score maniac

Chapter 22: Watch Out for Burns!

“He’s on the court! Greasy Hair is on the court!!” The moment Gu Yu stepped onto the court, the person whose expression changed the fastest wasn’t Yu Chenyi or any of the other reporters. It was David Kahn, the Timberwolves’ general manager, sitting in the VIP box, who was just about to assess the caliber of the bench players and rookies. “Can a guy like that even play?? Has Westphal lost his mind?!” Kahn’s eyes widened. Seeing Gu Yu’s smug expression, he was utterly baffled. True, Gu Yu had beaten him up before, so he harbored a grudge and didn’t care for him—that was perfectly normal. But even setting that aside, how could Gu Yu’s skills possibly be good enough for the NBA?? “Is this the Marouf brothers’ idea? Are they trying to grab attention in the Chinese market??” Kahn, who didn’t have the slightest faith in Gu Yu’s abilities, immediately thought of commercial motives. The Malouf brothers are the owners of the Kings. Although Sacramento’s local market is small, as the NBA has become increasingly international, local revenue has gradually taken a back seat. For a team, success in global broadcasting, advertising, and merchandise sales is the key to profitability. To be honest, if Gu Yu hadn’t been so “transparent,” Kahn would have found a way to put him in the game to capture some attention from the Chinese audience. In fact, this was precisely the reason they drafted Gu Yu in the first place. In Kahn’s vision, Gu Yu was supposed to play in the CBA for a few years. Regardless of his future skill level, the mere act of “drafting him” would be enough to attract attention and maintain the Timberwolves’ visibility for quite some time. Take the example of drafting “Golden Boy” Rubio a year ago—Kahn had no intention of bringing this talented guard on board immediately; he simply wanted to use the resulting attention to boost the team’s visibility first. Coincidentally, neither Rubio himself nor his current club, Barcelona, had any intention of making the move right away, so the two sides were on the same page, each getting what they wanted. Now, with Gu Yu, Kahn wanted to pull the same trick. At such a low draft position, selecting anyone would essentially be a waste—but the moment he spotted the word “China” on the draft list, Kahn snapped his fingers and selected him on the spot. It wasn’t until after the selection that staff members investigated and discovered that Gu Yu hadn’t only failed to join any professional team—there wasn’t even a single CBA team interested in him! What’s more, Gu Yu himself hadn’t even left the United States after the Basketball Summit. It was clear he was preparing to report for duty the moment he was drafted. If the Timberwolves failed to sign Gu Yu at that point, the move—which was originally intended to attract Chinese fans—might backfire. Instead, Chinese fans might perceive the Timberwolves as playing games, having no real intention of signing him in the first place, yet still drafting him and arranging tryouts—essentially going back on their word. This situation caught Kahn somewhat off guard—a spur-of-the-moment decision had actually caused so much trouble. After consulting with the front office, Kahn made an immediate decision: trade him! Throughout the entire process, the other team managers sitting next to Kahn heard every word clearly. They all stifled their laughter and remained silent, just waiting to see the Timberwolves shoot themselves in the foot. Only Kings GM Petri, who had stepped out to take a personal call, was completely unaware of what had transpired. So when Petri returned to the group of general managers, Kahn—before anyone else could speak up—immediately put on a distressed expression, scratched his head, and said, “Oh no, I made a mistake and drafted another guard. We already have a shooting guard on the bench…!” “Shooting guard? A bench shooter?? You just drafted one?? What kind of talent could there possibly be at such a low pick??” The moment he heard those words, Petri’s eyes lit up. He kept grumbling under his breath, but his heart was already pounding. Although the Kings had several shooters at the small forward position, at the shooting guard spot—from starters to bench players—not only were there few players, but their shooting was also absolutely terrible. Petri had originally planned to either draft a shooting guard in the draft or find a way to acquire one via trade. Even if the shooter was a total dud, as long as he had a shot, he’d always come in handy during crunch time! But during the draft, they couldn’t pass up Cousins with a high pick, and when they saw “Big White” available in the second round, it was just