Champion, please stay!

Chapter 243, Section 241: Does Boss Qiao have this ability?
The Knicks will have two days of rest after the All-Star Weekend.

At noon on the 22nd, Yi Shui flew back to New York with the team.

It's quite rare for the whole team to spend the All-Star Weekend together, making it a special All-Star Weekend trip for him.

His parents, grandparents, and maternal grandparents arrived in New York one after the other on another small passenger plane chartered by Walsh, and spent two more days there before returning home.

After having dinner with his family, Yi Shui returned home and browsed the news. He heard that the All-Star Weekend had just ended, and there were many trades and news of attempts to sell star players but failures.

The hottest topic right now is his performance at this All-Star Weekend.

Shaquille O'Neal didn't make the All-Star team, and Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett all withdrew from the competition, making him the star of this All-Star Weekend.

He participated in three competitions and set historical records in two of them!

In the All-Star Game, he not only won the MVP award, but his 42 points in a single game also tied the all-time record set by Wilt Chamberlain in the 1962 All-Star Game.

In the three-point contest, they continuously broke records and dominated the top two spots on the scoring leaderboard.

This year's rookie game didn't earn him the MVP award, but Yi Shui broke the record last year, and it was considered an unbreakable 60+ point game.

Yi Shui has also seen a lot of discussion about mid-term team trades.

Regarding the matter of strengthening the center position, the media, experts, and fans generally hold a positive view.

The weeks when Ben Wallace was sidelined with injury in January exposed their interior defense problems very thoroughly.

Public opinion generally believes that if it weren't for his explosive performance at the end of January, scoring 40+ points three times and a triple-double once in four games in five days, leading the team to an eight-game winning streak that spanned the month, it wouldn't have been the Cavaliers who slipped to seventh place in the league by the halfway point, but rather them.

The fact that the trade wasn't criticized is a good thing for the team, because players' opinions about the teammates they got in the trade are easily swayed by public opinion.

He had also seen the analysis regarding the potential risks associated with their transaction.

Of the two centers, only David Lee remains who has the ability to handle the ball...

...

After browsing topics related to his own team for a while, Yi Shui checked out news about trades.

The hottest topic among fans right now is where Bosh will go.

The Raptors and Bosh have completely broken off relations, and trade negotiations between the Raptors and the Timberwolves regarding Bosh have fallen apart.

Based on this, the media and fans concluded that the Raptors' previously undisclosed progress in contract renewal negotiations with Bosh had definitely fallen apart.

After reviewing the leaked details of the trade negotiations between the Raptors and the Timberwolves, Yi Shui felt that both teams shared the common problems of small-market teams.

The trade was initiated by the Timberwolves, with Mayo as the core asset, and the Raptors actively participated in the negotiation process.

The main point of contention in the negotiations was the first-round pick. In addition to Mayo, the Timberwolves had to offer an 11 first-round pick. The two teams agreed on this, but the Timberwolves wanted to add a top-three protected pick, which the Raptors were unwilling to do, and the trade ultimately fell through.

The Raptors will most likely lose Bosh for nothing and get nothing in return;
The Timberwolves have also lost their chance to gamble on whether Bosh will re-sign.

Although Yi Shui knew that it was highly unlikely that Bosh would stay in the harsh environment of Minneapolis, the Timberwolves showed absolutely no guts in this trade.

Small-town teams have a rare opportunity to acquire a superstar in his prime. If they don't take the chance this time, they don't know when the next opportunity will come.

Perhaps the courage was exhausted by the fact that Garnett had a bigger contract than O'Neal and Joe Smith had a dual contract?
However, seeing fans discussing where Bosh will go this summer, no one thinks the other two 03 superstars who signed 3+1 contracts will switch teams... Yi Shui is looking forward to how exciting this summer will be.

All other trades involving big-name stars have also fallen through.

The Pistons have once again failed to trade Hamilton. Yahoo Sports' Wojnarowski reported that after rejecting the Spurs' offer for Richard Jefferson and the Bobcats' offer for Stephen Jackson, no other team has been willing to make an offer for Hamilton.

Yi Shui has been watching the trade negotiations involving the Pistons for the past two years with amusement.

