Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 59 This is hell!

As one lawyer put it, "Being a surgeon also has stress, but in a different way. You don't see another surgeon across the operating table trying to remove the stitches you just put in. In the legal profession, however, your income comes precisely from confronting others."

This is precisely the real reason why Rudy Gay, once considered the core of the Memphis Grizzlies' team building—or rather, "former core"—has been so restless since the draft.

He was a top prospect in the 2006 NBA draft, possessing all the perfect talent a small forward should have, and was hailed as "the next Tracy McGrady." However, his professional attitude, competitive spirit, and desire for self-motivation were frequently questioned by scouts.

It's important to understand that talent is never a rare commodity in the NBA, and there are countless talented individuals who have squandered their potential. Amidst these doubts, Gay's draft stock plummeted until he was finally selected eighth overall by the Houston Rockets, and was subsequently traded to the Grizzlies in exchange for Shane Battier.

This should have been a good thing for him. The Rockets didn't have the patience to wait for him to develop, but in Memphis, he would have the most abundant resources and opportunities.

In his rookie season, Gay's performance was decent, but far from spectacular. Despite the team's turmoil, they still chose to promote him to the starting lineup, yet he hadn't yet learned how to truly lead a team. Nevertheless, he knew very well in his heart: the Grizzlies would ultimately be his team. Pau Gasol would leave sooner or later, and the team's future was destined to be handed over to a young man with unlimited potential. Looking across Memphis, who else could it be but him?

Then, the team drew the third pick and selected one of the most anticipated superstars in the NCAA this past season.

From that moment on, a deep anxiety gripped Guy. He was anxious about his status, anxious about the uncertain future, and even more anxious about the privilege that had once belonged solely to him, the privilege of being above all others, which was about to be taken away by others.

On the first day of training camp, Guy walked into the locker room and immediately saw his classmate Kyle Lowry. He finally couldn't help but ask, "Kyle, why did you give up the number one jersey to that guy so easily?"

Lowry looked up, a smooth and pragmatic smile on his face: "Rudy, it's just a number. For me, the number I wear isn't important; what matters is contributing on the field. Besides, this is Mr. Logo's idea; he values ​​Eli highly. As players, sometimes doing others a favor is also doing ourselves a favor, don't you think?"

No, that's not right at all, according to Guy.

“You make it sound so easy,” Guy said angrily. “That guy hasn’t contributed anything to the team yet, but he’s already putting on airs? Why should everyone have to give up their number just because he asks? Who does he think he is?”

Lowry smiled bitterly to himself. In his eyes, it was just a small matter, but in the eyes of someone like Guy, it was a matter of dignity and status. But that made sense, since they were people of different classes.

Although both Gay and Lowry were drafted in 2006, their worlds were drastically different from the moment they entered the league. Gay, the exceptionally talented eighth overall pick, was seen as the future face of Memphis from the moment he was traded there, with the team willing to invest heavily in him and wait for him to blossom. Lowry, on the other hand, as a late first-round pick, faced a tough survival battle from the very beginning of his NBA career. He understood that in this league, especially for players drafted low, assessing the situation, understanding management's intentions, and demonstrating a cooperative attitude were far more important than sticking to a jersey number.

Just as Gay was furious that Lowry had so easily compromised with the team's third overall pick, the locker room door opened.

The main character in their conversation strode in, followed closely by a burly man who appeared to be the other party's entourage.

“Good morning,” he greeted first, then naturally extended his hand to Lowry. “Kyle Lowry, right? I’m Xu Ling, you can call me Eli.”

Lowry stood up almost immediately, shook hands firmly, and put on a warm smile: "Welcome, Eli. You can call me Kyle."

Then, he turned to the other side and extended his hand again: "I think everyone here knows the name Rudy Guy. It's nice to meet you."

Guy on the other side paused for half a second before reluctantly reaching out to shake hands with Xu Ling briefly before parting ways.

"Ah."

The third-ranked player seemed completely unfazed by Guy's coldness. He turned around and asked his entourage in a casual tone, "ROK, which locker is mine?"

“Ms. Grankole specifically instructed,” the attendant called ROK replied immediately, “Player number one, of course, uses wardrobe number one.”

The words "Wardrobe Number One" caused Lowry's expression to shift slightly, her smile becoming somewhat complicated.

