…
Bright light filtered through the gap in the curtains, passed through the red wine in the goblet on the table and shone onto her body, where her delicate body lay in the red light.
At this time, Xu Yong opened his eyes due to the bright light and pulled his hand out from under the softness.
Next to him sleeping was Alexandra Daddario.
He sat up from the bed.
He lit a cigar from the bedside, and Daddario woke up, kissed him, and then got up to take a shower.
Of course it is impossible for Xu Yong to not have a relationship for a year. Daddario came to the Bulls' performances several times, and the two dated a few times before getting together half a year ago.
Daddario is the most combative actress he has ever met, even hotter than Scarlett Johansson, and a perfect match for his figure.
To put it in one sentence, the intensity was even greater than yesterday's G6 battle.
As for Theron, she is a very principled person. After deciding not to get married, the in-depth communication between them was limited to that one accident.
Xu Yong also gradually adapted to this kind of relationship, which is why he said thank you when Charlize Theron brought little Michael to the scene.
One side of the hotel's bathroom can be adjusted to be transparent, which Daddario opened after entering. She has made a lot of efforts to maintain her figure and is happy to show it off in front of Xu Yong.
Water flowed out from the shower head, and hot steam spread out.
Xu Yong lay on the bed, admiring the vague scene before his eyes, and it seemed that the pain had disappeared.
Just then, his cell phone vibrated.
He retracted his gaze, picked up the email and saw that it was from Schwartz. After opening it, he saw the arrangements for his trip to Asia.
Because I will be participating in the national team training for the Olympics, this year's activity schedule will be arranged in advance.
In other words, he doesn't have time to take care of both the draft and the free market this year.
However, with the previous experience, when it comes to the issue of Rose, Foreman will most likely greet him.
After putting down his phone, Xu Yong got up and went into the bathroom.
The water waves are far away, and there are clouds and rain in Wushan.
On the day of the championship parade, a drizzle fell in Chicago, which just dissipated the June heat and the enthusiasm of Chicago fans was unprecedented.
Even from a long distance, Xu Yong, who was standing on the top of the bus, could feel the heat wave blowing towards him.
"Senior, have you heard?" Butler turned and looked at Xu Yong with a smile.
“Draymond literally lost a ball.”
"It's unfortunate."
"But guess what he's doing now?" Butler said excitedly.
Xu Yong shook his head. If it was really as Butler said, he should be recovering from his injury now.
"He posted a status on social media, saying that he would customize a face-to-face podcast program in July to talk about the risk of athletes getting injured, and that he would pre-sell red wine during the podcast program. It is said that LeBron will participate."
Xu Yong was completely confused. He could understand each word of the sentence, but he didn't understand them when they were put together.
Can this kind of thing be used to make a show and sell goods?
So all behaviors are converted into traffic, and then all traffic is converted into US dollars?
If what Butler said is true, then Green is a more thorough businessman than James.
And James will also participate?
It seems that they have a pretty good relationship in private.
"Senior, do you think LeBron will really go to Golden State?" Butler turned around and asked after waving to the fans in front of him.
Xu Yong shook his head.
Although James and Green have a good relationship, their playing styles overlap too much, so the Warriors are unlikely to want him. In contrast, the Warriors are more likely to pursue Durant as they did in history.
However, if James really goes to the Warriors, the scene of him and Green partnering up to play inside will make him unconsciously think of two people: the two generals Heng and Ha.
The Bulls' championship parade was a success, especially since more than half of the people at the scene were wearing Xu Yong's No. 6 jersey.
This championship is very important for the Bulls, but the boost to Xu Yong's popularity is phenomenal.
Shortly after his victory parade, Xu Yong also embarked on his trip to Asia.
His first stop was an island country where life was pretty good.
Moreover, on the first night at the first stop, the staff on the island country asked him if he wanted to taste the local specialties.
