On the evening of May 3, 2019, after Guangdong swept Xinjiang to win the championship, Du Feng and Weems hugged each other and said, "It's just one time, let's win three more times, okay?"”
No problem!Weems replied.
On December 14, 2023, Guangdong Hongyuan's official Weibo released a news that Weems and the team's general manager Zhu Fangyu completed the signing of the contract, with a text, simple but warm enough 4 words:
"Welcome home!”
Time is long, white clouds and dogs.
4 years have passed.
In four years, Du Feng and Weems won two more times, and the team lost to Liaoning in the season after completing the three-game championship dynasty.
In 4 years, too many stories have happened.
Guangdong Hongyuan plays fast basketball, blows a new storm in the CBA, and is as dominant as the sky;There is also a ruptured Achilles tendon in the United Arab Emirates, the championship with blood and tears;
There was the semi-finals that year: "Switch Offense!."8 seconds, Weems didn't wait!There is also the sadness of last season's quarter-finals;
There is the arrival of the great demon king Zhou Qi, as well as the retirement of the totem UAE and the departure of Zhao Rui.
In the past 4 years, as a fan, what I have seen is the ups and downs of 11 crowns.
With the arrival of Zhou Qi and Waters, the hope of a championship was rekindled.
In this context, the team signed a third foreign player, an old acquaintance Weems.
That Weems, who was playing in the Super League 3 last season and had just finished a 100-point battle with Yang Zheng.
As soon as the news came out, I believe fans will be somewhat surprised.
We all know that the Guangdong team has insufficient internal reserves and the shortcomings of the lineup, so it stands to reason that Zhou Qi should be found an inside substitute, such as Hamilton last season.
If you look at it only from the perspective of individual players, this is really not a good option.
After all, in the playoffs 2 years ago, when Weems faced the young Zhang Zhenlin, he had already shown his old state, and people couldn't help but feel afraid of being young.
However, Zhu Fangyu considered not just letting the dancing king attack the city.
Why the 37-year-old Weems?
On the one hand, feelings.
Liaoning did their best to beat us, but there are still 2 days left, we can win 3 consecutive championships, stay focused in these two days, come on!Won our 3 consecutive titles. ”
This is something worth remembering in the history of the Hongyuan team"Big Bus Talk".
"I don't play for stats, I only fight for championships. ”
"I am willing to follow Du Feng to play anywhere. ”
The CBA's foreign aid comes and goes, but Weems's integration is extremely outstanding.
This integration is not only the run-in on the field, but the player's real home to the team, but the real emotional identity.
Therefore, when Weems was still a player of the Shanxi team, he returned to the Dongguan Bank Basketball Center as a visiting team, and the huge poster played by Dongguan fans read: welcome home, sonny
This can be said to be a "two-way street" for players and fans.
Because of the feelings, I have to mention another purpose of signing Weems:
Flow rate.
I don't know if you have noticed that Guangdong Hongyuan's home attendance rate this season is not as good as before.
In terms of the general direction, there will be reasons for the current economic environment, and everyone's consumption in this area has to be reduced.
From the perspective of fans, the United Arab Emirates has retired, and the team is missing a basketball star with unparalleled appeal in China.
And the signing of Weems, although he can not fully make up for the lack of popularity after the retirement of the United Arab Emirates.
However, there will be fans who will be willing to buy tickets for him.
After all, this meritorious player has left too many good memories for fans, and his No. 13 jersey is worthy of retirement in the Guangdong team.
Therefore, due to a combination of many reasons, I feel that signing Weems is not an impulsive decision of the Guangdong team.
Judging from the level of the game alone, Marchand and Waters will still be the first choice.
At this stage, Weems is already very good to share about 10 minutes of time. The good thing is that he doesn't need time to run in, and he can do plug and play.
In addition, one point that cannot be ignored is that the Guangdong team's foreign aid use policy is one person per session.
The addition of new foreign players means that the competition within the team has intensified.
So, another benefit of Weems' return to the team may be:
Speed up the activation of Marchand's status.
If you don't play well, you won't have any playing time.
Catfish effect, Zhu always understands.