Hamilton, who is at the tail end of his prime, is indeed a very valuable trade asset. His positioning, catch-and-shoot ability is probably the best in the league, his team defense is excellent, and he has a wealth of playoff experience... But it is still puzzling why Joe Dumars is being treated like a treasure and kept so tightly guarded.

For the Pistons, Hamilton's only remaining value is in trades, but trade value is worthless if you hold onto him and don't sell him.

Previously, when Dumars rejected Walsh's offer to trade David Lee for Hamilton, Yi Shui was puzzled. If they had traded back David Lee, the Pistons could have gotten rid of Hamilton's contract starting next season, saving more than $1000 million in salary each year.

Keeping him and not trading him would affect the Pistons' tanking strategy, and Hamilton doesn't sell tickets, so he has no box office appeal.

Although I feel a little sorry for David Lee, who worked so hard this year, I really regret that we couldn't get Hamilton back.

Having a catcher like that allows him to reduce off-ball movement in half-court sets and focus more on isolation plays and defense.

However, now that Harrington has been traded for Chandler, David Lee's importance has increased significantly, and there always needs to be another player in the frontcourt who can carry the ball and attack.

Other trade rumors, such as the 76ers shopping Brand and the Nets offering Harris for a lottery pick, all came to nothing.

The trades that were actually completed were related to role players and clearing salary cap space.

The Bulls quietly pulled off some big moves, trading away Kirk Hinrich, Brad Miller, and others to get Tracy McGrady in return. They then even offered draft picks as compensation to trade away players with long-term contracts, acquiring Tim Thomas from the Clippers.

Yi Shui opened the Bulls' official website and looked at the team's salary chart. After the contracts of McGrady, Tim Thomas, Jerome James, and others expire this summer, the Bulls' total salary will be just below 4000 million!
He recalled that Boozer was supposed to 'defect' again this summer and sign with the Bulls without any investment, and he wondered if the Bulls here would still try to poach Boozer.

The Knicks' trade backup target was sent to another team by the Wizards.

The Mavericks, Nets, and Wizards completed a three-way trade, sending 01-born veteran center Brandon Haywood to the Mavericks.

Haywood has had an outstanding season, ranking among the top centers in the Eastern Conference. In the first half of the season, he played 48 games, averaging 32 minutes per game, scoring 9.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks, which is worthy of the 3-year, $2100 million contract he signed last summer.

Yi Shui learned from Walsh that Haywood was originally their first choice, but the coaching staff was worried because Haywood was already 31 years old. Haywood was a pure athletic blue-collar worker, and once his running and jumping ability declined, he would become a worthless contract.

Moreover, the Bolling family has a different attitude towards each player. They feel indebted to Jamison and Josh Howard, and even if it affects the team's selling price, they will send them to championship contenders. But with Haywood, it doesn't matter.

Haywood was sidelined after playing only 10 games last season, and the Wizards offered him a lucrative 3-year, $2100 million contract, which couldn't be more humane.

The Wizards' asking price for the Knicks is Duhon plus this year's first-round pick, plus the Knicks having to add players to match salaries or find a third party to match the contract. This made Walsh consider acquiring Haywood as an alternative and instead pursue Hamilton and Chandler, whom Yi Shui had mentioned to D'Antoni.

Yi Shui browsed the news for a while, but there was nothing new to see. He habitually refreshed the NBA official website homepage, then prepared to shut down his computer and go play mahjong with his mother, grandmother, and maternal grandmother, hoping to amuse his elders with his terrible mahjong skills and absurd luck...

But seeing a message that had just been refreshed in the trading section, he sat down again.

The Bobcats traded Tyrus Thomas, Raja Bell, Maurice Peterson, and the Hornets' first-round pick this year to the Clippers in exchange for Chris Kaman.

Previously, Yi Shui thought the Bobcats were willing to sell Chandler so early because of Kwame Brown.

Last summer, Jordan signed Kwame Brown to a two-year, $6 million contract, which was jokingly referred to as Jordan's compensation for the draft bust.

In people's opinion, Jordan was primarily responsible for Kwame Brown's poor performance, while Arenas and Kobe were secondarily responsible.

Surprisingly, Kwame Brown has been playing quite well this year, appearing in 40 games before the All-Star break, averaging 20 minutes per game with 6.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks. In terms of low-post defense alone, even combining Muhammad and Chandler wouldn't match Kwame Brown.

