"You’re right. This isn’t a good idea."
Brian sat down, grabbed his glass, and downed it in one gulp. He had been caught up in the excitement, but Chen Yu’s words brought him back to reality.
All the proper respects had been paid. If he played for another year, would they have to go through this whole song and dance again?
If they didn’t, Jordan himself wouldn’t be able to accept it.
Besides, if they really did sign him, leaving aside how much gas Jordan had left in the tank, his foul temper alone could destroy the harmonious atmosphere in the Phoenix Suns’ locker room.
The media had long reported on Jordan pulling rank with the Wizards, having a foul temper, and mocking and cursing out other players.
"He really should retire," Brian added quietly.
At this point, it wasn’t a question of whether he should retire. It was that he had no choice but to retire.
Chen Yu nodded, then said, "You’re right, but you have to be the bad guy here."
He’d already made it clear he wanted to come to the Phoenix Suns. If the Suns rejected him in the end, wouldn’t Jordan lose face? It’d be a miracle if he didn’t fly into a rage.
In any case, Chen Yu couldn’t be the bad guy. Brian had to take the fall.
"Fack."
Brian’s eyes went wide. "Can I pretend you were never here?"
"No."
Chen Yu shook his head with a smile.
Brian shot Chen Yu a resentful look for a long moment before giving up. He waved his hand and said, "Forget it. As long as this doesn’t end up in the papers, it’s not a big deal."
It’s humiliating if it goes public, but behind closed doors, anything goes.
Chen Yu smiled and stood up to leave.
Brian quickly stopped him. "Since you’re here, there’s one more thing. That Wade kid, is he really as good as you say?"
The day before yesterday, Chen Yu had released the results of the potential assessment.
Brian hadn’t even known about these results beforehand. Chen Yu had written them up entirely on his own.
And now, those results were starting to brew up a storm, drawing a huge amount of attention.
The media was buzzing about it.
The most discussed topic, naturally, was Wade.
No one had expected Chen Yu to give Wade such a high evaluation.
Chen Yu sat back down.
In fact, when he had arrived at the arena earlier, reporters had cornered him to ask about Wade.
The media had even dug up the story about Chen Yu going back to Chicago to diagnose Wade.
Some tabloid reporters even started making things up.
Some claimed Chen Yu and Wade were distant relatives.
Others went even further, fabricating a sob story for the two that was so vivid it sounded real. Something about how one afternoon in the eighties, Chen Yu was playing basketball and met a young Wade, teaching him a few basketball skills.
And at the end, he supposedly told Wade he would definitely make it to the NBA one day. That’s why Wade worked so hard and had now fulfilled that long-ago promise.
Complete bullshit.
Back in the eighties, Chen Yu was still in school. He didn’t play basketball.
"Why do you think he can’t be number two?" Chen Yu asked in return.
Brian thought, ’Does he even need to ask?’ He started counting on his fingers. "He’s old, undersized, can’t shoot, and has injury risks... oh wait, we can cross that last one out."
Having a part of his meniscus removed would have been an absolute sky-is-falling, career-altering catastrophe in the past.
But now they had Chen Yu.
Duncan was a living example, so that was no longer a problem.
However, Brian did remember that Chen Yu had added a special note in the report, saying his playing style carried an injury risk.
Wade’s style of play, which revolved around driving to the basket, was indeed very taxing on the body.
But even without discussing injuries, the first three points were enough.
If you’re picking for immediate impact, Wade has flaws. He’s undersized, so his defense could be a liability. His shooting is poor, and you’re not drafting a raw rookie, so who has the time to slowly hone his shot?
And if you’re picking for potential, his age—almost 22—makes him even more unqualified.
At that age, what potential could he possibly have left?
"Everything you said is correct." Chen Yu didn’t argue.
These were undoubtedly Wade’s weaknesses, and the reason the media was down on him.
"But he has his own strengths," Chen Yu added.
What was the point of the sports lab? It was to use a vast array of scientific equipment to analyze a player’s true strengths.
"His speed?" Brian interjected.
In discussions about Wade among the media and various team scouts, the general consensus was that his greatest strength was his speed.
Chen Yu shook his head. "That’s certainly one of his strengths, but it’s not just that. We discovered his second jump is incredibly fast—the fastest in this draft class."
"And we believe this is a very important metric, especially for a player like Wade who primarily relies on driving to the basket to draw fouls and score."
Brian sat up straight, motioning for Chen Yu to continue.
"His main way of scoring is driving to the basket. His first step is quick, and his body is strong enough. But getting past the defender is just the first part; the ultimate goal is to score. And to finish that play, we believe the quickness of his jump is crucial."
"When a defender stays with you, if your jump is quick enough, you can get airborne faster than the defender at the moment you shoot. This gives you the first-mover advantage to finish the play, just like Michael."
In his prime, Jordan’s scoring off the drive was simply unstoppable.
