The Fifth Point Guard

Chapter 541 The strongest enemy is born (Thanks Tenber. for the reward!)

The Utah Jazz, who came out third, selected University of Illinois point guard Deron Williams with the No. 3 pick.

Williams is 1.91 meters tall and strong.

Originally, the Jazz were somewhat tossing between him and Chris Paul, but later they learned through scouts that Williams had practiced wrestling when he was young. This tough guy trait made the Jazz finally choose the taller and stronger William. Ms.

Deron Williams is a player who pursues the concept of "passing first, shooting second". He can concentrate on playing for his teammates on the court and puts the team's record first. This is also the same as Utah's legendary point guard Williams. Tocton fits perfectly.

Williams is believed to be an All-Star player soon under the leadership of coach Sloan.

The New Orleans Hornets, who appeared fourth, picked up Chris Paul without hesitation.

Originally they thought Paul would be selected with the top three picks, but they didn't expect it would be their turn to pick.

The Hornets' front office was overjoyed.

Since high school, Paul has been a star player on the local school team.

Although he is only 1.83 meters tall, Paul has excellent ball control, very strong assist ability, sharp breakthroughs, and can fight tough battles.

In all the high-profile key games in high school and college, Paul's performance never disappointed. Regardless of winning or losing, he was the most stable and outstanding player on the team.

With the fifth pick, the Bobcats selected NCAA champion guard Raymond Felton from North Carolina.

The next Blazers selected a very athletic wing player Martel Webster.

The Toronto Raptors selected the violent forward, "Browless Man" Charlie Villanueva with the 7th overall pick.

The Knicks continued to waste their lottery pick by selecting a mediocre center in Channing Frye.

It is worth noting that the Los Angeles Lakers selected the youngest high school player among this draft's rookies, Andrew Bynum, with the 10th overall pick.

This player who is under 18 years old averaged 22 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocks per game when he played for St. Joseph High School, showing extraordinary dominance at the basket.

In the McDonald's All-American Game, Bynum scored 9 points and 5 rebounds in 11 minutes.

Bynum likes physical contact under the basket and has a tough style. He is a traditional center prospect.

The Lakers selected Bynum because of his future potential, but it is said that Kobe was very dissatisfied with the Lakers' draft results.

According to people familiar with the matter, Bryant wants immediate players like Marvin Williams or Chris Paul, rather than potential players who may take several years to develop.

The next teams to play selected players such as Sean May, Rashad McCants, Danny Granger, Gerald Green, Nate Robinson, Luther Hyde, David... Players with great potential such as Li.

In fact, this draft is recognized as a weak draft year, so many teams do not have any good choices in the second round of the draft.

With local teams failing, many teams have set their sights overseas.

The Milwaukee Bucks selected forward Ersen Ilyasova from Turkey.

The Los Angeles Lakers selected French power forward Ronny Turiaf.

The Phoenix Suns chose a tall Polish center, Maxin Gortat, nicknamed "The Hammer".

Due to the league's new rules, this is also the last time in the history of the NBA draft that high school students can directly participate in the draft.

Not long after the transfer market opened on June 25, the Cavaliers welcomed a bench gangster.

Heat point guard Damon Jones rejected the Heat's request for a contract extension and instead signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent, becoming a member of the Cavaliers' bench.

This deal is evaluated in Buckley's words, that is, "If I can't beat you, I will join you."

As a direct competitor in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat can't help but feel a little anxious as they watch their team defect to the Cavaliers with guns and strength.

On August 2, one month after the transfer market opened, a huge deal involving 13 people from 5 teams was announced that shocked the league.

This is also the largest trade in NBA history.

The Heat, Hornets, Jazz, Celtics, and Grizzlies have made personnel changes.

The Heat received "White Chocolate" Jason Williams and small forward James Posey from the Grizzlies, and "Fat Head" Antoine Walker from the Celtics.

The Grizzlies acquired Heat perimeter player Eddie Jones and Jazz guard Lopez.

