Sports Medicine Master System

The car drove along a wide road.

Inside, Ewing, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, looked at his agent, David Falcao, sitting across from him.

"David, are you sure testifying is my best option?" Ewing asked, his face a mask of worry as he rested his cheek on his large hand.

The Golden Club incident had broken back in April of this year.

The FBI had launched an investigation, and unsurprisingly, it had led to him. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Now, they were holding a trial and wanted him to testify.

If he testified, he’d be utterly humiliated. It would be a stain on his legacy.

Across from him, Falcao reached out and patted Ewing’s shoulder. "Patrick, we’ve already discussed this. It’s your best option. The story is out. Don’t get your hopes up thinking, ’If the other guys aren’t testifying, why should I?’"

"You should think of it this way: the others aren’t testifying, but you are. If you testify and apologize, won’t that make you seem more sincere? Maybe you can even win back the fans’ forgiveness."

Ewing sat up straight, shaking off Falcao’s hand in the process. He pursed his lips and said irritably, "I need to think about it some more."

He suspected Falcao was pushing him to testify to provide cover for Jordan.

’That old rogue went there plenty of times himself.’

Falcao clearly didn’t want to linger on the topic. He paused for a moment before saying, "Patrick, have you ever considered that signing with the Phoenix Suns might be a good option, compared to the Magic?"

Trades had been happening constantly these past few days.

For example, according to reporter leaks, the Kings were planning to sign Weber to a contract worth over a hundred million dollars.

Among the many news items, the Phoenix Suns’ signing of Olajuwon was also drawing a lot of attention.

It wasn’t entirely because of Olajuwon, but because of what the Suns’ roster would look like after signing him.

ESPN had done a special analysis piece discussing the Phoenix Suns’ lineup for the upcoming season.

In the backcourt, Hardaway and J Kidd. On the wing, Marion.

And in the frontcourt, Robinson had been retained, and the former "Wolf King," Gugliotta, was also receiving treatment from Chen Yu.

With Olajuwon added to the mix, the Phoenix Suns’ frontcourt was definitely nothing to scoff at.

Everyone knew Chen Yu had a miraculous healing touch and astonishing medical skills. ESPN believed that as long as Chen Yu could get Olajuwon and Gugliotta healthy—not even peak-level healthy, just 70 or 80 percent of their former strength—the Phoenix Suns would have the power to contend for a championship.

Therefore, in Falcao’s view, a potential championship contender like the Phoenix Suns was a perfect fit for Ewing, who was looking for a new team.

"Conveniently, the league now has the mid-level exception. The Suns have a way to sign you over the cap, but of course, that’s assuming you can accept a contract in the two-million-dollar range."

The new collective bargaining agreement had added the mid-level exception clause.

"Two million and change?" Ewing’s brow furrowed deeply. "Last season, my salary was 14 million!"

Although Ewing didn’t expect to get a salary of that level again, he felt he shouldn’t be making less than Olajuwon, at least.

Olajuwon was getting 6 million; on what grounds should he only get 2 million?

’Am I that much worse than Olajuwon?’

Falcao said, "Patrick, at this stage, are you still worried about salary? Didn’t you always tell me you wanted to win a championship? Do you really want to end your career without a ring?"

"Otherwise, go to the Lakers. Maybe they’ll take you."

When it came to championship-contending strength, as strong as the Phoenix Suns were, they still couldn’t compare to the Lakers.

Ewing sneered.

To go to the Lakers and beg for a Championship Ring like some kind of pauper... he would rather go without.

The Championship Ring he wanted had to be one he had earned a share of.

Still, the phrase "end your career without a ring" stirred something within him.

Falcao continued to persuade him. "For you, the Phoenix Suns really are a great choice. At your age, and with all your injuries, no other team can guarantee your condition. But the Suns are different. Chen is their team doctor. With Chen there, your condition can likely be maintained, allowing you to make one last run at it."

At the mention of Chen Yu, a glint of light flashed in Ewing’s eyes.

’Hill’s recovery has been incredible.’

For a veteran like Ewing, the allure of a Phoenix Suns team that had Chen Yu was immense.

"I’ll think about it some more." After a long silence, Ewing still hadn’t committed.

Before long, the car arrived at Chen Yu’s clinic.

Lexi greeted the two of them.

"Chen is in the rehabilitation center. I’ll take you there."

They walked through a green, tree-lined path and arrived at the rehabilitation center.

The first floor was filled with all kinds of rehabilitation equipment.

From a distance, Ewing heard the familiar sound of a basketball hitting the floor.

In the back of the rehabilitation center’s first floor, an indoor basketball court had been partitioned off. Due to limited space, it was only a half-court.

Pushing the door open, Ewing immediately saw two figures facing off against each other.

"Penny can already do on-ball drills?" Falcao exclaimed from beside him.

The two on the court were Hill and, to his surprise, Hardaway.

The words had barely left his mouth when Hardaway drove with the ball, stopped, and pulled back. He smoothly turned his back to the defender, baiting Hill and throwing him off balance. Then, he spun back the other way, connecting it with a small step-back jumper, and rose for the shot.

Hill had clearly seen this move before, but it was so deceptive that his reaction was a beat too slow. By the time he tried desperately to block it, it was already too late.

