Moreover, Rashid Wallace and the other three top talents from the 1995 draft class couldn't change the fact that they were completely outmatched by Zhang Hao for a whole season.
Most players don't have the leverage to change their team's decisions. From the time Clifford Robinson was traded, Blazers players knew that Rashid Wallace was the future core of the team.
Rashid Wallace's performance justified the team's focus on him. This season, he averaged 12.9 shots per game, scoring 18.6 points, with Nash's help, achieving very high offensive efficiency, much higher than Garnett and Joe Smith. His shooting accuracy at 56.1% was even higher than Zhang Hao's 53.9%.
When the coach asked the question, all the teammates knew he was just asking Rashid Wallace.
Because Zhang Hao said he would score much higher than Rashid Wallace.
Rashid Wallace looked at the scoreboard and glanced at the big screen showing Zhang Hao with 18 points and 3 assists...
