After Yao Ming was traded to the Bulls, the big names in the free market have basically been settled.

In addition to the known ones, several other more popular ones are:

After the Knicks came up empty-handed, they signed Stoudemire with a five-year, $100 million maximum contract.

After a period of tug-of-war, Ray Allen finally agreed to renew his contract with the Celtics for 2 years and 20 million.

Kobe, Nowitzki, Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay and others all stayed with their respective teams;

David Lee was poached by the Warriors with a 4-year, $64 million contract;

Tyson Chandler chose to execute his player contract and was subsequently sent to the Mavericks by the Bobcats in exchange for Eric Dampier as the main trading chip.

These are the same as what Xu Yong knew.

The difference is: Boozer signed a 5-year, $80 million contract with the Pacers. In order to free up salary space, the Pacers paid a draft pick to send Mike Dunleavy to the Bucks.

Then came a series of actions by the Bulls.

After completing the trade with the Rockets, the Bulls did not choose to strengthen the power forward position.

Just as Thibodeau said when communicating with Forman, he hopes to play a lineup of one big and four small players in the new season, so he prefers to strengthen the outside line.

Therefore, their first target for subsequent reinforcement is Ray Allen, with whom Thibodeau had previously worked.

Unfortunately, after some communication, although Ray Allen had differences with the team, he felt that this was not the right time to leave.

After failing to sign Ray Allen, the Bulls immediately signed former Celtics player Tony Allen, who had previously worked with Thibodeau, with a three-year, $9.5 million contract.

Allen was a first-round pick of the Celtics in 2004. He has excellent athletic ability, explosive physical fitness, and often performs flying dunks.

In his junior year, he successfully made it into the starting lineup and averaged 11.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game, becoming a potential rising star with both offensive and defensive capabilities.

However, injuries ruined him. After spraining his knee during a dunk, he was out for the season. He lost his athletic ability and was gradually marginalized in the Celtics.

Later, Thibodeau's joining helped Allen transform into a defensive player and gain a foothold in the Celtics.

However, due to his limited role on the offensive end, he has never been reused by the Celtics.

This time Thibodeau signed him because he knew his defensive skills.

And this is a normal market price. The value of functional defensive players in the free market is very limited.

Allen chose the Bulls not only because of Thibodeau, his mentor, but also because the Bulls promised him a starting position, which would give him the opportunity to demonstrate his value.

In the previous Yao Ming trade, the Bulls had 8 million of their 21 million salary space left, and after this wave of operations, there are still about 5 million left.

They were originally planning to use this contract to keep Kwame Brown, who performed well in last season's playoffs, but the Celtics offered Brown a two-year, $15 million contract.

It is obvious that Brown proved his worth in the playoffs last season, and there is no shortage of people who want an inside player like him who has both size and defense.

As for the Celtics, Perkins was seriously injured in the finals against the Lakers last season. The Celtics are in urgent need of strengthening their inside line, and because both Pierce and Ray Allen can renew their contracts above the cap, they can offer this contract.

Angie: You dig me a hoe and I give you a hoe in return. That’s fair, right?

However, just after Ainge poached Brown, someone from the Bulls took the initiative to join.

O'Neal left the Cavaliers and reached an agreement with the Bulls on a two-year, minimum-salary contract with a player option for the second year.

This is different from the history that Xu Yong knows. In that year, O'Neal went to the Celtics with a minimum salary.

But there is no essential difference. At the last moment of his career, Shark just wanted to curry favor with someone and win as many championships as Kobe.

Moreover, the Bulls also have Yao Ming, who sympathizes with him, and Xu Yong, who he praised highly last season. Now that Brown has left and he has the opportunity, he actually doesn't have to think too much.

For the Bulls, signing O'Neal with a minimum salary would be beneficial because it wouldn't even take up salary cap space.

The Bulls also chose to retain the salary space first, and then used the full mid-level salary to sign Jazz shooter Kyle Korver for 15 million over three years.

Although Bill Walker played well last season, he has a huge risk of injury and the team needs a stable three-point tactical point.

After completing these operations, the Bulls' core lineup is basically ready.

Starting lineup: Rose + Tony Allen + Xu Yong + Artest + Yao Ming;

Substitutes: Hinrich + Korver + James Johnson + Taj Gibson + O'Neal.

