NBA Dynasty Sniper

"David, do you have any good advice?"

After leaving the media, Jordan contacted his agent Falk in the car.

"Michael, the Bulls have four games against the Knicks in the regular season, you know what I mean," Falk said.

"I know, I know, beat the Knicks, right? Beat that rookie, prove that he is useless, prove that he is not worthy of the Bulls. But our first game is on January 21 next year, and the time is too long." Jordan said somewhat Annoyed and authentic.

"Now I can only think of some ways to attract the attention of the media, and I have no other good ideas." David Falk over there said helplessly.

On the evening of the 8th, Zhao Dong followed the team and came to the Clippers' home court for the first time, the Memorial Arena next to the University of Southern California.

Before this game, the system did not issue a task to him, which disappointed him.

From this point of view, not every game has a task.

This night, he continued to start, played 25 minutes, scored 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls.

As a rookie, he still didn't get any passes and could only rely on offensive rebounds for a second offense, as well as fast break opportunities.

Van Gundy's tactics have always been initiated by Ewing. Ewing may pass the ball to Alan Houston. This is the Knicks' current No. 1 and No. 2 offensive points.

Larry Johnson is the third offensive point, and Oakley is the fourth offensive point. Although he replaces Larry Johnson in the starting position, he is not qualified for the third offensive point. He has no tactical status at all, and he There is no reason for any status in the team yet.

He rejected Grant's contract because he understood that the contract was too mediocre. Look at John Wallace and McCarty with that kind of contract. They are worse than him now, so that contract can't bring What he wants has nothing to do with money, but the status of the team.

What he wants is a contract that will give him some tactical status.

He needs more playing time to improve his strength, otherwise he will not be able to complete the task this season and it will be very difficult for Ewing to be injured next season.

With a record of 4 wins and 1 loss, the Knicks flew to Memphis, Canada on the 9th.

The Grizzlies only joined the NBA last season. They are an absolutely underwhelming team. They finished last in the league last season.

In this year's golden draft, the Grizzlies selected forward Sherif Rahim with the No. 3 pick, increasing the team's potential, but the strength is still not very good.

In this game, the system also did not issue tasks.

Zhao Dong's performance was similar to the previous two games, and the ratio of playing time and number of shots remained similar.

That night, when the team returned to the hotel, General Manager Grant found Van Gundy and discussed about Zhao Dong.

"Jeff, what is your position on the team?" He asked seriously.

Van Gundy thought for a while and said: "Larry Johnson is coming back soon. He will be Johnson's first substitute and also Oakley's first substitute. My idea of ​​supplementary step is to let him compete with John Starks for the sixth man .”

Grant understands Van Gundy's idea very well. Larry Johnson is the No. 1 pick and the first billionaire in the league. Now he still has tens of millions of big contracts. If he doesn't play the main force, then the Knicks will swallow such a big contract. It's too bad.

Of course, this is his idea. He brought in Larry Johnson. In fact, now he also understands that this deal is not so correct. Larry Johnson's back injury is more serious than he thought.

"Then what do you think of the potential of the flying dragon?" He asked again.

Van Gundy immediately said: "He has very good immediate combat power, but in terms of potential, I am still not very optimistic about the Chinese."

He glanced at Grant and asked, "Nair, do you want to give him a big contract?"

"I do want to gamble. He gambled himself,

why don't i? ’ Grant laughed.

But in fact, he understands that he is only doing it for self-protection.

The Knicks are likely to change owners this year or next year. James Dowland, the owner of Madison Square Garden, intends to take over the Knicks, and has now entered substantive negotiations. changes.

And he introduced Larry Johnson in this year's trade, and he refused to use Ewing to trade O'Neal. Will you continue to use him?

So, he wants to gamble again.

Anyway, it's not spending his money, why not gamble?

On the morning of the 11th, Knicks boarded a special plane to New York.

At the same time, Zhao Dong's ten-day short contract expired.

On the plane, Grant sat next to him again.

Zhao Dong is a little nervous, because if the Knicks give him a big contract, then his status in the team will rise significantly, and he will have a tactical status. Whether it is playing time or the number of shots, he will rise steadily, and even Get part of the ball distribution.

