Basketball Terminal

Chapter 103 Ox-like Strength
With the trade deadline passed, all the trades in the league have been finalized. Aaron Gordon was traded from the Magic to the Nuggets, where he will team up with Nikola Jokic in the frontcourt to begin a new chapter in his career.

After trading Gordon, the Magic went all out and completely rebuilt. They traded Vucevic and Aminu to the Bulls for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., and two first-round picks. They then traded Evan Fournier to the Celtics for Jeff Teague and two second-round picks, with Teague subsequently being bought out by the Magic.

The Magic's approach—where they get bored mid-game and simply wipe out the game, starting from scratch—is often described as a "supermarket opening." Vucevic, Fournier, and Gordon are all highly capable players, especially Aaron Gordon. However, critics are not optimistic about the Nuggets' trade, giving it only a B+ rating, while the Magic only received a B.

After all, Gordon has always been known as a dunker during his time with the Magic. His most memorable moments for fans are his dunk contest performance and Wade's 9 points, which kept him just short of winning the dunk contest title. Once the image of a dunker is established, it's easy to get the stereotype that he's technically rough, can only dunk but can't shoot, and can only attack but can't defend.

In fact, many NBA dunk champions, such as Carter, Richardson, and Green, have very high shooting skills and are by no means just reckless players who can only dunk but can't shoot.

In addition to the Magic's new trade, the Rockets sent Oladipo to the Heat in exchange for Bradley, Olynyk, and a 2022 first-round pick swap; the Hawks sent Rondo to the Clippers in exchange for Lou Williams, two second-round picks, and some cash; the Cavaliers sent McGee to the Nuggets in exchange for Hartenstein and two protected second-round picks; and the Thunder, 76ers, and Knicks completed a three-way trade, with the 76ers getting George Hill, the Thunder getting Tony Bradley, Austin Rivers, and two second-round picks, and the Knicks getting Terrence Ferguson.

After completing the trade, the Thunder will have 34 draft picks over the next 7 years, including 17 first-round picks and 17 second-round picks, making them a draft powerhouse with a massive number of picks. The Thunder's management can make good use of these draft picks to showcase their talent selection abilities and strengthen the team.

The Thunder's management will have to spend a lot of time and countless moves to make up for the regrets of the Thunder's former "Big Three".

For the Nets, the Magic's self-inflicted blowout is a good thing. During their recent road trip, the Magic ended the Nets' winning streak in Orlando. An offensive-minded center like Vucevic is ultimately a threat, and the Magic's style inexplicably made things difficult for the Nets. Without them in the East, the Nets will be more comfortable and won't have to worry about facing them in the playoffs.

Sean Marks received numerous offers for Levi from various teams, all of which he rejected. Although he had the urge to trade Levi, he knew that doing so would end his career as the Nets' general manager.

Levi's rise is changing the Nets' power structure. He has close relationships with owner Tsai and Nash, and is firmly tied to the scouting team, the newly emerging McCallin, and even each of the Big Three has a good relationship with him. Irving, Jordan, Griffin, and Levi are often seen together, leading some to suspect they are running a secret organization.

A minimum-salary player acted as a small fulcrum, leveraging the entire team and gradually clarifying the previously chaotic power structure within the team: the team's performance improved, the relationship between the owner and the players gradually improved, Nash began to favor owner Tsai, and the power of the management team shrank further and further.

The most significant point is that Sean Marks originally wanted to sign Aldridge in the buyout market, but from the coaching staff to the owner and the players, everyone agreed that the team already had enough with Levi and Griffin. The team's power forward and center positions were already saturated, and signing Aldridge would be a waste. It would be better to let Aldridge go to a team that needed him more.

At the team meeting, the owner, coaching staff, and scouting team all sided with Li Wei, disagreeing with the management's decision to sign another star center to the team. The team's chemistry is currently very good. Blake Griffin returned to play on March 21st against the Washington Wizards, playing 10 minutes and scoring 2 points and grabbing 1 rebound, but his impact was far less than Li Wei's.

But Griffin was content with his role and didn't compete with Reeves for playing time. The Nets easily defeated the Wizards, closing in on the top spot in the Eastern Conference. In the game against his former team, the Detroit Pistons, on March 26, the entire Nets team knew that Griffin needed to perform well against his old team, so everyone created opportunities for him by setting up plays for him.

In this game, Griffin played 20 minutes, scoring 20 points and grabbing 8 rebounds, returning to his peak form. His alley-oop dunk after receiving a pass from Levi was his first dunk in an official game since December 12, 2019. It's truly lamentable that this once-soaring, alley-oop-heavy gorilla from Lob City hadn't dunked for over a year.

After Griffin's successful dunk, the entire Nets team cheered for him. Levi and Griffin high-fived, and the atmosphere in the locker room was better than ever. Under these circumstances, the coaching staff was unwilling to add any new players, especially former star players.