At first Xu Yong thought it was a delicacy like wagyu beef or sashimi, but when the other party looked at him ambiguously, he immediately understood what it was.
Xu Yong then said that he had already eaten there before coming and was full. The food in the island country is like stinky tofu. It tastes good but smells very pungent, so he decided to just take a look.
Then the activities arranged by the island country were also very perverted. When Jordan came, they arranged a series of shooting activities for Jordan with baskets of different heights and moving functions.
This time he came, it was basically the same activity.
But there are really a lot of people coming to the scene. Although basketball is not the number one sport here, basketball fans are very enthusiastic.
It was at this event that Xu Yong unexpectedly met Yuta Watanabe.
What he didn't expect was that Watanabe already knew him when he was in elementary school, and later regarded him as an idol on his road to success, and even took out his star card from his rookie period.
Xu Yong was also a little excited when he saw this, and he played with it in his hand for a long time.
You know, he just loves this stuff, and he doesn't even have his own trading card.
However, he did not snatch the card away from him. Instead, he took a photo with him and the star card, and then gave him a pair of new STX3 autographed sneakers.
Watanabe Xuyong knows that as a pure Asian, he has gone from a two-way contract to a formal contract, and can also make the rotation on a championship team. He is a very inspirational player. Basically, he is the real-life version of Rukawa Kaede from "Slam Dunk".
To use his words from his previous life, if domestic players worked as hard as he did, China would have no shortage of NBA players.
Watanabe was playing for George Washington University at the time, and he was extremely excited to see Xu Yong.
When the event was over, he received a call from Foreman, asking about the draft.
The Bulls' trades in the past two years did not involve draft picks, so this year's draft pick is still in their hands, at 29th overall.
Since it has been decided to trade Rose this year, the draft target is basically set on point guard.
This is also the reason why Foreman came to find Xu Yong, because he had made an extremely failed draft pick in this position before, Marquis Teague. Teague did not play well in the Bulls, and after being traded, he disappeared from the NBA before even completing his rookie contract.
Another reason is that although Xu Yongdu has theoretically graduated from the NCAA for seven years, he can still give some very good advice every year.
The most classic ones are Butler and Leonard, both of whom have become superstars, and Jokic has now become a qualified rotation player.
This made him believe that Xu Yongyou had been paying attention to the NCAA, and that he and Jordan were like two opposite sides of the same coin in terms of how they judged people.
"I haven't paid attention to the NCAA this year, but if you mention some of the names, I might have some impression of them."
Xu Yong's greatest impression of this year's draft was Ben Simmons (Philadelphia accent), who is hailed as the next James.
There may also be Jamal Murray from the Nuggets, but the latter is not because of his strength, but because he is a loyal fan of Bruce Lee. It is said that Murray realized the true meaning of basketball from Bruce Lee's Kung Fu, real Kung Fu basketball.
"Tyler Ulis, this is my current target. He is a native of Chicago and plays for the University of Kentucky. As a sophomore last season, he averaged 17.3 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. This year, he won the Bob Cousy Award and was selected to the All-American First Team. However, he has a shortcoming..."
When Xu Yong heard the name, he said he had no impression of it, but the resume was very brilliant, and the data showed both offensive and defensive capabilities.
"He was only 5-foot-10."
"The probability of the next Allen Iverson appearing is lower than that of the next Michael Jordan." But when Foreman said the next sentence, he couldn't help but say, 5 feet 10 inches, which is about 1.78 meters.
Xu Yong didn't have much impression of the next few names, but the last name successfully attracted his attention.
"Dejounte Murray, he is 6 feet 5 inches, from Seattle, and went to the University of Washington, but he is only 19 years old, his game style is immature, and his efficiency is very low, but his passing is not bad. If he can polish it for another year in college, maybe he will be an option."
"I know this child." Xu Yong said immediately.
