The Pope of Basketball Community

The 2003 second-round picks had many outstanding role players, including Pachulia, Steve Blake, Willie Green, Mo Williams, Bogans, Korver and others. All are very low.

If the Wizards management contacts Yang Rui and lets him make the decision, he will definitely choose one of them, and it will be OK to change to a higher pick. The Wizards did not move forward and selected Chinese insider Xue Yuyang with the 26th pick in the second round.

Unseld felt that he had done a good job, because this was a choice made after management discussion. Scouts, assistant managers and others were involved. Yang Rui certainly couldn't say anything.

By selecting a Chinese player in the second round, as long as Yang Rui trains Xue Yuyang into a good role player, he can attract fans and open up the Chinese market. The Wizards may also become the home team in the minds of Chinese fans.

Last season, Chinese fans paid attention to the Wizards, which made the entire management see business opportunities.

Yang Rui knew that this draft pick was invalid because Xue Yuyang never landed in the NBA.

This is an unlucky kid. Before the draft started, the Basketball Association publicly expressed its approval for Xue Yuyang to participate in the draft. However, after he was selected, the Basketball Association accused Xue Yuyang and his agent of violating regulations.

It is estimated that the person in charge of the Basketball Association at the time thought that Xue Yuyang would not be selected and it was just a fake favor, but he did not expect that the fake would come true. Xue Yuyang was hit hard and continued to decline in the following days.

After the draft, Yang Rui seemed to have disappeared, ignoring the draft and continuing to play in Los Angeles.

His actions made Unseld confused. He didn't understand why this happened, and all the explanations he had thought of were useless. He returned to Washington after the draft and reported the situation to Pauline immediately.

"Boss, I think things are very strange. Normally, he should ask questions, but now he seems not to care about the team's title defense at all. Do you want me to go to Los Angeles and talk to him?"

"What are we talking about? When Jordan meets him, he will definitely not say anything nice about us. He is deliberately trying to show us off, trying to put on airs. If you go to him, he might make some bad demands." Paulin didn't. Good luck.

In fact, Jordan only expressed his gratitude to Yang Rui and basically didn't mention the Wizards. It was a foregone conclusion, and Jordan didn't want to talk nonsense. In addition, Jordan also wanted to invite Yang Rui to gamble in Las Vegas, but Yang Rui had never been interested in gambling and refused.

Unseld asked, "What should I do?"

"After the free market opens, you will have a meeting to discuss transactions. It is only reasonable for everyone to participate. Ignore Jerry Young. This kid is too arrogant. He won the championship without thanking us.

If he wants to defend his title with the Wizards, he must first figure out whose team this is. Pauline sneered.

Unseld nodded and immediately promised. "I will sign another star to ensure that the lineup is stronger than last season."

Neither of them knew that they would not be able to pass Yang Rui's test.

On July 1, the free market opened, and two major things happened in the league immediately.

Lakers All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal announced that he will return to the East and join the Heat on a free contract with a five-year, $120 million contract. Since the two parties did not sign first and then trade, the Lakers got nothing and let go of the super center for nothing.

Since the Lakers were eliminated by the Spurs in the playoffs, Jeanie Buss and Phil Jackson have begun to force the team to break up the OK team.

The Lakers management is divided into two groups. "Zen Master" and his girlfriend firmly support "Shark" O'Neal, and suggest renewing O'Neal with a maximum salary in the summer, building a team with him as the core, trading Kobe, and exchanging other stars.

Jackson always disliked Kobe and said he could not be coached. Jackson had previously wanted to trade Kobe with the Suns for Kidd and Marion, believing that as long as they traded, the Lakers might win five consecutive championships.

The deal was rejected by the Lakers management, and then Kidd was sent to the Nets, where he performed well. Marion also became an All-Star, scoring 20+10 in the Suns.

Jackson's vision is still very accurate. If the Lakers were traded in 2001, the lineup would be really strong.

This time, "Zen Master"'s plan to trade Kobe was vetoed by Buss. Although Jerry Buss is old, he is the one who can make the decision on this team. He believes that O'Neal is old, his condition has begun to decline, and he is likely to become a junk contract in the future. Although Kobe has many shortcomings, his advantage lies in his youth. At least he will not decline in the next five years and his competitive status is at its peak.

O'Neal made it clear that his relationship with Kobe was broken. When he was without me, Pat Riley of the Heat waited for an opportunity to extend an olive branch.

The conditions offered by the Heat were very attractive. The team selected high-ranking rookie Dwyane Wade, who is known as 193CM Jordan and looks very promising.

The Heat also have star swingman Eddie Jones, Caron Butler, who ranked second in last season's Rookie of the Year selection, and outstanding blue-collar inside man Brian Grant.

As long as O'Neal joins, the team can immediately hit the championship. The Heat's only weakness is the point guard. After O'Neal joins, they may also attract veterans in the free market.

O'Neal wanted a championship to slap the Lakers and Kobe in the face. He felt that the team's victory in 2001 was his own credit. The reason why they failed to win consecutive championships is because the Lakers' outside line is not good enough.

"Shark" left directly after discussing with his agent.

As a result, "Zen Master"'s position in the team became very embarrassing, he lost his star player, and his relationship with Kobe was very bad.

Jackson's contract with the Lakers has one year left to expire, and the triangle offense will no longer be able to play, and the record will definitely decline next season. Judging from the situation when O'Neal is absent, if they cannot introduce stars in the summer, they may not even make the playoffs.

O'Neal's departure did not bring all benefits. His character was questioned by the media and fans.

This is O'Neal's second defection, leaving nothing behind for his old club. Of course, everyone can understand O'Neal's choice. He wants to go to other teams to win the championship. Is there any reason to weaken the new team's strength and benefit the Lakers?

Another big thing is that the Wizards offered Warriors rising point guard Gilberto Arenas a six-year, $63.7 million contract and hired him into the team.

At the same time, the Wizards sent rookie Barbosa to the Suns in exchange for a future first-round pick.

With Arenas and the powerful David Wesley, the Wizards have a stronger No. 1 position. The management does not plan to renew Tyronn Lue's contract, and there is no room for Barbosa.

The signing went smoothly. The Warriors exceeded the salary cap and were unable to match the contract. They could only offer Arenas a mid-level contract.

Just when people were looking forward to how strong the attack of Arenas, Hamilton, and Stoudemire would be next season, Yang Rui held a press conference in Los Angeles and said that he had something important to announce.

Reporters from all over the country rushed to Los Angeles, and Yang Rui created big news as soon as he opened his mouth: "Inviting everyone here today, I want to explain something very important. Due to the breach of contract by the Wizards management, I will leave the Wizards and go through legal procedures. Ask them to pay due liquidated damages."

A sports reporter from Washington was stunned and asked in disbelief: "Are you going to give up the chance to defend your title and sue the Wizards?"

"Yes, you heard it right, Abel Paulin will soon receive a court summons, and our relationship is over!"