After getting the number of Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard through his assistant, Shen Fei sorted out his thoughts in his mind and made a call.
"Hello, I am Shen Fei, the general manager of the Rockets. I am calling this time because I have a transaction proposal that I would like to discuss with you."
Shen Fei said straight to the point.
"Shen Fei? I know you, you've been in great glory lately, haha."
"I admire you for being able to bring the Rockets to where they are now in such a short period of time!"
Pritchard said with a smile.
This is really true.
He started his general manager career in 2007 and took over the current Portland Trail Blazers.
For four years, Pritchard worked hard day and night, but the Blazers never reached the top of the Western Conference.
But Shen Fei, a young man in his early twenties, did it within a few months of taking office.
Pritchard felt inferior to such achievements.
"You've done a great job in Portland, too."
"It took a lot of courage to solve the problems in the locker room as soon as you took office. It took a lot of courage to remove a thorny player like Zach Randolph from the team, but you did it."
Shen Fei had been in shopping malls for many years in his previous life, and he was very familiar with business blowback.
Of course, he wasn't just giving random compliments.
On the contrary, Shen Fei came prepared and had done his homework.
Pritchard is 43 years old. At this age, he is definitely considered young among NBA general managers.
In the few years since he took office, the face of the Trail Blazers has changed a lot.
In the 2007 draft, in addition to selecting Greg Oden with the No. 1 pick, Pritchard also made an important trade on draft day——
The "Big Black Bear" - Zach Randolph, Fred Jones and Dan Dickau were packaged and sent to the New York Knicks in exchange for Steve Francis, Channing Frye and a trade exception.
Later, he used trade exceptions and some additions to obtain the signing rights of James Jones and No. 24 rookie Rudy Fernandez from the Suns.
Since Pritchard's transactions often benefited both sides of the Trail Blazers, some sports writers specially coined a new term - "Plain Slap" in order to praise his shrewd operations!
It has to be said that Pritchard's trading style is somewhat similar to Shen Fei's, which also makes the two of them feel like heroes cherish their heroes.
"Tell me, which player from our team do you like?"
Pritchard asked in a joking tone.
"Brandon Roy."
Shen Fei said frankly.
"You want Brandon?!"
"He is our commander-in-chief!"
Pritchard responded in disbelief.
"I have in-depth research on sports medicine. If I'm not wrong, Roy's knee injury is probably very bad 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, if admitted at this time, Roy's trading value will definitely fall to the bottom instantly.
"Brandon was accidentally injured by a teammate in last week's game. His knee did take a big impact, but he will get better,"
Pritchard vowed.
"I watched that game, and I also paid attention to your official injury report the next day."
"According to the MRI report, Roy should have made a comeback, right?"
"But he didn't even show up for yesterday's game."
Shen Fei directly pointed out the real situation.
"Em... Brandon's injury did have some recurrences, but it was far from serious."
"Shen, since you have done your homework, you should know Brandon's mental attributes."
"He will not be defeated easily by injuries. Soon he will defeat the disease and return as the king."
Pritchard said seriously.
"If you really think so, you should have hung up the phone as soon as I said his name."
Shen Fei responded with a smile.
As soon as this was said, there was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time.
After about two minutes, Pritchard spoke again: "Shen, you are really smart."
"I won't hide it from you. Brandon's knee injury has been recurring this season, but he is the soul of this Trail Blazers. I will not sell him at a low price."
"If I do this, not only will Portland fans not buy it, Roy himself will not accept it either."
There was a little helplessness in Pritchard's voice.
Since taking office, he has selected three rookies with full potential - Roy, Aldridge, and Oden.
Among them, the one with the best talent is "The Great" Oden.
But in last year's game against the Rockets, he collided with Brooks' knees and was seriously injured. He is still recovering from his injuries.
Roy, who has the most leadership qualities, has also been plagued by injuries since last year.
"As far as I know, Roy has had all of his meniscus removed. In other words, his knee will not heal unless a miracle happens."
"Manager Pritchard, I think considering the overall situation, you can try to listen to some offers for Roy."
"After all... with his injury situation, he might suddenly announce his retirement 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: "Every time I play a game, my knees are very sore. It is really difficult to endure. Maybe I am no longer suitable for the NBA."
At first, Pritchard only regarded these words as Roy venting his emotions.
But as time went by, the latter's injuries continued to reoccur, and the Blazers manager gradually realized the seriousness of the matter.
[The team has never disclosed these matters to any media. How did Shen Fei know about it?]
[Isn’t it possible that someone from the inside revealed it to him?]
[Or is he really good at sports medicine and can make accurate judgments just from games and news?]
Pritchard was confused.
"Even if you are right,... 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 play and charge forward, but because of his leadership ability. I hope he can help the young people in our team."
"Although T-Mac and Luis (Scola) are both experienced veterans, I hope that one of Lowry and George will become a leader player, and Roy is more suitable for such a mentor role."
"Furthermore, I am very confident in my medical skills and want to take a challenge to extend Roy's career."
Shen Fei read all the lines he had prepared.
The subtext of this passage is - Roy can't recover, and I don't want to trade him for basketball reasons.
"..."
There was another silence on the other end of 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 wavering at this time just shows that Pritchard is an excellent businessman.
He is already thinking about whether to cash out at a high price while Roy's transaction value still exists.
"So, what chips are you going to offer to trade Brandon?"
Pritchard, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly asked.