Even if Yang Jian renewed his contract with a maximum salary for six years and Kemp renewed his contract for two years, the Sonics' transactions and signings did not attract attention.
It is not news that Yang Jian, Payton, and Kemp have renewed their contracts. Everyone knows that they will not leave.
Everyone has set their sights on Dallas. During this year's offseason, the Mavericks made two consecutive big trades, taking the lead in forming a "super team."
Celtics power forward Antoine Walker and Warriors forward Antoine Jamison joined the Mavericks. They are both Antoine who averaged 20 points per game many times. Walker was also selected to the All-Star.
The Mavericks have the strongest roster, at least on paper. With Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley, and Steve Nash, the Mavericks look to have five All-Stars.
The only problem is that three of these five stars are mainly power forwards, and two are short power forwards... How much does the Mavericks management like power forwards?
What is even more incomprehensible is that the Celtics are willing to take over Reeve LaFrentz's super bad contract. No matter how bad Walker is, he is still better than LaFrentz.
The second team to form a super team was the Heat, who poached big-name stars in the free market.
After two seasons of failure, kidney fighter Alonzo Mourning's contract with an annual salary of 20 million has finally expired, and the Heat have ample salary space.
The Heat offered star center Shaquille O'Neal a high-paying, long-term contract, successfully attracting O'Neal to join him freely.
O'Neal did not consider signing and trading to leave anything for the Lakers because he was disgusted by Kobe.
At the end of June, Kobe checked into a hotel in Eagle County, Colorado. As a result, the front desk clerk of the hotel reported to the police the next day, saying that Kobe had sexually assaulted her. On July 2, the police collected evidence from Kobe, and in July
An arrest warrant for Kobe was signed on the 4th.
Kobe then admitted to the police that they had had sexual relations, but not the sexual intercourse, and then the two sides began to file a lawsuit. Kobe said that this was a "fairy dance" and he did not pay afterward, and then said, "Shakel did it too."
He drove Shaquille away from the Lakers.
"Did Shaq do it?" "What did Shaq do?" "Who did Shaq do what?" became the hottest gossip topics on the Internet.
Then, the Heat sent star shooting guard Eddie Jones to the Bucks in exchange for Sam Cassell, center Earvin Johnson, and second-round pick Keith Bogans.
Yang Jian didn't expect the Heat to make this deal. They wanted to train Wade and the team lacked point guards, so they sent Eddie Jones away.
O'Neal joined the Heat a year in advance, triggering a butterfly effect. Jones and O'Neal had worked together with the Lakers for many seasons, but the results were not good. The Heat management thought it would be better to send Jones away. It felt impossible to succeed if they kept the core of the previous Lakers.
The configuration is very similar.
In a parallel world, the Bucks traded with the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves traded Joe Smith's junk contract for Sam Cassell. The Bucks' general manager probably thought on his knees.
Now that the Heat have given them a better bargaining chip, the Bucks also have Raheem and Tim Thomas inside, so they naturally look down on Joe Smith, who has a similar style and shoots from the outside.
This is not over yet. O'Neal "buy one, get one free" contacted power forward Karl Malone and successfully persuaded Malone to join the Heat with a minimum salary.
After careful consideration, Malone decided to join the Heat to partner with O'Neal. He did not believe that the SuperSonics could continue to defend the title next season. Five consecutive championships was too difficult, and he did not have much time.
He also looks down on the Mavericks. As a representative of the local black and tough team, he would not even give up on being a substitute for the softie Nowitzki. Moreover, the Mavericks have too many power forwards, so he will probably have to play center when he joins.
After signing several trades, the Heat's lineup has become abnormal.
Starting Cassell, Wade, Caron Butler, Karl Malone, O'Neal. Substitutes include Rasu Butler, Udonis Haslem, Brian Grant, Mike James, Eddie Howe
Si, the lineup is pretty deep.
The lineups of these two teams were so fierce that Supersonics fans couldn't sit still and went online to angrily criticize the behind-the-scenes operation.
