This year’s NBA Draft Lottery was held at the NBA Entertainment Center in New Jersey.
Before it began, Chen Yu had asked Brian a question: Was it possible for the league to rig the draft lottery?
The most famous case of this was, of course, the 1985 lottery when the Nicks selected Ewing.
The media was in an uproar, and a lot of corroborating evidence was found afterward.
For example, Stern was a New Yorker, the Nicks were a big-market team, and if a talent like Ewing came to New York, it would be beneficial for the NBA’s growth.
Also, before the lottery ceremony, Nicks staff had already prepared a Nicks jersey with Ewing’s number 33 on it. Even the on-site notary’s firm had connections to the Nicks.
Then there was the lottery process itself, which sparked even more speculation—things like Stern’s unusually deep breath, a possibly bent corner on an envelope, or the theory that the Nicks’ envelope had been frozen beforehand.
It caused a huge stir, and there’s still no consensus to this day.
"If you want to know if it’s true, why don’t you just ask David himself?" Brian retorted.
Chen Yu was taken aback. ’Are you trying to dare me?’ he thought. ’Fine, I’ll go ask him later.’
But later, Brian gave him an answer anyway, saying it was impossible.
After thinking about the reason he gave, Chen Yu felt it was pretty solid.
This is the NBA, a league made up of 29 teams. Twenty-nine teams means twenty-nine owners. The league office serves those twenty-nine owners, and Stern is the commissioner they all hired. If Stern rigged the lottery to give the first pick to a specific team, what would the other owners think?
They’re all owners, so why should you get special treatment?
It’s like the rules of a game. When everyone agrees on the rules they created together, if you change them or rig the system and lose that trust, then the game can’t be played anymore.
But when the lottery results were actually announced, Chen Yu couldn’t help but wonder again if there really was some kind of rigging involved.
Otherwise, how could the Phoenix Suns be so lucky? To get the first pick with just a 12% chance?
"Fuck."
Chen Yu heard a curse from beside him.
It was the Grizzlies’ owner, Michael Heisley.
But when Chen Yu turned to look at him, he immediately put on a smile and started clapping.
The cameras were rolling, after all.
Meanwhile, across from him and out of the camera’s view, Brian was already jumping up and down excitedly, hands on his head with a look of disbelief.
The applause snapped Chen Yu back to reality. He quickly stood up, forcing an excited expression onto his face.
’We actually got it?’
The whole draft lottery didn’t take long. With the Western Conference Finals starting at 8 PM, the lottery was held an hour beforehand. Starting from the first pick, the entire process was over quickly.
The Phoenix Suns unexpectedly got the first pick, followed by the Bulls with the second. The third pick, as expected, went to the Warriors.
Chen Yu felt that the way Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause was looking at him wasn’t quite right.
And he had it easy. If the Knight’s general manager had been there, he probably would have wanted to eat Chen Yu alive.
It wasn’t that Robinson was bad, but the first pick was just so much more valuable.
It wasn’t until the live broadcast ended and he was caught in a tight hug by an ecstatic Brian that Chen Yu’s head began to clear a little.
"I told you! I told you! You brought us good luck!" Brian yelled excitedly.
His words left Chen Yu a bit dazed. ’Is my luck really that good?’
After dealing with a round of congratulations—some genuine, some not—the two were surrounded by reporters.
Chen Yu subconsciously took a step back, intending to let Brian take the lead in the interview, but Brian pulled him forward.
He slung an arm around Chen Yu’s shoulder and said smugly, "I knew it! I knew Chen would bring us good luck. Did you see that, Phoenix fans? The first pick is ours!"
Brian yelled euphorically at the camera.
Chen Yu really wanted to remind Brian not to be so smug. It was an easy way to make enemies, especially with the Knight.
’As long as you’re the GM of the Phoenix Suns, the Knight will probably never trade with you again,’ Chen Yu thought.
With the first pick secured, a reporter naturally asked Brian who he planned to select.
Though ecstatic, Brian’s mind was still clear. He said with a wide smile, "That’s not decided yet. We have a few targets in mind, but we’ll make a final decision after some last-minute evaluations."
’Who to pick?’
All Brian wanted to do was laugh out loud. ’With the first pick in hand, I can pick whoever the hell I want.’
Just then, a reporter suddenly asked, "Chen, we’ve received word that several teams are interested in you and want to invite you to be their team doctor. Are you planning on leaving the Phoenix Suns?"
Another reporter chimed in, "That’s right. Before the lottery, I noticed Wes Unseld was talking to you for a while. Did he extend an invitation?"
Wes Unseld was the current general manager of the Wizards.
This question not only stumped Chen Yu, but it also sent a chill down the euphoric Brian’s spine, sobering him up instantly.
He immediately looked at Chen Yu, subconsciously wanting to ask if it was true.
’Chen Yu is leaving? How come I don’t know about this?’
The key thing was, Chen Yu couldn’t leave!
Over the past two years, Brian had even come to believe that the team’s star players could leave, but Chen Yu could not.
Star players were great, but having a top-tier doctor like Chen Yu to safeguard the team was even better.
Chen Yu glanced at Brian out of the corner of his eye.
His nervous expression was plain to see.
Chen Yu strongly suspected that Old Nelson had been the one to leak this information.
After a moment of thought, Chen Yu shook his head and said, "That information is not accurate."
And that was all he said.
The reporter who asked the question, however, lit up. From a journalist’s perspective, Chen Yu hadn’t given a direct "I’m not leaving Phoenix" answer. Instead, he used the phrase "not accurate." Could that be interpreted to mean the information was merely imprecise, not that Chen Yu wasn’t planning on leaving?
