical potential has reached its limit. From now on, the host should take medicated baths at least twice a week to keep the potential from declining. You can continue to use medicated oil massage.
Improves injury resistance potential.”
…
On the 28th, the Suns’ media meeting day for the new season is scheduled to be held in the media hall of America West Arena.
The team's attention is very high, and there are many media reporters, including photographers and assistants, the number is close to 300 people.
There is a change. There are more overseas media. At least half of the media come from overseas. There are at least 20 media in East Asia, and there are also more than 20 media in other regions such as Europe.
There is also a very obvious change. There are actually nearly ten domestic media companies. Last year, there was only CCTV. This year, there are many more.
The main interview target of these media is Lao Wang, especially the overseas media, he is the only one.
This is the influence of the Olympic Games. Although the Chinese national team failed to reach the finals, Wang Tiejun's performance was obvious to all and was not ordinary.
"Crack, click, click..."
When taking a personal photo, all the media's cameras flashed crazily at him alone.
Kobe is envious. The No. 7 pick is here. Why are you shooting for an undrafted pick?
Next, we took a family photo. Lao Wang stood in the C position, with the Lightning on the left, Horry and Kidd in the past, Wilkins on the right, two veterans in the past, and Kobe and some fringe people in the past.
After taking pictures, it was time for questions.
This time the Suns arranged free interviews, the players were separated, and the media could interview whomever they wanted.
The reporters around Lao Wang surrounded him on three floors inside and three outside. The media reporters who couldn't squeeze in from outside inserted twenty or thirty microphones on stands and stretched them out in front of him from all over the world.
This season, CCTV still arranged for Zhang Lili and Su Qun to partner together, plus the photography team, a total of five people. At this time, Lao Wang didn't go over to join in the fun. They had been here for a few days, and they had already eaten what they should have done. The interviews that should have been done had been done long ago.
It’s done, all the content has been sent back.
"Let's go and interview Kobe."
After observing for a while, I found that there were not too many reporters around Kobe and there were still some places. Zhang Lili led people there.
"Hey, Kobe."
"Hey, Zhang, hey, Su."
When Kobe saw it was Zhang Lili and Su Qun, he smiled and said hello.
"Kobe, will I take you to the fighting hall of the K-Martial Arts Gym today?" Lao Zhang said with a smile.
"Really? This can be done." Kobe said excitedly.
"Kobe, what position do you think you are in with the Suns? I mean now and in the future." Lao Zhang asked formally.
Kobe said without hesitation: "Now I am a substitute, but this is only temporary. I will improve my strength through hard training and enhance my status in the team.
I am currently gaining weight. My boss asked me to gain three kilograms every year and reach my weight gain goal in two to three years. This is exactly my growth period.
I still have a lot of training. I am learning post-up play from Old K, as well as pace and defensive training. I want to increase my breakthrough ability and increase the stability of my shooting.
As for the future..."
Talking about the future, Kobe's eyes immediately showed a kind of brilliance and confidence. He said firmly: "I will be the team's main shooting guard. I am confident to become the team's core of outside offense and defense. I will work with Old K."
Challenge for the championship."
…
On the morning of the end of the month, the Suns management held an internal meeting.
Chairman and President Colangelo Sr. chaired the meeting. He said happily: "The season ticket sales this season are very good. They have been sold out early in the morning. I am very optimistic about the operation of this season and it can support the team."
of continued development.
Our team has completely completed its initial reconstruction. The uncertainty of No. 2 pick Kobe Bryant will not affect our reconstruction. If his development does not meet expectations, the management needs to make decisive decisions and make reinforcements in a timely manner. And in
Before that, try to give him as many opportunities as possible to exercise.
In addition, the goal of the new season, the biggest obstacle Mosaic is no longer our strongest opponent, we will launch a formal impact on the championship.
Everyone, I wish us all the best in the new season. Just like Old K said, I hope that from now on, our light will begin to shine on the entire league."
After the morning meeting, the team left for Los Angeles at noon. The Suns' opening game was an away game against the Lakers.
After the team arrived in Los Angeles, Lao Wang received calls from Dameng and Ceballos, both of whom said they wanted to treat him to dinner. He simply made an appointment, and Dameng signed a big contract to treat him.
After meeting in the restaurant, he noticed that Ceballos looked a little gloomy.
"Dameng, are you still so happy after being injured?" Lao Wang asked Dameng first.
"Tsk, it's just a minor injury. It will take two months to recover." Dameng said shamelessly.
"hehe!"
Lao Wang sneered twice and said, "Let's do it badly. Be careful not to get anything from next year's draft, and the Lakers will sink."
"What about you, your face is so ugly that you are going bankrupt?" He turned around and asked Ceballos.
Ceballos sighed and said: "Yesterday the team notified my agent that they were ready to trade me and let me see if there is any team I want to go to.
Old K, I just can’t figure it out. The Lakers have obviously brought in Big Dream, and the Lakers are on track to compete for the championship. Why do they want to trade Divac? Now that Babel has given up, they still want to trade me. Why do they want to mess it up?”
Lao Wang curled his lips and said, Ceballos, you are out of your mind. Dameng is so young and his condition will only get worse. How many more years can you last?
He comforted: "Forget it, you still had 217 All-Star statistics last season. Don't worry if no team wants you, just trade. This bad Lakers team is not worthy of you."
Ceballos is speechless, but I really want to stay on this bad team!
He was helpless. After leaving the Suns, he took the main small forward position with the Lakers and performed as an All-Star for three consecutive seasons. However, although his second contract lasted for five years, it only ended in two years.
But the amount was very small, with an annual salary of only two million U.S. dollars. I originally wanted to play with the Lakers for the next two seasons and get a big contract with the third contract, but now everything has come to nothing.
Through the Ceballos incident, Lao Wang is very sure that the Lakers are really going to fail.
"Next year is a small year. Are the Lakers going for Tim Duncan?"
He also knows that Duncan is an NCAA player. Duncan just won the title of the NCAA's best player last season. He is an insider with huge talents, mature skills, and extremely stable performance, but he can attract luxury teams like the Lakers who never perform poorly.
, but it was something he didn't expect.
But he didn't expect that the reason why the Lakers were determined to fail was largely because of him, not Duncan.
His presence in the Western Conference, the Suns' good lineup, and the increasingly powerful Jazz made it impossible for the Lakers to see any hope of getting ahead, and they were finally forced to choose to fail.
"Dameng, what kind of lottery do you think the Lakers will draw next year?" he couldn't help but ask.
"That's something only God can decide. How do I know?" Dameng chuckled.
He knew the Lakers were going to fail, so he was injured, but the Lakers management didn't reveal anything to him. As an outsider who wasn't really taken seriously, he didn't know any inside information, but he didn't care at all now.
, just be injured, you will still get your salary anyway.
