No.1 in basketball scoring
Chapter 553 - 239. Wilder West!

Chapter 553: 239. Wilder West!

After lunch, Zhang Yang took a plane to send Yi Jianlian off to Salt Lake City.

The Rockets’ Summer League team was participating in the Salt Lake City Summer League. Since they had dropped out of the Chicago Bulls’ Summer League team, it was naturally urgent to join the Rockets’ Summer League team. Competing in games served as practice, and teaming up with "Little Black Bean," Yi could learn how to space the floor for shooting and cutting in for finishes.

This was something Zhang Yang had discussed and agreed upon with Tellem during a phone call over lunch. Yi Jianlian had no objections, knowing that playing in the Summer League and getting used to the NBA format was important for him. The subsequent training would largely be decided based on his experience in the Summer League.

Zhang Yang suggested that Yi Jianlian should be a self-interest promoter, mainly because during their conversations, he felt that Yi Jianlian’s nature was indeed like that... Of course, he didn’t hold any bias against Yi for this, as there’s nothing wrong with it.

After sending Yi Jianlian off, Zhang Yang had just returned home when he received a call from Felton.

Zhang Yang answered the phone and before he could even greet, the person on the other side blurted out, "Jack, Gerald has decided to join the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies just traded Gay and the 4th pick for Parker. He’s decided to team up with Parker and Gasol!"

Zhang Yang: "Ah? Gay for Parker plus the 4th pick, Conley? The Grizzlies made quite a loss on that deal!"

Felton: "A loss? Gay is talented, sure, but it will take another two or three years to develop him, maybe then he can start to show some performance. Conley’s Summer League performance is also average, doesn’t seem like an immediate strong player. Gerald and Gasol need teammates who can contribute right away, get immediate results. Parker, at 25, just entering his prime, isn’t that a fair deal?"

Develop Gay for two or three years? Zhang Yang remembered Gay averaged 20+ points in his second year... Eh, that’s wrong, he knew that because he had "heaven’s eye."

He remembered when looking at the All-Rookie team award list, Gay had averaged just 10 points, 4 rebounds last season, with the media commenting he was obviously talented but would need 2-3 years of development, with Danny Granger as the reference, who in his second season averaged 13 points.

Indeed, who could have expected Gay’s average points to double in his sophomore year?

In that case, it’s like trading the 6th pick, who has a potential, plus an unscratched lottery ticket, the 4th pick point guard, for All-Star point guard Parker, the value is indeed quite even.

After hanging up with Felton, Zhang Yang called Carlisle to pass on the news.

Carlisle: "We already know, Gerald has informed both us and the Grizzlies. Michael and Bernie are now discussing the details of a sign-and-trade with Grizzlies’ General Manager Chris Wallace."

Zhang San: "Little Fatty’s mastery of his duties still needs improvement, huh? His feedback is so slow."

Zhang Yang: "Who are we aiming to get in a trade?"

Carlisle: "Previously, we wanted Gay, but during the last communication with Chris Wallace, we were refused. Now we know they wanted to use him to trade for Parker, but we had no choice. Gerald definitely wanted to go to the Grizzlies, getting something in return for us is already a favor on account of Bernie."

Zhang Yang: "Yeah, it’s better than the Magic losing O’Neal for nothing..."

Carlisle: "Hopefully, we can get more assets, be it draft picks or players, so we can have more operational space in the future. Yao joining the Chicago Bulls and with Ben Wallace not completely over the hill yet, our pressure to break out of the East is huge!"

Zhang Yang: "Yeah, I’m trembling with anticipation."

Carlisle: "Yo? Jack, you actually get afraid?"

Zhang Yang: "I’m excited!"

Carlisle: "..."

Zhang Yang: "Thinking about facing such opponents, I’m so excited I’m nearly shaking. Playing basketball, of course, you want to enjoy the challenge of stronger opponents; the best opponents are those who are only stronger, never the strongest!"

Carlisle: "I can’t understand the thought process of geniuses like you..."

After a bit of chat, the two hung up the phone.

In the president’s office of Tuhang Stadium, Carlisle said to Jordan beside him, "BOSS, you heard that, right? That was his reaction when he knew Yao joined the Chicago Bulls."

Jordan: "In that respect, he’s like me."

Bickerstaff gave Jordan a sidelong glance, "Stop bragging. If Jack thinks that way, our pressure will be much less. At least he won’t complain about our team because of strong opponents."

Jordan’s fist tightened again... Change the head coach... Eh, that’s wrong, it’s already been done! More infuriated!

On the other hand, after hanging up the phone, Zhang Yang ran out to the yard to practice basketball.

He was very much looking forward to playing against the current Chicago Bulls, and the Spurs in a year or two.

As Carlisle had said, with Ben Wallace likely able to hold on for one or two more years before becoming a terrible contract, Yao Ming having such a frontline partner could comfortably stay under the hoop. The Bulls would be very strong for these next two years.

The Spurs, after acquiring Gay, would see a surge in frontcourt strength. It would probably take Conley two years to become a starting point guard for a strong team, around the time they might catch up with Duncan’s fourth peak and the ’Spurs system’?

Zhang Yang remembered in the original timeline, it was only after the Spurs were defeated by Kobe, who shot 53% from the field and averaged 29 points, in the ’08 Western Conference Finals 1-4 that Popovich began to actively adjust the playstyle... They were out in the first round of the playoffs in ’09, got beaten by the Suns in the second round in ’10, messed around for two years, and only in the 10-11 season officially brought out the new system, completely changed, and became a super team with both offense and defense.

Such opponents were hard not to excite him, but they also put huge pressure on him... He wanted to win!

