This Forward is Not Serious

While chatting, Lin Ying received a call from Nene.

Although the contact in recent years has been less than before, as teammates who played together in Denver, we still have contact occasionally.

"Lin, I'm coming to Brooklyn!"

Nene's tone couldn't hide the excitement and joy.

Lin Ying was also very happy after hearing this.

Unknowingly, Nene has become a veteran, and he is no longer a starting-level insider due to injuries and age.

However, it still has very good immediate combat effectiveness.

Moreover, as former teammates, the two have not had a chance to work together since Denver left.

Now that the Nets are short of people inside, his addition is undoubtedly a timely help, because Zhou Qi will definitely not be qualified to serve as Jokic's substitute during his rookie season.

But if Nene arrives, he will not only become Jokic's substitute, but also help Zhou Qi grow together.

Nene's joining shows that the free market is really coming to an end, because veterans usually make their choices last.

But the next day, another piece of news broke by ESPN shocked the league again.

Lakers, prepare to trade Paul!

The news broke so suddenly that no one knew what happened.

Many fans are speculating whether it is because James did not go to the Lakers, which caused turmoil within the Lakers team.

And now in addition to George, there is now another Paul!

…

Lin Ying and Durant were training at his home.

In another week, they will go back to their respective homes to prepare for the Olympics.

This year's Olympics is very special for Lin Ying, because it will be Yao Ming's last Olympics.

His goal must be to win another Olympic championship trophy for Yao Ming, just like Duncan did for David Robinson.

As for Durant, because of the failure of the last Olympics, these super giants in the United States... don't even want to compete in the Olympics.

This is the ethos problem Barkley mentioned earlier.

In two consecutive years, in 2008 and 2012, Kobe served as a veteran with the team, which greatly boosted the morale of the US team.

Especially in 2008, Kobe's attitude in the game made the Dream Team play bloody, and many people called it the best Dream Team since Dream One.

However, as the leader of the Dream Team after Kobe Bryant, James missed the 2010 World Championships, which indirectly led to Durant's absence from the Dream Team in 2012. After that, James no longer played for the Dream Team.

And American fans really have much lower requirements for James than Durant.

When Durant didn't go, everyone shouted, but when James didn't go, almost no one mentioned it.

This is the most vivid expression of the word "double standards".

But what those fans didn't expect was that Durant has now become the backbone of the Dream Team.

And although many stars are unwilling to go, the return of one makes the dream team's morale high this time.

Paul George.

George's designated home made him mired in controversy, but his return to the Dream Team this time was something he had already decided on.

Therefore, with the positive and negative offset, the fans' reaction to his designated team this time was not as strong as in history.

On this day, after the training, the two of them talked on the sidelines about Paul being put on the trade shelf.

"Business is just business!"

Durant sighed there.

Paul's departure to the Lakers caused quite a stir. It was even after Stern saw the strength of the Knicks' Big Three that he did not use "basketball reasons" to veto the deal as he had done in history.

As a result, Paul is now put on the shelf after several years of fruitless competition for the championship, which is inevitably disappointing.

"I think this may be Paul's own request."

Lin Ying expressed his opinion.

"Why?"

Durant didn't expect Lin Ying's mind to be so clear this time.

"If nothing else happens, Kobe will soon announce that he will retire after the new season."

Lin Ying said.

Durant scratched his head, not quite understanding the connection between the two.

Lin Ying followed up and analyzed it with him. Of course, there were some things in his analysis that Durant didn't know before.

For example, on the night of the Nets' championship, Kobe expressed his desire to win another championship before retiring.

Lin Ying didn't think much about it at that time, but the rumors between James and the Lakers in the summer made him realize that the reason why Kobe changed his mind was that James might join.

Because if that wasn't the case, Kobe would have no reason to say that.

After all, the Warriors couldn't get past the Lakers' previous lineup alone, so how could they defeat the Nets?

But if James joins, everything will be completely different.

