Chapter 920: The Current Situation of the SuperSonics and Bo Yun’s Weird 2009 Draft

"Jose had a really hard time playing last season."

Watching Barea leave, Nelson, the team's head coach, sighed.

As the team's head coach, he likes players like Barea very much.

He is hardworking, capable of taking on tasks, and does not make trouble. More importantly, his strength is indeed very trustworthy.

Whether it's the 2007 Western Conference Finals with the Suns, the 2008 championship or this year's championship, JJ Barea can always stand up when the team needs it. This is a key player who has proven himself.

Arguably, one of the best substitute players in the entire league.

Players like this are very rare in the entire league.

Therefore, after Barea performed very well in this year's finals, many teams want to get him.

Barea was so uncomfortable playing with the SuperSonics last season that a blind person could see it.

With James Harden's style of play, he doesn't have the ball in his hands, and he has to take the blame for James Harden's sticky balls and buzzer-beating passes, which makes it uncomfortable for everyone.

If this person is not Barea, but replaced by another outstanding sixth man in the league, the team has made it clear that it will focus on cultivating other substitute players. Although it has not lost its sixth man position, the future sixth man will The team obviously prefers James Harden. In this case, James Harden has to take the blame. This is not a direct explosion. Let alone a season, it cannot be tolerated for a month.

But out of the team's trust in Yes, Barea did not explode. He worked conscientiously and was cheated by James Harden in the substitute lineup for a season. In the finals, when the Sonics needed to score the most, he Still stood up.

Although this year's finals were swept 4-0, it is certain that this year's finals were very difficult. If it weren't for the outstanding performance of Rondo and Barea, if they had lost in the third game, everything would have been unknown. .

Therefore, for Barea, whether it is Nelson, Yeas, other SuperSonics management or even the fans, they are very, very grateful.

Even Ye Si felt a little guilty.

In order to cultivate James Harden, Barea's sacrifice was indeed very, very big.

So regarding Barea's future, although neither Ye Si nor Nelson said anything, they both had a hunch that sooner or later there would be such a day...

Barea is the veteran of the Seattle SuperSonics.

He is one of the team's main players who came to the SuperSonics with Ye Si in 2006.

Tucker, Millsap, Rondo, Barea, and Milicic, these five Sonics veterans have a very special status in the Sonics.

Among them, Barea was even the leader of these five people.

No one wants Barea to leave, but everyone has a hunch that Barea is likely to leave after the end of this season.

Barea, Millsap, and Tucker, these three players who came to the team in 2006 and signed three-year, 2 million contracts with the team, all have their contracts expired this year.

There is no problem with Millsap and Tucker's contract extensions.

Millsap is now the team's starting power forward and his position is very stable.

As for Tucker, because his offense is still being honed and his abilities in other aspects are also being honed, Tucker's current position is not that stable, but neither he nor the team has any intention of separating. Tucker enjoys life in the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Seattle SuperSonics also need a player on the team who can rush forward and 'fight' with others at any time.

Therefore, whether it was Millsap or Tucker, they reached a contract extension agreement with the SuperSonics early before the end of the finals.

Millsap reached a five-year, $55 million contract with the team.

Tucker, on the other hand, has a five-year, 15 million contract.

In an environment where the NBA's salary cap is likely to exceed 80 million this year, the contracts of Millsap and Tucker are actually not high.

It's hard to say for Tucker, but Millsap, if he is willing to go to the free market, his contract can be slightly larger.

But because Milicic's contract is 60 million over five years, when Milicic signed, the league's salary cap had not increased significantly. Although it was a maximum salary at that time, it is indeed not a maximum salary now.

Although Milicic himself didn't care very much, he wanted to prevent Milicic from feeling uncomfortable.

Millsap actively requested that his contract extension should not be larger than Milicic's.

Based on Millsap's performance in the past few seasons, whether he stays in the SuperSonics or leaves the SuperSonics, it is actually very simple for him to get a higher contract than Milicic.

