readytorunbook Chapter 128 Staples' Party (4.2K ask for a monthly ticket!)
Chapter 128 Staples' Party (4.2K ask for a monthly ticket!)
Chapter 128 Staples' Party (4.2K ask for a monthly ticket!)
"Hey, Sheldon, played a good game last time."
"Really? A [-]% hit rate is not bad?"
"If you win, it's a good game."
"really!"
In Los Angeles, at the Ritz-Carlton, a 21-minute drive from the Staples Center, Li Ke met David Falk, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.
After some discussion about whether he played well in the last game, Li Ke was not polite, and immediately got to the point.
"I've heard about a few deals, I don't know if you've heard the news."
"Of course there is news, but I don't know which one or which ones you are talking about. You have to tell me the specific details first, Sheldon."
David Falk smiled. As the spokesperson of God, he certainly has more news channels than Li Ke.
And with the deepening of the season, the rumors of trading have been one after another, and there are too many to count. If Li Ke didn't say something specific, he really didn't know which trade rumor Li Ke was referring to.
"I heard Michael was selling Emeka?"
"That's right, Emeka wasn't the one chosen by Michael, but he was the No. 04 player in [-], and his current performance is unsatisfactory. Michael decided to use him."
David Falk nodded and confirmed, "There are not many teams interested in Emeka. I only heard about the Nets, but their asking price is too high, and Michael is a little afraid to accept it."
"What offer?"
"Raymond Felton plus Emeka Okafor, the Bobcats can get either Vince Carter or Richard Jefferson."
"Is Kiki vandeweghe so dark?"
Kiki Vandeweghe is the general manager of the Nets, and his asking price is indeed a bit dark.
The No. 04 pick in 05 and the No. 5 rookie in [-] can only be packaged together to get Carter and Richard Jefferson, who the Nets have listed since the beginning of the season.
This transaction is not profitable at first glance.
Li Ke touched his chin: "I heard that Jason Kidd is also on the listing list?"
"Yes, but he is destined not to belong to the Bobcats."
David Falk shook his head, but Li Ke felt very strange: "What?"
"Jason Kidd's designated to go to a team that can compete for a championship."
"I see."
Li Ke also felt that he should not accept the Nets' trade proposal, mainly due to Fatton.
Out of Fatton, the Bobcats lost the main controller, and Carter and Richard Jefferson, who had a positional conflict with Li Ke, joined. This is obviously not a good thing for Li Ke.
After thinking about it, Li Ke mentioned another trade rumor he heard: "I heard that the Nuggets offered me and Gerald Wallace?"
"There is such a thing, but you should understand that with Michael, you and Gerald are not for sale."
Li Ke nodded, but immediately mentioned: "I also heard that the Nuggets started to sell Allen Iverson when they failed to make an offer?"
"Yes."
"What's their asking price?"
"The Nuggets, they want an outside defensive gate, plus an above-average master."
"I think the Bobcats could play a role."
"How to say?" David Falk felt very strange, why did Li Ke suddenly become so enthusiastic about trading?
Thinking of the current record of the Bobcats, he will understand.
Obviously, Li Ke is very eager to improve the strength of this Bobcats, he really does not want to continue to lose.
"A third party is brought in, Raymond and Emeka are out, Raymond goes to the Nuggets, Emeka goes to a third party, and the third party uses an outside defensive gate to go to the Nuggets. This deal is easy to negotiate."
Although in the previous life, Lao Ai fell after more than one season, but Li Ke knew that Lao Ai's fall had nothing to do with his strength, but mainly because of his dissatisfied personality.
"So, what do you mean?"
"Give Michael some suggestions. Of course, I can't say these suggestions. You have to."
David Falk nodded. Indeed, Li Ke is just a rookie now, and he is not yet qualified to comment on the team's transfer operations.
But he is different, he is an agent, and also a friend and partner of Boss Qiao for many years.
"The problem is, the defensive gates on the perimeter are hard to find."
"I hear the Kings are selling Ron Artest."
"understood."
Li Ke's idea is very simple, get the Kings, add the Nuggets, and make a three-way deal, Okafor goes to the Kings, Fatton goes to the Nuggets, and the Bobcats get Lao Ai.
The Nuggets get Ferton Garron Artest, the Kings get Okafor, well, if the Kings are not interested in Okafor, they can also pull the fourth party.
