Chapter 640: James Recruits, World Championship Begins
The Suns' season had just ended, and rumors about Chen Yan's departure were already flying everywhere.
Anyone with sharp eyes could tell that Chen Yan was leaving.
Phoenix management quickly stepped forward to deny the rumors, telling fans that Chen Yan would definitely stay with the Suns next season.
At the same time, the Suns offered Chen Yan a maximum contract.
The higher ups understood how important Chen Yan was. He was their cash cow, and no matter who else left, they could not let him go.
Chen Yan refused to negotiate with the team.
He had only 1 request.
He wanted the Suns to trade him during the offseason.
Chen Yan was completely disappointed with the owner and the front office.
Given his performance this year, even with Nash injured, he still would have had a chance to contend for the championship if old teammates like Stoudemire, Azubuike, and Barea had still been around him.
But the brain dead management had traded away Chen Yan's helpers 1 by 1.
The players they brought in were not necessarily bad, but they did not have the same chemistry with Chen Yan.
The only people Chen Yan found hard to let go of were his old teammates.
Nash, Diaw, Raja Bell, Hill.
However, even those old teammates privately supported his decision to leave. They were also unhappy with owner Sarver's actions.
5 days after Game 7, it was Nash's daughter's birthday.
Nash invited several teammates to his home to celebrate his baby daughter's birthday.
As the godfather of Nash's 2 baby daughters, Chen Yan naturally attended the party as well.
The group privately discussed Chen Yan's future, and Chen Yan said very directly that he no longer wanted to play for this owner and this management.
He had expected his teammates to try to convince him to stay.
But Nash was the 1st to stand up and support him.
"Chen, whatever decision you make, I support you."
It was a simple sentence, but Chen Yan was so moved that tears nearly fell.
Hill and Diaw also expressed their support.
They were also dissatisfied with the front office's actions this year and hoped Chen Yan would think more about his own career.
Raja Bell was even more direct.
"Chen, take me with you."
Although no one said it too explicitly, everyone was disappointed with management.
However, some players were limited by age and contract length, such as Nash and Hill.
They were already near the end of their careers and had just renewed their contracts last year. They did not want to go through more upheaval.
Chen Yan was different.
He was still young.
His career had only just begun, and there was still a long road ahead of him.
As soon as news of Chen Yan's possible departure spread, multiple teams immediately contacted him.
No one wanted to miss out on a young superstar like him.
The Suns were out, but the playoffs continued.
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Mavericks 4 to 2 and advanced to the NBA Finals.
In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat became the dark horse and met the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The 2 sides fought through a hard series.
Wade was phenomenal, averaging 34 points and 5 assists, but the scales of victory still tilted toward the Magic, who had more shooters.
Howard grabbed rebounds and protected the rim inside, while the shooters handled the scoring.
Winning through outside shooting also fit the current direction of basketball.
The Miami Heat, on the other hand, still relied on traditional pick and rolls, mid range shots, and drives.
The clash between the 2 sides felt more like a battle between tradition and change.
In the end, the Magic had the last laugh, defeating the Heat in Game 7 and advancing to the NBA Finals.
However, the Lakers' performance in the Finals soon made the intensity of the Eastern Conference look somewhat ridiculous.
After losing 1 game, the Lakers won 4 straight and completed a gentleman's sweep.
Kobe finally got his 1st NBA Finals MVP, just as he had wished.
It was the happiest day for Lakers fans.
They could finally shout the phrase they had waited so long to say.
"Los Angeles Lakers championship!"
On May 20, Chen Yan received a recruitment call from James.
James had wanted to leave Cleveland for more than just 1 or 2 days.
Cleveland was a small city. It could not provide him with enough exposure, and more importantly, it could not attract stronger help.
James had seen that clearly long ago.
Receiving the call, Chen Yan was both surprised and not surprised.
He was surprised that James would reach out to him.
But he was not surprised because this was 2010, and James would definitely look for another superstar to team up with during the offseason.
On the phone, James said that he and Chen Yan would be the most suitable backcourt combination.
1 would organize, and 1 would score.
No matter which team they joined, the 2 of them could dominate the league for 10 years.