The Jazz acquired center Ostertag from the Grizzlies.

The Celtics got some role players.

The Hornets acquired Rasual Butler and Kirk Snyder.

After signing a new five-year, $100 million contract with O'Neal, the Heat added point guard Williams, small forward Posey and power forward Walker through this big deal.

Although Eddie Jones has left the Heat, he and Dwyane Wade have functional overlap.

Heat general manager Pat Riley said: "We made a lot of transactions and acquired three high-level players. Antoine Walker is a versatile player. He can handle the ball, pass the ball, shoot three-pointers and steal. In rebounding, there is no second person in the league who is more comprehensive than him. Jason Williams can connect the team better. He is the most important piece of the puzzle on our road to winning the championship. As for James Posey, he can play He can also start in the second team, has a tough style and can shoot three-pointers, which is very suitable for our current lineup."

The Heat, which has a more complete lineup and has been working together for a year, is aiming for the championship in the new season!

They have also become the Cavaliers' strongest rivals in the Eastern Conference.

Shortly after the largest trade in history was completed, the Houston Rockets, which had been relatively quiet in the transfer market, broke a shocking news.

It was rumored that the Houston Rockets intended to renew Yao Ming's contract in advance and offered a five-year maximum salary of US$76 million, but Yao Ming rejected it after thinking for two days.

After Yao Ming rejected the offer, the Los Angeles Lakers immediately showed their favor to the "little giant" Yao Ming.

Returning Lakers coach Phil Jackson and Lakers' signature star Kobe Bryant also said that Los Angeles always opens the door for Yao Ming.

"He is a player I really want to coach." Jackson said in an interview with Chinese reporters. "If he can come here, I think I will tailor 100 sets of tactics for him."

Kobe's recruitment intention is even more obvious.

"If he comes here, I think we can win five championships together, it's definitely possible, he's the best partner, a good player, a good teammate, a good partner, a good person. "

Later, when Yao Ming was interviewed, he did not hold anything back and said directly: "I listened carefully to the advice of my friends and followed my heart. I am still hesitant about renewing the contract. I need more time to think about it." And observation, I don’t want to limit myself to one place so quickly, everything is full of possibilities.”

Some Houston or McGrady fans left messages online saying that Yao Ming's actions were too selfish and might cause problems in the Rockets locker room or discord with McGrady. However, at this time, STO immediately came out and expressed his dissatisfaction with Yao Ming's behavior. support for a decision.

"Why? What are these people on the Internet thinking? Why do they accuse Yao Ming? Ignore their own selfishness because of their so-called Yao Ming-style selfishness? Aren't they selfishly asking Yao Ming to sign a contract quickly and stay in Houston? I think what Yao Ming did is understandable, including other players in the league. I hope that when you sign any contract, you will first think of yourself, and then others. As for the sacrifices made for winning the championship or other reasons, this is not included. I I support Yao Ming’s decision, but if it were me, I would seriously consider the rest of my career, after all, there are better opportunities waiting for him.”

Obviously, the better opportunity is the vacancy left by O'Neal's departure.

There is a better market, a better roster, a better head coach, a more generous owner, and a better backup center.

Before the start of the new season, the first episode of the new talk show "Speak Big" hosted by Charles Barkley invited STO as the first guest.

The biggest highlight of the new season is whether the Cavaliers teamed up by STO and James can defeat other teams and successfully defend the title.

So does the Cavaliers boss Shentong have confidence in his team?

Next, Buckley conducted an exclusive interview with STO himself.

Barkley: "STO, the new season is about to begin. Faced with the superstar group and the reinforcements from multiple teams, do you have anything to say?"

Shentong: "I try not to raise the threshold for championship too high."

Barkley: "It's really arrogant. So many opponents regard the Cavaliers as their imaginary enemies on the road to winning the championship. Are you nervous?"

Shentong: "Of course I will, I will be nervous for them."

Barkley: "Ah!!! What's with that awesome attitude?! So what do you want to say to your opponents?"

