At 9 a.m. on July 1st, Phoenix and Colangelo met D'Antoni in the office.
"Mike, I haven't seen you for several years. It's great to see you again!"
"Bryan, I hope to return to Phoenix."
After the two exchanged pleasantries, they immediately got down to business.
"Mike, I want to know, how do you use old K?" Colangelo asked very carefully.
D'Antoni nodded and said confidently: "I have learned a lot from coaching in Italy in the past few years. In addition to fast-paced tactics, I have also tried a lot, including positional warfare tactics, and strengthened the team's defensive system."
"That's good." Colangelo Jr. nodded.
D'Antoni sighed: "Leaving the Suns was a big blow to me. I returned to the NBA from Italy with confidence.
So after returning to Italy, I decided to change myself. If the environment couldn't adapt to me, then I would adapt to the environment."
Colangelo Jr. nodded approvingly and said: "Mike, you are an NBA player. You should understand the importance of stars, especially superstars, to a team in this league.
Especially Old K. He is the first player in the history of the league to win 6 championships in 9 years. Although we are not sure how much strength he has left now, for various reasons, after he comes back, everything about the Suns will revolve around him.
Operations, including you, and your tactics."
D'Antoni said excitedly: "Bryan, if I become the head coach, I will definitely develop tactics suitable for old K."
"Well, Mike, you wait outside for a moment and have a cup of coffee." Little Colangelo said.
He needs to make final considerations on whether to let D'Antoni become the team's head coach.
In fact, he has always admired D'Antoni, and the two had a pretty good relationship in the past. If D'Antoni can really do what he said, he is still willing to let him become the head coach of the Suns. After all, now he also
There is no other better option.
But he still needs to contact Lao K. If Lao K doesn't agree, then it won't work.
"OK."
D'Antoni left the office feeling quite anxious.
Soon, Lao Wang received a call from little Colangelo. It was around 9 pm in China, and he was watching TV with his wife.
"D'Antoni?"
He couldn't help but be startled when he heard about the choice of head coach.
Colangelo Jr. introduced the current D'Antoni and said: "Old K, the league can't find anyone better now. Big Bird is unwilling to come. I even considered Jeff Van Gundy.
He is the assistant coach of the Knicks. You should have met the guy with relatively short hair who worked with Pat Riley before.
But I think D'Antoni is better, we are more familiar with him."
Lao Wang pondered for a moment, Colangelo couldn't find anyone better, and he had nothing to do. D'Antoni would be D'Antoni. If D'Antoni could really use him as the absolute core of his tactics and pay attention to defense, it wouldn't be a problem.
No, the worst case scenario is that you can change it later. This is the only option for now.
After he agreed, Colangelo Jr. said again: "Old K, how do you feel about Marbury?"
"Sticking the ball. He won't know how to pass the ball until the end." Lao Wang blurted out.
Colangelo Jr. was a little embarrassed. He was the one who brought Marbury in and spent a lot of money on it. He immediately said, "Okay, I'm going to consider trading him."
After hanging up the phone, Colangelo Jr. invited D'Antoni in again and said: "Michael, let's do this. I'll give you a one-year contract. I hope you and old K can cooperate happily, otherwise..."
D'Antoni was overjoyed and quickly assured: "Bryan, don't worry, the team will use old K as the absolute tactical core."
"That's good."
Nodding, Colangelo Jr. added: "You just said that we need to strengthen the construction of the defensive system, so among the members of the coaching staff, I hope to have an assistant coach who is good at defense.
Now that the league allows zone defense, it pays more attention to the establishment of a defensive system, so do you have this candidate yourself, or do you need the team to find it?"
"I just came back and I don't have any candidates. The team will decide." D'Antoni said.
Colangelo Jr. nodded and said: "Jeff Van Gundy, who is currently a commentator on TNT, studied under Pat Wright and is good at defense. I think he is good. What do you think?"
"I also think it's good. The fortune teller is good at iron-blooded defense, and Van Gundy should be good." D'Antoni said.
"Okay, I'll contact him."
When Colangelo Jr. said this, he added: "I just talked with Old K. He doesn't like Marbury very much. He thinks Marbury is too sticky. I'm going to trade him. What do you think?"
D'Antoni quickly entered the state and began to think about it as the head coach, saying: "I'm not very familiar with Marbury. Since he sticks to the ball, it will definitely have a great impact on old K. The transaction is necessary."
Colangelo Jr. was very pleased. From this sentence, we can see that D'Antoni has really changed.
Soon, the Suns announced that the team signed new head coach Mike D'Antoni.
On July 2nd, Lao Wang's second sister and brother-in-law came home and brought back the good news that his second sister was pregnant.
A few days later, as if they had made an appointment, news came from Lao Wang's eldest sister that she was pregnant.
