Time flies to the end of August, and the Hawks players have returned to Atlanta one after another.

The first person to return to Atlanta for training was not Liu Mang, but Stockton who came to Atlanta to rent a house at the end of July and came to Atlanta early to prepare for next season.

Although Stockton, who was born in 1962, is 41 years old, a full year and a half older than Malone, he still wants to make his own contribution to the team, and he still had 27 minutes of playing time last season.

Averaging 11 points, 7.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game, the strength is still there. If the two players continue to play together in the Jazz, people think there will be no big problem in entering the playoffs.

Liu Mang returned to Atlanta on August 16, rested for two days, and then joined Stockton's training.

When he returned to the team, he had Stockton, a more experienced physical maintenance master, to lead the training, and Stockton's shooting was also excellent. Together with Chip Englander, he provided Liu Mang with a lot of good things.

suggestion.

However, at the end of August, after Boozer returned to team training, Liu Mang clearly felt that he had "fallen out of favor". Stockton was very interested in coaching Boozer, mainly because Liu Mang improved so fast.

After discovering his own shortcomings, he trained like crazy. His shooting progress was so fast that Stockton couldn't keep up with the speed of finding Liu Mang's shortcomings. He asked Stockton to leave this kind of thing to Chip Englund, a professional.

I asked people to provide guidance and taught Boozer how to pick and roll.

Stockton was amazed by Liu Mang's hard work and talent. He himself is synonymous with hard work, but it took him five seasons to completely polish his long-range shot and he only officially became a member of the league at the age of 27.

Top pitcher, Liu Mang has just turned 21 years old...

As for Boozer being surprised why Stockton would take extra care of him, Liu Mang was also surprised. Stockton didn't meet Boozer a few times, so how could he teach Liu Mang as patiently as if he saw his own son?

Mang Po was a little jealous, so he asked Boozer to do odd jobs and bully Boozer.

But it was all just a joke, as time came to September, all the teammates came back.

They returned to the team at the end of August or early September. For most ordinary stars, it can be said to be very early. The old players who stayed with the Hawks before were because of their two consecutive losses in the Eastern Conference Finals. They were eager to defeat the Nets and enter next season.

The finals are full of motivation, and the newly added Kwame Brown, Korver, Willie Green and others are here to improve themselves quickly and have a place on the team.

It seems from now on that the team has 14 players, and each position has sufficient staffing. With only 12 active rosters, one of the three of them will definitely have to wear a suit for a long time, even if they enter

The 12-man roster may not necessarily make it into the regular rotation. It is very crucial for them to start training early to let the coaching staff notice their efforts and strength.

…

…

"Ace, are you sure this guy won't bite me?" Jason Terry looked at Rasheed Wallace, who was chatting happily with Raheem, and was still worried. Rasheed Wallace was present.

When you hit the ball, it's like trying to bite someone.

Although Liu Mang repeatedly assured that Rasheed Wallace was a good person, Rahim also proved this. He was the one who introduced Liu Mang to Rasheed Wallace back then, although the way was a bit "special".

In that game, Liu Mang had just defrauded Rasheed Wallace into two technical fouls and was ejected. Rahim was worried that Liu Mang and Rasheed Wallace would be at odds with each other. We were all friends, so he watched the opera

The vote was given to Liu Mang.

With the guarantees of Raheem and Liu Mang, most people in the Eagles can accept Rasheed Wallace, mainly because the rumors about this guy are too bad, and his performance on the court is too exaggerated.

"Don't worry, Rashid usually only hits people, not bites. By the way, he likes to bully people who are less than 1.9 meters tall. He can't bully people who are taller." Liu Mang finished shooting a basket.

Just run.

"...Ace, your skin is itchy again, isn't it? Stop! Don't run!"

The daily two-wave fight brought a little spice to the teammates who were restless and looking forward to the start of next season.

The first impression of Rasheed Wallace as a Hawks player is quite good. First of all, he just moved and came to the team to report the next day after moving. He is very active and passionate about basketball.

And although he looks comparable to Boozer, he is smiling in private, does not act like a big name, and can talk to several new rookies. He seems to be easier to get close to than Boozer. Boozer's base

The boss face, bald head and poker face are really intimidating.

Liu Mang and Jason Terry fought for a while, and the teammates couldn't help laughing, especially the new players. They felt really good about the atmosphere of the Eagles.

The good team atmosphere brought about by the Eagles, a group of frustrated people who work hard to rise together, is extremely rare in the NBA. Even Stockton, who plays in a perennial championship-level team, does not have it.

After experiencing this kind of team atmosphere, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart when I saw Jason Terry and Liu Mang, who were "squeezed" to the bench by Liu Mang, have such a good relationship.

After Liu Mang tired Jason Terry to the point where he could no longer run, he proudly winked at Jason Terry. At this time, Liu Mang saw Mike Woodson and his agent Schwartz with a face

The very familiar person walked towards the general manager's office.

Jose Calderon!

When the 03 generation is ranked in the future, Calderon will be ranked ninth among the 03 generation.

Speaking of which, Liu Mang felt that the 2003 generation would have been really pitiful if James hadn't signed up for a group. Except for the "Four Heroes" who left Milicic in the top five picks, the other players basically failed to appear in the NBA.

The waves are coming.

