Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 433: Chapter 369: Utah Jazz

After practice ended, and after making sure everyone had eaten their nutritional meals, Chen Yu called Hardaway, and the two drove to a private club downtown.

It was a regular haunt for the team’s more energetic members.

Upon entering the private room, Chen Yu thought, ’Just as I expected.’

Bald, dark, and skinny—it was none other than Gary Payton.

He and J Kidd had known each other since they were kids; they were best friends.

But for him to show up in Phoenix with J Kidd at this particular time was certainly intriguing.

The men were no strangers to one another. They exchanged greetings and sat down to chat.

"Chen, I know you’re getting married in August and that the clinic and sports lab won’t be open for long, so I came early. I need to keep working on my shot," J Kidd said, holding up his right hand.

Even then, he was rolling a pair of iron balls in his palm.

It seemed he had gotten addicted.

Chen Yu nodded and looked toward Payton.

The wedding date was set for early August. After the wedding and a month-long honeymoon, it would already be September, and the new season would be starting soon.

That meant the clinic and sports lab could only operate until the end of July at the latest.

When Chen Yu sent out the wedding invitations, he had already informed the athletes who planned to come to the clinic for maintenance during the summer.

As for Payton, Chen Yu recalled him mentioning during the All-Star Game that he wanted to come to the sports lab in the summer to improve his game.

While Miller was struggling with the idea of being a "one-city" player, Payton had no such concerns.

Although he had spent his entire career with the Supersonics, they had traded him to the Bucks before this year’s trade deadline.

This was unlike Miller’s situation, as the Pacers had explicitly stated their desire to keep him.

The team no longer wanted Payton, so what psychological burden could he possibly have?

He was 35, and the Bucks couldn’t offer him a big contract. So why should he languish in Milwaukee? He might as well take one last shot at fulfilling his dream in the final stage of his career.

So, Payton said directly, "Chen, you don’t need to look at me like that. I’m just like Jason. I’m here to improve my game and prepare to join the Suns."

Hardaway, who was taking a drink, nearly spat it all out.

Even though this was a private conversation where no one would find out, he was still shocked by how blunt Payton was being.

The key thing was, it was only May. The regular season had just ended, yet Payton had already rushed over to Phoenix, eager to show his sincerity.

It just went to show how powerful the allure of the Suns, or rather, a championship, was to these veterans.

Chen Yu wasn’t surprised at all. The moment he guessed it was Payton, he had already figured out his objective.

"Gary, have you really thought this through? We can’t offer you a big contract," Chen Yu said after a moment of thought.

With O’Neal’s massive contract on the books, the Suns’ salary cap pressure was already significant.

A sign-and-trade was a format Brian would definitely not accept.

They did have a mid-level exception they could use this year, but it wasn’t for much money.

So, the most they could offer was a veteran’s minimum salary.

And this season, Payton, like Miller, had a salary of twelve million dollars.

Crucially, he was only 35 and known throughout the league as an iron man. Playing for another two or three years shouldn’t be a problem for him.

Last season, he was still averaging 20 and 8.

He was fully qualified to pursue another large, three-to-four-year contract in the twilight of his career.

Considering his age, a max contract might be out of the question, but a deal for around eight million a year should be no problem.

Over twenty million dollars for three years was no small sum.

Payton nodded, his gaze calm and resolute. "Of course. I’ve thought it through very clearly."

Given his reaction, what else could Chen Yu say?

"I hope you can fulfill your dream," Chen Yu said, raising his glass.

On the street outside the club, an old Chevrolet was parked by the roadside.

In the driver’s seat, Fern Terry, a reporter for the Phoenix Pioneer, was holding a camera aimed at the club’s side entrance.

The car door opened, and his assistant, Hughes, got in with two cups of coffee.

Handing one to Terry, Hughes adjusted his seatback, leaned back lazily, and asked, "Fern, can you really get supermodels in there?"

Terry lowered his camera, glanced at Hughes, and said, "Of course. Forget supermodels, they can even get you Hollywood actors. Hughes, in this world, you can get anything as long as you have money."

He reached out and patted Hughes on the shoulder, teaching him a lesson.

Hughes pursed his lips in agreement and added, "Didn’t some reporters break the news that Chen Yu is getting married? I can’t believe he’d still come to a place like this."

"Sigh." Terry waved his hand. "He’s a man. You have to understand."

Hughes didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "If only we could sneak in," he said. "If we got a picture of him with a woman, it would definitely be a huge story."

Terry snorted. He wanted to as well, but this wasn’t the kind of place just anyone could get into.

Just as they were talking, Hughes suddenly sat up straight.

"They’re coming out."

Terry quickly grabbed his camera.

At the distant side entrance, a valet had already brought their cars around, and a club chauffeur was also in his vehicle, waiting.

Chen Yu’s group of four walked out of the side door, saying their goodbyes.

"Isn’t that J Kidd?" Terry was momentarily stunned.

The two of them had followed Chen Yu from the US Airways Center and knew Hardaway was with him.

But they hadn’t expected them to be meeting with J Kidd.

"Is that Gary Payton?" Hughes muttered from the side.

There was another person with the three of them, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, with only half his face visible.

"Payton?"

Terry immediately adjusted his lens, zooming in on the last person.

He was hugging Chen Yu goodbye.

"It really is him!" Terry nodded after careful examination.

