Basketball Terminal

Chapter 46 Human Nature

On the morning of the 16th, the Nets held their training session at the Toyota Center, formerly the Los Angeles Lakers' basement training facility.

This place used to be adorned with the Los Angeles Lakers' yellow flags and the team logo printed on the floor. Now, with the Lakers moving their training facilities to a shared facility with UCLA, it has returned to its ordinary state.

It's close to Los Angeles International Airport and the Marriott Hotel, so the players can quickly go back to the hotel to rest after training.

Li Wei got up early and went alone to the team's equipment manager, Joseph Como, to collect his jersey, shoes, and other gear. This marked his official entry into the Nets' ranks; you need a set of clothes, right?

Cuomo has worked for the Nets since 2012, for almost ten years, serving under the Nets' original Big Three: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Joe Johnson. His expression was aloof, not because he looked down on Levi, but because his work was incredibly demanding every day, leaving him no energy to force a smile.

For him, Li Wei's sudden signing on an away game was an unexpected situation in his work, and the team couldn't possibly have a jersey with his name on it. They could only settle for a blank jersey without his name, and as for the size, that was up to fate.

"Sorry, we don't have number 0. That's Reggie Perry's teammate... We have a spare number 29 jersey. As for the size... you can try it on."

Li Wei put on the black Nets jersey with the number 29 that Cuomo handed him. It was a little big, obviously meant for an inside player.

Why the 29th?

"No one usually uses this number, so you won't run into someone wearing the same thing."

To prepare for unforeseen circumstances, the team's equipment manager always keeps two spare jerseys without names. For example, when Jordan's jersey was stolen in Orlando in 1990 and he couldn't find a replacement, he wore the spare, unnamed number 12.

Li Wei could only temporarily wear number 29, and Como gave him a training jersey, socks, and towel. He also told him that these items had to be handed in after training and matches and would be managed by the equipment department.

"A jersey costs 500, socks cost 20, and a towel costs 35. If lost or damaged, you will be compensated at the original price."

"Holy crap, that's so expensive... Would it be even more expensive if it had Kevin Durant's or James Harden's name on it?"

"Of course, one item can sell for thousands, and for some special matches, tens of thousands. They usually give them to the fans voluntarily, but the team has to pay them back afterwards."

"What if it's unwashed and unscented?"

"What the hell are you thinking? Take your jersey and get the hell out of here."

At nine o'clock in the morning, the other players got up after being urged by a phone call from the equipment manager, went downstairs to collect their equipment, and then went to the cafeteria for breakfast. Li Wei, wearing a Nets employee ID badge around his neck, joined them. He saw Nets players such as James Harden and Kyrie Irving, most of whom were black, as if it were another day of picking cotton.

Everything was the same as when he first joined the Long Island Nets: quiet, indifferent. Nobody cared who you were; at most, they'd give you a second glance because you had an Asian face. Steve Nash greeted Levi, exchanged a few simple pleasantries, and then went to eat with the coaches.

Li Wei really wanted to say, "Coach, you should sit with the players, otherwise it looks like the farmers are at one table and the workers at another." But he couldn't say it out loud, especially since there are quite a few Black coaches these days.

To Li Wei's surprise, Harden offered him a seat, gesturing for him to sit down. He asked Li Wei, "Where are you from? Japan? Or China?"

"China and Japan don't have such heights."

"Oh~ China." After saying "China," Harden immediately followed up with a clear and fluent Chinese "Awesome!" He then gave a thumbs up, swayed his shoulders, and twisted his body a couple of times, making everyone at the table burst into laughter, including Li Wei.

Because of his long tenure with the Rockets, Harden has a huge fan base in China and frequently travels there for events. Li Wei has heard that Harden has an excellent personality and none of the bad habits some Black basketball stars have. He's also quite funny and often makes silly mistakes.

Now it seems that's indeed the case; Li Wei remembers Harden's friendliness. Li Wei is the kind of person who'll be even nicer to you if you're kind to him, but if you bare your teeth at him, he'll punch you.

At 9:30, the group set off for the Toyota Center for a simple team training session. Li Wei finally had the opportunity to experience NBA-level training. Of course, there was a game that evening, so the training intensity wouldn't be very high; it was just simple warm-ups and addressing any weaknesses.

After changing into their training gear, Nash divided the players into two groups. The starters practiced simple half-court tactics, while the substitutes received training as needed. Li Wei was assigned to Tim Walsh's training team for fundamentals practice. Walsh, with over 30 years in the league and nearly 20 years with the Nets, is a highly experienced training coach. He previously worked for the Knicks and was Patrick Ewing's most trusted trainer, even to the point of superstition. This was because Ewing, a dark-skinned man, had severe mysophobia and believed the locker room and everyone else were teeming with germs and viruses.

