"Fakpetri, that damn liar."
Brian’s curse snapped Chen Yu back to attention.
Chen Yu turned his head to look.
This time was a little better. At least he hadn’t slammed the phone down.
"The Kings backed out?" Chen Yu asked with a frown.
Brian plopped into his seat, frustration evident as he loosened his collar. "That’s right. They said that after careful consideration, they still don’t think Rodney is a good fit for them."
Chen Yu sighed and asked, "What about the other teams?"
Brian gave a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. "Chen, you really have no idea how much the rest of the league can’t stand us."
From their veteran-focused "Sunset" team-building strategy that became famous throughout the league, to the formation of the Five-star Phoenix Suns, to this year’s three-peat championship, the vigilance and hostility from other teams—especially those with championship aspirations—had reached an all-time high.
Only the tanking teams were slightly less hostile.
The problem was, the Suns wanted a late first-round pick, and trading for the higher picks held by those weaker teams would be a waste.
Besides, the Suns didn’t have many bargaining chips, just a 33-year-old Rodney Rogers.
In reality, with Rodney Rogers’s experience and current form, trading him for a late first-round pick shouldn’t have been a problem at all.
But other teams just wouldn’t take him. They wouldn’t make the deal. They were clearly making a point: they just didn’t want to see the Suns do well.
Brian’s eyes darted around for a moment before he said, "Chen, how about you contact the Pioneers and have them trade us that first-round pick from the Pistons?"
The Pioneers’ three first-round picks were certainly enviable.
Chen Yu shook his head. "No can do. They’ve already discussed it and have their own plans. Besides, they still need to make cuts at the forward position."
Having drafted Iguodala and already having Darius Miles, Rodney Rogers was completely worthless to the Pioneers.
Brian’s face was a mask of disappointment, and he started grumbling and cursing again.
Chen Yu couldn’t be bothered with him and turned his attention back to the draft.
The Jazz were up next with the 14th pick.
Chen Yu watched quietly.
With the 15th pick, the Pioneers wanted to select a frontcourt player, Al Jefferson.
This choice was a suggestion from Chen Yu, decided upon after a discussion with John Nash and Rivers.
Because he had hosted a potential-prospect training camp, Chen Yu was very familiar with this group of rookies. On his final prospect rankings, Chen Yu had placed Al Jefferson at number 14.
His fundamentals were incredibly solid; his athleticism was just a bit lacking.
Intuitively, he seemed very similar to Randolph, just without Randolph’s powerful physique, but with better defensive ability.
But selecting him at this spot to fill out their frontcourt was still a good move.
In fact, Chen Yu had presented two options at the time: one was Al Jefferson, the other was Josh Smith.
On the final rankings from the prospect camp, Josh Smith was ranked 13th.
His dribbling was a bit weak, but he was more athletic and had a stronger desire to score.
Unfortunately, at the 12th pick, the SuperSonics and the Hawks completed a trade. The Hawks acquired the SuperSonics’ 12th pick and took Josh Smith early.
That left the Pioneers with only one option: Al Jefferson.
And even that was risky.
Because the Jazz had worked out Al Jefferson, they might take him.
However, they had also worked out Chris Humphries, another frontcourt player who was about the same size as Al Jefferson, just with a longer shooting range.
So now it all depended on the Jazz’s choice. If they took Al Jefferson, the Pioneers would have to settle for Humphries.
Before long, the Jazz made their selection.
Chen Yu silently breathed a sigh of relief.
In the end, the Jazz went with Humphries.
The Pioneers acted immediately, selecting Al Jefferson.
Beside him, Brian grimaced with a hint of envy. "Just how many big men are the Pioneers hoarding?"
Milicic, O’Ku, Rebrasha, Randolph, Tony Battie, Boris Diaw, Chris Crawford... that’s seven frontcourt players already.
Chen Yu smiled. "Don’t worry, guys like Tony Battie will be traded away for draft picks."
Rebrasha, Tony Battie, and Chris Crawford were all on the chopping block.
Brian raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Doesn’t that mean they’ll be left with nothing but rookies?"
Once those guys are gone, it’s basically all young players left.
Chen Yu nodded. "Exactly. The Pioneers’ strategy now is to go all-in on rookies. Then it’s up to individual effort—whoever plays well gets to stay. Once the roster starts to gel, they’ll package the rookies who don’t make the cut and go all-in on a trade for a few solid rotation players, then make a run for the championship."
To put it bluntly, it’s a survival-of-the-fittest strategy.
At the mention of a championship, Brian’s face was filled with contempt. He was probably thinking, ’The Pioneers don’t deserve it at all.’
Chen Yu couldn’t stand his punchable expression and tapped his watch to remind him, "There’s not much time left. Aren’t you going to figure something out?"
Brian sighed to the heavens and waved his hand wearily. "I give up."
It wasn’t that he couldn’t make a trade, but that he was unwilling to pay the price.
’If they were really willing to give up the assets, what couldn’t the Suns trade for?’
Since there was no chance anyway, Brian gave up thinking about it and started chatting with Chen Yu, curiously asking who the Pioneers planned to select with the Pistons’ first-round pick.
"Tony Allen."
Brian’s eyes lit up. The Suns had also worked out Tony Allen.
