The SuperSonics did not make any big trades, they just re-signed center Brad Miller with a mid-level contract.
Miller's current salary is mid-level at best, and no other team will offer him a high salary. His statistics are only average, and he seems to have average physical fitness and no talent.
In an era where everyone is competing against each other and weaklings are trying their best to portray themselves as tough guys, who would bet on Miller becoming an excellent support center?
Manager Wally Walker succeeded in retaining the player according to Yang Jian's request, but the signing was not viewed well by the media. Some basketball experts believe that Miller was just lucky enough to win the championship with the team and did not have strong personal abilities.
The Sonics also re-signed point guard Anthony Carter and center Mark Blount with minimum salaries.
The contracts of Terry Mills and Damon Jones expired and were not renewed. Veteran Darle Ellis retired, leaving three spots vacant for the Sonics.
Wally Walker signed the speedy defender Troy Hudson, who is 185cm tall and weighs 77kg, with a minimum salary.
After Yang Jian saw the news, he felt that the SuperSonics scouts were very reliable. No one thought of Hudson because he played for the Clippers last season and had the worst record in the league. In fact, he still has some strength.
This is a twitchy guard. As a point guard, he is not good at organizing offense. He can score a lot of points when he is twitchy. He mainly relies on jump shots. In the parallel world, he reached the peak of his career with the Timberwolves.
In the 2002-03 season, Hudson played 6 games in the playoffs, averaging 23.5 points, 2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Hudson is a good friend of Garnett and has shown his strength. The Timberwolves manager let Billups go for nothing, unwilling to let go of another guard who was furious in the playoffs.
So after that season, the Timberwolves signed a six-year full-level mid-level contract with Hudson. Then he became the mascot on the bench, and the Timberwolves were obsessed with it for several years.
When healthy, Hudson is suitable for the Sonics' offensive system. He can play fast breaks and catch and shoot, but his defense is poor. The team does not need him to organize the offense. When the opponent is facing a small point guard, he can play a game.
beat.
The SuperSonics also signed veteran small forward Chris Mullin. Mullin played for the Pacers last season. He was in a sluggish state and only played 9 playoff games. He scored 3.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 10 minutes of playing time. In the finals,
Didn't show up.
Mullin no longer has much role to play on the court. What the Sonics value is his experience, which can teach young players game experience. He wanted to come to the SuperSonics to play in the ring, but his attitude was very low, and Wally Walker fulfilled his request.
.
Mullin replaced Darle Ellis, and he could play some role as a guest assistant coach. He was selected to the All-Stars 5 times, selected to the NBA All-NBA Team 4 times, and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the future. He was scolded by George Karl back then.
Even though he was drunk, the two still had some friendship, and George Karl welcomed Mullin's arrival.
The last spot on the team, Wally Walker signed veteran Danny Ferry with a minimum salary.
Danny Ferry is a three-point power forward with a height of 208cm and a weight of 104kg. His style is exactly the same as Terry Mills last season. He takes the place of Mills and will come off the bench in the new season to be responsible for pick-and-rolls and catching the ball.
Shooting.
Last season, Danny Ferry averaged 21 minutes per game for the Cavaliers, scoring 7.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists. His shooting percentage was as high as 49.7% and the three-point shooting percentage was 44%. His tactical effect was obvious.
At this point, the SuperSonics' 15-man lineup for the 2000-2001 season has been determined.
Center: Anthony Mason Jr., Brad Miller, Mark Blount.
Power Forward: Detrev Schrempf, Stephen Jackson, Danny Ferry.
Small forward: Bruce Bowen, Rashard Lewis, Chris Mullin.
Shooting guards: Yang Jian, Dell Curry, Cuttino Mobley.
Point guard: Gary Payton, Anthony Carter, Troy Hudson.
There are no big-name players joining, but it is in line with Yang Jian's wishes. He wants to obtain more milestone data and does not want to partner with star players at all.
If he partners with a star player, he will inevitably have less possession of the ball, otherwise the media will say that he is too independent.
