"Lu, the king is determined not to let go now. We must take out the first round pick we got from the 76ers, and don't want this one in our own hands."

"The Kings know that they have no hope of winning the championship in the past two seasons, and we are actively seeking a deal, which clearly wants to take advantage of it."

General Manager McHale walked into Luke's office in a dusty manner, picked up the tea on the table and took a sip, then said hurriedly.

McHale unconditionally supports Luke for the matter of Luke using Bynum in exchange for Iguodala's first-round draft pick.

Because Luke had said a lot about his ideas to McHale before, McHale knew that Luke was laying the lineup for the new season.

In addition, Luke's draft vision also made McHale admire him. McHale is very clear about the value of a first-round draft pick in Luke's hands.

Now that Iverson and the 76ers management are having a big fight, it is only a matter of time before the two sides part ways.

Even if the 76ers can exchange Iverson for some assets, the 76ers who lack the star lead will inevitably fall into a downturn in a short period of time, and the chances of the team being able to make the playoffs are slim.

Therefore, the first round pick of the 76ers is likely to be a lottery, and it can reach the middle of the first round at the least. Compared with the Timberwolves' final first round, the draft pick of the 76ers is undoubtedly more attractive.

It was precisely because the king was interested in this and refused to make a decision in the deal with the Timberwolves.

The king is very clear that he has absolutely no chance of winning the championship in the past two years, but on the other hand, the Timberwolves is about to establish a dynasty, and their desire to strengthen themselves is far greater than that of the king. No matter how long it takes to delay such a thing, the Timberwolves will only be anxious.

The current general manager of the King is Pete, a fox with no wisdom but no cleverness.

Pete now wants to seize the opportunity to make a good handful of wools on the Timberwolves. After all, the Kings' poor team record makes Pitt's position as general manager, and Pitt is determined to taste the sweetness in this deal with the Timberwolves.

"I'm going to agree to the Kings for two days. I don't have much expectations for next year's draft. In my opinion, there is not much difference between the team and the 76."

"But the King actually wanted to pull the wool from the team. It seems that I must give the King some surprises next season, otherwise I will be sorry for the King's attitude." He shook his head indifferently, Luke's appearance seemed to be in control.

"Actually, there is something I don't know whether to say it or not." McHale sat on the sofa and looked at Luke with a tangled look on his face.

Seeing McHale's look of wanting to speak, Luke waved his hand casually: "Just say anything just."

"Lu, I know this trade will make the team stronger and increase the team's chances of winning the championship in terms of lineup and strength."

"But what I want to say is whether it will be a little too risky. That guy is just a time bomb. I'm afraid that his arrival will affect the atmosphere in the locker room and make the team worse." McHale looked at Luke with a little concern.

"Don't worry, Kevin, what I'm most afraid of is the thorn." Luke smiled indifferently.

…………

On July 18, another deal was reported for defending champion Timberwolves.

As expected, this deal is indeed related to the rumored king.

According to the official announcement of the Timberwolves, the team has officially reached a deal with the Kings. In this deal, the Timberwolves will take out the 2 million US dollar deal for the first round draft pick of Szebiak in 2007 in exchange for Kings star Ron Artest.

The birth of this deal made other championship teams in the league no longer calm.

If the previous deal for Bynum to Iguodala is something worthy of attention to in other teams, then the birth of this deal is equivalent to an earthquake in the league.

Although the Timberwolves paid very valuable chips in this deal, in addition to the core player Szebiak, there is also the first round pick he just got from the 76ers, and one has an 80% chance of entering the lottery.

But relatively speaking, the benefits the Timberwolves have received are also immeasurable, and even made other championship teams in the league tremble all over.

It is natural to say who Artest is. As the first player in NBA history to be elected as a small forward, Artest's defensive ability is not an exaggeration to say that it is the top five in history.

After all, apart from Artest, no small forward has ever been elected as the best defensive player in NBA history.

Artest has excellent single defense ability. He can face any outside star in the league on the defensive end, whether it is Kobe Bryant, LeBron, James, and Arte will make the opponent feel a headache.

And although Artest, who is full of muscles, looks a bit bulky, Artest's assistive defense ability is also top-notch in history.

