The Lakers' lineup in the 2012-2013 season was extremely strong on paper. They acquired Howard through a four-way trade before the start of the season, and then introduced Nash, plus the original Kobe and Gasol, to form a New "F4" combination. In addition, there are experienced veterans such as Ci Shiping, Blake, and Jamison, as well as energetic newcomers like Jordan Hill. It can be said that from the beginning of the season, they are aiming for the championship.
Such a lineup is obviously prepared for "Zen Master" Phil Jackson, with big center Howard, top passer Nash, big man Gasol who can play both inside and outside, and the most comprehensive player in the NBA, Kobe Bryant. This is a good template for the "triangle offense". What is missing is Phil Jackson.
However, the conditions proposed by "Zen Master" were unacceptable to the Lakers. Phil Jackson wanted to enter the Lakers' management, but the Buss family did not allow Phil Jackson to enter the Lakers' management. Therefore, this lineup was prepared for Phil Jackson, but without Phil Jackson to host it, "F4" did not produce corresponding chemical changes.
Without recruiting the "Zen Master" professional coach, the Lakers could only continue to retain professional coach Mike Brown, and then they had zero wins and eight losses in the preseason, and one win and four losses in the regular season.
The goal of the Lakers' "F4" team is to win a championship ring. How can such a scumbag record be possible! So on November 9, the Lakers management fired coach Mike Brown and replaced him with running and gun master D'Antoni.
Although D'Antoni's coaching level is not weak, it absolutely cannot save the current Lakers. Under D'Antoni's leadership, the Lakers are at best back in the playoffs, and are far away from the championship.
In fact, in the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers' "F4" combination was swept 4-0 by the Spurs. Immediately after Howard left the Lakers to join the Rockets, the Lakers' "F4" also fell apart.
What the Lakers faced was not just Howard's departure. In the following 2013-2014 season, injuries became the Lakers' biggest enemy.
First of all, the Lakers star Kobe Bryant ruptured his Achilles tendon last season and did not participate in the playoffs. On December 9, 2013, Kobe finally returned to the game, but on December 18 against the Grizzlies , was nudged by Tony Allen, and then announced an eight-week truce. In fact, I am just saying this to sell tickets. Kobe's injury may not be able to recover in three months, let alone eight weeks.
The house leaked and it rained all night. In addition to Kobe, another star Nash has also been troubled by his back and is almost always resting.
Gasol's situation is not much better. Although there is no major injury, he has constant minor injuries and has never been able to play at the same level as in previous years.
The bench did not give the Lakers any peace of mind. Meeks, Jordan Hill, Nick Young, and Farmar were also constantly injured. The Los Angeles Lakers simply became a wounded camp!
…
In the early morning of February 5, 2014.
The Lakers' plane was flying from Minneapolis to Cleveland.
In the evening, they had just finished an away game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the end, the Lakers lost to the Timberwolves 99-109.
But this is just the beginning of the Lakers' road trip. They have to play back-to-back away games, and the opponent in the next game is the Cavaliers. This kind of back-to-back situation of playing the Eastern and Western teams respectively is very tiring. Fortunately, Minnesota to Ohio, where the Cavaliers are located, is actually not very far. But the Lakers still had to fly to Cleveland overnight.
At this time, the players had all fallen asleep. After all, after a night of fierce fighting, they had exhausted a lot of energy, but as the head coach, D'Antoni couldn't sleep.
"16 wins and 32 losses!" D'Antoni looked at this poor result with bitterness on his face. This result is not to mention entering the playoffs. If we are not last in the Western Conference, it will be very good.
"That's fine. Next year, I will definitely be able to get a lottery pick. But next year, I won't be the head coach of the Lakers!" D'Antoni smiled mockingly.
For D'Antoni, the issue of record is not the most important. The current urgent matter is that D'Antoni has no one available.
Due to injuries, D'Antoni only has eight people available, and they are still old and young. Thackeray, who sat at the end of the bench last season, has been mentioned as the starting center, and first-year rookie Kane Kelly is expected to serve as the starting power forward. Sacre and Kelly, one is the 60th pick and the other is the 48th pick. Among other NBA teams, they are both marginal players who can be waived at any time, but in the current Lakers, they have to serve as starters !
"This game is unplayable!" D'Antoni sighed.
"Ding ding ding..." The phone rang suddenly. It was the satellite phone on the plane.
D'Antoni was a little surprised. It was already early in the morning, and someone still didn't hesitate to call the satellite phone. This must be such an important matter to do this.
The flight attendant answered the phone, then came to D'Antoni and said, "It's Mr. Bass calling."
The old Buss has passed away. Among the Lakers, the only person who can be called "Mr. Buss" is the current Lakers president, Jim Buss.
"Why did Bass call at this time? Was he dissatisfied with the result of the game just now? He should have known about it a few hours ago! Was he going to fire me? Impossible, if that's true If you fire me, you won't do it in the away game. You will definitely come back to Los Angeles." D'Antoni stepped forward and answered the phone with a confused look on his face.
"Hey, my dear coach, I'm very sorry to disturb your rest." Bass looked very excited, and he continued: "I have great news to tell you, our savior is here!"
"Savior? What savior?" D'Antoni asked in confusion.
"Zhang Guan! It's Zhang Guan! I have reached an agreement with Zhang Guan. He is willing to sign with the Lakers! He should be on his way to Los Angeles now. He will probably arrive during the day. As soon as the procedures are completed, he will be our player. A member of the team!" Bass shouted excitedly.