Paul + James + Kobe + Chandler, this lineup definitely has the ability to compete with the Nets and even win the finals.

Once this basic fact is determined, the Lakers' current treatment of Paul can be understood.

Because now James is no longer here, Bosh may retire, and the last bit of passion that Kobe ignited has returned to calm.

So Kobe will go back to his previous decision and play out his final season.

What the Lakers will do in the new season is to accompany Kobe on a spectacular retirement tour.

But this conflicts with the idea of ​​​​Paul, who is eager to win the championship but never stops longing for it.

So this is probably the result of discussions between Paul and the Lakers management. He will go to a team with more chances to win and continue to chase the championship dream.

Durant nodded after listening, and then looked at Lin Ying seriously:

"You are Paul the Octopus after all."

Lin Ying slapped his forehead, as if he was playing into a joke.

However, Octopus Paul predicting Paul, why does this sound a bit convoluted?

"Tell me, if the news breaks out at this time, will Paul and George be swapped?"

Durant thought of another interesting thing.

Lin Ying didn't have time to think about this.

But when history reaches this turning point, it seems that something wonderful will happen again.

Because George had already designated the Lakers as his next home, the Lakers originally had no leverage, but now they have.

In terms of transaction value alone, Paul is not lower than George. Even if it is a one-to-one swap, the Pacers will not lose.

However, this transaction may not be possible, because it depends on the Pacers' plan.

If the Pacers continue to compete for the championship, this is a good choice. Paul is now considered the second-best point guard after Curry; but if the Pacers start a new round of reconstruction, then they will definitely not Want Paul.

So this is really something to look forward to.

…

During this week of training in Brooklyn, Lin Ying and Durant were like spectators sitting in the auditorium watching a show.

A lot of big things happened this week.

The first thing is that the Nets officially announced that Tyronn Lue will be the team's head coach for the new season, and Nash will become an assistant coach.

Karl announced shortly after the end of the season that he was resigning as head coach of the Nets due to physical reasons. He coached the Nets to two championships in three years and has completed his coaching career.

However, the Nets did not start a new round of coaching selection after Karl resigned, which means that they already have a candidate internally.

Lu's rise to power this time was expected.

After all, Lu was well-known in the assistant coaching circle before, and he also received the highest salary as an assistant coach with the Nets. It is inevitable to become the head coach, it is just a matter of where.

Carl's departure just gave him an opportunity.

The second thing is that Bird officially announced that he has become the general manager of the Hornets.

Fans didn't get to see Jordan and Bird come together as players, and then they see it now.

And with Bird taking office, a series of previous operations by the Hornets have come to light.

After all, at Jordan's level, it is impossible to operate such a lineup.

Although this lineup is still some distance away from winning the championship, it is actually the strongest lineup since the Hornets entered the league.

And this is just the beginning.

For the first time, fans have expectations for Jordan's team.

The third thing is that Kobe announced that he will announce his retirement after the new season.

This means that the new season will be Kobe's retirement tour.

Facts once again proved that Lin Ying was indeed the octopus Paul.

At this time, fans seemed to know the reason why the Lakers put Paul on the shelf.

Then, there is the fourth thing, Paul's transaction.

Paul and George really made a deal!

It's just that it's not a one-to-one transaction, but a third party joins in.

This third party is the Knicks.

Riley had been waiting for his chance for the past two years, and this time he finally got it.

The specific contents of this three-party transaction are:

The Knicks sent this year's No. 2 pick Ingram, Robin Lopez, and Jerian Grant, a 2017 first-round pick (top-five protected), to acquire Paul;

The Pacers sent Paul George and received Ingram, Lopez and Jerian Grant, 2017 first round (top five protection);

The Lakers traded Paul and got Paul George.

Prior to this, the Knicks had signed Noah with a four-year, $72 million contract.

After completing the deal, they formed the starting lineup of Paul, Anthony, Porzingis, and Noah.

