Bishop of the Devil

At two o'clock in the afternoon that day, the owners of each team received a notice from the league management committee. A voting meeting will be held at the NBA headquarters in New York a month later. The owners will attend at that time. If they really can't get away, they will have to send representatives. join.

…

Richard still cares about this matter. Since he is going to vote, Richard must find more allies within this month.

Judging from the current situation, the four teams, the Pirates, Trail Blazers, Pistons, and Thunder, are firmly on Richard's side.

In addition to these four teams, the Mavericks will probably side with Richard. It’s not that Cuban and Richard have a deep friendship. The main reason is that Cuban has been dissatisfied with Stern for a long time. As long as it’s Whatever Stern wanted to do, he had to make Stern feel uncomfortable if he had the chance.

The Magic boss has a good relationship with Richard, and he is expected to side with Richard...

In addition to these teams, Richard has actually helped many teams over the years. There is no reason for them to retaliate.

…

Several new players who joined the team this year have already gone to play in the summer league. Richard is going to take this time to chat with O'Neal to see if O'Neal is willing to play as a substitute.

As a result, I called O'Neal and learned that this guy was on vacation in Miami...

During those two years in Miami, O'Neal completely fell in love with the sea and beaches of Miami.

It was definitely not appropriate to talk about this on the phone, so Richard simply took Tiana and the children to fly to Miami to talk to O'Neal in person and take a vacation by the way.

"Shaq, you know how to enjoy yourself. If you have nothing to do, just stay at the beach." Richard saw O'Neal wearing tight pants on the beach at the beach. The scene was too beautiful to describe.

"That's for sure, sharks can't survive without the sea." O'Neill said with a naive smile.

"Li, there must be no good reason for you to come to me during the offseason. Tell me what you are planning."

Richard smiled bitterly, O'Neal was not stupid at all.

"I want to ask you if I can serve as a substitute for Greg next season. I know this arrangement will make it difficult for you, but you should know that it would be a pity not to start for Greg due to his current strength." Richard did not hide it. Tucked in, he directly stated his purpose of coming to see O'Neal this time.

O'Neill was stunned for a moment, and then smiled bitterly.

"Lee, I thought this would happen after the end of the season, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon."

"Actually, I also know that for the Pirates, it is a better choice for the Pirates to let Gregg start. I should train that kid for all reasons. After all, I am just an old guy at the end of my career."

"But even if I'm old now, I can't be a substitute. Do you understand what I mean?"

Richard nodded. O'Neal has his own pride. He has been a super insider who has dominated the league for more than ten years. Before Richard entered the league, O'Neal was already famous and asked him to serve as a substitute for a new guy. , his pride cannot accept this kind of thing.

Even if Oden is not a simple newbie and is hailed as O'Neal's successor, O'Neal has not retired yet and he cannot accept it if he is asked to serve as a substitute for his successor.

"Shaq, are you going to stop thinking about it?"

"You should know that if you refuse to come off the bench, we may trade you, and if you stay with the Buccaneers, you will get another championship ring this season."

Richard actually doesn't particularly want to trade O'Neal. If O'Neal is willing to stay as a substitute, such a veteran with quite good combat ability will be of great value to the Pirates.

"That kind of championship ring means nothing to me. It's not that I haven't won a championship ring. Now I have three championship rings in my hand. It's not too many, but it's not a lot."

"If I am a substitute for a championship ring, you should know that it means nothing to me. One more ring will not improve my historical status, and one less ring will not improve my status either." His historical status has declined," O'Neill said with a smile.

"As for the trade, I hope to be traded back to the Western Conference, preferably to a team with a stronger foundation in the Western Conference. I want to return to the Western Conference and meet that kid Kobe while I can still play."

Richard nodded. Since O'Neill had already made up his mind, there was no point in continuing to persuade him.

"Okay, Shaq, I wish you a happy career in the future." Richard sighed...

…

After returning to Charlotte, Richard asked Miles to contact the Suns. O'Neal wanted to go to a strong team in the Western Conference, so the Suns were probably the only option.

The Spurs, Lakers or Jazz have no interest in O'Neal. Their lineups have been completed. Adding more O'Neals may not necessarily improve their strength.

The Suns have coveted O'Neal for a long time. During the offseason last season, they contacted the Heat about trading O'Neal. If Pat Riley hadn't asked for too high a price, the deal would have been successful.

Now seeing O'Neal's excellent form this season, the Suns management is filled with regret.

But when they received the call from Miles, the entire Suns management was stunned. Is this pie in the sky?

Richard actually wants to sell O'Neal to their Suns? The asking price is just one Marion plus one cannon fodder to balance the salary.

Marion was actually in pretty good shape last season, averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. Although his scoring was a little less, his scoring efficiency was good, with an average field goal percentage of over 52.

But from the perspective of the Suns management, O'Neal is obviously more likely to lead the Suns further, because the two strongest teams in the Western Conference, whether they are the Spurs or the Lakers, have very strong inside lineups. For both teams, the Suns lost miserably inside.

If O'Neal can be brought, I'm afraid the situation will be greatly improved. Of course, if Marion leaves, this will affect the strength of the Suns' forward starting lineup.

