Bishop of the Devil

A few days later, the entire alliance became completely lively.

On the first day, news broke that dynasty control Rondo had been traded. The Buccaneers reached a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, sending dynasty control Rondo in exchange for the Clippers' 10-year first-round pick.

Rondo was traded, which is not unacceptable to the fans. After all, Chris Paul was traded before, not to mention Rondo, who is not as valuable as Paul.

What really makes them unacceptable is that the bargaining chip given by the Clippers only has a first-round pick...

This is simply a piece of pie-in-the-sky good news for the Clippers. After all, their first-round pick is not worth much.

As for the Pirates, it's a loss to grandma's family...

In major NBA forums, fans in the Clippers section praised Richard in all kinds of ways, almost praising Richard as a god.

The Buccaneers section is full of tangles...

If Richard hadn't just led the team to create a dynasty, I'm afraid there would be many people scolding him.

Rondo's deal had just been reached, and the Dallas Mavericks immediately made an official announcement. They signed Marion, the Buccaneers' chief backup small forward, at a price of $40 million over five years.

This signing is not unacceptable to Pirates fans. After all, Marion is older, and the Pirates still have Granger, so there is no need to give Marion such a long-term contract.

But before they were happy, the Portland Trail Blazers made an official announcement. They gave Granger a four-year, $68 million maximum salary contract.

Chris Paul, who joined the Buccaneers with Granger at the same time, has also signed a four-year, $68 million maximum salary contract with the Grizzlies.

Granger was signed by the Trail Blazers, which means that the Pirates did not match the contract offered by the Trail Blazers. This means that from now on, Granger will be a Trail Blazers player.

This made the Pirates fans collapse. It didn't matter if Marion left, but now that Granger is gone, the problem has become big.

You can't let Batum be the starting small forward, right? This newcomer's strength is pretty good, but he can't compare with Granger.

Fans finally understood why Richard chose so many forwards and defenders in this draft. I bet he had already planned to give up Granger and Marion.

…

What made the fans even more devastated was that the Trail Blazers made another official announcement the next day.

The Buccaneers sent Oden and Ingram to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Kevin Durant.

Oden was sent away too? Buccaneers fans feel like they are going crazy. They feel like the end of the world is coming early. There is no need to wait until 2012. The end of the world is now.

As a result, the Pirates lost most of their championship lineup and three of their five starters. This has never happened in the entire history of the NBA.

The championship lineup cannot be dismantled. This is the consensus in the NBA circle. If it can be avoided, it will not be dismantled. Even if it really has to be dismantled, it will be helpless. For example, in later generations, the Warriors let go of Barnes. First, the asking price for Barnes was too high. The second is to get Durant, in which case they gave up on Barnes.

The current situation of the Pirates is obviously different from that of the Warriors in later generations. At the moment, the Pirates have no salary pressure.

Oden only entered the league in 2007 and could still work as a child laborer for the Pirates for two years. Roy could still work as a child laborer for one year. Because Marion's contract expired, the Pirates could also renew Granger's contract with the maximum salary.

If nothing else, at least in the coming season, the Pirates' lineup will not change and they can continue to maintain their strong dominance.

But Richard is obviously thinking in the longer term, and what he wants is a more stable future.

…

Kwame Brown also left the team, which did not generate much buzz.

However, if the Pirates include Ingram, six players have been sent away from the championship lineup.

Ingram was sent away, which was actually Richard's helpless move. He had just acquired four forwards and defenders, and it would definitely be difficult for Ingram to get a chance to play next. It would be better to give it to the Trail Blazers for free...

If Ingram really wants to be sold, no one is actually willing to take it. It is estimated that he will not be able to get a second-round pick, so Richard will simply not waste that time.

…

The storm had not passed long, and just three days later, the Pirates also issued an official announcement.

Moreover, two official announcements were released in succession.

The first is that the Buccaneers signed Iverson to a one-year, $3 million contract.

This news made many Iverson fans rejoice. Although this contract is really pitiful, Iverson can taste the taste of a championship.

Over the years, Iverson has played in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Finals, but he has never tasted a championship. Now that he has joined the Buccaneers, maybe Iverson can win a championship before the end of his career. ring, bringing a successful end to his career.

The second official announcement is that the Pirates signed Szczerbiak with a veteran's minimum salary contract...

