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Chapter 755 - 322. Sudden Transaction

Chapter 755: 322. Sudden Transaction

James was so unwilling to accept defeat because this was the closest he had come to beating Zhang Yang.

For three and a half quarters, the game went back and forth, but in the last half of the quarter, Zhang Yang scored 9 points, leading the Bobcats to score 12 points, while he only managed 5 points and 1 assist for a total of 7 points for his team... The gap in their ability to make crucial shots was so great that it left him extremely frustrated.

He was determined to train harder and win next time!

As Zhang Yang and Hill discussed casually, James had indeed started to change, for a variety of reasons.

The catalyst was the continuous defeats to Zhang Yang; he hadn’t won a single game, 18 consecutive losses... no, now it was 19.

What infuriated him, and pushed his frustration to the limit, was that everyone’s opinion of him had declined.

The most obvious sign was the gradual decrease in his teammates’ admiration for him.

In his first two seasons, everyone talked about his talent comparing him to Magic, Bird, God, Shaq, and Buddha. His teammates felt honored to play with him, and during interviews, they likened teaming up with him to playing with the ’80s God of Basketball, Jordan.

But as the Cavaliers racked up more losses against the Bobcats, and Zhang Yang became the ’insurmountable’ youngest FMVP in history, by the season opener, his teammates stepped onto the court already demoralized at the sight of Zhang Yang, Felton, and Okafor, and the trust in their eyes was no longer the same.

The prodigies of his generation who used to praise him extensively were no longer doing so as before. Instead, they leaned more towards considering those three wearing the number 3 jerseys as the strongest of their time—06 FMVP Wade, 07 FMVP Zhang Yang, and one of this year’s MVP frontrunners, Paul.

However, these were just the catalysts and the escalation of emotions. What forced him to resolve to change was—the slide in his commercial value!

After being swept in the second round last season, a fan’s opinion that gained widespread acceptance was that, after a year, there was no improvement in James’ playoff performance.

The media also began to question his performance.

The player, the fans, and the media were no longer as optimistic as before, and his commercial value plummeted accordingly. During the off-season, brands invited him to attend events at reduced fees, and some only invited him because they couldn’t get Zhang Yang.

Before, his numerous commercial activities were praised by media and fans for their high commercial value.

Now, people were saying that the bad boy spent his off-season holed up in the gym improving his skills, while KING spent every day of the off-season in the banquet hall expanding his connections.

He had to go all out in the new season, averaging 35+ points in the first three weeks, but his scoring began to slide by late December. Nonetheless, he still averaged 34.3 points per game by the end of the first month, and the evaluations of him turned positive again.

All off-season, the media and fans had said that he seemed capable of anything but wasn’t the best at anything. By the end of the first month, the media and fans were praising his improvements.

By December, his scoring average continued to decline, but he didn’t think anything was wrong. As most scoring leaders had a scoring spree in the first few weeks, it was common to see a drop-off until mid-December when his lead over the second-placed Zhang Yang in the scoring race shrank to just 0.5 points. The media began to hype up Zhang Yang possibly overtaking him before Christmas to lead the scoring charts. He had to put in the effort, trying to maintain that slight lead.

But on January 16, Zhang Yang exploded for 60 points against the Nuggets Team, and he was overtaken.

Tonight, he fought desperately to defeat Zhang Yang and to outscore him, but he failed at both!

However...

A person’s mentality can influence their style of doing things, and the way they do things can, in turn, affect their mindset.

James, motivated by his interests, had to train hard and focus on leading the team to victory, and after a while, he got used to being diligent and focused, which then changed his way of thinking.

Like now, after losing to Zhang Yang by 7 points, he was thinking about going back to train hard in order to beat Zhang Yang next time.

After staring at the big screen for a while, James suppressed the frustration that was about to explode within him. He had to manage his image well in front of the camera, but suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

He thought it was a reporter and turned around with a forced smile... but his expression instantly crumbled, and he bolted away.

Too scary!

The next morning, Zhang Yang woke up close to noon again.

It was another busy night.

Coach Tyronn put on a crazy performance of 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 17 assists, and as a teammate, Zhang San also rode the wave of popularity.

Mainly because Zhang Yang himself also scored 41 points, making it three consecutive 40+ games, and the hype was at its peak.

Tomorrow they would face the Miami Heat, and the coaching staff had not scheduled any preparation work for the day. Zhang Yang had a leisurely morning, taking a bath, making lunch, eating lunch... He had a supplemental practice in the afternoon, but it was just low-intensity passing and control training, arranged with Ingles at 3 PM, so there was no rush.

After a nap following lunch, Zhang Yang browsed the news for a while.

"Triple-double streak reveals Kidd’s talent"

"15+15+15, the second-best active player"

"Bad boy’s 41 points, dominating the scoring king contest over KING"

"Cat King or little Kidd, who is the future of the Bobcats?"

"..."

"..."

Rajon Rondo made triple-doubles in two consecutive games, hitting the headlines, showing off a good face.

