Chapter 737 - 662: Falling for Riley’s Nonsense

Chapter 737: Chapter 662: Falling for Riley’s Nonsense

"Who?"

Skiles leaned in to look as well. The moment he saw Chandler’s name, he frowned.

"Chen, Brian, no. We need Tyson," Skiles said with a serious expression.

In his plans for the future, Chandler was a crucial piece.

His scoring ability might be poor, but he was a defensive stalwart, whether it was one-on-one defense or help defense.

He had the height and a sturdy frame—the perfect model for a blue-collar center.

Moreover, Skiles was constantly trying to develop Chandler’s offense. He had almost no ability to create his own shot, but he was decent at rolling to the basket after a pick-and-roll for an easy score. His finishing ability under the hoop showed some potential.

This was a good match for the Phoenix Suns’ usual style of play.

Most importantly, he was a good fit with Nowitzki. If they traded him away, it would be really hard to find another center with a similar style in the league.

Chen Yu agreed, "I think so too."

Chen Yu also felt this trade wasn’t worth it; it was unnecessary.

Setting aside the reasons Skiles mentioned, the trade package itself was unsuitable.

The Phoenix Suns didn’t need a player like Darius Miles—a tweener who was decent on offense but atrocious on defense.

A weak team might need him. If they developed him, they might even turn him into a star.

But the Phoenix Suns weren’t a weak team; they were a strong team, a championship contender. What they needed were players who fit their system.

But regardless of their disagreement, since the other party had proposed the trade, he had to show it to both of them.

Both of them had given their opinions, and both were against it. What more could Brian say? But after a moment’s thought, he said, "This package isn’t right, but what if we changed the assets?"

"For example, what about Salemport plus Al Jefferson? Or we could even throw in Tony Allen."

"We want to lower our salary, and we need players with this kind of potential. Of course, Tyson is great and a perfect fit for us, but if there’s a chance to get a group of young, high-potential players, that’s also a good option."

"Besides, we still have Brown."

Since coming to the Phoenix Suns, Kwame Brown’s mentality had clearly improved a lot.

It wasn’t just because Chen Yu had talked with him many times, but also because he was far away from Washington, where the fans had berated him.

In Phoenix, although he was a former number one pick, no fans had any expectations for him. He could be at ease, stay out of the spotlight, and develop quietly.

He could also continue to play the five, acting as a blue-collar center.

Aside from being a little shorter, his athletic talent was in no way inferior to Chandler’s—he was perhaps even more athletic.

Skiles crossed his arms and began to think, but Chen Yu couldn’t help but shoot Brian down.

"Brian, stop daydreaming. The Pioneers won’t trade away the players you mentioned." Chen Yu knew the Pioneers’ situation very well, and he knew exactly what Rivers and John Nash were thinking.

There was no way the Pioneers would trade the players Brian mentioned.

A key reason the Pioneers managed an eighth-seed upset this year was their ’bench mob’.

And the players Brian was talking about were all part of it.

Trading them away would be a downgrade. Rivers was already starting to dream about what it felt like to be a championship-winning coach, so how could he bear to trade them?

Brian was the type of person who would take a swing whether there was a chance or not, and he was especially good at wishful thinking.

Sure enough, Brian didn’t give up. "Let’s just try. Since they want Tyson, we can negotiate."

Chen Yu shook his head slightly, not bothering to engage with him.

As for the Pioneers, they seemed to be in a state of desperation, willing to try anything.

Their current roster was very strong; they had even made it to the Western Conference Finals.

But they wanted to take the next step. After thinking it over, they still felt they needed to upgrade their frontcourt.

But for a player of Randolph’s caliber, while he had his flaws, his strengths were also obvious. If they let him go, they really wouldn’t find a better fit.

When he got hot, he was a beast who could easily drop 20-plus points.

If they wanted to trade for someone with the same offensive level but better defense than Randolph, you could count the number of such players in the entire league on one hand.

So in Chen Yu’s view—and this was the advice he had given them before—was to keep the roster as is and trade all their current draft picks for future ones. ℴ

This year was a so-called "deep point guard draft," without many outstanding big men.

There was one, though: a high school student with a build similar to Eddie Curry’s, Andrew Bynum.

But his draft position was projected to be in the lottery. The Pioneers could definitely get him if they wanted by trading up; they had enough assets.

But the kid was too young; he was still a few months shy of his 18th birthday.

Even with talent, he would need to be carefully developed.

But the current Pioneers, after just one year of rebuilding, were already in the ranks of championship contenders. Where would they find the time and energy to develop a player?

Brian picked up the phone and personally started negotiating with John Nash.

Chen Yu just quietly organized his work plan for the coming days.

He had a trip to China coming up soon, and many things would be delayed because of it.

In New York, at 7:30 PM, the draft officially began.

Everything went as expected: the Bucks selected Bogut.

Because of the success of Yao Ming and Milicic, Chen Yu felt that these kinds of international big men would only become more and more sought-after in the future.

But deep down, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about this trend.

Many NBA teams were chasing after these types of centers, fantasizing that they could become as dominant as O’Neal.

But reality had proven time and again that there could only be one O’Neal in the world.

And judging by the league’s current development, it was perimeter players who would become increasingly valuable.

The success rate for big men was just too low.

So many big men entered the league each year, but how many could actually stick around and be remembered?

The draft continued.

After a long, drawn-out delay, the Hawks surprisingly selected Marvin Williams.

Hearing Stern call out the name, even Chen Yu, who had been engrossed in various reports and work plans, looked up at the television in confusion.

’What the hell?’

’Shouldn’t the Hawks’ biggest need be a point guard? In a draft this deep with point guards, they actually picked Marvin Williams.’

’Even if they really wanted to pick from the North Carolina Four Young Masters, shouldn’t the one with the most hype this year be Sean Mei?’

Beside him, Brian rubbed his temples and muttered, "As expected, Billy’s ideas are as unconventional as ever."

He was talking about the Hawks’ general manager, Billy Knight.

But after a pause, Brian added, "Then again, it’s not a sure thing. Just because you succeed in the NCAA doesn’t mean you’re a fit for the NBA."

In the minds of general managers like them, playing well in the NCAA wasn’t actually a plus.

That’s because NCAA and NBA basketball are completely different games.

Players who do well in the NCAA are usually more polished, but being polished isn’t necessarily a good thing in the NBA.

Because in the NBA, you’re first and foremost a building block, and your development is determined by the team’s needs.

Sometimes, a style of play that is too polished is actually harder to mold. You can’t be shaped into the block the team wants.

As for wasting talent, nobody cares about that.

The NBA is never short on talent.