Chapter 179 Trade Rumors

This time of year is also when trade rumors run rampant.

Players enjoy a rare All-Star Weekend break, but general managers are at their busiest.

Dempsey asked Tang Tian about Lance Stephenson, the implication being clear: he was inquiring about trading for him.

Stephenson was a second-round pick who made a name for himself with the Pacers, becoming an all-around guard. In the 2013-14 season, he recorded the most triple-doubles in the league (5).

However, after a disagreement with the Pacers over a contract extension, he left for Charlotte and subsequently bounced around to several teams.

Last summer, he ended up with the Clippers as part of a three-player trade involving Paul.

Stephenson had individual talent; that was proven during his time with the Pacers. But his personality was a major issue.

One could say he was the point guard version of JaVale McGee.

He didn't have McGee's attention deficit issues, but he always did strange and even team-damaging things on the court.

While with the Pacers, he untied an opponent's shoelaces during a free throw and even blew into LeBron James' ear.

It was absurd, unprovoked, and a headache for the team.

Clippers coach Rivers clearly didn't like that kind of player.

This season, he was earning $9 million, but only averaging around 15 minutes of playing time.

Not only was he unable to start, behind Pierce and Redick, but he had already been squeezed out of the rotation by Wesley Johnson before the All-Star break.

It was expected that the Clippers would put him on the market.

As for the Pelicans, Morrow's performance had been consistently poor this season.

Even in games where Ariza and Tang Tian were absent, he failed to seize the opportunity. A trade was a certainty.

In other words, both Stephenson and Morrow were performing like standard bad contracts.

Swapping one bad contract for another wasn't unusual.

Morrow had signed a 3-year, $9 million contract with the Pelicans, and this was the second year, meaning he had $6 million in guaranteed money left.

Stephenson had signed a 3-year, $27.5 million contract with the Hornets, also in its second year. But because the third year was a team option, there was actually $9 million in guaranteed money remaining.

$6 million for $9 million; the Pelicans would need to send out a trade exception, and the Clippers might throw in a second-round pick. That was what the two sides were currently negotiating.

Cousins was both an angel and a demon. Stephenson was similar, which was why Dempsey was seeking Tang Tian's opinion.

"What do Brad and Mike think?"

Tang Tian didn't give an immediate answer but asked about the coaching staff's thoughts.

He was enthusiastic about signings, but he didn't want to be too involved in trades.

Because he was a player himself, he had a deeper understanding of how players felt about being traded.

"Brad supports the change, and Mike is also optimistic about the trade. He says Stephenson will be a big help in the playoffs."

Morrow's poor performance wasn't a recent development. Stevens had done a lot of work on and off the court, but the situation hadn't improved.

Brown's words made sense too. Although Stephenson sometimes had lapses in judgment, he was full of hustle on the court. He was a player with mental toughness, like Green.

"My opinion is the same as the coaching staff's."

Tang Tian finally said.

Management wanted to make a change, and the coaching staff agreed. He had no reason to object.

Besides, Brown's words reminded him that if the Pelicans really had a chance to make it to the Finals, Stephenson would play a bigger role against the Cavaliers.

After the call with Dempsey, Tang Tian continued to play with his two sons.

He was mainly here to have fun with his sons during All-Star Weekend. That couldn't change.

The second day of All-Star Weekend was the Skills Competition.

The Shooting Stars competition was canceled, but the remaining competitions were all retained.

It was worth mentioning that Isaiah Thomas had left Toronto yesterday due to a personal emergency, and Spencer Dinwiddie was temporarily replacing him in the competition.

Tang Tian and Olsen showed up at the Air Canada Centre with their two sons.

The Celebrity Game and Rookie Game yesterday were held in the auxiliary arena, so this was their first time appearing in front of the media and the public with their sons.

They attracted the attention of many media reporters.

The Skills Challenge started first, and Dinwiddie stood up and reached out to Tang Tian in the front row to say hello.

This year's Skills Challenge was reformed again, and for the first time, big men appeared in the competition.

Cousins, Draymond Green, Anthony Davis, and Towns became the first big men to participate.

Beverley, Dinwiddie, C.J. McCollum, and Jordan Clarkson made up the smaller group.

The big men and smaller men competed one-on-one within their groups, and the winners of each group would compete for the final championship.

Since taking office, Adam Silver had been committed to various reforms, trying to attract fan attention in every way possible.

Many of these reforms had proven to be useless or even negative, but some had been effective.

For example, the Skills Challenge was never thought to be related to big men, but with the advent of the small-ball era, such a matchup became possible.

And fans were very much looking forward to the scene of big men and smaller men competing on the same stage.

The big men and smaller men alternated in sequence, starting with Jokic and Green, followed by Beverley and Dinwiddie, and so on.

After some infighting, Towns defeated Davis and Green to become the champion of the big men group.

The result on the smaller men side was surprising. Dinwiddie narrowly defeated Beverley in the first round and narrowly defeated McCollum in the second round to emerge from the smaller men group.

His emergence had a lot of luck involved, but luck was also part of his strength.

The final was between Towns and Dinwiddie, and the crowd cheered. The direct head-to-head matchup between big man and smaller man that they were looking forward to had finally arrived.

The whistle sounded and the game began. Dinwiddie took advantage of his speed, completing the obstacle course and passing in one go, quickly pulling away from Towns.

But when it came to the final sprint, Towns was about to catch up with his big strides.

In the final three-point shot, Dinwiddie missed his first attempt, while Towns picked up the ball and completed the reversal, a one-shot kill.

In the end, Towns defeated Dinwiddie to win the Skills Challenge.

This was the first time that a big man had won the event.

The crowd cheered, and no one had expected a big man to win before the competition.

This made them pay more attention to the event in the future.

"Towns, look, Towns won!"

Olsen waved the hand of her younger son, Towns, and said loudly.

Tang Tian was stunned when he heard this and then couldn't help but laugh.

He didn't pay much attention when he named him, but now that he thought about it, Towns and the Towns on the court were pronounced the same.

Could this be considered a roundabout championship for his son just two months after he was born?