Anyway, no matter how disappointing Okafor is, he is a double-double center, and in a league where big men are scarce, Okafor is still worth some money.
For the Bobcats, if Lao Ai can come, they will solve the biggest problem that no one can score stably, and Li Ke and Gerald Wallace can make up for Lao Ai's defensive problems.
After defeating the Clippers, the Bobcats' record came to 10 wins and 15 losses. It doesn't look that bad, and they still have a chance to make a dash.
Perhaps, this deal would allow Felton to leave Charlotte, but to be honest, if he could leave, Li Ke would have left on his own, and it would not be Felton's turn at all.
For Felton, leaving Charlotte was a good thing.
When it comes to the Nuggets, his status remains the same and he can still win. Isn't that a good thing?
As for Lao Ai's rapid decline in the Pistons, Li Ke felt that Lao Ai's character was the main reason, and the second was the Pistons messing around.
In terms of identifying the vision of young players, Joe Dumas, the current leader of the Pistons' basketball affairs, is also known as the existence of crouching dragons and phoenixes with Joe's boss.
For Rodney Stucky, he sent away Billups who was still able to eat, and at the same time put the old Ai on the bench.
Of course Lao Ai is dissatisfied, who is he, he is the superstar of the 01 finals against the OK team, let him be a substitute, there is no way!
Therefore, in Li Ke's view, Lao Ai's personality problem is not so difficult.
The Nuggets suppressed Lao Ai for almost two seasons, and the Pistons couldn't suppress it for half a season. The root cause was that the Pistons made Lao Ai dissatisfied with the issue of starting and substituting.
Bobcats can give Lao Ai the starting position, coupled with the presence of Joe's boss, there must be no problem in suppressing him for a season or two.
What the Bobcats need is just one or two seasons.
"I hope Old Joe can accept my suggestion. The Bobcats really need a star to sell tickets."
……
On Christmas Eve, Li Ke appeared at Westbrook's house in Long Beach, and Westbrook also came back.
Sitting at the dinner table on Christmas Eve, Li Ke felt a little emotional.
Although he went to Austin to go to college not long after taking over this body, the memory deep in his brain is real. He spent four years here, and Westbrook's house is equivalent to another home for him.
"Sheldon, don't be dazed, let's do it!"
Aunt Holden pointed to the turkey dinner in the middle of the dining table, urging.
"I remember two years ago, your favorite food on Christmas Eve was turkey..."
Hearing what Aunt Holden said, Li Ke wanted to roll his eyes a little bit. The predecessor of his body really liked eating turkey, but Li Ke refused.
The turkey meat is so unpalatable, it is dry and woody, and it has no taste, but it still has a strong fishy smell.
After barely entering his mouth, Li Ke felt like vomiting.
But he held back, barely took two bites, and stopped the knife and fork on the pretext of chatting with Westbrook.
"Russell, how is it? You got a lot of opportunities at UCLA this year, and we can meet in the NBA next year."
In his sophomore year, Westbrook officially took the position, started as a starter, and also got some possessions.
But Li Ke's words made Westbrook shake his head: "It's really hard to say, you know, Sheldon, the chances I got are actually not enough, didn't you read Sports Illustrated's recent preview of the 08 draft?"
Li Ke really didn't pay much attention to Sports Illustrated's draft preview.
For one thing, he has already left the NCAA, so there is no need to pay attention to that false list.
Secondly, he has the memory of future generations as a foundation, and he has already known about next year's draft.
"My draft price is probably around the second round. To be honest, Sheldon, it's not enough!"
"not enough?"
"My goal is the lottery, Shelton. If there is no lottery market, I would rather play another year in the NCAA."
Li Ke nodded, and he also expressed his understanding.
In terms of choosing the time to participate in the draft, the niggas are always hesitant, because most of the black people have poor families and economic conditions, so they all want to go to the NBA to make money as soon as possible.
But the problem is that the difference between the money earned between the second round and the first round is very large, and the same is true between the lottery and the first round.
The niggas are eager to make money, and at the same time they want to make more money. That's why they hesitate.
Westbrook didn't hesitate at all, because he was very confident, and his family was not that poor.
"Come on, Russell, the real stage won't be until March Madness, and it's only here now."
When Crazy Three starts, the advantages of prestigious schools will be reflected. UCLA is destined to be able to play in the final stage. One more round of Crazy Three is equal to one more chance of exposure.