The future belonged to them.
Chen Yan first expressed his recognition of James, then said he would also like to play with him.
After the polite words, Chen Yan suddenly changed the topic.
"However, LeBron, I think fans would be happier to see us as opponents on the court rather than teammates. Personally, I like doing things that are more challenging and adventurous."
Chen Yan rejected James's invitation to team up, but his words were subtle.
He did not say anything like he did not want to take shortcuts. That would have been too poor in emotional intelligence.
They would meet again in the future, so there was no need to hurt feelings.
After resting for another week in North America, Chen Yan flew back to China.
This time, he did not return for an event.
He returned specifically to participate in the World Championship training camp.
The World Championship could be considered a major international event second only to the Olympics and the World Cup, but this year's tournament gradually felt like something that had little value yet was still not worth throwing away.
Not only had NBA superstars like Kobe and James collectively withdrawn from the World Championship, but core players from various national teams, such as Parker, Ginóbili, and Nowitzki, would also miss the tournament for different reasons.
In an era where club interests were becoming more and more important, NBA teams wanted to make sure their stars could enter the new season in the best possible condition.
Since the NBA gathered most of the world's top basketball stars, teams advised their international players not to participate in the World Championship to avoid injury and protect their club schedules.
The World Championship, which had once been a gathering of stars, suddenly felt somewhat dim.
Then the world's attention shifted toward the Chinese team.
Because Chen Yan appeared on China's World Championship roster.
In addition to him, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian also joined the tournament.
Suddenly, the Chinese team became the most star studded team in the field, attracting even more attention than Team USA.
Americans had never paid much attention to the World Championship, so they rarely sent their strongest lineups to participate.
They dominated the Olympics, but had only won the World Championship 3 times, with the most recent title coming from Dream Team 2 in 1994.
This time, Team USA also did not send an Olympic level lineup. Instead, the roster mainly consisted of younger players.
Although Dream Team 9 had many names fans could recognize, it did not have a single top tier superstar.
Durant, Rudy Gay, Odom, Westbrook, Rose, Iguodala.
Time quickly arrived at August 28.
China welcomed its 1st group stage match.
During these 3 months, Chen Yan focused on improving chemistry with his national team teammates while fully entrusting his transfer matters to Bill Duffy.
The transfer progress was very slow.
The Suns owner was unwilling to easily let go of Chen Yan, his cash cow.
In the 1st group stage match, China faced European powerhouse Greece.
In the 1st quarter, China's 3 NBA players all exerted their strength.
Chen Yan, needless to say, was as stable as ever.
With Chen Yan on the floor, Yao Ming also fully displayed his mid range shooting and playmaking ability.
The most surprising player was Yi Jianlian.
His NBA experience had transformed him.
In the 1st quarter, Yi continuously wreaked havoc in the Greek paint, even throwing down a spectacular dunk over a defender.
In the 2nd quarter, Greece even tried double teaming Yi Jianlian.
They ran that strategy for 2 possessions before realizing something was wrong.
If they double teamed Yi Jianlian, what were they supposed to do about Yao Ming and Chen Yan?
With China's 3 NBA players in excellent form, the Chinese team ultimately defeated Greece 101 to 81.
Fans were not surprised that China could beat Greece.
But winning by such a large margin still shocked many people.
After the game, some fans analyzed that besides the explosive performance of China's 3 NBA players, Greece's own roster problems also played a role.
Before the tournament, Greece and Serbia had clashed in a warmup game. As a result, 2 important big men, Fotsis and Little Shark, were both suspended.
Even so, a dominant victory over the former European champion Greece injected a powerful dose of confidence into everyone in China.
Previously, the Chinese men's basketball team's best result at the World Championship was 8th place.
This year, everyone believed they could make a breakthrough.
1 day later, Dream Team 9 played its 1st game, with Croatia as the opponent.
The Chinese men's basketball team players gathered around the television to watch.
After seeing Dream Team 9's starting lineup, Chen Yan was the 1st to laugh.
"Odom and the others are playing center?"
Yao Ming also showed his signature Yao style smile.
"This is the 1st time I have ever wanted to face Team USA this badly in a major tournament."
.....
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