The rest is just noise

The only teams that wanted to get Billy Owens were the Warriors and Timberwolves at first, and now the Celtics and Heat have been added.

From a macro perspective, except for the Knicks, all other teams want Owens, but only these four teams have shown aggression in the transaction.

The Timberwolves have Kenny Anderson, but Jerry Krause is not optimistic about his development prospects.

It's true that he is a talented defender, but it's a pity that he has a problem with his birth point.

Talented guards who debut in New York often have everything but no brains.

He is not willing to pay a huge price for Owens. Owens' upper limit is indeed attractive, but there are doubts about whether he can play in the NBA.

For Krause, Anderson is not for sale. If someone can provide an All-Star-level wing, he is willing to trade.

The Warriors' offer is still a one-way trade for Mitch Richmond.

The Kings want more quality players or draft picks.

They need reinforcements. If they don't improve the team's competitiveness, they may have to work for the Knicks in a few years.

Thanks to the great Bill Russell, he gave the Knicks two unprotected and unrestricted first-round picks for Tisdale.

The ultimate winner in the 1960s was the ultimate loser in the late 1980s. In order to get rid of the fate of working for the Knicks, the Kings drafted Owens, hoping that he would become a blockbuster.

Unexpectedly, Owens didn't want to settle in Sacramento.

Now we can only use Owens, the biggest lottery ticket, to increase our strength.

The Celtics were originally suspicious of Owens, but after Auerbach asked his good friend Coach K and Louis' disdain for Owens on the surface, but secretly pursuing the King, Kyle was shocked.

The special man is convinced that this is a future superstar who is destined to become a superstar.

The Celtics' offer included the rights to sign Steve Smith and Doug Smith.

These two are this year's No. 5 pick and No. 11 pick respectively. Among them, Doug Smith was originally a top-six prospect, but Louis' words affected the market.

The Celtics' offer, if they negotiate a deal with other teams, could probably bring back an All-Star.

But the Kings were not tempted. There was uncertainty about the rookies. Neither of the two Smiths on the Celtics were players who were as sure as Owens.

They can even reject the Richmond that has already been drawn, so it is natural to reject two risky lottery tickets.

Before the Heat entered the game, they made a deal with the Knicks.

This is a confusing deal.

It can be said that there is no need to make people suspect that there is a fraudulent transaction.

The Knicks sent second-year star Doug West, who had an outstanding performance last season, and his 1993 first-round draft pick to Miami in exchange for the rights to sign Vernon Maxwell and Toni Kukoc.

The problem with this deal is that neither the Knicks nor the Heat have the need to make this deal.

By sending West away, the Knicks also lost a wing with rising potential.

Last season, the second-year West played in the rotation of the talented Knicks and was a member of the murderous press team.

Being able to join the murderous pressing group shows that it is part of the team's long-term plan. Suddenly trading him and sending him out in the first round is not Louis' style.

Unless Kukoc can perform well when he lands in the NBA in the future, otherwise, this deal will be a loss.

After making two losing trades in a row, what was Louis thinking?

At this time, even the New York media had no time to pay attention to Louis' strange operation. They all focused on the bidding war for Billy Owens.

The Timberwolves, Warriors, and Celtics all felt that their offer was high enough and refused to raise the price.

At this time, it was the Heat's turn to enter the court.

As soon as the Heat came up, it was Doug West, Grant Long, B.J. Armstrong + the first round of 1996.

The Heat's offer, taken individually, is not better than that of other teams.

But taken together, it’s exciting.

West's ability to make the rotation in the Knicks' extremely involved environment is enough to prove his strength. As a substitute for Hank Gathers, Long averaged 9 points and 8 rebounds per game. He is a high-quality power forward.

Only Armstrong looks average, but he still has a first-round pick. Although the Heat's first-round pick in 1996 is not necessarily that precious, these things combined are what the Kings want most.

"Coach Lu, do we need to increase the price now?"

He was the only one in Louis' office.

The person talking to him on the phone was Heat godfather Lewis Shafir.

"Don't be anxious, be patient, Lewis." Louis smiled lightly, "You can't eat Billy Owens if you're anxious."

"I listen to you, Coach Lu."

In the next two days, neither team increased their bids.

After Billy Owens learned of this situation, he directly let the outside world know through his agent: "If the deal is not completed within three days, I will give up landing in the NBA and go to Europe to play."

In less than a month, Billy Owens became the most hated player in Kings history.

Most teams just want to take advantage. After Owens expressed this attitude, he has made it clear that "anyone can do it as long as he is not the Kings."

After all, if he really goes to Europe, his future will be ruined.

