Chapter 462 Big Changes in the NBA

Nike's advertising call came again, just when Lin Dong had just booked a flight to Doha early the next morning.

It was after 10 o'clock in the morning. Considering that the trip back to Dragon Kingdom would take a long time and conflict with the shooting time reported by Nike, Lin Dong changed the shooting time to the afternoon of that day on the phone. At the same time, he also Delayed flight to Doha by one day.

Fortunately, Nike already had an idea for the commercial shoot and had assembled a team before making the call.

But the temporary change of time still caused Nike to be in a hurry for a while. When Lin Dong flew to Portland in the afternoon, filming began in full swing.

But how could something done in a hurry really go smoothly... From the beginning of the shooting, there were all kinds of small problems. What I thought could be solved in two or three hours ended up being delayed until after 12 o'clock in the evening.

As a result, Lin Dong had just returned to the hotel when he received a 'rework notice' from Nike, saying that Phil Knight had vetoed the finished film and asked the team to shoot according to Plan B.

Thinking that he had already pushed Nike several times, and that the ticket had been rescheduled for tomorrow, Lin Dong reluctantly cooperated, and spent the whole morning toiling, and it was only completed in the afternoon.

Lin Dong has to go back to Seattle. He has a flight to Doha tomorrow morning, but just as he rushed to the airport, Nike's "rework call" came again, and this time it actually required that the entire idea must be overturned.

Frankly speaking, if Lin Dong reworked last night, it was understandable. After all, the filming was too hasty, and there were indeed some flaws that even a layman like him could see. However, after reshooting this morning, he still had to rework, and even required Even the whole idea is overturned, which is really a bit funny.

You haven't decided on your advertising ideas yet, so why don't you ask me to take pictures of you? I am a professional freelance actor raised by your family. I don’t do anything all day long but just accompany you to shoot commercials?

Lin Dong and Phil Knight are also very familiar. Frankly speaking, the smile on that face seems to be a cold old guy. Lin Dong is naturally wary and wary. He feels that this matter may not be just... Just because of advertising.

And it made him feel that this was because the contract was about to expire and Nike was testing his loyalty, and because the Cavaliers had already formed a super team, Nike might even want to give up his disobedient pawn?

Lin Dong still takes this very seriously.

Don't tell me that I didn't plan to renew my contract with Nike for a long time. I just wanted to urgently need a sum of money to help the SuperSonics cover the bottom line, and also to help me achieve my goal of using La Liga to train Dragon Country players.

Now that La Liga's Moebius team is on the right track, and the SuperSonics have already proven their ability to attract money, there is no need for him to help his mother prepare any funds... Everyone is just using each other, so with Nike In the meantime, it’s almost time to come to an end.

I may not have the ability to be a chess player in the capital market, but I never want to become a pawn of capital.

"I'm just a player, not an actor. I've been very cooperative after filming twice." Lin Dong just replied calmly on the phone: "I have my own business, and the planning of the advertisement is not done by me. Regarding this, If you are dissatisfied, that is your problem and has nothing to do with me. I have exceeded the filming terms required in the contract. As for whether you use the advertisement or not, that’s up to you!”

"Anyway, don't call me again because of this matter, otherwise, I will block you!"

…………

The Asian Championships went as Lin Dong expected, with Dayao's leading Longguo men's basketball team having almost no opponents.

They played against Japan once in the group stage. Unlike the Japanese fans who imagined that the Japanese national team could at least compete with the Dragon Kingdom without Lin Dong, Sakuragi Hanamichi paired with Morishige who returned from La Liga. Kuan was still at a disadvantage when facing Yao Ming.

Yao Ming can be restricted to a certain extent in the NBA because Chandler works well with him. However, Shigehiro Mori, although he has a strong body of 211 centimeters and 118 kilograms, has no strength, height, skills, etc. , compared to Chandler, he is still far behind.

What's more, the Dragons still have Yao and Yi Jianlian on the domestic line. The Japanese fans' idea of ​​seizing the inside and fighting the Dragon Kingdom in a positional battle has never been realized since the first quarter. On the contrary, Sakuragi and Morishige were jointly joined by Dayao and Yu. Excluded from the inside.

