Legendary basketball manager

After getting the number of the general manager of the Trail Blazers - Kevin Pritchard through the assistant, Shen Fei straightened out his thoughts in his mind and made a call.

"Hello, I'm the general manager of the Rockets—Shen Fei. I'm calling this time because I have a transaction proposal that I want to discuss with you."

Shen Fei said straight to the point.

"Shen Fei? I know you, you've been enjoying yourself lately, haha."

"I admire you for being able to bring the Rockets to the present level in such a short period of time!"

Pritchard said with a smile.

These words are sincere.

He started his general manager career in 07 and took over the current Portland Trail Blazers.

For four years, Pritchard has worked hard day and night, but the Blazers have never topped the Western Conference standings.

But Shen Fei, a young man in his early twenties, managed to do it within a few months after taking office.

Pritchard felt inferior to such an achievement.

"You've done a great job in Portland too."

"It took a lot of courage to solve the problem of the locker room as soon as you took office, and clear out the 'ball bully' level of Zach Randolph from the team, but you did it."

Shen Fei spent many years in shopping malls in his previous life, so he is very familiar with business bragging.

Of course, he wasn't just making random compliments.

On the contrary, Shen Fei came prepared and did his homework.

Pritchard is 43 years old this year, and this age is definitely considered young among NBA general managers.

In the few years he has been in office, the face of the Blazers has changed a lot.

In the 2007 draft, in addition to selecting Greg Oden with the No. [-] pick, Pritchard also made an important deal on draft day——

Send the "Big Black Bear" - Zach Randolph, Fred Jones and Dan Dickau - to the New York Knicks in exchange for Steve Francis, Channing Frye and a trade exception.

Later, he used the transaction exception and some additions to get the signing rights of James Jones and No. 24 rookie Rudy Fernandez from the Suns.

Because Pritchard's trade often benefited both sides of the Trail Blazers, some sports writers deliberately invented a new term-"Pull-style slap" in order to praise his shrewd operation!

It has to be said that Pritchard's trading style is somewhat similar to that of Shen Fei, which also makes the two of them feel a little heroic.

"Tell me, which player on our team do you like?"

Pritchard asked jokingly.

"Brandon Roy."

Shen Fei said frankly.

"You want Brandon?!"

"He's our leader!"

Pritchard responded in disbelief.

"I have in-depth research in sports medicine. If I guess correctly, Roy's knee injury is probably very pessimistic now."

Shen Fei said lightly.

"How did you..."

Pritchard almost blurted out "how do you know", but at the critical moment, he quickly shut his mouth.

After all, it is admitted at this time that Roy's transaction value must have dropped to the bottom in an instant.

"Brandon was accidentally injured by a teammate in last week's game. He did take a big hit to his knee, but he's going to be fine," he said.

Pritchard swears.

"I watched that game, and I also followed your official injury report the next day."

"According to the MRI report, Roy should have returned, right?"

"But in yesterday's game, he wasn't even there."

Shen Fei directly pointed out the real situation.

"E. Brandon's injury did appear some recurrence, but far from serious."

"Shen, since you have done your homework, you should know Brandon's spiritual attributes."

"He will not be easily defeated by injuries. Soon he will overcome the disease and the king will return."

Pritchard said seriously.

"If you really think so, you should have hung up on me as soon as I said his name."

Shen Fei responded with a smile.

As soon as this remark came out, there was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

After about 2 minutes, Pritchard spoke again: "Shen, you are really smart."

"I won't hide it from you. Brandon has suffered repeated knee injuries this season, but he is the soul of this Trail Blazers team. I will not sell him at a low price."

"If I do this, not only the Portland fans will not buy it, Roy himself will not accept it."

There was a hint of helplessness in Pritchard's voice.

Since taking office, he has selected three potential rookies-Roy, Aldridge and Oden.

Among them, the one with the best talent is "The Great" Oden.

But in the game against the Rockets last year, he collided with Brooks on the knee and was seriously injured, and he is still recovering from the injury.

Roy, who is the most charismatic, has also suffered from injuries since last year.

"As far as I know, Roy has had all his meniscus removed. That is to say, his knee, unless a miracle happens, it is impossible to heal."

"Manager Pritchard, I think considering the overall situation, you can try to hear some offers for Roy."

"After all... With his injury situation, he might announce his retirement suddenly that day."

Shen Fei analyzed.

Pritchard was shocked again when he heard this.

He and Roy also discussed the knee injury two days ago.

Huang Mamba once said to Pritchard in a half-joking tone: "After every game, the days when my knees are very sore are really hard. Maybe I am no longer suitable for the NBA."

At first, Pritchard only took this as Roy's outcry.

But as time went by, the latter's injuries continued to recur, and the Blazers manager gradually realized the seriousness of the matter.

[The team has never disclosed these things to any media, how did Shen Fei know? ]

[Could it be revealed to him by an inner ghost? ]

[Or, is he really good at sports medicine and can make accurate judgments just from games and news? ]

Pritchard was puzzled.

"Even if you are right, but... Manager Shen Fei, if Roy's injury is really irreversible, why would you trade someone who may retire at any time?"

Pritchard issued a "soul torture".

"It's very simple. I traded Roy not to let him go on the court to charge, but to take a fancy to his leadership ability and hope that he can help the young people in our team."

"Although TC and Luis (Scola) are both experienced veterans, I hope that one of Lowry and George will become a leader player. Roy is more suitable for such a mentor role."

"Furthermore, I am very confident in my medical skills and would like to challenge myself to extend Roy's career."

Shen Fei recited all the prepared lines.

The subtext of this passage is-Roy can't recover, I don't want to trade him for basketball reasons.

"..."

There was another silence on the phone.

Shen Fei was not in a hurry, and waited quietly.

He knew that the other party's belief had been shaken.

Of course, the vacillation at this time just shows that Pritchard is an excellent businessman.

He is already thinking about whether to cash out at a high level while the value of Roy's transaction is still there.

"So, what bargaining chip do you plan to offer to trade Brandon?"

Pritchard, who was silent for a long time, suddenly asked.

[Hooked! ]

Shen Fei was overjoyed.

So far things are going really well!