The Kings' enthusiastic discussion of how to deal with Rondo shows that they attach great importance to Rondo, Willy and Temple have also been teammates with Rondo, and they know that Zhang Feng's concern is not unreasonable.

But plans don't always change, and just as the Kings players were gearing up for a big shot, the news reported that Cousins had torn his left Achilles tendon and was out for the season.

A torn Achilles tendon is a very serious injury, and since 1992, 18 NBA players have suffered from a torn Achilles tendon, including Wilkins, Smiling Assassin Thomas, Billups, Kobe Bryant, and 7 of them have retired immediately.

Of the remaining 11 players, three returned after a year of injury, and the other eight returned for several seasons, but all 11 of them played an average of five minutes less than before the tear in their Achilles tendon, and the PER was only nearly 5 percentage points lower than before the tear.

Now Cousins is also suffering from a torn Achilles tendon, and his recovery period is expected by experts to be 6-10 months, which means that he will not be able to play for the rest of the season, and it may even affect next season.

Although as an NBA player, I have some empathy for serious injuries, but it is an indisputable fact that the Pelicans' combat power has dropped a notch. Before the Pelicans acquired Cousins, fans had the impression that Davis was a lone man, hovering on the edge of the playoffs for several years in a row, and since the Pelicans traded to the Kings to acquire Cousins last season, the Pelicans' record has immediately improved a lot.

It's true that Rondo is powerful, but he lacks shooting ability, and his strength lies in revitalizing his teammates, but if his teammates are the type who can't be revitalized if they don't have good strength, then it's useless for Rondo to become Stockton.

At 6:30 p.m. on the 31st, the Kings and his entourage went to the Pelicans' home stadium – the Smoothie King Center. As soon as he entered the stadium, Zhang Feng felt that the Pelican fans in the entire stadium were in a 'complaining' atmosphere.

It's normal to think about it, since the former owner of the Hornets left the team, the league took over the team, and then changed its name to the Pelicans, Orleans fans haven't seen their home team get closer for many years, and last season they finally made it to the playoffs, only to be beaten by the Warriors with a ruthless 4-0.

Getting Cousins this season, I thought I could rush it, but I didn't expect the hope to be dashed so quickly, and the competition in the West is so fierce, the season is just over halfway, and the Pelicans are only 6 wins ahead of the Jazz, who are currently tenth in the West.

There is nothing more annoying than being disappointed in giving hope, not to mention that such disappointment is still from natural disasters rather than man-made disasters.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Feng saw Cousins sitting next to the Pelicans bench, wearing a suit, looking at his phone with a wistful face, and a thick protective boot on his left foot.

Just when Zhang Feng was fascinated, a 'hey, Zhang Feng' sounded in his ears, he looked back and found that Brandon, the deputy general manager of the king, and there were two people standing next to Brandon, one of whom looked like a professional manager sitting in the office, and the other was very old and looked like a boss-level figure.

"I'm Pelicans General Manager Dale Damps, and this is our boss, Mr. Tom Benson," said Dale as he turned around and began to introduce himself.

Dale Zhang Feng has not heard of it, but Tom Zhang Feng is very familiar with it, because there was a news before, saying that Tom personally walked to the Pelican locker room on crutches on the day the Pelicans defeated the Cavaliers and high-fived the Pelicans players to celebrate.

Obviously, Tom is a coach who loves basketball very much, and Zhang Feng admires such a character very much, but he doesn't know what happened to Tom and Dale suddenly looking for him, he can only look at Brandon with puzzled eyes.

"That's right, Dale and Mr. Tom have come up and want you to check on Cousins' injury," Brandon explained with a smile.

"It happened suddenly, there is something presumptuous, please understand" Dale bowed deeply, and Tom next to him also trembled slightly and rushed to Zhang Feng's luggage.

Zhang Feng couldn't take such a big gift lightly, so he hurriedly returned the salute, "No problem, but it depends on Cousins' meaning."

After Zhang Feng finished speaking, Dale and Tom looked at each other, they didn't expect Zhang Feng to agree so happily.

"You can offer to pay first, and we'll be sure to convince Cousins to cooperate with your inspection"

Zhang Feng and Cousins have contradictions, which is a well-known thing in the NBA, the last time the Pelicans challenged the Kings away, Cousins was sent out because of the conflict with Zhang Feng, and then a series of events also showed that the two had no possibility of easing.

