The Trail Blazers exchanged a high-quality defensive spot-up midfielder in his prime for a former superstar whose condition has collapsed. The media generally did not rate this deal highly.

Reuben Patterson's peak period lasted for 3-4 years without any problem, and he was very healthy and played more than 70 games each season.

Payton has reached the end of his career, and there is a precedent for a top-notch star at the beginning of last season to suffer a serious decline in form at the end of the season.

After this transaction occurred, Trail Blazers fans felt the public opinion environment they were accustomed to.

Regardless of the actual situation, let’s take a step back in the direction of media coverage.

The media have been waiting for a long time. If Liu Xiu gains a few kilograms, they will be promoted to the sky. The Trail Blazers have won six consecutive games in the beginning and have 6 wins and 1 loss in the preseason. Now they finally have the opportunity to take advantage of it, and they do it with reason.

Also, the Trail Blazers have enough point guards.

Liu Xiu, Lynch and Hunter are both stable, while Little Flying Squirrel is a waver.

More people feel that Paul Allen is unhappy again and wants the team to get rid of Ruben Patterson as soon as possible.

In addition, Payton is also a player who has a bad relationship with the media. He is still old. His performance with the Lakers last season was lackluster. In the finals, he was ravaged by Jamal Tinsley, Kenny Anderson, and Reggie Miller.

Someone broke out...

There are increasing voices of public opinion criticizing the Trail Blazers' deal.

Payton himself, who was traded to the Trail Blazers, didn't feel that the Trail Blazers really wanted him.

But he is no longer the veteran superstar who averaged 20 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 1.7 steals per game that many teams competed for last summer. In order to send him away in the summer, the Lakers even chose to make a deal with the arch-rival Celtics to let him go.

Kobe was willing to sign an NBA record seven-year contract totaling $136 million.

At the end of his career, he was abandoned by the Sonics and the Lakers. Payton had already accepted being traded again. He didn't buy a house in Boston at all, or even rent a house. He had been living in a hotel. After being traded,

He didn't even say goodbye to his Celtics teammates. He packed a suitcase and flew directly to Portland. The remaining items in the hotel room were asked by his agent to send him back to his home in Seattle. He had already done that.

Well, prepare to be traded again.

However, as soon as he arrived at the Rose Garden Arena at noon on November 16, Payton felt something was wrong.

The car sent by the Trail Blazers parked outside the arena instead of driving into the parking lot. He got out of the car with doubts. He was shocked by the beautiful scenery in front of him.

Winter, it's winter now!

Portland is not as cold as Boston in the Northeast, but it is still a place where you have to wear a coat before going out.

But there are roses outside the gate of the Rose Garden Arena!

Even if this city is a rose city, in winter, it is difficult to see roses on the streets and alleys. You can only buy flowers at a high price in a flower shop.

Just when Payton was surprised, a middle-aged man with a scruffy appearance and a black suit came to him and said: "How about it, Gary, it's very beautiful. This is what the warden originally planned to use to pick up girls. I heard

If you want to come, they will all move here."

Maurice Cheeks, one of the top point guards in NBA history, a retired jersey-level boss, and the current head coach of the Trail Blazers, Payton must know him.

Putting the greetings aside, Payton asked: "Warden? Why?"

The coach responded: "So that you can see the beautiful scenery of our city at the first glance when you join our team. He hopes that we can see such beautiful scenery again in June."

Payton was stunned when he heard this.

His impression of Liu Xiu - genius, arrogance, violence, pride...

The picture of Liu Xiu that comes to mind is of Liu Xiu on the sidelines of the Staples Center, chatting with Hollywood actresses with a nonchalant look. When he smiles, he looks like a bad boy, but those actresses are still willing to talk to him.

, when he won, some female celebrities took the initiative to celebrate for him; when he lost, there were also female celebrities who took the initiative to comfort him.

Although the relationship between Payton and Liu Xiu is not bad, it cannot be said to be good. Payton has talked trash before, but not enough...it can be considered unfamiliar.

Payton's emotions are very complicated now, but no matter what, the initial resistance, dissatisfaction, helpless acceptance of fate, etc. are no longer the main emotions.

After not staying long at the entrance of the arena, the coach called Payton, got in the car again, and went to a restaurant for lunch together.

I didn't stay too long, maybe because of these roses. If you look closely, you can see that they are actually wilting...

The coach feels that the warden's farming ability needs to be improved.

He seriously suspected that the warden contributed these flowers to the team because he felt it was too embarrassing to use them to pick up girls.

…

Having lunch with Payton, Maurice Cheeks, and the rest of the coaching staff.

Just outside the arena, Payton felt the attitude of the boss of his new team towards him.

During lunch, he felt the team's attitude, which surprised him.

It was said to be lunch, but more importantly, it was the first communication between the coaching staff and Payton.