This lineup is obviously a level stronger than last season. The defense Thibodeau wants is for both the starters and substitutes to be fully utilized.

Especially the starting lineup, Kobe would frown when he saw it, while James would turn around and pass the ball to Wade to show that you are the boss of the team.

As for the future, they just need to make good use of the remaining 5 million salary space and continue to strengthen the team.

Xu Yong was a little surprised when he saw a series of news related to the Bulls.

Because the team not only sent away Noah, but also sent away Deng.

Mo Gou is still a dog. He knows that he will be criticized if the Bulls really win the championship, so he finds ways to weaken the Bulls' strength.

But it was also thanks to Thibodeau, the head coach of the Bulls, who poached a good player from the Celtics.

But by signing Allen, he also knew that Thibodeau would really have to play with one big and four small players next season.

That would mean he would have to play small forward most of the time.

In other words, he's going to gain weight?

However, gaining weight is inevitable because he knows how terrible James' weight will be in the new season.

That's directly increased to 120 kilograms, and the deceleration shoes on the field can leave two black marks on the ground.

Of course, he can't add that much weight. First, James's physical fitness is abnormal, so he dares to do that. Even if he doesn't get hurt, he will lose flexibility and flexibility by gaining so much, which is not worth it.

Second and more importantly, he doesn't have the time. James didn't play in the World Championships, so he spent the entire offseason, even including the first half of the regular season, to adapt to his new weight. He doesn't have that much time.

Of course, the weight he gained was after the World Championships. Now, his focus is still on the World Championships.

By the end of July, Xu Yong was ready to return home early.

He is not going to join the national team's training immediately, but will participate in the brand China tour organized by AJ at the behest of the league.

In addition to him, there is Wade, who has just formed the Big Three of the Heat, and Carmelo Anthony, the star player of the Nuggets and the current top player of AJ.

This time, AJ can be said to have sent out its strongest trio lineup, and it is obvious that it is to build momentum for Xu Yong's signature shoes in the future.

Before boarding the plane, Wade chatted with Xu Yong for a few words, but once on the plane, Wade sat with Anthony and chatted.

Speaking of which, the ones who have a really good relationship among the 03 generation are James, Wade and Anthony. Together with their younger brother Paul, they are the future Banana Boat Brothers.

If Anthony hadn't been greedy for money and signed one more year on his first contract with the Nuggets, there would have been no chance for Bosh to join the Heat's Big Three.

Xu Yong didn't care about these things. For him, it was more peaceful to be alone without having to be polite. Besides, he hadn't been back to China for a long time and missed home a little.

I took a nap on the plane, and when I woke up, we were almost there.

The first stop of their trip to China was Shanghai. When the plane began to descend and the outline of the city could gradually be seen, Xu Yong could not hide his excitement.

As expected, the NBA is just work. The feeling of home is better.

When the plane landed at the airport and walked out to hear the familiar local accent coming from time to time, the feeling became stronger.

But just as he was about to give his hometown a warm hug, he was shocked by the scene at the airport exit.

I was really shocked. There were so many people there that I couldn't see the end of the crowd. Even the road in the distance was blocked.

Wade and Anthony looked around after getting off the plane, feeling very fresh. They were chatting non-stop, but they were shocked to come out now.

This is not their first time to come to China. They came here once before during the BJ Olympics with the Dream Team.

As for this scene, the last time they saw a similar one was when they followed Kobe out of the bus.

No, it wasn't that exaggerated even then.

It is obvious that these Chinese fans cannot be here for them.

Moreover, the sign held by the friend on the trash can in the distance is eye-catching enough, and of course the sign hung upside down by the friend on the tree is even more eye-catching.

Xu Yong took a deep breath. He had actually done some mental preparation, but the enthusiasm of the fans at this moment still exceeded his imagination.

Of course, the security personnel on site were well prepared.

Are you kidding? Xu Yong’s popularity in China is phenomenal now!

Not to mention Yao Ming, even Yao Ming could only avoid the attack.

A Chinese swingman with explosive playing style and handsome looks, who won the Rookie of the Year award and completed the eighth place in the draft, no one can compare to him.

This has even broken the circle.