"Brother Fei, we have to work harder and try to give Zhou Zhou a younger brother and sister next year, what do you think?" Lao Wang said excitedly.
"I think Zhou Zhou doesn't want any younger siblings now. I teased her last time and she said no," Fei Ge said.
"Come Zhou Zhou?" Lao Wang waved and shouted.
"Ah? Dad."
Zhou Zhou, who was beating the doll, ran over quickly, holding a doll in each hand, dragging it by its legs on the floor.
Lao Wang asked: "Can your parents give you a little sister?"
Zhou Zhou raised the doll he was holding upside down in his left hand and said, "This is my sister."
Lao Wang's face twitched and he teased: "What about having a younger brother?"
Zhou Zhou raised the doll he was holding upside down in his right hand and said, "Brother."
"This is a doll." Lao Wang corrected.
Zhou Zhou shook his head, dragged the two dolls to the nearby trash can, threw the two dolls directly in, and shouted: "No more, this is not fun."
Lao Wang's face turned dark. My good brothers and sisters, no, they are good dolls. Are you throwing them into the trash can?
"Brother Fei, you need to educate Zhou Zhou better. She is putting too much trouble on her younger siblings." He said to Feihong in a sincere voice.
Fei Ge said helplessly: "She has never liked dolls since she was a child, but the toys given to her are mostly dolls. What can I do?"
"Hurry up and collect all the dolls at home. Don't get used to throwing them away, and you will throw your younger brothers and sisters into the trash can in the future." Lao Wang warned.
"Poof!"
Brother Fei burst out laughing instantly, then looked at Lao Wang and asked with some confusion: "Husband, why do I think you have lost some weight now? Have you lost weight??"
"Oh, I am losing weight and reducing the load on my lower limbs. I have lost 5 kilograms and am now 130 kilograms." Lao Wang explained quickly.
"I think it would be better to lose another 10 kilograms. You are still too heavy and tired now!" Fei Ge said quickly.
"Why are you tired from being up there?" Lao Wang joked.
Brother Fei blushed and glared at Lao Wang angrily.
…
In early July, Colangelo flew to the capital of China and visited Lao Wang.
The purpose of Colangelo Jr.'s visit this time is, of course, to better understand Lao Wang's situation and prepare for the new season's lineup.
To be honest, he didn't have much confidence when he came, but after he came, what awaited him was ecstasy. He never thought that Old K was in such good condition now, with no trace of serious injuries at all.
In terms of strength, although he is not as strong as before and his dominance is not as good as before, he still has the strength of an All-Star, and he is still in the recovery stage, so his strength should improve.
In addition, he is very supportive of Old K's weight loss, because Old K is getting older and only losing weight can make his career longer.
Moreover, when coached by D'Antoni, the proportion of fast break tactics must be very high. With Old K's current speed, he can definitely play fast breaks.
However, D'Antoni also said that Old K has the ability to initiate fast breaks, so in fast break tactics, Old K is more of a fast break initiator and does not consume much.
Colangelo Jr. returned to the United States, found D'Antoni, and told him about the situation of old K. D'Antoni was almost excited.
"It's incredible. Old K can maintain a 100-meter speed of 11.7 seconds at the age of 29. It's incredible!" he kept praising.
"Yes, I can't see any signs of serious injury on him at all."
Colangelo was still very excited when he thought about it now, but he immediately reminded: "Michael, old K is almost 30 years old after all, so when you use him, you must pay attention to controlling the playing time, and pay attention to the proportion of fast breaks.
.”
D'Antoni nodded quickly and said: "Don't worry, Brian, Old K is my initiator of fast break tactics. He will replace many point guards' responsibilities and he will not be required to play fast breaks for a lot of time."
…
Time came to late July, on the 25th, the NBA announced the end of the freeze period and the trading market was officially opened.
The first signing occurred when the Lakers signed David Robinson with a minimum salary.
The Admiral is already 37 years old and in better shape than Ewing, but he has also entered the end of his career and may retire at any time. Therefore, joining the Lakers with a minimum salary must be to win a ring before retiring.
The second signing occurred when the Suns signed Patrick Ewing with a minimum salary.
The two super centers have achieved nothing in more than ten seasons, and now they are joining with a minimum salary to win the championship. It makes people feel a sense of sadness, but no one is talking about it.
However, when Ewing joined the Suns, a bad team, he aroused ridicule from the media, saying that if he went to the Suns, he could only stay with K's bad team.
The Suns have been a bad team in the league for five years since Wang left in 1997, with no fighting spirit. The players they trained all flew away after finishing their rookie contracts.
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The Suns were originally ranked second in the league during Wang's era, but now they have fallen back to the third or even fourth rate, and the market is severely depressed.
Although Wang Tiejun is back now, no one has confidence in his condition. Even those Suns fans who hope that the Sun King will return are actually just a sentiment and have no hope for Wang's strength after his comeback.
