NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 587 Recognition from the other side of the ocean - "8-second shot" (daily chapter)

On Wednesday, August 2008, 8, the San Antonio Express suddenly reported a piece of news that shocked Spurs fans.

"Andrew Bynum's agent postpones contract talks until September, and he seems not interested in playing in San Antonio."

"Marc Gasol's agency team is looking for a starting position, but they are not satisfied with the Spurs' role."

"Kwame Brown is confirmed to play for the Bucks next season. The Spurs face a huge challenge in the offseason!"

Not every player is easy to talk to. Perhaps Duncan has given the Spurs management some illusions over the years. When they brought up the "family" theory, the new players did not buy it.

For a whole month, Ginobili played for the Argentine national team despite his injury, despite all the advice. Bynum threatened the team and sought an absolute core tactical position.

Although Marc Gasol has not officially entered the NBA, after his agent was replaced by Mark Bartelstein, he also sought an absolute starting position for the player and, by the way, let Kwame Brown "run away" directly.

The proud team culture fell apart at this moment. After the relevant news was exposed, Popovich, who temporarily bid farewell to basketball, had to stand up and speak for his disciple Mike Budenholzer:
"I don't think this is a problem with the head coach. In fact, all San Antonio fans support Mike, and the team's management also knows how good he is!"

"If these players don't want to integrate into the Spurs' team culture, then let them leave and the team will rise again!"

The Spurs' team reporter posted continuous updates on social media. The New York crowd, who frequently surf the Internet, immediately burst into laughter after reading the news, and the comment section was quickly flooded:

"The Spurs' team culture? Injured players? The second-largest point differential in the Finals?"

“They have not achieved anything, but they always act like they are successful.”

"Fill the salary cap! Fill the salary cap!"

"Eva may leave the French soon and no one will pay attention to San Antonio."

After waiting for a month, the contract renewal was not finalized, and some members of the management team left for Oklahoma City. Spurs fans were extremely disappointed. Until near noon, David Robinson updated his Twitter:
"We don't play for trophies! We play for our families!"

Obviously, the team's veterans don't like Bynum's outrageous behavior. Anyway, there is still one year on his contract. The Spurs won't let him go, and no one can sign him away. Both sides are unwilling to compromise.

As for Marc Gasol, the Spurs did not have much reaction. Ever since Scola had a falling out with the team, they have become more open to trading international players.

If a team takes a fancy to this Spanish big man, Budenholzer has no objection
There are no big fish in the free market. The news about the Spurs has sparked widespread discussion, but the news that Arenas took the initiative to cut his salary shocked the onlookers. The big mouth doesn't want money anymore?

You know, not long ago, Arenas vowed that the Wizards must offer him a maximum salary contract. Now, three months have passed, and he has "backed down"?

Soon, curious sports reporters discovered that the Wizards had quietly replaced their general manager, and Grunfeld, who had been involved in a "workplace sex scandal" in New York, had found a new job.

The Wizards held a small signing ceremony for Arenas, who took a pay cut, and Grunfeld was interviewed along with the team's core players.

Arenas, who was injured, first told reporters that he had recovered and then explained his choice:

"I am a competitor and I want to win! If the team doctor allows, I would even like to play with an injury!"

"Modern basketball has changed. The big guys with rough skills and who only knew how to grab rebounds can't survive in today's league. I clearly understand that I need help!"

Seeing that all the reporters were staring at him seriously, Arenas was very satisfied. A smile appeared on his dark face again, and he suddenly joked:

"Lynch Hunter is right, and I respect him, but I would like to add that if we still hold on to the basketball philosophy of the past, the NBA will indeed become Lee's basketball game."

"During the time of recovery, I watched a lot of game videos. I know that if I want to make further progress, I must give the team excellent lineup depth."

"I will also change my playing style. I am not Kobe and I am not interested in imitating Michael Jordan. Lee has already told us how to win. What the Wizards have to do is to become the second Knicks."

"I like Ernie, he knows New York! His joining will transform the Wizards, and I am willing to make sacrifices for this."

"You heard me right. I chose to take a pay cut so that the team can complete the contract extension and replenish the lineup. I will not force the team to trade an MVP. I choose to fight with my brothers!"

Arenas made no secret of the fact that he was just being sarcastic towards Kobe. This was not the first time the two had been at loggerheads, and the crowd in the audience were happy to watch the show, with smiles on their faces.

"Ernie, you have delivered a perfect answer to the fans since you took office. Do you think the Wizards can achieve greater success?"