And the reason why he wants to take a gamble is also for this reason. He needs a higher team status and needs to be trained by the team.

The team's cultivation of potential rookies, in addition to long-term planning, the most important thing is playing time and shooting rights, which is what he needs now.

But if he is only given a basic salary, it means that the team is not betting on his future, then his status in the team is likely to be worse than it is now, and his growth path will be more difficult.

"Feilong, what is your position?" Grant did not take out the contract, but asked such a question.

"position?"

Zhao Dong really wanted to say that I only have the position of the boss in my eyes, but I can't say that, it will scare Grant away. He thought for a while and said:

"My goal is to be like Jordan and beat him."

"..."

Grant's mouth opened wide in an instant, and he couldn't help but wonder if he needed to reconsider his decision, should he gamble on the future of a big mouth?

Uh, Zhao Dong found himself talking about an even more unrealistic positioning, so he immediately added: "Maybe you can give me another ten-day short contract to increase my playing time and shots, and my performance will be better." , and then you decide what kind of contract to give me?"

Grant shrugged his shoulders and thought to himself, there are already many teams and agents eyeing you. Pat Riley has already called me. Do I still dare to give you a short contract?

He is very clear that Zhao Dong has played 15+5 all-round performance in three consecutive games with limited playing time and shots, which has attracted the attention of more teams.

So now, he didn't want to delay at all, and signed the contract as soon as possible to prevent Zhao Dong from being poached.

He took out a contract, handed it to Zhao Dong, and said: "Look, this is a contract comparable to the top five picks, only worse than the contracts of Camby and Iverson. , I believe you will be satisfied."

"Top five?"

Zhao Dong lifted his spirits and immediately opened the contract.

3+1, the total amount reached 10.5 million US dollars, 1.9 million US dollars in the first year, 2.25 million in the second year, 2.85 million in the third year, 3.5 million US dollars in the fourth year, and the team option in the last year.

He is indeed satisfied. With this contract, he made up for the disadvantage of being undrafted. His status in the Knicks is definitely different from what it is now.

"OK, Mr. Grant, when we arrive in New York and find an agent, we can sign the contract."

"OK, I knew you would be satisfied." Grant smiled.

This contract is entirely up to him, without notifying the boss, he alone will bear the consequences, good or bad, and he wants to take a gamble.

Moreover, this contract is only a four-year contract worth tens of millions of dollars, but he doesn't even have to pay for a second-round pick. He thinks it is very cost-effective.

After leaving Zhao Dong, he returned to the front row and sat with Van Gundy.

"Jeff, let's talk about the positioning of the Dragons." He said with a smile.

Now that he has given a big contract, and since he wants to bet on Zhao Dong's future, he must continue to invest resources to train Zhao Dong, and this can only be done through the head coach.

"You really gave him a big contract?" Van Gundy asked in surprise.

Grant nodded: "We need to train him. He has a different position from Larry Johnson. He is the future of the Knicks."

Van Gundy looked at Grant intently. He understood this very well. Grant was asking him to give Zhao Dong more playing time and shooting rights, as well as a tactical position, and even replace Larry Johnson as the main force in the future.

Moreover, this statement represents another point, don't take Larry Johnson's big contract to heart, the future of the team is more important.

"I need more time to observe the Dragons and Larry Johnson. I will only let the more efficient people enter the starting lineup." He thought for a while and said.

As the head coach, he needs to keep his responsibilities, and he can't just do what Grant says.

Grant nodded. He knew Van Gundy's style, defense first, and efficiency first. If the flying dragon's efficiency is higher than Larry Johnson's and the defense can keep up with the team's needs, then everything will be fine.

In fact, Larry Johnson only played the first two games for the Knicks. He only scored 12 points in both games and played less than 30 minutes. Zhao Dong's defensive strength is not as good as Zhao Dong's. He is confident that Zhao Dong can replace Larry Johnson.

Speaking of which, he himself finds it ridiculous. He spent a huge price during the offseason to trade Larry Johnson in, and now he has to give up Larry Johnson for a draft pick.