Chapter 467: Chapter 402: An Outrageous Demand
The live camera feed focused on Wade.
He was in a black suit today, holding his son, Zaire.
Zaire was chewing on a pacifier, looking around curiously.
When Stern announced his name, he visibly froze for a moment on camera.
Before the draft, there was a lot of media discussion about where he would end up, and it was no secret that the Phoenix Suns wanted to make a trade with the Grizzlies to get Wade.
So, Wade subconsciously assumed the Suns and Grizzlies would complete the trade beforehand, allowing the Suns to draft him.
But now, it was clear that the trade hadn’t gone through.
This suddenly left him with a great deal of uncertainty.
He wanted to go to the Suns, not just because they were a championship team, but also because Chen Yu was in Phoenix.
Even though there were media reports saying Chen Yu was going to leave the Suns, anyone with eyes could see it would be difficult for him to leave Phoenix.
His clinic was in Phoenix, after all.
The championship, Chen Yu, the Suns’ injury management, and their league-leading player training—all of these held a huge appeal for Wade.
Beside him, Wade’s agent, Henry Thomas, gave him a quick nudge. Only then did Wade react, quickly letting go of his son and standing up with a smile.
Over on the Suns’ end, Brian immediately rushed to his phone after a brief cheer.
He was waiting for Jerry West’s call.
But the phone never rang.
On TV, Stern continued to announce the draft results.
With the eighth pick, the Bucks selected Kirk Hinrich. With the ninth pick, the Knicks took Michael Sweetney.
With the tenth pick, the Bulls selected Marcus Banks and then quickly completed a trade with the Bucks for Kirk Hinrich.
For him, they gave up two of their second-round picks from this year.
And still, the phone didn’t ring.
Brian was starting to panic.
"This won’t do."
Brian grabbed his phone and called Jerry West.
"He’s not answering my call?" Brian was a bit stunned.
Chen Yu’s heart skipped a beat as a thought suddenly popped into his head. ’Could it be that the Grizzlies never intended to trade with the Suns from the very beginning?’
On the screen, a disbelieving Brian dialed the number again.
This time, the call connected.
Brian took a deep breath, trying his best to keep his voice steady. "Mr. West, our trade plan is still on the table. How about this... I can replace the ’06 first-round pick with second-round picks from ’04 and ’05."
’Two first-round picks and two second-round picks.’ Brian knew he was getting fleeced, but clenching his jaw, he could just about stomach it.
The other end of the line was silent.
Brian frowned and asked again what West was thinking.
Just then, West finally spoke. "Brian, I’m very sorry, but I don’t think I can accept your trade offer. We believe Dwyane Wade has enormous potential, and he’ll be a perfect partner for Pau Gasol."
Brian froze.
He felt he had been more than sincere, yet West had backed out at the last second.
’What were all our previous conversations for then? Was he just messing with me?’
’This is just bullying!’
Just as Brian was about to explode with rage, West’s tone on the phone suddenly shifted. "However, Brian, if you really want Wade, I have another proposal. You can keep your first-round picks. I have a different trade in mind. What if we build a package around Dwyane Wade and Wesley Person in exchange for your Shawn Marion?"
Brian was petrified once more, his mouth hanging open. He almost thought he was hearing things.
’How dare that old bastard? He’s actually targeting Marion.’
’No matter how much potential Wade has, he’s just a rookie. Using a rookie, plus a 32-year-old former Sun like Wesley Person, to try and get Marion? What is he thinking?’
"Impossible!"
Brian said without a moment’s hesitation.
There was no way he was letting Marion go.
West didn’t seem to mind. He continued, "Brian, you can think about it seriously. Besides Pau Gasol, we’re willing to put any asset on the table."
Brian nearly blurted out, "F*ck you."
’Any asset? Besides Pau Gasol, what other decent assets do you Grizzlies even have?’
"Impossible, Mr. West. Three first-round picks. That’s my final offer."
Brian hung up the phone directly. He angrily raised his arm to smash the phone, only barely managing to stop himself mid-air. He sat back down in a rage, slammed the table, and launched into a furious tirade against West.
He cursed him out, calling him an old bastard and a liar, using some truly foul language.
Everyone present looked at each other, speechless.
They also thought West’s proposal was a bit much.
’We know you want to take advantage of the situation, but you can’t just commit highway robbery!’
"Forget it, Brian," Chen Yu said. "Haven’t you figured it out yet? West probably never intended to trade with you from the start."
The Suns have been the target of so much jealousy these past two years that they’ve practically become the entire league’s public enemy. Nobody wants to play ball with the Suns anymore.
So, Chen Yu figured West was probably just stringing Brian along from the beginning, using the three-first-round-pick offer to test his limits and resolve, before finally making a predatory move to trade for Marion.