Among them, Anthony and Paul are still the "banana boat" brothers, and the Knicks' competitiveness is restored immediately.

The Pacers' choice indicates that they have officially started their reconstruction plan in the new season.

Ingram will become the core of their reconstruction, and Lopez and Grant are also good young players.

The biggest difference from history is that George came to the Lakers as he wished.

This is also part of the butterfly effect brought about by Lin Ying.

In history, the Lakers formed the "new F4 lineup", which led to Jim Buss stepping down and Jeanie Buss taking charge of the team.

In the subsequent series of operations, the Lakers fell into complete chaos.

Especially in history, George also stated that he would go to the Lakers, but the Lakers were reluctant to trade the young players they had in hand, and wanted to wait until George's contract expired and sign him as a free agent.

As a result, in the end, George chose to renew his contract with the Thunder. Even if he later applied for a trade, he went to the Clippers next door.

But now, Paul has successfully joined the Lakers, Jim Buss has been in charge, and the Lakers have maintained their ability to compete for championships in recent years.

So when they had such an opportunity, they took action decisively.

After the deal, all parties expressed excitement.

George immediately updated his status on social media:

"Here I come, Los Angeles!"

Although such a statement made some Pacers fans feel uncomfortable, this is the NBA, and many times it is just a business.

The Knicks' official tweet followed closely and expressed their strong welcome to Paul's joining and their expectations for the new season:

"Chris, it's time to take back our New York!"

This state is very provocative. After two years of silence, the New York Derby is about to return!

…

A week later, Lin Ying and Durant parted ways in Brooklyn.

After the two fist bumped and agreed to see each other in Rio in August, he then got on the plane back home.

He landed with great expectations, but when he arrived at the national team's training ground, he didn't see Yao Ming.

After asking, I found out that Yao Ming was in the treatment room.

This time the national team was led by Deng Huade, and he took Lin Ying directly to the treatment room.

"Can you still hold on?"

Lin Ying asked with concern after entering.

"fine."

Yao Ming gave Lin Ying a very positive answer.

However, Lin Ying knew Yao Ming's character and would not say anything depressing at this time.

So Lin Ying glanced at the team doctor's eyes. After seeing the worried look in the team doctor's eyes, she knew that the situation was not very good.

Lin Ying didn't ask any more questions, but sat down and chatted with him about some trivial matters.

As for injuries, if you are in a better mood, they will heal faster.

Later in the conversation, Yao Ming suddenly looked at Lin Ying seriously.

"You will be tired from now on."

Yao Ming said something meaningful.

Some things don't have to be spoken to be known.

In this year's draft, Yao Ming is also working hard to push the Mavericks to select Zhou Qi.

But the Mavericks were only willing to give it a try with a second-round pick.

Because they can also see that Yao Ming is about to retire and his "face" fruit is about to expire.

Originally, Yao Ming was prepared to do psychological work with Zhou Qi. After all, before this year's draft, Zhou Qi was predicted to be a first-round prospect.

Even before he was sidelined, he was once projected to be in the lottery.

But before he did that, the Nets' selection gave him a surprise.

Or it can't be called an accident.

Because the Nets have Lin Ying.

Lin Ying smiled and nodded.

When he first crossed over, Lin Ying didn't have much enthusiasm for playing for the national team.

Because unlike Yao Ming, who was trained by the country, he does not have such strong emotions.

His attitude can be said to be "I can play, but only if I don't have other problems."

But this mentality has undergone subtle changes with the accumulation of national team games, and of course, more importantly, after getting along with Yao Ming.

There is a saying that "Those who are close to Zhu are red and those who are close to Mo are black". After staying with Yao Ming for a long time, it is really hard not to love your own national basketball.

Then, there is the attitude of Kobe and James towards the Dream Team. He witnessed the short-term peak and decline of the Dream Team.

He is more aware of his responsibilities in the matter of the national men's basketball team.

Not everyone wants to become a character, but after reaching that position, he has to take up the burden.

This is a mission and a legacy.