Chapter 418: Chapter 355: Are You Thinking Too Much?
Beside him, Fender immediately scrolled down.
Third, Carmelo Anthony.
Physical Attributes: 8/10.
Comments: Obvious strengths and weaknesses, with potential for improvement.
Skills: 7/10.
Comments: Excellent skills, immense potential.
Mentality: 7/10.
Comments: Stable mentality.
Execution: 6/10.
Comments: Prone to slacking, overly self-centered.
Teamwork: 5/10.
Comments: Lacks a sense of responsibility.
Learning Ability: 6/10.
Comments: Very smart, has the foundation for excellent learning ability, but his level of self-discipline limits his ceiling.
Predicted Accomplishment: All-Star.
Team Role: Capable franchise player.
"He must be making this up," Fender couldn’t take it anymore.
He put Wade on the same level as James but then disparaged a top-three prospect like Anthony.
’Lacks a sense of responsibility, overly self-centered, not self-disciplined enough...’ What does a rookie need that stuff for? As long as he has the physical gifts and the skills, that’s enough.
Fender felt that all the things Chen Yu mentioned could be developed later.
If he wasn’t self-disciplined enough, the team could just push him from behind.
Riley’s brow furrowed. He didn’t bother with the details and just scrolled down.
Fourth was Chris Bosh.
Predicted Accomplishment: All-Star.
Team Role: Capable franchise player.
Fifth was Kirk Hinrich.
Predicted Accomplishment: Star.
The word "All" was missing.
Team Role: Capable second-in-command.
This conclusion was another tier down.
After that, sixth, TJ Ford.
Seventh, Chris Kaman.
Eighth, Jarvis Hayes.
Ninth, David West.
Tenth, Nick Collison.
Eleventh, Luke Ridnour.
Twelfth, Josh Howard.
Thirteenth, Michael Sweetney.
Fourteenth, Donte Jones.
And that was it.
Exactly 14 players, covering the lottery picks.
And starting from Anthony, the evaluations dropped off a cliff. There were very few scores of 8 or higher.
Riley crossed his arms, completely baffled.
"Randy, what do you think of this Dwyane Wade?"
The potential forecast provided by Chen Yu was actually not that different from the draft projections of mainstream media outlets like ESPN.
The single biggest difference was Wade.
Fender thought for a moment before replying, "He’s very fast, but his height is a bit awkward. His shooting isn’t great, and his ball-handling is a little subpar. If we pick him in the middle of the first round, I think it’s not a bad deal. But top three? He’s definitely not worth it."
Wade didn’t have much buzz initially.
But after he shone during March Madness, especially after last month’s game against the Kentucky Wildcats, he gained a lot more attention and shot up to become a hot prospect in the lottery.
But top three?
Fender still felt Wade was nowhere near qualified.
Riley didn’t respond. He leaned back, stared up at the ceiling, and fell into deep thought.
The Heat had a terrible record this year, so their draft pick should be very high.
Riley’s initial targets were a center and a point guard.
Moning’s kidney disease had worsened, and he had missed the entire season. It was still unknown what his situation would be next season. If he could return healthy, the Heat’s center position would naturally be secure.
So, in Riley’s mind, the ideal scenario was for Moning to get a kidney transplant, return to the team, and then they would draft a point guard.
Therefore, Riley had also been paying attention to this year’s lottery prospects, like TJ Ford, Wade, and Kirk Hinrich.
But just from watching game tapes and reading scouting reports, he couldn’t make up his mind.
For Chen Yu to value Wade so abnormally highly, he found it a bit strange.
"Randy, do you think... could it be that the Phoenix Suns want to get this Wade?" An idea suddenly popped into Riley’s head, and he sat up straight.
Fender was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
Riley said, "If I remember correctly, the Milwaukee Sentinel ran a story. They interviewed Wade after Marquette University was eliminated, and they asked him about his knee injury. His answer was that he had been diagnosed by Chen Yu before the game, and Chen Yu had advised him to wear a knee brace."
As the team’s head coach, he paid attention to all kinds of news, and he even had dedicated staff to collect media reports and provide him with information.
"So?" Fender still didn’t quite understand.
Riley’s thoughts were now perfectly clear. He continued, "Don’t you get it yet? Although Wade has considerable technical flaws, he’s strong enough and very fast. Logically, he should be a top-ten pick. But the reason the media isn’t high on him is because of his past knee injury, where he had part of his meniscus removed."
"But he was diagnosed by Chen Yu, and Chen Yu didn’t tell him to have surgery, just to wear a knee brace. Don’t you see?"
Fender blinked, starting to follow Riley’s train of thought.
"Are you saying... his knee is actually fine?"
Riley gave a noncommittal response. "It’s hard to say. There might be a problem, or there might not be, but it’s probably not a major one."
’If there was a major problem, could he really have gotten that huge triple-double?’
Fender immediately grew excited. "So that means this is a chance to get a steal! We should pick him?"
If his knee was fine, then picking Wade with a high pick was definitely not a bad move.
Riley shook his head. "Let’s not talk about whether to pick him or not. It’s too early for that. Right now, I’m just analyzing why Chen would rank Wade second, above Anthony."