Owens' statement came just one day after both the Warriors and Timberwolves made final bids to add draft picks.

The Kings are hesitating which team to accept the offer, and the Celtics are here again.

They put Reggie Lewis into the trade like crazy and took out Steve Smith, hoping to exchange the fifth pick + a quasi-All-Star wing for Billy Owens.

This kind of reckless risk-taking is definitely not Auerbach's style.

Perhaps it was Louis' interest in Owens that drove them to make this decision. They believed that Owens' future was limitless and that it was worth paying any price for an SSS-level future superstar.

This may have been the most valuable day in Billy Owens' life.

Just when the King was inclined to complete the deal with the Celtics, Louis used remote control to ask Shafir to push out all the chips.

On the basis of the original Doug West, Grant Long, B.J. Armstrong and the 1996 first round, the Heat added last year's fifth pick Kendall Gill and the 1993 first round pick from the Knicks.

This bid is a sure win.

Gill averaged 14 points per game in his rookie season. If the Heat didn't have Petrovich and Willie Anderson at the second and third positions, he could have played. Even as a substitute, his defense and passion brought a lot to the team.

Comes amazing energy.

He is recognized as a future star.

The biggest problem with the Heat's bargaining chip before was that there were no stars. Now, with stars, potential stocks, and draft picks, the Kings have no reason to refuse.

On July 15, the Kings sent the signing rights of Billy Owens to Miami in exchange for Doug West, Grant Long, B.J. Armstrong, Kendall Gill, the 1992 first rounder and the Knicks.

of the 1993 first round.

It seems that the most popular bidding war of the summer is over.

But this was the beginning of Louis' revenge against the Celtics.

"Coach Lu, we finally got Owens, do we really want to give him to the Celtics?"

Louis said clearly: "This is a parallel import. When the new season starts, Owens will become worthless. You have to think about how much you paid to get him. If you paid such a high price in exchange for a

Parallel import, can you still stay in Miami?"

"Just in case"

"There is no such thing as a contingency."

"I see."

Dave Gavitt regretted not being able to get Billy Owens. He was about to clean up his mood and sign some useful players in the free market. Unexpectedly, the Heat, who had just received the super prize, actually came to ask for it.

Owens for Steve Smith and Reggie Lewis.

Although the joy of regaining something was overshadowed by the question "Why did Miami go in such a big circle and wouldn't it be good to directly initiate a three-party transaction?"

But the incident happened suddenly, and Gavitt didn't think too much about it.

In the eyes of most clubs involved in the trade, Owens is a sure option.

Even Shafir believes that he will be an All-Star player when he enters the league. If he can realize his potential, he will be the next superstar.

Trading this kind of super lottery puts a lot of pressure on Shafir himself.

Shafir chose to push for the completion of the deal for only one reason: he believed that Louis would not harm him.

This kind of tacit understanding and trust has been cultivated over several years.

Louis wouldn't harm him then, and he won't harm him now. Shafir doesn't even know what the real purpose of these transactions is. Send Owens to the Celtics? And say Owens is a parallel import? Is it possible that Coach Lu wants to

Attacked the Celtics?

While Shafir was negotiating with Gavitt, he thought of so many things.

After a day of consultation, the two parties completed the entire process efficiently.

The Heat sent Billy Owens' rights to Boston in exchange for the rights to Reggie Lewis and Steve Smith.

It seemed that everyone was happy.

The Celtics got Bird's successor, the Kings had the best roster since the 1980s, the Heat sent away a fifth pick, got another fifth pick, and also had quasi-All-Star Reggie Lewis.

Shafir completed what Louis told him to the letter.

Lewis also had heart problems. Louis asked Shafir to conduct a comprehensive physical examination of Lewis, find a doctor who treated Hank Gathers' heart, insist on taking medicine, control playing time and training intensity, and also

You have to pay attention to the distribution of ball rights between Steve Smith and Petrovic. And build the team with Gathers, Petrovic, Lewis, and Smith as the main team.

"Coach Lu, why do you do so much?" Shafir asked curiously.

"To convey a message to some people." Louis held the phone and grabbed a bottle of Coke, watching the TV constantly replaying the shocking trade between the Celtics and the Heat. "You have to pay a price for plotting against me.

of."

"Ah haha, don't be ridiculous, Coach Lu." Shafir laughed, "With Jerry Krause's experience, who would dare to plot against you after eating a leopard?"

Louis kept smiling and didn't answer.

He also wanted to know what a rough mental journey Dave Gavitt went through before he thought of plotting against him?

Does he think that Coach Lu’s nickname of New York Little Yaizhen was a waste of time?