It’s just that Millsap simply believes that his strength and contribution are not as good as Milicic’s. Forget it if it’s Durant and Rondo. His contract is higher than Milicic’s, which really undermines the unity of the team and the relationship between him and Milicic. Sitch's friendship.

Players who are willing to stay with the Seattle SuperSonics always put the unity of the team and the friendship between players first. Even the players who leave also choose to sacrifice themselves when their own interests conflict with the interests of the team. Interests.

Such a team atmosphere.

This makes Nelson, who has been in the NBA for thirty or forty years, find it incredible.

It can be said very clearly that he has never seen a team like the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA.

Because it always feels like it has just ended, many people are moved by the Seattle SuperSonics' fairy tale. Durant and Yeas were able to even give each other a v in the finals.

This kind of touch and shock is even more felt as a person who has experienced this team.

Barea's contract was a three-year, $2 million contract signed in 2006.

Although the contract has expired, the Seattle SuperSonics still have priority for Barea's contract extension, and Barea is a restricted free agent.

So for the Seattle SuperSonics, Barea's contract is valuable.

As long as the Sonics are willing, they can reap good benefits from Barea's contract.

But neither Presti nor Yes or Nelson were in favor of trading Barea's contract.

For a player who has sacrificed so much for the team, other Sonics players are watching. Such a player is worthy of the Sonics' sacrifice.

Barea has the right to choose a team he likes, and he also has the right to choose a team worthy of him.

Barea now goes to the free market, and many teams hope to get him. As long as Barea is willing, the Seattle SuperSonics will not set any obstacles for his departure.

So, Barea can now enjoy the entire NBA tour.

As an important player on the two-time championship team, he also has such qualifications.

The NBA free market in 2009 is not very good this year compared to last year.

Although Kobe is the biggest fish in this year's free market, all fools know that Kobe ended his contract early this year and jumped into the free market. He did not threaten the Lakers to leave, nor did he really want to leave. It was simply because of the current salary cap. After a huge increase, he wanted to jump out and get a bigger contract.

In addition to Kobe, the Jazz's Carlos Boozer and Okur, the Lakers' Turkoglu, and the Magic's Odom are already considered big fish in this year's free market.

In fact, in addition to Kobe, there is another big fish in the NBA free market, Rockets star McGrady.

There are rumors that McGrady has rejected the Rockets' contract extension and is preparing to opt out of the contract.

But McGrady's attitude is very ambiguous.

To jump out of the contract is to jump out of the contract, but there is no clear refusal to refuse.

Many teams have contacted McGrady, but these teams are not at the level of championship contenders.

Many people have doubts about how much strength McGrady still has after being seriously injured for a season.

McGrady is indeed not that old, only 30 years old.

But there are many injury risks.

It would be difficult for a competitive team to put a maximum salary on McGrady.

What's more, McGrady's current strength is still in doubt.

And McGrady looks down on those weak teams.

According to many experts, Tracy McGrady and the Rockets are in the game stage.

The Rockets hope that McGrady will not break out of his contract and play for another year. As long as there is no problem with his physical condition, he will renew his contract with the maximum salary next season.

McGrady obviously doesn't want this. Either he renews his contract this season or loses me.

In the end, will McGrady end up with a weak team or renew his contract with the Rockets with a maximum salary?

This depends on the outcome of the game between Tracy McGrady and the Rockets.

Before the finals, many people believed that the Rockets did not dare to bet on Tracy McGrady with the team's future.

According to the current salary cap, McGrady’s playing experience, he can get a salary of 35 in the Rockets, a salary cap of 80 million. 35 is a starting salary of 28 million. Of course, McGrady’s contract extension with the Rockets requires five years. The contract is for five years, that is 1.6 billion US dollars!

At $1.6 billion over five years, this will be the largest contract in NBA history.

Now many people are watching whether the Rockets will satisfy Tracy McGrady's big appetite.

There are also many people who are looking at who between McGrady and Kobe will become the player with the largest contract in NBA history.