His triple-double against the Nuggets got overshadowed, but today he got all the spotlight he deserved.

Currently, only two players have ever achieved 3 times 15: Kidd and "Little" Kidd.

Zhang Yang saw some very leading headlines, but it wasn’t a surprise. These voices had returned after they fell from the top spot in the league.

The media had been praising them just because their record was so good in the two months before the season that no one could criticize them.

While scanning through the news, the headline from Yahoo Sports suddenly changed!

The Charlotte Bobcats made a sudden trade!

...

On January 19th, 2008, at 1 PM, Yahoo’s renowned reporter Wojnarowski broke the news: the Bobcats, the Kings, and the Warriors had completed a three-team trade.

The Kings traded away Ron Artest, Brad Miller, a 2008 lottery-protected draft pick, a 2010 lottery-protected draft pick, and Tyronn Lue, in exchange for Jason Richardson, Rajon Rondo, and Adonal Foyle.

The Warriors traded Jason Richardson, Mickael Pietrus, and Adonal Foyle in exchange for Ron Artest, Walter Herrmann, and the Kings’ 2010 first-round draft pick.

The Bobcats traded Rajon Rondo and Walter Herrmann for Brad Miller, Mickael Pietrus, Tyronn Lue, and the Kings’ 2008 lottery-protected draft pick.

Originally, Zhang Yang had wanted to read a book and slowly leave the house after 2 PM. It was a rest day, and if he was to practice passing and control, he would take it easy and not go too hard.

But upon seeing the news of Rondo being traded, he immediately called Bickerstaff to confirm if it was true. Unable to sit still, he headed straight to Tuhang Stadium to ask the management what was going on.

In the president’s office, the three baldies of the Bobcats were all present.

After receiving Zhang Yang’s call, Bickerstaff knew that he would arrive within half an hour, so he quickly gathered Joe Bald and Carl Bald, thinking it would be a troublesome meeting and decided it was best to have everyone involved.

However, seeing that Zhang San’s mood wasn’t explosive when he greeted them, and he even took the time to offer incense to the God of Wealth... the three men sighed in relief, knowing he wasn’t there to reprimand them.

Bickerstaff gave Carl Bald a look, who then turned his head to see Joe Bald giving the same look... Damn, picking on me because I’m the lowest in the hierarchy, right!

Rick Carlisle waited for Zhang Yang to finish offering incense and then asked, "Jack, you wanted to ask about the trade involving Rajon?"

Zhang Yang nodded, "Yes, it’s quite sudden. Yesterday, we beat the Knights together, and today he’s traded."

Carlisle: "Actually, precisely because of Rajon’s outstanding performance against the Nuggets and the Knights, this trade was possible. We’ve been interested in Brad Miller since before Christmas, but back then, they didn’t have that much interest in Rajon."

Zhang Yang: "Brad Miller... I understand, he fits our tactics perfectly. He’s a great high-post facilitator, can shoot, can defend, and with his experience, he can teach Paul how to become better as a facilitator in the frontcourt, it’s just... "

Carlisle: "Just what? Jack, do you think we lost out on this trade? If we are talking about potential, Rajon has a bright future, and I hate to see him go.

But he’s not good enough right now. Against the Nuggets and the Knights, he put up crazy numbers, but when facing top defensive teams, he couldn’t create scoring opportunities effectively.

He still needs a year or two to grow, and the room he needs for development is increasing. In two months, we might not be able to offer him enough playing time, and internal conflict could arise."

Zhang Yang: "I’ve already figured that out."

The fists of the Bobcats’ three baldies tightened!

Jordan angrily said, "Then what are you here for? To show off your IQ? We know you and Emeka are the high-profile students of our team, likely to pursue research degrees, okay then!"

Zhang Yang: "I wanted to ask, since we were going to send Rajon to the Kings, why didn’t we get Artest? Artest was traded by them too, wasn’t he? Michael, can you wait until I finish before expressing your envy over my guaranteed research position?"

Joe: "..."

Joe Bald realized he might have been a bit unreasonable earlier. They hadn’t let the man finish his sentence; they had interrupted him...

Bickerstaff: Drama face.

Carlisle regretted why he had opened the door for Jordan, why he became a consultant, why he took over this team... But now the roster was getting closer to what he envisioned. Never mind, there were three big shots in the room—the owner, the general manager, and the franchise player. He, the poor, helpless head coach, would have to shoulder it all alone.

He explained, "In fact, we considered trading Artest during the offseason. At the time, we offered Rajon, Mickael, and a draft pick we had just traded for, but they didn’t want Mickael; they wanted Kendrick, to which we said no after considering.

Since the start of the season, your, Allen’s, and Paul’s ability to attack the rim has improved. Emeka also voluntarily lost weight to increase speed and impact, and although we’re still not very powerful in this aspect, it’s no longer a weakness. However, because of Emeka’s weight loss, we needed a traditional rim protector, and Brad Miller fits everything we need."