Chapter 707 [Reborn Team Building, Extremely Cost-Effective]

One day later, the Suns held a championship parade. Everyone in the city was familiar with this process, and there was no need to make a lot of preparations. Phoenix is ​​not like other cities. The weather is too hot, so the parade cannot have much variety. It takes the same route every time, and it has to be at night.

After the parade, Guo Xu attended the celebration party. Megan was not there, so he had plenty of time to chat with his teammates.

Owner Brian Colangelo and Guo Xu talked a lot, and the team will undergo a major overhaul in the summer.

Blake, James Jones, Josh Powell, Haslem, and Nene are free agents. Two veterans have retired, accounting for half of the team.

Ariza was the 42nd overall pick in the second round of 2004. He signed a 2+1 contract, and next season will be the last year. If the team chooses to renew his contract in advance, it does not need to execute the contract for next season.

But Ariza has made it clear that he does not want to renew his contract in advance. He already has two championship rings and has proven his strength and is an important rotation for the team. If he wins another championship with the Suns next season and holds three rings as soon as he enters the league, there will definitely be teams willing to offer him a premium contract.

Players with rings will have a different mentality. Ariza wants money and ball rights more. He was underestimated when he fell to the second round. He always wants to prove that he can do more.

There is also Josh Howard on the team who wants to leave, and the management is ready to send him away. Although the Suns can retain their core lineup this summer, they are under considerable pressure to renew role players.

Role players perform so well in the playoffs that they become troublesome in the offseason. If other teams want to compete with the Suns, a relatively simple way is to poach them. It doesn't have to be a big contract, it would be difficult for ordinary middle-class Suns to renew their contracts.

The Suns plan to use the full mid-level salary to give priority to renewing the contract of Guo Xu's die-hard brother Haslem, and Haslem will definitely be willing to stay. He is a person who likes stability and brother basketball, and has already made his home in Phoenix.

Haslem averaged 9.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in the regular season, playing 65 games. He played almost every game in the playoffs, averaging 32 minutes per game, scoring 9.2 points, 8 rebounds and 1.2 assists, and shooting 51.2% from the field.

As long as he agrees to the Suns' mid-level offer and takes a salary cut to stay, other teams will definitely be willing to offer him a higher contract. However, Haslem is not stupid. He won the championship in Solar Energy. He has high exposure and signed three advertising endorsements. Even his girlfriend is a member of the management of "Fat Fox" company. This is a benefit that other teams cannot give.

Except for Haslem, it is difficult to keep anyone else, especially the two who got a lot of performance opportunities in the playoffs.

Blake averaged 36 minutes per game in the playoffs, scoring 9.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 0.7 steals.

The shooting percentage was 46.9% and the three-point shooting percentage was 41.7%. Considering how young he is, there are definitely teams who are short of point guards who want him.

When Alston left the Suns, he could play for other teams. Blake's shooting and organization were better than the Streetball King.

As a swingman at positions 3 and 4, Jones can also play a role in the tactical system. His performance in the playoffs was slightly worse, with a three-point shooting rate of 40% in the regular season.

Guo Xu whispered: "Try to keep Steve as much as possible. It's hard to find an excellent backup point guard. If the others are worth a premium, let them go. We will sign them in the free market."

To be precise, it is difficult to find a point guard who can play in a double-back formation with Guo Xu. He must be over 190cm tall, otherwise there will definitely be problems with defense when the two of them play together.

Brian nodded: "When you go to act in the movie, don't forget to take time to look at the free market list. If you like anyone, call me and I'll dig it up. The matter of the high-ranking draft picks has been settled. As long as everything goes well on the day of the draft, we will There will be a deal.”

"I have two candidates now. It's not difficult to reinforce. There will definitely be people who want to join the Suns next season to compete for the championship. We just need to find people who are suitable for the Suns system." Guo Xu said with a smile.

"Oh? Who?"

Guo Xu named two people. Replacing Kukoc is Bulls free agent power forward Tim Thomas.

