He Xi Meng’s little tricks were no match for his eyes, but he didn’t expose or stop Collins’s petty moves. He Xi Meng was open to the question of whether Pierce stayed or left.
As long as Pierce didn’t cause trouble and submitted obediently, staying in Boston was not impossible.
Collins didn’t want Pierce to stay and wanted to send him away as a token of his joining the Celtics; He Xi Meng didn’t refuse.
A while ago, when Pierce was making a fuss, He Xi Meng had the idea of reforming the Yao-Mai combination in Boston!
But as soon as McGrady joined the Rockets, he hesitated due to fear of bad luck and couldn’t make up his mind, never giving He Xi Meng a clear answer, so He Xi Meng stopped contacting McGrady.
Finally, under He Xi Meng’s intentional or unintentional hints, Collins used his persuasive skills and got involved in the big trade between the Raptors and the Nets!
On December 17, 2004, the Celtics, Raptors, and Nets reached a three-way trade!
The Celtics sent Pierce and received Vince Carter!
The Raptors sent Carter and received Alonzo Mourning, Aaron Williams, Eric Williams, and two draft pick swaps from the Nets.
The Nets sent Mourning, Aaron Williams, Eric Williams, and two draft pick swaps and received Pierce from the Celtics!
Pierce went to the Nets to form a new combination with Jason Kidd.
Carter then came to Boston to form a young Big Three with He Xi Meng and Yao Ming!
Collins successfully completed his general manager debut, helping Mr. Jo trade for his junior brother Carter, which greatly satisfied Mr. Jo!
Since the change of ownership at the end of last year, the player changes this summer, and the general manager, head coach, and core player changes in the past month, the Celtics have undergone a complete, thorough rebuild from top to bottom!
And in the first 20 regular season games the Celtics have played, He Xi Meng has initially conquered the discerning Boston fans!
With Pierce out injured, He Xi Meng and Yao Ming achieved a record of 14 wins and 6 losses, ranking third in the Eastern Conference, only behind the Heat and the Pistons!
This is the best season start for the Celtics in the last ten seasons!
The Boston fans suddenly realized that the Celtics without Pierce didn’t seem to be getting worse, and perhaps even better? This made them full of anticipation for Carter’s arrival.
After all, in terms of league recognition, Carter was no weaker than Pierce currently was.
And in Carter’s debut game, the Celtics’ opponent was the Miami Heat, the number one team in the East, flying to Miami to challenge them!
In Miami, He Xi Meng met two old acquaintances: Shaquille O’Neal and Eddie Jones!
“Hey, Simon, you guys have been making a lot of noise lately! Changing general managers, changing head coaches! How about it, interested in a big center?”
O’Neal said, puffing out his biceps, “I’m not old yet! I can still play!”
“Stop kidding, Shaq! That’s the management’s business, it has nothing to do with me!”
“Don’t give me that crap! You and that Kobe kid are cut from the same cloth!” O’Neal suddenly put on a righteous indignation look.
“I was squeezed out of Los Angeles by Kobe, and Paul was squeezed out of Boston by you! We are both losers who lost the teams and fans that originally belonged to us…”
“Hey! Shaq, stop acting, okay? Would you dare say you don’t like the beaches of Miami?”
He Xi Meng mercilessly exposed O’Neal’s lie, just as O’Neal had exposed He Xi Meng’s lie.
“Huh? Wasn’t my acting convincing enough? I put all my true feelings into it! According to acting books, this should be the highest level of acting? How did you see through it?”
“Of course I saw it with my eyes! How about it, are the beauties in Miami hot?”
He Xi Meng didn’t want to get bogged down in the discussion of trades with O’Neal anymore and decisively changed the topic.
But O’Neal remained unmoved and continued to ask He Xi Meng, “If you and I team up, we can contend for the championship this season! You, aren’t you considering it?”
Seeing O’Neal’s persistence, He Xi Meng had to help him analyze the current situation. Rebuilding a team and assembling a roster is not as simple as putting strong players together.
“Yao Ming’s salary this season is 5 million, what’s your salary this year? 27 million? Do you know how much luxury tax Mr. Jo has to pay if you exceed the luxury tax line by 20 million? Do you think Mr. Jo would be willing to pay such a large luxury tax?”
O’Neal’s big eyes rolled, and he immediately realized that there seemed to be no possibility of him joining the Celtics. Unless he voluntarily took a pay cut to the level of Yao Ming’s current salary. And for him to take a pay cut to a few million dollars a year…
“Let’s talk about the beautiful women in Miami instead…”
O’Neal finally stopped talking about joining the Celtics and instead made a gesture over his chest with his fan-sized hands, swallowed hard, and winked at He Xi Meng, replying, “Hot! They are extremely hot…”
After chatting nonsense with O’Neal for a while, He Xi Meng also had a few words with Eddie Jones.
If you really think about it, Eddie Jones was also forced out by Kobe!
Back then, Eddie Jones’s position overlapped with Kobe’s, and the Lakers sent Eddie Jones to the Hornets to make way for Kobe.
Eddie Jones played for the Hornets for two years before coming to Miami to assist Mourning!
Unfortunately, Mourning’s sudden decline in recent seasons due to kidney problems. Otherwise, the combination of Mourning and Eddie Jones would have achieved something in the Eastern Conference in the past few seasons. Even if not contending for the championship, they might have had a shot at the Eastern Conference championship.
But unfortunately, Mourning not only couldn’t play but also occupied the Heat’s salary cap, preventing the Heat from making any new signings. Eddie Jones could only spend his time idly on the beaches of Miami.
However, the Heat’s tanking was not without reward!
In last year’s draft, they successfully drew the 5th overall pick in the first round and selected Dwyane Wade, who was not yet “Flash” at the time!
Then, Pat Riley poached Shaquille O’Neal from Los Angeles!
O’Neal + Wade + Eddie Jones! The Heat’s core foundation was built, and they were poised to take off.
And in addition to these three core players, the Heat’s starting lineup also included Udonis Haslem and Damon Jones, with Rasual Butler, Christian Laettner, and Shandon Anderson on the bench.
On the Celtics side, with Carter’s arrival, Coach Kerr accepted He Xi Meng’s suggestion and vigorously promoted young players, moving Josh Smith and Tony Allen into the starting lineup.
The Celtics’ new starting lineup was center Yao Ming, power forward Josh Smith, small forward Trevor Ariza, shooting guard Vince Carter, and point guard He Xi Meng!
Between Tony Allen and Trevor Ariza, He Xi Meng ultimately chose to start Ariza!
Compared to starting Tony Allen, starting Ariza had one advantage: Carter could return to his most familiar and proficient position, shooting guard!
Carter’s advantage was not as pronounced at small forward, but stepping back to shooting guard, his swingman ability would be fully displayed…