Bishop of the Devil

In addition to Kobe's eye-catching performance, Rasheed's performance is also quite good. His mid-range shot is as stable as a dog. Popovich would be envious of him. If they have a player like Rasheed on the front line , that’s simply not too cool.

…

This game was quite fierce, but there was no conflict on the court. Mainly because Ben and Duncan were not the kind of people who like to talk nonsense on the court. From the beginning to the end, there was no conflict between the two. There was no communication, let alone trash talk.

At the end of the game, Richard walked onto the court and shook hands with Popovich.

"Man, it's unbelievable!"

"In just over a year, you have turned the Trail Blazers into such a team!"

Popovich said to Richard in a daze.

Richard did not expect that Popovich would take the initiative to talk to him this time. At the end of the previous games, the two would shake hands, but it was just a formality and there was no communication at all.

"Greg, so, are you praising me or hurting me?" Richard asked with a smile.

"God, of course I am praising you! Young man, how did you do it?"

"Seriously, I would pay any price to exchange for these players of yours!"

Popovich said with an exaggerated expression...

Richard was startled. Popovich loved to joke. Almost every fan knew this, so Richard didn't know whether Popovich was telling the truth...

"Greg, are you serious?!"

"Of course it's real! It's more real than real gold!"

After hearing what Popovich said, Richard's eyes suddenly lit up!

"Okay, Greg, which player from our Trail Blazers do you like?"

"Rashid!" Popovich said without any hesitation, pointing to Rasheed who was laughing heartlessly with Ben on the sidelines.

"Can!"

"Take your Duncan in exchange!" Richard grinned...

Richard didn't know much about people like Popovich, and he must be thinking of something right now.

"Man, let's change the conditions. You are a smart man and know that even if I am willing to trade Duncan, the team will not agree!"

"I don't have the same autonomy as you do in the Trail Blazers..."

"How about this, how about you sell your substitute player Stephen Jackson to us?"

"His and Kobe's positions overlap. It would be a waste for you to keep them. Why not trade them for some chips!"

"Well, the Spurs are willing to take out two first-round picks in the next few years, and then exchange them for your Stephen Jackson, how about it?"

Popovich frowned and said to Richard with a bitter look on his face.

Richard couldn't help but be speechless. Is Mr. Bobo about to start a miserable rhythm...

"Can!"

"How about this. If you want Stephen, I'll add Rasheed and Bruce Bowen, three for one, and replace your Duncan. How about that?"

Richard nodded simply again, anyway, he never left Deng Dudu...

"Ahem..." Popovich coughed slightly. He felt that Richard might be more difficult to deal with than he thought.

"Young man, think about it carefully. Two future first-round picks in exchange for a second-round pick. If I were you, I would definitely agree without saying a word!"

Richard waved his hand, and seeing that Popovich never mentioned Duncan, he also lost interest in continuing to play charades with Popovich.

Anyway, in the current Spurs lineup, the only one Richard is interested in is Duncan. Other players, even David Robinson, Richard is not interested in.

If the Spurs want to make a deal with Richard, and if they want Warrior Saint Jackson, then they must bring out Duncan. Even if Richard bleeds a lot, even if he joins Rasheed and Bowen, he will definitely not frown. brow.

But not to Duncan? With only two picks at the bottom of the first round, Richard would definitely not be happy to let the Spurs get a high-quality player like Wu Sheng.

…

Popovich sighed and turned around to leave, while Richard led the players back to the locker room.

After the game against the Spurs, the time has entered March, and there is still one and a half months before the playoffs start.

Although the Trail Blazers currently rank first in the Western Conference, the SuperSonics behind them are chasing after them. It is not impossible for the Blazers to be squeezed out by the SuperSonics if they are not careful.

The Jazz are still sixth in the Western Conference and are far behind the Spurs, who are fifth in the Western Conference. It is not very likely that they will catch up with the Spurs in the last month and a half.

As a result, their opponent in the first round of the playoffs is likely to be the Los Angeles Lakers, who are third in the Western Conference!

This duel situation made Richard a little bit dumbfounded...

At the beginning, I was worried about some PY trade between these two teams, but now it seems that I have obviously overthought it. These two teams will compete in the first round of this year's playoffs!

For these two teams, failing to make it past the first round of the playoffs is obviously unacceptable.

In this case, it is absolutely impossible for the two teams to make concessions to each other. It is not impossible for some friction to arise when the time comes.

The strength of both sides is actually very close. With the lineup intact, no one can say which team will advance...

If the Trail Blazers remain first in the Western Conference, they will definitely not worry about the first round. The eighth team in the Western Conference is completely a stinky tomato-rotten bird's egg team.

As for the second round, the Trail Blazers will face one of the Suns and Spurs. In Richard's opinion, the Spurs must have a greater chance of advancing...

The little big man from the Suns will probably be beaten into fishnet stockings by the Spurs.

In other words, the Trail Blazers will face the Spurs in the second round, which is why Richard attaches so much importance to the Spurs this season.

He failed to reach the Western Conference Finals last season. Although it was not a loss in the end and at least he dragged down his opponent Jazz, Richard must have regrets in his heart!

And this season, if they want to make up for this regret, the Blazers only need to get past the Spurs!

Judging from the recent matches, Richard is quite confident in eliminating the Spurs. Not to mention 100% sure, he is at least 70% to 80% sure!

After eliminating the Spurs, the Trail Blazers will reach the Western Conference Finals again after six years!

Richard has also fulfilled his promise to Paul Allen...

The Trail Blazers have such a strong momentum this season, the Western Conference Finals will definitely not be Richard's ultimate goal. Richard's ultimate goal this season is to reach the finals and compete with Jordan!

Traveling back to this era, if he had not faced the Bulls dynasty led by Jordan in the finals, Richard would have regretted it for the rest of his life.

In order to enter the finals, Richard must lead his team to defeat one of the three teams: the Lakers, Jazz or SuperSonics in the Western Conference Finals!

None of the three teams are that easy to deal with!

Richard is most confident about the Sonics. If the Sonics can advance to the Western Conference Finals, Richard will probably be able to laugh out of his dreams. The main reason is that after Kemp left the Sonics, they replaced power forward Vin Baker...

Even if Payton's glove can turn Kobe into a scumbag, Richard is still confident that he will lead his team to eliminate the Sonics.

As for the Jazz or Lakers, Richard is confident that he can defeat these two teams, but his certainty is definitely not as great as the SuperSonics...