At the post-game press conference.
On the Lakers’ side, many were won over by Zeng Xingyang.
A reporter asked, "Kobe, what do you think about being down by as much as 24 points?"
What the hell do you think?
Kobe replied, "They played better, we played like crap."
The reporter asked, "Kobe, how do you currently evaluate Zeng?"
Kobe said, "F*ck, the guy scored 44 points in front of me, what else can I say?"
Kobe gave the reporter a harsh look, he was about to blow up.
The reporter asked, "What do you think Zeng’s future in the league could be?"
Kobe said, "There shouldn’t be any limits; he has infinite potential."
Even though they lost to the Nuggets, Kobe still gave Zeng Xingyang a very high evaluation.
Purely in terms of basketball skills, he felt Zeng Xingyang had strong potential for growth.
In Kobe’s impression, when he first saw Zeng Xingyang’s game footage, Zeng Xingyang was just a shooter who could make threes, but now, this guy had developed a certain level of ball-handling offensive ability, with a significant improvement.
This growth potential is very important for a player’s future development.
Afterwards, Nance said to the reporter, "Zeng is really good at using his teammates’ screens, very hard to limit him, whenever we see him with the ball, we get worried."
Lakers’ head coach Scott said, "They played very much as a team, everyone actively cooperating, it’s a very positive way to win, and Zeng’s and Nikola’s pick-and-roll gave us headaches."
Scott was openly envious of the current Nuggets, last season he and Mike Malone would sympathize with each other, and they would occasionally call to complain about how lousy their teams were.
Both teams tanked together, like brothers in misfortune.
What’s happening now?
They suddenly decide to rise up.
Afraid that your brother is doing badly, but also afraid your brother’s driving a Land Rover, these feelings mixed together are very bothersome.
On the Nuggets’ side, Zeng Xingyang’s interview was very calm, winning against the Lakers wasn’t as exciting as winning against the Warriors.
Beating the Lakers didn’t seem that difficult, and it seemed human nature didn’t really care for easily obtained things.
"Open-Air Stand Report: No one can deny it, the current Nuggets have a chance at making the playoffs!"
"Yahoo Sports: We’re increasingly looking forward to what heights the Nuggets’ supernova combo can achieve in the future."
"Miami Sentinel: Zeng Xingyang scores another career-high 44 points, Nuggets win two consecutive games."
"CBS Sports: Nuggets’ twin stars crush Lakers, completely shake off losing streak shadow."
"WOJ: Nuggets and Pistons reach a trade, Barton and Pope swapped!"
The next day, Zeng Xingyang once again broke the season high, scoring a staggering 44 points and 10 assists, the news going viral across the US, overshadowing Jokic’s triple-double news.
Actually among the rookies, Jokic played quite well, with very comprehensive average stats, but with Zeng Xingyang by his side, the media seemed uninterested in giving him much attention.
Zeng Xingyang just seemed more newsworthy than Jokic.
Of course, Jokic himself wasn’t much interested in these reports either, he’d be more than happy if the reporters went to interview Zeng Xingyang all the time and left him alone.
Besides yesterday’s victory news, the final trade news also caught Zeng Xingyang’s attention.
The trade was a direct swap of Barton and Pope.
Pope was actually one of the players he and Connelly suggested the team could go after.
It’s just that Zeng Xingyang didn’t expect Connelly to be this generous in giving up Barton.
"It’s not a bad exchange," muttered Zeng Xingyang.
Pope’s current season stats are 14 points and 3 rebounds, while Barton’s are 14 points and 5 rebounds, on the surface they seem similar, but Barton plays 8 minutes less, slightly more efficient.
Pope’s salary is 2.9 million US Dollars, Barton’s is 3.2 million US Dollars, their values are similar, the trade doesn’t require much in terms of cost, Nuggets just gave up a second-round pick from two years later.
From the Pistons’ general manager’s perspective, the Pistons are a fringe playoff team, they urgently need to boost the second unit’s firepower to improve the team’s record.
Barton has strong self-initiated offensive capabilities, which would enhance the second unit’s offensive force more significantly compared to Pope.
Besides, Pope is just a 3 and D player, the Pistons don’t feel Pope contributes much to the team.
Pope has some potential, but it’s limited, Barton’s immediate combat ability is more important.
Regarding salary, the Pistons’ roster doesn’t have any superstars, only Reggie Jackson’s salary falls around 15 million US Dollars, and most others are on minimum contracts, they have ample space to offer Barton a decent contract next season.
For Connelly’s perspective, although Barton adds to the team’s bench firepower, his abilities have hit their ceiling.
Barton is already in his fourth professional year, if they were to re-sign him, they’d have to offer him a big contract, while Pope is still within the rookie contract benefit period, allowing the team to save.
Unlike the Pistons looking at now, Connelly is more focused on the future, wanting to construct a team with growth potential, players like Barton aren’t in the core tier.
With the current Nuggets doing well, Connelly even feels that if possible, they can sign a superstar, paired with Zeng Xingyang and Jokic, they’d immediately become a championship-level team.
Connelly is waiting to see if there’s an opportunity to sign a superstar, although that’s very difficult, and it’d be down to luck.
Though Zeng Xingyang initially didn’t get along well with Barton at the beginning of the season, things have recently smoothed over, and he sent a text wishing him all the best.
At this moment, Zeng Xingyang also felt the harshness of the NBA; maybe yesterday you were fighting alongside a teammate, and upon waking up the next day, he’s been traded to another team.
Sometimes even the player themselves only learns about these trades through the news.
The management wouldn’t respect everyone, they only care about those who help them.
Soon after, Zeng Xingyang felt respected himself, receiving a call from Connelly.
"Zeng, have you seen the news?"
"Trading with the Pistons wasn’t too difficult, but the Magic is a bit problematic, they’re quite attached to Aaron Gordon, and they aren’t willing to trade him."
Aaron Gordon is still seen as a part of the Magic’s rebuild, unless Gordon himself requests a trade, it’s unlikely the management would proactively trade him.
Gordon’s physical talent is evident, which sets a high floor for him, no matter how poorly he plays, he wouldn’t play too terribly.
And Pope is different, a 3 and D like Pope, if not handled well, could easily backfire.
"OK, I understand, it’s very unfortunate," said Zeng Xingyang.
Connelly continued, "Aaron Gordon isn’t possible for now, but I have an alternative plan, I’m working on a trade for Jerami Grant, which is almost done. Now I’m a bit troubled about recruiting second unit players for the team, do you have any good suggestions?"