In the past, he and others were playing 2-on-1 against Yao in the NBA, but now it was Dayao who found helpers to play against him 2-on-1... 9 points and 7 rebounds, Hanamichi Sakuragi handed over this report card with Japanese fans. The expectations for him are clearly far behind.

On the contrary, Rukawa Kaede's outside three-pointers shined in this game.

He made 13 of 16 shots from the field, including 11 three-pointers, which made Sun Yue, who was responsible for defending Rukawa Kaede, feel a little doubtful about his life.

After all, everyone has known each other for a long time. When he was at Lloyd, Rukawa Kaede was an absolute rookie who was blocked by him 10-0 every time, but today he actually shot 11 three-pointers on him!

Does the NBA train people like this?

Sun Yue felt more and more itchy, but it was a pity that Aoshen would not let him go, and his contract with Aoshen would not expire for another year. I hope he could catch up with next year's NBA draft. If he didn't go, he would soon pass the draft. Age...

Thanks to Rukawa Kaede's magical performance, the game remained deadlocked until the third quarter, with the final score being 109:93.

And this is probably a true display of the strength of both sides. Judging from the fact that Japan has only lost one game to Dragon Kingdom and is ranked second in Group A, it is estimated that the final finals will be another battle with Dragon Kingdom.

In the past few days from the 2nd to the 4th, Lin Dong not only watched this game, but also watched several others.

Asian basketball in another world was almost always dominated by East Asian countries before 2000. Long, Japan and South Korea, these three countries were basically the first, second and third place.

After 2000, except for the Dragon Kingdom, which was still the only one, Japan and South Korea actually went downhill for more than ten years in another world. Instead, strong teams from the Middle East countries emerged, such as Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, and the Philippines.

But when the butterfly effect of my own time-travel separated Japan and the Dragon Kingdom, it had greatly changed history.

Japan defeated Lebanon 121:96, and Dragon Kingdom defeated Qatar 116:82...

It's not that Lebanon and Qatar are weak. You have to know that in the 2005 Asian Championship in another world, Lebanon and Qatar were the runner-up and third runner-up. They also pushed the Dragon National Men's Basketball Team to a desperate situation that year.

But now... Dayao's early evolution has even surpassed the historical peak level. It has obviously given the Longguo men's basketball team a huge upper limit, especially in terms of physical fitness. He has suffered prematurely from Sakuragi and others in the NBA. After the strict defense and exhaustion, Dayao's physical fitness was more than a star and a half stronger than in the other world. When he played Qatar, he was very energetic throughout the game and almost didn't sweat much.

Although Yi Jianlian, Zhu Fangyu, Sun Yue and others are still a little behind the peak of another world, they are at least much stronger than they were in that world in 2005. This is obviously due to Lin Dong's guidance. Also benefiting from the Olympic runner-up's competition experience and so on, this Dragon National team is simply a complete crushing posture in Asia.

Not to mention Dragon Country, Japan, which has two NBA players, Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede, as well as Morishigehiro, Sendō and other La Liga members, is currently showing a level that is out of step with other teams in the Asian Championships. .

Let's put it this way, Japan's level has now swept almost all other teams in Asia except Dragon Kingdom, and it can also force Dragon Kingdom to take it seriously...

The basketball community in the Dragon Country was naturally excited about this. After all, they had already won the runner-up position in the Olympics, and their horizons had become different, but it was inevitable that they would also develop some arrogance.

——We are also the strongest basketball empire in the world!

The media has publicly shouted such slogans more than once, and such slogans are flying all over the Internet.

As for Zhu Fangyu, Sun Yue and others, their progress this year has been very small compared to before participating in the Olympics, and even made Lin Dong feel that they were still treading water.

In fact, we often talk on the phone. Lin Dong feels that there is nothing wrong with the mentality of these young people, and they also want to improve, but the environment is not supportive.

The overall level of CBA is still too poor, and its training cannot fully keep up with the world's most advanced levels.

