"Chen, your show is amazing."
"Do you remember that player, Humphries? He was hilarious. Do you know what he said when they were filming his VCR? He actually said he could dominate James, but he ended up getting blocked three times. Oh my god, do you think James knew what he said? Was he doing it on purpose?"
"When does the next episode air? What about Stephen? Did he make it through the initial selection?"
As Chen Yu walked through the office area, the staff members he encountered all congratulated him on his hit show. It clearly wasn’t just empty flattery; they could all pull him aside to chat about the show’s content, which meant they had obviously watched it seriously.
Their reactions alone showed just how popular the program was, and why Burnett had come knocking the very next day, checkbook in hand, seeking a partnership.
Of course, Chen Yu had turned him down.
When he entered the conference room, Brian and the others had already arrived and were chatting idly.
"Chen, congratulations. Your show is fantastic," Skiles said, standing up immediately to offer his praise.
Chen Yu felt a bit helpless. He had already heard such congratulations countless times today.
After a while, everyone sat down again, and the meeting began.
Everyone had clearly reached a consensus on trading McDyess, but there were still disagreements on the specifics of the trade.
Skiles’s coaching staff proposed a new idea.
They wanted to trade McDyess to the Cavaliers for Boozer.
"Boozer is an excellent option at the power forward position. He can do everything Antonio can. Most importantly, he has issues with James. And from what we’ve heard, the Cavaliers’ management might decline his team option. While we don’t have the cap space to make him a huge offer, if we’re willing to send over Antonio, the Cavaliers would definitely agree."
It was no secret that Boozer and James had a conflict.
With James’s arrival, Boozer felt his share of the ball had decreased. Although it was much more than his rookie season last year, he still believed his performance warranted a larger role in the offense.
Furthermore, a quarter of his shot attempts came from his own offensive rebounds and subsequent putbacks.
He was only in his second year and was already in the double-double club. He felt he should be developed as a star player.
So, he had expressed his dissatisfaction with James more than once.
Compared to McDyess, Boozer’s defense was much worse.
McDyess was someone who could defend Duncan without being at a disadvantage, and was even called a "poor man’s Duncan" by the media.
But there was one very real factor: Boozer was younger.
Brian folded his arms, not in a hurry to state his position.
Chen Yu, however, was the first to speak. "Scott, let’s not even talk about whether the Cavaliers would let Boozer go for now."
In the ’02 draft, Boozer was selected by the Cavaliers in the second round and signed a 2+1 contract.
To keep Boozer, the Cavaliers might decline the final year’s team option and extend his contract early to appease him.
Of course, if the Phoenix Suns were willing to send McDyess, the Cavaliers would certainly complete the deal.
McDyess was more mature than Boozer and much more useful.
As a member of a championship team, McDyess’s playoff experience was exactly what the Cavaliers, who were aiming for the postseason, needed.
However, the Phoenix Suns’ ultimate goal in trading away McDyess was to lower their payroll.
With Boozer’s performance, he was looking at a contract worth at least ten million a year, and it would definitely be a long-term one.
Giving him a multi-million dollar contract? We might as well keep the superior McDyess.
So a trade like this was completely meaningless.
Most importantly, Chen Yu really didn’t think Boozer was all that great.
His mid-range shot was decent, but his defense was terrible.
Trading for a player like that, a so-called rookie with potential, would be worse than just settling down and developing David West.
When it came to mid-range shooting, West wasn’t bad either.
And in terms of defensive potential, Chen Yu felt Boozer really wasn’t much better than West.
After hearing Chen Yu’s analysis, Brian nodded in agreement. "That’s right. Just as Chen said, this really isn’t a good option. Our goal is to lower our payroll. That means trading down, getting expiring contracts, and acquiring draft picks. That’s the best choice."
The Phoenix Suns’ goal was clear: lower the payroll. The ways to do that were either to trade down for expiring contracts, or to break up a large salary into smaller pieces and adjust gradually.
Trading for Boozer fit neither of these principles.
"I do have an idea, though," Chen Yu continued.
Since Brian had last mentioned this to him, Chen Yu had been thinking about it for a long time.
Seeing everyone look at him, Chen Yu stood up and walked to the whiteboard in the conference room. "We trade with the Bulls."
"First, they traded for Antonio Davis mid-season last year. But Davis is too old, and his performance hasn’t met the Bulls’ management’s expectations. Most importantly, he has a contract with nearly thirty million remaining over two years. For the Bulls, he is not a good choice at power forward."
Brian interjected, "But Chen, wouldn’t Davis’s contract be a burden for us too?"
Given Davis’s condition, even if the Phoenix Suns took him on and his physical state recovered after Chen Yu’s treatment and maintenance, he only averaged 14 and 10 at his peak. That performance was worse than McDyess’s. It would be better to just keep McDyess.
Chen Yu said, "I didn’t say we should take on Davis’s contract. I’m just saying the Bulls have a need at the power forward position."
"This season, Jay Williams and Eddie Curry are returning to the team. They also have Jamal Crawford and Schringer. The framework of their roster is already in place. They just need to strengthen their front line."
After a season of treatment, the two injured players, Jay Williams and Eddie Curry, could finally return to the team.
One a number two pick, the other a fourth overall pick. The Bulls’ future looked promising.
"Here’s what I’m envisioning."
Chen Yu wrote a few names on the whiteboard. "We build a trade around McDyess and try to get Tyson Chandler and this year’s third overall pick from the Bulls. Then, we use that pick to select a guard."
