On July 26, the SuperSonics announced a small trade.
The Sonics sent away rookie swingman Sherrell Ford in exchange for Clippers forward Beau Outlaw. Both will have an annual salary of US$500,000 next season, which is exactly the same as one for one.
This deal is seen as a win-win for both parties. The Clippers want offensive players with potential, and Outlaw is just a brave rough guy. He played for a long time due to injuries in the team last season, but he was not liked by the coach.
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Outlaw is 203cm tall and weighs 100 kilograms. He has poor skills as a small forward and a poor shot. He is a bit short as a power forward, has average ability to protect rebounds, and has a very awkward style of play.
Scherer was a first-round pick who performed well in the summer league. Outlaw was an undrafted player and earned a contract with the Clippers through his hard work. Clippers manager Elgin Baylor is always good at making mistakes.
I firmly believe that Sherrer has more potential.
SuperSonics manager Wally Walker appreciates Outlaw's defensive ability. Last season, Outlaw averaged 20.4 minutes per game for the Clippers, averaging 5.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1.1 steals and 1.9 blocks.
Outlaw is more like a power forward, with a blistering 1.9 blocks per shot, and he always works hard on the defensive end.
Outlaw's offense is very poor. He can only score in the penalty area and his free throw percentage is only 44.1%. The Sonics don't need him to attack. There is no shortage of attackers in the team. Schrempf and Sam Perkins are all strong offensive players.
For players who are weak defensively, Outlaw can be a substitute at positions 3 and 4.
In the SuperSonics, Outlaw played more than ten minutes per game and completed the task by working hard on the defensive end. If he can limit the opponent's scorers during this period, the trade will be worth it.
Head coach George Karl was also impressed by Outlaw. In the game between the SuperSonics and the Clippers in December last year, the two teams had to go to double overtime to decide the winner. Outlaw only scored 4 points in 44 minutes, but
Sent 9 blocks.
Outlaw can defend both the inside and the outside. All three SuperSonics All-Stars have taken advantage of him. Kemp was blocked by him three times and became furious. In the last 46 minutes of the game, he scored 42 points and 14 rebounds.
The highest score in a single game in his career.
It would be shameful for Outlaw to be unable to guard Kemp, he has already proven himself.
The Sonics coaching staff knew very well that Scherer was seriously overrated, did not want him at all, and were very interested in Outlaw.
This was another butterfly effect caused by Yang Jian, which changed history. If it weren't for him, the Sonics would not have won the summer league, and Scherer would not have been able to put up good numbers.
If Scherer couldn't put up good numbers, he couldn't get Outlaw back, so the Sonics had no choice but to keep him on the team. Scherer was a fringe player for a season without making any progress, so he was cut by the SuperSonics and has since left.
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Joining the Clippers is a good thing for Scherer, because the Clippers have always been the worst team, and he can get more playing time. The Clippers never care about players playing around, maybe he can play for a few more seasons.
This deal is bad news for blue-collar player Steve Scheffler. The SuperSonics have no room for him. Scheffler and Rich King did not get contracts after the summer league, and they all plan to contact other teams.
Play preseason games.
In September, Yang Jian saw news about the Chinese men's basketball team in Seattle.
In the 1995 Asian Championships held in Seoul, the men's basketball team won all 9 games and defeated the host South Korea 87-78 in the final to win the championship. The Chinese men's basketball team is currently unique in Asia, and the Seattle media believes that Chinese basketball is quietly rising.
The media believes that Yang Jian is China's number one star. He did not participate in the Asian Championships, but the Chinese men's basketball team still easily won the championship.
Many Chinese fans were curious about why Yang Jian did not join the national team and regretted not being able to see him perform. The Basketball Association explained the reason. The national team roster had been determined when Yang Jian finished the summer league and he did not have time to go through the formalities.
Even if Yang Jian is free, he is unwilling to participate in the Men's Basketball Asian Championship. He plans to find a suitable reason to never participate in the national team's Asian-level competition.
In the parallel world, Yao Ming retired due to a stress fracture, which was completely caused by fatigue. He played too many games, and the NBA regular season schedule of 82 games was already terrifying, and he also had to join the national team, almost all year round.
Yao Ming has participated in every World Championships and Olympic Games, and has also represented the national team in the Asian Championships. The funny thing is that in 2005, some people wanted him to represent the Shanghai team in the National Games.
