Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 467 Named After the Heat

Riley received an offer.

That was during the NBA draft, when the Heat gave up the number one overall pick.

At the same time, they focused their trades on Brian Grant's bad contract.

Brian Grant has one year left on his junk contract, worth $1485 million.

Riley considered waiving him last summer, but the team's salary cap wasn't that tight at the time, so he kept him. He's a veteran, and we might still be able to use him in the playoffs.

Then they acquired O'Neal from the Lakers, along with two first-round picks in 06 and 09.

On the surface, the Lakers seem very sincere.

They helped the Heat swallow a bad contract and gave them two first-round picks, even if the draft positions weren't high, at least they got two.

Most importantly, it was given to O'Neal.

Last summer, O'Neal went to the Townsend Million Dollar Training Camp for a makeover.

Based on his performance last season, he remains one of the league's top centers.

but……

Before trying out Durant, Riley might have been interested.

After the trial, Riley was still not interested at all.

O'Neal was good, and he was the player Riley dreamed of having.

But how old is he?

How old is Durant?

18 Ah!
At 18, with such abilities, even a fool would know what choice to make.

Therefore, Riley decisively rejected the Lakers.

In short, it's impossible.

He replied that it was impossible, but the Lakers interpreted it as meaning they didn't have enough assets.

They then increased their offer, willing to give up three first-round picks in 06, 08, and 10.

This time, Riley didn't even bother to refuse, and he didn't even answer the Lakers' calls.

Kupchak was extremely frustrated when he couldn't get through to Riley by phone.

“Phil, Jim, give up. If I were Pat, I wouldn’t trade the number one pick either.” Kupchak looked at Jackson and Buss.

This deal was a decision made and pushed forward by the management team as a whole.

The rumor that O'Neal requested a trade was also released after careful consideration by them.

The purpose was to tell the Heat that we were serious.

Some were even somewhat relieved that Ainge had rejected a trade for Bynum last summer.

This means the Lakers still have leverage to trade for Durant this year.

Furthermore, with O'Neal successfully losing weight and regaining his form this season, they felt the chances of the trade going through were much higher.

Who would have thought that Riley wouldn't even consider having a talk?

Jackson sighed silently.

It seems that what Riley said was true.

Durant must have performed exceptionally well in this tryout; he might have truly reached Jordan's level.

Otherwise, why wouldn't they even want O'Neal?

"Forget it, let's think about who we should choose."

Jackson sighed. If something isn't meant to be, don't hope for it.

He just felt sorry for it.

If Durant is compared to Jordan, then who in the entire league understands Jordan best? It has to be himself.

Moreover, the combination of O'Neal and Kobe has proven incapable of winning a championship, so shouldn't we consider changing the lineup?

6 month 27 number.

The draft is coming.

All eyes are on you.

This time, the selection of the top scorer was the fastest ever.

Kevin Durant was selected as the number one draft pick in 06.

The dust has settled.

No matter how jealous the other teams are, it's useless.

As they left Madison, Angie said indignantly to Zallen, "For the first time, I so strongly hope that Don has made a mistake."

If Durant were to turn back and become a player on Jordan's level, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

After the draft, the top priority for each team remains the million-dollar training camp spot.

As always, Kobe will still occupy one of the Lakers' roster spots.

Jackson was completely helpless.

He really wanted to talk to Kobe and say that Kobe's skills were almost perfect, and he had mastered everything he was supposed to know. If he couldn't improve, it just meant that his talent hadn't reached that level yet.

Why bother going then? It's a waste of a spot.

But this is Kobe. He hadn't become Jordan yet, but he was already as domineering and arrogant as Jordan.

Not giving him a spot would cause a major problem.

With one spot remaining, Jackson considered whether to give it back to O'Neal.

Who says old trees can't bloom?

Last summer, O'Neal managed to improve his free throws and mid-range shooting.

Go again, and maybe you can even develop a three-point shot. All the big men in the league are starting to shoot threes; Shaq needs to keep up with the trend.

At the same time, he also wanted to give the spot to this year's rookie, Renato Balkman.

