This three-way deal did not involve draft picks, and it can be seen that the Pistons and Rockets, as the main parties in the transaction, are eager to make changes.

For the Rockets, getting rid of McGrady and getting a combat-ready player like Hamilton at the same time is an S-level operation. You know, Hamilton can still contribute 18.5 points per game this season and is the Pistons' top scorer.

As for the Pistons, the team's record was terrible and there was no hope of making the playoffs if they didn't make any changes. After choosing between the two, they chose to keep Gordon and send Hamilton away. In fact, they had no choice but to do so because Hamilton would soon be 32 years old and his contract lasted until the summer of 2012.

As for the Bulls, they simply got a bargain.

Because the first and second rounds of next year have been given away, their room for reinforcement is very limited. It just so happens that the chips offered by the Pistons at this time are not enough to balance the contract, and the Rockets already have Brooks and Lowry, and will not want Bynum anymore.

So this is a case of trading a garbage expiring contract for a garbage contract, and then picking up Bynum for free.

As for Bynum, he averaged 10 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for the Pistons this season, which is the peak of his career.

The Pistons want to send him away because if they trade for McGrady, there is a high probability that he will play as a point guard. In that case, Bynum will not have many opportunities to play.

After all, the Pistons still have a "Prince Ji" who needs to be trained, who has forced Iverson to stand aside.

Because Tim Thomas's closet was right next to Xu Yong's, this was also the first time Xu Yong experienced NBA transactions up close.

Thomas was a well-known player when he was young, but as he got older, he could only be used as a trading chip besides guarding the water dispenser.

However, there are always new players. Just two days after the deal was completed, "Silver Fox" Harris led two new players to the locker room.

Xu Yong is very familiar with these two newcomers.

Needless to say, Kwame Brown had always been known as the "worst No. 1 pick" before Bennett emerged, and he and Thabeet were known as the dragon and the phoenix.

This big man was trained by Jordan to the point of becoming autistic when he first entered the league, and then was trained by Kobe to the point of doubting his life when he joined the Lakers. He is considered the most miserable talented man in the NBA.

He had few opportunities to play for the Pistons this season, averaging 13 minutes per game, and his 3 points and 3 rebounds were also new lows in all his career statistics.

But he is not as embarrassed as imagined. After all, his body is there, and he also has some presence on the defensive end.

Especially against Howard or O'Neal, he is obviously more effective than Noah and Miller.

As for Bynum, Xu Yong is also very familiar with him, because Bynum has played in the CBA, and in the most popular team in Guangdong, the so-called "Guangdong legend."

He still remembered that before Harden was fined by the traffic police for riding an electric stove during his China trip, Bynum had caused a sensation for riding an electric bike to train.jpg

Bynum's wardrobe was assigned next to Xu Yong.

He took the initiative to greet Xu Yong and seemed very outgoing and optimistic.

Xu Yong also noticed that he and Rose got along very well, and it was only after asking Rose that he found out that Bynum was also a native Chicagoan.

This seems to further explain why the Bulls made this deal.

When it came to the training session, Bynum's role in the Bulls began to emerge.

Before this, the Bulls had a problem in the backcourt, which was that the substitutes had no offensive point with the ball.

Hinrich is very stable, but he does not have the ability to tear open the defense with the ball, so De Nagro's previous method has always been to use Rose or Xu Yong to partner with Hinrich to lead the substitute transition period.

This is actually one of the reasons why they have power outages when scoring. You have to know that the players' physical strength is limited.

But in training sessions, Bynum showed this ability.

Because of his short height and poor outside shooting, Bynum cannot be a starter, but he is very suitable as a substitute.

Or to put it more simply, this is a typical American point guard who is very good at dribbling and has strong offense.

Moreover, Bynum has a pretty good passing vision, so although this deal by the Bulls may seem ordinary, it is actually a case of spending little money to achieve great results.

On January 1, 2010, the first day of the new year, the Bulls went on the road to challenge the Raptors.

Although the season has just started, the Raptors are now ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference and are likely to be a potential playoff competitor for the Bulls, so this game is still very crucial.

The game was very intense and the winner was not decided until the fourth quarter.

Bynum had an eye-catching performance in his first game after joining the Bulls. He directly stunned Calderon at the beginning of the fourth quarter and scored 10 points in a row, helping the Bulls to establish an advantage in the game.

