"It also sparked a heated discussion. There’s talk of introducing new measures to protect athletes. Some of the people involved have been punished, too. For instance, Xinlan City received a demerit for mismanagement."
"Mismanagement?"
Chen Yu was slightly taken aback.
Su Jun’s smile didn’t waver.
Chen Yu thought for a moment, then smiled as well. "Well, that’s something. At least it’s a change."
"By the way, how much of the cost of the surgery did they cover?"
Su Jun was here this time for a follow-up story on Liu Yudong, who was scheduled to receive treatment at Chen Yu’s clinic.
"It’s not bad. After negotiations between the Basketball Association and Liu Yudong’s club, they’re covering one million. The remaining three million will be paid by his new sponsor, Peak Sports." Liu Yudong had a long-standing relationship with Peak. However, it was only this year, after some regulations were relaxed, that they were finally able to sign an endorsement deal.
The owner of Peak was even paying out of his own pocket to help Liu Yudong complete his treatment.
Noticing Chen Yu’s frown, Su Jun said with a smile, "Hey, at least they put up some money."
Chen Yu scoffed and retorted, "So, what else did you want to ask?"
Su Jun quickly asked, "I wanted to ask, assuming his treatment is successful, can Liu Yudong still make it to the NBA?"
He knew the whole thing had been a fabrication from the start, but now that things were moving forward, he hoped the lie could become a reality.
"You should go ask Brian about that," Chen Yu said casually.
Seeing Su Jun’s awkward expression, Chen Yu sighed. "Honestly, I don’t know. I told you before, his chances aren’t great. Even if they did sign him, he’d basically get no playing time."
Liu Yudong’s playstyle was the problem; it’s not a good fit for the NBA. Even if a team signs him, he’ll just be riding the bench. Forget being a starter, he’d have a hard time even making the rotation.
"Don’t look at me like that." When Su Jun continued to stare at him expectantly, Chen Yu rolled his eyes in frustration. "Fine, no more questions. All I can say is... maybe there’s a sliver of hope."
’Putting aside the issues with his skills and abilities,’ Chen Yu thought, ’Liu Yudong’s timing might just be perfect. Brian might actually offer him a contract for the sake of the market in China.’
Su Jun got the picture. He quickly stood up, thanked Chen Yu, and then asked when Liu Yudong’s surgery was scheduled to begin.
Liu Yudong was already staying at the clinic.
Chen Yu thought for a second. "Very soon. Tomorrow should work."
With the World Championship over, Ronaldo and the others had returned to Italy to prepare for the Serie A season. Chen Yu’s workload had lightened considerably, so he could schedule Liu Yudong’s surgery right away.
After seeing Su Jun out, Chen Yu thought for a moment, then headed to the rehabilitation center.
O’Neal was now the main focus of Chen Yu’s work.
In the spacious rehabilitation center, Nelson was assisting O’Neal with exercises to restore strength to his leg muscles.
He was shirtless, and while you certainly couldn’t see an eight-pack, he was already noticeably slimmer compared to last season.
His weight was now down to 355 pounds, very close to his target.
Little Curry followed him around like a little shadow, clutching a water bottle. During training breaks, the moment O’Neal beckoned, he would rush over to hand him the bottle.
Chen Yu walked over, ruffling Little Curry’s hair before saying to Nelson, "We can increase his training load a little. He’s recovering very quickly."
It was mainly because there were fewer clients, so more of the system’s effects could be allocated to O’Neal. As a result, his recovery was proceeding faster than expected.
Since he was recovering faster, the training plan had to keep up.
After being laid up for so long, his muscles might not have gotten flabby, but his conditioning would have definitely suffered.
With the new season about to start, they needed to get him back into game shape as quickly as possible.
Nelson nodded, and O’Neal immediately began to complain incessantly.
"There’s a child present," Chen Yu reminded him.
The corner of O’Neal’s eye twitched. He shut his mouth, but then pointed a serious finger at Chen Yu and told Little Curry, "Stephen, this guy’s a villain. Don’t be like him."
Little Curry blinked but said nothing.
"Come with me." Ignoring O’Neal, Chen Yu beckoned Little Curry to come over.
"Did you finish your homework?" Chen Yu asked.
School had already started for him, but on weekends or whenever he had free time, he would run to the clinic to hang around O’Neal and the others.
Little Curry nodded eagerly.
Chen Yu had spoken with Old Curry before, but he obviously hadn’t given up hope. He just said he’d keep a closer eye on Little Curry’s studies to make sure his grades didn’t get so bad that he couldn’t even get into college.
But his main hope was still for his son to follow in his footsteps and continue playing basketball.
Since a decision had been made, Chen Yu prepared to draw up a training plan for Little Curry.
"You’ve been playing since you were little, so let me ask you: how do you want to play? Or, to put it another way, do you have any idols? Who do you want to play like? Your father?" Chen Yu began.
’This kid’s physical gifts were average.’
’Of course, "average" by the standards of an NBA player.’
’So, while simply working on his body and improving his physical attributes was one thing, some things—like wingspan and height—couldn’t be changed.’
’And frankly, even if Little Curry did manage to build up his physique, his ceiling would still be limited. By the time the draft came around, his athleticism would never be an advantage, because you could find guys with better physical gifts by the dozen.’
’It would be better to take a different path and train skills that would set him apart.’
’The ones who become superstars are all a perfect combination of physical gifts and technical skill.’
’But there are only so many superstars. Most players are role players.’
’To make it in the NBA, you have to have your own specialty, your own advantage.’
’When your physical gifts are a limiting factor, it’s better to focus on developing a specific specialty.’
Little Curry fell into deep thought.
Just when Chen Yu thought he would say his idol was his father, he said two names Chen Yu didn’t expect.
"Little Worm Boggs, and Jason Williams."
Chen Yu knew of Boggs, but it took him a moment to place the name Jason Williams.
’He was the starting point guard for the Kings the season before last, I think, and then got traded to the Grizzlies last season.’

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