"For example, Devin Harris, Ben Gordon, or Shaun Livingston."
These were the few guards projected to go high in the draft.
Because the decision to trade McDyess was made on the spur of the moment, the Phoenix Suns hadn’t arranged workouts for them.
But as top draft prospects, there was plenty of news about their workouts, so it was possible to get a sense of their skill level.
"Especially Livingston."
A high school student, 2.01 meters tall, a classic tall point guard. His player comparison is Magic Johnson.
"Anfernee is already 33 years old. He’s getting older, and in two to three years, we’ll have to consider finding his replacement. And Livingston, I believe, is a good choice."
While he could ensure their condition and help them avoid injuries, the erosion of time was still an unavoidable problem.
In two or three years, no matter how healthy Hardaway’s body was, his declining physical abilities would cause him to fall from a superstar to just a regular star player.
Since the Phoenix Suns had chosen to build for the future, they needed to plan ahead.
Hardaway was a famously tall point guard in the league, and so was Livingston. This could be seen as a kind of passing of the torch.
Ben Gordon and Devin Harris were also good choices, with the potential to be combo guards.
"Finally, there’s Chandler. As a number two pick, he has enormous potential and enough size to be a capable backup for Shaq. As for his back injury issues, that’s not a big problem. I can handle it well."
This season, Perkins had limited playing time. In that limited time, he demonstrated his strengths: his defense was tough and aggressive enough.
But that was all. With his poor skills and lack of height, he wasn’t yet qualified to be O’Neal’s backup.
Everyone looked at each other and fell into deep thought.
"Of course, Howard and Okafor are also good choices, but I think the Magic will demand an exorbitant price. And the Fast Ship have Brand, so they probably aren’t too interested in McDyess."
The best-case scenario would definitely be getting Howard or Okafor.
But the Fast Ship had Brand. As for the Magic, the Phoenix Suns had already begun to probe their management’s intentions.
But the Magic’s management... their moves were always a mystery. Now, as if they’d won the lottery, they had the number one pick, and Weisbrod had already made a bold declaration. ’Want the first pick? No problem, trade us a superstar for it.’
It was hard to say where their baffling self-confidence came from.
And making a direct trade for any other power forward, unless it was someone on Duncan’s level, would be worse than just keeping McDyess.
"This is indeed an option."
Brian folded his arms, staring at the whiteboard in deep thought. After a long moment, he said, "Alright, let’s discuss it."
With that, he called for an assistant to gather the information.
Chandler’s reports, as well as files on the top-ranked guards.
In the NBA, every trade involves tens of millions of dollars. It’s not something that can be decided on a whim. You have to gather information, confirm a player’s condition, fully consider the fit with the current roster, and then calculate salaries and decide who to use as trade assets.
So, it was quite a hassle.
A trade proposal wouldn’t be ready anytime soon.
「On the 22nd, the fantasy draft exclusive to the Bobcat arrived.」
Before this, they had already made a trade with the Fast Ship, sending their 4th and 33rd picks for the Fast Ship’s number two pick.
You could only say their goal was clear: they had to get either Howard or Okafor.
The specific selection results were to be announced by phone.
Everyone waited by the phone. Brian was practically chanting like a monk, praying at the receiver without stopping.
The Bobcat’s actions were akin to robbing the rich to give to the poor, and it was obvious that the Five-star Phoenix Suns were the richest team in the entire league.
With Sabonis, Ma Long, and Stockton retiring, plus the protected list, the Phoenix Suns didn’t have many players to choose from.
But they were afraid that...
Just as he was thinking this, the phone rang.
It had only been about ten minutes since it started.
Without a doubt, the Bobcat were already sharpening their knives, eager to make their move on the Phoenix Suns.
Brian nervously snatched the phone, listened to the result from the other end, and then slammed the receiver down without hesitation.
"It’s Kovol."
Brian sat back down, deflated.
Chen Yu couldn’t help but sigh.
This result was, in fact, expected.
A 15-man roster, protect 8, leaving 7.
Sabonis, Ma Long, and Stockton retired, so that left 4 people.
Rodney Rogers was also getting old. As long as the Bobcat weren’t crazy, they definitely wouldn’t pick him.
That left three rookies.
At the time, Chen Yu had considered that Kovol was the most likely to be picked.
Perkins lacked height and had major technical flaws.
Marquis Daniels took a few punches from Ma Long and was out for the season for a long time.
That only left Kovol to choose from.
As a second-round pick, his season average of 4.7 points wasn’t high, because his playing time was truly limited.
The thing was, he shot 42.1% from three-point range this season, second only to Brent Barry and Peggy.
In clutch moments, bringing him in to hit a few threes was a common tactic for the Phoenix Suns this season.
Therefore, anyone with eyes could see that if he were given playing time, he could become an excellent outside shooter.
Of course, the Bobcat could have chosen not to pick anyone from the Phoenix Suns.
But that was obviously wishful thinking.
"With this, we really need to strengthen our backcourt," Skiles said with a frown. He had been planning to give Kovol more playing time next season.
What’s done is done. There was nothing anyone could do to change it.
And soon, Chen Yu also received news from the Pioneer’s side.
The Bobcat took point guard Brevin Knight from the Pioneer.
This wasn’t a huge problem; the Pioneer were already extremely close to acquiring Nash.

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