However, during a training break, while drinking water, he thought about Parker and Gerald Wallace both going to the Grizzlies; and the Grizzlies having given away both Conley and Gay... Would they still trade Gasol for Kwame Brown and the rights to sign little Gasol?

Getting Parker back and signing Gerald Wallace clearly indicates a push for results, as there’s no success without Gasol.

So what should the Smith brothers do?

Currently, this doesn’t affect the Smith brothers much, Zhang Yang remembered that it wasn’t until the midpoint of the 07-08 season that Gasol was traded to the Lakers.

In the 07-08 season, before acquiring Gasol, the Lakers were already first in the Western Conference, with Kobe having his most sensible season, Odom performing on point, and 20-year-old, third-year Bynum averaging 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game, presenting first-class center figures.

Actually, in the previous season, the 19-year-old Bynum attended all 82 games, playing an average of 21 minutes and scoring 7.8 points with 6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, while having an impressive 55.8% field goal percentage. Fierce in defending the rim, he had already become a super center prospect eagerly awaited by Lakers fans; during the All-Star weekend, there were even rumors that the SuperSonics tried to trade Ray Allen for Bynum, which the Lakers declined.

The trade for Gasol happened because Bynum unexpectedly injured his knee and was out for the season, leaving Odom and Kwame Brown unable to hold the fort in the paint. The Grizzlies were right in the midst of rebuilding, wanting a younger core to partner with Conley and Gay, and a Lakers legend, who wishes to remain unnamed, helped facilitate the deal, propping up his old team.

Given the current circumstances, Gasol is highly unlikely to leave. If Bynum gets injured, what should the Lakers do?

Zhang San was curious... as he picked up the basketball and started dribbling intensely between his legs, searching for a feel for the ball.

His ball handling was still some distance away from the elite 90+ he aimed for; even he could feel that he wasn’t fully utilizing ’Nash’s ball-handling rhythm,’ and that was wasteful.

Ingles’s training had given him a solid foundation in ball handling; he had improved from the 70s to 89 in two years, but moving further up, he couldn’t rely on that top-notch trainer anymore.

Felton had better ball handling than him. When he asked Felton where he was lacking, Felton couldn’t pinpoint it, vaguely suggesting, "Maybe it’s just not enough ball sense."

Felton grew up playing not just basketball, but also baseball and football... he himself couldn’t tell when he developed such good ball sense.

Then he just had to practice. When training with Nash in late August, he could ask the more cerebral, deeper-understanding Coach Nash.

...

The next day, Zhang Yang continued his shooting and ball handling training at the gym.

He had intended to embark on his journey immediately, but with several days left until the 16th and Jordan’s training camp, and with Yao Ming igniting the free agency market, significant trades could happen at any time, he wanted to watch the spectacle first.

Starting with the drama in his own team, he bought two cantaloupes to the gym to quench his thirst during breaks, training while keeping up with the negotiation progress with the Grizzlies.

After a day’s wait, Carlisle shared news that they had nearly reached an agreement with the Grizzlies, and now it was just a matter of Gerald Wallace and the Grizzlies settling the contract details, which should take a day or two at most.

Zhang Yang acknowledged the update, planning to train in shooting and passing for two more days, which would solidify the shooting skills honed during the playoffs.

Carlisle couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked, "Jack, aren’t you curious to know who we’ve traded for?"

Zhang Yang: "At most a couple of their tanking starters from last season plus a draft pick, back in the summer of ’06 they practically gave away Jones (Eddie), Atkins, Jackson (Bobby), Wright (Lorenzen)... The only ones left that we would want are so few, there’s nothing to guess about, and it’s not like we could trade for Parker or Gasol. Even if the Grizzlies were willing, Gerald wouldn’t agree to it."

Carlisle: "Jack, sometimes it’s okay not to be too clever."

Zhang Yang: "It’s appropriate to show a bit of intelligence occasionally, otherwise people might think all of us basketball players are dumb."

Carlisle: "..."

He remembered the first time he came to Tuhang Stadium and praised Zhang Yang to the assistant Bickerstaff. Now he understood why the assistant had that particular expression.

Indeed, Zhang Yang knew decorum, spoke without bravado, and was smart, making communication effortless... but conversing with him sometimes made you want to hit someone!

The same was true for his boss, the general manager Bickerstaff...

Caught between the two, Carlisle began to regret why he came here... Never mind, considering he would get another token ring at the opening game next season, he decided to endure it.

Another day passed, and the next morning when Zhang Yang arrived at the gym, he received a message from Carlisle that they, the Grizzlies, and Gerald Wallace had all reached a consensus, the trade was completed, and the application had been submitted to the league, just waiting for approval.

However, before Zhang Yang could get the league’s feedback, he received a call from Felton, just as he had finished warming up to begin training.

Without letting Zhang Yang go through the pretentious greetings he learned from Kobe, Felton blurted out loudly, "Jack, there’s a big situation! Something huge has happened with the Lakers! Garnett and Kidd have joined the Lakers together!"

Zhang Yang was about to respond with "What’s the big deal, did Kobe run away?" but Felton had already spilled the beans, and Zhang Yang blurted out, "Fuck!"

He quickly headed to the locker room, opened up the news portals, and the headlines had already changed.

The Lakers completed two trades in one go!

They traded the not yet 20-year-old Bynum along with their 11th and 13th first-round picks and Radmanovic to the Timberwolves for the 31-year-old Garnett. And they traded the 28-year-old, in his prime Odom for the 34-year-old veteran Kidd!

These two veterans, along with Kobe who will be 29 next month... Kupchak, that gambling GM, has wagered once again on a superstar combination!