Now his teammates only have one All-Star player, Payton, so it's easy to handle. Payton doesn't steal the ball. If Lewis and Miller are selected as All-Stars in the future, they will be his younger brothers and will not affect his evaluation.
If a star in his playing years wants to join a team, even if the team has salary space, Yang Jian will find a way to stop it. This kind of person just stays around when it's cool, and he doesn't need such a strong helper.
In this year's free market, there were also some magical signings that left people confused.
The Nuggets signed small forward Tariq Abdel-Wahad to a six-year, $43 million contract.
Wahad, who is 198cm tall, is considered a good "blue-collar player". The Nuggets acquired him in a trade with the Magic in the middle of last season. The Nuggets management believed that they got a good perimeter defender.
However, Wahad only played 15 games for the Nuggets, averaging 25 minutes per game, scoring 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists, and shooting only 38.9% from the field.
How does this guy look like he's worth an annual salary of 7 million a year? Did the Nuggets general manager take a kickback when he signed him?
Even more outrageous is the Pacers signing.
Power forward Austin Crohill signed a seven-year, $51 million contract with the Pacers. The reason why he impressed the management was probably because he was the free throw king in the Finals, with more free throws in two games.
pair.
Before the Finals, Crohill had been a substitute in the Pacers. He will probably still be a substitute next season, but his annual salary of more than 7 million US dollars is one of the highest among substitute players in the entire league.
Jaylen Rose signed a seven-year, $93 million contract with the Pacers. Like Grant Hill's contract, it is the maximum contract allowed under the labor terms. He is obviously not worthy of this contract, averaging less than 20 points per game.
The good news for the Pacers is that they made a trade with the Trail Blazers in exchange for power forward Jermaine O'Neal, and for this purpose they sent blue-collar insider Dale Davis.
This is the reason why the Trail Blazers have never traded with the SuperSonics. O'Neal's talent is visible to the naked eye. Trail Blazers coach Dunleavy has always been aware of his talent, but he was just unwilling to give him a chance to perform, which wasted four years of his time.
The Kings signed shooting guard Doug Christie and combo guard Bobby Jackson, which strengthened their strength a lot. The Kings are also optimistic about the new season by the media. In order to compete with the SuperSonics, the Western Conference teams have recruited players one after another, while the Eastern Conference is still a backwater.
The Pistons signed Joe Smith for one year with an annual salary of 2.25 million, which was a big leak.
The Timberwolves finally caught fire. President David Stern issued a super fine for signing a yin-yang contract with Joe Smith. The team was fined $3.5 million and banned Joe Smith from signing with the Timberwolves. The most serious thing was deprivation.
Received the Timberwolves' first-round draft picks for the next five years.
Joe Smith is not a superstar, but his worth should not be limited to a minimum salary, so he has attracted the attention of the league. This year, Joe Smith just signed a second minimum salary contract with the team, but was found to have violated contract restrictions, so he can't do anything
Get the big contract promised by the Timberwolves management, with a minimum of no less than 42 million.
What Joe Smith actually wants to sign is the SuperSonics. If he joins, he can compete for the championship. But the league does not allow him to do so. He is already on the president's blacklist and still wants to compete for the championship? From now on, he can only sign in the city with the worst geographical environment.
dawdle.
The most exaggerated signing was the seven-year, $84 million contract signed by power forward Brian Grant with the Heat.
Last season, Grant averaged 21 minutes per game with the Trail Blazers, scoring 7.3 points and 5.5 rebounds.
For a player with such average technical statistics, the Heat signed him with a huge contract, which is beyond everyone's imagination. Maybe he kidnapped all the Heat owner's family, and if he doesn't give him a big contract, the owner will be killed immediately.
If this were not the case, then Grant in the parallel world was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the age of 37, and it must have been transmitted to him by the owner of the Heat.
At the end of July, the big-name players in the free market were basically settled.
Yang Jian is finally joining the Chinese men's basketball team and preparing to participate in training camps to prepare for the Olympics next month.