Otherwise, why specify "not accurate"?
What was inaccurate about it? There were several layers of meaning to unpack there.
Brian instantly breathed a sigh of relief. ’As long as he’s not leaving, it’s fine.’
When other reporters pressed him further, Chen Yu just smiled and didn’t answer.
Chen Yu’s answer was, of course, intentional.
Accurate or not, it was a little hint for Brian.
’See? I’m not worried about finding a new team. My contract is up for renewal soon, so shouldn’t you show some sincerity?’
Money is money. Why turn it down?
Besides, Chen Yu felt that whatever price Brian offered, he was worth it.
On the way back to the hotel, Brian was constantly on the phone, sharing the good news.
One could only imagine how excited everyone back on the team was.
And the local media and fans, too.
A first-pick in the draft was a cause for massive celebration.
"So, who are you planning to pick?" Chen Yu asked.
They had unexpectedly gotten the first pick; now the question was who to choose.
Brian grinned. "Is there even a question? It has to be Yao Ming. We don’t have any other choice besides him."
There were only two hot prospects in this year’s draft—the so-called "can’t-miss" rookies who you’d definitely regret not picking.
One was Yao Ming, and the other was Jay Williams.
As the top college player in the nation and the winner of both the Naismith and Wooden Awards, everyone knew Jay Williams was a rookie with superstar potential.
But he was a point guard, and since the Phoenix Suns already had the assist king J Kidd, their need for a point guard wasn’t that great at the moment.
On the other hand, their frontcourt... they couldn’t really keep relying on two old guys in their forties, could they?
Therefore, from the perspective of balancing their inside and outside game, the Phoenix Suns’ only choice was to pick a center, to pick Yao Ming.
Chen Yu nodded, then added, "But picking Yao Ming won’t be easy. You still have to deal with his home team."
Who knew if the Eastern Team would let him go.
Brian shrugged nonchalantly. "Then we’ll negotiate. If their demands are too high, we’ll just have to give up and pick Williams."
It wouldn’t be bad to draft a point guard to develop, either.
Worse comes to worst, we could draft for another team and make a trade.
Speaking of which, Brian suddenly jolted as a thought struck him. "Chen, the season’s about to end. Let’s find some time to renegotiate your contract for next season."
He had been so caught up in his excitement, but now that he had calmed down, Brian suddenly realized the hidden meaning in Chen Yu’s earlier response.
"Sure."
Chen Yu smiled and nodded, but he didn’t elaborate. Instead, he said, "I wonder how things are going over in Los Angeles."
Brian slapped his forehead. He’d almost forgotten—the game was still going on.
By the time they returned to the hotel, the game was almost over.
It was the fourth quarter, with six minutes left in the game.
The Phoenix Suns were trailing 79 to 87, a full 8 points behind.
Brian came back after pouring a drink, and his brow furrowed the moment he saw the score.
But to be honest, he wasn’t surprised by the score.
After all, this was the Lakers, and it was an away game.
Being down by only 8 points meant the skill gap wasn’t that large. The game was still winnable.
"O’Neal already has 23 points?" Brian said with a frown.
O’Neal had already racked up 23 points, while Kobe only had 12.
"You have to look at the shooting percentage," Chen Yu reminded him.
Never mind Kobe, who was bricking everything. But O’Neal’s 23 points came from 8-for-19 shooting and 13 trips to the free-throw line. His shooting percentage wasn’t very high either.
This showed that the Phoenix Suns were doing a decent job defending both Kobe and O’Neal.
Chen Yu knew that before this series began, Skiles had already decided on their defensive strategy.
Ewing was back in the starting lineup, playing the five to guard O’Neal. The strategy was to double-team O’Neal the moment he got the ball.
On the perimeter, they had made a major adjustment. J Kidd still ran the offense, but on defense, he switched with Hardaway to guard Kobe.
With J Kidd’s height, he could guard anyone from the one to the three spot without a problem.
Kobe’s 4-for-13 shooting this game proved that J Kidd was defending him well.
The main reasons the Phoenix Suns were trailing were, first, their own offense wasn’t clicking.
Not only were Ewing and Olajuwon expending too much energy defending O’Neal to be effective on offense, but O’Neal’s mere presence in the paint was enough to severely limit the Phoenix Suns’ drives to the basket.
J Kidd couldn’t shoot, and Marion wasn’t much better. Both of them relied on driving to the basket, so it was no wonder their scoring was low.
Second, there was Horry.
The power forward who had won a championship with Olajuwon, whose shooting range extended to the three-point line, was the type of clutch player who flew under the radar in the regular season only to quietly explode in the playoffs.
So far, he was 4-for-5 from three-point range, racking up 21 points. He was the key reason the Lakers were in the lead.
"It’s still mainly O’Neal," Brian sighed.
The biggest problem was still O’Neal.
The Phoenix Suns were already targeting him so heavily. Any other center facing a double-team from Ewing and Olajuwon—even at the end of their careers, at 40 years old—would probably have had an off night.
But O’Neal still managed to score 23 points.
That was dominance. The unparalleled kind.
Chen Yu nodded in agreement. After a moment of thought, he suddenly said, "Actually, sending O’Neal to the free-throw line is also a good option. Isn’t that what Old Nelson used to do?"
It started with Chamberlain. As someone who had personally and frequently sent Chamberlain to the free-throw line, Old Nelson had come up with this unorthodox trick to deal with O’Neal.
"Fouling him?"
Brian paused, lost in thought.

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