After a few years of silence, Grunfeld grew a big beard and lost weight. The "sex scandal" actually did little harm to him. As one of the founders of the New York dynasty, he has no shortage of work in the industry:
"It takes time, whether it's a draft pick or a trade, we don't know the exact chemistry."

"All I have to do is help the Wizards shorten this process. I am shocked by Gilbert's desire for victory. For his sacrifice, I just want to take my hat off to him!"

"."

The sports reporters in Washington were delighted. No one doubted Grunfeld's ability. Looking at the Knicks' performance in the draft in previous years, it was as if they were being instructed by God!
When thinking about the Wizards being able to accumulate talent through the draft, even the most picky reporters wouldn't make sarcastic remarks right now.

The press conference went on very harmoniously, with people flattering Arenas until an ESPN reporter added fuel to the fire:

"Gilbert, have you paid attention to the situation of the national team? In China, Kobe Bryant is more popular than other athletes. What do you think about this?"

Arenas' heart aches when Kobe is mentioned. In recent days, there has been more and more news about the Olympics, and the popular Kobe has also made headlines in many newspapers:
“I don’t know why this happened!”

With a puzzled look on his face, Arenas spread his hands in front of everyone, as if he was very confused, and then teased in a different tone:
"Just like you guys always report Kobe working hard, I don't know what's commendable about that."

"In fact, just talking about personal training, I won't lose to anyone, my training plan is even crazy, but you never report it!"

"Kobe always says he doesn't care about stats, that's bullshit! All the players in the league know what stats mean, no team will offer a maximum salary to a player averaging 10 points per game."

"But Kobe has surpassed me in some aspects, and I can't say 'I am the best player.'"

Arenas imitated Kobe's tone and shouted several times in front of everyone, which made the atmosphere more joyful, but the output of the big mouth was not over yet:
"Lee beat me more than once, he's on another level! And me and Kobe are just ordinary All-Stars."

"Do you think Kobe is close to Lee or Michael Jordan? Come on! Check the data, they are completely different."

"Maybe I'll be popular in Asia, too. At least my stats are not much different from Kobe's."

Arenas not only spoke very fast, but also had vivid expressions on his face, which made the sports reporters laugh.

This statement does make sense, and many people plan to check the data to see how big the gap is between Arenas and Kobe.
At the end of the press conference, Arenas felt even more sad when he thought about the news he had seen in the past few days. The sports media used the word "worship" to describe the love that fans on the other side of the ocean had for Kobe.

"Ernie, does Lee have any special training plans with the Knicks?"

Grunfeld had heard this question more than once, but looking at Arenas' expectant eyes and thinking about the pay cut, he finally told a white lie:

"Special training? Lee likes boxing, which may help him become more flexible."

"?"

Arenas had a face full of question marks. This was not the answer he wanted. In fact, he wanted to know more about some "core technology" issues. He felt that Li You's body was so strong that it was "inhuman."

If he can get the blessing of technology, even if there are some side effects, as long as he can become stronger, Arenas doesn't mind trying it.

The Lakers signed Gerald Green in a low-key manner with a minimum salary. Fisher also brought together his good brother, Matt Barnes, who became his teammate again.

For Kobe on the other side of the ocean, he no longer pays attention to the news. He is surrounded by enthusiastic Chinese fans and media reporters.

Since finishing the last warm-up game in Hangzhou and Australia, Kobe has been surrounded wherever he goes. He is completely immersed in this atmosphere, which is completely different from what he experienced in the United States.

On Thursday, August 8, one day before the opening ceremony, Kobe took time out to accept a personal interview with CCTV Sports.

In the US Olympic delegation, Sudan's black flag bearer was ignored, and among all the athletes, only Kobe was the most popular.

In addition, Sun Yue will join the Lakers in the new season, which makes fans like Kobe even more. Many people have begun to look forward to the scene of the two of them partnering in the backcourt.
There was camera recording from the moment he got on the car. Although it was not his first time in BJ, Kobe still expressed amazement at the city's development and kept praising the environment here as being much better than what was reported by the American and European media.

Zhang Weiping, Yang Jian and Yu Jia were all present for the special report of Basketball Park. No one expected Kobe to be so enthusiastic and he was very cooperative during the recording process.

During the Q&A session, Zhang Weiping, who often comments on Lakers games and likes to say "random shots" and "irrational shots", asked many fans questions: "Kobe, we noticed that you often have to force shots during the game. Can you talk about this special offensive choice?"

