Chapter 1004 Trade David Lee?

At the end of the first quarter, at 28:25, the Suns were 3 points behind.

Because he has to take care of David Lee's shooting space, and in order to support Rondo, Li Ba basically coordinates the overall situation in the high post, and his control over the rebounds is weakened. Of course, his scoring efficiency in the high post is not as good as that at the basket. In addition, the Grizzlies are facing His consistent double-teaming prevented him from performing very well.

He made 4 of 6 shots in a single quarter, including 2 of 4 high-post jump shots, and 3 of 4 free throws. He scored 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, and 1 turnover.

If his defense hadn't been strong, he would have fallen behind even more in the first quarter.

Falling behind, Li Ba continued to play in the second quarter.

In the first half of the quarter, he partnered with Gasol, and the effect was similar to that of partner David Lee. The four people under the basket were very crowded.

Head coach Scott Brooks also noticed the problem.

In fact, he had already noticed this problem during the team's training matches.

But David Lee performed so well last season and was an All-Star. Considering the offensive capabilities of the team's starting lineup, he still used David Lee as the starting four.

However, this game told him that it is okay for David Lee to partner with the Hammers to beat ordinary teams, but it is not okay to beat a championship-level team like the Grizzlies.

Playing in a team of this level, he must allow Li Ba to fully utilize his abilities, even to the extreme, instead of restricting his performance.

In the second half, he replaced Gasol and played Diaw.

The effect of this change was immediate.

Diola went out to play. He still had three points that the Grizzlies couldn't let go. Two people were missing from the paint area, and Li Ba's dominance in the paint area suddenly exploded.

Even if Gasol and Kurt Thomas double-teamed him, they still couldn't restrict him too much because of his better mobility.

As soon as there were fewer players, his protection of offensive rebounds also improved, and the team's secondary offense also increased.

Brooks maintained this inside combination until the end of the game. Although the game was lost in the end, he saw the benefits of the lineup change.

One of the benefits is that Li Ba played 44 minutes and scored 27 rebounds, including 11 offensive rebounds, which was much higher than the average rebounds and offensive rebounds in the previous seven games.

The second benefit is that the team's offense is more diversified, including not only Li Ba's low post offense, but also Diaw's mid-range attack, Ginobili and Tony Allen's breakthrough, and Diaw and Ginobili's three-point attack. point.

The third benefit is that Diola goes out, preventing the Grizzlies from implementing a three-team attack on Li Ba, making it more difficult for the opponent to defend.

He had something on his mind that he wanted to talk to David Griffin about.

Li Ba still played 30 plus 20 + 5*5 in this game, but he did not have three or four doubles. The main reason is that the Grizzlies did not attack much inside, and Gasol was pulled out to play, only relying on the outside. The help defense is not enough to make up a triple-double.

In the first eight games, the Suns had 7 wins and 1 loss, immediately exiting the league's tie for first place.

And this retreat, in the Western Conference rankings, has also dropped from tied for first in the Western Conference to fourth in the Western Conference. The top three are the Lakers, Mavericks, and Grizzlies, who have all won.

The next morning, Scott Brooks made an appointment with general manager David Griffin to discuss the lineup.

The two talked for a while, and Scott made it clear what he meant. The team had too many low-post players and no inside players who could be pulled out to play. This had to force Li Ba to pull out to play. This would definitely not work. The team had to go through a trade. solve this problem.

After thinking about it, Griffin asked: "David Lee, Marc Gasol, Boris Diaw, Antonio McDyess, four insiders, who do you want to keep?"

"Marc Gasol, he is the first substitute of the Hammers. Diaw can start at the fourth position, but he is a little weaker. It is better to be a substitute. If the other two are replaced by a good starter at the fourth position, that would be better. . Of course, if you trade Diaw and McDyess for a starting power forward and let David Lee play as the sixth man, that would be the most perfect.”

Scott said.

"It's impossible for David Lee to play on the bench. If you put him on the bench now, he will never renew his contract after this season. It's a pity that David Lee and McDyess were 20 plus 10 last season. , a ten plus ten, an All-Star level, a qualified inside main level, what a pity!" Griffin sighed.

"What should we do?" Griffin asked.

Both were newbies, and after discussing for a while, Griffin suggested asking Li Ba for his opinion.

At this time, Li Ba was entertaining Zhang Li and the others at home, and CCTV gave him an exclusive interview.

"Okay, Yifei, don't be busy, enough is enough!" Zhang Lili looked at the fruits and snacks on the table in front of him and shouted to the girl quickly.

"Teacher Zhang, you can have dinner at home at noon." The girl smiled.

"Okay, then I'll give you a slap in the face." Zhang Liji said with a cheerful smile.

Before starting, Yu Jia mentioned their suggestions for the fourth position.

"Trade Arab League?" Li Ba smiled.

"Tie Hammer, I really feel that Ah Lian's style of play suits you well." Yu Jia said.

Li Ba nodded and smiled: "The style of play is quite suitable. Let me take a look at the Eagles' lineup."

He opened the official website, looked at it and said: "The Eagles have Josh Smith as a forward. His three-point shooting is not as good as that of the United Arab Emirates. In fact, it is almost the same as the United Arab Emirates. He can do both offense and defense. He is very versatile. There is also Marvin Williams, who is also good. The United Arab Emirates can be the main force at the forward position of the Eagles, and he is indeed playing well. It is difficult to trade him. "

"I think we can trade David Lee. The Hawks' center is weak and they don't have the ability to attack from the low post. David Lee can just make up for this." Yu Jia said.

"David? He should be able to be traded for A-Lian." Li Ba scratched his head.

But David Lee played an All-Star performance last season. It may be difficult for the team to trade him.

Of course, he must trade, and no one can stop him, but he has never done this and doesn't want to interfere with the management's operations.

"Well, I'll mention it to Scott. Let's see what he and the management mean. We really need a four-position player who can be pulled out." Li Ba said.

At this time, his cell phone rang. It was from Griffin.

"Hey, David."

"Hey, Hammer, I have something to discuss with you. I want to know your opinion."

"Go ahead."

"Scott wants to trade a power forward who can be pulled out. The bargaining chip is the inside player other than Marc Gasol. What do you think?"

Li Ba was stunned for a moment, glanced at Zhang Heli and the others, and thought it was a coincidence.

"I think it's a good idea too. I just talked about this with my friend. There is a team that is suitable for trading. Do you want to hear about it?"

"Oh, of course, go ahead."

"The Hawks have three forwards who can play, Josh Smith and Yi are better, and the Hawks lack low-post offensive players. The team can try to trade one of them."

"Okay, I see. I'll discuss it with Scott right away."

The two quickly ended the call.