To be honest, under this background, Lin Dong actually hopes that the Dragon Kingdom men's basketball team will lose a game in the Asian Championships, which will wake up the basketball association.

My goal is to compete in the 2008 Olympics. That will also be when I and Dayao are at their physical and mental peaks. If you want to win the Olympics, you only have one chance!

But the gap between the Dragon Country men's basketball team and the US team still exists. If the whole country is immersed in the title of 'strongest' and does not want to make progress, Zhu Fangyu, Sun Yue and other young players will also want to stay put. , then maybe the 2008 Olympics will become my biggest regret.

Taking advantage of the fact that people from the Basketball Association are also in Doha these days, Lin Dong talked to Lao Li and hoped that the Basketball Association would help young people like Zhu Fangyu and Sun Yue go to the NBA or La Liga to play as soon as possible, but the result was undoubtedly disappointing. .

It’s not that Mr. Li has changed or is short-sighted, but that these changes involve the vital interests of the CBA teams and even the league itself. Even Mr. Li cannot really speak out.

We can only wait until the contract between Sun Yue and Aoshen expires next summer. As for Zhu Fangyu and Yi Jianlian, they have to wait until the end of next year.

Lao Li's advice to Lin Dongzhi was to ask him to pay more attention to the youth training and start picking people from the youth training. If there are really good talents, just poach them directly.

The domestic environment and conditions are like this now, and it will not be easy to change anything in this world. If you really want to do something, you can only do it with a competitive attitude, not just do it right away. With the attitude that I want to break all unreasonable and conventional rules.

This is just basketball, and we are not really asking you to make a revolution. Your methods must be moderate and follow the laws of the market...

Originally, he wanted to persuade Lao Li, but in the end, Lao Li taught him a lesson in return. Lin Dong was also a little bit dumbfounded.

Fortunately, Xu Yong and Chen Jianghua have made rapid progress in Europe during this period. They have put aside some of their selfish ambitions to win the 2008 Olympic championship and started to help the Longguo men's basketball team from youth training. They have a long-term plan... Lin Dong now feels more and more that this may be the case. The best way forward for Dragon Nation basketball.

As the saying goes, there must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and it is also said that the water must be straight when it reaches the bridge. It is better to let nature take its course.

I stayed in Doha for a few days and then went to Hong Kong to shoot a movie.

I met many celebrities who were familiar with them on TV. Compared with the later entertainment trends in the mainland, these film and television stars in Hong Kong are undoubtedly real actors in Lin Dong's opinion.

They are very professional and very funny. Almost no one will put on any airs or show off their big names on the scene. After work is over, they will drag Lin Dong to the food stalls outside to eat at roadside stalls. These so-called celebrities are more of just... Filmmaking is regarded as a profession, but it is no different from ordinary people.

Of course, we can't rule out the factor that 'because the target is a bigger star like themselves', that's why they appear to have no airs.

Since I had to accommodate Lin Dong's time, I spent the past few days filming around Lin Dong's ten minutes of scenes. The main venues were concentrated in the arena. Naturally, some wonderful dunk performances were inevitable, and they were also edited as behind-the-scenes. Don't go into the finished film.

Lin Dong feels that he is the type who has no talent for acting, but he is not stupid after all. With step-by-step guidance from Stephen Chow, who is known as the top actor in Hong Kong's acting skills, the final film still makes Lin Dong feel very interesting. , I can’t see anything interesting about it.

And the stars mingling with each other made the filming on the set not boring.

This should have been a quite interesting experience, but unfortunately, the bad news coming from Seattle one after another made Lin Dong really unable to bring himself to "enjoy this special experience."

On the third day of filming, the first bad news came from Seattle.

The contract with Nash was not negotiated.

Bob plans to make a tentative offer of 45 million over five years. Compared with Nash's normal salary increase, this is fully consistent with his Bird Rights and his status as the best offensive team this year. The SuperSonics have left a back-up for negotiation. According to the results of previous discussions with Yang Dong and others, the SuperSonics can give up to 60 million in five years.

Unexpectedly, while the SuperSonics were still discussing the price and operating space, Nash's ownership had been directly settled at a speed that stunned the SuperSonics.

