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Chapter 635 - 273. Do you want me to teach you how to win the championship?

Chapter 635: 273. Do you want me to teach you how to win the championship?

What kind of thought process leads someone to add a traditional Center who is almost 36 years old and weighs over 160 kilograms to a fast-break basketball team?

And to think they traded for him using Shawn Marion, the top forward who was the most suitable for the fast break, willing to be the third option, and always hardworking.

This isn’t just a mistake, it’s completely lacking a general manager’s mindset.

At this thought, Zhang Yang’s respect for Popovich and Larry Bird increased once more.

Even though Popovich heavily relies on Duncan, without Reggie Miller or Granger, the big bird knows how to use his star players, which is a powerful ability in itself.

Under Steve Colangelo, Nash and Stoudemire could create a championship-contending team.

But in Steve Kerr’s hands, they had to make way for the declined O’Neal and play a positional war.

Because of Steve Kerr’s disastrous moves that sent the Suns plummeting, Zhang Yang paid special attention to it.

In the 07-08 season, before O’Neal joined the Suns, their record was 38 wins and 13 losses, a winning rate of nearly 75%, leading the Western Conference after surpassing the Lakers when Bynum was injured.

However, after the exchange of O’Neal and Marion, in the following 31 games, the Suns won only 17 games, ending the season with only 55 wins and 27 losses, ranking sixth in the West and being brutally eliminated by the Spurs in the first round.

The 08-09 season was even more tragic, not making the playoffs at all, and Nash was even left out of the All-Star Game, just like Kidd.

In the 09-10 season, with Gentry coaching the Suns and O’Neal gone, they immediately reached the Western Conference Finals again, proving that as long as Nash and Stoudemire were present, adding the right role players to the fast-break system would work.

If they hadn’t used Marion to trade for O’Neal, the Suns would have made it much harder for the Lakers to dominate the West in the playoffs from 08 to 10.

But in the 07-08 season, with the rise of the Hornets, the strength of the Jazz Team, the Spurs during Duncan’s third peak, and the Lakers’ mid-season trade heist to get Gasol... the Suns management would have had to do something to satisfy the owner and the fans.

However, Zhang Yang still couldn’t understand what was going through Steve Kerr’s mind to trade Marion for O’Neal at that time, when O’Neal’s abilities and box office appeal were both gone, the Miami Heat were struggling to sell tickets, and O’Neal had just missed the All-Star Game starters.

At that time, with the Chicago Bulls on the decline, using Marion to get an aged Ben Wallace would have been better than trading for the Big Shark; at least he could run and jump, and he was cheaper, with an equally high reputation... and it seemed that they did indeed end up trading O’Neal for an even older Ben Wallace.

...

After meeting up with Nash, Zhang Yang drove to his dad’s farm, where Felton, Rondo, and Alan Anderson were already waiting, and the Hawaii squad gathered for a group dinner.

Haven’t seen them for a while, Nash inquired about the young players learning from him in Hawaii. He had been keeping track of the Bobcats ever since the new season started, to stay updated on their status.

"Rajon, your set shooting has improved a lot. You can try adding some moves before your shot during training to increase the difficulty. I know you want to say you don’t have a talent for shooting, and that it might be difficult to score in the games, but that’s exactly why you should increase the difficulty in practice, so it will be easier when doing catch-and-shoot in the games..."

"Alan, you’ve gotten fewer opportunities this season, and it saddens me, but you must keep going and not give up. I entered the NBA at about your age, and when I was 25, I had just made it to starting lineup, but at 26, I had to play the bench again, even as backup to my draft class’s undrafted Eric Strickland. But I never gave up, kept improving myself, and gradually became who I am today..."

"Raymond, your shot selection is great, but you’re a bit too cautious in using new techniques. If Jack, Okafor, or Miller have better opportunities, it’s okay to pass the ball to them first, but if your chance is similar or only slightly worse, you should play more aggressively. You’ll only know how to adjust when you use new techniques in games and experience it first-hand..."

"Jack... you sure can shoot!"

Zhang Yang: "??? Why is there no advice when it comes to me? Steve, is this discrimination?"

Nash: "Our playing styles are completely different, so I won’t give you any advice to avoid influencing your style.

At first, I thought maybe you were playing a bit too selfishly, but after analyzing for a long time, I think your play is very mature, with your own logic for playing basketball. Still, it felt strange.

It wasn’t until I viewed your play from a playoff perspective that I realized, you might understand winning in the playoffs better than I do."

Zhang Yang: "Of course, I am a champion, Steve. Do you want me to teach you how to win a championship?"

"..." Nash clenched his fist and pressed the intercom button, saying, "Mary, can you bring us a bottle of wine? Oh, and get a bottle of milk for Jack; kids shouldn’t drink alcohol."

Zhang Yang: "Crap!"

Seeing Nash resort to his heavy moves without hesitation, the three others couldn’t stop laughing.

Even though most of what Nash said was motivational fluff, Felton, Alan Anderson, and Rondo were quite happy to drink it up.

Funny how certain kinds of encouragement can really turn Rondo off, but he could actually take Nash’s advice to heart.

But there’s nothing wrong with that, after all, Nash truly played as a top player for over a decade, secured the number one regular season spot, earned two MVPs, and led his team to the Western Conference Finals...