However, Grant Hill has regained his strength, and with the help of the Sun Miracle Doctor, he is in very good shape. In addition, there is Diaw on the bench, which is almost enough.

…

The Suns agreed to Richard's trade offer without saying a word. If Richard asked for other players by name in addition to Marion, then the Suns would probably hesitate...

After all, the Suns had suffered losses with Richard before, selling Joe Johnson to Richard at a low price.

But now Richard asked them to choose any player and match it with Marion to equal O'Neal's salary. This reassured the Suns management that there should be no tricks on Richard's part in this deal.

The door to the trade market has been opened. Suns representatives took a plane to Charlotte that night and signed a contract with Buccaneers representative Miles overnight.

It's no wonder they were in such a hurry. In their opinion, this was definitely a piece of pie-in-the-sky good news.

Marion only has the last year left in his contract. After this year, they may lose Marion because they are unlikely to pay Marion too much...

And now the soon-to-be-lost Marion has been exchanged for inside support O'Neal. This deal is a good deal no matter how you look at it.

As for O'Neal's old age and potential injury risks, the Suns are not worried at all. They can even handle a famous glass man like Grant Hill, so are they still afraid of O'Neal?

…

After the two parties signed the contract overnight, the two parties jointly announced the news early the next morning.

The Buccaneers sent O'Neal in exchange for Shawn Marion and Cannon Fodder Banks from the Suns, which is exactly the same as the deal between the Heat and the Suns under normal circumstances.

This transaction is considered the first blockbuster transaction of this offseason, and it has attracted the attention of many fans.

However, the fact that O'Neal was traded is not that surprising. The main reason is that Oden's performance in his rookie season was too good. It is not difficult to guess that the Pirates sent away the old O'Neal and tried their best to correct Oden.

…

After the deal was completed, the Pirates' forward and defensive lineups have been well reinforced. As for the interior lineup, it has definitely been weakened, but because Richard got DeAndre Jordan in the draft this season, the impact is not particularly big.

…

Richard likes the player Marion very much.

In his opinion, Marion may be the most underestimated player in the entire NBA history, bar none...

Don't talk about anything else, let's talk about the defensive end. Marion's defense is quite good, but he has never won even a best defensive second team in his entire career.

Counting last season, Marion has played in the league for nine years. His worst defensive efficiency year also had a defensive efficiency value of 102, and his best year reached 93 points.

In the past few years, he has averaged defensive data of more than 2 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.

It can be said that Marion is the kind of player who not only has good defensive statistics, but also has excellent defensive effects.

But even so, he has never won any defense-related honors, not even the best defensive second team, let alone the defensive first team and DPOY.

Richard feels that this situation may be related to the Suns' tactical style. The Suns' tactical system can easily make people ignore Marion's contribution on the defensive end.

Many fans think that this Suns team is a purely offensive team. In fact, this is not the case. Their defense is also very good. In the West, no strong team can defend poorly.

Players with poor defense, even if they have a strong offense, will never be able to gain a foothold in the Western Conference.

The Spurs and Jazz rely on defense to make a living, and the Lakers' current defensive intensity is not low either.

Even though the Suns' defense is not as good as these three teams, it is much stronger than other teams in the Western Conference. The reason why they are strong is definitely not Nash, but defensive heroes such as Marion and Laga Bell.

But the Suns' offense is so gorgeous that people ignore their defense. This may be the reason why Marion has never been able to win defense-related honors.

Whether you look at defensive data or advanced data, Marion's defense is at the DPOY level.

In addition to his strength on the defensive end, Marion actually has two top skills.

Old fans of the Suns should remember a saying that the Suns have three treasures on the court. The first treasure is Nash's organizational ability, the second treasure is Marion's rebounding ability, and the third treasure is Marion's off-ball ability.

In the first nine years of his career, Marion, who is 201 centimeters tall, averaged more than 10 rebounds per game. This was not a rebounding figure obtained by competing with his teammates, but was obtained by relying on his own rebounding strength.

Stoudemire's rebounding ability is not strong, and Marion's presence makes the Suns' rebounding ability not weaker than that of their opponents.

Marion's rebounding has risen to the level of art, just like Nash's organizational ability.

In addition to his strong rebounding ability, Marion's ability to move without the ball is absolutely superb.

Because of his poor offensive ability with the ball, off-ball offense is considered Marion's main offensive method. Erratic off-the-ball movements always cause headaches for opponents, but if you want to score too many points without the ball, then It's definitely unrealistic, so Marion's scoring average has never been high.

Not scoring much, coupled with a weird 38-style push shot, it is natural that Marion is underestimated.

Richard had actually been thinking about Marion for a long time, and being able to get it this time made Richard quite happy.

Even if it can only be used for one year, Richard feels that it is worth it. At least he has no regrets. He has used all the players he wanted to use, and his journey through time has not been in vain.

…

After the deal was officially announced, O'Neal made no move and still stayed in Miami for vacation. Anyway, the Suns would not call him back to the team at this time.

As for Marion, he immediately called Richard.

Marion is quite happy about joining the Pirates. Every fool knows that this year will definitely be the year of the Pirates again. If you join the Pirates for a year, you can win a championship. No matter what, you won't lose.