Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 502 - 166: Champion Thief, Unable to Gain GOAT’s Recognition (5K - , Begging for Monthly Votes)_3

Chapter 502: Chapter 166: Champion Thief, Unable to Gain GOAT’s Recognition (5K Chapter, Begging for Monthly Votes)_3
After all, the Knicks’ disastrous past has taught Walsh that as long as the Knicks’ front office doesn’t suddenly get creative and try to be inspired...
The Knicks could completely follow his tanking plan and become a better team.
But the suggestion from run-and-gun master D’Antoni has inevitably left Walsh and his colleagues conflicted.
Will the Knicks use this third pick to draft Stephen Curry, whose actual projected pick is around the fifth to tenth position in the first round this year?
Curry doesn’t know, but he’s looking forward to that moment.
Because that would mean he could escape from Qin Yue’s clutches and play for the great D’Antoni.
Devout as always, Curry has already felt God’s love for him.
But what he doesn’t know is...
At the first moment the draft lottery results were released, the Warriors, Grizzlies, and Suns had privately reached a three-way trade.
To ensure that the Knicks won’t do something stupid and draft Curry with their precious third pick, Warriors’ president Larry Riley didn’t hesitate to submit a trade request to the Grizzlies, who hold the second pick.
However, the Grizzlies’ new general manager Chris Wallace wasn’t impressed with the Richardson the Warriors intended to offer.
Yet...
After Riley learned through insider information that the Grizzlies highly favored Serge Ibaka, whom they selected in 2008, and who was set to formally enter the NBA next season...
Knowing that the Grizzlies’ interest in Tabbit had significantly waned, Riley proposed a trade the Grizzlies could hardly refuse, by including the Suns as a scapegoat.
In this three-way trade, the assets sent by the Warriors, Grizzlies, and Suns are as follows:
Suns: Corey Maggette, Raja Bell, Robin Lopez.
Warriors: Jason Richardson, 2009 first-round draft pick, 2010 second-round draft pick.
Grizzlies: 2009 second overall pick, Randy Foye.
After the trade is completed, Steve Kerr, the Suns’ general manager, will welcome Jason Richardson, who he’s long desired, along with Foye, who is no longer valued by the Grizzlies’ front office because of the development of Mayo, to Phoenix.
Additionally, the Suns will also receive the 2010 second-round draft pick from the Warriors.
Meanwhile, Maggette and Lopez, along with the Warriors’ 2009 first-round draft pick, will belong to the Grizzlies, who have been demanding a high price in this trade.
As for the Warriors?
They will get the Grizzlies’ 2009 second overall pick and Raja Bell from the Suns.
How should this trade be evaluated?
If you let Qin Yue grade it, he would give both the Grizzlies and Warriors an S rating and describe Kerr’s operation as "mind-boggling."
This Grizzlies team already has Conley and Mayo in the backcourt.
And on the front line, they have Rudy Gay, whom they’ve painstakingly developed for many years.
Now, after the Suns sent Maggette, who has long been underestimated as a foul-drawing expert, and Little Lopez, who has the potential to become an excellent defensive center, to Memphis...
Factor in Ibaka, who will enter the NBA next season.
This Grizzlies team that perfectly avoided the wrong answer of Tabbit, in Qin Yue’s eyes, can only be described as having great potential.
And for the Warriors?
Apart from the Warriors’ second-round draft pick, which wasn’t worth much...
The Warriors essentially traded Richardson for a second overall pick, and exchanged their first-round draft pick for the seasoned Bell, who still has something left in the tank and can perfectly replace Richardson.
Only the Suns.
Steve Kerr’s operations in the general manager position are still so "mind-boggling."
Although on the surface, the Suns only used a young player who isn’t heavily used and a veteran on the decline, plus the always low-key Maggette, to get back Richardson, who has star potential, and Foye, who still has room to grow...
But in dismantling teams, Kerr has always indulged happily, and he has completely taken apart this Suns team that originally had hopes of making the playoffs.
Richardson’s ball-handling and attacking capabilities are no match for the notorious peak-fouling Maggette, who is famed for drawing fouls.
Foye also couldn’t provide the outside defense that the Suns need.
Just wait until next season when the negotiation with Stoudemire fails, and this Suns team will plummet into the abyss under Kerr’s control.
Of course, no matter how "mind-boggling" Kerr’s operations are, Qin Yue just wants to say that Steve Kerr is undoubtedly the greatest general manager he’s ever seen in the NBA.
The Warriors, Grizzlies, and Suns will formally execute this trade at the draft.
Despite someone in the Warriors’ front office still thinking Stephen Curry isn’t worth the second overall pick.
But considering the Knicks are likely to make a mistake, Riley insisted against dissent: "As long as you can make sure the Knicks don’t pick Stephen in the third overall spot, I can find another way to get this young player that the Messiah asked for by name."
Upon hearing this, no one inside the Warriors dared make such a guarantee to Riley.
Because the Knicks’ incredibly glorious past has fully proven...
You can never expect the Knicks to be a team that doesn’t act foolishly.
The Warriors are prepared to do whatever it takes to bring Curry to Oakland.
And in late May, as the division semifinals and finals concluded, this year’s breathtaking Lakers-Celtics matchup for the Finals was also set.
The Lakers eliminated the Denver Nuggets in the division semifinals with a 4-1 series score.
They met up with the Mavericks, who had eliminated the Supersonics in the Western Conference Finals.
The Supersonics were unfortunately eliminated this year, which was related to Yao Ming’s unexpected injury in the division semifinals.
Due to a recurrence of an old shoulder injury, to prevent Yao Ming’s injury from worsening, Carlisle decisively made the decision for Yao Ming to rest and heal properly.
Carlisle’s decision was strongly supported by the team owner, Schultz.
"None of us can bear the consequences of ’Big Yao’ playing injured," Schultz said in an interview. "We can’t risk becoming infamous for the sake of a gamble."
Thus, after defeating the Mavericks with a series score of 4-3, Kobe, for the first time since the "OK" split, led the Lakers back to the Finals stage.
"This is our season," Kobe said emotionally, "We’ve been working hard to return to the Finals, and now we’ve done it, I believe we’re ready to reclaim the championship."
On the other side, the Celtics’ advancement journey was equally arduous.
During the playoffs, Duncan frequently clashed with Rivers. Although he didn’t criticize this "pighead" coach to his face, under Rivers’ command, which rivals the War Eagle’s "Eagle Hand"...
The Celtics first battled the Hawks for seven games.
Then they fought a bloody battle with the Magic, who had eliminated the Knights 4-2, for seven games, only to finally struggle into this year’s Finals at the heavy cost of Ginobili and Perkins being injured and missing the rest of the season.
Qin Yue doesn’t know who will win this year’s championship.
However, as the Lakers-Celtics showdown is set to replay in the Finals, Qin Yue, who tends to blame the person rather than the situation, hopes that his senior can lead his team to shatter Kobe’s dream of revitalizing the Lakers.
"After leaving O’Neal, Kobe hasn’t won a championship and is already so conceited," Qin Yue resentfully thought to himself, "If he leads the Lakers to win this time, won’t he jump up and down in front of me next season?"
Of course, even if Kobe can lead the Lakers’ revival, Qin Yue has already prepared his retort for when he meets Kobe again.
"So what if you stole a championship while I was sidelined for the season? What’s there to boast about such a title?"
...
PS: 5000-word Chapter, begging for subscriptions and monthly tickets!