"I believe this is a strategy by Chen Yu and the Phoenix Suns. Their ultimate goal is to draft Wade!"
"Them?"
Fender immediately shook his head. "How is that possible? Their pick is so late. How could they possibly get Wade?"
No matter how low Wade’s projected pick was, it was still in the lottery. The Phoenix Suns’ first-round pick was the second to last.
Riley scoffed. "Last week, I saw a report from a Memphis journalist saying the Phoenix Suns want to trade up in the draft. Their target is the Grizzlies’ first-round pick."
"The Grizzlies have the seventh-worst record, and they need a decent center. The media reported that the Phoenix Suns might offer Sabonis as a trade chip. You know Sabonis has been in great shape this season thanks to Chen Yu’s treatment. He has one year left on his contract, so he’s still very attractive."
"In other words, the Phoenix Suns want to get a high first-round pick and then select Wade."
Fender crossed his arms and also began to think.
The lottery pick order hadn’t been determined yet.
But whoever got the number one pick would definitely select James.
As for the second pick, a freak talent like Milicic was also very tempting. The league was desperate for centers.
So, going down the list and looking at the teams with the worst records, the Raptors needed frontcourt players the most. As for the Fast Ship, they had Michael Olowokandi, but that big man had huge ambitions. The media reported he wanted a max contract.
The Fast Ship’s owner was so cheap; he most likely wouldn’t keep him.
So the Fast Ship also needed a center.
For the past two years, the most in-demand positions in the league were still in the frontcourt, specifically center.
The Bulls drafted Jay Williams last year and were focusing on developing him, so they didn’t need a point guard either.
Of the teams with the worst records, the only one that really needed a point guard seemed to be their Heat.
"So what does that have to do with Chen ranking Wade second?" After thinking it all through, Fender found himself confused again. He still didn’t understand Riley’s point.
Riley wore a "how do you still not get it" expression. "Think about it. When everyone is down on Wade, Chen ranks him second, with ratings on par with James. It’s as if he’s telling everyone, ’Hurry up and draft me! Come get a steal!’"
"But, you have to think about it from the other side. Chen’s potential forecast report doesn’t have any clear evaluation criteria. Whoever he says is at the top, is at the top. In other words, it’s not authoritative or credible."
"In that case, would you dare to trust Chen’s judgment? Would you believe that Wade really has potential comparable to James?"
"He’s doing this deliberately to scare off other teams. He even wants teams that were originally interested in Wade to have second thoughts and not dare to pick him, turning instead to a safer choice. This would ultimately allow the Phoenix Suns to pick him at a suitable spot."
At this point, Riley had an expression like he had it all figured out.
’Who am I? I’m the Master Strategist.’
’I saw right through this little trick.’
"And think about it. He diagnosed Wade in March, and this month he’s running a potential test. There’s definitely a connection."
Riley snorted. "I wasn’t a fan of Chen doing this potential test in the first place. Isn’t this just an early tryout? It’s cheating."
But Chen Yu was connected to the league. If he really wanted to do it, what could Stern say?
Fender gave Riley a strange look.
After a long moment, Fender finally said, "Pat, don’t you think you’re overthinking this?"
This whole line of analysis, setting aside its internal logic, just didn’t sound reliable to Fender. It felt like he was just being too clever for his own good, thinking way too much.
"Putting everything else aside, the Phoenix Suns have Hardaway. Do they even need a point guard?"
They have Hardaway!
To move Hardaway back to the point, the Phoenix Suns even traded away J Kidd.
No matter how good Wade was, he was just a rookie. Could he compare to J Kidd?
The Phoenix Suns’ management would have to be out of their minds to go to all this effort, to go through all this trouble, just to draft Wade.
Riley’s confident smile froze on his face.
’That’s right, the Phoenix Suns have Hardaway.’
"No!"
The next moment, Riley immediately shook his head. "Think about last season. Hardaway can play the two-guard. They still need a point guard, especially a rookie point guard, so they can keep capitalizing on that rookie contract value."
Fender silently rolled his eyes. ’You’re just arguing for the sake of arguing now.’
Rubbing his temples, Fender didn’t want to argue with Riley anymore. "So, in other words, the Phoenix Suns have their eye on this Wade, he has a lot of potential, so we should just draft him."
Even if the Phoenix Suns really made a trade with the Grizzlies, the Heat’s pick would definitely be higher than the Suns’.
Riley’s whole wild analysis boiled down to the belief that Wade had potential. So why waste the brainpower? Just draft him and be done with it.
Anyway, the Heat were planning on drafting a point guard to begin with.
"No, no, no."
Riley still shook his head.
"You have to understand, the Phoenix Suns can’t trade for a very high first-round pick. That’s why they have to use this method to make Wade’s draft stock fall, to keep someone else from snatching him up."
"But we’re different. Our pick is high. Why not choose someone better? Like, draft a center. That Chris Kaman isn’t bad."
"And TJ Ford. He’s even faster than Wade. In Chen’s comments, he specifically mentioned that Ford has ’unbelievable agility’."
"I think he has the potential to become a player like Tim."
Height isn’t an issue. Tim Hardaway wasn’t tall either, and he still became the face of the Heat.
Wade was a little taller, but his height was still awkward.
