Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

The end of the NBA annual awards ceremony marked the end of the 2016-17 season and brought an end to this season's NBA events.

What is past is past.

The 2016-17 season has come to an end and people are quickly looking forward to the 2017-18 season.

The NBA free market is about to open. Some teams need to strengthen, some teams need to rebuild... In short, all NBA teams have started to take action.

That day, Zhuang Yu received a call from Jenny Buss, asking him to meet.

When Zhuang Yu came to Jeanie Buss' office, besides Jeanie Buss, there was also Jim Buss in the office.

It is quite rare for these two people to appear at the same time.

Thinking about the upcoming opening of the NBA free market, Zhuang Yu couldn't help but ask, "Did you ask me to come here today because of the team reinforcements?"

Jeanie Buss and Jim Buss looked at each other, and it was Jeanie Buss who spoke up: "Yes, the free market will open soon. Jim and I both hope to build a championship team, so we need to strengthen. But before that, there is another thing."

Oh?

Zhuang Yu raised his eyebrows: "What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't keep the secret and said directly: "We have discussed with Jim and believe that the first thing to change is not the team's lineup, but the team's management. We want to fire Mitch Kupchak. In the past few years, he has made a lot of contributions to the team. We all know this, but as the general manager of a championship team, his ability is still somewhat lacking."

"This can be seen from last year's offseason. If the team had been able to strengthen better during last year's offseason, the results of this season's playoffs might have been different."

Jim next to him also nodded.

During the offseason last year, Kupchak's work could be said to be relatively poor, which made everyone on the team dissatisfied.

First of all, he failed to convince Kobe to play for another year.

In this situation, he failed to find an All-Star player for the team, and was unable to sign even a quasi-All-Star player or a second-rate player.

After the offseason, Kupchak seemed to have disappeared throughout the 2016-17 season. Coach Scott had originally hoped that he would be able to strengthen the team through a trade in the middle of the season, but in the end, nothing happened.

Obviously, the Lakers were able to achieve such outstanding results in the past season not because of the role of general manager Kupchak, but because of the outstanding performance of Zhuang Yu, Lopez, Clarkson, Anderson and others.

In fact, Jenny and Jim had already discussed the issue of firing Kupchak and reached a consensus. Now they just wanted to see what Zhuang Yu thought.

In the past period of time, Zhou Zhengming led HT Sports Agency to negotiate with the Lakers on Zhuang Yu's contract extension, and the two sides have reached an agreement. The Lakers management also promised to strengthen the team and build a championship team at all costs.

So Zhuang Yu’s opinion is still very important.

Zhuang Yu thought for a moment and said, "Kupchak's ability is indeed unsatisfactory. I have no objection to firing him. I just want to know who will replace him next, and whether this person can do better than Kupchak?"

Hearing this, Jenny smiled and said, "I'm glad you don't have any objections. We have already found the person to replace Kupchak, and he is Rob Pelinka."

Rob Pelinka?

When he heard this name, Zhuang Yu felt somewhat familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

At this time, Jenny continued: "Pelinka used to be Kobe's agent. He has a lot of connections in the NBA and is very familiar with the operation of the team."

Zhuang Yu suddenly realized that it was no wonder that it sounded familiar.

It turns out that he is Kobe's agent. With this relationship, it is no surprise that Pelinka can become the new general manager of the Lakers.

Zhuang Yu smiled and said, "I don't know much about Pelinka, but if Kobe recommended him, I would trust his judgment. But seriously, it would be even better if you could convince Kobe to be the general manager of the team."

Ha ha......

Immediately, Jenny and Jim both laughed.

This is just a joke. Kobe will definitely not be the general manager of the Lakers. He has only retired for a year.

What's more, he has his own business empire. The position of Lakers general manager may be attractive to others, but not to him.

No one can convince him unless he wants to do it himself.

After laughing, Jim explained with a serious expression: "The reason why we want Pelinka to be the general manager of the team is not just because of Kobe. The most important thing is that Pelinka has provided us with a reinforcement plan that we think is very good."

Oh?

Zhuang Yu became interested: "Tell me about it."

Jim smiled and said, "Let Rob speak for himself."

He winked at Jenny, who walked to her desk, picked up the phone, dialed a number, and said, "Come to my office."

After a while, someone knocked on the office door. When the door opened, Rob Pelinka was standing outside. He was wearing a suit and holding a briefcase in his hand. He looked handsome and steady.

To be honest, Pelinka is quite handsome.

Zhuang Yu couldn't help but secretly wonder in his heart whether Jeanie Buss chose Pelinka because she had a crush on this handsome old man.

"Rob, come and sit down." Jenny greeted with a smile, "I don't think I need to introduce Zhuang Yu."

Pelinka smiled and nodded, greeted Zhuang Yu, and then sat down.

Jenny said, “Tell Zhuang Yu about your reinforcement plan.”

Hearing this, Pelinka couldn't help but feel happy.

Jenny asked him to tell Zhuang Yu about his reinforcement plan, which would prove that his appointment as the general manager of the Lakers was basically finalized.

Obviously, Zhuang Yu had no objection to him taking over Kupchak's position.

Restraining his inner joy and excitement, Pelinka adjusted his tie and said, "I think if the team wants to win the championship, reinforcement is a must, and it cannot just be adding some substitute players to expand the depth of the lineup. The starting lineup also needs to be strengthened, or even replaced and adjusted."

"It's not that our starting lineup is not good enough, it's just that our opponents are too strong."

"The Warriors played very well last season and eventually won the championship. If nothing unexpected happens, they will find ways to retain the team's main lineup this offseason, such as renewing contracts with players such as Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, and Shaun Livingston."

"Of course, the most important thing is Kevin Durant. Last summer, Durant signed a 1+1 contract with the Warriors. This year is a player option, and he has the right to opt out of the contract and become a full free agent, but he will most likely choose to stay with the Warriors to complete the contract next season."

Hearing this, Zhuang Yu subconsciously asked: "Is it possible to recruit Durant?"

Pelinka shook his head and said: "The possibility is infinitely close to zero. In fact, as far as I know, many teams have contacted Durant and tried to sign him, but he rejected them all. He tasted the sweetness of the Warriors and won the championship he dreamed of. Obviously, he wants more than just a championship ring. "