The four men got into their respective cars and left.

"Who should we follow?" Hughes asked.

The four men went in different directions.

Terry shook his head, looking excitedly at the photos on his camera. "We’re not following anyone. Back to the office, Hughes. We’ve got a big story."

Hughes was confused for a moment. It was just a normal meeting between a few people. What was the big story?

"Are you stupid?" Terry said. "Think about it. Why would J Kidd and Payton be here, meeting with Chen Yu? There’s only one possibility: Payton is going to join the Suns. Isn’t that a big story?"

Although J Kidd’s contract was also expiring this summer, he had just left the Suns last year. It was impossible for him to come back.

Payton, on the other hand, was most likely here to join the Suns in pursuit of a championship.

"O’Neal, McDyess, Marion, Hardaway, Payton... that lineup is terrifying." Terry grinned from ear to ear.

Except for Marion, the other four were all All-Star players.

Even Marion, given his performance and potential, would undoubtedly become an All-Star himself.

A team with a starting five composed entirely of All-Stars—that would be a historic, one-of-a-kind, super-stacked lineup.

Meanwhile, Chen Yu didn’t go straight home but returned to his clinic.

They had mostly talked, so he hadn’t drunk much.

He found Miller in a patient room, on the phone. Seeing Chen Yu enter, Miller looked flustered, quickly said, "I have something to do," and hung up.

"How are you feeling?" Chen Yu walked over, sat down, and prepared to change the dressing on his ankle.

He had a medicinal plaster on it.

Chen Yu wasn’t rushing to operate; the priority was to reduce the swelling and control the inflammation first.

"Pretty good. My foot doesn’t feel as swollen," Miller said with an awkward smile, furtively tucking his phone away beside him.

Chen Yu glanced at him but didn’t call him out on it.

He had just overheard him address the person on the other end as Larry, so it must have been Larry Bird.

The media had already reported that after being eliminated in the first round, the Pacers had brought Larry Bird back as Director of Basketball Operations.

He was probably trying to talk to Miller, to convince him to stay.

Chen Yu began changing the dressing, waiting for Miller to speak first.

But even after Chen Yu had finished, Miller still hadn’t said a word.

’He sure knows how to keep his cool!’

Chen Yu had a feeling that Miller knew that he knew what was really on his mind, but since he wasn’t talking, Chen Yu wouldn’t press the issue.

It meant Miller hadn’t made up his mind yet.

After reminding him to get some rest, Chen Yu left the room.

Having had a drink, Chen Yu didn’t perform any surgeries and went home early.

The next morning, after washing up and sitting down for breakfast, Chen Yu suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

He looked up to see Lexi putting down a newspaper, her sharp gaze fixed on him.

"Did you go to Gustav?" Lexi asked, her eyes narrowed.

Chen Yu’s heart skipped a beat. Gustav was the name of the private club he had visited yesterday.

In an instant, Chen Yu rapidly weighed the consequences of lying versus telling the truth, then said calmly, "Yeah, Jason came to town yesterday, so we met up for a chat. I had a drink, you knew that, right?"

"Just chatting?"

Lexi’s gaze was still piercing.

"What else would I be doing?" Chen Yu retorted calmly.

Lexi snorted and slapped the newspaper down in front of Chen Yu.

The Phoenix Pioneer.

On the front page was a surprisingly clear photo of Chen Yu walking out of Gustav’s side entrance.

Huh?

Chen Yu suddenly noticed that the headline wasn’t about him and Hardaway frequenting a luxury club, but about Gary Payton secretly meeting with him to join the Suns.

’The focus of the article is actually quite normal,’ he thought.

Just then, his phone rang.

"I have to take this call," Chen Yu said, quickly getting up and moving to the living room.

It was Brian.

As soon as the call connected, Brian urgently asked when Chen Yu was coming to the arena.

"What’s wrong?"

Chen Yu glanced back toward the dining area. Lexi had started eating her breakfast again.

’It should be fine. She’s a reasonable person.’

Brian sounded as excited as if he’d won the lottery. He said mysteriously, "Chen, have you seen the paper? The Salt Lake City Tribune."

"Just get to the point."

’The Salt Lake City Tribune? Why would I be reading a paper from Salt Lake City when I’m in Phoenix?’

"It’s Ma Long!" Brian’s voice was practically floating with joy. "The Salt Lake City Tribune reported that in an interview yesterday, Ma Long was asked if he was going to retire. Guess what he said?"

Chen Yu was stunned for a second.

"Does he want to come to the Suns, too?"

Ma Long’s contract was also expiring this summer.

He was turning 40. Even for an iron man like him, the Jazz probably wouldn’t offer another big contract.

With Brian being this excited, how could Chen Yu not guess the reason?

"That’s right! He personally admitted that he hopes to join the Suns and pursue his championship dream in the final year of his career."

"Chen, it’s Ma Long! Last season, he was still averaging 20 and 8!"

Looking at Ma Long’s stats alone, you wouldn’t think he was a 40-year-old man.

"And it’s not just Ma Long, it’s Stockton, too! He averaged 10.8 points and 7.7 assists last season. If we sign him, he’d be a great backup, right?"

Ma Long’s contract was up, and so was Stockton’s.

He was a year older than Ma Long and also had no championship rings to his name.

With the allure of a championship, the Suns could absolutely attract this Utah Jazz duo to their team.