The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 588 - 7 A True Man Should Be Like This_3
Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "That’s also good, Divac is a player with potential."
"Potential! Heavens, what we need is immediate combat power, an experienced veteran."
"My experience is already very rich, Buck, this is a good signing, I think there are no major issues."
Gan Guoyang still had an impression of Divac, a slippery defender and a passing maestro on the offensive end.
His role indeed overlapped somewhat with Sabonis, having such heavy-duty centers, one is enough for a team.
Gan Guoyang’s role was much more flexible, after bulking up he could fight in the low post, becoming the most powerful center in the League.
Or he could slim down to play at the power forward position, his shooting and face-up attacks were lethal, unmatched across the League.
Just in terms of offensive lethality, Guoyang’s face-up game was stronger than his back-to-the-basket game, after all, his height of 6 feet 10 inches restricted his vision and options when posting up.
However, Guoyang’s strength advantage was too great, and the tactical role of the back-to-the-basket game was stronger than the face-up game.
From the season of 1985 to 1989, the proportion of Guoyang’s face-up offenses increased, as did his mid-to-long-range shooting.
Offensive rebounds decreased, pure physical skirmishes under the basket decreased, Guoyang’s offense became more three-dimensional, and his methods of attack more concise.
In the 88-89 seasons, his mid-range face-up gradually became his main scoring method, not just a supplement.
His mid-range shots were accurate enough to ignore defense, at a distance of 14-20 feet whether it goes in relies mainly on his condition, and less on how you defend him.
Guoyang was further enhancing his range, hoping to achieve the same accuracy from 23 feet, the three-point line.
Thus, during this off-season, Guoyang didn’t pursue heavy lifting but worked on refining muscle details, especially those related to shooting power.
Three-point training was not just about quantity, but quality, making sure to identify issues and explore experience and details with each shot. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
Since Guoyang said "no problem," Buckwalter was reassured.
When Ah Gan said no problem, it wasn’t just comfort, it meant he was prepared, confident in his approach.
Buckwalter knew clearly, that’s how Ah Gan always put people at ease.
-----------------
The draft on June 27th ended just like that, the off-season had just begun.
Jerry West’s plan hadn’t been fully realized, but snagging Divac and Robinson, sending away Vandeweghe, and trading for Sanders meant that the strategic objectives had been achieved, Trail Blazers had a great start for the new season.
As long as either Sabonis or Divac panned out, the Trail Blazers would profit, solving their interior issues.
Even if neither made it, West still had plans to acquire a suitable big man to assist Ah Gan.
As for guards, Petrović represented hope and potential, while Sanders represented stability and a safeguard.
If Petrović could dominate like he did in Europe, the Trail Blazers’ perimeter play would reach a new level, filling the void left by Drexler.
If not, relying on Terry Porter, Hornacek, with Sanders and Curry was sufficient for a strong team’s core to partner with Gan Guoyang.
But whether a dynasty could be established was hard to say.
Although people often say the NBA is a giant’s game, all teams want tall players in the draft,
The roles of guards and big men have always been equal; beside every towering champion, there are always one or more exceptional guards.
Moreover, with the development and spread of the three-point shot in recent years, the importance of guards has become increasingly prominent; the Trail Blazers’ idea in building a strong guard rotation was correct.
The day after the draft ended, Jerry West flew to Portland, Tang Jianguo held a press conference and announced West would become the new general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers.
This news surprised the entire League, Jerry West to their arch-rivals the Trail Blazers?
Los Angeles reacted intensely, "Los Angeles Times" immediately claimed it was a conspiratorial defection.
The Los Angeles media sensed West’s involvement in the draft, suggesting that the Trail Blazers snagging Divac at the 24th pick could very well have been deliberate.
Don Nelson was furious, pointing out in an interview that West’s move was a betrayal, he hurt the Lakers, and he joined the Lakers’ biggest rivals the Trail Blazers, bolstering their roster.
On the other hand, Lakers owner Jerry Buss made no negative remarks in public, instead, he had a private phone call with Jerry West.
In the call, Buss apologized to West, saying he shouldn’t have claimed in "Sports Illustrated" that anyone could do the job of a general manager, he knew that must have hurt West, and he hoped everything went well for West in Portland.
Buss was such a complex and peculiar person, different from many other owners, emotional, sometimes indecisive, and at other times resolute and ruthless.
He was full of contradictions, similar to West but very different from the simple-minded Nelson.
Despite feeling a bit guilty, West still assured Buss of his determination to work for the Trail Blazers and bring them a championship.
Portland’s "Oregonian" didn’t hesitate to counterattack in defense of West, saying it was Los Angeles that first discarded West, not Portland who had taken the excellent general manager.
