The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 395 - 206: The Key to NBA Data

Carrell’s recent interview focused on the Grizzlies’ playoff prospects.

As the current situation stands, the Grizzlies had a strong chance of topping The West in the regular season.

Among their potential first-round opponents were the Thunders.

With James’s return, the Thunders’ results had declined, falling from sixth to eighth in The West.

If the playoffs had started then, the Grizzlies would have faced the Thunders in the first round.

During the mock matchups, naturally, they discussed the potential face-off scenarios.

In this context, Carrell posed a question: how could the Thunders possibly defeat the Grizzlies?

Hansen provided his answer. "Trade Guy and James."

At first, this sounded absurd, but upon closer analysis, it turned out to be the only viable solution.

First, if James joined the Grizzlies, their double-tower gameplay would not suit him, effectively rendering him useless.

James preferred fast breaks, but the twin towers couldn’t manage that, wasting another half.

He and Hansen would even clash over ball-handling rights, but unlike Wade, Hansen wouldn’t give them up.

Thus, if James were on the Grizzlies, their strength would drastically plummet.

Looking at the Thunders, Guy’s skills in defense and off-ball plays during the starting phase and staggering substitutions during the bench phase perfectly matched the Thunders’ needs.

The tradeoff would greatly increase the Thunders’ chances of defeating the Grizzlies.

They then shifted the topic to the reasons behind the current slide in the Thunders’ performance.

It was due to James’s return and his poor fit with the Thunders.

Carrell concluded by saying, "The Thunders need to find a more suitable small forward. KD would be the best choice, Guy isn’t bad either."

"We are not going to trade Rudy. Here, he is a better player than LeBron," Hansen said with a laugh at the end.

Combining Hansen’s statement with the interview context, one could discern his emphasis on Guy’s importance to the Grizzlies.

But everyone was so busy, how many actually read what was written in the interview?

Carrell even used such a striking title, which clearly drew criticism towards Hansen!

In fact, after the article was published, it instantly attracted significant controversy.

"This is the worst LeBron has ever been bashed. Han is the biggest LeBron hater, bashing LeBron without shame."

"Forget Guy; James has 4 MVPs, how many does Hansen have?"

"I think Afflalo is a better player than Hansen. When you don’t respect others, don’t expect to be respected!"

"LeBron does have integration issues with the Thunders now, but to say he’s worse than Guy is truly excessive bashing. LeBron remains a top-three player in the League."

This time, not only LeBron fans but many neutral basketball fans felt that Hansen had gone too far.

For Hansen, who enjoyed provoking controversy, this scene was delightfully overwhelming.

He was eager to exchange for the post-up talent, Carrell’s title was his idea.

Moreover, the interview had served its purpose, as the general consensus now accepted the "LeBron and the Thunders have integration issues."

Ultimately, the Thunders’ main issue was the compatibility between Westbrook and James.

Westbrook could lead his team to sixth in The West on his own, and James might even do better.

But the reality was that they were on the same team: if the Thunders didn’t want to fail gruesomely, they’d better make a choice fast!

Hansen’s counterplay directly hit the nerve, causing figures like Mike Menamin and Windhorst to suddenly quiet down.

They knew continuing this fight meant the Thunders would face an explosion first.

ESPN quieted down, but the article still impacted the Grizzlies.

Randolph knew this was a trick from a rival; Wallace had already stated publicly that the team wouldn’t trade Randolph.

But knowing this and not seeing it happen were two different things.

Even between friends, a thoughtless word could cause resentment, let alone facing actual issues like the Grizzlies.

Especially since Heisley had always been frugal, with high luxury taxes next season, the possibility of making a trade was not small.

Among the starting five of the Grizzlies, Randolph, the oldest, was the most likely to be traded.

If this happened to Guy it might be okay—after all, Guy didn’t overthink things—but Randolph would likely be troubled by it.

After training one day, Hansen was heading back to the locker room when Guy pulled him aside for a chat.

"I see Zack looking gloomy; should we help him out?"

Hansen touched Guy’s forehead.

In terms of incompatibility within the Grizzlies, none surpassed Guy and Randolph.

Incredibly, the first person concerned about Randolph was Guy.

Had their constant arguing kindled some sort of affection?

"Don’t overthink it; his gloominess is affecting our team’s atmosphere," Guy quickly clarified.

"Rudy, I wasn’t wrong; you are indeed a better player than LeBron."

Guy’s face flushed with pride. Although he wanted to deny it, his vanity wouldn’t allow it.

"So what do you want to do to help?" Hansen asked.

"Zack has never made it to the All-Star game, right? I think he’d be happier if he did."

Hansen pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.