The most outrageous thing is that in 2011, the Basketball Association wanted Yao Ming, who had just undergone surgery, to play in the Asian Championships and asked him if he could come back in time. This kind of behavior was criticized by fans across the country.
Yao Ming just underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left ankle for the second time in his career. The doctor made it clear that Yao Ming's recovery period will last from six months to 10 months. The Basketball Association wants him to rest for six months, whichever is the shortest. In the 2008 Olympics,
Yao Ming came back early after a serious injury, which laid hidden dangers for his subsequent retirement.
Yang Jian doesn't want to be like Yao Ming, sacrificing all his vacation to participate in various national team games. He will make it clear that he will not play low-level games. The Basketball Association has to agree even if he doesn't agree, otherwise he will quit.
If he plays everything, he will definitely play more games than Yao Ming. Yao Ming only passed the first round of the playoffs once with the Rockets, while Yang Jian was scheduled for the Finals in his rookie season with the SuperSonics.
It took Yang Jian a month to get used to the new shooting posture, and his shooting percentage also improved a little. His "shooting accuracy" attribute increased by three points, 5510.
His improvement speed is much slower than when he first crossed over. Fortunately, he can see his progress through the system, otherwise it would be difficult to persist in boring exercises.
The reason he improved quickly at first was because his starting point was too low, and he was a pure blacksmith who couldn't shoot at all. Now he has changed his shooting posture and practiced holding the ball and making jump shots. It takes some time to adapt.
Even so, Yang Jian's improvement speed is much faster than others because he has system assistance.
He can review Hawkins's posture and the key points of exerting force in his mind before taking a shot. If he takes too many shots, he will develop a habit. When he adds a fadeaway to his jump shot, the arc of the shot becomes higher, making it easier to throw a hollow ball.
If he always throws the ball with a low arc, he will develop bad habits over time. Once his jumping ability decreases, his release point will also decrease, thus affecting his hit rate.
This is the reason why Kobe's shooting percentage dropped significantly in the later part of his career. After his bounce dropped, he was forced to increase his arc to avoid blocks, which was not his accustomed playing rhythm.
Moreover, there is a difference between Yang Jian's shooting and Hawkins' shooting. Hawkins never steps back to shoot, while Yang Jian is the master of stepback. In the 1990s, this may become his signature move.
Seeing Yang Jian's backward shooting and silky smooth movements, Snow also followed suit. Because his jumping ability was poor, Yang Jian suggested that he practice "overshooting" and shoot quickly.
The jump of the jump shot is to increase the power of the shot, and the jump of the jump shot is to increase the height of the shot. Snow's hand shape was poor in order to increase the strength when shooting the three-point shot, and his shooting rate was very low. Yang Jian gave him some advice.
Snow became familiar with this action, and it became much easier when shooting three-pointers. Although the hit rate is still not guaranteed, as long as he keeps practicing, he will definitely improve in the future.
Snow has not improved in playing basketball for a long time, and he is very happy. At home, he took the initiative to take on more housework, making Yang Jian live a comfortable life.
Snow felt great during practice that day and hit eight three-pointers in a row.
He really hoped that the stars in the team could see it and praise him. "What are the stars doing? Why are there only two of us practicing every day? Don't the others practice during the holidays?"
"Still thinking that Payton will come to training and give you guidance on defense? Let's ask him for guidance when the season starts. He will definitely not treat us as outsiders during team training." Yang Jian has already seen through it.
The stars may not know that they are training here. Even if they knew, Payton would not take the initiative to impart experience. Because if he did that, it would be like the boss of the team taking the initiative to curry favor with his younger brother. Don't the stars have no face?
Moreover, practicing with many people together can improve defense, and individual guidance has little effect.
"I don't know what Payton's character is like. I heard he is a basketball hooligan. What if he hates me?" Snow sighed.
"Why does he hate you? There's nothing annoying about you. If you really make him dissatisfied, it must be because you didn't play well on the court. No matter how determined the star is, he can't play the whole game. Just don't hold him back after he comes off the court.
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"That makes sense." Snow smiled.
In fact, Yang Jian was also unsure. The SuperSonics had a very good lineup and the two leading stars had great personalities. He also had no experience getting along with these black stars.