Sports Medicine Master System

After his talk with Rivers, Sura became much more obedient.

At least he knew who the real stars were, who the coaching staff’s favorites were, and that he was just an expendable role player on the team.

He didn’t complain much, though.

For a role player like him who had been knocking around the league for years, his only virtue was knowing his place.

He was well aware that not everyone could be the star.

So when Milicic appeared in a good spot, he didn’t hesitate to send a bounce pass his way.

Milicic had ball-handling skills far superior to most big men. He could attack the basket off the dribble like a small forward. With a crossover, he tried to drive straight past his man.

He didn’t succeed. The veteran Jeff Foster was experienced and cut off his path.

Foster wasn’t intimidated by the physical contact either.

Milicic posted up and tried a pump fake, but he couldn’t create any space. Left with no choice, he forced the issue, backing him down once before forcing up a shot.

He got lucky. The ball bounced on the rim and fell into the basket.

On the sidelines, Nelson muttered, "He’s being pretty aggressive today."

Milicic didn’t have a habit of holding onto the ball before. If an offensive attempt didn’t work, he would pass it right away.

Chen Yu caught a glimpse of Alex nearby out of the corner of his eye and shook his head to himself.

’Ah, to be young.’

Behind him, Ewing leaned forward. "He’s got the fundamentals, but he has too little playing experience."

Chen Yu nodded in agreement.

There’s a pretty big gap between the NBA and the European basketball leagues.

In Europe, the emphasis is on teamwork, with the individual serving the team.

But the NBA is different.

It’s a league where hero ball reigns supreme.

To establish yourself and succeed in the NBA, you either have to rely on your physique—be inhumanly strong like O’Neal, capable of posterizing defenders with all sorts of mindless dunks.

Or, you have to master a signature move—that one go-to move that no one can stop.

Take that last play, for example. If it had been Nowitzki, he would have caught the ball, tested the defense for a moment, and then pulled up for the shot.

Not like Milicic, who used a bunch of useless technical moves only to end up forcing a shot and relying on luck.

"That’s why he needs someone to teach him."

If he’s not taught, if he doesn’t do targeted training, when will he ever learn?

Just look at Yao Ming. He’s been practicing his turnaround jumper since last season. During the offseason, he used the equipment in the sports lab, meticulously adjusting how high he raised his arm.

And the results were remarkable.

A month into the new season, thanks to that one move, he was already averaging 17.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2 blocks per game.

With a stat line like that, he was already playing like one of the league’s top centers.

Ewing said, "But I’m not the right fit for him. You should find Hakeem. He’s a better fit than I am."

’I’d love to,’ Chen Yu thought, ’but the man’s in Los Angeles.’

Jackson probably won’t let him go until he’s finished developing Yao Ming.

"Believe in yourself. You can do it."

Chen Yu turned his head and offered a word of praise.

Ewing rolled his eyes hard. Even he didn’t believe in himself.

Nelson, resting his chin on his hand, suddenly commented, "Why do I feel like the whole league is trying to copy the Kings?"

Chen Yu had noticed it too.

The Pioneers’ offense on the court really did have a shadow of the Kings’ Princeton offense.

The center wasn’t required to stay in the low post; everyone was in motion on offense, with lots of back-door runs and cuts to the basket. Wasn’t this style just like that of the Kings team that had shaken the entire league?

The key thing was, there were quite a few teams in the league like this.

Take the Celtics, for example. When Angie acquired Lafrentz in a trade, he told reporters he hoped the team could play the same kind of fluid, beautiful offense as the Kings.

But the problem was, the Kings’ system was heavily dependent on their roster.

How many players in the entire league were as versatile as Chris Webber? Who had a sharpshooter on the perimeter like Peggy, or a point guard like Bibi with excellent offense and solid passing?

Expecting a role player like Sura to find the right moment and make a good pass was just a dream.

And the current Milicic was nowhere near Weber’s level.