This sounds incredible, but after learning about Bynum's resume, you will find that this is just a small scene.

His most classic game was when he played against the Bobcats last season. He scored 6 points in the first three quarters and 26 points in the last quarter. Yes, 26 points, which directly stunned Boss Joe who was present.

So he really has no lack of scoring explosiveness.

After the game, Xu Yong went out with DeRozan to reminisce about the past.

"James complained to me." DeRozan said as soon as he sat down.

After hearing this, Xu Yong nodded.

DeRozan saw this and laughed.

Among the three of them, no matter what the future holds, Harden is definitely the worst off right now.

Xu Yong's current average points per game is second only to Rose in the team, making him the second-in-command of the team.

However, as a No. 2 pick, his performance is not that eye-catching.

But DeRozan started right away for a playoff-level team like the Raptors.

On the other hand, Harden is really miserable.

"By the way, have you received an invitation to the league's dunk contest?" After talking about Harden for a while, DeRozan asked Xu Yong again.

Xu Yong nodded.

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest is the most watched individual event in the All-Star Game.

However, in recent years, because big-name stars are reluctant to participate in dunk contests because they are concerned about their reputation, dunk contests tend to invite rookies to participate.

Although the 2009 draft class was a weak year, there were many dunkers such as Griffin, Xu Yong, DeRozan, and Curry.

"Do you accept it?" DeRozan asked.

"What about you?" Xu Yong did not answer directly, but looked at DeRozan first.

"I'm going to go. I have a rookie game to play, so I'll participate." DeRozan replied. Of course, what he didn't say was that it would be really boring to stay in a city like Toronto that is not in the United States for a long time.

"Do you still remember our previous agreement?" Xu Yong suddenly asked.

DeRozan was stunned for a moment and didn't understand.

"When I went to Compton, James took me to find you and said he wanted us to have a dunk contest." Xu Yong helped DeRozan recall.

"I remember you mentioned competing in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest." DeRozan remembered that it was in the first half of 2008.

At that time, he was surprised by Xu Yong's words. After all, they had no NBA prospects at that time.

"Yes, now is the time to fulfill it." Xu Yong nodded.

DeRozan was excited when he heard this.

He was originally just planning to participate, but he was also prepared to put in some careful preparation.

But in his excitement, he remembered another thing and couldn't help but say, "I heard that LeBron might also participate."

"Really?" Xu Yong asked back.

"Chris told me that LeBron said last season that he would win the dunk contest if he participated in it," DeRozan said seriously.

Xu Yong couldn't help laughing when he heard that.

DeRozan looked at Xu Yong in confusion.

Xu Yong originally wanted to say that you believed what that guy said, but it seemed that James was not the kind of person who liked to "throw the ball and dunk" at that time.

He then asked, “Do you think he can win the championship if he participates?”

DeRozan thought about it and gave a fair evaluation: "There is a chance, but you may have to choose your opponent."

James' actual dunks are indeed explosive and powerful, but the dunk contest is more of a competition to showcase skills.

Therefore, if James encounters an opponent who does not have many skills and can compare his jumping and impact power, he does have a good chance without gaining much weight.

"He won't participate." Xu Yong gave an affirmative answer at this time.

"Why?" DeRozan didn't understand.

"We are not the opponents he wants to pick."

DeRozan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

It seems to be true. Both he and Xu Yong are flexible and can fully demonstrate their skills.

If it's the type of player like Griffin or Shannon Brown, James might go.

However, just after saying this, Xu Yong touched his chin and had some other thoughts.

He has always been bothered by James' previous handshake behavior, so he really hopes that James can participate in the dunk contest.

After all, the game depends on your teammates and referees, they can save you.

But the dunk contest is a head-on competition.

So, is there any way to make James fulfill his promise?

Provoke James?

It doesn't seem to work. If it were Kobe, provocation would always work, but for James, if he could be provoked, he wouldn't have created a nomadic dynasty.

Make James feel that he will win the competition?

It seems to be useless. If it was his rookie year, the dunk contest championship would still be attractive to James, but now he may not be interested even if it is a sure win.

It's still difficult, just as difficult as persuading Yao Ming not to participate in national team competitions.