For some time, the connection between the Wizards and the Trail Blazers became increasingly close.

Because the transaction deadline is getting closer and closer, if the two parties fail to reach an agreement before this, it would be better to have a negotiation collapse earlier.

Otherwise, as soon as the deadline arrives, this will affect the strengthening of both sides this season.

The attitude of the Trail Blazers is very obvious, that is, Jimmy Butler must be added to the name.

As for why it is not Klay, Thompson, or Paul, George, because the Trail Blazers are very clear that these two are definitely not sold products of the Wizards.

If the pioneers are not aware of raising their qualities, then there is no need to continue to negotiate this deal.

Butler is not unable to trade for Yang Fan. After all, the Wizards' potential is already very sufficient, and what they lack is the star of combat power.

In addition, Yang Fan has a God's perspective, so in the future, Yang Fan's team will not lack potential at all.

As for the reason why Yang Fan has always disagreed with putting Butler on the shelves, it is because he has not reached an agreement on chips.

Aldridge averaged 21.7 points, 8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game this season, of which the shooting percentage was as high as 52.5%, and the free throw percentage was also above 80%.

Since Aldridge is not the kind of explosive scoring star, he is relatively a very stable and can contribute stable data in every game.

So this data can already make Aldridge among the league's top power forwards.

This also leads that the Trail Blazers not only need new players with visible potential in the naked eye when trading Aldridge, but also draft picks and more talents.

After all, players like Aldridge are not common in the league, especially because the Trail Blazers have personally trained him to this point.

As the saying goes, if you don’t see a rabbit, you won’t show off your eagle. At present, the entire Trail Blazers are counting on Aldridge to exchange for the future for the team.

…………

As the transaction between the Wizards and the Trail Blazers was frequently hindered, Yang Fan had to switch his own thinking.

Because if the Wizards want to achieve results this year, then top stars in the league like Aldridge are definitely crucial.

Otherwise, with the team's current talented lineup, although they can make it to the playoffs, there is probably no hope for the championship.

In other words, although the talent of the Wizards is equally tempting to the Trail Blazers, the Trail Blazers can afford it, but the Wizards can't.

So Yang Fan was a little relieved about putting Jimmy Butler on the shelves, but Yang Fan was not a person who was willing to suffer losses.

At least when Yang Fan has agreed to put Butler on the shelves, the Trail Blazers must pay more immediate combat power.

As the saying goes, either you don’t play, or you just play big things. If it’s a small fight, it’s meaningless.

…………………

On February 6, a touching news came out of the league. The Washington Wizards announced through the official website that the Wizards had officially reached a deal with the Trail Blazers.

In this deal, the Wizards will give Jimmy Butler Chandler Parsons Bertans's first-round draft pick of $6 million in exchange for the Trail Blazers star Aldridge and former sixth man Jamal Crawford.

After the transaction was reported, it immediately caused very heated discussions in the outside world.

Because on the surface, this deal is indeed a win-win situation. The Trail Blazers have won the future, while the Wizards have gained the present.

However, more people still think that the Trail Blazers are more profitable in this deal, not only gaining new players selected by Yang Fan himself, but also winning the first-round draft pick in 2012 next year.

Since the East has the Heat and the Bulls this year, even if the Wizards get Aldridge and Crawford, it is not easy to defeat the Big Three.

So although the Wizards are not losers in this transaction, the Wizards are obviously anxious and do not seem so calm based on the actual situation.

But while the outside world was talking about this transaction, Yang Fan, as the person involved, seemed extremely calm.

Because only Yang Fan himself knows that the Wizards' record this year will definitely not be too bad, and their final ranking is likely to reach the top four in the Eastern Conference.

In this case, the Wizards' first-round pick will be the highest in the 20th round, and next year's draft can be said to be the worst in the league in the past decade.

So there is no player worth looking forward to when he is in the back of the first round. The only player is probably the "Dream Chasing" Green, who ranked 35th in the total round.

