Winning in the current team, it is not easy to make some "not breaking, not standing" moves. Because "broken" does not mean that it will definitely be "standing", it is possible that "broken" will be completely broken. A recent example is the Portland Blazers, who sent CJ away, cleaned up Stotts, Powell, Covington, and regrouped the roster to come out with a whole new look. As you can see, the Trailblazer just has a cheaper and younger way to match, and the configuration has not been upgraded. So, Lillard asked to leave, and the Blazers started all over again around Henderson and Sharp.
If you can solve the Zhenlong chess game by casually tossing a chess piece, Wuzhu is not worthy of being the chosen son of Kaihang. If they are not ready to "rip the wheel", management will not easily put the team in an unknown danger with one or a few transactions. So, when the Lone Ranger took Irving, not too many people were optimistic about their adventures. At least in the 22-23 season, the Lone Ranger's "unbroken, unbreakable" came to a broken stage, and the team failed to find the right way for the "Eastern European" combination to play, and gradually distanced itself from the playoffs. The team simply chose to dive and save the first-round pick, which gave some relief to this failed season.
However, the Lone Ranger and the Trailblazer took different scripts. All made up their minds to "not break and not stand", the lone ranger really laid the book, and the pioneer just changed the chips on the table to the color he preferred, and when the dealer shouted to buy and leave, he still calmly played 5-cent mahjong, which is still different from the "stud, must stud" Kuban. If the Lone Rangers lose, they will be much worse than the Blazers, Irving will be a chicken and egg story, and the Lone Ranger is certainly more afraid to hear Doncic have a similar request than the elderly Lillard asking to leave.
So the Lone Rangers had to bet and win, and luckily, they had a good start. Irving renewed his contract for 3 years and 126 million, which is the most beautiful of all possible evolutions:
Owen ran, finished calf;
Irving renewed his contract for 270 million in 5 years, and finished the calf sooner or later;
Irving is dead or alive, and the Lone Ranger is forced to cooperate with the signing, from the Lakers or some team, a little crooked date of play and food. This is also a harbinger of the end of the calf;
Irving was forced to give in and sign a short-to-medium contract with the Lone Ranger to cut his salary so that the team could move in and out for the next 2 years - this is the only opening plot where the Lone Ranger can win this gamble, and the reality just happens to be according to this script.
When Owen's contract is signed, you'll forget who the nickname electric fan refers to. In terms of asset accumulation, the Lone Ranger's family base has become thicker, they gave up a playoff opportunity, 1 future first-rounder, 2 second-rounders, 2 rotation players, got an All-Star with a decent contract, and 1 first-round pick with the 10th pick, which is certainly not a loss-making deal.
Another brilliant operation of the Lone Ranger is the micro-exercise in the draft. They turned Bertans into Holmes with two picks, got the No. 24 pick in the first round, and managed to use the 2 first-round picks they wanted to get Lively (this time's better basket guard) and Prosper (potential 3D forward) who was about equal to the white. Even without considering the value of Holmes entering the No. 5 rotation, for the Lone Ranger, his contract with a lower amount in the 23-24 season (Holmes 12 million, giving up the trading margin, Bertans 17 million) is also relevant, and with Irving's salary cut, this gives the Lone Ranger the freedom to use the full middle-class exception later.
After that, the Lone Ranger took back Curry Jr. with a biennial exception and extended his contract at Powell at the cabbage price, which are two perfect small operations, and there is no doubt about the suitability of the two to the team, and there is no possibility of losing money when starting cheaply.
Until here, the performance of the lone ranger in the market can be described as triumphant all the way, repeatedly white prostitutes. But for the Lone Ranger, the small advantage of accumulating in a flat position still lacks a bit of excitement, and going to the gambling table is still the way they are more accustomed to operating - the main play is that the Lone Ranger gets Grant Williams by signing and trading.
In this process, the Lone Ranger gave Block to the Spurs, gave the Spurs a 2023 first-round swap right, and then had a toss in the second round (there are currently two versions of the second-round trade details, one is that the Spurs give the Lone Ranger 2 second rounds, the Lone Ranger gives the Green Army 2 second rounds, the other says that the Lone Ranger gives the Green Army 2 second rounds, the Lone Ranger gives the Green Army 2 second rounds, and the Green Army gets the second round swap right of 1 Lone Ranger). If we assume that the Lone Rangers are essentially second-round balanced in this deal, their main losses are 1 rotation player (Bullock) and 1 future first-round swap, both of which go to the Spurs. Since the Lone Ranger's full mid-class contract was offered a four-year, $53 million contract, they could have negotiated a deal directly with the Green Army without the involvement of the Spurs, so that there would be no additional losses. But the Lone Rangers didn't do that, and they chose to pull the Spurs in to make a three-way trade, clean up Bullock, and then keep the full middle class.
The purpose of the Lone Ranger's stay in the full middle class is to offer Sebre, and the previous various foreshadowings have given them the ability to make an invitation offer of 33 million for 3 years, considering the huge limitations of Seibre's offensive end, even if he is a top defensive expert, this price is enough to win him. The Blazers have decided to rebuild, and the 3-year, 33 million Seibre isn't cheap either, and the Lone Ranger can indeed expect the Blazers to drop the possibility of matching. Now, all that awaits is the trailblazer's response.