During the workout, Tony Allen had left a deep impression on Brian. His physical gifts, both static and dynamic, were excellent. He was 192 cm tall but had a 206 cm wingspan. Most importantly, his second jump was incredibly quick, showing the potential to become an elite perimeter defender.
But his dribbling was terrible and his shooting wasn’t good either. He had a lot of flaws.
"That makes sense. If the Pioneers are getting Nash, they’ll definitely need a defensive player on the perimeter," Brian said with a nod.
You couldn’t just say Nash’s defense was bad; it was atrocious. He really needed someone to cover for him.
Besides, if the Pioneers wanted to go far—let alone make a run for the championship like Chen Yu said—they would definitely have to bet on defensive players.
"I’m so jealous!"
Brian couldn’t help but let out another sigh of envy.
Chen Yu just smiled without saying anything. ’A couple of years ago, when everyone else was jealous of you, you certainly didn’t look like this.’
As Brian watched with a pained expression, the Kings selected Kevin Martin with the 25th pick.
Actually, for the 26th pick, Chen Yu had also given the Pioneers another option: Kevin Martin.
A player like Kevin Martin, who focused on shooting and was skilled at finding open looks, would have been a perfect match for Nash.
Too bad he had been thinking the Suns would pick him themselves. Who knew the Suns were so disliked?
With the 26th pick, the Pioneers went according to plan and took Tony Allen.
When the second round arrived, Brian got restless again. He egged on Chen Yu to contact the Pioneers, wanting to buy their 7th pick in the second round with cash.
If they could get that second-round pick, they could definitely select Ariza.
"You can try, but it’s probably not going to happen," Chen Yu said.
The Pioneers also had a player they planned to select at that spot, one they were very satisfied with after his workout.
Chris Duhon, a point guard projected to go in the second round.
He was a star point guard from the NCAA. His potential was limited, but his strengths were his composure and mature skills. His defense was also decent, and he had a solid three-point shot.
D’Antoni was very interested in him, wanting to pick him to improve the backcourt defense.
Now that Brevin Knight had been picked by the Bobcats, the need for him was even greater.
Brian reached for the phone, but after picking up the receiver, he put it back down.
"Forget it. We don’t need it."
’It’s just a second-round pick. He’s acting like the Suns have no one to play.’
Rodney Rogers can still play, and we still have Posey and Daniels.
If we actually drafted Ariza, he’d probably just rot on the bench anyway.
With the seventh pick of the second round, the Pioneers successfully selected Chris Duhon.
And Ariza’s stock really had risen; he was picked in the middle of the second round by the Knicks.
Throughout the entire draft, the Suns had come up empty-handed, getting nothing.
No, there was still Mo Ke.
But this was business, and Brian truly didn’t expect Mo Ke to provide much help to the Suns.
Meanwhile, in the media section at the draft, quite a few Chinese reporters were also present.
The NBA’s list of declared draft prospects included Mo Ke, which had sparked endless speculation among the Chinese media.
Last year, Xue Yuyang had been drafted but regrettably failed to make it into the NBA, a result that had already caused countless media members to sigh in despair.
"Su Jun, don’t overthink it. To be honest, Mo Ke doesn’t even want to come play in the United States," Xia Song, Mo Ke’s agent, said, trying to console a nervous-looking Su Jun from his seat in the press section.
He paused for a moment before adding, "He still has his reservations."
As a teammate, Mo Ke had seen firsthand what happened to Wang Zhizhi.
Su Jun let out a long sigh. He understood the situation, but he still felt a little resigned. He retorted, "Then why did you come to the United States?"
’You say Mo Ke isn’t interested, so what are you, his agent, doing here in the United States?’
’To put it plainly, he still has some hope.’
People strive to better themselves. Even if it wasn’t for the money, entering the NBA could improve his skills and give him a better future.
Who wouldn’t want to be the next Yao Ming?
Xia Song had no rebuttal and could only remain silent.
Soon, it was the 22nd pick of the second round.
The Mavericks made their choice. They did indeed select an international player, but it wasn’t Mo Ke. It was Vassilis Spanoulis from Greece.
He was a combo guard.
It was basically certain that Nash would be leaving, so the Mavericks still needed to fill the gap in their backcourt.
Xia Song’s expression looked a little unnatural.
In his mind, the Mavericks were the team most likely to draft Mo Ke, given their connection with Old Nelson.
But clearly, that personal connection hadn’t mattered.
Su Jun clearly understood this as well and let out a faint sigh, saying nothing more.
"I’m going to head out."
After a long moment, Xia Song suddenly stood up, preparing to leave.
There was no point in watching any longer.
Only if Mo Ke was actually drafted would Xia Song have a chance to start working his connections and pull some strings.
Relying on getting an invite to the Summer League after going undrafted and hoping to land a training camp contract to stay in the NBA... that was just too difficult.
Su Jun nodded and waved goodbye to him.
But just then, Granic, on the stage, suddenly announced, "With the 59th pick, the Phoenix Suns select the power forward from China, Mo Ke."
Su Jun’s head snapped around. He stared at the stage in disbelief, almost thinking he had misheard.
Xia Song, who had been about to leave, also whipped his head around, completely dumbfounded.
The Suns had never worked out Mo Ke, nor had they ever sent a scout to evaluate him. Why on earth had they suddenly selected him?

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