Dai Li continued to check the Clippers' player information.
The Clippers' highest-paid player is currently named Wood, a point guard who is currently recuperating from an injury.
Wood entered the NBA as the No. 1 pick in the draft. The starting point of his NBA career was with the Chicago Bulls, and his performance was indeed worthy of being the "No. 1 pick." During his rookie contract period, he showed the temperament of a leader. , entered the All-Star bench in the second year of his career, won the regular season MVP at the age of 22, was also the youngest MVP in NBA history, and was selected to the All-Season First Team.
This outstanding performance allowed Wood to receive a five-year, $153 million super-maximum contract after the end of his rookie contract. The NBA even changed the signing rules for this purpose.
However, injuries ruined this superstar. An accidental injury caused Wood to tear his cruciate ligament. After recovering from the injury, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee, and then tore the meniscus of his right knee. The youngest player at that time The MVP has become a glass man.
More importantly, continuous injuries caused Wood's condition to decline greatly. He lost his speed, explosive power, and physical confrontation. The sharp breakthroughs he relied on for survival also disappeared. The original Wood, with his excellent physical fitness, even He can be so explosive that he can force a breakthrough for a layup, but now, even in basic one-on-one defense, his opponent will force a breakthrough.
There is no doubt that Wood, the superstar, has completely fallen, and the five-year, $153 million contract he signed that year has become one of the best junk contracts in the NBA.
The Bulls naturally hope to get rid of this huge garbage contract. After a series of efforts, the Clippers, who have relatively more salary space, accepted this garbage contract and at the same time got a young player with good potential and a young player from the Bulls. A first-round pick, a second-round pick and some cash.
After Wood came to the Clippers, he was injured in training without playing a game in the new season. Wood is still recovering from his injury. According to previous news given by the Clippers, Wood's injury will not recover until at least the summer. , which means that he is still in a state of reimbursement this season.
Wood's salary, including this year and two years left, exceeds $30 million each year. In other words, if the Clippers don't lay off Wood, they will have to wait at least one more season to get rid of Wood's junk contract.
"One Wood takes up more than 30 million of the team's salary space, which is almost equivalent to blocking the Clippers' way of recruiting." Dai Li shook his head helplessly.
Under this situation, the Clippers don't have much salary space to pay high salaries to other players, and the team's record is so bad that the stars don't want to join. The prospects are very bleak.
Dai Li checked the Bulls' record again. The Chicago Bulls are currently ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference. They are ten games ahead of eighth in the Eastern Conference. There will definitely be no problem entering the playoffs. This also means that the first-round pick that the Clippers traded from the Bulls will be ranked outside the 20th pick. Generally, a pick at this pick can only select a qualified role player who can Select a player who can play in the starting lineup, and you can burn a lot of money.
The potential player who was traded with Wood was named Ronnie, who was 2.03 meters tall and served as a forward. He was selected with the 23rd overall pick in the first round and is now in the last year of his rookie contract.
Ronnie is a very qualified 3D player. When he was with the Bulls, Ronnie was a very important member of the team. As the Bulls' top substitute, he averaged 12.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 rebounds per game. Assists, shooting 42% from the field, and 36% from the three-point range. For a player on a rookie contract, this is considered very potential.
The Clippers also took a fancy to Ronnie's potential, so they were willing to take over Wood's junk contract. After joining the Clippers, Ronny also became the team's starting small forward. His playing time and number of shots have increased, and his scoring average has also increased to 18.8 points per game, and he has become the core of this Clippers team. core players.
However, Wood is not the Clippers' leading scorer. The Clippers' leading scorer is 32-year-old veteran Naismith. As a defender, Naismith averages 22.6 points and 5.3 assists per game. This data is very good. , but it cannot bring the team victory.
Naismith once won the NBA's Best Sixth Man. His singles ability is very strong, but his defense is relatively weak. He is a typical player who is strong in offense and weak in defense. And the most important thing is that Naismith's stability is relatively poor. If the feel comes, he can compete with the superstars in the NBA. If the feel is poor, it is normal for him to hit the iron for more than ten consecutive shots. To put it simply, Naismith is a "nerve knife".
This kind of "nerve knife" type of player can only supplement the team's firepower, and is destined to fail to become the core of a team.
In terms of inside, it is the weakest link of the Clippers currently. The team's original starting center and starting power forward are all injured, so the Clippers can only partner with role players and "water cooler managers" inside. One of them is a second-round pick, and the other is a non-draft player. . This type of player is very precarious in the NBA. It's a blessing to find a team willing to take them in every season. And because the Clippers are short of major generals, they can actually be in the starting lineup.
Dai Li looked over the Clippers' injury situation again, and his expression became even more embarrassing.
"Of the fifteen players, five are currently injured, and two more are on the daily observation list. In total, there are only eight completely healthy players, and these eight include three The 'water cooler manager' who usually just enters the rotation. With so many injuries, if I take over the Clippers, the first thing I will do is fire the current team doctor!"
Then Dai Li began to check the Clippers' upcoming schedule.
The Clippers have played a total of 46 games so far, with a record of 16 wins and 30 losses, and there are still 36 games left to play. Dai Li took out a paper and pen and classified the Clippers' opponents for the next 36 games.
The first category is the top two teams in the East and West. They are all teams that have firmly entered the playoffs, and the teams have won more games. The home court advantage in the playoffs can definitely be maintained. However, the top two teams in the East and West are all teams that have the potential to win the championship. They are so strong that the Clippers simply cannot beat them.