For the draft market, exposure is still very important.
With exposure, Westbrook's draft market will definitely be able to soar like in his previous life.
"However, in the 08 draft, the Thunder chose Russell with the fourth overall pick, which seemed to be an unpopular choice. Did Russell make it to the Green Room that year?"
Li Ke frowned, he always felt that his appearance seemed to have affected Westbrook.
He entered the lottery, and Westbrook who wants to be strong will not run in the lottery.
If you really don't get the lottery draft and Westbrook doesn't participate in the 08 draft, then it's really...
Can't say whether it's good or bad, just say, things are going to be very interesting.
……
Back to the main city of Los Angeles from Long Beach, it was already Christmas day.
The festive atmosphere in the United States is still very strong, with Santa Claus and Christmas trees everywhere, and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel also prepared a Christmas dinner for the bobcats who stayed.
A variety of Michelin-style meals were served on the table one after another, and the atmosphere was very lively.
Just like that, almost two hours were wasted, and the lunch time was over.
Then in the afternoon, after a short squint, the bobcat set off.
The traffic situation in Los Angeles is very bad, and traffic jams are common, but fortunately, on Christmas Day, there are not many vehicles driving on the street, and the Bobcats set off early again, so they didn't encounter a big traffic jam.
Arriving at the Staples Center smoothly, the tense atmosphere of the Christmas battle finally began to emerge.
In the parking lot of the Staples Center, the number of journalists following the bus after getting off the bus can be measured in hundreds.
"It's really exciting. As expected of the Christmas war, look at the lineup of reporters. I'm afraid all the respectable reporters in North America are here!"
"Not only North America, I also saw a lot of Asian faces."
"I have already said that the Christmas game is a huge show, especially since this is still Staples. Think about it, gentlemen, in this game, you will meet Charlize Theron, Taylor Swift, Jessica Alba on the sidelines..."
"Stop talking, I'm already hot all over!"
"Don't say it, don't say it, I'm already sexually aroused!"
"..."
After entering the locker room, the teammates started a lively discussion, like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, as if she had never seen the world.
Li Ke curled his lips, but he couldn't help but follow Lao Du's description, and his mind wandered away.
Out of these little girls in Hollywood, who does he like better?
Scarlett, Jessica Alba, Megan Fox... There are too many to count, so let's just come to one of them, and get out of the order tonight!
"Okay, guys, stop making noise. There will indeed be many Hollywood female stars in tonight's game, but if you perform too badly, you will only become a laughing stock in their mouths. So, don't think so much, think about how to face the Lakers who are currently ranked third in the Western Conference!"
Sam Vincent clapped his hands, interrupting everyone's fantasy.
"In this game, our tactical philosophy remains the same. In terms of matchups, Sheldon and Kobe are yours."
As always, Sam Vincent briefly arranged the tactical play in the game. Li Ke was named, and he just replied very briefly: "No problem, coach!"
"Gerald, your opponent is Lamar Odom. Also, Emeka, there have been a lot of rumors about you recently, but you have put your mind back. Think about your opponent Andrew Bynum in this game. His draft pick is much lower than yours..."
After talking about the counterpoint, Sam Vincent clapped his hands: "Okay, guys, it's time to get on stage, the huge stage of Staples is waiting for you!"
"Oh ho, it's on stage!"
"Charlize Theron, here I come!"
Several wolf howls sounded in the locker room, and then everyone from the Bobcats filed out.
After a while, Li Ke stood in the infield of the Staples Center. His first feeling was that it was very lively. Compared with the Time Warner Center, er, sorry, maybe the Time Warner Center should not be pulled out at all.
Even in the seasons with the worst record, the attendance of the Lakers' Staples was full.
In Li Ke's view, the biggest difference should be that a group of celebrities from all walks of life in suits and leather shoes, or in gorgeous dresses stood on the sidelines of Staples, taking advantage of the time before the start of the game to communicate with each other.
It feels like Staples is throwing a big party...
"This group of Lakers fans acted like the later game didn't exist, and it was a little bit too happy."
"Denzel Washington said that we are a weak team, so there is no suspense about the outcome of the game, and they can wait for a victory with peace of mind."
"So they turned this Christmas fight into a party?"
Li Ke, who had been silent all this time, suddenly burst into pride: "Then let's work hard and disrupt this party!"
In the distance, Kobe is approaching...
Second update today
(End of this chapter)