No.1 in basketball scoring
Chapter 282 - 141. Special training has begun_2

Chapter 282: 141. Special training has begun_2

With the arrival of three new teammates, at least three would be leaving, and there were sure to be even more departures.

After reaching the second round last season, they had garnered a lot of attention, just like Brezec became highly sought-after, the values of Karim Rush, Jumaine Jones, and Keith Bogans also increased.

Zhang Yang learned from Jordan that these teammates were all seeking more playing time during contract renewal discussions.

But with Alan Anderson showing potential to become a quality 3-and-D player and Matt Carroll being the best shooter on the team, guaranteed minutes would go to these two, making it difficult to retain those other players.

Melvin Ely even expressed directly that he did not want to renew his contract and preferred to test the free agency market. Jordan had already announced the team would renounce their right to match offers, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.

Bernard Robinson and Voskuhl, the abilities of these two teammates shouldn’t really have been in the NBA, only a new team like the Bobcats could sign such players in their first year of team building... but it’s not absolute, maybe they could start if they went to the Lakers.

The hardest thing to deal with was Brezec’s departure.

This giant center, though a bit soft and could be bullied by anyone, was professional, hard-working, and had been a collaborative teammate for so long.

Zhang Yang did not try to suppress these feelings, he chose to accept them, knowing that teammates would come and go in the future, and that even this 10-man main roster might not all be suitable, perhaps trades would happen... over time, after seeing more, one naturally becomes tougher.

...

July 1st marked the official end of the 05-06 season, and the offseason began, along with the opening of the free market.

Before the end of June, the Bobcats successfully reached a renewal contract with Jumaine Jones, the team’s second-best three-point shooter last season, for 2 years at 5.25 million US dollars.

Jumaine Jones played in 76 games last season, averaging 6.1 points per game, with a 39.1% three-point shooting average, netting 1.3 three-pointers per game.

Zhang Yang was very happy to hear this news. By successfully retaining Jumaine Jones, their interior line-up got a bit of a ’soft’ boost.

In the eyes of the media and fans, their last season was very successful. Being able to keep teammates who achieved ’success’ together, of course, he was happy.

Unfortunately, they were unable to keep either Karim Rush or Keith Bogans.

As soon as the free agency market opened, the Pacers immediately offered Karim Rush a 2-year contract worth 6 million US dollars. After Rush informed the Bobcats, Jordan decided not to match the offer, as it was higher than expected.

Keith Bogans received an even richer deal from the Magic, a 3-year contract worth 12 million US dollars. Jordan also chose not to match, as the third options for small forward and shooting guard were really too expensive.

Zhang Yang found the Magic’s moves to be the most interesting. Originally, the Bobcats had selected Bogans from the Magic, and now after Bogans finished his rookie contract with the Bobcats, the Magic paid more to bring him back.

It was hard to tell whether to praise the Magic for their drafting foresight or to critique their operational skills.

Soon after, the Bobcats signed Derek Anderson and Othella Harrington.

Zhang Yang looked up the two new teammates’ information.

Derek Anderson, a 1997 draft, 13th pick, soared in his NBA debut, a 196 cm tall point guard, but he suffered a severe knee injury before his rookie season ended, causing his athleticism to plummet. He returned during the second half of his sophomore season to play as a floor general shooting guard but did not perform as well as in his rookie year.

After transferring to the Clippers in his third year and relying on hard-earned solid skills, he averaged 16 points. In the summer of 2000, seeking a championship, he turned down large contract offers and signed a 1-year short contract with the Spurs for a salary of 2.2 million US dollars, posting averages of 15.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He ranked second in the Spurs for scoring and assists, and first for steals, but unfortunately, faced the unbeatable duo of Shaq and Kobe in the playoffs... Anderson then chose money and joined the Trail Blazers with a 6-year contract worth 48.7 million US dollars... After two years, he suffered another serious injury, and in the summer of 2005, the Trail Blazers waived him.

Last season, Derek Anderson won the championship with the Miami Heat, playing 23 regular-season games and averaging 5.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, which looked decent, but his shooting percentage was only 30.8%, shooting 5.7 times for 1.7 makes per game; he played 8 playoff games, averaging 3 points, 1 rebound, with a 30% shooting percentage.

Othella Harrington, from the gold class of ’96 and the first pick of the second round, a 206 cm tall, undersized center, averaged 4.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in the regular season and was not used in the playoffs last season.

For these two signings, Zhang Yang felt they were made for the experience of the veterans; one couldn’t really expect much from their abilities.

Zhang Yang looked at the roster, 13 players, with 8 being from last season staying with the team.

Effective moves aside from the draft that brought in Rondo and Millsap meant using the few quality trade assets they had to exchange Brezec for Muhammad.

The rest was about signing veterans, meaning the team was still focused on developing its four core players, making small fixes around them.

It wasn’t the grand overhaul they might have hoped for, but it wasn’t bad either, considering they lacked the conditions to attract great players and didn’t have many chips to play with.

At present, at least they had a good roster structure, with starters and main substitutes in every position.

The power forward position had the best depth, with Okafor, Millsap, and Jumaine Jones offering different styles in the interior line.

If Derek Anderson and Othella Harrington had to play, the former could cover the one and two spots, while the latter could cover the four and five spots.