Shentong: "My opponent is only myself."

Barkley: "Oh my god! You are indeed Shentong, arrogant and charming. What if you cannot successfully defend your title this season?"

Shentong: "Then you just think what I just said is all nonsense!"

Barkley: "Yes!!!"

Being the first host and guest, love burst out between Barkley and Shentong. Yes, it was a spark of passion!

In last season's Finals, the Cavaliers and Spurs reached Game 7 for the first time since 1994.

On June 14, perhaps because Kobe was unhappy with the draft, the somewhat panicked Lakers management rehired "Zen Master" Phil Jackson. This move was also seen as a sign of goodwill from the Lakers management to Kobe.

On July 28, Larry Brown, the legendary head coach of the Pistons, took office with the Knicks, but many experts were not optimistic about Brown's prospects in New York.

Barkley even said bluntly: "Stubborn Larry simply cannot adapt to the picky New York."

On August 19, Joe Johnson officially joined the Hawks, and the Johnson trade turmoil that lasted for more than a month finally ended.

The Suns, who lost Richardson, lost another perimeter player, but the Suns signed Raja Bell as the team's perimeter supplement. At the same time, the team's iron triangle of Steve Nash and Amare - Stoudemire and Shawn Marion remain with the team.

On September 11, a hurricane relief charity match was held, and STO was invited to participate in this exhibition match.

In the game, Shentong made 9 of 11 outside shots, scored 34 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, and won the charity game MVP.

Arenas, as a member of STO's opponent lineup, also made 8 of 12 shots from the outside and scored 30 points.

The two had a three-pointer against Biao during the game, which caused a commotion at the scene.

On October 15, Hawks center Collison died of a heart attack.

Heart disease has become the number one killer of NBA players.

STO did not stay out of the situation and immediately announced that it would work with the NBA union to prepare a special charity fund for the treatment of heart disease for NBA players to help active and retired players with the treatment of heart disease and other diseases. The first allocation of this charity fund is from the STO Fund. allocated, with the first tranche amounting to US$8 million.

This behavior of STO has gained him the support of more players in the league.

On October 26, Duke University’s “Coach K” Mike Krzyzewski officially became the head coach of the U.S. Men’s Basketball Team.

On November 1st, the 2005-06 regular season is about to begin.

After team trials and summer league, the Cavaliers cut several players and signed new contracts with several new players.

Reggie Miller has not renewed his contract with any team since winning the championship with the Cavaliers. Sources indicate that Miller is already considering officially retiring.

Since Miller's two options, retiring or returning to Indiana, did not include a return to the Cavaliers, the Cavaliers signed outside shooter Donyel Marshall to fill the void left by Reggie Miller.

As for Scott Williams and Robert Traylor, they are satisfied to retire after winning the championship ring and have no plans to return to the court in the new season.

When McGinnis had no hope of returning to the main lineup, he asked the Cavaliers management to leave the team. The Cavaliers did not force him to stay and chose to trade with the Hornets, trading McGinnis for the second-year player JR Smith of the opposing team. and some cash.

In this way, the 15-man roster of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2005-06 season is as follows:

Center: Zaydrunas Ilgauskas, 2.21 meters, No. 11; (Captain)

Center: Martinas Andriuskovicius, 2.18 meters, No. 15; (Rookie)

Center/Power Forward: Anderson Varejao, 2.11 meters, No. 17;

Power forward: Drew Gooden, 2.08 meters, No. 90;

Power forward: Alan Henderson, 2.06 meters, No. 44;

Power forward/small forward: Donyel Marshall, 2.06 meters, No. 24;

Small Forward: LeBron James, 2.03 meters, No. 23; (Captain)

Small forward: Ira Newbell, 2.01 meters, No. 14;

Small forward/shooting guard: Alexander Pavlovich, 2.03 meters, No. 3;

Shooting guard: Shentong, 2.01 meters, No. 25; (Captain)

Shooting guard: JR Smith, 1.98 meters, No. 8;