The old man smiled and kept an eye on Kobe's expression. To their surprise, Kobe leaned back in his chair with a confident smile on his face, and once again emphasized his basketball philosophy:
"In basketball games, ordinary offense cannot destroy the opponent's confidence! I like to use difficult shots to hit the opponent!"

"Keep attacking the opponent and keep scoring under help defense! I will keep attacking him until his defense begins to be frustrated. When the opponent has a loophole, the team can easily win the game."

The three of them showed expressions of amazement, which made Kobe even happier. He never expected that he would be recognized on the other side of the ocean!
Yang Jian was very satisfied with Kobe's attitude and quickly directed the topic to what the fans were concerned about:
"Next season, Sun Yue will join the Lakers. We all know that it is difficult for second-round picks to get too many opportunities in the NBA. What advice do you have for your new teammates?"

Kobe Bryant, who was busy fighting the lazy guys, didn't pay much attention to the new second-round pick, but the Olympics are about to start, and he will soon get to know his teammates:

"I don't know how rookies in other teams can get opportunities? But in the Lakers, as long as you work hard in training, you will get recognition from me and the coaching staff!"

Zhang Weiping controlled his expression. Based in the United States, he knew that Kobe was being sarcastic to Li You. This season, the Los Angeles Times has been teasing the Knicks' internal competition:
"It's better to work hard on training than to carry Li's bag."

Although it is impossible to confirm whether the news is true, Zhang Weiping feels that the report is still somewhat credible.

After introducing the Lakers' internal situation to the fans and mentioning the current locker room culture, Kobe still felt unsatisfied and said seriously at the end:

"I will defend Sun myself during the match! I want to see what he's capable of!"

"."

After finishing the interview, Kobe returned to the Olympic Village. Among the entire team, Tyson Gay, the famous sprinter, is actually the biggest star in the team.

Coupled with the influence of American public opinion, Kobe is not popular among the female athletes in the delegation. On the contrary, LeBron James got along well with everyone early on and has been visiting them frequently in recent days to get to know them.

Wade found Kobe at this time. Since O'Neal always brought his new brothers to mock his old partner, the relationship between the two was average.

After entering the room, Wade showed Kobe the news on his phone without saying anything. He also joked about his former teammate:

"Lamar is such an unlucky guy, but I have a good relationship with him. If someone interviews me later and asks me about the trade, I will support it!"

"Man, this is just the team's choice. I don't think you will give up on him. I've been hearing about the trade for almost two years."

Yahoo Sports broke the news that Odom intends to return to Miami. When Kobe saw that he was "fed up with the Lakers environment", his good mood suddenly disappeared, and finally he said seriously with a stern face:
"Thanks, Bro! I don't care about these boring news."

Wade shrugged his shoulders. He felt a little sorry for Kobe, who made it to the finals but didn't get much praise. Thinking of the situation in this year's finals, he finally gave a kind suggestion:

"I think you should consider gaining muscle and returning to the form of the previous seasons. In the NBA, referees will allow Lee's small moves, and a lot of physical confrontations will make you lost."

"I've been wanting to say this since I entered training camp, those reporters shouldn't be slandering you."

At this time, Kobe acted like a "big brother", nodded slightly, expressed his gratitude and stopped talking. Wade was too lazy to care about it and quickly said goodbye and left.

There are two voices in the Lakers management, and Kobe is very clear about this, but he can't make a decision. Which side is right? Thinking of these bad things, Kobe couldn't help but curse for a while:
"Shit! Why does he always succeed?"

On Friday, August 8, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, Li You, who is still in the UK, has been dealing with British reporters recently. Although Ronaldo stays in the team, the spectators will not miss this hot spot.

London is also one of the world's financial centers. The troubles on Wall Street have also affected this side. Li You has received many invitations from bankers in the past few days.

Of course they had to go to the banquet, but if the other party knew that Li You was going to short them in a few months, they would probably be in a bad mood, and it would be polite not to pull out a gun on the spot.
Watching football, banquets, and "practice", the boring life has been temporarily paused today. Li You and his friends, who got up at almost 11 o'clock, can have lunch directly.

This private villa in Cheshire is very large, and after a modern renovation, the comfort has been greatly improved, so the butler team can live in another place.

Natalie Dormer raved about this place, and so did Elizabeth Olsen. After being deceived by the historic red brick house's exterior, they gradually fell in love with the quiet environment here.

Catherine, who had the best physical fitness, hung on Li You and walked out of the bathroom together before she casually put on a T-shirt. She glanced at the itinerary sent to her and said in surprise:
"Are we going back to the States this weekend?"