Szczerbiak is also considered a veteran player in West Lafayette, and was one of the original nine-star Purdue lineup.

However, after entering the league, Szczerbiak's development was not particularly ideal. Although he also played in an All-Star game, his peak period was too short. After joining Green Kai in 2006, he has already started to decline. Then he wandered to the SuperSonics in 2007, and then to the Cavaliers in 2008...

After this season, the Cavaliers did not choose to renew Szczerbiak's contract. Under normal circumstances, Szczerbiak would choose to retire this offseason.

But now he obviously has a better choice, which is to join the Pirates. It doesn't matter whether it's money or not, the main thing is to get a taste of the championship.

Originally, Brad Miller saw Iverson and Szczerbiak coming, and he wanted to come too...

As a result, the Bulls refused to let him go. Now Miller is playing as a substitute center for the Bulls. Although his condition is far from his peak, the Bulls do not want to lose Miller in vain.

There is no way, Miller can only wait until the end of this season before joining the Pirates.

This year Richard selected four players in the draft, and then with the additions of Iverson and Szczerbiak, there were exactly six players, equal to the number of departures.

Although the number of the team has not changed, the strength has definitely declined significantly. If nothing else, at least the dominance in the penalty area has dropped by one level.

Although the offensive firepower of the point guard position has been strengthened, the defensive and organizational aspects have also declined a lot.

If this Buccaneers team wants to play the same dominance as last season, it will definitely require a long running-in period.

…

"What? What did you say?" In McMillan's office, Durant was dumbfounded.

On the morning when the Trail Blazers officially announced that Oden and Durant would swap clubs, McMillan called Durant into his office.

Durant didn't think much about it before coming, because the Trail Blazers announced Granger's joining the day before, and Durant thought the team wanted to talk to him about ball rights.

Durant is good at this aspect and doesn't like to fight for the ball, so he didn't feel uncomfortable when Granger joined, and he didn't have the idea that his status was threatened.

But he never expected that the team came to him to inform him that he was being traded...

If he was just being traded, then Durant would grit his teeth and admit it, but the key now is that he was traded to the Buccaneers, to Richard's staff.

Thinking about all the arrogance he had said at the press conference before, Durant felt like the sky was about to fall...

"How is that possible? When did you agree on this kind of thing?"

"Don't tell me that this deal was only negotiated in the past few days. I don't believe it!" Durant was going crazy.

He feels that this transaction may have been in operation for a long time, because the transaction between him and Oden is not a child's play. The two of them are one of the most outstanding newcomers in the league today. At least among the players who entered the league after the 2007 class, there is no such thing. Other players can achieve results like theirs.

Such a major deal cannot be negotiated in just a few words!

"Ahem, Kevin, isn't it what you want to join the Pirates and play for Richard?"

"As for when this was agreed upon, do you think I might know? This was all discussed between the boss and Richard, how could I possibly get involved," McMillan said with a smile.

He naturally knew when the deal was negotiated, but he couldn't tell it at this moment. If Durant knew that he was negotiated to be sent to the Pirates at the beginning of last season, I'm afraid Durant could Go crazy.

…

Durant looked confused, and now his mind was full of thoughts about what to do. Although he had not been rude to Richard before, he had shouted several times that he would lead the team to defeat the Pirates.

It's very embarrassing now. The team he promised to beat has become the team he is about to play for.

"Can you cancel this deal? Believe me, I will definitely lead the team to good results." Durant was a little anxious.

He could imagine what it would be like to join the Pirates. Even if Richard didn't talk about him, the Pirates players probably wouldn't give him a good look...

McMillan shook his head. Are you kidding? This deal must be done now, whether it is done or not.

In fact, McMillan is the beneficiary of this deal. With the addition of Oden and Granger to the team, he is about to become a head coach.

With such a lineup, the Blazers' record will definitely soar next season, and by then their head coaching position will be secure.

…

Durant left McMillan's office in despair, wishing he could slap himself in the face. Why was he so confused in the first place that he had to be in the limelight?

Now I'm fine, I don't know what will be waiting for me after joining the Pirates.

He didn't want to follow Mourning's example and refuse to report to the team. Because of the introduction of Mourning's Law, if he did this, not to mention Richard, even Stern would not let him go.

"It's miserable, it's so miserable, why is my life so miserable!" Durant said with a bitter face, full of anxiety about his future.