This news shocked Presti, and he couldn't help but ask: "That Allen Iverson?"
It really surprised him, because although Allen Iverson performed poorly with the Detroit Pistons last season, he was still a member of the Twenty-plus Club and an All-Star last season. Such a player would come to the SuperSonics. , but Presti quickly clarified his thinking. The current Allen Iverson is no longer the "answer" before. Similarly, the current Sonics team is no longer the previous SuperSonics team. Just now The Sonics, who won the championship, have become an upstart in the league, and it is not surprising that Allen Iverson, who is looking for a next home, chose the Sonics because it will allow him to realize his dream of a championship.
"It's Allen Iverson, it can be that one." When Yao Ming first heard the news, he felt a little incredible, so he understood Presti's performance very well and said calmly to Presti.
"What did he tell you?" Presti quickly calmed down from the joy of hearing the news. Although Allen Iverson was good, the Sonics could not give him the space and energy he wanted. When it comes to playing opportunities, both Stephen and Kevin Durant are outside players and need to take turns playing to solve the problem, not to mention Russell Westbrook, who regards scoring as his life, needs to be appeased. Even the team¡¯s No. 1 If none of the six people offered it to him, would Allen Iverson accept it? With his unruly attitude and never-flinching character, would he come to a team and play an insignificant role? Presti Deeply doubtful.
"He didn't say anything, he just expressed his hope to win the championship with me." Yao Ming has been in the league for six or seven years. He naturally knew that Allen Iverson wanted to come, but he didn't put aside the dignity of being a superstar. I hope the team can take the initiative to contact him. This approach was not a big deal before, but now that he has fallen into such a decline, and still puts on such a superstar attitude, Presti first took it three points and disliked it.
There is no need to give an answer immediately for this kind of thing. After thanking Yao Ming, Presti began to wonder whether the team could give Allen Iverson a position and room to fully perform, but after thinking about it, , are relatively reluctant. What is indisputable is that even after the failure of last season, Allen Iverson is still one of the top figures in the business market. If he can come to the SuperSonics, he will be a good player for the game. The team's commercial development is definitely of great value. For commercial development, there are not too many star players. The only worry is on the court. At the same time, Presti is also worried that the arrival of Allen Iverson will affect the football. Regarding the atmosphere in the team's locker room, it's a pity that the team doesn't have a head coach yet, so the two of them can't discuss it.
what to do? After thinking for a while, Presti planned to send someone to contact the other party first and listen to the other party's expectations for salary and status. If it was too high, forget it. If it was still acceptable, he would continue to follow up and assess the risks. , the official introduction has begun, and I still have to focus on the head coach.
What is surprising is that Jeff Van Gundy is not willing to accept this position. The reason is that the Seattle SuperSonics' performance last season was too good and would put too much pressure on people. At the same time, Carlesimo's incident also made fellow head coach Jeff Van Gundy had a feeling of despair, because he experienced almost the same thing when he was with the Houston Rockets. The difference was that in the end, Houston was willing to give him a contract, and he insisted on leaving.
Presti had no choice but to ask Yao Ming to come forward to persuade Jeff Van Gundy. Jeff Van Gundy also did not agree, but was willing to consider it. However, at this time, Mark Jackson of Jeff Van Gundy came to the door and wanted to coach the Sonics.
However, he has no coaching experience or record, and the tactical concepts he promotes are more offensive. This is also unacceptable to the Sonics, especially Stephen. Mark Jackson mainly takes into account the style of the Sonics. I thought that this would be the only way to get what I wanted, but it was just the opposite, and I lost my last chance.
The Sonics also considered looking for another head coach, but after looking around the league, they found that the suitable head coach already had a job, such as Rick Carlisle, Mike Brown, Rivers, and others. , either the salary is too high and far exceeds the standards of the Sonics, or there is no record to prove it. In the end, I still feel that Jeff Van Gundy is the most reliable.
Presti once planned to poach the San Antonio Spurs. As far as he knew, the Spurs' assistant team still had two capable players. However, the rise of the SuperSonics has affected the San Antonio Spurs. With a championship prospect, and this team no longer belongs to Bennett, **Vitch no longer supports the Sonics that much and does not allow the Sonics to have contact with his people. Steve had no choice but to let go of this plan, otherwise, after all, they were of the same line, even if he was a novice, there would be no problem.In the end, they continued to target Jeff Van Gundy. This time Stephen and Yao Ming came forward in person and met with Jeff Van Gundy. Jeff Van Gundy was still very moved by their sincere actions. After all, given Stephen's current status, it is not bad to be willing to give him such a face.
In addition, through the conversation between the two parties, I learned that the Sonics' main goal is to strengthen the team's defense. This moved Jeff Van Gundy. For a team that has already won the championship and has the most offensive power in the league, He actually wanted to strengthen his own defense. In addition to feeling the ambition of the Sonics, he also felt that the two sides were indeed of the same mind.
But even so, Jeff Van Gundy did not agree directly. Instead, he agreed to the agent to negotiate with the Sonics. Naturally, it was a negotiation. There must be other conditions, but with the Sonics' sincere pursuit, An agreement was quickly reached.
It only took five days from the first contact to the signing of the contract between the two parties, which can be described as extremely fast. On the one hand, the Sonics are indeed very sincere. Although it is the offseason, the team needs to trade and renew the contract. , all this is inseparable from the participation of the head coach. At the same time, after Jeff Van Gundy was impressed, he did not put forward any excessive conditions. The two hit it off and came together.
In the end, the two parties reached a two-plus-one contract with an annual salary of five million. If both parties have no objections after two years, the contract will be automatically renewed for another year. In addition to these, there is naturally an additional condition, such as the power of the team. , the divisions were very clear. At that time, Carlesimo was not so clear-cut because of the relationship between the two parties.
In addition, Jeff Van Gundy very seriously proposed that it must be stated in the contract. If the Sonics do not want to renew the contract, it must be stated in the middle of the season. The Sonics also agreed to this. Carlesimo¡¯s case It was just an accident. After both parties reached an agreement, they disclosed the news to each other.
This news shocked the media. No one expected that the Sonics would choose a head coach so quickly, and that the two parties reached an agreement so quickly. It was completely unexpected. Such news had never been spread before. It's really shocking that an agreement was reached like this.
As for choosing a coach like Jeff Van Gundy, Seattle fans can accept it. After all, he is also one of the famous coaches, and those more professional people have realized the ambitions of the Sonics. Choosing such a head coach is absolutely I am not satisfied with the performance of this championship.
The league is a little dissatisfied. It's not easy for an offensive team to win a championship. Suddenly they choose such a head coach. Isn't this reversing history? They clearly remember that Jeff Van Gundy coached the Rockets. During the game, that scene was so ugly.
Of course, Carlesimo was even more dissatisfied. When he learned about Jeff Van Gundy's salary figure, he immediately went crazy. He thought the boss wanted to save money so he didn't give him a salary increase, although he was dissatisfied. , but there is nothing wrong with him. Who knows that he has encountered a stingy boss, but he actually gave so much to Jeff Van Gundy. Is it because he is more famous than himself, has a better record than himself, and is better at defense than himself.