Murray, although this Murray is not that Murray, he also knows that, like Anderson, he is also a Spurs player. Although his ceiling is not as good as a superstar, he has good hardware and it doesn't matter if he is rough. Just like Anderson and Jokic, the team does not expect him to perform well in his rookie season.
"He has been famous in Seattle for a long time, and I have seen his games." Xu Yong used a reason that Foreman could not refuse. He went to college in Phoenix, but he went to high school in Seattle. Moreover, the University of Washington is not the same as the George Washington University of Yuta Watanabe. It is in the PAC-10 League.
"Xu, there's one more thing I should probably say about him. He has a gang background, his mother is a frequent prison inmate, and he has arrest records from the age of 11. He's a troubled teenager."
Xu Yong was very surprised when he heard this, because he didn't know this. To be honest, he didn't know much about Murray. He only knew that he had been selected to the All-Star Game.
"We are playing basketball, aren't we?" Xu Yong finally gave his answer.
After finishing the trip to the island country, Xu Yong went to Taiwan, South Korea and the Philippines successively, and the last stop was in China.
It took half a month to complete this circle.
On his flight back home, the 2016 draft kicked off.
Because of the advice given before, Xu Yong started paying attention to the draft as soon as he got off the plane.
At this time, the first round of the draft has been completed.
Simmons was selected as the No. 1 pick without any suspense, but he did not go to Philadelphia to team up with Embiid. Instead, he went to New Orleans, which [luckily] won the No. 1 pick, to team up with Westbrook.
The Digital Man selected Ingram with the second pick, Embiid welcomed his forward partner, Jaylen Brown went to the Celtics as he knew, and then Jamal Murray also went to the Nuggets.
Except for the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, most of the time the picks are appointed by the team, and the rest of the time it depends more on the investigation of the team's scouting department. So even if their ranking has changed a little from the history that Xu Yong knows, they will still choose the people they like when selecting players, and even trade up the draft pick for this purpose.
Many stories at the draft are based on this point.
The Bulls selected Dejounte Murray as they wished, but not at 29th overall, but 22nd, and gave up next year's first-round draft pick for this.
Xu Yong was a little confused at first, but when he saw the Spurs with the 23rd pick, he understood.
He didn't realize that the Spurs are now worse off without Leonard than ever before and have a higher draft pick.
However, when he saw the result, he felt that the management's opinion of him had changed.
The importance of his opinion is no longer just about the team's veterans, but may be in the selection of players.
This is a bit of a feeling he doesn't want to have, but it seems like he has become James anyway?
Did he end up becoming the person he hated the most?
No, it's different.
The active and passive relationships here are different. In James's case, it was the management that asked him who he wanted, while in his case, it was the management that took the initiative to ask him whether he wanted someone. These are two completely different levels.
Even on the Bulls, this was treatment that Jordan had not received many times.
So this is not a bad thing, at least he is much more confident in his control over the team than before.
Because of the long journey, Xu Yong went back to the hotel and took a nap after getting off the plane.
When he woke up, he found that many people were texting him.
When he picked it up and took a look, he discovered something very interesting.
The Mavericks selected Wang Zhelin with the 58th pick.
He actually forgot about this guy. In his impression, it seemed that Wang Zhelin found out that he was selected after waking up from a sleep. He also found out the news after waking up from a sleep. What a coincidence.
However, because of his outstanding performance at the Nike Summit, Wang Zhelin has some fame in the United States.
And don’t think that this kind of draft pick at the end of the second round is a random pick. You have to know that there are so many people participating in the draft every year, and even if it is later, it will still be in the top 60.
In the future NBA, how many Chinese people can enter the top 60?
Wang Zhelin has the talent, but whether he has the ambition to improve is another matter.
In the next two or three days, Xu Yong was basically busy running around. He said he was on an Asian trip, but in fact the most important thing was the domestic market. He had several big endorsements in China and he had to attend all activities.
During these two days when he was busy, Foreman called him again. This time it was no longer about the rookie, but about Rose.
