Bishop of the Devil

Since it is a goalkeeper-level team, it is undoubtedly ranked eighth or ninth in the Eastern Conference.

If there are no surprises in this ranking, he will probably get a draft pick between the 13th and 16th picks.

Richard estimates that if this deal is really reached, there is at least a 90% chance that the Eagles' record will decline. As a result, their draft picks will have a high chance of staying within the fifteenth pick.

The pick Richard wants now does not need to be too high, as long as it is within the fifteenth pick, it is enough.

The key to the Hawks' offer was not the draft pick that really attracted Richard. After all, with Griffin as a bargaining chip, there was no way he could get a top-15 pick.

It is mainly the player Al Horford that attracts Richard.

As a player in the same class as Oden, this season is already Horford's fourth season in the league. He is in the last year of his rookie contract. After finishing this season, he can sign a new contract.

This is why the Hawks are willing to take out Al Horford...

Horford is not weak, but in the eyes of the league, his strength may only be described as not weak.

Currently, Horford has not made much progress compared to his rookie season. He is currently averaging about 15 points and 9 rebounds per game for the Hawks.

There is no doubt that such a data has no sense of existence compared to Oden, the No. 1 pick in the same year, or Durant, who was in the same year.

Call him weak, but he is not weak at all. As a player whose rookie contract has not yet been completed, he has reached the second position in the Hawks, which is actually pretty good.

But let's say he is strong, because he has two weirdoes in the same class, Oden and Durant, as references, so he is not very eye-catching.

The style of play is not flashy, and the data can only be described as plain. Apart from his excellent organization ability under the basket, it seems that there is no dazzling highlight in Horford.

Under this situation, the Hawks were also hesitant. Should they give Horford the maximum salary?

If you give it, you will be unwilling to give it. After all, a maximum salary will lock up the team's huge salary space, causing the team to lose the opportunity to continue to strengthen.

And if not, no one can say whether any team will offer Horford a maximum salary this offseason. If this happens, the Hawks can only watch Horford leave the team...

During the hesitation, Richard gave the Eagles management a good idea for team building.

That would be to use Horford and a first-round pick to trade Griffin. Because Griffin has two years left on his rookie contract, so in the next two years, the Hawks don't have to worry about salary issues at all and can completely recruit him with a maximum salary. A great player...

In this way, with Griffin, Josh Smith and maximum salary reinforcements, this is the prototype of another strong team.

If this deal is not made, the Hawks may end up signing Horford with a maximum salary or a contract close to the maximum salary. By then, the salary space will be locked up, and the team will also lose the salary space for reinforcements.

Although they paid an extra first-round pick, the first-round pick was not high in the draft and it was so easy to get a strong rookie.

Rather than being unlucky enough to draw a rubbish player, it would be safer to trade him with him.

Anyway, from an operational point of view, there is nothing wrong with the Eagle's deal. Even Richard, if it were not for the time traveler, he would probably make a similar decision to the Eagle in the face of this situation.

For a draft pick that is on the edge of the lottery, the probability of selecting a top and powerful rookie is actually less than 10%, or even less than 10%.

With such a draft pick, plus Horford, whose contract is about to expire, in exchange for Griffin and the salary space for reinforcements, it is a good deal no matter how you look at it.

After careful consideration, Richard decided to agree to the Eagles' offer.

The player Al Horford is quite tempting to Richard.

In Richard's view, Horford is definitely the kind of player who is underestimated and is generally ignored by fans.

This guy is a bit too all-around, and Milicic may not be as good as Horford in terms of all-around.

Griffin is naturally very strong, and can be said to crush Horford in terms of scoring and rebounding, but in fact, if we really look at various advanced statistics, Horford is better than Griffin in every aspect...

Note, it’s every aspect, any aspect.

Needless to say, organizational skills go without saying. Everyone knows that Horford has top-notch organizational skills under the basket.

Whether he is in the current Hawks or the Green Kai who joined later, Horford's organization ability under the basket is a very important weapon for the team.

In addition to his obviously better organizational ability than Griffin, advanced statistics such as basket shooting percentage, true shooting percentage, steal rate, block rate, rebound rate, and turnover rate are all better than Griffin.

This is a bit scary. If you say that the steal rate is better than Griffin, I guess fans can understand this. After all, Griffin has a wingspan...

But he is better than Griffin in other aspects, which probably no one can think of.

Griffin, who often makes explosive dunks at the rim, has a lower shooting percentage at the rim than Horford, who is looking at his wilting body? !

Is Horford's success rate in rebounding higher than Griffin's? !

The shot-blocking success rate per 100 possessions, Horford, a guy who seems to bounce only as high as a matchbox, is actually higher than Griffin?

Anyway, if it weren't for real data, Richard would definitely not believe it.

But the facts are facts. Horford is such a player, and low-level statistics cannot reflect his strength at all.

There is actually only one explanation for why this situation occurs. This player is not a big brush player and does not have a high desire for data.

This is not just nonsense from Richard Decker. With Horford's organizational skills, it is actually not difficult to get a triple-double, at least not so difficult that he only has two triple-doubles in his career...

As for the quasi-triple-double data, Horford has a lot of quasi-triple-doubles, and more than ten times he was only one rebound or one assist short of a triple-double.

It can also be seen from this that this guy really doesn't like to brush data.

What does it mean to be low-key and meaningful? Horford can almost truly interpret the meaning of this sentence.

How could Richard give up on such a player.

Because in the 2011 draft, Richard will take at least two forwards and defenders, plus the original Sun Yue. In fact, there is no need for a power forward with data brushing...

According to Richard's idea, he originally wanted to bring Milicic over to his beloved, but Jordan would definitely not agree to sell Milicic even if he was beaten to death.

Now that Horford is available to replace Milicic, it is also a good choice.

As for Horford's current contract year, it's actually not a problem at all with the Clippers.

Little Shark's contract is about to expire. When his contract expires, the Clippers' salary will not be enough to meet the poverty line.

Just signed Horford to fill the poor line...

This signing is for four years, and the new players who have joined the team will renew their contracts in four years. At least in the next four years, Richard will not have to worry about salary issues at all.

If nothing else, Richard's core lineup next season will be Al Horford, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Sun Yue and Thomas Jr.

Of course, this is an unforeseen situation. If something unexpected happens, some changes may occur.