This is a typical example of a waste of talent. He was selected with the 7th pick in the first round of 1997. He is 208cm tall and weighs 108kg. As early as in high school, Tim was labeled as a future star in the NBA. After entering the NBA, he developed into a player like Robert Horry, shooting from the outside. He is not as good as Horry when he was young, his defense is poor and he doesn't work hard.

Tim is a perfect fit for the Suns' system. He has the speed to participate in running and gunning, has a high shooting percentage after catching the ball, and can open up space in positional battles and play pick-and-rolls with defenders.

In Guo Xu's previous life, Tim Thomas was laid off in the middle of the Bulls' slowdown, but he was a blessing in disguise. He joined the Suns led by Steve Nash with a minimum salary, reached the Western Conference Finals with the team, and had good statistics. He averaged 31.8 minutes per game, scored 15.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.9 steals, shooting 49.1% from the field and 44.4% from the three-point range.

Relying on his beautiful statistics and several key three-pointers in the playoffs, Tim won another big contract and signed a four-year long-term contract with the Clippers with a high salary of 24 million. He never played in the 2006 playoffs again. level.

In this life, Tim is working as a substitute for the Bulls. He averaged only 16.4 minutes per game in the playoffs, 7.7 points and 3 rebounds, and his 37.2% three-point shooting rate was the only bright spot. With this kind of data, he will definitely not be able to get a big contract.

Brian is prepared to offer Tim a two-year low-salary contract, and with the temptation of a championship, he has a high chance of winning him. If Tim wants to be in the mid-level, don’t talk about it, he’s not worth it. Other teams also know that he is not worth it. As long as he is not stupid, he will probably choose to take a salary cut.

The other one is swingman Anthony Parker, who was born in 1975 and is 31 years old this year. He is a combat player.

Parker is 198cm tall and weighs 98kg. He was selected by the Nets with the 21st pick in the first round of 1997. This man was extremely unlucky at the beginning of his career. He played for the 76ers for two seasons and the Magic for one season. He played a total of 55 games and suffered consecutive serious injuries.

In 2000, Parker became a famous glass man. He had no ball to play in the NBA and was forced to move to European competitions.

Unexpectedly, Parker quickly got rid of his injuries in Europe and became prosperous. He helped Israel's Maccabi win domestic league and cup titles four times and the UEFA Champions League three times.

In the 2003-04 season, he was elected the UEFA Champions League semi-finals MVP. Last season, he played 25 games in the Champions League, scoring 14.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

Parker wanted to return to the NBA in 2005 and participated in the summer league, but unfortunately no team signed him. Guo Xu has paid special attention to his movements. He has outstanding three-point ability in Europe, his style of play is very selfless, and his defense is relatively tough.

Overall, Parker is an excellent role player, not a single function. He can make sudden shots and organize, and most of his shots are from mid-to-long range, which is very suitable for the Suns' tactical system.

Last summer, the Suns had a strong perimeter and there was no need for Guo Xu to propose to the management to sign a swingman. Howard is leaving this year, and Ariza also wants to get a big contract. Signing a swingman as a substitute is a precaution.

If Ariza is retained on a mid-level contract, Guo Xu thinks it's worth it, but Ariza may not be satisfied. Maybe some teams will get mad and be willing to bet on his talent.

With Parker joining, the competition for the 2nd and 3rd positions will become more intense, with multiple players sharing playing time. Ariza's statistics are 80% worse than last season. It will be difficult to sign a big contract in 2007. Guo Xu suspects that he will look for opportunities before the contract expires. trade.

Regardless of Ariza's future, he wants to ensure four consecutive championships next season and strengthen the lineup as much as possible.

Winning the championship is Guo Xu's only pursuit. He knows that five consecutive regular season MVP awards are impossible and the league will not allow it.

It is easy for the Reborn to build a team. He can always find players who are extremely cost-effective or young players with potential. As long as the signings go well, the Suns' lineup next season will be very scary.