Simply put, Atai is the ceiling of the small forward, whether it is single defense or auxiliary defense. In addition to being unable to control his emotions, he is easily angered and often makes some harmful actions, Atai's defense is impeccable.

Last season, Arte was traded to the Kings and averaged 16.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, including fouls per game, which was significantly better in the early stage of his career.

In addition, Arte was selected for the Best Defensive Team last season, and is still one of the best defensive players in the league today.

If it weren't for Garnett and Ben Wallace, the two defensive monsters, who were too strong, Arte would likely win the DPOY for the second time in his career and rejuvenate the King's second spring.

Unfortunately, Artest's flammable and explosive personality has seriously delayed his career development, which is why Artest has never received an annual salary of tens of millions in his career.

Although Artest's personal abilities can be recognized by the entire league, Artest, who often loses control for no reason, is like a time bomb, making each team have to consider more issues before signing Artest.

As a strong fighting beast on the court, Artest has excellent strength, speed, stealing ability and first-class defensive skills.

And on the court, it is the greatest fun to freeze the opponent's team's leading scorer.

But Arte's violent behavior and mental problems seriously lowered Artester's value.

After all, Atai's brain was sucking, not only fought with the players, but even coach Atai would not be afraid at all.

In 2003, Arte had a dispute with Heat head coach Pat Riley twice, and finally fought with each other, which made everyone stunned.

In addition, Atai also fought with Rockets player Percy at an NBA union player gathering in front of former US President Klinton, without considering the impact or consequences at all.

Atai, who was pumping the wind, was like a wild beast that lost his mind. Except Ben Wallace, there were few players in the league who could cure Artest's illness.

Especially during his time with the Pacers, Ate threatened head coach Carlisle more than once, and all these things were reported after Ate was traded to the King.

So McHale was worried about this deal at the beginning, worried that Atai's arrival would affect the team's locker room atmosphere and lead to the team's bad next season.

However, Luke was not worried about this. Luke had taught too many thorns in his coaching career, and the Timberwolves' thorn attribute is now high enough, Luke didn't mind adding an Ate.

What's more, Luke also set a special backup plan for him to ensure that Arte was able to become obedient and stick to him during his time with the Timberwolves, at least get along well with his teammates, and his fists were only swinged to outsiders.

After ushering in Artest, the Timberwolves' forward defense will be upgraded again, and Artest's offensive ability is also much more comprehensive than Gerald Wallace.

After all, Atai averaged 24.6 points per game in his peak season, and his three-point shooting percentage of up to 41% from the outside seemed out of place with the word "beast".

In fact, although Artest looks like a reckless man from the outside, Artest's career three-point shooting percentage has reached 34%, which is barely considered a comprehensive offensive forward.

However, compared with Artest's defense, Artest's offense is not yet first-class, and at most he is a second-rate star.

Atai's scoring methods are a little pale. In addition to a stable mid-range shot and three-pointer, his best-in-class cutting into the penalty area lacks changes.

Often, they rely on the high intensity advantage of physical confrontation to suppress the opponent's position and get the opportunity to layup or dunk. The skills and timing of shooting are poor.

Fortunately, Luke is attracted by Artest's defense, and Arte only needs to maintain a regular level on the offensive end to be satisfied.

With Artest's current defensive ability, if Artest is still very strong on the offensive end and has no problem with his spirit, then Artest is definitely the hottest star in the league, and the Timberwolves will definitely not be able to swallow this contract.

So in a sense, being able to trade Timberwolves to Atai is a kind of bargain.

Even if the first round lottery is extremely valuable, Artest can contribute much more than the future at the critical moment of the team's three consecutive championships.

…………

As time comes to the end of July, the deal between the Timberwolves and the King is still talked about by people.

Although Arte cannot be called the top star in the league, he is one of the best defense stars in the league today.

If it weren't for joining the defending champion Timberwolves, there wouldn't be too many people concerned about Arte's whereabouts, but Artester joined the Timberwolves, who won the championship for two consecutive years, which gave other teams a headache for the league.

The Timberwolves played a season with extremely high defensive efficiency last season and were hailed as the team with the strongest overall defense in NBA history.

In the new season, the Timberwolves had all the main defensive players staying in the team, and there was an "beast" Artest, which made people suspect the Timberwolves' defensive efficiency next season. There was a heated discussion on which team could break through the Timberwolves' defense in the new season.