Xu Yong came to the guardrail and reached out to clap with the fans. These people in the front row must have been waiting here for a very long time.

When they got to a place with fewer people and a safer and more controlled environment, he stopped and signed autographs for them.

Wade and Anthony behind him hesitated for a moment, but still followed.

Although in terms of NBA status, all of them are more famous than Xu Yong, but this is Xu Yong's home court and they can't compete at all.

Those fans who didn't get Xu Yong's autograph only noticed Wade and Anthony at this time, and also asked them for autographs with Xu Yong's jerseys and sneakers.

Wade and Anthony looked at each other, smiled bitterly, and still signed for them.

Because the fans were so enthusiastic, they stayed at the airport for more than an hour.

When we left, there were even many fans chasing the bus.

Looking at the fans' madness, Xu Yong waved his hand to signal them to stop chasing. While he was deeply moved, he also felt sure that his decision to play in the World Championships was the right one.

For the players, there is a difference in honor between the Olympics and the World Championships, but for the fans, as long as it is an international competition in which the national team participates, the difference is not that big.

Their activity schedule was very tight, and the bus did not go to the hotel but went directly to the event site.

The event was held in Jiangwan Gymnasium. More than 3,000 fans had already filled the stadium, and there were fans outside the stadium as well.

The security on site was also of extremely high standards, so although there were a lot of people, the order was not chaotic.

From this we can also see that the reason why some activities are chaotic or even forced to be cancelled is fundamentally because people do not know the players' status well enough and choose the wrong venue.

After entering the event site, people in the stands were all holding up various signs and plaques related to Xu Yong.

This is not an AJ event at all, it is clearly Xu Yong’s personal fan meeting!

Wade and Anthony could only smile bitterly. Only then did they realize that Stern had assigned them bodyguard jobs this year.

Fortunately, Xu Yong is very knowledgeable about the ways of the world. After the event started, he intentionally or unintentionally turned the topic to Wade and Anthony, which made the two feel a lot better.

The event went very smoothly, including the three-point contest, the dunk contest, and then playing against the national youth team players, teaching lucky fans some basketball skills and so on.

At the end, there was an interactive session where fans in the stands could ask questions.

Everything went smoothly at the beginning until a fan picked up the microphone and asked a question, which caused the fans in the audience to cheer.

The fan asked Wade: "As a superstar who was on the first team and second defense last season and led his team to fifth place in the Eastern Conference, you chose to team up with James, the MVP of last season, who was on the first team and first defense. What do you think?"

After this question was asked, the translator was stunned and didn't know how to translate it.

Although Wade didn't understand Chinese, he could roughly guess the pronunciation of "MVP" and "James", and his expression began to look a little embarrassed.

Xu Yong did not help to resolve the situation at this time. He had a good feeling about Wade, but even though he knew about the peak group in advance as a reborn person, he still felt it was shameful.

Seeing this, the host had no choice but to skip this question.

But once someone started asking questions, the tone of the questions started to go awry.

"James is the MVP. Aren't you worried that he will take your position as the leader of the team after he comes?"

"Do you think that winning the championship by taking such a shortcut will add to your career?"

"Have you ever thought about what would happen if you failed to win the championship?"

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, the organizers had to hastily end this session.

Wade pursed his lips at this time, probably because he didn't expect that even after running to the other side of the ocean, he would still be tortured.

He hasn't even played a single game yet, and I don't know if he's already started to regret his compromise.

After the event, they returned to the hotel to rest for a while, and then in the evening, they attended a party together.

The party is for entertainment purposes, and there are many beautiful women, but of course there are more people from domestic circles.

In this place where even Messi has to toast when he comes, you can't hide from it.

Xu Yong dealt with it for a while and found an opportunity to sit on the sofa in the corner to rest.

However, not long after I sat down, Zhang Minji came over.

"There's a guy who does foreign trade. He's the sponsor and coordinator of our national team's European training camp. He's a big fan of yours and wants to meet you."

Xu Yong frowned at first, but when he heard about the coordination of the national team, he nodded.

Not long after, Zhang Minji brought over a Chinese man in his thirties. He had a good temperament, but his skin was a little dark. You could tell at first glance that he was in foreign trade.

"I finally meet him in person." The other party was very enthusiastic from the start and directly shook Xu Yong's hand.