Li You turned on the TV, curled up on the sofa in the living room, watched the news channel, and responded casually:
"I have to go to Washington for a few days. You can stay here and thank Natalie for taking good care of the house."

As a mature girl, Catherine had completely changed her mindset. She agreed casually while wiping her hair, then hummed a song and prepared to go to notify the kitchen.

It was almost 12 o'clock when Olsen tiptoed out of the bathroom. She was a little embarrassed, but fortunately Catherine had no bad taste and considerately helped her prepare clothes.

The opening ceremony was about to begin, and the young girl bit her lip and squeezed closer to Li You. She was still not used to showing affection under her sister's gaze.

Sharing the joy of the past few days, Olsen gradually leaned into his arms and looked at Li You's particularly young face after shaving his beard. He subconsciously hugged him tightly and whispered:
"Honey, will we always be together?"

If it were the two twin sisters, they would never say such a thing. Li You looked down at the young girl's expectant eyes, a sunny smile appeared on his face, and he responded without hesitation:

"God won't let me miss a good girl."

The sweet words in his ears made the young Olsen very happy. After being teased, his fair breasts were soon held again. When he was kissed, the physical pleasure made all the doubts in his heart go to the back of his mind, and he had some fantasies in his mind:
"Maybe we can start a family and I can take care of those cute little ones and they will love me!"

Catherine returned to the living room with snacks and couldn't help but roll her eyes when she saw the young girl's emotional look.

She really couldn't bear to shatter certain fantasies, and some things were more appropriately said by the twin sisters.

The young girl's sweet words and energetic waist could not attract Li You's attention at certain moments. Witnessing the grand opening ceremony again, the memories in his mind surged again.

At that time, due to his excellent oral English, he was arranged by his work unit to be a volunteer. The life in the office seemed like yesterday.
When Catherine brought the snacks over, Olsen blushed, pulled down his T-shirt, and thought of his previous thoughts. He secretly looked at his blonde sister and became more confident.
“I’m only 19.”

Seeing the camera on TV suddenly stop on Kobe's face for several seconds, there was a huge cheer at the scene. Li You, who had just gotten rid of the young girl, thought of the past and immediately laughed.

At certain moments, he is just like Melinda, a fun-loving person with some bad tastes.

On the other side of the ocean, in the Bird's Nest Stadium, when the cheers rang out, Kobe waved repeatedly, thinking of his experiences in the United States in recent years, his emotions surged again, and finally he shed tears in front of the camera.

The people around him didn't expect Kobe to perform like this. Tyson Gay, who got a long shot, acted like a superstar and just smiled at the camera. The two people's different attitudes formed a sharp contrast.

On Saturday, August 8, Kobe's tears became hot news on the other side of the ocean. His die-hard fans were excited and began to speak out for their idol on the forum.

This news was also highly discussed in the United States. On Reddit, in the Lakers section, a post by a Kobe fan went viral:

"With just an 8-second shot, even people on the other side of the ocean recognize Kobe, why do we always laugh at him?"

"I don't understand why so many people like Lee. He doesn't love basketball at all. Kobe is different. He was born for basketball!"

"He is a special Mamba in the delegation. I am proud of Kobe. As my idol, Kobe makes me more confident."

None of the replies below the post agreed with it. People in New York were almost laughing to death. Young people in front of their computers called their friends and laughed at each other as much as they could after crossing the district.

At first the fans protested, until almost the entire forum responded:

"Kobe never won a championship that was truly his."

"."

Also this weekend, the Knicks officially confirmed that Artest and Raja Bell will continue to play for the Knicks next season and the two sides have signed a four-year contract.

Although the specific amount has not been announced yet, a pay cut is impossible, and many basketball commentators have started calculating New York's salaries after receiving the news.

On Sunday afternoon, old Smith stopped putting on airs. After a month of hard work, he seemed to be affected by the "New York black shop". Only the Grizzlies and the Nuggets made offers for Haodaer.

Go to Memphis or Denver to play, even if JR Smith agrees, his family will take him back to New York!
Taking the initiative to accept an interview with a New York Times sports reporter, Smith Sr. seemed particularly loyal and did not mention the fact that he went out to look for a contract last month:
“I am so proud of my son to be coached by God-Lee!”

"."

I don’t know when it started, but every player who signed with the Knicks would thank Li You. The New York media may have noticed it, but who cares about the specific circumstances?

As long as they keep winning, New York still has the most loyal fans.
(End of this chapter)