too tempting not to take him. As a result, Petri didn’t draft a single shooter—he just stockpiled a few big men instead. Just then, Petri was worrying about the shooter situation. As soon as he walked in, he heard Kahn “showing off his wealth,” so he immediately went over to him. “Yeah, yeah~ We’ve got more than enough talent on the perimeter here. Even if we drafted this player, I wouldn’t have a roster spot to sign him to!” Kahn’s eyes darted about as he seized the moment, then he furrowed his brow and sighed, “Ah, what a shame. I watched this Chinese guy play at the Basketball Summit—his shooting was incredibly accurate!” “A—a Chinese guy…?!?” The moment he heard that, Petri was completely “hooked.” Not only would they get a sharpshooter, but they’d also gain the attention of the Chinese market they’d been dreaming of—what a fantastic two-for-one deal! So many NBA teams were envious of the Rockets’ sudden rise to prominence. The Kings themselves had had contact with Chinese players before—Liu Wei had once played for them in the Summer League, and Petri hadn’t forgotten the sudden surge of attention the team received back then! So, with one side eager to offload and the other eager to buy—a perfect match—Kahn and Petri struck a deal right there on the spot. “Yes! Haha!” Petri was thrilled—a little cash had actually landed him a sharpshooter, and a Chinese one at that! Now Mom won’t have to worry about the Kings’ TV ratings anymore! “Hmph, what an idiot.” Kahn was even happier. He muttered a curse under his breath—he’d clearly gotten rid of a dead weight, and Petriko was actually chuffed to be paying him! As for what happened next, we all know the story. “Beep-beep—! Play on!” Back on the court. “Spread out, slow it down a bit, and attack the paint!” The Kings pushed the ball up the court. With Cousins on the floor, the players felt a little more at ease. Jeter dribbled to the top of the key, giving tactical instructions while keeping an eye on the defensive pressure around Cousins. There’s an opening…! “Whoosh!” Seizing the moment when his teammates’ cuts caused the Kings’ defense to shift, Jeter lobbed the ball high, and it landed securely in Cousins’ hands. One-on-one! Cousins had been bursting with energy with nowhere to channel it. Although Peković was a powerhouse behind him, “Cousin” wasn’t about to let that stop him—he caught the ball, spun around, and drove straight down the middle. “Go…!” On the sidelines, Timberwolves point guard Johnny Flynn saw it clearly. Knowing that Cousins was determined to go one-on-one, he immediately dropped back, setting a screen next to Jason Thompson to help Love with some help defense and alerting him to double-team Cousins right away. “That double-team was fast!” The fans’ eyes widened—the Timberwolves had actually double-teamed Cousins the very first time he got the ball. The Kings’ big man was truly a formidable threat! “Clang!” Under the double team, Cousins was fuming as he forced a hook shot that missed. The ball bounced off the rim, and a collective sigh swept through the Kings’ bench. “Ugh… You rushed the shot, De Marcus!” The players shook their heads. “He’s already double-teamed—he should’ve taken a step back! Rushing the shot like that is really… Huh? He dished it out!!” With a “snap,” Cousins actually beat Love to the rebound, flicking the ball toward the perimeter with the tips of his fingers. Cousins swore that this poke was purely instinctive—he hadn’t given a second thought to who to pass it to or where to send it. But as luck would have it, the ball landed right on a fateful spot. “That spot is…?!” Yu Chenyi froze, and Westphal on the sidelines froze as well. One step in from the top of the key, slightly to the left. If she wasn’t mistaken, that spot was… “Great pass—that felt perfect!” Gu Yu was in position, caught the ball, and by the time the praise was out, he had already jumped and released the shot. “Whoa…!” The basketball soared through the air. Before anyone could react, they simply assumed it was just another common occurrence on the court—a role player seizing the opportunity to shoot amid the chaos following a scramble. But at Gu Yu’s feet, in a spot only he could see, the hoop flickered. “Swish!” Good shot! “…Hahahaha! I knew it would turn out like this! Great shot, Gu!!!” As soon as Cousins saw the ball go in, he immediately took the opportunity to show off, laughing heartily as he stepped forward to high-five Gu Yu. “Hey, wait a second! Watch your hand—don’t high-five me!” But to everyone’s surprise, Gu Yu pulled his hand back and said with a straight face, “My hand is really hot. You’ll burn yourself.” “…Whoa!!!” On the court, cheers for Gu Yu finally erupted!