Chapter 5
Zachary
''This changes everything''
Let me explain. Yesterday the news broke that Ben Simmons requested a trade and it kept me up all night, i was in meetings with everyone, from scouts to the training staff and the coaches. It all came down to the same thing, we need to see if Ben is in any way shape or form available to us.
Early in the morning i ended up calling the 76ers front office to see what they were asking for, and dont get me wrong, it was ALOT.
It had to be a deal containing Markkanen or LaVine, Coby White and a First round pick. Now Lauri was always going to be off-limits in a deal like this, but even though Zach was our best player, he never looked like a superstar caliber player, hence we had to think about this.
I didnt have much time to think as we were playing the rival Pistons tonight away from home, so i had to continue thinking and looking at stats on the plane. Coby and the pick we were more than fine with, Coby really didnt fit the system we were playing in, as he kind of dissapointed as a playmaker, and that was really the role he was playing alongside LaVine, his defense also really wasnt up to par. So at the end of the day i kept staring at one report card, comparing the exact stats between LaVine and Simmons.
I put my laptop away from now, we were landing in detroit and i had to get into the stadium to get ready for the game.
ZACH LAVINE CARRIES BULLS PAST RIVAL DETROIT PISTONS BY 125-113 IN HEROIC EFFORT
Yeah that was the headline, so you might understand what happened, it was like he heard all the things we were saying about him, how hes selfish, how he doesnt play defense, and most of all how he was not a leader, not a superstar. But oh man did he prove us wrong. It was like he was possessed all night long, whenever we got in a slump and the plays werent working, he just took the ball and scored, every. single. time. And it didnt matter where from, Slow defender on him? Get to the rim, Covering the rim too much? Pull up for a midrange jumpshot. It was magical, it was like he scored without even trying, that night he had that true ''superstar'' moment. It was not about the amount of points he scored, or the 9 assists, it was how he made that game his.
His statline ended up looking like this:
41pts, 2reb, 9ast, 3stl, 1blk, 0to, 16-24 FG, 1-4 3PT, 8-9 FT.
Now this changed everything for me, i am not giving this guy up. That evening i ended up calling the 76ers front office again to notify that we will not be giving up Zach or Lauri, to my surprise they were still willing to negotiate.
*An hour later.*
''....And thats my final offer, we can change tiny details but its either this or no deal. Ill hear from you in the morning, bye.'' i said
I hung up.