Bishop of the Devil

Richard's series of transactions have left many people in the industry feeling a bit baffled...

Many people already know that Richard may form a team with Jordan to form a new army.

What is Richard doing with so many draft picks now? Shouldn't he retain his strength and strive for a greater chance of winning the championship in the next two finals?

With a lot of draft picks, Richard can naturally select some potential newcomers, but potential newcomers have to be cultivated after all. In terms of immediate combat power, they are definitely not as useful as these players who are almost ready to play.

When Richard did this, he naturally had his own ideas.

First of all, he wanted to leave a luxurious family foundation for the Pistons. He ran away halfway, and he must have felt a little sorry.

It is better to help the Pistons recruit some potential players in the 2003 draft, and try to help the Pistons build a lineup with a deep foundation, just like the previous Blazers. Even if Richard leaves, their Blazers will still be one of the best in the Western Conference. Powerful!

Taking a step back, Yao Ming is still in this Pistons team. At least one year before he went to join the New Army, it was impossible for Yao Ming to join forces with Richard.

In this case, Richard must also be thinking of preparing a more reliable lineup for Yao Ming.

In addition, there is another more important reason...

That means when he and Jordan build a new army, there will be an expansion draft.

Although this expansion draft is also called a draft, it is completely different from the normal draft process...

The expansion draft selects players from the rosters of the other twenty-nine teams in the league.

There are twenty-nine teams in the league, and each team has a protected list. This list can accommodate eight players in the team. The players on the list are protected and cannot be selected by the new team.

For players not on this list, the New Army can choose one from each team...

At the moment, Richard's purpose is to make the Pistons lineup as luxurious as possible. If there is an expansion draft, he will be able to select more powerful players from the Pistons.

After all, the protection list can only protect up to eight players. The more Pistons stars there are, the more options Richard will have in the expansion draft.

…

If Richard puts together a 15-man All-Star roster for the Pistons, then the Pistons will protect eight, and there will be seven left for Richard to choose from.

…

On February 25, the NBA trading market closed, and the lineups of each team were basically fixed.

Unless they sign free agents in the free market, each team will basically maintain its current lineup until the end of the season.

…

The trading market has just closed, and something that will make center fans extremely excited is about to happen, that is, the Pistons are about to challenge the Los Angeles Lakers away from home.

Yao Ming and O'Neal did play against each other in the All-Star game, but it was just an entertainment game, and there wasn't much to see.

Now that the two teams are about to face off in the regular season, we can see the quality of these two super No. 1 centers.

Countless people have made predictions, and most people are optimistic that O'Neal can achieve a suppressive victory in this unprecedented center showdown.

After all, Yao Ming is still too young right now, and is far inferior to O'Neal in terms of size and game experience.

Of course, there are also a small number of fans who are optimistic about Yao Ming and believe that Yao Ming's sky hook is definitely an unstoppable offensive method for O'Neal.

After fans from both sides met online, they immediately started to get angry.

This incident directly led to O'Neal's intervention. After the game against the Timberwolves, he expressed his disdain for Yao Ming in the face of reporters' questions.

"Man, the All-Star Game doesn't mean anything. It was just a game for everyone to join in the fun. The following game will be different."

"Yao's strength is pretty good, but it's just pretty good. There's still a big gap between him and me."

"Those fans who are optimistic about Yao Ming, you should go to the hospital to check your eyes. Even fools know that I will win this duel!"

"Just wait and see, I will kick Yao's ass in the next game, and by the way, Richard's ass..."

After that, O'Neal showed off his fat biceps to the camera.

O'Neal is not Duncan's low-key character.

Maybe Duncan would just smile naively in the face of this kind of public opinion about who is stronger and who is weaker...

O'Neal, on the other hand, will fight back very hard. It's not that he has any bad intentions. He just likes to join in the fun.

…

The next day, Richard led his team to Los Angeles and couldn't help laughing when he saw the report about O'Neal's remarks.

Richard really isn't too worried about the Lakers. The Lakers are not that strong now, and the only thing the team can do well is probably the OK combination.

"Dayao, do you want to quarrel with that fat man..." Richard smiled and asked Yao Ming beside him.

"No, there's nothing to argue with. If the argument is over and I lose to him again, wouldn't it be ugly..." Yao Ming scratched his head and said with an embarrassed smile.

Richard was speechless, Yao Ming's introverted temperament really couldn't be changed.

A country is easy to change, but a person's temperament is hard to change.

This introverted temperament is not a bad thing, and Richard did not say that he had to change Yao Ming's personality.

How can something like this be changed so easily...

Since Yao Ming doesn't want to fight back, he might as well go into battle himself.

"That fat man likes to talk big words all day long. If I hadn't left the Trail Blazers, you wouldn't even have a championship now!"

"If you don't come and thank me properly, you dare to kick my ass. This fat guy is really bad!"

"Fat man, just wait and see, you will lose quite miserably in this game..."