"Zhang Guan..." D'Antoni repeated the name, and at the same time, different pictures appeared in his mind.
Six years ago, in the Olympic finals, Zhang Guan's three-pointer defeated the US team. At the time, D'Antoni was the assistant coach of the US team and he witnessed that scene with his own eyes.
Four years ago, in the finals of the World Championships in Turkey, Zhang Guan single-handedly dragged the game into overtime, then the second overtime, the third overtime, and the fourth overtime. In the match... The American team was tired one after another, but Zhang Guan ran tirelessly on the court like a machine. Coach K even used a wheel battle to deal with Zhang Guan, but in the end the American team was defeated by Zhang Guan! D'Antoni was still the main coach of the US team at the time, and he witnessed that scene again, a scene that shocked him throughout his life!
The current Lakers team cannot be saved even if James comes in person, but D'Antoni believes that if it is Zhang Guan, he can definitely save the Lakers team!
At this moment, D'Antoni's heart was suddenly filled with hope.
On the other side of the phone, Buss Jr. continued: "With Zhang Guan's level, it is not an exaggeration to get the league's maximum salary, but after all, he is also one of the shareholders of the Lakers and does not want us to pay too much luxury tax, so I only offered a symbolic salary of US$10 million.”
If it is other players, they may not be able to earn an annual salary of tens of millions in their lifetime, but for Zhang Guan, an annual salary of tens of millions is really just symbolic. If it is lower, it is not in line with his status.
In fact, Zhang Guan is not short of this little money. With Zhang Guan's worth, there is no difference between 10 million and 20 or 30 million. Not only the salary of NBA players, seven figures and eight figures are two completely different perceptions. Getting an eight-figure annual salary is more like a kind of respect for Zhang Guan.
Although the NBA is a business, respecting star players is also necessary. There is only one stingy and shameless Pat Riley, and there is only one Morey who is good at calculating with a calculator. Cuban offered Nowitzki a $25 million pension contract. This kind of money to buy horse bones is what more bosses are willing to do.
However, D'Antoni said: "Mr. Chairman, please allow me to remind you that we are paying the luxury tax now. It has exceeded the salary cap, and Zhang Guan does not apply to the Larry Bird clause, let alone a Ten million, even one dollar, we can’t sign it!”
"Don't worry, I have applied for an injury exception to the NBA headquarters. We have so many injured players this year. A 10 million injury exception can be exchanged for Zhang Guan to join the NBA. This deal is very cost-effective. Silver, who just took office, will give it to us," Bass said.
…
NBA Commissioner David Stern has retired, and his successor Silver successfully took office on February 1 and became the new NBA Commissioner.
However, early in the morning, Silver received a call from Buss himself. The Lakers requested a $10 million injury exception.
"A ten million dollar injury exception?" Xiao Hua frowned slightly. He felt that Bass's request was a little too much.
"All of them are star-level players with an annual salary of tens of millions of dollars. If it works properly, a few multi-party transactions can be exchanged for a superstar with a level of 20 million dollars! What are the Lakers going to do? This guy Buss is too You must be greedy! Do you think I am easy to bully when I just take office?" Xiao Hua thought to himself.
Historically, the Lakers also applied for an injury exception after Nash was scrapped. At that time, the NBA gave the Lakers an injury exception of 4.85 million, which was equivalent to a mid-level contract. A mid-level player may help improve the team's performance, but it will never have a qualitative impact.
If you want to make a qualitative leap in the team's performance, you still have to rely on stars, big-name stars, and superstars!
"Bass, we have known each other for many years, so I won't beat around the bush with you. To be honest, it's really hard for me to agree to your request. Ten million injury exceptions are too many. I can't Let me give you an injury exception of mid-level value." Xiao Hua continued: "Besides, today is already February 5th, and there are only a dozen days left before the trade deadline. Every team wants to hit the playoffs. , it is unlikely to trade their stars, at most they will trade some role players. If you want a tens-million-level injury exception, it is really a waste. It is better to ask for a mid-level injury exception, which will be more A better deal!”
"Middle class? That's not enough!" Bass said immediately.
"You're right. With the current situation of the Lakers, a mid-level player won't be of much help. So I suggest you just forget about it this season! The Lakers don't hold the draft rights for next season. Do you have it in your hand? You can have a lottery pick by then! The quality of this year's rookies is much better than the last one." Xiao Hua said, but he was obviously wrong.
"You misunderstood, I want this injury exception, not to trade players, I want to sign new players!" Bass said.
"Sign a new player? Ten million?" Xiao Hua thought about it carefully, but he never thought of any other player worth ten million US dollars in the free agent market. It's already February, and the NBA's trade window is about to close. Even useless guys like Odom have gone to Europe to hunt for gold. In the NBA's free agent market, the rest are just some " A player with the level of "fighting against the five scum".
"Buzz must have encountered a fraud group, right?" Xiao Hua muttered in his heart, and asked at the same time: "Who are you going to sign?"
"Zhang Guan!" Bass said impatiently: "Yes, it's the Zhang Guan you thought of!"
"Zhang Guan! He is willing to come to the NBA!" Xiao Hua screamed.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
It wasn't until more than ten seconds later that Xiao Hua came back to his senses. He then asked: "Is the $10 million injury exception enough? Do you want to add more?"
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(End of chapter)