Chapter 28 [Trading Progress]

On July 26, the SuperSonics announced a small deal.

The Sonics sent rookie swingman Sherrel Ford in exchange for Clippers forward Beau Outlaw. Both of them will have an annual salary of US$500,000 next season, which is exactly the same as one for one.

This deal is seen as a win-win for both parties. The Clippers want offensive players with potential, and Outlaw is just a brave rough guy. Last season, he played for a long time due to injuries within the team, but he was not a player that the coach liked.

Outlaw is 203cm tall and weighs 100kg. He has poor skills as a small forward and a poor shot. He is a bit short to play power forward, has average ability to protect rebounds, and has a very awkward style of play.

Scherer was a first-round pick who performed well in summer league. Outlaw was an undrafted player and earned a contract with the Clippers through hard work. Clippers manager Elgin Baylor, who never makes mistakes, firmly believes that Scherer has more potential.

SuperSonics manager Wally Walker appreciated Outlaw's defensive ability. Outlaw averaged 20.4 minutes per game for the Clippers last season, scoring 5.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1.1 steals and 1.9 blocks.

Outlaw is more like a power forward, with a blistering 1.9 blocks, and he always works hard on the defensive end.

Outlaw's offense is terrible, scoring only in the penalty area and shooting only 44.1% from the free throw line. The Sonics don't need him to attack, and there is no shortage of attackers in the team. Schrempf and Sam Perkins are both strong offensive and defensive players, and Outlaw can be a substitute at the 3rd and 4th positions.

In the SuperSonics, Outlaw played more than ten minutes per game and completed the task by working hard on the defensive end. If he can limit the other team's scorers during this period, the deal will be worth it.

Head coach George Karl was equally impressed with Outlaw. In the game between the SuperSonics and the Clippers in December last year, the two teams played double overtime to determine the winner. Outlaw only scored 4 points in 44 minutes, but sent 9 blocks.

Outlaw can defend both the inside and the outside, and all three of the Sonics' All-Stars have taken advantage of him. Kemp was blocked three times by him and was furious. In the last 46 minutes of the game, he scored 42 points and 14 rebounds, the highest score in a single game of his career.

It's not a shame that Outlaw can't guard Kemp, he has proven himself.

The Sonics coaching staff was well aware that Scherer was significantly overrated, did not want him at all, and was interested in Outlaw.

This was another butterfly effect triggered by Yang Jian, which changed history. If it weren't for him, the Sonics wouldn't have won the summer league, and Scherer wouldn't have been able to put up good numbers.

If Scherer can't put up good numbers, he can't get Outlaw back, so the Sonics can only keep him on the team. Scherer was a fringe player for one season without any improvement, was cut by the SuperSonics, and has since left the NBA.

Joining the Clippers is a good thing for Scherer, because the Clippers have always been a bad team at the bottom and he can get more playing time. The Clippers never care about players playing blindly. Maybe he can play for a few more seasons.

This deal is bad news for blue-collar player Steve Scheffler. The Sonics have no room for him. Scheffler and Rich King did not receive contracts after the summer league, and they plan to contact other teams for preseason games.

In September, Yang Jian saw news about the Chinese men's basketball team in Seattle.

In the 1995 Asian Championships held in Seoul, the men's basketball team won all 9 games and defeated the host South Korea 87-78 in the final to win the championship. At present, the Chinese men's basketball team is unique in Asia, and the Seattle media believes that Chinese basketball is quietly rising.

The media believes that Yang Jian is China's number one star. He did not participate in the Asian Championships, but the Chinese men's basketball team still easily won the championship.

Many Chinese fans were curious about why Yang Jian was not in the national team and regretted not being able to see him perform. The Basketball Association explained the reason. By the time Yang Jian finished playing in the summer league, the national team roster had been determined and he had no time to go through the formalities.

Even if Yang Jian is free, he is not willing to participate in the Men's Basketball Asian Championship. He plans to find a suitable reason to never participate in the national team's Asian level competition.

In the parallel world, Yao Ming retired due to a stress fracture, which was completely caused by fatigue. He has played too many games. The 82-game NBA regular season schedule is already terrifying, and he also has to join the national team, almost all year round.

Yao Ming has participated in every World Championships and Olympic Games, and has also represented the national team in the Asian Championships. What's funny is that in 2005, some people wanted him to represent the Shanghai team in the National Games.