But life is so interesting, Cousins is now seriously injured, the Pelicans manager and the boss personally came forward to ask Zhang Feng for treatment, Zhang Feng agreed again, and the two will definitely meet again, unless Cousins does not think about his own career.

You know, Cousins' contract will end this summer, he is about to become a free agent, no one will have trouble with money, and his recovery from injury will directly affect how much of a contract he can sign next.

"Last time I treated Hayward, Old Man Bill Russell personally taught me defensive skills, you don't seem to have anything to interest me, let's talk about the pay or something, I don't lack money"

When Zhang Feng said this, Dale and Tom were embarrassed, not to mention the current lineup of the Pelicans, even if the Pelicans historical stars were moved out, there were few people who could teach Zhang Feng basketball skills.

But Tom is a long-established successful businessman, and his motto is that everything can be bid, "To be honest, I am very interested in your health club in Los Angeles, and recently I have been thinking about investing in medical projects, and you have a keen eye to realize early that in the future, medical care is a very profitable collection, amazing".

These words almost made it clear that he could send a lot of money to Zhang Feng, and he did not forget to praise him implicitly, Zhang Feng blushed when he heard it, and quickly explained: "No, you misunderstood what I meant, I can help recover quickly from some injuries, and I can't do anything about some injuries, I said that I am not short of money, I have to see if I can contribute to Cousins' injury, if I can contribute, you can help me promote my investment project."

I see, Tom patted his chest and breathed a long sigh of relief, and he asked curiously: "I don't know what other projects you have invested in besides the health club?" ”。

"I've invested in a Jennifer Lawrence and Stewart movie, and I've also co-produced a movie with Spike Lee, and it won't be long before both of these films come online, and I hope you can help me spread the word, of course, if I can contribute to Cousins' injury."

"Oh? Is that 'Twilight' Stewart? Dale asked with a smile.

"Yes, but let's not talk about this yet, you communicate with Cousins first, it's important to get down to business."

"Okay, listen to you," Zhang Feng said, Dale was naturally happy, and he quickly turned around and walked towards Cousins.

On the Pelicans bench, Dale sat next to Cousins, smiled and began to communicate with him. But before he could say a few words, Cousins's face turned sharply, and he glared fiercely at Zhang Feng's side, looking like the communication was not going well.

"Hey, maybe I won't be able to contribute," Zhang Feng spread his hands at Tom.

"Hehe, young people are prone to prejudices, don't worry, I'll talk to him" Tom turned, step by step, trembling towards Cousins.

Seeing this, the Pelicans players hurriedly stepped forward to help, Davis glanced at Zhang Feng in confusion, and Rondo directly cast a 'resentful' gaze.

As soon as Tom sat down to communicate with Cousins, the anger on Cousins' face gradually began to disappear, and two minutes later, Dale trotted to Zhang Feng's side.

"Excuse me, you know, Cousins is having trouble moving right now," Dale smiled apologetically, bending over.

"It's okay, I can understand" Zhang Feng hurriedly waved his hand towards Cousins.

Walking to the Pelicans bench, Cousins didn't look up, and Zhang Feng smiled and didn't mind.

"Hey, listen, we had a bit of a holiday before, but it was only on the court, and now I'm communicating with you as a doctor, and I hope you can fully cooperate with me"

"You're a doctor? Do you have an AMA (American Medical Association) license? Do you have a PhD certificate for medical majors? Rondo was the first to stand up and be skeptical.

Seeing the distrust on the faces of the Pelicans players, Dale was afraid that things would be messed up, so he hurriedly got up and played the round: "Calm down, calm down, everyone calm down, although Zhang Feng does not have a medical license, he has cured Kobe's stubborn illness, and he has also checked the injuries of Curry and Kerr, and directly helped Hayward complete his recovery ahead of schedule, and my boss and I trust Zhang Feng very much."

Dale lifted Tom out, and the Pelicans players immediately calmed down, but still looked distrustful.

"Okay, can I get started?" Regarding the reaction of the Pelican players, Zhang Feng felt that it didn't matter.

Cousins still didn't speak or look up, but he stretched out his left leg, indicating that he agreed.

"Take off your protective boots, otherwise you won't be able to check," Zhang Feng instructed further.

"No! Cousins hasn't had surgery yet, and the protective boot is the only protection that keeps his injury from getting worse, and I won't agree unless the team doctor agrees," Rondo stopped directly in front of Cousins, expressing strong opposition.

