The Pope of Basketball Community

At the end of May, the lottery for the 2oo2nBa draft ended.

There was no upset. The Knicks relied on the worst record in the Eastern Conference to get the No. 1 pick. Due to its high commercial value, as long as the team manager is not wrong, Yao Ming will definitely be selected as the No. 1 pick. Many New York fans immediately welcomed Yao Ming online, and experts also believe that he can become the new inside pillar of the Knicks.

Only Yang Rui is a little worried about Yao Ming's future. He hopes that the Knicks can send Sprewell away in the summer. Being teammates with such a psychopath when he first entered the league will definitely affect the players' mentality.

Moreover, the Knicks also have Ben Wallace inside, and Yao Ming and Ben are paired inside... The scene is so beautiful. You can't have a 2-meter big man in the paint blocking shots and grabbing rebounds, while Yao Ming goes out to defend pick-and-rolls, right? On the contrary, if Yao Ming is responsible for resisting people at the basket and Ben goes out to defend pick-and-rolls, then the data will be gone, it will be difficult to reach double figures in rebounds, and it will be difficult to enter the All-Star Game.

There are also benefits to Yao Ming joining the Knicks. On the one hand, he has high exposure, and on the other hand, the team is not short of money. As long as Yao Ming becomes the core of the team in the future, the boss will definitely find him good teammates and good substitutes, and he will not be as tired as he was with the Rockets. Of course, it may also be to find a group of highly paid but incompetent partners.

The Cavaliers were selected second overall, and it would be difficult for them to turn around before selecting a top star.

The Warriors won the third overall pick with the worst record in the Western Conference.

The Wizards are only 12th in the Eastern Conference, failing to draw the top three picks, and the eighth pick is not bad.

Michael Jordan called Yang Rui and communicated with him on behalf of the management. Now the Wizards are preparing for next season. Coach Doug Collins has retired, making room for Yang Rui.

"Jerry, do you want to trade another round pick before the draft?" Jordan's original intention of looking for Yang Rui was to take a fancy to his ability to build a team. This season, the Wizards will leave most of their players and need new players.

Yang Rui had a plan: "We don't need too many draft picks. We have to strive for results next season and try our best to trade and sign players in the free market. There are too many rookies to train. Let's trade for a second-round draft pick, preferably the top three. Adding the No. 8 pick is enough."

Jordan was silent for a moment, feeling inappropriate. "Is it okay to only choose three newcomers?"

"Two rookies are enough. I will select one of the best rookies for the Wizards. The Wizards' second-round pick can be traded away because the team lacks defensive elite inside. If this problem is not solved, the team will not be able to make it to the playoffs next season. Too far gone. Draft day, I need a trade."

"Say it."

"Trade Hubert Davis and a second-round pick for Kings forward Gerald Wallace.

He was a marginal player in the Kings last season, so he can definitely be exchanged for him. If the Kings add cash, the salary should be equal. Whoever they want, we'll give them in the second round. "Yang Rui replied.

"That guy who participated in the slam dunk contest? Isn't he a small forward? The offense is so bad, how can I have someone like this as my substitute?" Jordan immediately felt unreliable.

Yang Rui explained with a smile: "Michael, he is not your substitute, he is a substitute for the No. 4 position. I will let him play power forward. His strength can withstand most No. 4 positions. When it comes to fast breaks, no power forward can Run faster than him."

"..." Jordan thought for a while and stopped refuting.

Ben Wallace, who is 2 meters tall, has publicly thanked Yang Rui. He can play center at 2 meters tall. Of course, Gerald Wallace, who is 2 feet 1cm, has no problem playing power forward. He showed amazing physical fitness in the slam dunk contest and defeated Francis to advance to the finals.

"Any other requests?" Jordan asked.

"Not yet. When the free market opens, I will provide a complete list of signings. Don't worry, I have a plan. The Wizards will definitely enter the playoffs next season. I have even thought about the tactics."

"Okay, I'll wait for you. I wish you success in defeating the Lakers and winning another championship." Jordan smiled.

"Haha, that's for sure."

Yang Rui indeed has a plan to build a team around Jordan. Jordan is the core of the team. If he wants to ensure offensive efficiency, he must use organization forward tactics. Since they are not pulled out from the inside to provide support, they cannot use Princeton like the Raptors, and some changes must be made.

The key to change is to have players who fit the system, players who can run. Gerald Wallace is an important part of the team. He is called "The Lifeless Sakuragi" by some Chinese fans. As a person who often slams dunks, his physical fitness is beast-level, and he can exert more power when playing power forward than small forward.

When he was with the Bobcats, Gerrard had 18.2 points and 10 rebounds in his peak season. Height was not an issue at all. A guy who is a good defender plays power forward and can break through with the ball. Even if he misses the shot, it will be enough for the opponent.

The season is not over yet. Yang Rui still has to focus on the finals with the Lakers. Due to four extra days of rest, everyone in the Raptors is fully prepared. The coaching staff has conveyed everything that needs to be said to the players. The rest The only thing is to play on the field.

The Raptors arranged closed training and did not accept media interviews, and the Lakers did the same. Both teams are holding back their big moves.

In 2000, Yang Rui asked Christie to challenge Kobe before the game to disrupt the mentality of the "OK group". This season he did not use the same method. Reed and Carter couldn't guard Kobe, so he would send Kirilenko to defend him. Kirilenko was not good at English and had to bring a translator whenever he provoked.

Yang Rui and Kirilenko have very little communication this year, and they both love and hate the Russian. His basketball talent is not inferior to the top forwards in the league, or even better, but his language talent is so bad that it is indescribable. After a season, he still can only speak simple words and can't understand much.

There are some news from his past life that Yang Rui has forgotten, otherwise he would be more convinced of Kirilenko.

In the 2007 Jazz playoffs against the Rockets, Kirilenko performed poorly. His wife, Martha, was interviewed and believed that the problem between her husband and coach Sloan was that his English was not good enough.

Martha said: "It's disappointing, his English is not very good. Sometimes he can't express what he wants to say, maybe he needs a translator."

She also mentioned that Yao Ming always has a translator by his side. "Maybe we'll hire one too. There's a language barrier between the coach and him, it seems like there's some misunderstanding between them."

In fact, Yao Ming no longer needs an interpreter in his second season in the league, and he often says humorous things during interviews. Kirilenko joined NBA a year earlier and communication was not good yet.

Therefore, Yang Rui has always arranged very simple tactics for Kirilenko. He only has three things to do in the team, cut to the basket, catch and shoot, and defend the opponent's outside core.

After regular season training, Kirilenko gradually integrated into the team. Even if there was no translator during training, Yang Rui only needed to tell him "defend Kobe," "defend Pierce," and "defend Tracy McGrady," and he knew exactly what he should do.

As for the inside competition, the Raptors don't need to provoke O'Neal. All teams use shark-cutting tactics to deal with the Lakers. Yang Rui only needs to prepare a few human shields.

Yang Rui used Jalen Collins to play in the garbage time of the previous series to accumulate experience in the playoffs so that he would not be unable to let go. He will definitely play in the finals this time.

In the team, Jaren has been practicing low-post defense, and Jerome James will learn O'Neal's playing style of turning around and shooting from both sides. What he has to do is to foul in time to avoid being beaten 2+1.

On the evening of June 2, the finals began.