The most outrageous thing is that in 2011, the Basketball Association wanted Yao Ming, who had just had surgery, to play in the Asian Championships and asked him if he could come back in time. This act of killing the goose that lays the goose's egg has been criticized by fans across the country.

Yao Ming just underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left ankle for the second time in his career. The doctor made it clear that Yao Ming's recovery period will last from six months to 10 months. The Basketball Association wants him to rest for half a year, whichever is the shortest. In the 2008 Olympics, Yao Ming came back early after being seriously injured, which laid hidden dangers for his subsequent retirement.

Yang Jian doesn't want to be like Yao Ming, sacrificing all his vacation to participate in various national team competitions. He will make it clear that he will not play low-level games. Even if the Basketball Association does not agree, he will have to agree, otherwise he will quit.

If he plays everything, he will definitely play more games than Yao Ming. Yao Ming only made it past the first round once in the playoffs with the Rockets, while Yang Jian was scheduled for the Finals in his rookie season with the SuperSonics.

It took Yang Jian a month to get used to the new shooting posture, and his shooting percentage also improved a little. His "shooting accuracy" attribute increased by three points, 55+10.

His improvement speed is much slower than when he first crossed over. Fortunately, he can see his progress through the system, otherwise it would be difficult to stick to boring exercises.

The reason he improved quickly at first was because his starting point was too low, and he was a pure blacksmith who couldn't shoot at all. Now he has changed his shooting posture and practiced holding the ball and making jump shots. It takes some time to adapt.

Even so, Yang Jian's improvement speed is much faster than others because he has system assistance.

He can review Hawkins's posture and the key points of exerting force in his mind before taking a shot. If he takes too many shots, he will develop a habit. After adding a fadeaway to his jump shot, the arc of his shot became higher, making it easier to shoot hollow balls.

If he always throws the ball with a low arc, he will develop bad habits over time. Once his jumping ability decreases, his release point will also decrease, thus affecting his hit rate.

This is the reason why Kobe's shooting percentage dropped significantly in the later part of his career. After his bounce dropped, he was forced to increase his arc to avoid blocks, which was not his accustomed playing rhythm.

Moreover, there is a difference between Yang Jian's shooting and Hawkins' shooting. Hawkins never steps back to take a shot, but Yang Jian is the main coach who takes steps back. In the 1990s, this could become his signature move.

Seeing Yang Jian's backward shooting movement with silky smooth movements, Snow also followed suit. Because his jumping ability was poor, Yang Jian suggested that he practice "overshooting" and shoot quickly.

The jump of the jump shot is to increase the power of the shot, and the jump of the jump shot is to increase the height of the shot. Snow's hand shape was not good in order to increase the intensity when shooting three-pointers, and his hit rate was very low. Yang Jian gave him some advice.

Snow became familiar with this action, and it became much easier when shooting three-pointers. Although the hit rate is still not guaranteed, as long as he keeps practicing, he will definitely improve in the future.

Snow's game has not improved in a long time, and he is very happy. At home, he took the initiative to take on more housework, making Yang Jian's life very comfortable.

Snow felt great during practice that day and hit eight three-pointers in a row.

He really hoped that the stars on the team could see it and praise him. "What are the stars doing? Why are we the only two practicing every day? Don't the others practice during the holidays?"

"Still thinking that Payton will come to training and give you guidance on defense? Let's ask him for guidance when the season starts. He will definitely not treat us as outsiders during team training." Yang Jian has already seen through it.

The stars may not know about their training here. Even if he knew it, Payton wouldn't be able to take the initiative to teach him his experience. Because when he did that, it was like the boss of the team took the initiative to curry favor with his younger brother. Don't stars want to lose face?

Moreover, practicing with many people together can improve defense, and individual guidance has little effect.

"I don't know what Peyton's character is like. I heard he is a basketball hooligan. What if he hates me?" Snow sighed.

"Why does he hate you? There's nothing annoying about you. If you really make him dissatisfied, it must be because you didn't play well on the court. No matter how determined a star is, he can't play the whole game. Just don't hold him back after he comes off the court. ."

"That makes sense." Snow smiled.

In fact, Yang Jian was also unsure. The SuperSonics had a very good lineup and the two leading stars had great personalities. He also has no experience getting along with these black stars.