Unfortunately, the ball clanked off the rim and out.

On the sidelines, Ronaldo threw his arms up, his face full of regret.

’Such a flashy move, and he missed.’

But of the two little kids beside him, Astor was jumping up and down with excitement.

And Little Haaland, sitting in his stroller, was also waving his arms and legs, cooing and gurgling.

Lexi smiled and nodded. "That’s right. He only started a few days ago. His recovery is going well."

From Hardaway’s surgery in January to now, mid-July, half a year had already passed.

Initially, Chen Yu had estimated a recovery period of 10 months.

But at the time, that was based on the assumption that he wouldn’t be able to achieve a massive rehabilitation effect, so the 10-month timeline was very conservative.

But now that he’d found a way to "farm" high-quality rehabilitation effects, he had poured massive amounts of treatment into Hardaway, shortening his recovery time by at least one to two months.

"Take a break!"

Chen Yu shouted from the sidelines, signaling for Hardaway to stop.

He had just started on-ball training. It was important to take it easy and control the duration and intensity.

Hill, who hadn’t even broken a sweat, tossed the ball to Tracy McGrady on the sidelines, looking like he wanted to play more.

Hardaway walked over to Chen Yu and complained, "Chen, I was just starting to get a feel for it, and my body feels fine. I could totally play a little longer."

Chen Yu waved a dismissive hand, ignored him, and walked toward the entrance.

"Patrick." Chen Yu had already spotted Ewing.

He extended a hand, but Ewing ignored it and came right up to give Chen Yu a hug.

’This guy...’

Chen Yu cracked a smile and then greeted Falcao.

Falcao still had a look of disbelief on his face. He pointed at Hardaway and said, "Chen, is Anfernee really recovering this fast?"

’He looks completely fine.’

After all, judging from the diagnosis Chen Yu had initially announced, Hardaway’s injury was no small matter.

"Yeah, he’s recovering very quickly," Chen Yu said with a smile and a nod, inviting Ewing to his office to talk.

Today, they would first go through the formalities and run some tests.

The next day, in his office, Chen Yu formally began discussing Ewing’s condition with him.

Chen Yu clipped the X-ray films onto the light box and pointed out the problems to Ewing one by one.

"First, your right wrist."

After making his promise to Weisbrod, Chen Yu had carefully studied Ewing’s injury history again.

Never mind the knee problems; those had existed even before he entered the league.

They were an issue, but they hadn’t significantly impacted his career.

In his first 12 years in the league, Ewing’s attendance rate was actually very high, with three full seasons where he didn’t miss a single game.

The first time he missed a large number of games, which also marked the beginning of his decline, was due to the fractured right wrist in the ’97-’98 season.

During that game against the Bucks, he was pushed to the ground by Andrew Lang. His full body weight landed on his right wrist. The fractured bone pierced through his skin, and he also tore ligaments in his wrist.

Most importantly, the injury damaged the nerves in his hand.

His right hand, which was Ewing’s shooting hand.

This injury directly affected the shooting touch he relied on to make a living.

It was from that season on that Ewing’s stats began to decline across the board.

"Next is the Achilles tendon."

In ’99, during a playoff game against the Pacers, Ewing tore his left Achilles tendon. That had been the closest he had ever come to a championship.

And the Achilles injuries didn’t end there. In the ’99-’00 season, he also severely strained his right Achilles tendon.

The Achilles injuries were like strapping weights to his legs, completely robbing him of his athleticism. This was also a major reason why the Knicks let him go.

Of course, his knees were also a chronic problem.

The media always said Ewing was soft, that he could only shoot. But before entering the league, he too had a high-flying, explosive style of play in the paint.

But it was precisely because he injured his knee in college that his athleticism declined.

This is why some in the media lamented that the best version of Ewing was seen in college.

It wasn’t just one knee; both of his knees had problems.

Although he never suffered a career-ending injury like a torn ACL, he was constantly plagued by injuries and suffered immensely.

The ligaments repeatedly tore and healed, developing large amounts of scar tissue, fibrosis, and adhesions, which directly affected their strength and elasticity.

Ewing was injured in the eighties. The level of medical care in that era... who would have known back then that after a ligament injury, you needed to start rehabilitation training as soon as possible to restore its function?

This injury led to the decline in his knees’ athletic capability.

For the next decade or so, his knees were always in a state of being just barely usable, but never fully healed.

"There’s also the inflammation."

In Chen Yu’s opinion, compared to the messy collection of ligament, meniscus, and cartilage issues, the most troublesome part was the inflammation.

The frequent injuries had caused Ewing’s inflammation to become very severe.

It was recurrent inflammation, which eventually led to a large number of adhesions and swelling inside his knee joint cavity, evolving into a chronic injury.

Because of this repeated inflammation, his ligaments could no longer bear the load.

Ewing nodded silently. Everything Chen Yu was describing was the history of his tormented career.

"So what kind of surgery do I need?" Ewing asked.

With less than four months until the new season, Ewing was actually quite worried that if he had surgery, he wouldn’t have enough time to recover and return.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yu just shook his head.

"Patrick, for you, your current condition isn’t actually suitable for surgery."

Those words made Ewing freeze in surprise.

’If I don’t have surgery, then how can I be treated?’