"Can’t be helped. Everyone wants an O’Neal who can play in the half-court and run an inside-out game, but they don’t have one."

If you really had a top-tier big man like O’Neal or Duncan, you’d have to be crazy to run a Princeton offense.

Chen Yu glanced at D’Antoni in the front row again.

Clearly, this was an adjustment he had brought since joining the coaching staff.

However, if they operated on the assumption that they could get Nash next summer and that Milicic would have a breakout season, then they really would have the pieces to run the Princeton offense.

Milicic was clearly much more aggressive on the court today.

He had the hot hand, too.

In 25 minutes of play, he shot 7 for 13 from the field, and with free throws, he efficiently scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

He even sank a three-pointer.

After the shot went in, he didn’t even celebrate, immediately turning his head to look at Rivers on the sideline.

Previously with the Pistons, he had shot a three-pointer in practice and was immediately pulled to the sideline and berated by Larry Brown.

After practice, he even heard the veterans talking about him, calling him soft.

His English wasn’t good, but he still understood the word "pussy."

So from that point on, he never shot another three.

Just now, he got caught up in the moment and subconsciously let one fly. He only realized what he’d done after he shot it.

Fortunately, what happened with the Pistons didn’t repeat itself. Rivers, the dedicated hype man, immediately did him the favor of shouting and applauding.

Crucially, Milicic got the first double-double of his NBA career in this game.

Chen Yu noticed that when Milicic scored in the second half, scattered applause and cheers could be heard from the stands.

Milicic’s performance today deserved praise.

As the rookie they got in exchange for Rasheed Wallace, the fans clearly had high hopes for him.

Chen Yu felt it was time to move forward with the planned community events to strengthen the interaction between Milicic and the fans.

People need encouragement.

From teammates, coaches, and fans.

You play a good game, you interact with the fans, and the fans show their appreciation. That gives you positive feedback for your hard work, and you’ll work even harder.

Your confidence will slowly build up.

Unfortunately, the team still had a bunch of veterans, and Chen Yu was worried that fans might boycott the community events because of them, affecting the final outcome.

He still needed to complete the trades as soon as possible and get the roster sorted out.

The recent, frequent trades had a huge impact on the Pioneers’ locker room.

The sooner the dust settled, the sooner they could focus on the court.

Apparently, Patterson and Nash also understood this point. So after a narrow victory against the Nicks to start their road trip, the trade was completed.

And it was a massive three-team trade involving nine players and three draft picks.

"John, you’re really something else. To pull off such a huge trade in such a short amount of time is incredible."

In the office, Chen Yu couldn’t help but give John Nash a thumbs-up.

Never mind whether they won or lost the trade. Just managing to bring in a third team and negotiate a deal involving so many players in such a short time was unbelievable in itself.

John Nash was middle-aged and had a calm demeanor, but he couldn’t stop a proud smile from spreading across his face. He then feigned modesty and said, "Actually, I feel we were a bit too hasty. We could have explored other options. But then I realized that what we need right now is to complete the rebuild as quickly as possible and stabilize the locker room. So, it’s not the worst outcome."

What would have been the worst outcome? Buying out the contracts of those bastards for the sake of rebuilding and getting nothing in return.

Therefore, being able to get some players in return wasn’t such a bad result.

Chen Yu nodded. In any case, as long as they got what they wanted, that was enough.

The third team was the Wizards.

This is how the trade broke down.

First, the Celtics sent Joe Johnson, Tony Battie, Eric Williams, and a 2005 second-round pick to the Pioneers.

In return, they received Damon Stoudamire and Quinter Woods, a swingman and the 21st pick in the 2002 draft, from the Pioneers.

At the same time, they also received a 2006 first-round pick from the Wizards as compensation.

The Wizards sent Larry Hughes, Brevin Knight, and a 2004 second-round pick to the Pioneers, and sent a 2006 first-round pick to the Celtics.

