281: 141.
Special training has begun 281: 141.
Special training has begun Zhang Yang was too surprised!
However, not because he had selected Millsap.
Millsap, just entering the NBA, would make Jas laugh if he aid to be a starter, as the Bobcats’ frontcourt would be thoroughly trounced.
Millsap produced an All-Star performance when he transferred to the Hawks team in 2013, playing under Budenholzer.
That was when he was 28, reaching his peak performance from age 28 to 32.
Millsap’s tryout was impressive, strong, with decent athletic ability, an outstanding wingspan of 217 centiters, solid basic post moves, a good sense for rebounding when facing the basket, a tough style of play, and sound screening abilities.
His shortcomings were also obvious: short in height, poor judgent of rebounding positions when turning his back to the basket, prone to turnovers with weak ball-handling skills as a shorter big man, defensively tough but lacking in technique and fundantals.
In the 5-on-5 practice ga on the fifth tryout day, he committed 5 fouls in 20 minutes, the kind that would be penalized even in the playoffs.
In college, Millsap’s deficiencies were severely exposed; otherwise, with an average of 18 points and 12 rebounds per ga, he wouldn’t have fallen to the second round.
Currently, Millsap could rely on his second-chance scoring ability, screening skills, and defensive effort to beco a solid substitute in his rookie year, but that would be about it.
What truly excited Zhang Yang was the trade acquisition of Nazr Mohamd.
They finally had an experienced veteran!
Mohamd was a mber of the 2005 Spurs championship team!
During the live broadcast, the comntators didn’t bother with who the Bobcats selected, continuing to discuss the Spurs’ cost-saving strategies and analyzing the reasons behind the Spurs’ interest in Brezec.
Brezec had an annual salary of 2.75 million US dollars, 26 years of age, in his pri.
Last season, he oscillated between starting and coming off the bench, playing 79 gas, averaging 23 minutes per ga with 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds, with a field goal percentage of 51.7%.
Considering the Bobcats reached the second round, he was a ‘low salary, high output’ player.
Brezec always played tough against European big n, which the comntators saw as the reason the Spurs were interested in him, especially since the Spurs had just been bested by the top European basketball star.
In the playoff series between the Bobcats and the Cavaliers, Brezec perford well, averaging 12.5 points per ga over four gas, ranking fourth on the team in scoring—higher than Felton—which confird this narrative and earned him so popularity during the postseason.
Another, perhaps the most crucial reason for the trade, was Mohamd’s 2005-2006 salary of 5.25 million US dollars, with a 10% rise due for the next season.
He averaged 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per ga, which was too expensive for the Spurs.
This year, the Spurs had a payroll of 62.9 million, just below the luxury tax threshold.
Keeping Mohamd would have likely ant paying luxury taxes next season, which was unacceptable to the Spurs’ owner.
Even Duncan took a pay cut to renew his contract.
To avoid the tax, Popovich persuaded Duncan to sign a 4-year contract renewal worth 79 million US dollars, starting at 17.4 million.
Considering Duncan’s tenure, using the veteran’s minimum exception, he could have signed a contract starting at 18.56 million for 4 years, exceeding 85 million, based on the ’05-’06 salary cap.
According to the projected cap increase, if Duncan renewed his contract after the free agency period started and the new cap was announced, his total contract value for 4 years could have reached as high as 90 million.
Mohamd’s salary was close to double that of Brezec’s, and the trade went through because the Bobcats had nothing else but ample salary space.
If Duncan hadn’t renewed his contract with the Spurs, the Bobcats could have offered him a max deal and still had room to spare.
Zhang Yang rembered that Mohamd would later join the Bobcats, but when exactly, he couldn’t recall.
It was during the ’09-’10 season, when Gerald Wallace was selected for the All-Star ga and was tough on defense, that he beca aware of Mohamd.
The initial impression ca from the live broadcast of the ga between the Bobcats and the Nuggets Team, where Mohamd was seen helping Larry Brown explain offensive tactics during a tiout…
Yes, to let a defensive-minded, blue-collar center explain the offensive playbook, the senior’s knowledge of the ga was indeed enchanting.
At the ti, the comntator claid Mohamd was one of the NBA’s finest locker room leaders.
The Bobcats managed to secure him for a 3-year, 19 million US-dollar deal, saying he was a teammate whom even Duncan had expressed respect for.
Zhang Yang took out his notebook and wrote down the nas of teammates who were certain to stay, those newly drafted, and those acquired through trade.
Point Guard: Felton, Rondo.
Shooting Guard: The grown-up handso guy, Alan Anderson.
Small Forward: Gerald Wallace, Matt Carroll.
Power Forward: Okafor, Millsap.
Center: Perkins, Mohamd.
Zhang Yang frowned as he looked at the nas of the five frontcourt players.
Mohamd, Millsap, Perkins, Okafor, Gerald Wallace—leaving their strength and ages aside, one was tougher than the next on defense!
Was Bickerstaff stimulated by the Pistons, or was he influenced by ESPN to put together a lineup specifically against that one person?
Indeed, with the toughness of those frontcourt players, they were starting to resemble the Bad Boys Legion…
After sneering to himself, Zhang Yang seriously analyzed the frontcourt combination.
If these five were part of the main frontcourt rotation, their inside impact would be strong without question!
This would benefit his high-post shooting, Felton’s long-distance isolation, Carroll’s and Anderson’s long-range shooting.
Yes, he was probably overthinking it, it definitely wasn’t aid at that one person, definitely not.
It’s just that the backcourt defense was a bit weak, Rondo and Millsap were in a similar situation—too green at the mont, with distinct strengths but also nurous weaknesses that needed ti to develop, though Rondo’s growth cycle would likely be shorter.
Following the analysis, Zhang Yang felt sowhat lancholic.
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