Bishop of the Devil

After Richard made a phone call to Larry Bird, he asked for McHale's phone number and called him directly.

McHale is quite happy. In fact, he doesn't like the job of a TV commentator very much. He still wants to return to the NBA.

The Clippers are now in a state of exhaustion, and this is a good opportunity for them to show off their talents.

Moreover, Richard likes to play inside, which is a well-known thing. McHale feels that he can definitely play an important role in the Clippers.

The franchise was finalized over the phone, and Richard breathed a sigh of relief. The long march had taken the first step, and the Clippers' reconstruction was off to a good start.

With an interior coach now in place, Richard will naturally start looking for a shooting coach.

With the advent of the small ball era, shooting coaches actually play a considerable role in the team.

In fact, Curry Sr. is the best candidate for this position. In the past ten years, Curry Sr. can be said to have worked hard and helped Richard's newcomers develop excellent shooting abilities.

But now that the old Curry has stayed with the Buccaneers, Richard can only do nothing. After all, his son is in Charlotte. If he invites the old Curry, he will definitely agree, but he will always be in trouble...

Just when Richard was worrying about the candidate for the shooting coach, a resume was placed on Richard's desk by Sun Xiaoben.

Steve Kerr.

Richard was startled. He never expected that Cole would actually submit his resume...

He and Cole are certainly no strangers. When he was coaching the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference, Cole played for the Spurs and played under Popovich.

Later, after retiring, Cole lived a pretty cool life.

After retiring in 2003, he joined TNT as a commentator, similar to Barkley and Kenny Smith, except that he is not as popular as Barkley and Smith and usually commentates on the spot.

In 2007, he soared directly into the sky and became the general manager of the Suns...

In fact, when this happened in 2007, Richard didn't know what medicine the Suns owner had taken. He actually let Cole, who had no management experience, be the general manager. This was absolutely crazy.

Facts have proved that the Suns boss is indeed crazy. Cole's performance as general manager was quite unsatisfactory. He resigned before last season was over...

It's said that he resigned, but actually he was fired.

Then Cole returned to TNT as a commentator. When the Buccaneers played in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Cole was in charge of on-site commentary. Richard even said hello to Cole.

Unexpectedly, this guy, like McHale, was going to make a comeback, targeting the Clippers, and wanted to use the Clippers as a springboard to re-enter the league.

Now that Cole has come to his door, it definitely relieves Richard's urgent need.

The team happened to be short of a shooting coach, and Cole came to the door.

Fans of later generations must know that Curry is the strongest three-point shooter in history. I am afraid no one will have any doubts about this.

But in fact, Curry is not the most accurate three-point shooter in NBA history...

Among players who have played more than 500 games in NBA history and averaged more than one three-pointer per game, Cole ranks first with a career three-point shooting percentage of 45.4%.

In Richard's memory, Curry's career three-point shooting percentage was less than 44%.

Of course, with Curry shooting so many, Cole is definitely not comparable to Curry, but at least in terms of shooting percentage, Cole is the most accurate.

In Richard's view, Cole may be considered a typical example of someone who was born in the wrong era...

If he had entered the NBA in the small ball era, Cole's achievements might have been much greater than he normally would have been.

Although his defensive ability limits him from becoming an All-Star player, with his precise shooting skills, standard point guard height of 191cm, and super high golf IQ, it is estimated that there will be no problem in becoming a stable starter.

…

"Xiao Ben, tell Cole to pack up and report in Los Angeles." Richard decided to accept Cole without saying a word.

Now is the time when there is a shortage of people. Even if Cole has such shortcomings, Richard has to use him.

…

With the joining of McHale and Cole, Richard's coaching staff has been reorganized.

What's interesting is that Richard currently has four assistant coaches, namely Thibodeau, Mark Jackson, McHale and Steve Kerr. All four of them will become head coaches of league teams in the future.

And they are all well-known head coaches...

…

There is no need for scouts. The coaching staff has been formed. Next, Richard will leave all the necessary high-level recruitment for the team, such as finance, legal affairs, business, etc., to Sun Xiaoben.

The general framework of the team has been established. Since there are still nearly three months until the start of the new season, there is quite a lot of time.

Richard next focused on the team's lineup construction, which is undoubtedly the top priority for a team's ability to rise.

The Clippers actually had two good players in Kaman and Eric Gordon last season.

In Richard's opinion, Kaman's style is somewhat similar to that of the Cavaliers' Big Z.

Of course, his strength is definitely not as good as that of Big Z. Big Z is still a top-paid insider, and Kaman is slightly behind.

However, even if there is a gap compared to Big Z in its peak period, Kaman's value in the trading market is actually quite good.

The attitude of the game is diligent and diligent, and he does not make troubles. Although the defensive end is sometimes bright and sometimes ineffective, in general, the interior defense is still passable, which means that against top insiders like Yao Ming, he will suffer.

Under normal circumstances, domestic fans know Kaman because Kaman was teased many times by Yao Ming during the game...

On the offensive end, his skills are fairly comprehensive. He has a mid-range shot and can't find any major faults.

In short, this is a player with good value. If Richard trades Kaman, he will probably be able to get a good bargaining chip...

But how could Stern leave this wealth to Richard? He sold Kaman before Richard took over the Clippers.

Sold to the New York Knicks and traded Kaman for the Sharks.

Of course, this shark is not O'Neal's shark, but the little shark Eddie Curry...

When the deal was concluded, Richard was dumbfounded. He didn't expect that Little Shark was still in the league. It seemed that he hadn't heard about this guy for a long time.

But this guy’s contract is not small. Like Kaman, he has an annual salary of 10 million US dollars. The two people’s salaries match...

Richard couldn't help but secretly admire Stern's methods. This old guy would do anything to deceive him.

Of course, this operation may be due to Stern's intention to help the Knicks. He helps the Knicks from time to time, which is not a matter of one or two days.

Everyone in the league knows it, even the fans know it, but they all have a tacit understanding and are too lazy to mention it...

So what if we mention it? If this stinky tomato team in New York doesn't help, it will be completely ruined.

The two people with the highest salary in the Knicks last season were Tracy McGrady and Shaq.

Little Shark played 7 games last season, averaging less than nine minutes per game, and was paid tens of millions of dollars to guard the water cooler.

In recent years, McGrady's condition has declined significantly due to injuries.

He played 24 games with the Knicks last season and averaged only 9.4 points per game.

Thinking about the state of the two highest-paid members of the Knicks, if Stern didn't help, the Knicks would be completely in the cold.

So Eddy Curry, plus a second-round pick from the Knicks in 2012, were exchanged from the Clippers for the quasi-All-Star Kaman.

Is this operation a pitfall? Naturally, I've been tricked...

But since Richard, the sufferer, didn't jump out to question the alliance, others naturally have no right to say anything.

The only good thing for Richard is that this is the contract year for Little Shark...

After executing the last year of a contract worth nearly $12 million, Shark's contract expired.

In this aspect, Richard can operate.