ROK looked around the locker room and quickly found the most conspicuous and largest locker. "Oh, sorry, Eli, I'm so slow."

"Don't worry about him." Xu Ling smiled at his two teammates and said calmly, "Don't let his appearance fool you, ROK is actually very reliable."

Lowry quickly composed herself, her smile becoming even warmer: "Of course. I can tell."

Xu Ling neatly put his things away, changed into his training clothes, nodded to the two of them, and said, "See you later."

After saying that, he left the locker room with ROK.

Once their footsteps faded into the distance, Guy finally couldn't contain himself and said angrily, "Paul hasn't even been officially traded yet, and they're already in such a hurry to give his locker to someone else?!"

Lowry was equally surprised. Locker number one was not only the most spacious spot in the locker room, but it also belonged to Pau Gasol—the undisputed greatest player in the team's history. Although the star center had requested a trade, he hadn't actually left the team yet. The management's swift, even somewhat cold, locker "handover," while professional, also seemed rather impersonal.

However, Guy's reaction almost made Lowry laugh, but he managed to hold it in. He knew all too well that Guy wasn't genuinely standing up for Gasol; he was simply annoyed that he wasn't the one chosen to take over Wardrobe Number One.

Xu Ling and Roderick Craig walked out of the locker room one after the other, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.

“Hey, did you see the look on ‘that guy’s’ face just now?” Craig caught up with Xu Ling and stood beside him, his tone undisguisedly mocking. He didn’t even use a name, just emphasized “that guy” in an exaggerated tone. “From the moment we went in, he had a long face, like someone owed him millions. He was so engrossed in tying his shoelaces, I bet he wanted to strangle you with them.”

“ROK,” Xu Ling said half-jokingly, “please show some respect for my Scottie Pippen.” “Alright,” Craig laughed, “but I’m worried he’ll think he’s Vince Carter.”

Xu Ling did not respond further, but simply smiled slightly and walked straight into the training hall.

He immediately began a systematic stretching and warm-up, his movements fluid and focused. This past summer, aside from unavoidable business activities, Xu Ling devoted almost all his time to intensive training. He spent long hours in the gym and training field, and according to his trainer, he had practically "reconstructed his entire muscle structure." While that's a slight exaggeration, some of the changes are undeniably noticeable.

His straight-line acceleration is now half a beat faster than before, his explosive start is more powerful, and most notably, his core strength has been comprehensively improved. It's fair to say he has made thorough preparations to meet the intensity of NBA-level competition.

Just as Xu Ling was warming up, his teammates gradually arrived at the court.

Some teammates took the initiative to greet Xu Ling, such as Mike Miller, Kyle Lowry, Eddie Jones, and Hakeem Warrick—all of whom were key rotation players for the Grizzlies last season and can be considered core members of the team.

However, many players showed indifference or even apathy.

Rudy Gay seemed to live in a world where "Xu Ling didn't exist," walking right past him without uttering a word. Pau Gasol, on the other hand, glared fiercely at Xu Ling, though what he truly loathed was the entire state of the team. Juan Carlos Navarro, the "Spanish bomb" who only made it into the rotation thanks to Gasol's patronage, also chose to side without hesitation, displaying the same aloofness.

New signing Darko Milicic adopted an indifferent attitude, not exchanging pleasantries with anyone—in his eyes, these new teammates were probably not as interesting as the enthusiastic young ladies at the "Asian Paradise Lost" on Beale Street in Memphis.

These players, along with Xu Ling, form the framework of the Memphis Grizzlies' roster for the new season.

Looking at the roster before him, Grizzlies' new head coach Marc Jaffaroni is hardly optimistic. For the past few years, as the Suns' lead assistant coach, he played a crucial role in leading that team to an average of 48 wins for three consecutive seasons, earning him the reputation of a promising young coach. But even a truly great coach needs a solid roster to showcase his talent.

However, the Grizzlies' roster configuration is far from ideal, yet the management still hopes to replicate the Suns' dazzling and fluid "seven seconds or less" offensive system to enhance the team's entertainment value. But the question remains: where is the Grizzlies' "Steve Nash"?

The answer is that they don't have Nash. They only have Pau Gasol, who harbors deep resentment towards the team and the city. Right now, the management's biggest hope is to trade Gasol as soon as possible and acquire a point guard who can act as the team's playmaker—otherwise, no matter how many tactical ideas Jaffaroni has, they are destined to fail.

