Chapter 61: A Difficult Week
New York. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ļ½ļ½ļ½Uļ½Eć ļ½ļ½ļ½ļ½
Late at night.
Donnie Walsh was lying on the bed, holding his laptop in a daze, and he was muttering, "I really want to get him, but this guy Pat is the No. 1 black-hearted businessman in the league, should he do this?" ā
After a long time, he couldn't bear the itch anymore, so he dialed Riley's phone.
At about 10 o'clock at this time, because the weather in Miami was not cold, Riley was in the yard to cool off, he didn't expect that someone would call at this time, pick up the phone and see that it was an old acquaintance Walsh.
"Donnie, what's the matter at this late hour?"
"Uh... Pat, I'd like to talk to you about a deal. ā
"Tell me about it."
"I want Beasley, I'm willing to send David Lee, Gallinari, and draft picks."
"I said Donnie, if your chips are LeBron James, maybe I'll trade with you, but what do you mean by taking an expiring contract? Or do you think Gallinari can compete with Beasley? Or are you planning to trade the Knicks' first-round pick for the next three years? ā
"We can negotiate draft picks, David Lee has excellent offensive ability, it's a good match for O'Neal Jr., plus Gallinari's potential is not bad, you already have Moon at the small forward position, there are plenty of personnel, I think you should consider my conditions."
"Dream on!"
Riley hung up the phone with a sullen face, he was really angry, Beasley was his heart and soul baby now, this Donnie Walsh took some broken copper and iron in exchange, it was too whimsical!
On the other end of the phone, Walsh shook his head helplessly, touching his nose, he was not angry, Riley had this reaction too normal.
If he agrees, can he still be called a god operator?
Compared to the smiling assassins, Walsh is a much more clever general manager, and after taking over the Knicks, he lost several operations - sending away Randolph and Crawford, the Knicks suddenly had a lot easier, although the exchange of these players will not help the team much, but their contracts will expire at the end of the 2010 season, which will save $27 million in total wages, so that the team can compete for James, Stoudemire and others.
Beasley's outstanding performance during this period of time attracted Walsh's attention, if he can get Beasley on smaller terms, then he doesn't have to dwell on the unpredictable James, he can try to eat Stoudemire and Bosh at the same time, and then lead the Knicks to dominate the East!
He's just testing it now, with a little over a month to go before the trade deadline, and everything remains to be seen.
Not long after the call ended, Riley received another call from Spurs general manager R. C. Buford.
"Pat, I've got a crush on Beasley." Buford gets straight to the point.
Riley replied lightly: "Donnie Walsh just called me, but he doesn't look in the mirror to see what good things the Knicks have!" Hehe, if you want to change the pin for the villa, it's just wishful thinking! Robert, I don't think you're going to be like him! ā
Buford smiled heartily, "Pat, we're all old friends now, we're all smart people. ā
"Alright, let's talk about your chips!" Riley said impatiently.
Buford didn't mind, he said gently: "Except for Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, everyone else is a bargaining chip, if you want to get Ginobili, it's not impossible, but the price will be huge!" ā
Riley gasped, Ginobili was willing to come out, Buford was so ambitious!
"We have Wade, what's the use of Ginobili, and what team in the league other than your Spurs would have the luxury of playing him off the bench." Riley was puzzled.
"You can pull a three-way, I think there must be a lot of teams interested in Ginobili, you can get the person you want." Buford replied.
Riley was silent, he thought for a few seconds, but then refused, "I see, let me think about it!" ā
"It's okay, we have time." Buford laughed and hung up.
Under the moon, Riley stood alone in the courtyard, his face wrinkled and his eyes deepening.
"I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it, I didn't expect that this draft was really the right person!" He muttered to himself, in a calm tone.
In addition to the Knicks and Spurs, who have just called, several teams have already expressed their interest in getting Beasley, with the New Orleans Hornets offering chips mainly in Peja, while the Jazz are willing to trade Kirilenko, Oku and Korver for the Heat's Beasley and O'Neal Jr.
The assumptions of the deal were tempting, but Riley's heart never wavered.
Beasley is not for sale, at least for now.
ā¦ā¦
In the first game after the back-to-back, the Heat played the Spurs at home.
In the first half, the two sides went back and forth, and the Heat's individual ability matched the Spurs' teamwork, and the game was good, but before the half, the bad news came - Wade sprained his left ankle, and the team doctor reported that he needed to rest for three to five days.
The game was of course lost in the end, and although Beasley chipped in 18 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, and O'Neal Jr. also scored 24 points, the Spurs' bench took less than half a quarter to destroy the Heat.
Then the team ushered in a wave of seven consecutive road trips, and the difficult schedule hit, Beasley also had to experience how Wade felt when he was suspended.
Two days later, Pepsi Center in Denver.
The Heat without Wade lost to the Nuggets without Anthony.
At the beginning, Beasley broke Linas Creza one-on-one, O'Neal Jr. suppressed Nene and the Heat also took the lead in the score. But Billups was terrifyingly strong in court control, and under his leadership, the Nuggets took another five points at halftime.
The real problem for the Heat was at the beginning of the second half, when everyone was not on guard, but the nerve knife JR Smith had a convulsion, he made 4 three-pointers in a row, and a wave killed the game!
Simple!
Brusque!
Effective!
Beasley struggled for a while, but was replaced by Spo not long after the fourth quarter, as he couldn't catch up with the margin of more than 20.
It was Beasley's first regular season game on his own, and it didn't turn out greatly, but no one would blame a rookie.
Two days later, in the second game of the seven-game travel streak, the Heat challenged the Kings.
Tomorrow is Beasley's 20th birthday, and he's going to give it a stellar win, and of course, his teammates are all thinking the same.
The team was in high spirits, and the game became exciting.
With no one on the Kings roster and head coach Kenny Knight having to use Martin and Salmons as big men, who would have thought that the flashy Kings team at the beginning of the century would now become such a featureless team.
The world is like chess, and it is unpredictable.
They disarmed and surrendered after more than a quarter of fighting with the concerted heat, and they didn't even struggle to resist in a decent way.
Beasley chipped in 30 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, and the luxury statistics plus the team's big win were the perfect birthday present. At the same time, there is good news - Wade's ankle is almost healed, and he will be back in the next game against the Lakers.
A tough week is finally over!