The Mavericks signed and then traded, first giving Nash a five-year, 45 million contract, and then packaged the contract with Sean Bradley on the team and went to the Lakers in exchange for their backup center Bu Ryan Grant.

The SuperSonics have just prepared an offer, but Nash has already formed a super luxury tank in the Western Conference with Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant, and Lamar Odom...

This is only the first month of the trading market. According to normal circumstances, it is not in the free market. If a player with bird rights wants to complete the transaction, it is not a matter between the team and the player, but a matter between the team and the player. Things between teams, the exchange and balance of interests between various teams, usually cannot be concluded in the first month.

For a player like Nash who is in demand and willing to trade, the team that bids later often has an advantage. This is also the main reason why the SuperSonics dare to spend a few days to slowly discuss it. They want to see what other teams offer Nash first. quotation.

But...but how the hell did you end the conversation right away?

Moreover, Nash was sent to the Lakers!

This is already the worst outcome for the Sonics.

You must know that in last season's Western Conference Finals, the SuperSonics seemed to have an easy time beating the Lakers, but in fact they were playing by pinching the Lakers' ball handlers, which prevented the Lakers from getting into shape on the offensive end.

But who is Nash? The assist list last season was second only to Lin Dong, the monster passing master!

Just imagine if in the Western Conference Finals last season, the Lakers had Nash in charge of the ball instead of the unlucky Atkins, then Sakuragi Hanamichi would not be able to limit Nash's passing and choke the Lakers' offense. System, the inside combination of Yao Ming, Odom and Grant can still stabilize the SuperSonics. Maybe the final result is to force Lin Dong to compete with the Lakers for points. It is really hard to say whether he will win or lose. No matter what, Maybe the SuperSonics beat them 4-0 easily. This is actually the same as the Cavaliers having more Jason Kidd...

Nash + Kobe + Yao Ming + Odom, this is another Cavaliers replica of the F4 battleship!

Bob felt a deep despair.

The teams outside are constantly strengthening... No, this is no longer called strengthening, but called strengthening the team! But what about supersonic speed? The Sonics don't even have this year's first-round draft pick, and they used it to trade Battier for thousands of years. Now the lineup is intact, and Payton is already old!

this……

But fans across the United States were crazy about it.

Everyone can see that these transactions are aimed at the SuperSonics' fourth consecutive championship. In addition to the Seattle fans who are complaining and questioning whether the transaction is legal, the fans in other places who have been suffering from "SuperSonics for a long time" are all happy. .

And just when the Sonics hadn't finished digesting this 'bad news,' the Lakers' cool moves came again.

They actually then used Sean Bradley, who had just been traded, to get back the Lakers' former veteran: Nick Van Exel from the Trail Blazers.

As a player selected by the Lakers in the second round of the 1993 draft, Van Exel's entire career was actually not that exciting. After playing for the Lakers for several seasons, he successively moved to the Nuggets, Mavericks, Warriors and The Trail Blazers, except for one highlight season with the Mavericks when they averaged 21 points per game, have been blue-collar players averaging 13 or 4 points per game most of the time.

If you only look at the scoring, you won't be able to tell how much potential this shooting guard has, but if you look at the way he scores...

In the past, Van Exel was a standard No. 2 position, and his style of play was mainly breakthroughs. However, now that he has entered the 30-year-old mark, Van Exel uncharacteristically shot 3-pointers last season. , and it’s quite accurate!

His 8 3-pointers in a single game ranked him tied for fourth in the 3-pointers list in a single game last season, and his 12.6 points per game were almost all from 3-pointers.

Yes, this guy had very few breakthroughs in the Trail Blazers last season, and his 51.6% 3-point shooting rate was also among the best in the league, but his salary last season was only 1.15 million veteran's base salary.

With a passing master like Nash, Yao Ming and Odom dominating the inside, and Kobe as a filler, the Lakers are most lacking not the front line, but a stable outside shooter.

The Lakers can get such an outside shooter with a 2-year 3 million contract, which is simply a tiger with wings, and the 1.5 million contract that year also leaves a lot of room for the Lakers' already stretched salary cap, allowing them to further strengthen the defense on the basis of the 3-tier luxury tax...