Most teams cannot catch up with McGrady and Kobe, two giants, so there are only a few big fish left in this year's free market.

As for these approximations, after the Seattle SuperSonics turned around, none of them were suitable.

There wasn't even a player to fill the void left by Barea's departure.

The Seattle SuperSonics' task of defending their title next season is already very difficult. It is already very difficult to find a player who can enhance the team's strength.

Now with Barea gone, the task becomes even more difficult.

It will be difficult to find players in free agency who can make up for Seattle's losses and strengthen Seattle's strength.

As for trades, the Seattle SuperSonics don't want to lose existing players.

If the Sonics are willing to lose Harden, Ibaka and Gasol, they can get Ginobili and Parker from the Spurs.

It's just obvious that the Seattle SuperSonics can't do such a thing.

In the end, after going around in circles, Yeezy and the Seattle SuperSonics found that they still couldn't flex their muscles in the free market this year and could only focus on the draft market.

This year's NBA draft market is still called a big draft year.

Griffin, Curry, Rubio, Chen Jianghua, Evans, Jordan Hill, this year's NBA draft market is generally believed that although it cannot reach the quality of 2006, 2007 and 2008, it can still be regarded as reaching the draft level. New Year's standards.

It's just obvious that the Seattle SuperSonics' draft pick this year is only the No. 21 pick in the first round. This is not a draft pick that can take the initiative.

What's more, because the Western Conference playoffs are so intense this year, the Seattle SuperSonics simply don't have time to organize training camps for rookies and examine their quality.

For example, the starting five of the University of Washington, as well as those Chinese players, although the Sonics know them very well, the Sonics either don't need these players, and those who need them are impossible to select.

For example, Curry, who is currently very undervalued in draft predictions, is highly regarded by the Seattle SuperSonics.

But no matter how underestimated Curry's pick is, he still hasn't fallen out of the top ten.

Another example is Klay Thompson, who the SuperSonics are also interested in, but Klay Thompson's pick has always been in the lottery.

It can be said that in this year's draft, the Seattle SuperSonics can only rely on their feelings to see if they can have a chance to miss out.

This year's draft, in the eyes of many, is a performance stage that belongs to Jerry West and the Warriors.

The Warriors gave away the entire team's combat effectiveness last season, emptied the team, and won the No. 1 pick under the leadership of Beasley.

In this year's draft, the Warriors hold their own No. 1 pick, the Nets' 10th pick, and the Mavericks' 28th pick. It can be said that they are the biggest predators in this year's draft.

What's more, these three draft picks are not controlled by an idiot general manager, but by Jerry West!

And more importantly, the Thunder has the second pick, and the Thunder is interested in Griffin from Goose City University, and Griffin is the No. 1 pick.

What does this mean?

The whole world knows that this means an opportunity for robbery!

The same chance that the Bulls were robbed last year and the Sonics were robbed in 2006!

Regarding the Bulls' tragic situation last year, many people even joked that Griffin would lose Chris Paul in Goose City.

Of course, Jerry West is not an alligator like Pat Riley and Danny Ainge.

But in the face of absolute interests, some established things will be changed.

The Seattle SuperSonics have set their sights on the draft.

And the draft is already bustling with activity.

The Warriors have an ambiguous relationship with Jerry West, taking advantage of the Thunder's weaknesses.

The Thunder are now holding Chris Paul and watching Griffin tremble.

With the third overall pick, the Charlotte Hornets, Jordan and Larry Brown had conflicts over draft choices on more than one occasion.

The fourth-placed Pacers and fifth-placed Jazz are shopping around to select players.

The sixth-ranked New York Knicks are happily watching Curry's draft ranking continue to decline.

Of course, Curry himself is happily watching his draft stock continue to decline.

The more he drops, the better his chances of going to the New York Knicks.

This year's rookies don't have the large-scale injection of money from Ye Si, but this year's draft still looks quite strange.

On June 25, 2009, Yeas came to New York as a member of the family and friends group of rookies Curry, Klay and Chen Jianghua.

And the 2009 draft has also begun...