On the question of where to send Ross, Foreman wanted to know his thoughts.
"Gal, this is not what I want to do, but what Derek wants. If possible, try to send him to where he wants to go." This was the last kindness Xu Yongneng gave to Ross.
Just the day after Xu Yong and Foreman had the phone call, the 2016 NBA free agent market officially opened.
Because of the surge in the salary cap, this year's free market will be very different.
When the curtain opened on the first day, the first signing that was revealed shocked everyone. The Hornets offered Batum a five-year, $129 million super contract extension.
You have to know that Batum averaged only 15 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists per game for the Hornets last season, and he was not even the team's top player, but the total salary of this contract is frighteningly high.
In comparison, the contract Xu Yong signed was only 95 million for 5 years, and the Knicks' previous lavish contract extension with Stoudemire was 100 million for 5 years. Even last season's Marc Gasol only cost 110 million for 5 years.
Batum is a very good all-around forward and a qualified third-in-command. When Butler, a player of the same type, only had a maximum salary of 95 million for 5 years last season, it is pure nonsense to say that Batum is better than Butler.
It can only be said that luck is also part of strength, and the players whose contracts expire this summer are extremely lucky.
Although, as Foreman had previously believed, Jordan is the flip side of the coin, and he is now the big boss of the Hornets.
The signing news that followed further proved the exaggeration of this year's free market.
Chandler Parsons accepted the four-year, $94 million contract offered by the Grizzlies.
Even a player like Mozgov got a 4-year, $64 million contract.
Or you can understand it another way. Although it was expected, money has become less like money this summer. It is just a series of numbers. You cannot sign the players you want without paying a premium.
It was at this time that Xu Yong received a call from Ross.
"Xu, I'm very happy because they asked for my opinion on the transaction." Even across the Pacific Ocean, Xu Yong could feel Ross's happiness.
This is easy to understand, because the Bulls previously informed him of his departure, but this time they took the initiative to ask him what he thought.
"Congratulations, Derek, but you deserve it," Xu Yong said with a smile.
"So where are you going?" Xu Yong asked curiously.
“I actually want to go to Memphis.”
This choice is not surprising, as Rose is from the University of Memphis, which can be said to be his second hometown.
But the Grizzlies now have Mike Conley on their roster and are competing for a championship, so it would be difficult for the Bulls to make a trade with them.
"But Gal told me it wouldn't be easy." Ross's next words also confirmed this.
"So I'll go to New York and help the young players there," Rose said of his choice.
New York, Xu Yong was in a daze when he heard this. He knew that Rose had played for the Knicks.
Unexpectedly, Ross ended up going there.
"That's great. You are still in the East, and we will still meet quite often." Xu Yong said with a smile.
At least, this time it was Ross's own choice.
"I might be gone before you come back." So this call from Ross was a farewell call.
"Don't say that. At least Chicago is still your home, right?" Xu Yong said two things in one sentence.
"Yes, it always is," Ross replied with a smile.
Not long after Xu Yong finished his phone call with Rose, Foreman sent him a message just before the deal was completed.
The Bulls sent Derrick Rose and James Ennis to the Knicks in exchange for Patrick Beverley, Boris Diaw, and Tiago Splitter.
Judging from the return the Bulls received, both Dio and Splitter's contracts expired. One has reached retirement age, and the other, as an injured traditional center, has little chance to perform. The only one of value may be Beverley, who got a chance after moving to the Knicks.
This also shows that due to injuries, Rose's trading value is very limited.
But looking at the bright side, both Dio and Split have expiring contracts worth around 7 million, so the Bulls have some room for maneuver later.
It was at this time that Xu Yong saw a familiar piece of news. Durant did not directly reach a contract extension with the Thunder, but began to meet with various teams.
Coincidentally, James started the same thing at almost the same time.
Rose's trade seems to be just an appetizer in this year's free market, and the real big dish is about to come.