Many Suns fans only hope that Wang Tiejun can end his career with the Suns, so they just want him to come back.
At this time, Colangelo Jr. had already contacted the Mavericks, and he wanted to trade Marbury for Nash.
Nash went from the Clippers to the Mavericks and became the main point guard of the Mavericks, but the Mavericks are now Dirk Nowitzki's team. The Germans play positional warfare, while Nash plays offense with speed and has strong fast break ability.
The man is not worthy, so the Mavericks have long been interested in trading Nash.
In addition, Nash's contract still has two years left, and he will definitely need a big contract to renew it. However, Mavericks owner Cuban looks down on him and is unwilling to give him a big contract, so he needs to trade even more.
Now that D'Antoni is coaching the Suns, the proportion of fast breaks must be very high, and now that K has lost weight and increased his speed, with a 100-meter speed of 11.7 seconds, he can fully adapt to fast break tactics. Trading Nash should be a good idea.
The only pity is that Nash has no defensive talent, so in other positions, he must cooperate with a few defensive heroes to help him fill in the gaps.
In the end, the Suns and the Mavericks reached a deal, with the Suns paying Marbury, the Mavericks paying Steve Nash, and a top-five protected first-round pick in the 2003 first round.
Both of them were players of the golden generation in 1996. Nash is also playing good statistics now, but Marbury is an All-Star who has averaged 20+ per game for several consecutive seasons and is worth more, so the Mavericks paid a first-round pick.
.
The deal was quickly on Stern's desk, awaiting his approval.
He looked at it and found that it was basically a one-to-one replacement. It was not of great importance, so he passed it.
"Am I being traded?"
Marbury was very unhappy after receiving the notice from his agent.
From the Timberwolves to the Nets, he was traded to the Suns because of poor cooperation with Yao, and now to the Mavericks. He has become a wanderer that everyone despises. Why is this?
But it’s okay, the Mavericks are now very strong. Nowitzki and Mike Finley are both All-Stars averaging 20+ per game. With him, the team has three 20+ All-Stars. He will make an impact with the Mavericks in the new season.
The championship will make the teams that gave up on him regret it.
By the way, wouldn’t it be Old K’s intention for the Suns to trade me?
Damn old K, you're already disabled, and even if you come back to the Suns, you're just waiting to die. Why are you trading me?
He was very depressed. First there was Yao, and then there was Lao K. He had to leave when he met Chinese people. He used to want to see that mysterious country, but now he feels that he never wants to go to China in his life.
"Old K, I want you to look good in the future."
He secretly decided that when he meets the Suns in the new season, he must teach this crippled No. 1 player in history a lesson.
As for Nash, he is also a little depressed. After going to the Suns, old K is useless, the rhythm must be very slow, and his speed advantage cannot be used at all. It must be more uncomfortable than playing with the Mavericks.
"well!"
Thinking that Kobe has won four championships and has become the core and leader of the Lakers, but he still has no reputation, I can't help but lament.
At this time, Colangelo Jr., who completed the transaction, was analyzing the Suns' lineup.
In addition to old K, the team now has Marion, Nash, Anfernee Hardaway, Joe Johnson, Stoudemire, these are several major players and potential rookies. The lineup is not enough. He must at least build a
An eight- to nine-man rotation.
In addition, Old K is back. Although the boss said that he will not hesitate to invest in the championship and the luxury tax is not capped, as the general manager, he also needs to do his job well and try to achieve the best results with the least investment.
Moreover, a team that relies entirely on the owner's investment is not sustainable. The team's operations must be kept within a reasonable range, and then the owner invests appropriately.
Therefore, if Hardaway, who is highly paid and incompetent, wants to be traded away, his annual salary of more than 10 million is completely uneconomical.
He thought of the enemy, the Knicks. Since Jordan retired last year and the Sharks traveled west, the Knicks have fallen from the championship to a bad team. In order to find players, the Knicks have done everything possible.
He has taken a fancy to the Madman. After acquiring the Madman, he can let Joe Johnson play the third position, which should be good.
Unfortunately, after contacting him, the Knicks actually rejected him because the Knicks no longer looked down on Hardaway's current strength, so he had no choice but to contact the second trade target, the Clippers.
The Clippers have an all-around player who can play five positions, and that is Lamar Odom. He has one year left on his rookie contract. Clippers owner Sterling wants to save money and may choose to trade in advance.
Sure enough, after he contacted, the Clippers really wanted to trade Odom, but when they heard that Hardaway was the bargaining chip, they immediately refused. For no other reason, Hardaway was too expensive and not cost-effective. It would be better to keep Odom in the future to trade him.
Mu.
Colangelo knew he was in trouble. Hardaway was trying to get his hands on him. He shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place and made the boss lose money again.