Chandler was thus relegated to the power forward position, becoming Diaw's backup.

However, the Bobcats have stronger options for help defense and rotation on the wing.

With Kwame Brown earning $300 million a year, Muhammad on a mid-level contract, and Gerald Wallace, a defensive stalwart earning only $900 million... Jordan certainly wouldn't want to keep Chandler, who was just a blue-collar worker but was earning millions a year.

I never expected Boss Qiao to have such a big surprise in store!
That was a brilliant deal!

In terms of ability, Kaman may not be inferior to Love, who was just selected as an All-Star reserve.

As a substitute, he averaged 26 minutes per game, scoring 13.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.6 blocks. His offense, defense, and rebounding were all solid, his mid-range shot was excellent, and he also had some playmaking ability.

Moreover, at 27 years old, and with his 5-year, 52 million contract already in its third year, Kaman, as a floor-oriented player, will certainly not become a bad contract as long as he doesn't get injured; on the contrary, it's a very good one.

Kaman was relegated to the bench simply because the Clippers had the incredibly promising twin towers of Love and Thabeet, and he was no longer in their future plans.

Yi Shui looked at the chips that the Bobcats had given out.

Tyrus Thomas, the fourth overall pick in the 2006 draft, was traded to the Bobcats as a bonus when the Bulls traded away their long-term contract during the All-Star Weekend. The Bobcats only gave up an expiring contract from which he would not play, essentially getting him for free.

The first-round pick and Maurice Peterson were both add-ons acquired when Okafor was traded to Paul, who wanted to play alongside him. His $600 million contract expires this year.

Raja Bell was a bonus acquired when Jason Richardson was traded to the Suns for Boris Diaw; his $500 million contract expires this year.

In other words, the Bobcats traded Jason Richardson and Okafor for Diaw, Harrington, and Kaman.

With the addition of Gerald Wallace, Mohammed, Kwame Brown, and Ratliff, they formed a top-class frontcourt!
incredible!
But does Mr. Qiao have the foresight and long-term planning for this deal?
Yi Shui opened the portal website and looked at the more specific trade news... Well, the one who made this trade was the old coach Bernie Bickerstaff.

With this frontcourt duo, Yi Shui estimates that Harden and Jennings' playoff hopes are slim, and Wade will probably struggle to even hold onto seventh place.

On paper, among Eastern Conference teams, only the Cavaliers' frontcourt can rival the Bobcats', and the Bobcats' frontcourt is clearly more effective.

Filled with anticipation for the changing landscape of the East, Yi Shui shut down her computer and went to play mahjong with her mother and the others…

...

On the 23rd, the last day of the All-Star Weekend holiday, was the Knicks' practice day.

Chandler arrived at Madison Square Garden just after 7 a.m. and was teased by lead assistant coach Dan D'Antoni, who was preparing for practice.

Chandler wasn't just in such a hurry today. The morning after he was traded, he didn't even pack his bags before taking a plane to New York.

Yesterday evening, Walsh and D'Antoni had just returned when he couldn't wait to take the physical test. Last night, he officially became a member of the Knicks.

This is New York!
The Knicks have the best record!
Of course, there's another reason—opportunity!
His agent told him that in New York, he would have an opportunity he had never had in his nine years in the NBA.

When he first entered the NBA, he was immediately overshadowed by the more immediate and powerful Stephen Curry. Because of his slow development, the Bulls, who wanted to achieve results quickly, couldn't wait and traded him to the Hornets in the summer of 06 to clear cap space and sign Ben Wallace.
At the Hornets, he was not valued at first and was only regarded as a blue-collar worker who cleaned up David West's mess on the defensive end. In the 07-08 season, he finally played his first season averaging a double-double. He was given important roles last season, but after playing half a season, he suffered a serious injury and was traded at the beginning of the season.

His situation worsened after joining the Bobcats. Jordan looked down on him, Larry Brown despised him, and he was overshadowed by the number one draft pick from the same year whom he had always looked down upon...

Now, things have finally turned around!

The Knicks traded their starting forward and two first-round picks to bring him back, showing that they value him more than the Hornets and Bobcats.

Unlike the Bulls of yesteryear, the Knicks didn't have an abundance of talent in the paint. Instead, apart from David Lee, everyone else was just a fringe player.