Xu Yong was surprised for a moment, then smiled and motioned the other party to sit down and talk.

"Whether I'm in Africa or Slovenia, as long as you have a game, I will take time out to watch it no matter how busy I am. I'm really excited." After sitting down, the other party realized that he was a bit abrupt just now, and explained with a smile.

At this time, Xu Yong looked at the other person in surprise. He was engaged in foreign trade in China and traveled to Africa and the Balkan Peninsula. This guy was something.

"I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Xu Jiming. Actually, we are from the same family." The other party continued to introduce himself.

They both had the surname Xu, which brought the two closer together.

The two men quickly started chatting, and Xu Yong got to know more about this local fan.

He is also an inspirational person. He went abroad to do foreign trade when he was less than 20 years old. He started in the Balkan Peninsula. Later, when the country invested in Africa, he went to Africa again. He is also a basketball fanatic. When he was a teenager, he was a fan of the golden generation of the national men's basketball team.

With money, passion, and connections, he became a very special link.

"I was there during the 2008 Olympics. I knew then that you would become a star in the NBA." Xu Jiming said as he pulled up his suit, revealing the No. 6 Bulls jersey he was wearing underneath. Further inside that was his No. 23 jersey from Arizona State University, and even underneath that, he was wearing his No. 23 jersey from Bush High School.

Xu Yong was stunned, then he stood up and gave the other person a hug.

Now Xu Yong no longer had any resistance, and they had more things to talk about.

"I have been deeply touched by this in the Balkans and Africa over the years. You should know Rwanda, right?"

Xu Yong nodded. Hotel Rwanda, the movie starring Don Cheadle, is the “War Machine” in Marvel.

"On the streets of Kigali, the capital, there are young guys with Durant's body type running around, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs. But that place is so poor, people can't even get enough food to eat, and even if they have talent they can't play basketball," Xu Jiming lamented.

Xu Yong nodded. Unlike what many people thought, there are actually a lot of Odebia in Africa. However, because they have no sovereignty, they can only export the cheapest raw materials and have been sucked dry by Western countries all year round. Food and clothing are always their number one problem.

But people like Mutombo, Luol Deng and Mbah a Moute show that there is indeed no shortage of talent there.

"Then, in the Balkans, although they may not be as talented as those in Africa, they became rich earlier and already had a set of basketball training system, so their performance has been very stable."

What Xu Jiming said is also true. Before the disintegration, Yugoslavia was the only team that could compete with the Dream Team. Even after the disintegration, it was still a world basketball power.

However, Xu Yong looked at Xu Jiming and didn't quite understand what he wanted to say.

"What I mean is that our country doesn't lack people who play basketball, but we lack ways to train them. I've seen that because of you, many kids have gone to the United States to play basketball, but to be honest, only those with good physical fitness can have a chance there, and most of them will just rot in China."

"You mean to send it to Europe?" Xu Yong now understood what Xu Jiming wanted to say.

"Yes, most of those people in Africa who want to play basketball actually immigrate to Europe. If we send our children to Europe, we will have great opportunities for training. Moreover, they emphasize tactical qualities, and the players they train are spiritual." Xu Jiming nodded.

"I've actually always wanted to sponsor some kids to play basketball in the Balkans, but we don't have much trust in European basketball right now," Xu Jiming continued.

When Xu Yong heard this, he looked at Xu Jiming and couldn't help laughing.

What Xu Jiming said coincided with what he had thought before.

In fact, Chinese basketball does not lack inside players. What it lacks most are guards. Except for a few people like Hu Weidong, the others are all weaklings when playing in international competitions. They have no confrontation, no shooting, and cannot even dribble the ball properly.

On the contrary, Europe produces defenders.

To give an example of what fans often say, the United States has produced four great shooting guards, but it cannot produce a Ginobili.

You have to know that Ginobili is not European, he is an Argentine playing in Europe.

And it's not just Ginobili. The physical fitness of those European guards may not be that good, but they are all better than the other.

So actually, this should involve a matching issue. If we keep the inside players in the country to train, and then send the talented forwards to the United States, and the guards to Europe, and finally form a Gundam team and bring them together to play on the national team, then the strength of the men's basketball team will not be bad.