Chapter 71 The lineup gradually takes shape
Cavaliers owner Gilbert led the team to the playoffs last season because of James.

Team tickets and surrounding advertisements made him another fortune, because he was willing to continue investing and wanted the Cavaliers to continue playing in the playoffs.

LaFrentz was indeed an outstanding player in his prime, otherwise he would not be able to get a huge contract with an annual salary of tens of millions now.

And the most important thing is that the Cavaliers currently cannot get any other power forward who is more suitable for James.

In addition, the chips required at this time were not many, and James was on a child labor contract, so the Cavaliers decisively reached the deal.

Although many fans have complained about the Cavaliers 1.0 era, the Cavaliers management did not provide good help to James.

But in fact, this blame has little to do with the Cavaliers management.

It's more Cleveland's fault.

In the original history, the Cavaliers management recruited two sharpshooters in the league, Gentleman Ray and Reed.

But the two of them didn't want to go to this small place called Cleveland at all!
The Celtics want to trade for Kobe.

Take the future Celtics-Hornets trade as an example.

The Celtics sent two second-round picks and Hayward in exchange for a second-round pick and a $2850 million trade exception to the Hornets.

This 2850 million trade exception can ignore the salary cap and directly sign another 2850 million player.

If you sign a player worth 3000 million US dollars, you only need 150 million salary space in the salary cap.

After sending LaFrentz away, the entire team, except for Pierce, no one else has a contract with an annual salary of more than 10 million.

There is only one Ricky Davis left with a contract worth more than five million US dollars.

The salary cap for next season is $4387 million, plus the trade exception.

Even if they signed Okur, the Celtics still had the salary space to pursue Kobe.

Then we saw the Celtics quickly sign Okur.

The contract is for 6 years and 5100 million US dollars.

This contract is only $100 million more than the contract the Jazz gave to Okur in the original history.

And it's been 6 years, which means basically I can earn less than 20 US dollars each year.

But the Celtics are a big market team!

Okur directly chose the Celtics.

In the regular season last season, Okur averaged 22.3 minutes per game for the Pistons, scoring 10 points and 6 rebounds, with a 37.5% three-point shooting percentage.

If you only look at the statistics, it is indeed average, but if you combine it with the 22.3 minutes of playing time.

This data is quite impressive.

And the most important thing is that Okur is young enough now!
Boss Joe himself once said that the NBA is the only sport where salary is not based solely on performance on the court.

Why will there be so many big contracts in the future?
A big part of it is that the team is betting on talent.

Youth is often the greatest asset!

The reason why Lin Yu wants Okur to be his partner is that Okur's own attributes are very suitable for him.

Okur is a center with excellent shooting ability. His career three-point shooting percentage is 37.5%, including 2008% in the 09-44.6 season.

He is 2 meters tall and has a strong body, and his defense under the basket is fierce enough.

If it were the small ball era, such a center would have a good chance of getting a maximum salary, but now his annual salary is less than 700 million, and even next season his starting salary may be just over million.

This is undoubtedly a great value contract!

Then there are some small trades, such as the Lakers' championship point guard Derek Fisher signing with the Warriors for a six-year, $6 million contract.

Kings center Vladimir Divac, the man who was once traded for Kobe Bryant, joined the Lakers on a minimum salary.

...

Lin Yu did not stay up until dawn with Yao Ming. After looking at the transaction, they both started to rest.

The outside world has also commented on the Celtics' transaction.

ESPN columnist Barbas directly expressed his views on the Celtics' current situation.

"Although the Celtics said that Lin Yu can be replaced by two OK combinations, they actually don't have a good expectation for the team's performance. This is also normal because Lin Yu needs time to grow."

"Sending away Reeve LaFrentz in exchange for Okur, this deal is clearly sending away combat power in order to stockpile talent."

"I give this deal a B rating. Okur did have an impressive performance in the playoffs. Perhaps he can become a reliable partner for Lin Yu in the paint."

It is generally believed that the Celtics made this deal in order to stockpile talent and find a suitable inside partner for Lin Yu.

And the next transaction seemed to confirm Barbas' point of view.

Celtics sent: 2007 protected first-round pick (protected in the top ) and backup center Michael Stewart.

Hawks send out: Tyronn Lue and Boris Diaw.

Boris Diaw was selected by the Hawks with the 2003st pick in the first round of the 21 draft.

Last season, he averaged 4.5 points, 2.4 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game as a substitute.

In addition, the team also has Marcus Banks, the 2003th pick in the first round of the 13 draft.

It can be said that the entire Celtics team is gone except for Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis who were not traded.

Basically the remaining players are a group of rookies below the sophomore level!

The outside world was not optimistic about this Celtics team at all at this time.

Smith and Barkley even started to make fun of each other in various ways during the show.

"Charles, if nothing unexpected happens, the Celtics should be ready to play badly next season, right?"

"Of course, unless the Celtics can really get Kobe, or the Celtics choose to trade rookies for immediate combat effectiveness, the Celtics should be in a bad state next season."

"But this is normal. After all, even LeBlanc and Michael, who were called the 'chosen ones', barely made it to the playoffs in their first season in their careers."

"Last season, the Cavaliers had All-Star center Big Z and Boozer who averaged a double-double, but the Cavaliers were only eighth in the Western Conference."

"Although Paul Pierce is also an All-Star small forward, I really don't think the Celtics will be able to make the playoffs next season."

"It seems that Lin Yu still has some time to grow before he can be traded for two OK combinations."

Lin Yu didn't care at all about the ridicule or even pessimism from the outside world.

After all, it is normal for the Celtics' current lineup to be underestimated.

But if a real fight breaks out, that’s another matter.

Lin Yu is confident that next season, everyone will get to know the Celtics again!
But what concerned him was that Tyronn Lue actually became his teammate!

Regarding Tyronn Lue, the future Coach Lue, when Lin Yu mentions him, his first impression is many of Coach Lue's famous scenes.

'Young man, you know the ball very well', 'Give the ball to James', 'God of reversal'...

Thinking of this, Lin Yu also began to look forward to his career as a teammate with Coach Lu.

(End of this chapter)