Starting from the Four Heroes, the 2003 generation suddenly dropped a level, directly from the super giants to the ranks of first-class stars and even quasi-first-class stars. Apart from the Four Heroes, the most accomplished player of the 2003 generation was David West.

, then the second-round pick Korver, who has accumulated 60 wins with the Hawks, then Mo Williams and Kaman, and the next ninth and tenth are Jose Calderon and Boris-

Dior.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The draft of the 03 generation can be said to be a cliff-edge. Except for the top five picks, the rest are not at the same level at all. Unlike the 84 generation and the 96 generation, those two generations of stars have

There are superstars of the era, some are super giants, some are top stars, some are top-notch stars...there are players of all levels.

Mike Woodson and Schwartz saw Liu Mang looking at them, and brought Calderon to Liu Mang to say hello. Mike Woodson introduced Liu Mang: "Ace, this is us

Your new teammate, the Spaniard, Jose Calderon, let’s sign the contract first. When we hold a press conference about your contract extension later, you can call on your teammates to support the scene.”

"Ace, this is our company's newly signed player, take more care of him." Schwartz recommended Calderon to Liu Mang.

Calderon? How did our team get Calderon?

Liu Mang nodded in astonishment, and then recalled which team selected Calderon, and then thought about the last pick in the second round from the first pick. After thinking for a long time, he found... No team picked Calderon.

Delon!

This high-quality shooter with a career three-point shooting percentage of over 40% and a total of more than 1,000 three-pointers. For the first time in the third year of his career, he is a solid and big-hearted point guard who averages 8 assists per game.

He's an undrafted candidate!

Liu Mang didn't notice at all that Calderon was undrafted!

Liu Mang really admired Schwartz's vision for finding talents from undrafted players. Although most of the players Schwartz signed in the draft did not do well, he was really good at discovering frustrated players.

Have a hand!

By the way! Liu Mang quickly went to find Stockton. Didn't Stockton always dislike me, Liu, who wanted to score more than pass the ball, and failed to inherit his legacy?

Steady shooting, big heart, first in passing... Isn't this the best person to inherit Stockton's mantle? Recommend a disciple to Stockton!

…

On September 5, Rasheed Wallace finally moved his family to Atlanta and reached an early contract extension agreement with the Hawks.

In the afternoon of that day, the Eagles held a press conference to welcome players who joined the team and renewed their contracts.

Rasheed Wallace, Stockton, Willie Green, Korver, Calderon who were just signed, Kwame Brown who was just traded, Liu Mang, Jason Terry,

Rasheed Wallace, who has just renewed his contract, is the protagonist of this press conference.

No matter what the outside world says, the Hawks have welcomed a player with true All-Star ability. Of course, they must treat Rasheed Wallace with the standards of welcoming a superstar.

Similarly, it is also a welcome ceremony for Stockton.

The contract renewal of Liu Mang and others is also a key point.

As for Korver, Kwame Brown and others joining, they are just foils.

The NBA is such a cruel place. If you don't have the ability, you can only be a foil.

At the same time, I would like to express my gratitude to Dean Grove, Newbell, Chris Crawford and others who have left the Eagles for their contributions to the team.

As for Raheem, Boozer, Prince, Ratliff, Kevin Willis, Barnes, Muhammad and others who had nothing to do with them, they also came to the scene to support the scene and let the media

I felt the unity of my team.

After the owner Price gave some official words about the team, he took the jersey handed over by the staff and handed the number 36 to Rasheed Wallace and the number 12 to Stockton...

As for the taste of my teammates in choosing jersey numbers, I think it's pretty good. There aren't any weird jerseys, but when Kwame Brown comes, weird ones come.

Looking at the No. 38 jersey that Kwame Brown took over, Liu Mang felt so bad. It was probably because Americans did not miss Women's Day. Liu Mang was very curious about what day Women's Day is in the United States...

After the joining ceremony, the Eagles announced two contract extensions.

Jason Terry signed a six-year, $56 million contract extension with a starting salary of $8.1 million. As Jason Terry wished, his salary will exceed $10 million starting in the fourth year.

.

Liu Mang's contract renewal is simple. He reached an agreement in advance with a four-year starting salary of US$12.25 million and a maximum salary of US$55 million. The contract will be officially renewed in the summer of 2004.

The year is fixed, and the player option is in the fourth year. If the team still needs to make operations next summer, Liu Mang's formal contract extension can be postponed to avoid occupying the team's salary space.

The Eagles and Liu Mang are very satisfied with this contract extension. The Eagles are because Liu Mang's next contract expiration will be in 2007, so they can build a team around Liu Mang with peace of mind. Liu Mang's side

You get a relatively short contract. The total revenue of the NBA is increasing year by year, and the salary cap will increase by several million every year. The shorter the contract, the larger the contract will be when the contract is renewed.

Liu Mang is now short of money again. When he returns to China for promotion, Schwartz is not just following Liu Mang for fun. When the promotion announcement is confirmed, Schwartz actually has nothing to do, and Liu Mang is

The Chinese don't need an agent to communicate various matters like other NBA players. He can live well by himself. Liu Mang called Schwartz together, mainly to let Schwartz act as a foreign investor.

Liu Mang registered a leasing company and bought a large number of school district houses and shops that were now so cheap that Liu Mang couldn't stop laughing.

Nowadays, the price of a school district house in the imperial capital is less than 3,000 square meters, and a school district house of more than 80 square meters can be purchased for only about 300,000 yuan.
To be continued...