บท 170: Chapter 170: The Warriors' Trade Request
"Treat us! Treat us! Treat us!"
Wade Dong, holding the All-Star MVP trophy, happily walked off the court, and James and Wade immediately started teasing him.
Although fans often criticize each other's teams, for most players, on-court rivals become off-court friends. The relationships are not as tense as those between fans.
...
After winning the All-Star MVP, everyone urged Wade Dong to treat them.
"No problem," Wade Dong said generously, "I'll cover the bill for the entire night."
At 2 AM, Wade Dong returned to the hotel, drunk. The Americans' idea of treating involved going to a nightclub. About a dozen people went, including James, Wade, Rose, Anthony, Durant, Harden, and Kobe. The night out cost Wade Dong tens of thousands of dollars.
However, a night of drinking can bring people closer, which seems to be a universal truth. At least, Wade Dong became more familiar with these players.
...
After the All-Star Game, there was a three-day break. Wade Dong took his family to Hawaii for a vacation.
In a few days, Wade Dong's parents and Li Jiajia's parents would return to China, and Li Jiajia would go back with them.
After three days of sunbathing in Hawaii, everyone returned to Phoenix.
The next day, Wade Dong saw his parents and in-laws off at the airport. After they flew back to China, Wade Dong could finally share a room with Li Jiajia openly.
It was a night of sore backs and aching waists (details omitted for brevity).
...
In the blink of an eye, Wade Dong had been in the NBA for almost a year.
The Suns had 29 regular-season games left and were leading the league with a 49-4 record.
To break the Bulls' record of 72 wins in a regular season, the Suns needed to win 24 of their remaining 29 games.
The Suns were using two main lineups:
The starting lineup consisted of Wade Dong, Nash, Middleton, Tucker, and Bynum. The bench lineup was Dragic, McGrady, Middleton, Green, and Gortat. Even without the starters, this bench lineup could win at least 30 games if they played all 82 games.
Last season's championship contributors Dudley, Frye, and Morris were almost relegated to the bench. In fact, from last season's starting lineup, only Nash remained.
The Suns' medical team was also renowned in the league. This season, the players were in good condition. Even when injuries occurred, they were mostly minor, requiring only a few games of rest.
Popovich's biggest headache now was having too many players to choose from.
For the playoffs, Popovich planned to adjust the lineup, moving McGrady to the starting lineup and Middleton to the bench. Controlling McGrady's playing time during the regular season was to prepare him for the playoffs.
After the All-Star Game, the league's trade period was at its peak, with teams making final preparations for the playoffs.
The day after Li Jiajia returned to China, Wade Dong received a call from Popovich.
Popovich said he, Sarver, and Nash were on their way to Wade Dong's mansion to discuss an important matter.
After receiving the call, Wade Dong guessed that the team might be planning a major trade, as they wouldn't be so formal otherwise.
...
Half an hour later, the three arrived at Wade Dong's mansion.
In the living room, Wade Dong served them a pot of Longjing tea and asked, "You wouldn't come here so late just to play mahjong, would you?"
"I don't play mahjong," Sarver shook his head and then said, "I just received a call from the Warriors' management. They want to discuss a trade with us."
"You're quite busy, rarely do team owners handle the general manager's work," Wade Dong joked before asking, "What's the trade?"
Sarver said, "The Warriors want to trade Curry and Thompson for several of our players."
"What the hell?" Wade Dong was shocked, "Did the Warriors' management take the wrong medicine?"
Sarver explained, "The information is confirmed. The Warriors' general manager called me personally. However, their conditions are quite high, and I'm not sure I can accept them, so I wanted to discuss it with you."
Wade Dong pointed to himself and asked, "Are they trying to trade Curry and Thompson for me?"
"If the Warriors dared to make such an unreasonable request, I would have cursed them out already," Sarver said, taking a sip of tea to clear his throat. "They want to trade Curry and Thompson for five of our players."
"Which five?" Wade Dong asked.
"Bynum, Dragic, Frye, Tucker, and Morris," Sarver replied.
"Oh..." Wade Dong furrowed his brows. The Warriors had quite an appetite.
In the 2012-13 season, Bynum was ranked 19th by a well-known media outlet, while Curry wasn't even in the top 20. Curry only started to shine this season.
However, Bynum was having the best season of his career, averaging 20.7 points and 12.4 rebounds, even better than Nash's stats, making him the Suns' second-best player.
As for Thompson, he hadn't yet reached his peak, with his career-high being only 36 points so far.
Popovich looked at Wade Dong and asked, "What do you think about this trade?"
"Didn't you discuss this before coming here?" Wade Dong asked, pushing the question back to Popovich.
Without the Heavenly Eye, no one could predict how good Curry and Thompson would become. Based on their current performance, they could at most be traded for Bynum and Dragic. However, the Warriors also wanted Tucker, Frye, and Morris, which seemed excessive.
Wade Dong knew that if this trade were delayed by a year, not only would Bynum and the others not be enough, but even adding Green and Middleton wouldn't be enough to get Curry alone.
"We did discuss it," Nash said. "I've been plagued by back injuries and plan to retire after next season. The Suns need a good point guard, and I think Curry has great potential that hasn't been fully realized yet."
"Old Nash has a good eye," Wade Dong muttered. Besides coaching, there was nothing to criticize about Nash.
Sarver said, "The NBA is a business. Everyone on this team, except you and Nash, can be traded."
After hearing this, Wade Dong understood Sarver's intention. He was leaning towards making the trade.
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