Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 93 The Gears of Fate Are Turning
The world is noisy and chaotic, and even the news that Xu Ling publicly hired a strength and conditioning coach has disappeared into the sea amidst countless NBA trade rumors.

The ultimatum issued by Kobe's camp to the Lakers has undoubtedly accelerated trade negotiations among all parties.

The Dallas Mavericks have shown great interest in this.

Mark Cuban asked his general manager, Don Nelson Jr., who is also Don Nelson's son, to study the feasibility of the deal.

The Mavericks have every reason to pursue Kobe, as they are a team eager to catch the tail end of his prime.

Whether it was the Nelson era at the beginning of the century, when they became a strong team in the West with their crazy offense but couldn't go any further for various reasons, or the seemingly magnificent Avery Johnson era in recent years, which ended with the whistleblower power of Wade and the weak 06 Mavericks, or their invincible regular season but encountering one of the worst upsets in history in the first round of the playoffs, all of these have brought this team to a point where they have no choice but to take the initiative to change.

Therefore, the Mavericks proactively inquired with the Lakers, offering almost all of their tradeable assets in an attempt to acquire Kobe Bryant.

However, the Lakers' goal is not to trade Kobe and tank. They still hope to remain competitive this season, so their expectations for the return on a trade for Kobe are extremely high: at least an All-Star caliber player, a promising young star, and multiple first-round draft picks.

This asking price deterred the Mavericks. They realized that they would have to involve a third or even a fourth team in the trade to get close to the Lakers' demands.

Around the same time, the New Jersey Nets also believed that their relationship with Jason Kidd had come to an end.

There was no personal animosity between Kidd and the Nets. On the contrary, he led this perennially weak team to its peak and should have finished his career as the greatest player in New Jersey history. But things change, and when the Nets' rebuilding strategy clashed with Kidd's winning window, their once wonderful connection had to come to an end.

In fact, Kidd was almost traded away as early as last season. Rumors linking him to the Lakers circulated from the beginning of the season until the trade deadline. He was only one thing away from becoming a Laker and playing alongside Kobe: the Lakers would include Andrew Bynum in the trade package.

However, the Lakers refused to trade Bynum, and the trade fell through. Although the Nets eventually made the playoffs, they only became "experience points" for LeBron James and the Cavaliers. After this experience, Kidd's relationship with the team could never be the same again.

This feeling is like the final scene of the classic film series "Husband Before Husband," where the director always gives the incompetent husband a few shots to let him know that the person next to him is no longer his precious treasure.

Once the relationship has progressed to this point, there is no point in continuing.

The Nets are actively exploring trade options. The Mavericks were originally considered a top destination for Kidd, but they have now been captivated by this season's NBA sensation, Kobe Bryant.

After all, compared to the great duo of Nowitzki and Kobe, Kidd, who can only put up a triple-double every game to maintain his minimum standard, is really like a useless piece of junk.

Nets general manager Rod Thorn was desperately searching for a trade target when a sudden inspiration struck him when Jerry West called.

Yes, looking across the Western Conference, is there any team more eager for an All-Star guard who can guarantee a minimum standard than the Grizzlies?
“Jerry, you know me, we’re old friends,” Thorne said with a smile. “Just say what you need to say.”

Thorne originally thought that West would come up and talk to him about the Kidd trade, which would be simple. The Nets did not expect to get a huge return from Kidd. As long as they could get a young player worth developing, a few role players and a few draft picks, they could part ways amicably.

However, West asked, "Rhodes, are you interested in making a big deal?"

West unearthed the fuses buried in the darkness one by one.

When the Mavericks stalled on their Kobe trade, West contacted Don Nelson Jr.

The Lakers want an All-Star caliber return? The Grizzlies happen to have Pau Gasol in their grasp.

The Lakers still want young, promising talents? The Grizzlies happen to have Rudy Gay, who is at odds with Xu Ling but can average 20 points per game. Don't be fooled by his current seemingly toxic nature. If you nurture him properly, who can guarantee that he won't completely transform in the next few years like McGrady?

So here's the question: the Grizzlies provided the Mavericks with the core of the players the Lakers needed, so how should the Mavericks reciprocate?
The Grizzlies want an All-Star, or an aging All-Star guard, and they also want a prime-age swingman to pair with Xu Ling.

This is something the Mavericks cannot fully satisfy, so they need to bring in a fourth party to this big trade, namely the Nets, who were the last to enter the game.

This is the moment West has been waiting for, and a moment the Grizzlies cannot afford to lose.

They will stake all the assets of the pre-Xu Ling era in this deal, thus paving the foundation for the Xu Ling era's path to greatness.

If they fail, or if anything goes wrong, then the story of Kobe and the Lakers after 2004 will be repeated in Memphis.

Although Xu Ling's NBA career has just begun, he has already shown West through his actions that he is someone who will do everything he can to climb to the top, and if the Grizzlies stop him, he will jump off the train.