An older player with terrible technique but excellent physical attributes.

In the past, no one would want a player like this, but now physical condition is the most important thing.

With the right physique, you can send yourself to a million-dollar training camp and you'll have no trouble developing the necessary skills.
To acquire him, the Lakers even made a trade up the standings, including a second-round pick.

Just as Jackson was struggling with this decision, O'Neal's agent, Perry Rogers, suddenly contacted the Lakers.

He informed O'Neal that he wanted to request a trade, specifically requesting to join the Heat.

This unexpected situation caught the Lakers' management off guard.

Jackson immediately tried to contact O'Neal to explain that he shouldn't listen to the media's nonsense and that they had no intention of trading him.

They spread false information before, but it turned out to be true.

Jackson really felt like he had tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice instead.

The inability to contact O'Neal is not a good sign.

This indicates that O'Neal has refused to speak with the Lakers' management and has handed everything over to his agent.

On the last day of June, the Lakers sent Kobe Bryant and rookie Renato Balkman to New York, and Jackson and Kupchak went to Orlando to try to talk to Shaquille O'Neal.

The five-year, 100 million yuan contract was just signed, but that's still a long way off.

But no one was seen.

They said he went on vacation to Hawaii, but that's absolutely nonsense; some people have even seen O'Neal.

This left Perry Rodgers as the only channel for communicating with O'Neal.

Kupchak took the lead, contacting Rogers to communicate and see what the conflict was.

Or perhaps they have some dissatisfaction with the team.

You said, we'll change it.

But when they met again, Kupchak just wanted to curse.

"That bastard is very stubborn. No matter what I say, he keeps saying that Shaq wants a trade."

"Do you think this is Shaq's true thought?"

Kupchak countered with a question.

Sometimes, players are persuaded and misled by their agents.

Buss said coldly, "Since he wants to leave, we'll grant his wish, but we can't let him go to the Heat. We have to do it our way."

O'Neal was under contract, but the team couldn't muster the courage to face a star of that caliber.

It's impossible to simply cut ties and stop the deal.

This is a lose-lose situation.

Just like in a relationship, once you've decided to break up, there's no point in forcing the other person to stay.

Jackson thought so too, nodding and saying, "If we can't go to the Heat, then we should talk to the Celtics and trade for Bynum."

They didn't manage to make the trade last year, but O'Neal's form has improved this year. If they offer him more resources, maybe Ainge will agree to the trade.

It's not that the Lakers are the only option, but since you're breaking up with the Lakers, you definitely need to prioritize the Lakers' interests.

Kupchak shared the same idea.

Anyway, I've wanted to trade O'Neal since last year.

Since you're leaving, I'll grant your wish.

We can't let you do whatever you want and go wherever you want.

At that moment, Kupchak contacted Rogers again to express the Lakers' thoughts.

It was already July.

The transfer window hasn't opened yet, but we can already talk about trades.

Rogers responded quickly, saying that O'Neal only wanted to go to the Heat and would not accept going to any other team.

If O'Neal's wishes cannot be fulfilled, then O'Neal will not report to the new team.

This attitude is quite serious.

In other words, O'Neal only gave the Lakers two options.

Either I'm traded to the Heat, or I stay. Let's see if I put in the effort; nobody's going to have a good time.

This is Shaquille O'Neal, a superstar.

So after much back and forth and several days of consideration, the Lakers management gave up and decided to let O'Neal have his way.

Riley received another offer from the Lakers.

They still need to trade for O'Neal.

They traded Shaquille O'Neal to the Heat in exchange for Brian Grant, who had a salary cap to match, and Caron Butler.

Then they demanded the Heat's three first-round picks from 07, 09, and 11.

Only then did Riley realize that such a huge windfall had truly landed on his head.

But as astute as Riley was, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

He felt that O'Neal's specific request to come to the Heat might not be a fabricated rumor by the media.

That would give Riley confidence.

It's not that I'm reluctant to give up three first-round picks, but if I actually give them away, wouldn't people feel like I'm being taken advantage of?

This tug-of-war dragged on until mid-September, just before the start of the new season.

(End of this chapter)