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Chapter 556 - 240. Boss, can you not go to the negotiations next time?

Chapter 556: 240. Boss, can you not go to the negotiations next time?

When the head coach became the more protective Zen Master and his perimeter defensive teammates became peak Kobe and Kidd in his prime...

Zhang Yang ordered a few more dishes, aiming to eat Joe out of business.

...

Over the next two days, Zhang Yang trained while keeping up with the buzz. This off-season was even more lively than the summer after his sophomore year.

The formation of the Lakers’ Big Three continued to dominate off-season discussions.

Subsequently, news broke that the Celtics had been trying to trade Al Jefferson for Garnett.

McHale had been pushing to trade Garnett for Al Jefferson and had repeatedly declined the Lakers’ offer of Bynum plus a draft pick for Garnett. However, since Garnett was unwilling to commit to an extension with the Celtics, they hesitated to finalize the deal. Even so, McHale refused to trade Garnett for Bynum until Garnett informed him he would only re-sign with the Lakers, leaving McHale no choice but to send Garnett to the Lakers.

This revelation sparked a media and fan backlash against McHale—accusing him of feeding off the Timberwolves while trying to hand over their cooking pot to his old team.

Al Jefferson was a highly talented high school rookie, visibly gifted, but the talent gap between him and Bynum was also visibly clear.

At that moment, Bynum was seen as a potential dominating center, whereas just by looking at his height, Al Jefferson had no connection with being a dominant player—they differed by 7 centimeters.

Two years after entering the NBA, Bynum had grown to a height of 215 centimeters.

Al Jefferson was called a high school rookie, but he was actually older than many college freshmen entering the NBA, having been 19 and a half when drafted. By the time he entered the NBA, his physical development was set. Yet Bynum, who entered the NBA only a year later as a high school rookie, was two years and nine months younger than him.

There was no comparison in terms of dynamics either, with Bynum’s running speed exceeding the average for power forwards, while Al Jefferson was slow even for a center.

The current technical gap between the two was clear, but this gap was not as vast as two years and nine months. Moreover, by his sophomore year, Bynum’s defense had already far surpassed that of the third-year Al Jefferson.

Fans also dredged up various bizarre moves made by McHale since becoming general manager of the Timberwolves, concluding that the fridge had taken bullets for the Timberwolves’ owner.

Otherwise, they couldn’t explain how McHale could make so many odd decisions yet stay so long in the vice president position at the Timberwolves.

The Celtics also moved on—once Garnett decided to join the Lakers, the Celtics prepared for a rebuild.

Originally, the Celtics had planned to trade Jeff Green and Szczerbiak for Ray Allen. The Supersonics were close to accepting the offer, only hesitating on the draft picks, but the Celtics did not want to give up a first-round pick, so the negotiation stalled.

However, insiders revealed that as long as the Celtics persisted, the Supersonics would eventually agree to the deal.

Durant scored an average of 26 points in his first 5 games of the Rocky Mountain Summer League, with a shooting percentage of 45%, showcasing his talent.

The last time a rookie mainly scoring through shooting showed such performance in the summer league was decades ago, and that player was Glenn Robinson.

The Supersonics initially wanted Ray Allen to mentor Durant, but seeing Durant’s talent, they recognized him as the next Jack Zhang, even calling himself the 206 cm version, making Ray Allen’s guidance unnecessary, as it would only take away shot opportunities.

Now, with the Celtics withdrawing their offer for Ray Allen and placing Pierce on the trading block, they sought to exchange him for a young talent.

With the trade for Ray Allen stalled, the Supersonics had no choice but to keep putting him back on the market.

Experts analyzed that it wasn’t difficult for the Supersonics to offload Ray Allen— they weren’t demanding, only requiring salary cap space to absorb Ray Allen, along with a high draft pick or multiple draft rights, the core condition being no large contracts in return.

But the Celtics were in trouble, having missed their best opportunity, as the initial trade wave had passed.

This expert analysis proved accurate, as news of the cancelled trade between the Celtics and Supersonics broke, Zhang Yang saw plenty of rumors about teams offering trades to the Supersonics, even though most were attempting to lowball. The Supersonics had made it clear they only wanted potential rookies and draft picks, not players, yet those teams were still pitching large or even undesirable contracts, but at least they had prospects.

The Celtics, on the other hand, were tough to deal with, as Ainge’s asking price was too high, leaving them with few suitors...

Two days flew by, and it was July 15.

At 9 p.m., Zhang Yang lay in bed after a bath, reflecting on how eventful the past week in the NBA had been, although, regrettably, not for his Bobcats.

As Jordan had said, even stars, not to mention top-tier players, wouldn’t consider their Bobcats when changing teams. Forming groups sounded better than clinging to a championship contender. If not for the Chicago Bulls spending their rookie benefits on both Ben Wallace and Yao Ming, who by now filled their salary cap, the Bulls would attract more high-profile free agents than their Bobcats.

Otherwise, they too would have wanted Garnett. As Bickerstaff said, they were willing to send Rondo, Okafor, and Millsap to the Timberwolves in a package deal.

In that case, they might even have managed to keep Gerald Wallace, as Garnett did not demand much space in the paint for his offense.