Calabi only found out he had been traded after seeing media reports.
Calabi could feel that he was completely ignored, but he was already used to it. The 35-year-old has completely fallen out of the team's rotation last season. Even in garbage time, the head coach was unwilling to give him too many playing opportunities, but chose to train the team's newcomers. Throughout the season, he only played 24 games.
Calabi was also brilliant when he was young. He was 2.11 meters tall and had a wingspan of 2.29 meters. Such excellent physical condition seemed to tell the world that he was born for basketball.
Calaby entered the NBA as the second overall pick, and in just two years, he won the NBA's shot-blocking title. Although he has never been an All-Star, he has won four blocks, one Defensive Player of the Year, two All-Defensive First Teams, and two All-Defensive Second Teams in his career. But judging from these honors, Calabi is definitely one of the best penalty area defenders in the NBA.
Calabi has a certain scoring ability and can even shoot three-pointers, but because his defensive ability in the penalty area is too good, he has never taken enough shots in his career, and his average data per game has always been Keep it around 10+10.
As an inside player, his weight is relatively light. He is only 235 pounds, which is 107 kilograms. Many forward players are stronger than him. For this reason, he will be more prone to injuries, which will make his brilliant career more difficult. discount.
But it is precisely because of his light weight that Calabi's movements are flexible and quick. With his excellent wingspan, he can switch to defend smaller players and quickly make up defenses. These characteristics are very suitable for the current small ball era. The premise is that Karabi is five years younger.
The physical deterioration of big basketball players is much more serious than that of small players. Five years ago, Calaby won the NBA's block title, but now he only has his height, wingspan and richness accumulated from many years of competition. Due to experience and age, his body is no longer agile, and he cannot jump like he did when he was young. In addition, he is not a strong inside man, so he is allowed to be a blue-collar man who acts as a human shield under the basket. , are somewhat incompetent.
That year, the Nuggets gave Calabi a five-year, $55 million contract. For the then 32-year-old Calabi, it was almost the last pension contract in his career. It's just that Calabi's physical deterioration exceeded the Nuggets' expectations, and as he grew older, frequent injuries also made Calabi's strength continue to suffer, and he was eventually removed from the rotation.
Now Calabi has two years left on his contract worth 23 million. This amount is actually not very high, but for a player who cannot play and can only sit on the sidelines and watch the water dispenser, 23 million in two years is really It's a garbage contract.
Calabi also knows that this is his pension contract, so now he does not intend to compete with young boys for playing opportunities. As long as he can live his life with peace of mind, receive this pension contract, and then retire from the NBA, he will be done. Satisfied.
…
After the transaction, Calabi's agent contacted him immediately.
"The Nuggets actually traded you to the Clippers. There was no news about it before. I only found out about it by watching the news." The agent complained.
"I only found out about it after reading the news. The team hasn't contacted me yet." Calabi paused and then said, "I'm hesitant now whether to go to Los Angeles to report."
"The transaction has already happened, you have no right to refuse." The broker said.
"No, I mean, do I need to go to Los Angeles to report?" Calabi sighed a little depressed: "I think the Clippers will lay off me. I just looked at the Clippers' roster. There are already 17 people, which means they have to let go of two people, and it will be me."
"It's possible. Ronnie and the Clippers had already fallen out over the contract extension, so the Clippers traded Ronnie for a draft pick. And your current contract is no longer tradeable. Value. You still have two years on your contract. Even if you help the team clear up salary space, you still have to wait another year. Rather than doing this, it’s really better to lay you off directly.” The agent did not save any face for Karabi. .
"I'm just waiting for the news that the Clippers will lay off me. I originally thought about playing for two more years and retiring. Now it seems that I don't even have to play this season and will retire early." Karabi said. Full of helplessness.
After ending the call with his agent, Calabi sat alone in the living room, recalling the glorious moments in his career, as if he was saying goodbye to basketball.
The phone rang suddenly. It was an unfamiliar phone number. Karabi didn't think about it and just chose to answer it out of habit.
"Is this Karabi?" the other party asked.
"Yes, I am Karabi, who are you?" Karabi asked lukewarmly.
"I'm Dai Li, the head coach of the Clippers. I think you know me, right?" the other party said.
Calabi was suddenly shocked.
"It's Clippers coach Dai Li. Is he going to personally notify me that I'm being laid off?" Calabi thought to himself.
However, Dai Li on the other end of the phone said: "I think you already know that you have been traded to the Clippers, so I want to ask, when will you come to Los Angeles to report?"
"Going to Los Angeles to report?" Calabi was surprised again.
"Listen to this, don't the Clippers plan to lay off me?" Calabi realized this.
Dai Li continued: "If possible, I hope you can come to Los Angeles earlier. I have developed a training plan for you, which may be able to help you get back to your youthful state."
…
"From November this year to April next year, there is a total of six months of regular season time. The playoffs will end in June next year, which means that a team will start from the beginning of the season to the end of the playoffs. , a total of eight months of competition.”
Dai Li said and wrote the number "8" on the paper.
"According to the calculation formula of the age reduction card, if the duration is eight months, you need to be five years old. Karabi is 35 years old this year, and if you reduce your age by five years, you will have the physical level of a 30-year-old. If I remember correctly, five years ago Calaby is still the NBA’s shot-blocking leader!”
Thinking of this, Dai Li couldn't help laughing.
For other teams, the current Calabi cannot run fast, jump high, and is often injured. He is indeed a useless person. But if Li Dai uses an age reduction card on Calabi to make his body five years younger, then Calabi will still be Even at his peak, he was still the feared "shot-blocking king" in the penalty area.
"In the trade with the Nuggets, everyone thought I was getting a first-round pick, but in fact, Calabi was my biggest gain!"