The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 204 - 92: Stable Lineup_3
They also signed Parkson to a big contract, pushing the team’s payroll to the salary cap limit. If the team wanted to strengthen or change the lineup, they could only rely on trades now.
To remediate, Yin Man started considering trades. In January, he communicated privately with a few team managers, like the Clippers and the Knight, who were interested in Vandeweghe and Parkson.
On January 7th, Yin Man received a call from the Clippers’ manager, who inquired about his interest in a trade revolving around Parkson, Vandeweghe, and Norm Nixon, Marques Johnson.
This intrigued Yin Man considerably. Norm Nixon was once the Lakers’ main point guard and became a supporting player after Magic Johnson arrived.
Yet, he had played key roles in the championships of 1980 and 1982, proving to be a star who could perform in important games.
Marques Johnson was Vandeweghe’s senior at UCLA and an important core player for the Bucks in the early ’80s, Moncrief’s most capable aide.
Compared to Vandeweghe who only cared about scoring and nothing else, Johnson was a strong scorer and a very comprehensive player. He was nicknamed "grand slam" at UCLA, at his peak averaging 10 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 1.5 steals, and 4.6 assists per game.
The formidable forward-guard combination he formed with Moncrief caused huge trouble for the 76ers and the Celtics, the two dominant teams of the early ’80s.
In ’83 they swept the Boston Celtics 4:0, marking the first time the Eastern finals did not feature the 76ers vs. the Celtics.
In ’84, they made it into the Eastern finals, reaching a peak.
However, the Bucks, lacking further breakthrough, traded Marques Johnson to the Clippers in the summer of ’84 in exchange for Cummings.
Even though the Clippers gathered a bunch of stars, the owner’s stinginess and poor team construction prevented them from consolidating their strengths to win games, leaving Johnson and Nixon unhappy at the Clippers.
Yin Man believed that if the Trail Blazers really could acquire these two players, they might be able to topple the Lakers and make a significant breakthrough this year.
However, Yin Man knew that trades weren’t just up to him; the opinions of the coach and the leading players were also important. He approached Adelman and Ramsay with the trade proposal.
Adelman believed that if Marques Johnson could join, it would significantly improve the team’s defensive issues at the small forward position, reducing the pressure on Gan Guoyang’s defensive end.
Ramsay, however, pondered for a long time without voicing his opinion, finally saying, "You should ask Ah Gan what he thinks."
Yin Man said, "Although Ah Gan is our core, he is still a player, a rookie. The team is still led by the coach and the manager. Of course, I will consider his opinion."
Ramsay stared at Yin Man for a while and said, "Stu, sometimes you are a smart man, but other times I really think your head isn’t clear. You know a lot, you think a lot, but you lack enough intuition and resolute willpower. If you’re sure that Ah Gan is the core of the team, the leader, then please respect him from your heart, not just satisfying his every demand one moment and then deep inside thinking of him as just a rookie, just a kid. That’s not right, go now, ask Ah Gan, his opinion is my opinion. Also, don’t leak the news, the team’s atmosphere is very good right now."
Stu-Inman couldn’t believe it; in just a few months, Ramsay had become Gan Guoyang’s most firm supporter, even though they hardly interacted on the surface.
After much deliberation, Yin Man still approached Gan Guoyang after training, informing him of the current team situation, the trade plans and ideas, and asked if he had any thoughts.
Gan Guoyang, while wiping his sweat, listened and, after a bit of thought, responded, "Team trades are management’s business, no matter who you trade for or draft, I’ll play my best. I only get one salary, I don’t intend to moonlight as a defensive coach and then take on the role of general manager, of course, unless there’s extra pay."
"Naturally, I can share some of my thoughts. I think the team’s current situation is good, Cheche and Jim are both good players, they indeed have flaws, but we have Clyde and Kossie on the bench, they are younger and also very comprehensive, complementing Cheche and Jim well. Nixon and Marques, I’ve played against them, formidable characters, but they’re getting older and have achieved a lot, possibly lacking some ambition. If we do go through with the trade, I bet the Clippers definitely want to include Clyde or Kossie in the deal, but those two are very young, they still have nothing, they are as hungry as I am. Do you understand hungry? That’s what a team needs most for success. Also, Cheche and Jim’s weaknesses can be compensated for with tactics and rotation, that’s Dr. Jack’s job. I think we haven’t tuned to the best state yet. If we do trade, a lot of things have to start over, and all your efforts from summer would have been in vain, right, Stu?"
After hearing Gan Guoyang’s words, Yin Man found them incredibly reasonable and gradually dismissed the idea of pushing through with the trade.
However, Yin Man still asked, "What about Cheche’s defense, do you really think it’s not a problem? Tomorrow we have to play against the 76ers, next week we’re off to Boston..."
Gan Guoyang laughed, "No problem, I like Cheche! Without him, I couldn’t grab so many rebounds. What if Marques comes and takes away my title as rebounding champion, will you be responsible? Besides, it wouldn’t look good for a rookie to push out the veterans in his first season, would that tarnish my reputation?"
Yin Man knew Gan Guoyang was joking, his jokes filled with optimism and broad-mindedness.
This gave Stu-Inman a deeper and newer understanding of Gan Guoyang. Dr. Jack was right; he needed to respect him from his heart, not just because of the shine on the court and his commercial value.
"Alright, then let’s maintain this stable lineup and strive for higher goals," he said.