It's okay to have a Cavaliers team in the East, but there is a complete Lakers team in the West.

Frankly speaking, Lin Dong thinks this Lakers team is even stronger than the Cavaliers.

Yao Ming and Kobe's fighting spirit is definitely above that of the Cavaliers. As for Nash... The 2005 and 2006 seasons in history were the true years of the Son of Wind. The Son of Wind won the regular season MVP in these two seasons, which was the peak moment of Nash's career! Many Nash fans even directly called these two years the "Nash Years".

The peak Nash, paired with the peak Kobe and Yao Ming, even Odom, who is known as the most comprehensive player in the NBA, is at the peak of his glory.

Such Lakers, aren't they stronger than the old and young Cavaliers?

This is a rhythm that F4 is not enough, and there is another obstacle? This is clearly aimed at the Supersonics!

Even if Lin Dong has always been as stable as Lin Dong, he can't stay in Hong Kong anymore. He urged Zhou Xingchi to catch up with the deadline and decided to return to Seattle two days in advance.

Speaking of it, his biggest goal is to win the Olympic championship, and he seems to be a little less concerned about the NBA championship, but that's just talk.

Four consecutive championships, truly surpassing Jordan's historical status, these two words are still quite attractive to Lin Dong.

However, unlike Bob and McMillan who sighed, Lin Dong felt a kind of excitement.

He had never felt the excitement since he won the championship in his debut season.

Let the Cavaliers and the Lakers form two F4s, and the Supersonics have no chance?

No... This Supersonics is already very mature and perfect, and the tacit understanding and coordination within the team have reached a real peak. In the past two seasons, he has never really fought hard, because it is too easy to win, and he doesn't need to fight hard at all.

Crisis? It doesn't exist.

What about two F4s? Lin Dong even thinks that such a game may be really interesting.

It's just that the NBA is changing, and it doesn't seem like a big deal for him to run to this field every day and chat with a bunch of entertainment stars. He rushed back not because he was worried about anything, but because he couldn't wait to gather everyone back, start special training, start studying those two teams, and start making a real effort for the four consecutive championships this season.

But just when he had booked a flight back to Seattle the next day on July 25, another piece of news that really made Lin Dong feel a little bit of a blow and crisis also came.

…………

Washington State, Seattle……

The time goes back to July 23, two days ago.

The team is in the off-season, and most of the Sonics chose to travel with their families.

Lin Dong returned to Dragon Country, Sakuragi went to Japan, Iguodala returned to Illinois, and even Chandler returned to his hometown of California.

There are not many players who choose to stay in Seattle, and Sean Battier is one of them. The main reason is that his girlfriend just broke up not long ago, and he doesn’t have much money in his pocket.

In fact, Battier’s family conditions are quite good. He was born in a middle-class American family and has been materially superior since he was a child. But his father is in the Internet industry. The cold winter of the Internet industry in the past few years has caused his father to bear a lot of debt. Battier’s rookie income in the NBA in recent years, including the first batch of funds he got from signing the big contract with Nike, has almost been used to make up for the losses of his father’s business.

Although his rookie contract expires this year, Bob has already negotiated a 3-year, 15 million middle-class contract with the Sonics. As long as he waits until the beginning of August to renew his contract, he can get rid of his previous financial difficulties.

As for now...

Thanks to his good family education since childhood, Battier does not have the bad habits of most players. He does not eat, drink, gamble, or whore. Since he has no money in his pocket, he will just stay in his rented house in Seattle during the offseason to read books, cultivate his sentiments, sublimate his soul, and rest his body. This is good.

After reading for a whole morning, Battier decided to go to Payton for a meal. The guy called yesterday and said that a new Chinese restaurant opened in Clyde Mountain and it was very good...

Just picked up the phone and was still dialing the number when another call came in.

Glancing at the caller ID, Battier happily answered: "Hi, Bill! What's good?"

The other end of the phone responded with a hearty laugh, with infinite joy: "Of course there is good news, I found a big contract for you."