Yang Jian had considered Haslem before and did not ask the management to sign him. Haslem was more cost-effective and loyal, but his style of play did not match Yang Jian's, so signing him was of little use.
Without the alien Cassell, the Timberwolves only introduced "Madman" Sprewell and "Sugar Man" Olavokandi to strengthen the lineup, and renewed Billups with the same contract as the SuperSonics.
Troy Hudson.
Looking at the Timberwolves' lineup, Yang Jian can basically confirm that Garnett's biggest honor in his life, the regular season MVP, is gone.
The Eastern Bulls also made some reinforcements, signing Raptors point guard Eric Snow as a free agent, adding someone who can organize the offense and pass the ball to Yao Ming.
Interestingly, the Raptors poached Bulls point guard Rafe Alston to fill the void left by Snow. In the case of a point guard swap, a lot of money was saved.
The Bulls also packaged Jalen Rose and Donyel Marshall, and acquired the rights to Ray Allen and last year's second-round pick Matt Barnes from the Grizzlies.
After the trade, the Bulls have become a team with three stars. They can also renew Yao Ming's contract with a maximum salary in the future without having to worry about paying luxury tax because the salary cap has increased.
In addition, the Bulls signed back veteran small forward Scottie Pippen with a minimum salary. Manager Jerry Krause retired, and the new manager believed that Pippen could attract Chicago fans and provide valuable experience to newcomers.
In fact, Pippen can only provide newcomers with experience on how to criticize Jordan after retirement...
The Pacers signed Ron Artest, and Artest and Stephen Jackson successfully came together. In the eyes of others, the Pacers are quite promising next season, and their forward strength is super strong. In Yang Jian's opinion
, the protagonists of the battle at the Palace of Auburn Hills have been assembled.
The SuperSonics selected power forward Robert Horry with their last pick. Horry is now very cost-effective. He has not won three consecutive championships with the Lakers and is not very popular. He is almost out of ball.
Yang Jian suggested that the manager sign Horry with a low salary for two years and serve as a substitute at position 4. Horry is not only a space-based insider, but also a lucky guy. In the parallel world, the team that signs him will easily win the championship, which is also metaphysics.
Horry has never been selected as an All-Star, and winning the championship will not provide points to Yang Jian. Now Yang Jian feels that the lack of points does not matter at all. The key is that Horry is useful and can perform on the court.
Yang Jian's goal is to win five consecutive championships, and he needs to be teammates with lucky people.
At this point, the SuperSonics have assembled a 14-man lineup, and the last spot is ready to be vacant. If there is an injury during the season, any positions that are lacking will be reinforced. The No. 2 position does not require many substitutes, and it is difficult to get opportunities to perform.
, both point guards can play guest roles.
During Yang Jian's spare time while filming, a Chinese reporter interviewed him and asked him to evaluate the big deal in the summer free market.
Yang Jian smiled and said: "I watched the news. Several teams are very active in recruiting, and their strength has indeed improved a lot. But I believe the SuperSonics are still the strongest, and I am happy to meet their challenge."
The reporter asked: "Which team do you think will be the SuperSonics' strong rival in the future?"
"I'm more optimistic about the Heat. Both the veterans and newcomers are very strong and promising. I don't know how far the Heat can go next season, but they will definitely become a championship team in the past three years. The Bulls are also good, O'Neal
The game with Yao Ming will definitely be very exciting, and fans can often see super centers competing against each other."
Fans can also see O'Neal as a substitute for Yao Ming in the All-Star Game, but Yang Jian didn't say anything about it.
The reporter asked: "For many seasons, the SuperSonics have not signed big-name stars in the free market, nor have they traded for stars. What do you think of the management's actions?"
"We have many stars, and big trades are redundant. I prefer to be teammates with young players who have not been selected as All-Stars than with All-Stars who have proven themselves."
The reporter asked in confusion: "Why?"
"Because it gives me a sense of accomplishment to help these people become All-Stars. And sometimes, people who are chasing their dreams are better than people who have already achieved their dreams."