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If someone leaves the Lakers, they must sign new players to replace them. Two rookies must be signed, and there are still two vacant spots. Kupchak is ready to sign someone in the free market.

Yang Rui only studied the free agent list for an hour, then identified two targets and called Kupchak.

"Inside, I suggest finding 198CM center Chuck Hayes and giving him a two-year base salary. The second year is a team option."

"198CM? Center?" Kupchak smiled and said, "Did you say it wrong, or did I hear it wrong?"

Most people think that a player with 198cm is too short to play small forward.

"Yes, he is 198cm and was last year's undrafted rookie. With him and Millsap, the Lakers will be stronger inside next season. Although the two are short, they are very strong. They can resist people near the penalty area and they can switch to pick-and-rolls quickly. Their only weakness is their height and poor shot interference, but there are others in the team who can do these things well," Yang Rui replied.

Together with Diaw, the Lakers will have three short insiders next season, as well as three tall players recognized by the league as powerful, who can deal with various types of teams on both offense and defense.

The reason why Kobe Bryant failed to defend the MVP title last season has a lot to do with the Lakers' configuration. Not only basketball experts, but even fans can see that the Lakers are the deepest in the league and will crush anyone they play.

"Okay, who's the other one?" Kupchak asked.

"Swingman Jason Kapono should be able to sign with a one-year minimum salary."

Two names were jotted down, and Kupchak made contact.

He discovered that Hayes didn't even have an agent, and only left his contact number. Looking at his NBA resume, his college statistics were appalling, and he was just a blue-collar player. He played a total of 22 games last season, averaging 1.3 points and 3.5 rebounds. He only plays 10 minutes per game, but his rebounding efficiency is not low.

Van Gundy did not coach the Rockets and went to ESPN as a commentator last season. No coach who likes defense appreciates it. Hayes was worse off than Yang Rui in his previous life. After losing the draft, he worked as a 10-day short-term contract worker with the Pistons and Kings. He had no data and no one discovered his value.

Hayes was very happy after receiving the call and immediately expressed his willingness to join.

He was preparing to participate in the summer league, and then strive to play preseason games for a team and earn a basic salary by working hard on defense. Unexpectedly, good things came directly to his door.

The Lakers are willing to give him a two-year base salary, even if the second year is a team option, it is the best treatment he can get currently.

Only Yang Rui knows how cost-effective it is to sign this person. Haiye is a familiar figure to Chinese fans. He is 198cm tall and weighs 109kg. He is known as the shortest starting center in the NBA. His legs are thick and his lower limbs are strong. He can resist most insiders in the league. Even O'Neal was able to resist. Bynum, who was guarded in the 2009 playoffs, couldn't score a single point, and Odom only scored two points.

Hayes has good defensive predictions, moves quickly laterally, and is not easy to get caught. He can switch defenders when encountering pick-and-rolls, just like Ben Wallace who lacks jumping ability, wingspan, and shot-blocking ability.

Moreover, Hayes is an interior man who will improve. Later, under the guidance of Adelman, he also developed a first-hand support near the free throw line, and he could often pass the ball to the cutting defender and directly score a layup.

His shortcomings are also very obvious. He is short, so he suffers against big men who can shoot. He also lacks scoring ability. He does not have a reliable scoring method. He cannot draw far away and has no containment. He can only be a pure defensive player. , play for a while at a specific time.

Contacting Kapono also went smoothly, and now he is in a state of no one's interest, preparing to participate in the summer league.

Kapono's fate is different from that of Yang Rui in his previous life. He was selected by the Cavaliers in the second round in 2003 and had almost no chance to perform because he is not fast, has average strength, has excellent rebounding, and basically relies on his eyes for defense. He is 203cm tall and is weak on the inside and slow on the outside.

Kapono has only one specialty, which is shooting three-pointers. He has good anti-interference ability. In his first season, he shot 47.7% from three-pointers, averaged 3.5 points and hit 0.5 three-pointers per game.