The second category is the third to sixth place in the East and West. They can also enter the playoffs, but they may not have the home court advantage, so in the next 36 games, they will definitely fight to get the home court of the playoffs. Fighting for advantage, they will not give up easily. When the Clippers meet them, it will definitely be a difficult battle.
The third category is the teams ranked seventh to twelfth in the East and West. They are teams on the edge of the playoffs. If they win a few more games, they can enter the playoffs, but if they lose a few games, they may be in the playoffs. Unable to enter the playoffs, for these teams, the closer to the end of the season, the more desperate they will be. For a weak team like the Clippers, they must win their opponents, so the Clippers encounter They will definitely not have any good fruits to eat.
The fourth category is bad teams. At this point in NBA games, in order to get higher draft picks, many teams have begun to play bad. These teams don’t want to win at all. The Clippers encountered them. , but you can win the game with your adult beauty.
"For the mid- and lower-tier teams, the second half of the NBA schedule is much more difficult than the first half. First, after half a season of competition, all teams have completed their running-in, and some capable teams have begun to truly Secondly, in order to hit the playoffs, or to gain home court advantage in the playoffs, the team will be more serious about the game, and they will not easily overturn on the underdogs. So I accept the fast The next thirty or so games after the fleet will probably be very difficult to play. What a headache!”
Dai Li rubbed his temples with a depressed expression.
…
The news of the Clippers' change of ownership was quickly learned by reporters and then appeared in the media.
Immediately afterwards, NBA officials also announced the acquisition of the Clippers by Chinese-owned Dingtian Sports.
For the entire NBA, this can be said to be a shot in the arm. The negative impact originally caused by racial discrimination has been reversed in an instant.
The NBA has been coveting the Chinese market for a long time. Now Dingtian Sports' acquisition of the Clippers will obviously help the NBA expand into the Chinese market.
The owners of the other 29 teams all welcomed the acquisition of Dingtian Sports. They are all beneficiaries of NBA expansion.
The same goes for NBA players. Some NBA players have been sponsored by Chinese sports brands and have benefited from it. Naturally, other players also hope to get a piece of the Chinese market.
The happiest people are the Clippers players. None of them are stars, and they usually don't get high-dollar advertising contracts, so they need to pay attention to them. The "water cooler managers" in the Clippers have even begun to think that if they don't have a ball to play in the NBA next season, they will go to the CBA to earn a living.
…
Los Angeles Clippers.
Assistant coach Cassell parked his car in the underground parking garage and walked into the elevator with his head held high.
Due to the resignation of the previous black coach, Cassel is currently taking the temporary position of head coach of the team. With the completion of the change of ownership of Dingtian Group, Cassel also feels that he has ushered in a new opportunity.
"Wait a minute!" Just as the elevator door was about to close, a person ran over quickly. Cassell pressed the elevator door button and reopened the elevator door. Only then did he see the team doctor running over. .
The team doctor walked into the elevator, then showed a flattering expression and said, "Coach Cassel, congratulations."
"Congratulations? Why?" Cassel asked, but there was a sense of knowingly asking in his tone.
"The team is about to usher in a new owner. I guess Coach Cassel will be officially promoted to head coach." The team doctor paused and then said: "More than half of the games this season have been played, the team The record is not satisfactory, and there are still more than thirty games left. I think that at least for this season, our new boss will not be able to re-hire a new head coach, so you will inevitably be promoted to the team's head coach. Of course I want to congratulate you!"
"I hope so!" Cassel said, but there was a sense of confidence in his words.
In Cassell's view, the team doctor's analysis was simply too correct. The Clippers' record is so bad and the situation for this season has been finalized. It's already so bad anyway. There is no need for the new owner to spend extra money to hire It is imperative for the new coach to correct himself as the "acting coach".
If he can become the head coach of the Clippers, it will only be in the second half of the season, which will also add a lot of points to Cassel's resume. If his performance in leading the team is better, he may be able to sit on the head coach in the future. Coach's position.
The elevator stopped, and Cassell and the team doctor walked out of the elevator. However, people nearby cast a special look.
This kind of gaze made Cassel feel a little uncomfortable, and he even had a premonition that something might happen.
Cassel walked into the coach's locker room. The three trainers were talking quietly about something. When they saw Cassel, their expressions suddenly changed. One of them even hid something behind his back.
"What are you looking at?" Cassel asked.
"Nothing..." The person who answered smiled awkwardly, and then said: "Mr. Cassel, the weather is really nice today!"
Cassel felt that the other party was deliberately changing the subject. He was sensitive to the fact that what they were talking about just now and what they were hiding behind might be related to him.
Cassel suddenly felt a little angry. He was about to become the team's head coach and the most authoritative person in the team. How could he tolerate this kind of thing.
Cassel snorted coldly, then walked over with a straight face and directly pushed the man hiding the thing aside.
There was a newspaper on the chair behind the man.
"It's just a newspaper, what's there to hide?" Cassel picked up the newspaper with some confusion, and then he saw the title above:
"New Clippers owner: We will hire Lawrence's best coach Dai Li as the head coach of the Clippers"
"The best coach in Lawrence? Is it the Chinese Li? Isn't he the track and field coach? Does he know basketball?" Cassel couldn't help shouting.