Apart from this, there is no talent at all for Taobao.

However, Green's draft pick is not high, and he is in the second round. For this position, as long as the Wizards are willing to spend money, and with the second round pick in his own hands, it is not difficult to get him off.

In this way, although the Wizards' first round pick next year sounds very trading value, its role is actually completely negligible.

Otherwise, Yang Fan would not have handed in the first round so easily. After all, Yang Fan’s secret to leading the team to make a fortune is the draft!!

In addition, with the completion of this deal, the Wizards' current roster has become 14 people.

If necessary, the Wizards can also sign a player from the free market and gather a 15-man roster.

It is worth mentioning that as another player obtained by the Wizards in this deal, Crawford can contribute 14 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists per game this season, and is definitely an excellent player who is ready to fight.

However, Crawford, who is already 32 years old, is not in the Trail Blazers' team building plan at all. In addition, the Trail Blazers and Crawford only signed a one-year contract in the offseason, so Crawford, who performed well, was involved in this deal as a bonus.

In fact, what Yang Fan wants most is Gerald Wallace, a forward player with excellent defense and strong style.

But the Trail Blazers naturally would not agree to such an excessive request. After all, Wallace is currently the second leader of the Trail Blazers.

In the end, Yang Fan, who knew he was in the wrong, could only smile embarrassedly and chose "Super Six" Crawford, the second best to help the team beat the Heat as much as possible and complete the charge for the championship in the new season.

……………………

On February 9, the Wizards' official news came out again, announcing that the team had officially signed with free agent Frances.

In the new season, Francis will wear the No. 59 jersey and officially become a member of the Wizards.

As the big brother when Yao Ming first entered the league, putting aside other aspects, Francis had absolutely no problem with his loyalty.

Even when Yao Ming first entered the league, someone bullied Yao Ming on the court, and Francis was always the first guy to rush forward to stand up for Yao Ming.

Although Francis is only 1.91 meters tall, he has amazing explosive power in his body.

Francis was selected into the All-Star lineup three times, but his last appearance in the NBA field can be traced back to the 2007-08 season.

That season, Francis played ten games for the Rockets, averaging 5.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Since then, Francis has completely bid farewell to the NBA stage, but last year Francis briefly signed with the CBA Beijing team.

At that time, it was even called by the media the largest foreign aid since the establishment of the CBA.

However, after Francis came to China, he was very obviously disagreeable. He only played for 14 minutes in four games for Beijing.

In the end, Beijing Shougang had no choice but to terminate the contract with Francis, making Francis a free agent again.

It can be said that Francis now has no explosive power at all that he had at his peak.

The reason why Yang Fan signed him was not only because of the shortage of personnel on the back line and no one would rotate once he was injured, but the main reason was experience.

As a small player who has been selected into the All-Star lineup for three times and has survived ten seasons in the NBA, Francis' experience is very important to John Wall.

From a certain perspective, Wall can learn a lot from Francis, after all, Wall is also an explosive defender.

The most important thing is that Francis not only has the experience that Yang Fan needs, he is also a very loyal player.

Such a person will definitely not have to worry about the locker room issue after signing a contract. In addition, as Yao Ming’s big brother, Yang Fan feels that he can help him. Anyway, both sides will get what they need, which can be called a win-win situation.

In addition, the loyal Francis can not only teach Wall more of his game experience off the court, but also teach Mason more of his fighting experience, thereby further gathering the locker room atmosphere.

All right…

In fact, there are no outstanding free agents to sign contracts at this time, so only these veterans who are about to retire are left for Yang Fan to choose from.

Among these veterans, Francis is one of the players who meet Yang Fan's standards.

At first, Yang Fan planned to sign a contract with Brandon Roy, who was only 27 years old and had no balls to play.

But considering that Roy's meniscus was removed from both knees and was reimbursed this season, he could not even play in the playoffs after signing.
Chapter completed!