"SS?"
Scott Layden was a little surprised when he heard that. "Did I hear you right, Carl?"
Although he knew that after that game, Carl Malone had given Li Fei extremely high praise in an interview.
But surely it had not gone this far, right?
TNT's newspaper had listed Li Fei's draft comparison as Hakeem Olajuwon, while Bay Area newspapers had even hyped Li Fei up as the next Jabbar, the next Russell.
But draft reports were just that.
You read them and moved on.
They could only show that Li Fei had some traits vaguely similar to theirs. But whether he could reach those heights?
Did they really think every draft could produce another Jordan or Jabbar?
"Believe me, he definitely won't be just an A-level player in the future."
Malone continued, "I saw his talent up close. It was far more explosive than it looked on video."
"Besides, Michael Jordan has already retired. There are no longer any truly dominant guards in the league. The only players with genuine MVP-level ability are those few centers and power forwards."
"Our Jazz's main rivals in the Western Conference are all led by centers."
Layden rather agreed with Malone's words.
Over the past few years, the league had been a battlefield of many contenders, with one dominant force and several strong challengers.
And those strong challengers were mainly represented by the Four Centers and the four great power forwards.
If Michael Jordan's dominance had not been so overwhelming, this era would still have been ruled by the paint.
Now that Jordan had left the NBA, barring any surprises, the Four Centers and the four great power forwards would clash fiercely over the next few years.
In the West were The Dream, The Admiral, Flying Pig Barkley, and the Reign Man Kemp.
In the East were The Gorilla Ewing, The Shark of the Orlando Magic, and the young Alonzo Mourning.
Even Chris Webber, Vin Baker, The Worm Rodman, Mount Mutombo...
They were all mountains after mountains that were difficult to overcome.
The future MVP would undoubtedly emerge from among those names.
The league would return to an era where the paint reigned supreme.
Against that backdrop, although the Jazz had Carl Malone, her preferred position was still power forward. Her help defense and rim protection at center were not elite, and it would be too difficult for her to contend with The Dream and The Admiral in the playoffs.
In the first round of last season's playoffs, they had even lost to the SuperSonics led by Shawn Kemp.
This year, those Western Conference teams would certainly continue strengthening their frontcourts.
"You're right."
Layden nodded. "MJ's departure has brought us a huge opportunity."
"If we don't strengthen our interior, we're very likely to fall behind."
With that thought, Layden looked at Li Fei's name in the newspaper.
He picked up a red pen and marked it.
"We'll seriously consider Li Fei. At the very least, he's now our top candidate."
"The league is returning to the era of centers."
This had already become a consensus recognized by everyone around the league.
In order to compete for a championship in the year of Jordan's retirement—or rather, to avoid being left behind by the tide of the era—
Many teams began directing their reinforcement efforts toward the frontcourt.
"We may not even make the playoffs this year."
United States, Los Angeles.
Inside the general manager's office at the Great Western Forum.
The Lakers' current general manager, Jerry West, got a headache every time he looked at the Lakers roster. "James Worthy just told me this will be the final year of his career."
For the Lakers, the past few years could truly be called turbulent.
Two years ago, in 1991, the Lakers had been at their peak. Even though they had just lost to Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals, everyone thought the two MJs would stage at least three years of Finals clashes.
But then...
Only a few months after the NBA Finals, and shortly after marrying his wife, Magic Johnson was diagnosed with AIDS and announced his retirement while still at the peak of his career.
In private, Magic Johnson was no less of a womanizer than Wilt Chamberlain, with countless conquests to his name. Once, he and the Lakers owner rented out an entire island, where the several hundred girls on it were all available for some loving applause. Magic had even personally admitted to the media that he had slept with over two thousand girls in his lifetime. Compared to Wilt Chamberlain's record of twenty thousand, his number was obviously more believable.
It was just that, in the end, no one had expected he would play himself into disaster...
Magic's departure and Worthy's decline had sent the Lakers plummeting. No player on the team averaged more than fifteen points, and last season they had squeezed into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
James Worthy's form would certainly decline even further this season.
The team had begun developing center Divac and guard Van Exel.
But could they really count on those two to make the playoffs?
Whenever The Logo looked at the Lakers roster now, he got so angry he wanted to hit someone.
He even suspected that Magic had gotten AIDS because he had slept with men.
"Michael's retirement should have been a golden opportunity for us Lakers to win a championship, but unfortunately, we just happen to be in the middle of a rebuild."
Mitch Kupchak, who was still the assistant general manager, said, "Mr. Jerry, that young man from Lower Merion High School you liked."
"I sent people to look into him. Although he's only a sophomore right now, he's clearly a full tier above players his age."
"It'll still be at least three years before he enters the league."
The Logo had a sharp eye for talent.
The Lakers' Showtime era.
The OK Duo.
And the Warriors' future Death Lineup.
All of them had been The Logo's handiwork.
After Magic Johnson contracted AIDS, The Logo had been searching for a new target.
And the young man from Lower Merion High School whom he had his eye on—
Was Kobe Bryant.
"We can keep following Kobe, but he isn't what we need right now."
The Logo pulled a newspaper from the stack beside him.
"I originally thought Kobe would be Michael Jordan's successor, but with Michael retired, the most direct solution is to rebuild around a center."
"You mean Shaq in Orlando?" Kupchak asked.
"Shaq is certainly strong, but Orlando won't let Shaq go right now."
The Logo straightened the newspaper and pushed it in front of Kupchak. "Keep following this young college player for me."
"From him, I see the possibility of finding a budget replacement for The Shark!"
A budget replacement for The Shark?!
Mitch Kupchak stared at the newspaper in astonishment.
At the center of the magazine spread.
The man whose shoulders nearly reached the edges of the frame was none other than:
Li Fei!!
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