Despite his concerns about the future, Jaffaroni ultimately accepted the offer from the Grizzlies. The reason was simple: this was the only team willing to offer him a long-term head coaching contract; all the other teams offered higher-paying assistant coaching positions, which were unattractive to him.

Therefore, Jaffaroni still chose the Grizzlies, this broken ship.

At this moment, he gathered the team together, then walked up to them and said, “Guys, I’m sure you’ve heard enough of the clichés, but before I repeat them, I’m going to tell you a story. My story—when I was as young as you are, I had the privilege of playing for a special team, the 76ers in 1983.”

“We have Moses Malone,” Iafaroni said with immense respect. “He was the MVP, the most dominant giant in the league. He could have demanded that every shot go through his hands. We also have Julius Erving, ‘Dr. J,’ an icon, a god of Philadelphia. He could have been forever in the spotlight, with everyone cheering for him.”

“But in that team, there was no ‘I,’ only ‘we,’” Jafaroni said emotionally. “Moses was willing to fight inside, do all the dirty work, and give his all for every rebound and block. Julius relinquished some of his ball possession, using his leadership and defense to connect the whole team. Cheeks, Tony, Bobby Jones—each of us clearly knew our role and was proud of it. We trusted each other, not for stats, not for the next contract, but for the guy on each other’s shoulders, for a common goal—victory. Pure victory.”

"This is what I ask of you: from now on, we must learn to trust each other. What we need to build is a truly resilient team that opponents will find incredibly difficult to work with, just like I experienced back in Philadelphia. It's not just a tactic; it's a philosophy, a winning culture!"

After Jaffaroni finished speaking, Mike Miller seized the opportunity to cheer, which inspired Kyle Lowry, Hakim Warrick, and then others followed suit. Whether they agreed or not, or whether they had drunk this bowl of chicken soup for the soul, most of them were willing to give their new coach, who had worked hard to memorize the speech, some face.

Jaffaroni nodded in satisfaction and then said that in order to allow the new and old players to get to know each other, he did not plan to arrange a tactics class today, but would arrange a scrimmage between the new and old players.

“Eli, this is your team's roster and numbers.” Assistant coach Andy Greer handed Xu Ling a list.

Before Xu Ling could even get a good look at the full roster, Rudy Gay's deliberately raised voice pierced the court, filled with undisguised malice: "Hey, Mr. Sixty Million, take a good look at your new teammates. Aren't you a little disappointed? Do you need us to coordinate and send a couple of old guys over to you? That way, we can balance the strength of both sides, so you don't lose too badly later and hurt your sixty million dollar face."

The scene was very quiet.

Guy's words not only blatantly trampled on the team culture that Jaffaroni was trying to promote, but also put Xu Ling in a dilemma: if he accepted the so-called "coordination", it would be tantamount to admitting that his team's lineup was weak, which might shake the confidence of his teammates; if he refused, it would mean that he would have to fight with a clearly inferior lineup, and the balance of victory would have already tilted before the game even started.

However, a thought flashed through Xu Ling's mind: Since Jimmy Butler once led a group of "fringe players" to defeat the Timberwolves' main force led by Towns and Wiggins in a training game, why couldn't he do it?

Since some people are unwilling to even preserve the most basic decency, there is no need to leave them any more room for maneuver.

"Worried we'll lose too badly?" Xu Ling sneered. "Rudy, you seem to have misunderstood something. The Grizzlies didn't draft a player with the third pick who needs the protection of a strong roster. Instead, they drafted a player who can make any roster strong."

"So, stop with your pathetic tricks and stop worrying about my 'face.' Call all the old guys around you and show them what you've got!"

The gleam that had just appeared in Marc Jafaroni's eyes quickly faded. He had anticipated that the vision he had carefully constructed in Memphis would one day crumble, but he hadn't expected it to come so soon, just five minutes after he had finished his triumphant speech.

He instinctively glanced towards the second floor. In the shadows outside the CEO's office, Jerry West silently watched down. He had hoped to temporarily hide behind this darkness, but now he was forced to confront this suffocating reality.

The two players he personally selected, Jordan and Pippen of the Grizzlies, as everyone called them, were destined for a "fuck you" relationship from the very first day they met.

This is fantastic! Could you find a tougher start?
This place is truly a basketball hell!

(End of this chapter)