At the start of the year, the Las Vegas Radiance's performance on the field soared.
In their game against the Magic on January 1, they delivered an outstanding performance, crushing their opponent for a New Year's opening victory.
In this game, Gilbert Arenas, who started, scored the team's highest 30 points, marking his first 30-point game of the season and setting a career scoring record.
Then, on January 3, against the Suns, the Radiance easily defeated their opponents again, counting their victories from last December, they achieved their first three-game winning streak of the season.
This turned out to be the longest winning streak for the Radiance this season, which shows just how unstable this emerging team is.
After two months of coordination, they are starting to find the feeling of winning, and players are also finding their suitable game rhythm.
However, neither the Magic nor the Suns seemed very intent on winning, as signs of tanking appeared in the New Year.
The Suns weren't initially planning to tank, but Grant Hill's injury led them to abandon their playoff plans for the season and shift focus to the 2002 draft pick competition.
The Magic, on the other hand, were prepared to tank early on, and after the O'Neal + Hardaway combination shattered, the management finally realized their foolishness, understanding how rare and valuable superstars are, they were still too young.
In the summer of 2000, the Magic intended to lure Tim Duncan to Orlando in the free market, aiming at Tracy McGrady to form a young and popular new inside-outside combination.
Coincidentally, both stars were under Adidas.
Duncan actually took a tour around Orlando, but that was just a maneuver to raise his price.
The Bostonians would never let Duncan go, and their experienced management wouldn't be as naive as the Magic.
Immediately, a major renewal contract was presented, offering the maximum salary, along with many favorable treatments for Duncan's family.
Thus, Duncan stayed in Boston with peace of mind, continuing to challenge for the Celtics' 17th championship trophy.
As for the Lakers, they were even less likely to let go of Tracy McGrady, Jerry West would rather trade off Jide than let go of Tracy McGrady.
It's not that Tracy McGrady is exceedingly strong, but the commercial value he holds is very important to the Lakers and Buss, and they have already invested a lot in him, with considerable sunk costs, making it hard for the Lakers to part with him.
With empty hands, the Magic had to turn their gaze to the draft market, which is a necessary path for a small club aiming to rise.
In the 2001 draft, the Magic didn't gain much, so they quickly set their sights on the 2002 draft. With longer-term vision, they will target the 2003 draft, which is rumored to be another grand draft year after 1984 and 1996.
Of course, 2003 is a bit far off. Currently, according to reliable sources, the Chinese team's star center, the 2.26-meter giant Yao Ming is confirmed to participate in the 2002 draft, and he has already become a hot favorite for the draft pick.
With the groundwork laid by figures like Ah Gan, Hu Weidong, and Wang Zhizhi, Yao Ming's entry into the NBA seems matter-of-course and will not face much difficulty.
As early as the 2000 Olympics, Gan Guoyang had told Yao Ming that he could enter the draft anytime he wanted, the NBA welcomes Chinese people.
However, Yao Ming is after all a player cultivated through youth training and has close ties with his home team, the Shanghai Team.
Compared to Wang Zhizhi's easy release due to the Bayi Team obeying higher orders, Yao Ming's draft process is much more difficult and complicated.
The reason is that Wang Zhizhi is a player from the military with not many capital interests involved, and if the higher-ups say to release him, they will, he meets the requirements, and there is no obstruction.
So back then, with one phone call from Gan Guoyang, requesting the central government to help out, Wang Zhizhi quickly joined the Hawks, and with Gan Guoyang's advice, gradually stabilized his footing.
This season, Wang Zhizhi was traded by the Hawks to the Miami Heat, becoming one of Riley's men.
It's unclear what Riley had in mind, but Wang Zhizhi is performing reasonably well as a substitute for the Heat.
Yao Ming is different, in 1998, the Shanghai Team signed a contract with a sports company called Evergreen, seizing the agency rights for Yao Ming, and the agreement stipulated that they could take 33% of Yao Ming's income, while Yao Ming also had to pay 33% of his income to the Shanghai Team to buy out, the proportion is indeed too high and too unfair to Yao Ming.
Soon after signing the agreement, Yao Ming, lacking experience in this regard, realized something was wrong, and a dispute arose between both parties.
At that time, Gan Guoyang heard about this matter, but he was soon caught up in the espionage case, leaving no space to help deal with the matter.
By 2000, as the espionage case gradually settled, Gan Guoyang sent Gan Guohui to Shanghai to liaise with the Yao Family, hoping to fully represent Yao Ming's agency affairs.
In theory, with Gan Guohui's background and identity, he is the best choice for any Chinese player entering the NBA.
However, there's no such thing as a 100% certainty, and just because you're famous, with strong backing, doesn't mean people will necessarily want to cooperate with you.
Just like Nike, Avia, and Adidas are the biggest shoe brands, yet there are still stars willing to sign with brands like Reebok, Fila, Puma, or even create independent brands.
Everyone has their own choices, some out of interests, some out of emotions, there's no absolute.
Before Gan Guohui went to Shanghai, Gan Guoyang told his brother not to be too confident, thinking that Yao Ming would definitely sign with you.
"Whatever you do, you need to show sincerity. Past achievements can only be hung on the wall, to make people want to cooperate with you, you need to bring out future achievements, and do enough work."