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Chapter 281 - 141. Special training has begun

Chapter 281: 141. Special training has begun

Zhang Yang was too surprised!

However, not because he had selected Millsap.

Millsap, just entering the NBA, would make James laugh if he aimed to be a starter, as the Bobcats’ frontcourt would be thoroughly trounced.

Millsap produced an All-Star performance when he transferred to the Hawks team in 2013, playing under Budenholzer. That was when he was 28, reaching his peak performance from age 28 to 32.

Millsap’s tryout was impressive, strong, with decent athletic ability, an outstanding wingspan of 217 centimeters, solid basic post moves, a good sense for rebounding when facing the basket, a tough style of play, and sound screening abilities.

His shortcomings were also obvious: short in height, poor judgement of rebounding positions when turning his back to the basket, prone to turnovers with weak ball-handling skills as a shorter big man, defensively tough but lacking in technique and fundamentals. In the 5-on-5 practice game on the fifth tryout day, he committed 5 fouls in 20 minutes, the kind that would be penalized even in the playoffs.

In college, Millsap’s deficiencies were severely exposed; otherwise, with an average of 18 points and 12 rebounds per game, he wouldn’t have fallen to the second round.

Currently, Millsap could rely on his second-chance scoring ability, screening skills, and defensive effort to become a solid substitute in his rookie year, but that would be about it.

What truly excited Zhang Yang was the trade acquisition of Nazr Mohammed.

They finally had an experienced veteran! Mohammed was a member of the 2005 Spurs championship team!

During the live broadcast, the commentators didn’t bother with who the Bobcats selected, continuing to discuss the Spurs’ cost-saving strategies and analyzing the reasons behind the Spurs’ interest in Brezec.

Brezec had an annual salary of 2.75 million US dollars, 26 years of age, in his prime. Last season, he oscillated between starting and coming off the bench, playing 79 games, averaging 23 minutes per game with 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds, with a field goal percentage of 51.7%. Considering the Bobcats reached the second round, he was a ’low salary, high output’ player.

Brezec always played tough against European big men, which the commentators saw as the reason the Spurs were interested in him, especially since the Spurs had just been bested by the top European basketball star.

In the playoff series between the Bobcats and the Cavaliers, Brezec performed well, averaging 12.5 points per game over four games, ranking fourth on the team in scoring—higher than Felton—which confirmed this narrative and earned him some popularity during the postseason.

Another, perhaps the most crucial reason for the trade, was Mohammed’s 2005-2006 salary of 5.25 million US dollars, with a 10% rise due for the next season. He averaged 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, which was too expensive for the Spurs.

This year, the Spurs had a payroll of 62.9 million, just below the luxury tax threshold. Keeping Mohammed would have likely meant paying luxury taxes next season, which was unacceptable to the Spurs’ owner.

Even Duncan took a pay cut to renew his contract. To avoid the tax, Popovich persuaded Duncan to sign a 4-year contract renewal worth 79 million US dollars, starting at 17.4 million.

Considering Duncan’s tenure, using the veteran’s minimum exception, he could have signed a contract starting at 18.56 million for 4 years, exceeding 85 million, based on the ’05-’06 salary cap. According to the projected cap increase, if Duncan renewed his contract after the free agency period started and the new cap was announced, his total contract value for 4 years could have reached as high as 90 million.

Mohammed’s salary was close to double that of Brezec’s, and the trade went through because the Bobcats had nothing else but ample salary space. If Duncan hadn’t renewed his contract with the Spurs, the Bobcats could have offered him a max deal and still had room to spare.

Zhang Yang remembered that Mohammed would later join the Bobcats, but when exactly, he couldn’t recall. It was during the ’09-’10 season, when Gerald Wallace was selected for the All-Star game and was tough on defense, that he became aware of Mohammed.

The initial impression came from the live broadcast of the game between the Bobcats and the Nuggets Team, where Mohammed was seen helping Larry Brown explain offensive tactics during a timeout... Yes, to let a defensive-minded, blue-collar center explain the offensive playbook, the senior’s knowledge of the game was indeed enchanting.

At the time, the commentator claimed Mohammed was one of the NBA’s finest locker room leaders. The Bobcats managed to secure him for a 3-year, 19 million US-dollar deal, saying he was a teammate whom even Duncan had expressed respect for.

Zhang Yang took out his notebook and wrote down the names of teammates who were certain to stay, those newly drafted, and those acquired through trade.

Point Guard: Felton, Rondo.

Shooting Guard: The grown-up handsome guy, Alan Anderson.

Small Forward: Gerald Wallace, Matt Carroll.

Power Forward: Okafor, Millsap.

Center: Perkins, Mohammed.

Zhang Yang frowned as he looked at the names of the five frontcourt players.

Mohammed, Millsap, Perkins, Okafor, Gerald Wallace—leaving their strength and ages aside, one was tougher than the next on defense!

Was Bickerstaff stimulated by the Pistons, or was he influenced by ESPN to put together a lineup specifically against that one person?

Indeed, with the toughness of those frontcourt players, they were starting to resemble the Bad Boys Legion...

After sneering to himself, Zhang Yang seriously analyzed the frontcourt combination.

If these five were part of the main frontcourt rotation, their inside impact would be strong without question!

This would benefit his high-post shooting, Felton’s long-distance isolation, Carroll’s and Anderson’s long-range shooting.

Yes, he was probably overthinking it, it definitely wasn’t aimed at that one person, definitely not.

It’s just that the backcourt defense was a bit weak, Rondo and Millsap were in a similar situation—too green at the moment, with distinct strengths but also numerous weaknesses that needed time to develop, though Rondo’s growth cycle would likely be shorter.

Following the analysis, Zhang Yang felt somewhat melancholic.