This is the tragedy of small markets.

They have to exhaust all resources to please celebrities.

This is precisely why West had the question of "whether he deserves it or not" flash through his mind when making the decision. What truly terrified him was what would happen if Memphis and the Grizzlies exhausted all his potential but still couldn't reach the other side of the light.

Maybe God will leave, maybe the Grizzlies will become a real basketball hell, maybe Michael Heisley will finally lose his temper and move the team from Memphis, maybe nothing will happen, maybe disaster will strike in the next second, but when opportunity presents itself, you can't hesitate.

The demons within West couldn't sway his decision. In moments like these, he always made his decisions based on intuition. The hesitant, indecisive West would temporarily die, just like when he emptied the Lakers of everything to poach Shaq from Orlando in 1996. That was the peak of his management career and the happiest moment of his life, but that joy only lasted a short time. He knew that new trouble would soon arise because damn God wouldn't allow him to enjoy a happy life.

Yes, the bad results have occurred, and the OK situation has come to an end, but will the Lakers regret it?

Look at those three championships.

West spent several hours in his office finalizing all the personnel details for the four-team trade. There is still more discussion about the allocation of draft picks, but the overall framework of the trade is complete.

It's like a movie that's 99% downloaded.

All that's left is that final "ding".

It's time to pause negotiations. Teams need to call the key players involved in the trade, especially star players like Kobe and Kidd, as their willingness will also affect the success or failure of the trade.

West doesn't need to call Gasol and Guy.

They all knew they would be traded sooner or later.

But West still needed to make the call. The trade was initiated by Xu Ling, and Xu Ling was the reason he made it. Now that the trade was almost finalized, Xu Ling needed to know what changes were about to happen to his team. The call was answered shortly after it was dialed.

“Eli, this is Jerry,” West said. “I think I need to inform you that the deal for Paul and Rudy is nearing completion.”

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Whom did they get in return?"

“This is a complex trade involving multiple teams,” West carefully chose his words, “us, the Mavericks, the Nets, and the Los Angeles Lakers.”

"The Lakers?" Xu Ling's voice was devoid of emotion. "What did they bring out?"

West briefly explained: "We're mainly making trades with the Mavericks and Nets, but we'll also get some future assets from the Lakers. Now, I need to know your thoughts on a few key players."

This is the key point.

If Xu Ling is not satisfied with the trading partner, the deal will still not be completed.

"Do you have a problem with Jason Kidd?" West's heart began to pound.

"No."

Do you have a problem with Josh Howard?

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

West's heart tightened again; he had no idea how many more tests his heart could withstand.

What do you mean? Do they have a conflict? Eli doesn't like Josh? How could that be? They've only played a few games together.
However, West had always heard that Xu Ling was not well-liked in the league. One of the most important aspects was that the media was very unfriendly to him. The harmful publicity and hype defined his public image, so many players had a bad impression of him. But it can't be such a coincidence, right?

"I was impressed by his big mouth and buck teeth."

Xu Ling's sudden remark caused West's blood pressure to spike.

"Do you think now is a good time to joke around?!"

West asked, suppressing his anger.

"I have no problem with him."

Xu Ling's words reassured West somewhat.

"Is there anyone else?"

But Xu Ling asked another question.

West said, "No, at least we don't have any left."

“I have a small suggestion,” Xu Ling continued. “Paul is a good guy, and I really enjoy playing with him.”

West felt a chill in his heart. Would this damned Chinese guy say something like, "Let's not trade Gasol, I want to play brother basketball with him, let Gay go" at this moment?
"However, I know we should trade him, so I won't let my personal feelings affect the trade, but we should try to get more returns."

"for example?"

"I heard Paul's brother Mark participated in the draft last year?"

"seems like it."

"He was drafted by the Lakers, but he hasn't entered the NBA yet."

"what do you want to say in the end?"

"After I entered the league, Paul helped me a lot, and I'm very grateful to him, but I don't know how to repay him. You know, Jerry, Chinese people believe in repaying kindness tenfold. I think the best way to repay him is to help his brother the way he helped me." No one knew how hard the time traveler surnamed Xu was trying to get the timeline back on track. "Let's get Mark's signing rights from the Lakers."

West hung up the phone in a daze, his thoughts disturbed by Xu Ling's jumbled words.

Finally, he dispelled the fog in his mind.

"It's all dog shit!"

West cursed under his breath.

It wasn't that he didn't believe in the relationship between Xu Ling and Gasol; he just didn't believe that someone would go to such lengths to repay a colleague who was about to leave.

This makes no sense at all.

However, in a major trade that determines the fate of four teams, demanding the signing rights of a second-round pick whose arrival in the NBA is uncertain is not a big deal worth worrying about.

West will meet Xu Ling's request, so now he has to make another call to the Lakers.

Compared to other troubles, this is insignificant.

(End of this chapter)