Giving him playing time after he arrives will disrupt the existing rotation and take up playing time from other players. Furthermore, offensive plays will need to be specifically designed for him, given that Aldridge was always the offensive focal point for both the Trail Blazers and the Spurs. If he's not given playing time or plays, what's the point of him coming here? To be a role player and a benchwarmer?
Whether it's the current players' discontent or Aldridge's dissatisfaction, it will ultimately lead to problems in the locker room. If the players take sides and start having conflicts, it will be even worse, and the delicate balance and chemistry that has been painstakingly achieved will be destroyed.

Steve Nash, a former friend of Sean Marks and who sided with Marks on various decisions, has now taken a clear stand against him. He told Marks, "Aldridge is a great player, but the Nets don't need him right now. What we need is to patiently wait for Kevin Durant to return, not to keep piling on star players. We have Victor and Griffin in the paint, that's enough." "It's just the regular season now, we also need to think about the playoffs, right? A veteran's playoff experience is irreplaceable. Having Aldridge is definitely better than not having him, or sending him to another team. The Heat and the 76ers both want to sign him, even if we sign him and don't use him, it's still better than sending him to a competitor."

Marks wasn't giving up. He wanted to persuade Nash, and if Nash agreed, they could work together to convince owner Tsai to sign Aldridge. Marks had already contacted Aldridge's team, who were eyeing the Nets and were therefore negotiating a buyout with the Spurs. If you don't sign him now, the Nets don't care, but Marks, as a general manager, will suffer reputational damage within the basketball community.

Max's point has some merit. Many teams sign buyouts for star players with the mindset of "I'd rather not use them than let the opponent use them." Of course, historically, such signings have generally not contributed to winning championships. Only veterans who truly integrate into the team and create chemistry can make crucial contributions.

"Sean, you mentioned before that you wanted to consider the luxury tax. Why don't you need to consider that now that you've signed Adriano?"

"That's not the same thing... Anyway... anyway, he's already surpassed us. At that time, none of us expected Viktor to be so outstanding."

“Now we all know how good he is, so let’s stop messing with Sean and stick to the roster. My brain can’t hold any more people; we’re good enough already.”

Nash didn't want the front office to cause any more trouble, but Sean Marks' signing list included other players. Besides Aldridge, Drummond, and several overseas players were on the front office's radar. The front office had no intention of stopping; otherwise, how could they demonstrate their professionalism?
After much deliberation, Nash still disagreed with signing Aldridge or anyone else. His goal for the second half of the season was to maintain the current roster, stay healthy, make the playoffs, and fight for the championship.

Ultimately, the front office, led by Sean Marks, had to compromise, refraining from major moves before the trade deadline and maintaining the team's roster stability. Meanwhile, a rift developed between Nash and his friend Marks, and Nash couldn't afford to worry about anything else. He had finally begun to emerge from the chaos and didn't want to add any more burden to himself.

This season, in response to the virus, the league allowed teams to expand their regular season and playoff rosters to 15 players to cope with potential widespread absences. The expanded rosters led to a rapid turnover of players, much to Nash's frustration. Fortunately, this also gave many G League players opportunities; Levi was one such player who was brought up to the G League.

Now, Nash hopes that Kevin Durant will return in April, allowing the Nets' Big Three to play together healthily, gel well, and prepare for the playoffs. Since the Harden trade, the three have played together far too few times; recently it's been a two-man show between Irving and Harden.

Just as Durant was about to return, on March 31st, the Nets played against Harden's former team, the Rockets, at home. Harden felt hamstring discomfort during the game and left the court. The Nets still managed to defeat the Rockets, and Harden's post-game MRI showed a negative result. Theoretically, ten days of rest could alleviate the discomfort and allow him to return, but a relapse is possible.

After considering it for a while, Nash decided in a team meeting: "I will let Harden rest for a long enough time, until he feels he can return to the game. It's up to Harden to decide."

Nash's decision deeply moved Harden. Judging from the team doctor's diagnosis and tone, he thought he would be back in ten days, just in time to return alongside Kevin Durant. Nash usually uses Harden quite aggressively, similar to D'Antoni, and as an old-school player with a tradition of playing through minor injuries, Nash insisted on playing even after breaking his nose.

It's surprising that Nash is now so considerate of his players, letting Harden rest until he's free of psychological trauma. The psychological impact of a hamstring injury is just as severe as the physical one; if he can't overcome the mental hurdle, his performance will definitely suffer.

"But what about the team? Only Irving is left to carry the load."

“It’s fine, let Victor play more. He’s young and has plenty of energy.” Nash seemed relaxed; he had been brewing some ideas for a long time.

(End of this chapter)