He acted as if nothing had happened and asked, "Yesterday, I looked at Grant’s health assessment report, and his health index is even higher than two of our 30-year-old players on the team. Is this because he hasn’t played much in these years?"
Thomas Carter said, "That’s one of the reasons, but the main thing is that he’s consistently maintained his training, has good dietary habits, and leads a healthy personal life without letting his body deteriorate. Plus, he really has played fewer games, so compared to his peers, there’s much less wear and tear on the muscles and joints that basketball players frequently use. That’s why his health index is so high."
Jordan’s confusion was cleared up. He didn’t continue to question the team doctor to avoid being seen as someone who knows nothing yet insists on chipping in.
The one who sent the trial invitation to Hill was himself, but at first, he didn’t care about this trial; he did it only because Hill was the teammate Zhang Yang wanted.
As Thomas Carter had said, even though Hill seemed very healthy last season, Jordan thought that Hill was merely having a ’fleeting resurgence’ like in the 04-05 season.
Not just him, other team managements thought similarly. After last season ended, the Magic didn’t make a contract renewal offer to Hill, and during the offseason, there was no news of any team offering him a deal even though he appeared in 65 games last season and performed very well, achieving his career’s highest shooting percentage. Teams were still not optimistic about his health condition, fearing that signing him would be tantamount to paying a salary for nothing.
But after seeing Hill’s health assessment report yesterday, Jordan was full of questions. Hill’s health condition turned out to be even better than those of the 30-year-old players Muhammad and Cardinal, and driven by curiosity, he decided to attend Hill’s trial.
What he saw was a Hill whose style of play was completely different from the one he remembered!
In Jordan’s memory, Hill’s offense was dazzling, and his defense was incredibly oppressive.
The Hill that Jordan saw today played with simplistic offense, his drives were straightforward with no aesthetic pleasure, and his scoring mostly came from set shots. What he displayed more was shooting stability after long-distance running, and his defense had become smarter, focusing on disruption and guidance.
Seeing Hill made Jordan feel quite uncomfortable, after all, Hill was once his designated successor and had now become just an average role player.
He asked Bickerstaff and Carlisle, "Bernie, Rick, do we sign him?"
Bickerstaff said, "Sign, didn’t we discuss this beforehand? Jack wants to play with Grant, and we need to take this seriously. Even if Grant’s health isn’t ideal and his trial performance is poor, we should still sign him.
The offseason is almost over, and there are no forwards left on the free market that we’re interested in. The players we had our eyes on were all contested by other championship-seeking teams, and we currently only have 13 contracts. The league requires us to have 14 players, so instead of reluctantly signing someone at random, it’s better to sign a player who can make Jack happy.
Grant’s health and competitive state are much better than we expected. I don’t think he’s any worse than the two players we missed out on, Matt Barnes and Matt Haplin. We definitely should sign him."
Jordan shook his head, "That’s not what I’m talking about, but... does he fit us?"
At hearing this, Bickerstaff showed a moment of astonishment before jokingly saying, "Yo, Michael, didn’t expect you to have this side of you. What’s this called, empathy?"
Seeing Jordan’s expression sour, Carlisle quickly intervened, "The offensive and defensive traits that Grant has shown are exactly what we need. I think he’s definitely prepared to join us, having studied our wing and interior players’ help and cooperative defensive habits. I believe we can sign him... we can even try having him handle individual defense on the front line."
Jordan huffed at Bickerstaff and said, "Then you guys talk to him; come to my office for my signature once you’ve got an agreement. I’m going back to pay my respects to Gramps; I almost forgot about that."
Watching Jordan’s departing figure, Carlisle felt bitter as he saw Bickerstaff’s smug smile after teasing the boss.
I shouldn’t have opened the door for Jordan, if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been dragged here, and if I hadn’t come, I wouldn’t be in this situation: a hot-headed boss, a general manager who’s an old rascal, and a star player who could drive a person crazy...