All his equipment and locker had to be handled by Walsh, his drinking water had to be poured by Walsh, his jersey had to be hung on a special wooden hanger, and Ewing would stay away from anyone on the team who didn't wash their hands for a long time.

Walsh was not only a trainer but also a psychologist and personal assistant to star players. Vince Carter and Gerald Wallace both relied on him for daily help and support. Of course, as time went by and Walsh aged, his relationship with the new generation of stars was not as close as it used to be.

Durant, Irving, and Harden all have their own teams and more trusted young teammates, while Walsh is an old guy nearing retirement, and nobody listens to him anymore. So his main task is to help the reserves and fringe players practice their fundamentals and provide psychological counseling.

"Come on, little friend, is there anything I can help you with? I can take some time to answer your questions. This is a rare opportunity, so please seize it."

In Walsh's view, players like Levi, who have short-term contracts of 10 days, are just passing through. He'll do his duty to give you a couple of pointers, but whether you can learn from them or improve is up to you.

"The coach wants me to get past LeBron James tonight, can you teach me the trick?"

Walsh paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, his voice sounding like he had phlegm stuck in his throat. After coughing twice, Walsh said, "Steve is getting more and more humorous... Come on, let me teach you how to defend LeBron. You have the ball, now you are LeBron James."

"You stand outside the three-point line, and I'll guard you. Now, I'll stand on the three-point line, step back, one step, two steps, three steps, and keep my eyes glued to you. Okay, that's it. Then, silently chant in your mind, 'Missing, missing, missing.' To show your devotion, you can make the sign of the cross."

"Oh, come on, Coach."

"You were the one who started this joke. Okay, enough nonsense, let me tell you what you can do if you go on stage. What position do you play?"

"Inside, center or power forward, actually small forward is also fine."

"Okay, first, absolutely do not lose defensive rebounds, absolutely not. If you lose defensive rebounds consecutively and the opponent gets a second-chance opportunity, you're finished, you won't get another chance to play. Second, don't make mistakes, especially stupid defensive errors. If you make those, you're finished too. Third, don't be greedy on offense, don't try to force the ball yourself, pass it to the players who can score. But if you get an opportunity, seize it, understand?"

Li Wei understood these principles, of course, but he was still very grateful that an experienced coach was willing to give him guidance. He wasn't joking and nodded to indicate he understood. He then had one of Walsh's trainers help Li Wei practice positioning and getting a feel for spot shooting.

The team returned to the hotel at 11:30 AM for lunch and rest. At 3:00 PM, they set off again, this time to the Staples Center to prepare for the evening's game. Due to a hamstring strain, Kevin Durant missed the morning's practice and ate breakfast in his room.

In the afternoon, he traveled to Staples Center with the team. On the way, he saw Levi and quickly recognized him: "Oh, fuck, you're the one who... always likes my posts."

It seems that liking each other's posts does have its uses. When Li Wei was competing in the park, he instructed Li Yue to keep liking his posts. Once you start liking, you have to keep doing it; if you don't like them one day, they might blame you.

Durant sat down next to Rewi, and to Rewi's surprise, Durant seemed quite impressed with him. Although the two didn't speak afterward, Durant watched videos of Rewi's past no-score challenges and, observing from the perspective of a top-tier one-on-one player, found Rewi's defense to be truly excellent. Therefore, he considered challenging Rewi to a one-on-one match, but he was simply too busy to find the time.

"Unbelievable... You actually came to the Nets? How did you get in? Did you get in through connections?"

"I'll tell you a secret, I'm actually related to Boss Cai... Please keep this a secret, and don't tell anyone else."

Durant nodded repeatedly. So it was a relative of the owner. No wonder he could get into the stadium to watch the game and sign a 10-day short-term contract. Durant understood perfectly, because after Mr. Cai bought the Nets, he was really generous. He was reluctant to lay off many of the previous staff members, and he listened to the management and let them do things freely.

So it's quite normal for Boss Cai to bring in a relative to play ball, especially since this person seems to be quite skilled.

The two sat in the last row of the bus whispering to each other. Durant, wearing his classic hoodie, covered his head and looked mysterious, which puzzled the whole team. This newcomer Victor seemed to know Durant very well. Was he another person Durant had found through connections?
First Robertson, then Victor Lee—the management is truly going to great lengths to please Durant.

When Li Wei arrived at the Staples Center and got off the bus, staff members had already offered to carry his luggage for him, whereas before no one had paid any attention to him. Li Wei thought to himself, "The Brooklyn Nets are quite a humane team."

(End of this chapter)