The Suns' operations in the free market can only be described as "low-key". They first announced that they had signed Peyton for two years, and then renewed their contracts for veteran Kukochi for two years, both of which were the basic salary of veterans.

Payton praised Guo Xu at the press conference for joining the Suns, expressing his firm belief that the team will defend the title successfully next season.

The two met while in Los Angeles. Guo Xu invited a meal and imagined the future with Payton, which made him feel very comfortable. Once he felt comfortable, he could not control his "big mouth".

Payton said that "Jason Guo is the hardest player I have ever seen" and caused a topic.

The reporter then asked: "You said Jason is the hardest to defend against, so what about Jordan?"

Payton responded: "Jordan is very talented and can do everything on the court, but he will always be angry with my trash words. Jason is not like this. He is too fast and will keep running, and it is difficult for me to say trash words to him. In fact, for a while, when I defended Jordan, I would drive him crazy. In the 1996 finals, if I defended Jordan in the first game, the result might be very different."

During the interview, Payton was also asked about a hot topic, that is, O'Neal left the Lakers and Kobe to take the lead.

Payton commented: "After the Lakers' three consecutive championships, the management has been making the wrong choices. They let two key players go. Kobe is very strong, but he is just a little brother. He can't lead the entire team like Jason, nor can he dominate the penalty area like O'Neal. The Lakers will usher in a difficult period next, so I choose to leave."

Since he has turned to the Suns, Payton will not be stingy with his praise for Guo Xu. Who made Guo Xu the team the boss? First, he shows that he is the strongest active NBA player and is not inferior to Jordan. It would be less embarrassing to pick up his thighs.

Kukochi is also ready to retire from the Suns and has a great time in Phoenix. He can play a role in regulating the atmosphere in the locker room and has a good relationship with his teammates. Everyone regards him as a big brother and mentor.

Although several black players can't master his skills and play like a small forward, Kukoc can teach them how to attract the fastest time after the defense to protect the basketball and move to the right position.

Don’t underestimate the passing skill. The inside tactics that will support the huge effect. The Suns’ inside ball was still bad in the first year. In the second year, Haslem, Sir and Nene could occasionally assist. If you grab the frontcourt rebound, you can quickly split the ball, instead of forcibly taking the ball to "send the hat" in the crowd.

They were often blocked in the first year and improved a lot last season. Kukochi made an indelible contribution and showed extraordinaryness in the ordinary.

After seeing the news of signing, Guo Xu also called Kukochi. Congratulations to Brother Qi, he can establish a dynasty with everyone, and look at the green mountains and green waters as beautiful as picturesque...

Kukochi is very smart. It is a trivial matter for him to earn millions less. Staying in solar energy is the key to gaining more honors. Even if other teams give more money, he doesn't want to leave.

Now he has four championship rings. If he can establish a dynasty with the Suns, he will definitely leave a brilliant mark in NBA history, with six rings like Jordan and Pippen.

The Spurs' Robert Horry may not be lucky than Kukoc. As long as Brother Qi retires for six championships, even if he cannot be selected into the Hall of Fame, he will be one of the best foreign players in NBA history, without any controversy.

At this time, the Suns' lineup for the next season has been confirmed, and there are strong players in each position and no longer need to poach people. After letting go of Kirisek and veteran Gugliotta, the Suns' roster only has three places. Now their 15-man quota is full, so there is no need to find anyone to try out in the preseason.

Center: Diop, Nene, Stadamier.

Power forwards: Valaijo, Haslem, Kukochi.

Small forwards: Marion, Ariza, James Jones.

Scoring guards: Laga Bale, Joe Johnson, Josh Howard.

Point guards: Guo Xu, Steve Blake, Gary Payton.

In the eyes of the outside world, the Suns lineup mainly relies on "Trident" and Joe Johnson, and the others are role players. In Guo Xu's view, this lineup is incredible in depth, and can attack and defend well. Ariza and Valaijo have no chance to perform in the first season, so they can only be substitutes for marginalists.

The most amazing thing is that the total salary of the Suns is below the salary cap, which is 5 million lower than the Suns in the 2004-05 season in his previous life.

The Suns signed Nash in his previous life for 65 million in 6 years, not the maximum salary, but the management poached Clippers forward Quentin Richardson, and the team also had Howard Ellis's middle-class bad contract.

Now the Suns, as the defending champion, have a total salary of only 39.6 million, which is not much higher than the "poor line". They are the team with the lowest total salary in the league next season, lower than the Clippers and Hawks. This made the media and basketball experts unanimously exclaim whether there is any mistake?

Brian asked Guo Xu about signings in the free market. Guo Xu made it clear that he did not need to introduce stars. He was confident that he would lead the Suns to defend his title successfully, and there was no need to poach someone at a high price.

The Jazz had the lowest salary in the league, with only $38.77 million last season.

After the free market opened, the Jazz management made a big move, poaching Pistons center Memit Oku with a 6-year, $50 million premium contract. Once the news was announced, countless people said it was a bad contract, because Oku was a marginalist in the Pistons last season.

Coach Jerry Sloan is very optimistic about Oku, believing that his style of fighting in the penalty area and pulling out to play pick-and-roll is very suitable for the Jazz. He has formulated a arduous training plan for him, and as long as Oku is obedient and does what he does, he will definitely become stronger.

Then the Jazz poached Clippers swinger Quentin Richardson for 45 million in 6 years, and signed Suns abandoned player Kirisek for 4 million in 2 years, strengthening his weak wing, and his salary suddenly increased.

At this time, a big change occurred in the league. Because the Jazz chose power forward David West with a similar style, power forward Carlos Boozer, who did not pay a high salary to poach the Cavaliers.

Fortunately, the Jazz did not poach Boozer anymore, otherwise it would be a hidden danger. If their record improves significantly next season, they will not be able to choose future star point guard Deron Williams. It is a blessing that Seynn lost his game. If the Jazz got a strong man too early, things would be completely different.

Boozer's agent in this life was not to encourage him to be the "reverse boy" Pelinka, but to Hapi Watels. Hapi suggested that he choose to play for the Cavaliers for another year with a low salary of 700,000 yuan, and try to make the data to win the maximum salary next year.

The Cavaliers offered another condition to Boozer. He jumped out of the contract this year and signed 41 million with the Cavaliers for 6 years. Isn’t this just a fool? Last season, Boozer averaged 15.5 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2 assists per game, and shot a 52.3% shooting percentage. As the second in command of the team, is he worth the money?

Boozer was angry in his previous life and accepted Pelinka's suggestion. He first agreed to renew his contract with the Cavaliers at a low salary, then violated his promise and turned around and signed a 68 million contract with the Jazz for 6 years. Boozer's behavior triggered a big discussion on "integrity" in the NBA. ESPN's poll showed that more than 70% of people believed that Boozer's behavior was "deception".

Now that the Jazz has not given Boozer a premium contract, he has to choose to stay with the Cavaliers for a year.

This triggered a series of butterfly effects. The Cavaliers not only left Boozer, but also chose an excellent blue-collar insider Biderlings. They didn't have to sign Drew Gooden as a substitute for Boozer.

If the Cavaliers choose to renew Boozer in 2005, they will have no room to sign the famous bad contract of Larry Hughes in their previous life.
Chapter completed!