Chapter 1264: Transaction on Warcraft

At this time, at Heat headquarters, Pat Riley was contacting Nike to discuss the possibility of trading Howard to the Heat.

But unfortunately, Nike informed him that the Magic would not keep Howard in the East.

But Pat Riley didn't give up and immediately began contacting the Spurs, reaching general manager Robert Buford.

He hopes to make a deal with the Spurs, which he has already considered. First let the Spurs trade with the Magic, and then the Heat trade with the Spurs.

Buford talked to Pat Riley for an hour before getting off the phone and immediately tracked down Popovich.

The Spurs have been in bad shape for several seasons. Popovich has been trying to rebuild. Unfortunately, the Spurs have been unlucky and the reconstruction has never been successful. Hearing the news, he was a little moved.

But it's just a little bit exciting, because the inside combination of Gasol and Bosh has proven to be no match for Li Ba. Such a deal cannot give the Spurs the strength to fight against the Suns, so the deal proposed by Pat Riley will not be a match for Bosh. Povich doesn't have much appeal.

"If we can get Howard, we might as well use it ourselves. But we can use the Heat's influence on Nike to reach a deal with the Magic and us first."

Popovich said to Buford.

Buford's expression changed and he said, "But if we regret it, it will be difficult to trade with the Heat in the future."

"I can't control that much anymore. The reconstruction must be completed." Popovich said harshly.

Buford was extremely helpless. This kind of loss of credibility was not what he wanted to do.

On the 24th, the 2011 NBA Draft took place as scheduled.

The Cavaliers selected Kyrie Irving with the No. 1 pick, the Spurs selected Enes Kanter with the No. 2 pick, and the Timberwolves selected Derrick Williams.

The Suns had five first-round picks, the highest being the No. 21 pick. David Griffin originally wanted to trade the pick, but he took a fancy to a rookie in Gao Yuanyuan's hands named Kawhi Leonard.

This rookie, like the Hammers, has a pair of super big hands. His predicted draft position is before the 20th pick in the first round, but he didn't enter the lottery, so he set his sights on those superstar hands.

It's a pity that the Suns are defending their dynasty for the second time. Other teams don't really want the Suns to get good cards in the draft, so they all rejected the pick trade.

In the end, Kawhi Leonard was selected by the Pacers, and then immediately traded to the Spurs and became a member of the Spurs.

The Suns ultimately selected Kenneth Faried, Jordan Hamilton, Norris Cole, Chandler Parsons, and Jimmy Butler.

Faried, the No. 21 pick, is a forward, Hamilton is a swingman, Cole is a point guard, and Parsons and Butler are also forwards.

Of these five people, David Griffin decided to trade two out because there were too many forwards and not enough people on the back line.

He wants Ginobili and Ray Allen to serve as a backup guard combination, so he wants to trade two young guards with potential.

He knows that Li Ba's younger brother Paul wants to leave New Orleans. This is an opportunity. It depends on whether the Suns have enough chips.

If possible, he wants to sign first and then trade, using Yi as a bargaining chip. It depends on whether the Hornets can offer Yi a maximum salary contract.

After the draft, the trading window officially opened, and the teams started operating overnight.

On the morning of the 25th, Carter announced that he had signed with the Mavericks and signed a new three-year contract.

The deals the Suns had negotiated earlier were approved, and David Griffin began contacting New Orleans to make an offer for Paul.

If the Hornets trade Paul, the team will definitely need to rebuild and need signings. The Suns now only have their own picks for next year, which is definitely not enough, so David Griffin proposed a sign-first-and-trade method. Yi was the core bargaining chip, plus the signing rights of the two newly drafted rookies Cole and Hamilton, as well as the Suns' unprotected first-round pick in 2012, to trade Paul.

At the same time, he also contacted Paul and his agent, hoping that they would exert influence on the Hornets.

The Hornets did not refuse directly, because the inside line with both offense and defense is what the Hornets lack. The team's record is not good, and Paul wants to leave because the inside line is not good.

There used to be Tyson Chandler, but then Chandler died, and the Hornets were in trouble, and Paul couldn't lead them.

However, now that Paul is leaving, trading Yi is of little use, because Yi cannot become the cornerstone of a team.

So the Hornets did not agree to this quotation, but put forward another quotation.

"Shet!"

After receiving the reply, David Griffin was furious because the Hornets actually asked the Suns to trade Li Ba for Paul. He also said that he could choose anyone he liked, and the Hornets could also use the unprotected first-round pick in the next three years. , what good thing is this?

"It seems Paul has no chance."

Griffin pondered for a moment and began to think about new trading targets.

There are no big fish on the defensive line in this year's free market. They are all role players. He has nothing to choose from and can only make decisions from the lineups of other teams.

On this day, the Lakers announced a signing. The team completed a two-plus-one contract extension with Duncan. The contract amount reached 45 million US dollars, and the third year was a team option.

The Lakers want to introduce Howard or Arab League, so the contract period given is not long. A big contract that is too long will completely lock up the Lakers' salary space.

However, Duncan is already thirty-five years old, and this contract is considered a maximum salary. He is satisfied with being able to get such a contract late in his career.

But Duncan didn't know that Kupchak went back to the Magic and submitted an offer sheet, Duncan + Bynum + Artest, in exchange for Howard.

The Magic received this offer sheet and did not agree, because Duncan was too old. How could it be possible to exchange the young Magic for the old Stone Buddha? The Magic is rebuilding, not retirement. Are the Lakers crazy?

After being rejected by the Magic, Kupchak went to the Suns again and submitted this offer again, in exchange for Yi Jianlian and Haslem + Ginobili.

David Griffin received this offer and his eyes lit up.

He couldn't give Yi Jianlian such a big contract, so he was mentally prepared to let Yi Jianlian go. Now if he signs first and then trades, using Yi Jianlian for Duncan, this is completely possible.

However, after he got the amount of Duncan's new contract from Kupchak, he hesitated again.

Duncan's new contract has the highest amount in the first year, reaching 20 million US dollars, 15 million in the second year, and 10 million in the third year. This contract is not small, especially it will affect the salary space of the Suns next season, and even affect the renewal of Li Ba.

So after repeated consideration, he rejected the deal.

Kupchak wanted to trade Duncan because he was old and wanted to exchange two main players in their prime years, but unfortunately he was rejected repeatedly.

But things are still going on, because there is still a chance for Howard.