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Chapter 587 - 254. Xia Village finally has newcomers!_2

Chapter 587: 254. Xia Village finally has newcomers!_2

They agreed to train together next year, and after saying their goodbyes, Nash and his two daughters boarded a flight to Phoenix International Airport. A little while later, four members of the Bobcats also boarded their flights, but they were not on the same one.

Rondo and Alan Anderson flew to Charlotte International Airport, while Zhang Yang and Felton headed to the South Coast...

Zhang Yang: "Sorry, Mr. Nash!"

Anyway, you guys couldn’t beat the Lakers. Zhang San took advantage of this moment, snatching him away. After you completely lose hope of winning a championship with the Suns, if you are willing, shall we compete for the championship together?

...

A few days later, on September 15, at training court number 3 of Tuhang Stadium in Charlotte, the Bobcats were conducting tryouts.

It was only a minimum salary contract tryout, but Joe, Bickerstaff, and Carlisle were all present, and even the team’s medical staff came to watch.

The player trying out was Grant Hill!

The tryout had progressed to one-on-one defense testing. Alan Anderson was originally assigned by Bickerstaff Jr. to test Hill, but Anderson was quickly locked down by an infuriated Hill.

Joe decisively took command, arranging for Jarett Jack, Felton, and Zhang Yang to match up against Hill.

In defending Jarett Jack, Hill managed effective containment. However, against Felton and Zhang Yang, Hill couldn’t defend one-on-one, but he performed well in guiding Felton’s penetration routes and disrupting Zhang Yang’s perimeter shooting. With backend support in the paint, the foreseeable defensive outcomes would be even better!

Hill’s defensive performance surprised Joe, but what surprised him was not the performance itself, but...

Joe turned to Thomas Carter and asked, "Thomas, how did you do it? How did you manage to restore Grant’s physical condition to this extent?"

Thomas Carter shook his head in response, "The treatment for Grant was very basic, conservative therapy, not much different from other doctors who have treated him."

Joe: "Are you treating me like a fool? If it’s a trade secret you don’t want to share, then don’t, but really! I want to fire everyone... No one can be fired! It’s futile!"

Seeing Joe’s expression, Thomas Carter thought it was quite amusing and explained, "Actually, the treatment done by the Magic’s team doctors for Grant was correct. His continual injuries were actually his own issue. With his large body, he breaks like Iverson, likes to make large directional changes, and suddenly accelerates for breaks, putting a lot of stress on his knees and ankles, leading him to major injuries at 27.

After recovering from injuries, he insisted on playing even when the muscles in the injured areas were not strong enough, naturally causing those fragile areas to give out, leading to yearly recoveries but only managing to play a dozen games each season.

You all remember his season from 2004 to 2005 when he played in 67 games, right? That was actually because he had rested for a year and a half. After being sidelined due to an injury in January 2003, he didn’t start playing until October 2004, allowing the injured areas ample recovery time. That long period of downtime also gave him enough time to strengthen the relevant muscle groups, so he managed a high attendance rate that season.

But the way he played put too much strain on his knees and ankles. He didn’t finish that season either, being sidelined again in April. By the 2005 to 2006 season, he was back on the same track, recovered from injuries but hadn’t strengthened his muscles enough, and got injured again in less than two months.

I took over Grant’s treatment early last year. After examining him and reviewing his case, I didn’t make many adjustments to his treatment plan, just didn’t let him play like before and significantly changed his technical play style to reduce the stress on his knees and ankles.

His improved health condition was primarily due to his own perseverance and determination, to give up the playing style he had for 12 years and completely change his habits on the court at over 30 years old, something very difficult for anyone else to accomplish."

Joe, Bickerstaff, Carlisle, and others nodded repeatedly as they listened.

The Bobcats’ medical staff busily took notes, recording the words of their senior expert.

At Zhang Yang’s request, Thomas Carter via Carlisle, had Bill Fitch help bring back a new consultant for the medical department after much effort.

In reality, the Bobcats’ medical team was already quite skilled; Joe, when helping the former owner build the team, cared a lot about the medical aspect. He shamelessly used his influence back at his alma mater, North Carolina, leveraging old medical school classmates to recruit several experienced sports medicine professionals from the so-called ’Medical Silicon Valley’ of North Carolina, forming a top-tier medical team in North American sports.

Normally, parachuting a consultant in might upset the existing medical team, but the Bobcats’ medical team was unique. Nearly all its members were part-timers who had their primary jobs at major hospitals, so adding another part-time consultant raised no objections, especially since this new consultant was one of the top sports medicine experts in the country, a senior to them, making them rather delighted to learn from Thomas Carter.

Having previously looked at someone with such an expression, most people would feel somewhat embarrassed after a patient explanation, but Joe was no ordinary man.