Chapter 717: Countdown to Return
Although the NBA was still in a lockout, the transfer market continued to buzz with news.
For each team, this period was no different from the offseason. They needed to actively use this time to strengthen their rosters.
The biggest fish in this year's transfer window was Chris Paul.
As early as shortly after the offseason began, New Orleans had announced that Paul would be placed on the trading block.
This news caused a stir throughout the league. Many teams called the Hornets front office, and the Miami Heat were the most active.
This year, they had been only 1 step away from the championship, ultimately losing to the Mavericks 4 to 2.
As soon as the offseason began, James started looking for stronger teammates.
At 1st, James focused on role players with outside shooting ability, but after hearing that the Hornets were trading Paul, he immediately told Miami's management that he wanted to play brother basketball with Paul.
However, the Hornets asking price was too high.
They wanted either Pau Gasol or Wade.
Miami's management thought about it and decided against the deal.
If they traded Pau Gasol or Wade to get Paul, the team's overall strength would actually decline.
Wade was Miami's offensive spearhead, while Pau Gasol was Miami's interior core.
The roles and values of both players could not be replaced by Paul.
When the outside world learned of this news, everyone joked that James was trying to assemble an All Star team to challenge the entire league.
Even if the Hornets asking price had not been that high, David Stern probably would not have agreed to the trade.
If those 4 players were on the same team, the NBA would become unbalanced, and Miami would crush most opponents.
The reason the NBA was attractive was the rivalry between different stars.
If games became one sided, not many people would want to watch.
Paul had contacted Chen Yan 2 months ago.
This was not the 1st time Paul had expressed his desire to join the Knicks.
This year, after watching New York's Playoff performance, Paul became even more convinced that he and Chen Yan could win a championship together.
Moreover, the Knicks starting point guard, Curry, had just suffered a season ending injury.
Paul could not find a reason why Chen Yan would refuse him.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yan still politely declined.
It was not because Paul was not strong enough.
On the contrary, Paul was currently the league's top point guard. If he came, Curry's position would immediately be in jeopardy.
Letting Curry play off the bench would be a waste, and Chen Yan felt that purely in terms of style, Curry was the best fit beside him.
From a personal perspective, winning a championship with Curry and winning 1 with Paul would certainly carry different levels of prestige.
Paul was not the only big fish in the transfer market.
Yao Ming's contract also expired this year.
Many teams expressed interest in him.
The Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Cavaliers, and Nets all offered him contracts, while his former team, the Rockets, only stingily offered a minimum contract.
Yao Ming's statistics had indeed declined significantly over the past 2 years.
Last season, he averaged only 14.1 points and 7.9 rebounds. After changing his playing style, his interior dominance had dropped compared to the previous 2 years, but his health was more guaranteed.
Even the current Yao Ming was still a top tier center in the league.
The Rockets offer was indeed somewhat insulting.
It clearly showed a lack of respect for an 8 time All Star and 5 time All NBA player.
If it had been the old Yao Ming, he might have agreed to return to the Rockets.
But under Chen Yan's influence, his thinking had completely changed.
After his contract expired, he would go to a new team and contend for a championship.
Chen Yan also considered recruiting Yao Ming.
But compared to Yao Ming, the 2 centers in the free agent market, Tyson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan, were more suitable for the Knicks.
Chen Yan could not give up the optimal solution just to play with his friends.
In his world, basketball always came 1st.
DeAndre Jordan had already clearly expressed his desire to follow Chen Yan. He was only waiting for New York to make an offer.
Chandler also had the intention of returning to the Knicks.
The current Knicks were no longer the perennial losers they once were.
Once they had championship contention ability, New York became more attractive than most other places.
With interior help found, Chen Yan had also been scouting perimeter players during this period.
Curry's recovery would still take time, and relying solely on Barea at point guard was clearly not enough.
Aside from Paul, there were not many reliable point guards in this year's free agent market.
T.J. Ford was too short and could not complement Barea.
Brooks was too reckless.
Stuckey was too clumsy.
Chen Yan set his sights on Crawford.
This guy could play both guard positions, was very cost efficient, and his playing style suited the Knicks.
The downside was that he was too inconsistent.
But Chen Yan felt the bench needed such a loose cannon, someone who could deliver a fatal blow to opponents at any time.
There were also several other good perimeter players in the free agent market, such as Nick Young and Afflalo.
If these players joined, they could all improve the Knicks.
Chen Yan offered his suggestions, and how to choose was up to New York's front office.
At the point guard position, Chen Yan also recommended a player named Beverley.
This left the Knicks front office completely bewildered.
They had never even heard of this person.
After checking the information, they discovered that he was actually a player from a European league.
The front office was very curious.
Why would Chen Yan pay attention to a European league player?
His knowledge base seemed broader than even NBA scouts.
Beverley was extremely excited after receiving the Knicks tryout invitation.
He had waited for this opportunity for so many years, and he immediately flew to New York for the tryout.
The 2 sides quickly reached a verbal agreement.
For the front office, signing such a player was very simple.
It only required a minimum contract.
If he did not perform well, he would be sent down to the NBDL.
Chen Yan was confident in the Knicks offseason acquisitions.
They had money, and they had played well last season.
Attracting strong role players would not be a problem.
Next, Chen Yan began his CBA journey.
As expected, every arena he visited was packed.
Even away games felt like home games, with fans attending as if they were watching an exhibition game.
Among them, the showdown between Chen Yan and Kobe was especially eye catching.
On that day, the Shanxi arena was packed with people outside, all fans who could not buy tickets.
Scalped tickets had long been inflated to sky high prices, but they were still hard to find.
People who had never watched basketball before were shocked by the scene and exclaimed, "Did Michael Jackson come back to life?"
Chen Yan also put in a tremendous effort in that game, scoring 55 points.
Kobe scored 47 points.
The scene of the 2 superstars dueling became an eternal classic in the CBA.
Even some American TV stations began broadcasting it.
Without question, the influence of the CBA increased.
The happiness of domestic fans did not last too long.
To avoid the mutual destruction caused by the lockout, after 15 hours of negotiations, the NBA labor side and ownership finally reached a preliminary collective bargaining agreement in the early morning of November 26.
The stars playing in the CBA had entered the countdown to their return.
.....
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