When Maurice Cheeks said he would continue to guarantee his starting position like the Lakers and Celtics did, Payton was stunned.

"I'm going to play the starting position, Warden?" Payton was so surprised that his voice rose.

"He will play shooting guard next, transforming like Dwyane Wade. With you leading him at the point guard position, I believe he will do a good job at the shooting guard position." Kevin Pooley

Techa responded.

Compared with the coach, the chief assistant of the Trail Blazers is the face of the team management, coaching staff, and trainers. His appearance, temperament, and dress are all more likely to make people like him, and he is not as affectionate as the coach when he speaks.

Taking the topic far away makes it look very serious.

Payton was so moved!

Known as the strongest talent in the super draft years comparable to the 1984 and 1996 classes, his position was changed for him!

In the previous two games, Liu Xiu and Lynch Hunter were the two point guards. By coincidence, when they played the Clippers, the Clippers started with the two point guards of Marko Jaric and Rick Bronson;

When playing against the Bucks, the opponent was the backcourt duo of Francis and Reid. From a matchup perspective, the dual point guards of Liu Xiu and Lynch-Hunter were better defensively than Liu Xiuhe.

Reuben Patterson defended better.

Moreover, it feels to the outside world that it was Lynch Hunter who stole Reuben Patterson's starting position, not Liu Xiu.

In the previous double point guard combination of Liu Xiu and Fei Shou, Fei Shou was more like a shooting guard. Liu Xiu and Lynch Hunter started at the same time, and Lynch Hunter was the one who was regarded as the shooting guard...

Even though he has accepted the reality, Payton still has the pride and confidence of being a superstar.

After the chief assistant coach finished speaking, he realized that his statement was a bit wrong. He wanted to say something more, but was kicked by his friend and boss who knew him very well, and he chose to shut up.

Everyone on the coaching staff found that Payton seemed to have misunderstood something, but this misunderstanding was a good thing for them.

…

…

Under the dual influence of intentional calculations and unintentional interference, Payton's acceptance of the new team has changed dramatically compared to when he first arrived in Portland.

Maurice Cheeks, who knew what Payton had misunderstood, found the boss's secretary, who said that the task had been assigned to him.

Rumors of "Warden switched to shooting guard for gloves" started!

In the afternoon, after Payton underwent a health examination and physical test, he came to the training ground to meet his new teammates.

Payton, a veteran superstar who has been in the NBA for more than ten years, has won 9 first-team defenses, 2 double-teams, and the best defensive player. When he came to the new team, his attitude was not bad, and his teammates naturally gave him face.

However, there are really not many topics for young players and old players to talk about. Liu Xiu, Randolph, Kwame Brown, Outlaws and others got to know Payton as teammates, so they didn't talk much.

Both sides know that there is no rush for this moment. They will become familiar with it naturally after playing many games.

If the two parties are fully cooperating with each other on the court but find that it is not suitable, there is no need to have more contact, and there may be another transaction later...

And there are no veterans.

Lynch Hunter, Dell Davis, McDyess, Jon Barry, Flying Squirrel, Raheem... players who entered the NBA in the early to mid-1990s are even more interesting to talk to Payton.

Lynch-Hunter joked: "OH, NO! Gary, I just played two games and my starting position is going to be taken away by you."

Payton responded: "Really? That's really embarrassing. I'll go find the coach and ask him to continue to let you start."

The two had a good personal relationship. After teasing each other, Payton called Lynch Hunter aside to get to know his new teammates.

The person who most wanted to know more about it was naturally Liu Xiu.

Lynch-Hunter shared some of his understanding of Liu Xiu after working together for more than a month.

What Payton heard the most was Lynch Hunter praising Liu Xiu for being so talented, loving to learn new things, and loving to heal people.

Lynch-Hunter also told Payton to be mentally prepared for Liu Xiu's talent.

Payton, who has played against Liu Xiu several times, thinks it makes sense for Lynch-Hunter to be mentally prepared for Liu Xiu's angry mouth.

But do you have to be mentally prepared for Liu Xiu’s talent? Payton only felt funny after hearing this!

His gloves are also a rare super genius in history, okay!

…

…

On November 17, after three days of rest, the Trail Blazers faced their third opponent in five consecutive games - the Grizzlies.

The Blazers' preparation training in the morning was all about tactical movement training.

The tactical adjustment is quite large. After acquiring Payton in the trade, the Trail Blazers coaching staff will have a look at the tactics they have in mind first, and then continue to adjust them later.

When playing against the Clippers and Bucks, Liu Xiu was only asked to play shooting guard. The tactical adjustments had not yet begun. They were just letting Liu Xiu adapt to a new role first. There was a problem at that stage - the current strength of Lynch Hunter.
To be continued...