It felt like the defender wasn’t out of position, and it didn’t seem like Jordan was exerting much effort, but then he would suddenly leap up and finish the play, always making the defender look a step slow.
Brian nodded.
He actually knew all this, but before now, there hadn’t been a scientific way to quantify how quick a person’s jump was.
Just like Rodman. Everyone knew he had a quick second jump. When he was rebounding, you’d just landed, and he was already back in the air.
But as for actually using data to prove how quick someone’s jump is, Chen Yu was probably the first.
"So that’s why you said his playing style carries a certain injury risk." Brian understood now.
Even if Chen Yu truly healed Wade’s knee, a playing style centered on driving and relying on a quick jump to score was destined to put immense pressure on his knees, increasing his chances of injury.
Chen Yu nodded. "That’s exactly what I mean."
During the training camp tests, Chen Yu had noticed that Wade could always get past his man on the drive. But on the shot release or the landing, he always gave the impression that he was flinging his body through the air.
In contrast, Jordan was completely different. Jordan’s jump was also quick, but his landings were incredibly stable.
This could only mean that Wade’s height and core strength still limited his ceiling, preventing him from ever fully reaching Jordan’s level.
Flinging his body around like that all the time, it’d be a miracle if he didn’t get hurt.
Still, he was already very strong, because the comparison was with Jordan.
"I believe that based on this strength alone, he can establish himself in the league, make a name for himself, and has potential on par with players like Anthony and Bosh. But there were other factors that made me rank him second."
"Namely, his strong self-discipline, his willingness to take responsibility in crucial moments, and his outstanding ability to learn."
During the training camp, Chen Yu gave them books on tactical theory to test their ability to execute instructions.
He would give them a task without any prompting to see their self-discipline and follow-through.
Constantly shuffling them into different groups was a test of their leadership and teamwork skills.
And giving each of them a training plan to see if they could achieve technical improvements in a very short time was a test of their learning ability.
In these three areas, Wade performed very well, on par with James.
In comparison, Anthony and Bosh were far behind.
"That’s why I ranked him second. And I also believe that his future accomplishments will be immense."
The Hall of Fame prediction wasn’t just empty flattery.
"I get it."
Brian nodded emphatically. He had always been a firm believer in Chen Yu’s methods.
Since Chen Yu believed Wade had potential, he was worth drafting.
"By the way, besides Wade, have you found any other players with potential? I mean the kind we can get for a steal," Brian said.
Everyone knew James had potential, but you couldn’t get a steal like that.
Even Wade wouldn’t be easy to get. Who knows what price they’d have to pay.
Only a player that nobody was high on, but whom Chen Yu believed could succeed, would be a real steal for the Phoenix Suns.
"There is one."
A "steal" didn’t mean hoping to find the next Jordan among the undrafted. Not everyone could be a superstar. Simply being able to carve out a place in the NBA was enough.
"There’s a player named Kyle Korver who left a particularly strong impression on me."
"How so?"
Brian stood up and poured Chen Yu a drink.
Chen Yu said, "His physical talents are a complete mess, of course. He’s also old and has almost no buzz around him."
A 22-year-old white guy, a senior... to put it bluntly, in the NBA, that’s a scrub.
He has almost no advantages and no one thinks highly of him.
"But I think his only advantage is right here." Chen Yu pointed to his temple.
"He’s an extremely self-disciplined person with a very strong sense of purpose. I’ve talked to him and looked into his background. He’s very smart. He knows his weaknesses, can analyze what he needs to rely on to survive on the court, and also has enough grit and diligence to constantly improve his strengths."
"And people like that often end up succeeding."
’Clear goals, knowing what you want, being able to analyze how to succeed, and a willingness to work for it.’
In Kovol, Chen Yu saw a shadow of himself.
And that kind of character has the potential to succeed in any field.
"He’ll most likely be picked late in the second round, or even go undrafted. But I believe he has the potential to become a solid backup shooter."
A role player, in other words.
Just like Wash Leonard, whom the Phoenix Suns signed this year. He was a shooter who averaged 11 or 12 points a game and shot nearly 40% from three-point range in his previous two seasons with the Nuggets. But because his defense was atrocious, the Nuggets didn’t think he was worth a big contract and let him go.
But after coming to the Phoenix Suns, he’s been quite useful off the bench, coming in occasionally to hit some threes from outside.
Kovol is a similar type of player.
If he could do everything, he wouldn’t be available at this price.
Using a late second-round pick on a player like that is already a steal.
"We can consider using our second-round pick on him. As for the first-round pick, if you can’t work out a trade, I can give you another option: Kendrick Perkins. He’s a strong team player who’s willing to sacrifice for the team. He’s very young, has good physical gifts, and is well worth developing."
This choice was made from the Phoenix Suns’ perspective.
A team with O’Neal needs a hardworking backup big man who is willing to do the dirty work for him.

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