Furthermore, he is a perfect fit with David Lee. David Lee is a poor defender and can't extend his defense, while he is less physically imposing and better at help defense and assist defense. David Lee prefers mid-range jump shots, while he can only score by cutting to the basket to receive passes.

Chandler waited at the training ground for almost an hour. After 8 o'clock, his new teammates arrived one after another, and he took the initiative to greet them.

The responses from the new teammates were sometimes very friendly, such as those from Webster and David Lee;
Some were quite ordinary, such as Duhon and Hughes;
Some are rather aloof, or you could say cold and distant, like Ben Affleck;
There were also those who didn't take him seriously, like Barnes...

As Chandler had largely anticipated, he hadn't been idle in his two days in New York, using various methods to learn about his new teammates' personalities and preferences in an effort to quickly integrate.

He's been in the NBA for nine years, and his progress has been slow, but he hasn't given up and has been working hard, believing that opportunity favors the prepared. Now that opportunity has arrived, he's very proactive.

But the attitudes of Birdman, Swift, and Gibson, these 'leftovers,' surprised Chandler and were different from what he and his agent had analyzed!
It wasn't that he was happy because of the strength he had, nor was it hostility because he was worried about his playing time being affected; it seemed that he wanted to compete with him!
Chandler admitted that his career has not been very successful so far, and he has been told every year that he does not deserve his multi-million dollar salary. During the All-Star break, he was even ranked behind pure blue-collar worker Haywood and third-year Noah in the "Eastern Center Rankings" compiled by various media outlets.

But the ones he's comparing himself to are at least top-tier centers in the East. These three? Where does he get the audacity?
Anyway, when he was traded to the Hornets, he had no intention of competing with David West, who had already become a top power forward.

Finally, at 8:3, Chandler saw Yi Shui, Curry, and Chalmers' three-person team arrive!

He went up to greet them warmly.

He knew very well who the new team's leaders were: Yi Shui, the absolute core; Curry, the newly minted All-Star and Yi Shui's most trusted teammate; and Chalmers, who was likely to succeed Du Hong as the future leader of the second unit. These three were players from the same draft class and had a close relationship.

He needs to get along well with these three people if he wants to succeed on his new team.

He seemed a bit obsequious, but there was no way around it. When he first entered the NBA, he was also arrogant. As the second overall pick, he thought he was the Bulls' chosen one, the next David Robinson, and he didn't give face to anyone... Then he got hit by a few world peace elbows from Artest in his third year.

People always mature eventually. After all these years, he has a clear understanding of the survival rules in the NBA. If you don't have absolute strength, you have to be socially adept. Otherwise, the opportunities he sees will turn into nightmares.

In New York, if you perform well, you're guaranteed big contracts; employers don't care about salary or even how much tax you pay.

However, if they don't perform well in New York, the public pressure and the decline in their market value will be even more severe.

However, when Chandler chatted with the Class of 08, he was surprised again.

How come this legendary emperor, known for his extremely wicked personality, speaks so gently? Combined with his excessively handsome face, he seems like a sunny and cheerful young man!
The elementary school student, despite having a baby face, seemed rather aloof and proud, unlike the humble and modest persona portrayed in the news.

Chalmers, whom he treated like a follower, was more like an 'older brother.' When chatting with this veteran, he didn't act like a second-year player at all, proactively trying to help him with trivial matters, as if he were one of those brainless, bouncy guys...

During the casual conversation, Chandler used Curry and Chalmers' nicknames for Yi Shui: "Big, I feel like there's a strong competitive atmosphere on our team. Have we always been like this?"

Yi Shui understood what the other party wanted to say and could imagine that those guys didn't give Chandler a friendly look.

When he saw Harrington off, he learned about the attitudes of his interior teammates towards the newcomer.

He replied, "Every player on our team has a strong competitive spirit and will not allow someone inferior to them to stand above them. To earn respect and recognition, you have to rely on your performance, not on your salary or the attitude of the coaching staff."

At this moment, Chandler no longer felt the 'gentleness of a sunny boy' from Yi Shui, and suddenly became cold and inhuman, and his words were somewhat cruel.

But he became happy instead.

This means that the new team leader is not opposed to his joining and does not hold a prejudice against him because his old teammate was used as a bargaining chip.

As long as he plays well, that's fine!

(End of this chapter)