Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 653: Chapter 579: I’ve Already Made a Mistake Once, I Won’t Make It a Second Time

Kendrick Perkins, Marquis Daniels.

These were all players that Chen Yu had personally recommended drafting.

Under the glory of the Phoenix Suns’ three consecutive championships, their opportunities to perform might have been limited, but they still had potential.

It was a bit of a shame to trade them all away now.

But a trade was a trade, and it wasn’t unacceptable.

Perkins’s ceiling was obvious. At best, he was a workhorse center with limited impact.

As for Daniels, the Phoenix Suns’ forward position was too crowded.

With Marion, Poseidon, and Rogers, there was no way he would get much playing time.

"I have no objections." Seeing Brian look his way, Chen Yu shook his head, agreeing to the plan.

However, once this trade was completed, another problem would arise: Chandler would be the only center left available.

"Do you have any ideas for reinforcing the center position?" Chen Yu asked.

Brian scratched his head and said, "I really don’t have any good options at the moment."

If this were when the market first opened, there would have been many choices.

Now, it was really too late.

"How about Alden Polynice?"

He tentatively offered a name.

"Who?"

Chen Yu’s eyes widened as he stared at Brian in disbelief.

’You’ve really got some nerve.’

’No other options, so we’re back to scraping the bottom of the barrel, are we?’

That guy retired back in ’01.

The last time Chen Yu had heard that name was from Yao Ming, who said he’d represented the US All-Star Team in an exhibition game against the Chinese Men’s Basketball Team.

Last season, he did briefly return to the NBA, joining the Fast Ship.

But the Fast Ship had signed him mainly to mentor the new guys. He only played two games the entire season for a total of 10 minutes, and he didn’t score a single point.

’How could a player like that be a backup center?’

Under Chen Yu’s strange gaze, Brian himself felt embarrassed. He averted his eyes and offered another name. "How about Derek Coleman? He should still have some gas left in the tank. He was still able to play for the Digital People last season."

He had even averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds per game.

"Think about it. I think we can get him."

Chen Yu simply shook his head.

’If you want the locker room to explode, then sure, bring him in.’

Lazy in training, addicted to alcohol... at 37 years old, he had long since let himself go, a classic locker room cancer.

Chen Yu thought back on this year’s undrafted players and the performance of those chasing their dreams in the Summer League.

It was the same story: it was too late.

The ones who performed well had all basically been signed already.

Folding his arms, Chen Yu mulled it over for a moment, then said, "How about we bring in a third team?"

Since we don’t want Walker, we should trade him away for two serviceable backup big men.

"Who?"

Brian had also considered this, but he couldn’t think of any suitable options off the top of his head.

A name, however, popped into Chen Yu’s mind.

"The Wizards."

Chen Yu gave his answer.

"Trade Walker for Kwame Brown and Dale Davis. The Wizards have been developing Brown for three whole years, but he’s never played at the level they expected. I think they’re ready to give up on him."

"And as for Davis, since the Wizards chose to trade for Jamison, they’ve already given up on Davis."

Last year, valuing Davis’s defense, the Wizards joined a three-team trade with the Pioneer, sending away Larry Hughes to get Dale Davis.

The results were not what they had hoped for.

To make matters worse, Davis has a full ten-million-dollar contract this season.

The Wizards have been wanting to dump such a huge salary burden for a long time.

Getting the more capable Walker for a year would be an excellent choice for them.

The only thing they’d be giving up is Brown, the former number-one pick.

As soon as he heard Brown’s name, Brian immediately frowned.

"Chen, can Brown really do it? The Wizards have been developing him for so long, and he still hasn’t panned out."

He’s pretty much solidified his reputation as the biggest draft bust.

Chen Yu sighed and said, "Actually, he’s not that bad."

For the past two years, Chen Yu had been keeping an eye on Brown and felt sorry for him.

He was just too young, entered the NBA too early, had poor mental fortitude, and then he ran into that vicious-tongued monster, Jordan.

Jordan got his kicks yelling at him, but he didn’t care one bit whether a kid could handle it mentally.

Add to that the pressure of being the number-one pick in Washington, the invisible weight from fans and the media... for someone already mentally fragile, it’s understandable why he’s never managed to break out.

But his natural talent is genuinely good, top-tier stuff.

In a different environment, if he can build his confidence and slowly polish his skills, it’s not impossible for him to succeed.

"It’s not impossible," Brian nodded.

’In his mind, Chen Yu was a master psychologist.’

If Chen Yu were to mentor Brown, maybe he could really have a career resurgence with the Phoenix Suns and play at a number-one-pick level.

"Alright, I’ve got a handle on it."

Brian didn’t say any more and left quickly.

With the new season about to start, the trade needed to be completed as soon as possible.

Chen Yu returned to the set of the show.

He couldn’t help but steal a couple more glances at Jordan.

’If the number-one pick he personally chose ends up making a name for himself on the Phoenix Suns, I wonder what he’ll think.’

Not long after he sat down, it was Curry’s turn to choose.

Negro and Curry exchanged a look and immediately made a decision: they would pass on the trade.

As soon as this choice was announced, all six people present turned to look at Chen Yu.

"Chen, why didn’t you let Stephen choose to trade? Mackie is okay, but Green is just too weak," said George Gervin.

To them, Curry’s choice was tantamount to Chen Yu’s choice.

Chen Yu stared at the television without saying a word.

Chen Yu hadn’t been involved in Curry’s decision.

But the fact that he ultimately made this choice proved that Curry’s—or rather, Negro’s—strategy was correct.

The way Curry had slowly staged a comeback in the second half of the season and made it to the playoffs was by relying on his teammates’ help to give him open looks.

That relies heavily on chemistry.

He had been building chemistry with Mackie and Green for a full three months. Abandoning them now to pick a seemingly stronger player and start building chemistry all over again was clearly not a good choice.

Of course, it was also possible they had developed a bond and couldn’t bear to give up on each other.

DeRozan, for example, also chose not to trade.

He also had a good relationship with Griffin and Holiday.

After Curry, it was Durant’s turn.

He didn’t hesitate at all and made the same choice: no trade.

"Kevin, can I ask you why you did that?" Ernest made a point of asking.

Everyone present turned their gazes to Durant.

Durant was a very strong player, averaging 29.8 points per game, ranking sixth on the scoring list.

Moreover, anyone with eyes could see that this wasn’t Durant’s ceiling; if he wanted to, he could score even more.

Under these circumstances, Little Jordan and Harden were clearly holding Durant back.

With enough salary space, if he traded for two better players, they felt Durant could even contend for the championship.

Durant pressed his lips together, then said in a low voice, "I’ve made a mistake once, and I don’t want to make it a second time! So that’s right, I’m choosing not to trade. I think my teammates are great, and together, we still have a shot at the championship!"

He turned his head to look at Harden and Little Jordan sitting on the sidelines.

He didn’t care what others thought; he wasn’t going to give up on his teammates.

He would remember the lesson from Beasley for the rest of his life!

Backstage, watching Durant speak with such firm conviction, Chen Yu couldn’t help but break into a gratified smile.

Throughout the entire regular season, if you had to say who went through the most, it was definitely Durant.

For him to have grown so much under these circumstances was exactly the kind of result Chen Yu had wanted to see.

Switching teammates just because you can’t win—in Chen Yu’s eyes, that kind of behavior was truly detestable.

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