Now the Timberwolves' lineup is getting more and more complete in the new season, and only the center position is still missing one player. All teams in the league are watching and want to see what kind of reinforcement the Timberwolves will make for the final center position.

After all, after the "Alien" Kassel, Magloil and Nehbar left the team three times, the Timberwolves made a lot of salary space on "Penny" Hardaway through a buyout.

The Timberwolves currently have a very wide salary space and will definitely make some achievements in the free field. Although it is difficult to provide a maximum salary, it is still more than enough to attract a star with the title of defending champion.

I just don’t know which star the Timberwolves will sign with the last quota.

As the team negotiated an 11 contract with Ariza and signed the next basic salary with "Penny" Hardaway, the Timberwolves' 15-man roster is only the last place left.

There will definitely be a lot of inside players who want to try this position. After all, the Timberwolves not only have a wide salary space this year, but also can offer a generous signing contract.

After joining the Timberwolves, there is a high chance of winning the championship ring, thereby increasing his historical status and his value after testing the free market again.

Compared with the temptations and verbal promises of joining other teams, the benefits of joining the Timberwolves are visible to the naked eye, and no matter which one is enough to make the players feel crazy.

According to rumors, even the "Big Shark" O'Neal, who had passed by the championship for two consecutive years, was determined to discuss a buyout with the team, and wanted to join forces with the Timberwolves to establish a dynasty in advance.

However, O'Neal just signed a huge contract of 100 million yuan in the summer of 2005 with the Heat for a five-year period. Even if he buys it for free, it will only cause both sides to lose money.

O'Neal lost $80 million in salary for nothing, causing the Heat to not have enough time to recruit stars, and they are likely to be sluggish and fall to the bottom of the league in one fell swoop.

After the news came out, O'Neal immediately explained, saying that he would not reach a buyout with the Heat and would continue to stay in Miami in the new season to launch an impact on the championship.

Although news of O'Neal's disagreement with the management after the Heat lost the Eastern Conference Final last season, the five-year contract of 100 million not only restricts O'Neal, but also restricts the Heat.

Now the Heat can only strengthen the team at all costs, focusing on Wade and O'Neal, striving to grab a championship from the Timberwolves before O'Neal completely enters the end of his career.

After all, O'Neal was bound by the contract, even if he was dissatisfied, he could not leave the team, and this contract made it difficult for the Heat to reach a deal.

So no matter how many conflicts there are between the two sides, Riley and O'Neal can only fight side by side and try every means to make the team more competitive.

It is said that the Heat are discussing a deal with the Knicks during the offseason, hoping to get Marbury from the Knicks through a transaction, form a Big Three lineup with Wade and O'Neal, and compete with the arrogant Timberwolves.

Last season, Marbury averaged 16.3 points, 3 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Although his personal data has been declining, Marbury is still one of the best point guards in the league's offensive today.

In addition, the Knicks have had a bad record in recent years and are ranked at the bottom of the Eastern Conference for many years, so as long as the Heat is willing to overdraw this deal, there will be a high chance that it can be facilitated.

By then, as long as the Heat, which has the Big Three, is strengthening against the Timberwolves, it will have the strength to challenge the Timberwolves.

Otherwise, O'Neal's five-year, 100 million contract will not tightly lock down the Heat's salary space, and the two parties will be in an embarrassing situation of wasting each other's time.

The Heat are wasting the few peaks left by O'Neal, and O'Neal is wasting the Heat's training environment. If they do not attack the championship, both sides will become victims.

In addition, the Heat are also flirting with the Timberwolves former player Salmons in the free market, intending to win over Salmons through the few remaining salary space and strengthen the team's last weak forward line.

After leaving the Timberwolves, Salmons was able to score 14.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals last season. It is one of the few forwards in the league that is both cheap and easy to use on both offense and defense.

And according to Weber's agent, veteran Chris Weber hopes to join the Timberwolves with a veteran's minimum salary in the offseason and join forces with the Timberwolves to launch an impact on the championship.

If there is no hope of joining the Timberwolves, Chris Webber will give priority to many favorites such as the Heat, Cavaliers, Mavericks, Spurs and Pistons.
Chapter completed!