Chapter 1176 [If a Young Man Doesn’t Work Hard, the Old Man Will Be Sad]
After being rejected by the Spurs, Kobe didn't know where his next stop would be, and neither did his agency.
This summer, the task of Kobe Bryant's team is not to help him sign a big contract as much as possible, but to help him find a competitive team that can give him a certain amount of ball rights. The reality is that even if Kobe is willing to take the veteran's minimum salary, he has nowhere to go. No strong team will be interested in a player who shoots less than 40% but averages 20+ shots per game.
Kobe wanted to return to the Lakers most, but unfortunately he approached Kupchak the previous season, and the Lakers without Guo Xu rejected him.
Secondly, he wants to join the Clippers, which is also a team located in Los Angeles, where his home is.
When Paul and Griffin invited Kobe, he wanted the high-paying Clippers management not to mention it. After he led the 76ers to the bottom of the league for two consecutive seasons, he once again proposed to join the Clippers, but the management directly rejected him without asking him what annual salary he wanted. What the Clippers lack are centers and small forwards who can defend, not blacksmiths.
What's even more embarrassing is that two days after rejecting Kobe, the Clippers traded from the Bulls for Luol Deng, the "Warrior pig teammate" who was complained about by Komi. The Bulls began to rebuild. Not only Luol Deng left, but also outside core Rose.
At the press conference, coach Doc Rivers praised Luol Deng, believing that after joining, he will definitely strengthen the team's weak wing defense, and the Clippers will be stronger next season. He also highlighted Luol Deng's comprehensiveness and selflessness, and he would not mess around.
Kobe also asked his agent to contact the Thunder, which had just lost Durant, but they directly refused and did not think Kobe could replace Durant's role. What they are good at is training new people and giving them privileges, but they are not good at raising privileged veterans.
Durant is the one who has a constant 50% shooting rate in the mid-range. His true shooting rate in the regular season has exceeded 60% for five consecutive seasons. His career true shooting percentage in the regular season is 60.8%, and he is currently at 59.1% in the playoffs. There is no small forward in the league who can replace him.
Kobe's performance last season was also unique, but it was at the other extreme.
The Thunder are preparing to build a team around Westbrook in the new season. It is impossible for a veteran like Kobe to share the ball. Westbrook can finally unleash all his energy.
Komies on the Internet are much more generous. Some people said: "I think even if (crazy) Kupchak asked Kobe to return to the Lakers, he would not go. The Lakers have too many swingmen. If he went to reduce the ball rights, he would not go." Influence him to break the historical record.”
"Without unlimited shooting rights, would Kobe still be Kobe on the bench? He has his own pride."
"I will never be a substitute!"
The die-hard Komie directly made the decision for Kobe. They thought they knew Kobe very well. How could the boss be as "good" as Iverson was when he returned to the 76ers? After watching the news, Kobe really wanted to kill these idiots who were chanting slogans and ruining his big business.
He has never said to the public this year that he does not want to play as a substitute. If he insists on wanting the starting position, how can any strong team dare to ask for him? He has played in the league for 20 seasons and knows very well how harmful a player with a very low shooting percentage will be to the team if he takes too many shots.
He must keep a low profile before signing. Even if he wants to take more shots, he must first join a suitable team. It's like he always expressed his willingness to change to playing without the ball, and then let his new teammates play without the ball. He must first package himself to be more attractive.
Kobe Bryant can't go to other strong teams that may compete for the championship. He had played for the Warriors and Nets before, and he was a little unhappy with his teammates and management before leaving. Moreover, as soon as Kobe left, those two teams rose, and the Warriors immediately entered the Western Conference Finals.
Won the title the following year. The Nets immediately entered the Finals and successfully attracted James to join them in the summer of 2014, reaching the Finals for three consecutive years.
Based on this immediate negative effect, it is impossible for the two teams that Kobe is willing to take a minimum salary to want him. He did not ask his agent to ask, and he would be asking for trouble if he asked.
It is impossible to retire. Kobe is only 38 years old this year and is relatively healthy. He still wants to prove himself.
He dreams that he will receive the same courtesy as Jordan in the last season of his career; he dreams that every game will be packed, and his lifelong opponents will come to say goodbye to him; he dreams that he will get the warmest applause every time he goes to an away game, and the audience will "We want" Kobe” yelled not wanting him to leave. This is what he deserves.
People's dreams are always difficult to realize. If there was a Supreme Master in this world, Kobe asked him: "Why do I feel like I have surpassed Jordan, but I can't lead the team to win the championship?"
The mage will say: "I went to the parallel world and saw 14 million possible endings."
Kobe asked: "How many times have I succeeded?"
The Master said: "Zero, you only once almost caught up with Jordan in the number of championships. You won five championships and held a retirement tour."
Kobe: "What about the other endings?"
Wizard: "You snapped your fingers, I am Iron Man!"
Of course, Kobe Bryant's performance on Earth is not too bad. His total score in the regular season is only 17 points behind Karl Malone. As long as he finds a team to play for, he can easily surpass Malone and take the second place on the all-time scoring list in the regular season next season. He is only 17 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Only 1,400 points left.
As for the number of shots, he has long ranked first in history. The number of shots has surpassed Havlicek by 1,200 and surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by 2,200... Don't worry about the details.
Currently, there are only a few underdog teams interested in Kobe. These teams all want to use Kobe's popularity and gimmicks to attract fans to watch home games and increase attendance. Mainly the Celtics, Heat, and Timberwolves, and they won't pay him a high salary.
If Kobe doesn't want to retire, he can only choose from these three companies. The Hawks are not interested in him because they previously dug Dwight Howard.
If Kobe goes to Atlanta, Howard will give him the middle finger - "try me! Soft!"
Translated into Chinese, it means "If a young man doesn't work hard, an old man will be sad."
The management of the 76ers, the weakest team in the league, has not thought about renewing Kobe Bryant's contract. They have begun to rebuild. They must work hard next season and try to return to the top of the Eastern Conference in a few years.
The manager selected swingman Jaylen Brown to replace Kobe, and substitute Gary Harris will also have a chance to perform next season.
The 76ers lost their core inside and outside last season. They traded center DeAndre Jordan to the Nuggets in exchange for forward Danilo Gallinari and shooting guard Will Barton.
Gallinari did not have a happy life in Denver. The Nuggets management focused on cultivating "Antetokounmpo" Antetokounmpo. Both of them are big forwards and have overlapping positions.
Gallinari is average when playing power forward, can't grab rebounds, and doesn't have the ball when playing small forward. He mainly plays without the ball, and he doesn't have the speed to move away from the defense. Although Antetokounmpo is 211cm tall, has broad shoulders and an astonishing wingspan and is an inside figure, his performance mainly depends on holding the ball in front of the frame and attacking, which is James's style of play as a point forward.
Barton is a swingman with a height of 198cm. He was selected in the second round in 2012. In 2015, he signed a three-year contract with the Nuggets for 11 million. He is strong offensively and weak defensively. He shared playing time with TJ Warren in the Nuggets and his performance was average. Warren, who is 203cm tall and weighs 104kg, is also a big swingman, which is an important reason why the Nuggets traded Gallinari.
The Nuggets' shortcoming is that they don't have a center. Last season, the combination of JJ Hickson and Tarik Black was the weakest in the league. The management was very happy to dig up DeAndre Jordan without paying much.
Many experts believe that the 76ers will be even worse next season and their penalty area will be completely unprotected. Although Jordan is terrible offensively, he is an excellent defensive blue collar, good at controlling rebounds and resisting people in the penalty area...