Richard was completely unforgiving, so he caught Ao Pang and gave him a slap in the face.

Before the game even started, the two sides started to fight, and the fans were very excited.

This kind of super center duel is quite rare in this era.

There is probably only one O'Neal who can truly be called a super center in this league...

O'Brien can only be regarded as half of the team. Many fans feel that O'Neill just took advantage of a good opportunity. If he had entered the league ten years earlier, it would be difficult for him to get ahead.

As for Yao Ming, he has only played for more than half a season. Although in terms of statistics, he is already showing signs of becoming a super center, it is not very appropriate to directly be named a super center.

Looking at the entire league, these three are the only ones who can be related to super centers.

O'Neal is a true super center, O'Neal is a half-super center, and Yao Ming is a super center prospect...

Of course, if Duncan doesn't wear a power forward vest, he can also be regarded as a super center.

…

Some fans like to watch matches between super centers. They like this, and there are quite a few fans of this type.

So the next center showdown attracted the attention of countless fans.

…

The night he arrived in Los Angeles, Richard received a phone call that made him feel a little sore.

The Domestic Basketball Association called and wanted to see if Richard had any plans to lead the team in the Asian Championships.

The Men's Basketball Asian Championship is held every two years. The 2001 edition was held in Shanghai, and the Chinese team won the championship.

To put it bluntly, this Asian Championship is actually the Asian Cup.

For example, the later Men's Basketball World Championship was renamed the Men's Basketball World Cup...

Unlike football, the Chinese men's basketball team is definitely the dominant player in Asia.

The real super overlord, since participating in the 8th Asian Basketball Championship in 1975, the Chinese men's basketball team has occupied nearly 80% of the championship trophies.

This Asian Championship is basically the exclusive domain of the Chinese men's basketball team. You can play however you want...

The meaning behind the basket is that the Athens Olympics are just around the corner. Let's see if Richard can lead the team to play in the Asian Championships first and get in touch with the players. He can't just take up the post when the time comes... …

Richard originally wanted to refuse. There is really no need to lead the team in this Asian Championship. No matter who leads the team, relying on the golden generation of the Chinese men's basketball team, they will definitely be the championship.

However, after thinking about it, it seems that it is still necessary to lead the team by myself.

After all, I don’t know much about the men’s basketball team now. The only ones I know about are Yao Ming, Dazhi, Hu Weidong and others. I took this opportunity to study the men’s basketball lineup and prepare for the Athens Olympics.

And this Asian Championship is held on Chinese soil again, in Harbin...

The event was held during the NBA offseason, so there was no conflict with Richard's work schedule.

After Richard thought about it for a while, he simply agreed.

Although it is certain to win the championship, it is quite interesting to think about leading a team to abuse those Asian teams, such as Japan and South Korea...

Just think of it as a holiday for yourself and go to Harbin for some fun.

…

As soon as the phone was hung up, there was a knock on Richard's door.

When I opened the door, I saw that it was Kobe Bryant.

Seeing Kobe, Richard couldn't help but think of the Eagle County incident, which happened to happen in June 2003, only a few months ago...

During the offseason, Kobe went to Colorado to treat a knee injury and stayed at a spa hotel there.

As a result, he couldn't control his lower body and was accused of sexual assault, which almost ruined his career.

Of course, Richard couldn't let this happen. Even if Kobe didn't come tonight, he would probably find a chance to have a good chat with Kobe. At least he couldn't let this guy go to Colorado to treat his knee injury.

…

"Coach, Vanessa and I had a fight..." Kobe looked pained.

It is said that marriage is the tomb of love. Kobe and Vanessa were both very young when they got married. It is estimated that they are simply tombs within tombs.

"A quarrel is just a quarrel. You kid came here to ask me what I meant. It's like I've been married..." Richard rolled his eyes.

"By the way, I heard that you injured your knee before. How is the situation now?" Richard asked worriedly, deliberately bringing the topic to the injury...

Kobe shook his head and said, "The situation is okay. It's not particularly serious. It just hurts so much that I can't walk sometimes."

Richard was speechless, this damn scream is not serious, this kid is really blessed to be not paralyzed.

"Don't work so hard. Your body is yours. Come to China with me during the offseason. There are professional cupping experts there. I will take you to cupping. You will definitely get results." Richard smiled. said.

Kobe nodded. He had seen the miraculous effects of cupping...

"Okay, coach, when this season is over, I will go to China with you to give it a try."

"But this season, I still have to work hard. I want to continue to win this season!" Kobe said with a smile.

Richard secretly cursed in his heart that this boy actually said that he wanted to win the championship in front of him. He really didn't know how smart Prince Ma was.

"Don't think so much about winning the championship. Let's wait until you can win against the Pistons tomorrow night..."

"If you can't even win against the Pistons, then you should give up completely."

"We will definitely win. Our Lakers will definitely be the final winners in tomorrow night's game!" When mentioning the game, Kobe immediately became a psychopath.

The two chatted until midnight before Kobe finally left happily.