He dared to make such an outrageous demand because he was betting that no other team would trade with the Suns.
Brian scratched his head in frustration. At this point, how could he not understand what was going on? He couldn’t help but launch into another tirade.
After a while, Brian finally calmed down and looked at Skiles and the others. "Scott, stop thinking about Wade. It’s almost our turn. Tell me who I should pick."
Skiles sighed.
It was obvious the Wade deal was dead.
He crossed his arms and began to think.
Before the draft, they had, of course, considered the possibility of not getting Wade.
If they couldn’t get Wade, they’d have to use their own first-round pick.
So, the Suns had worked out several players projected to be picked late in the first round.
There was Kendrick Perkins, Travis Outlaw, and the international player from Brazil, Leandro Barbosa.
Finally, there was Josh Howard, who had ranked very high in Chen Yu’s potential test.
But in Skiles’s view, all four players had significant flaws.
Perkins and Outlaw had limited offensive games and would require a long time to develop.
Barbosa had a decent shot, including from three, but his defense was atrocious. On a championship-contending team, Skiles hoped his players would have some defensive ability.
Lastly, there was Josh Howard. He had a fatal flaw, one that also made the media generally pessimistic about him: he was too old, a full 23 years of age.
’At that age, what potential could he possibly have left?’
On his end, Chen Yu was also running through the rookies who had attended his potential training camp in his head, trying to see which one would be the best fit for the Suns.
In reality, the Suns’ roster didn’t have any major weaknesses.
The point guard and center positions were top-tier, and the small forward and power forward positions were All-Star level.
The only slightly weaker spot was shooting guard.
But after a season with Posey, Chen Yu had discovered he still had a lot of potential.
He had good physical tools and the potential to develop into a lockdown perimeter defender. His offensive arsenal wasn’t large, but he had a reliable spot-up three-point shot.
That was actually enough.
The Suns had plenty of scoring options; they didn’t really need him to score a lot.
Analyzing it from this perspective, it would be best if the Suns could get Wade, but it wasn’t a huge problem if they couldn’t.
Wanting Wade was also a gamble on his future.
Therefore, in Chen Yu’s opinion, the Suns now had two options.
First, the center position.
They could pick a young, high-potential frontcourt player to develop.
Although the Suns still had Sabonis and Kevin Willis, and could even get a top-tier big man like Karl Malone this year...
...they were all old. How much longer could they play for the Suns?
When they retired, the Suns would still need to find a capable backup for O’Neal in the frontcourt to ease his burden.
With O’Neal’s contract swelling year after year, if the Suns couldn’t afford to pay a huge luxury tax every year, it was best to capitalize on the value of a rookie contract.
The second option was to pick a perimeter player, the kind with shooting range.
Barbosa was a good fit. Chen Yu had watched his workout, and his three-point shot was genuinely accurate.
But his defense was poor.
The Suns actually already had a similar player on the bench: Wash Leonard.
Just as he was thinking, on the television, Stern announced the 19th pick. The Hornets’ choice: they selected David West.
An idea suddenly struck Chen Yu.
During the training camp, West had left a deep impression on Chen Yu.
He was a physically strong and, at the same time, very intelligent guy.
Would you believe he reads books?
Throughout the entire camp, he would spend a lot of time reading during breaks in training.
In the final exam for the training manual Chen Yu had given them, only a handful of people scored high, and David West was one of them.
That’s why in the final rankings, he was placed ninth, even higher than Josh Howard, who was twelfth.
He had the same problem as Josh Howard: he was too old, already 23, and his athleticism wasn’t explosive.
But during the camp, Chen Yu discovered that his scoring ability after a pick-and-roll was very strong. In other words, if he were paired with a point guard who excelled at passing, he could maximize his mid-range shooting ability.
And the Suns happened to have Hardaway, whose ability to drive and dish was top-tier, and they consistently ran pick-and-roll plays.
So from that perspective, David West was actually a good fit for the Suns.
They could draft him, have him come off the bench, and learn from a veteran like Karl Malone for a year or two. When Malone retired, he could immediately step up and take his place.
He could even replace McDyess.
Once Marion re-signed this year, the Suns’ payroll would immediately explode.
The team was willing to pay the luxury tax for a championship.
But what if they couldn’t win a championship in the future? Dynasties change, and the Suns couldn’t possibly win forever.
At that point, they would definitely have to break up the team.
The first piece to go, nine times out of ten, would be McDyess.
Having an All-Star power forward like him doing the dirty work for O’Neal was too much of a luxury.
And that would be the perfect time for David West to have developed.
Thinking of this, and seeing the others still in a heated discussion, Chen Yu suddenly said, "Brian, I have an idea."
Comments