In return, they received Dale Davis and center Vladimir Stepania, the 27th pick in the first round of the 1998 draft, from the Pioneers.

And finally, the Pioneers.

The Pioneers sent out Damon Stoudamire, Dale Davis, Quinter Woods, and Vladimir Stepania, and received five players in one go.

The trade was able to happen because it had elements that served each team’s needs.

For the Celtics, the goal was clear: Damon Stoudamire.

But just as before, they felt giving up Tony Battie and Eric Williams was too big of a loss and wanted a first-round pick as compensation.

The Wizards’ entry into the trade allowed them to get their wish.

The first-round pick that the Pioneers were unwilling to give up was provided by the Wizards.

They also got Quinter Woods, a former first-round pick, who could fill the void left by Joe Johnson’s departure.

The Wizards’ participation also had multiple reasons.

First, their frontcourt was still not good enough.

Brandon Haywood was too young. He averaged 6.2 points and 5 rebounds last season. He had potential, but he wasn’t enough to anchor the Wizards’ frontcourt at the moment.

Kwame Brown was moved to the power forward position, but he remained in an awkward spot: they were reluctant to give up on him, but he wasn’t producing.

Although Kristen Lightner was as old as Dale Davis and had also been an All-Star, he was too mediocre in every aspect, especially on defense, where he was a true turnstile of a big man.

In contrast, Dale Davis had a tough style of play and had been a top-tier blue-collar player throughout his career. His defense was exactly what the Wizards needed.

In the current league, defense was still a scarce resource and a bonus in any trade.

Then there were the assets the Wizards gave up.

Larry Hughes had made a name for himself with the Warriors, and when the Wizards initially traded for him, they also planned to make good use of him.

But then they acquired Jerry Stackhouse.

Although Stackhouse injured his knee during training camp, had minimally invasive surgery performed by Chen Yu, and was out for the season until the All-Star break, the shooting guard spot would sooner or later belong to him.

Larry Hughes could still play point guard.

But the problem was, the Wizards had also practically stolen Arenas in the summer.

Arenas paired with Stackhouse was the ultimate answer for the Wizards’ backcourt.

So, Larry Hughes was sacrificed.

As for Brevin Knight, he had played well for the Knight, but his height of 1.78 meters ultimately limited his ceiling.

Plus, the Wizards didn’t lack point guards in their backcourt, so his five-million-dollar-a-year contract had zero value for the money, making it a salary dump the Wizards wanted to get rid of.

Fortunately, it was an expiring contract, so it wasn’t a problem for the Pioneers to absorb it. They could free up cap space next year.

In other words, the main assets the Wizards gave up were just Larry Hughes and their own 2006 first-round pick.

A Wizards’ first-round pick was still quite valuable.

But they also got a return, receiving Dale Davis and even a seven-foot-tall center as compensation.

They got what they wanted, dumped a bad contract, and were also satisfied with the trade.

And finally, the Pioneers.

The Pioneers got the Joe Johnson they wanted.

Before they could get Nash, and with Sura proving to be unreliable, Larry Hughes’ arrival could also strengthen the backcourt.

Most importantly, they got rid of the cancer that was Damon Stoudamire.

And with Milicic on the team, Dale Davis was no longer in the Pioneers’ future plans.

With him around, O’Ku couldn’t even get any playing time.

Vladimir Stepania, a 1998 draftee, had long since proven he had no talent. To free up a roster spot, he also had to go.

As for Quinter Woods, although he was a first-round pick from last year, he was also big trouble.

He fought with Ruben Patterson, smoked weed with Damon Stoudamire, and he also abused a dog, for which he was sentenced by a court to 12 months of probation. He had always been on the Pioneers’ clean-up list.

Finally, they also got a second-round pick from both the Celtics and the Wizards, continuing to stockpile draft picks.

All in all, the Pioneers could also accept the result of this trade.