Here, the Lone Ranger actually participates in a triple gamble:
First, bet on the trailblazer mismatch;
Second, bet that Sebul is worthy of 33 million for 3 years - the annual salary is the same as Bullock, the former has a longer long board, the latter has a shorter board and is an expired contract;
Third, betting on their first-round swap rights in 2030 is not worth much.
The trailblazer matched, so the lone ranger had a clear series of micro-exercises to break the line:
Although the Lone Ranger started with Gwee, selected the young Prosper and had the progressive Josh Green, but Gwee was not an outside leader, Prosper was not sure if he could immediately enter the rotation, and Josh Green did not necessarily sit in a qualified 3D role at the intensity of the playoffs. Originally, the Lone Ranger's most reliable outside defender was still Bullock, and they sent Bullock away on the premise that they believed they would get his replacement. Seibre didn't come, and the role is now blank;
Bullock's level and contract were not to the point where he had to take asset liquidation, and if there was no substitute, the Lone Ranger would not have had to rush to make a deal about him. The 2030 first-round swap they gave the Spurs is a delicate asset. The characteristics of the long-term first-round swap right are that the difference between the upper and lower limits of value is huge, which may not be given at all, or it may be worth a lot, because no one knows what the record of the Lone Ranger and the Spurs will be at that time, and 7 years is a story of vicissitudes for the NBA. The result of losing this gamble will take 7 years.
Since the players in the market with a full mid-class price and above basically have a home, to offer a restricted free agent with an undetermined contract like PJ Washington, the result is likely to be the same as the offer of Seibre, so the Lone Ranger basically can't use the middle class from the free market, and the significance of splitting the full mid-class signing scattered rotation is limited, and it is certainly not worthy of the price they paid to send Brock away.
After the Lone Ranger won a big gamble, he lost another small one. But this is not the lone ranger's Waterloo, and the situation has not spiraled out of control. Since the new version of the collective bargaining agreement allows the middle-class exception to be used as a trading exception, this gives the Lone Ranger a chance to spend the money.
For the Lone Ranger, the operation of a summer is mostly wise, leaving a regret (or suspense), which is probably the least bad plot in recent years.
Now, the Lone Ranger has a lineup with a big gap, but quite bright:
Core: Doncic, Irving
Finishing inside: Holmes, Powell (3.7 million version), McGee
Space-type interior: Grant Williams, Kléber
Projective backcourt: Hardaway, Curry Jr
Young Reserves: Lively , Prospe, Josh Green, Hardy
Lottery: Axam
It is not difficult to see that the Lone Ranger lineup still does not solve two key characters:
Who is the number one 3D defender of the Lone Ranger? It looks like Josh Green, and Hardaway is going to play another backcourt leader, and he's supposed to be the lone ranger waiting to deal with. Examine has defensive value, but it is unknown how many games he can play in a season;
The Lone Ranger's number one interior line is still not enough. Holmes is a character who can't play in the Kings, and if he is the Lone Ranger's No. 5 leader, the Lone Ranger's ceiling in this area is still not enough. In fact, it is unknown who will have the last laugh between him and Powell.
So, what is the gain of the lone ranger tossing around?
They made up for the mistake of letting Bronson go and got another capable ball carrier. Irving is a ruthless character who has proven himself in big scenes, and he has a not bad contract in hand.
The Lone Ranger has a more suitable frontcourt alignment. Although Gwee is not an outside leader and lacks basket value as an insider, he is certainly one of the most hardened players in the power forward position, and can carry letters and Embiid. He is stronger than electric fans and Kléber, and offers space value than Powell. The lone ranger can deal with the inside behemoth more calmly without reducing the hardness of the inside line and harming the space.
The Lone Ranger also has more young asset reserves. Although they are not sure whether the team can replicate the electric fan + Bullock's outside defense configuration, at least they have two young players in this area. Lively represents the team's reserve of absolute talent in the No. 5 position, although this will not be realized immediately, and there is more hope. If the right opportunity is encountered, these assets may be given away as reinforcement chips.
The Lone Ranger's operation is certainly not over. After starting the big blood exchange program, the search for more suitable puzzles will continue until they come up with a satisfactory configuration - they will at least process 1~2 contracts and figure out where to use the money under the hard hat.
Compared to the past, the Lone Ranger has dual core instead of single core, and their talent reserve is not so barren. A year ago, the Lone Rangers gave the impression that in the Doncic era, they could almost cobble together some half-hanging contracts to get by, always playing games with the lowest talent. I was overjoyed to have the current situation.
Is this conservation of luck? Before that, the Lone Ranger lost two big bets that Boshen had come and gone.
This is also a "make-up class" in a sense - they still did a talent accumulation and received a No. 10 pick, and even if it was only a No. 10 pick, it became a fulcrum that leveraged a series of operations in their market.
Sure enough, take a step back, the sea and the sky.