"Endorsement?" Battier's spirits were immediately lifted.

Bill Duffy is his agent. It was he who arranged for him to come to the SuperSonics and he also negotiated the big contract with Nike. This guy is Battier's God of Wealth, and for Battier now, nothing is better than making money.

“NONONO!” Bill said with a smile: “Player contract, 3 years and 18 million, go to the Cavaliers, are you at home in Seattle now? Go directly to the airport, I have bought you a ticket to Cleveland, 3:40 pm…”

“Wait! Wait!” Battier was stunned, and after thinking for two or three seconds, he quickly stopped the other party: “Go to what Cavaliers? Bob and I have already negotiated…”

“3 years and 15 million and 3 years and 18 million, are you a fool who can’t calculate?” Bill said: “Laura Ballmer is waiting for you, I am here too, when you get off the plane tonight, we can sign the contract!”

Battier After a long pause, he said, "This, this is too sudden... Why didn't you tell me in advance? And, and... and I don't want to leave the Sonics for the time being!"

"Want your first three consecutive championships in your life?"

"Who wouldn't want that?"

"This year's Cavaliers and Lakers are the overlords of next season. They are not just two strong teams. They even have the entire league and American fans behind them. Anyone can see that even if you stay with the Sonics, you won't get your three consecutive championships."

"But, but..." Battier frowned. He knew the current situation of the Sonics, and the league's targeting had long been obvious.

"Can't bear to leave your teammates?" Bill said with a smile on the phone: "I think you are being emotional."

"Whatever you say... But which team to go to, shouldn't your agent discuss it with me first? How could it be..."

"Okay, Sean, to tell you the truth, this is what Phil Knight meant, he talked to me personally." Bill said: "The 5-year, 30 million contract Nike gave you, you don't really think that Nike is looking at your influence in the basketball world?"

"From the day you signed that contract, you have become part of Nike's check and balance of Lin Dong. Nike is very dissatisfied with Lin Dong now, and they don't want him to continue Four consecutive championships, and you must leave the Sonics, this is what Phil Knight meant. "

"If you insist, if you insist on staying in the Sonics, then what awaits you will not be the nagging of my agent, but the representatives of Nike, or even their legal team. The contract given to you at the beginning has many clauses that are favorable to Nike's influence on your decision. If you don't listen to them, then Nike has a lot of ways to find fault with you in the contract and sue you for breach of contract. A 5-year, 30 million contract, such liquidated damages are absolutely not something you can afford to pay."

Bill said a lot until Battier was completely silent.

"It's 13:20 now. It takes about 40 minutes from your home to the airport. The flight is at 3:40. I can give you an hour to consider." Bill said lightly: "Remember, if you go to the Cavaliers, you have the opportunity to win the championship and you can live a comfortable life. But if you choose to stay in the Supersonics... think about the scene of your father carrying debts all these years. Do you want to relive it? Even ten times or a hundred times more than that."

"Also, as far as I know, Nike wants to dismantle not only you, but also Sakuragi Hanamichi, who is also under Nike. The Supersonics will no longer be complete next season. Lin Dong wants to win the championship? Haha..."

"Don't make unwise choices, don't let me down!"

Beep beep beep...

The busy tone of the phone sounded for a long time, and Battier just sat there blankly, almost forgetting the time.

After a long time, he called Bill again.

"As long as I'm not in the Supersonics, right?" Battier asked.

"Nike means this, but for you, the Cavaliers are the best choice."

"No, I won't go to the Cavaliers either." Battier said: "Please help me find another team, any team will do."

The other end of the phone was stunned: "Why?"

"..." Battier pondered for a long time: "I just don't want to go to a team that regards the Supersonics as an enemy from top to bottom, or even as an enemy, and I don't want to help them beat the Supersonics."

"Sorry, my education since childhood makes it difficult for me to tolerate the word betrayal in my dictionary. Of course, I also want to survive... You arrange the rest, I can go anywhere."

"In addition... I want to tell you that the Supersonics will not disband. Without me, they will still win the championship. If you don't believe it... Just wait and see!"