In Yang Rui’s previous life,

The Cavaliers had a slightly better lineup and gave up Kapono after the first year. He was selected by the Bobcats in the expansion draft without a guarantee.

This became a turning point in Kapono's career. Because the Bobcats lacked a swingman, he got a lot of playing opportunities. In the second season, he averaged 18.4 minutes per game, improving his data to 8.5 points. He shot 41.2% from three-point range and was able to shoot every game. One of them laid the foundation for later signing with the Heat.

After arriving with the Heat, Kapono had a peak of 10.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in the 2006-07 season, shooting 49.4% from the field and 51.4% from the three-point range. In the summer of 2007, the Raptors signed Kapono with a four-year, 24 million mid-level contract, which became a famous bad contract in the NBA.

Kapono was not so lucky in this life. The Cavaliers lacked outside players and kept him on the team. As a result, he could only play 10 minutes per game in the second year, scoring 3.8 points and shooting 43.8% from three-point range.

His shooting percentage was stable, but he was a marginal player. In the summer of 2005, the Cavaliers did not renew his contract, so he signed with the Pacers with a one-year minimum salary. This is a wrong decision. With Michael Reed in the Pacers, Kapono has few opportunities to play. Moreover, the Pacers are average and have poor ability to attract double-teams from teammates. It is difficult for someone like him who can only play without the ball to perform. .

Last season, he averaged 13 minutes per game and scored 4.1 points. His three-point shooting percentage dropped to 39.6%, and he did not get a contract extension from the Pacers. Yang Rui knew that there was no three-point shooter more accurate than Capono in the free market, so he gave up on selecting a veteran.

With the addition of two rookies, the Lakers' lineup for the new season has been decided on 14 players.

Center: Yao Ming, Chuck Hayes, Lamar Odom.

Power forward: Rasheed Wallace, Boris Diaw, Paul Millsap.

Small forwards: Andre Iguodala, Luke Walton, Jason Kapono.

Shooting Guards: Kobe Bryant, Monta Ellis.

Point guard: Daniel Gibson, Damon Jones, Lou Williams.

The new lineup has a tank center, a low-post attacker, a point forward, a three-point shooter, a super defender, a ball-free player, everything. As long as the stars are not injured, the Lakers' regular season championship and three consecutive championships next season are almost certain. As a coach, Yang Rui's most important thing is to rotate well and ensure the health of the players.

After settling the player matters, two assistant coaches, Divac and Brooks, led the team to play preseason games.

Yang Rui still has work and needs to determine the candidate for the third assistant coach.

Many coaches thought of the Lakers' gold-plating, and all free agents with some reputation submitted their resumes. Yang Rui saw many acquaintances, including old coaches, young people, and most of them were retired stars.

The answers to several coaching questions asked by Yang Rui were similar. These people all answered with the tactical adjustments that Yang Rui was good at when coaching. After reading the answers, Kupchak said they were like Yang Rui's fan survey.

Although Yang Rui is happy, he excludes all those who please him. If these people are his fans and the Lakers will only agree with his ideas, then why do they need this assistant coach? He got it done.

Yang Rui's previous assistants, Hollins, Thibodeau, D'Antoni and others can all raise objections, and even if they are not adopted, they can be used as a reference. Hornacek is the only one who doesn't go against Yang Rui very much. His specialty is guiding players in some details and using his experience as a player.

There is only one answer that suits Yang Rui's heart. This person risked the world's disapproval and proposed to reduce the playing time of Rasheed and Odom. It is best to trade one person away directly, reuse the short 4th position, and bring a large team. Four small.

When Yao Ming came off the court, he played in a five-small lineup. On the offensive end, there were more counterattacks. On the defensive end, the whole team grabbed rebounds and played full offense and defense.

Yang Rui decided to get this person, even though he had no qualifications and was the youngest. His name was Brad Stevens.

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