"I see it that way, too!" Davis, who had not spoken, chimed in.

"Yes, I agree with Rondo too," Holiday joined.

"And me"

"Absolutely not, who knows if you will!"

……

"Enough! Shut up! The Pelicans alternated and objected, and Tom angrily slammed his cane on the floor in quick succession, followed by a flurry of coughing.

The 90-year-old coughed continuously, and it was easy to kill if he didn't do it, Zhang Feng hurriedly used his palm to gently pat Tom's back, and after a while, Tom's coughing stopped.

Tom's cough made the Pelicans players dumbfounded, and they quickly kept silent.

"Are you Cousins? Can you make a decision for him? Zhang Feng was invited by me, I believe in him, you can't object, Cousins is my player, I will be responsible for him if he has any situation, you step down! ”

Old Man Tom's words, Rondo couldn't continue to block his head, he was unwilling to give up space, at this time, everyone found that Cousins had silently taken off his protective boots.

"Come on, I'm already injured so badly anyway, even if you don't know how to treat it, it can't make my injury worse, and besides, you have donated money to the Texas disaster area, I believe you won't frame me."

Cousins didn't open his mouth, as soon as he opened his mouth, there was a reason, and the other players tilted their heads and thought, as if this was indeed the case, Rondo can be the starting point guard in the finals, and naturally he also figured out the logic, the embarrassment on his face erupted, and he hurriedly retreated to the back of the crowd.

Seeing this, Zhang Feng was overjoyed, but he still had business to do, so he quickly picked up his internal strength and covered Cousins' left Achilles tendon with his palm.

"The posterior tibial nerve was damaged, the posterior tibial great artery was ruptured, the saphenous vein was twisted, the soft tissue was completely torn, and the injury was very serious," Zhang Feng sighed and shook his head.

"We all know that! Can you say something we don't know......" Rondo seized the opportunity to continue questioning, but before he could finish speaking, he glared back at Tom's eyes.

"The good news is ......," and as soon as the good news was heard, the eyes of Dale, Tom, Cousins and the rest of the Pelicans players lit up, and "a complete tear is easier to speed up the recovery."

Zhang Feng almost didn't roll his eyes when he said this, but Tom knew that since Zhang Feng said this, it must be reasonable, so he waved his hand and motioned for Zhang Feng to continue.

"We have an old saying in China, if it is not broken, it will not stand, a complete tear is easier to repair than a partial tear, and it will be more tolerant than the original after repair"

"So, what the hell can you do?" Rondo asked rhetorically this time, but Tom didn't stop it, after all, this is what he wants to know.

"I would recommend that instead of open surgery, I would like to do external treatment and recover through massage and acupuncture," Zhang Feng concluded after careful consideration.

"Damn, Chinese medicine? Did I hear me right? Is it Chinese medicine? Is it the kind of bluffing that is full of sewing needles? Rondo laughed.

"Chinese medicine? What happened to TCM? Traditional Chinese medicine helped Hayward recover early, if you don't believe it, ask Hayward personally, you as a teammate of Cousins are concerned and have been questioning my level, I understand very well, I don't care about you."

After Zhang Feng finished speaking, he stopped paying attention to Rondo, turned his head to Dale and Tom and said: "Open surgery is always external, he will leave a permanent wound to Cousins' Achilles tendon, relying on the natural recovery of the human body, in order to keep Cousins at the peak level, otherwise even if the operation is successful, his level will drop by at least 30%, Kobe and Wilkins are excellent examples, not to mention, the core players of your team have a long playing time."

Do key players play for a long time? Zhang Feng's words made Kim Terry, who was next to him, pretend to look left and right to look at the scenery.

"I listen to you, but what exactly am I going to do?" Cousins, who had been silent for a long time, spoke again.

"Wait a minute, we'll have to discuss it in detail before making a decision" Dale may have stopped Cousins for a number of reasons, such as the specific comeback time.

"It takes 4 months to recover naturally, and after 3 months you can do power training, if you believe in my plan, you can go to my Dongsheng Club in Los Angeles and see Dr. Dries, he knows exactly how to do it."

"Then it's decided, I'm going to recover naturally, and I'm going to Los Angeles right away" Hearing that he could maintain his peak level, and that the recovery period was only four months, he could fully catch up with the free market in the summer, Cousins made a direct decision.

"Well, sane Cousins is still very far-sighted"