The Godfather of Basketball

The protection of the top three picks means that if the Kings finally get the top three picks in next year's draft, the pick will still belong to the Kings.

The Cavaliers have a certain risk, but judging from the fact that the teams that have been poor in the past few years often win more than a dozen wins, if the Kings still hit the playoffs at the beginning of the season, the probability of getting the top three picks is not high.

Hickson basically didn't have much chance to play in the Cavaliers, and Thornton performed well, that's because Tang Tian deliberately gave him a lot of chances to play.

Therefore, the departure of these two people did not lose much strength to the Cavaliers.

Just after the deal was concluded, Tang Tian called James to the office.

"Next year's plan remains unchanged, but this season, we need to play our value and continue to hit the playoffs."

In the previous life, both the Kings and the Clippers were lottery picks. Although those sent out will help them improve their strength, the problems of the Kings cannot be solved by a few role players, and Griffin of the Clippers will be reimbursed for the season , It is difficult to make the playoffs in the highly competitive Western Conference.

If there are two lottery picks, he can really win the championship and get a high draft pick at the same time.

The Cavaliers changed their thinking, and Tang Tian also started to play the game seriously.

In the case of controlling playing time, both O'Neal and Rasheed Wallace played well.

With the assistance of two powerful assistant coaches, Casey and Cassel, Tang Tian designed the Heat's tactics for the Cavaliers, and the players adapted very quickly.

In fact, the team's insiders, Rasheed Wallace, Ryan Anderson and Frye are all three-point shooters. If they play with James, the sense of space is obvious. The team's three-pointers The cast is also becoming more and more stable.

On November 9, against the Bucks, James scored a triple-double of 22 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. The Cavaliers made 21 three-pointers, setting a record for three-pointers in team history. The team also defeated the opponent 121-96.

During the game, a conflict broke out between Bucks' Millsap and teammate Bogut, and the Bucks' prospects for the new season are worrying.

Playing against the Nuggets on November 12, Matthews broke out and scored 28 points. The Cavaliers beat their opponents 104 to 93, extending the winning streak to 8 games.

On November 13th, James scored 35 points against the Jazz back-to-back, but the bench misfired, the team lost, and the 8-game winning streak ended.

Playing against the Pistons on November 15, the Cavaliers scored another 16 three-pointers, and the team also defeated the opponent 114-86.

...

After the end of October and the entire month of November, the Cavaliers' record was 13 wins and 4 losses.

Being in the Eastern Conference, Tang Tian really wanted to fight, but it was hard for him to have a bad record.

But after playing the regular season for more than a month, the team also exposed many problems.

The team's internal rebound control is not good, and there is no suitable backup point guard.

In fact, this is also normal. When the team was formed during the offseason, it was completely different from the previous three seasons with the Rockets. It went straight to the ground. If the lineup was okay, it would have failed. .

If you want to adjust the plan at this time, you can only make up for it later.

On December 1, the first day of the Christmas month, the Cavaliers went away to challenge the 76ers.

After arriving in Philadelphia, Tang Tian handed over the training to Casey and Cassel, and then went directly to visit the general manager of the 76ers, Eddie Stefanski.

The 76ers re-signed Iverson this season. They hoped that he could lead the team further, but after a month of games, the team performed extremely badly. So far, the record of 8 wins and 9 losses is not even as good as the same period last season.

Moreover, there are overlapping positions between Louis Williams and Iverson, and there are many contradictions. The prospects for the new season are very pessimistic.

In Stefanski's office, Tang Tian met the general manager.

"Tang, what do you want from me?" Stefanski's attitude was not bad. The 76ers also chased Tang Tian in the summer, but Tang Tian rejected the invitation, and he was able to keep the position of general manager.

"I'm here to bring you a gift." Tang Tian sat down with a smile.

"Gift?" Stefanski was full of curiosity.

"Yes, I know things are not going well for the Sixers right now, and I know why."

Stefanski smiled when he heard this, he knew that Tang Tian was looking for a deal.

"Tell me." He was not in a hurry, and got up to pour Tang Tian a cup of coffee.

The negotiations between the two general managers will always last for some time.

After Tang Tian thanked him, he continued: "The 76ers have hoarded too many shooting guards. AI, Louis Williams, Willie Green, Jody Meeks, if you hoard too many players at one position, But it can easily lead to conflict.”

Stavanski nodded, the alliance should know about this situation.

"Tell me about your trading plan," he continued.

Stavanski is straightforward, and Tang Tian also likes such straightforward people.

"The 2010 first-round pick, for Lou Williams."

"No protection?" Stavanski pressed.

Tang Tian nodded.

If the Cavaliers don't play poorly, they are basically a lottery pick, and there is little need for protection.

Of course, this cannot be said.

"I need Budinger." Stefanski went on to say.

"Eddie, you're robbing."

Although due to the presence of James and Artest, Budinger didn't get much playing time, but in the limited playing time, Budinger proved that he is a very athletic white player, like a Same as the old Barry brothers.

"I can give you a future second round."

"make a deal."

Tang Tian stretched out his hand directly.

As a traverser, even if the value of the draft pick is the second round, it is infinite.

After the two reached an agreement, Stavanski went directly to the team president.

The 76ers are not yet in his hands as a general manager.

That night, the game between the Cavaliers and the 76ers started at Wachovia Center Court.

The arena was full, and the return of Iverson caused the city's ball market to explode. As long as you can see the AI ​​game, the outcome is not the main thing.

The Cavaliers suppressed their opponents from the very beginning.

Iverson's state is not good. He has hit the iron several times from the outside, and his competitive state has declined significantly.

Tang Tian was not surprised.

In his previous life, Iverson was at this age, and after getting older, it was already very difficult to start, let alone last season in the Nuggets, he fought so hard.

At halftime, the Cavaliers led the 76ers 57 to 43.

At the end of the halftime, Louis Williams seemed dissatisfied with Iverson's state, and the two broke out into a rather intense quarrel.

Although not many people noticed because it was a midfielder, this scene still left a very bad feeling for Stavanski who was watching the game from the sidelines.

It seems that it is time to get the management to agree to the transaction plan.