NBA's King of Talking

"Hello, Jia, I'm Sam Presti, the general manager of the Thunder, and these are my assistants!" Presti introduced himself with a smile, shook hands with Jia Fei, and his assistant handed Jia Fei a team cap.

Jia Fei put on the Thunder's team cap with the team logo, feeling exceptionally happy. No matter what, he was now a rookie for the Thunder, finally feeling a sense of belonging, a feeling of having a home.

President Putin then gave some more instructions, such as going with them to report to the Oklahoma City Thunder team the next day.

Jia Fei nodded repeatedly. There were so many things to remember at once, he couldn't possibly recall them all. He was enveloped in a feeling of happiness. He was indeed a second-round pick, but who was President Pu? Could it be said that he was the thoroughbred horse, and President Pu was the discerning judge?

To doubt Mr. Putin's draft picks is like doubting Kobe's determination, Durant's temperament, Ibaka's length, James's physique, Hakeem Olajuwon's footwork, or Kato Taka's finger dexterity...

That evening, Jia Fei and three others dined with their agent, Jeff Schwartz, at a restaurant in New Jersey.

The four of them toasted together, of course, they were still drinking beverages.

Schwartz didn't drink alcohol either. All four clients were drinking beverages. If he drank alcohol, wouldn't that be encouraging them to drink more? As an agent, his emotional intelligence is far superior to that of ordinary people.

Kemba Walker lamented, "The three of us are going to report to our respective teams soon, and we'll really be going our separate ways!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Jia Fei sighed. "It seems like Art and I are both in the west, and you're in the east, but the distance between us is farther than the distance between us."

Jia Fei was absolutely right. Even as the crow flies, California, where the Lakers are located, and Oklahoma, where the Thunder are located, are not close. Most NBA teams in the US are concentrated on the East or West Coast, but some are in the Midwest. However, because there are so many teams concentrated on the East Coast, to maintain an equal number of teams in both conferences, many teams geographically located in the Midwest have been relegated to the Western Conference. One consequence of this is that many Western Conference teams have to travel across half of North America to play each other, making away games quite tiring.

"No matter where we go in the future, our friendship will remain unchanged, and we will always be good friends of the Russian University!" Kemba Walker said.

"Yes!" Jia Fei and the other two said in unison.

Jeff Schwartz smiled as he watched their good friendship, while Jia Fei felt that his greatest gain from traveling here was these good friends at UConn, from coaches to teammates, who made him feel warm.

Damn it, why are my eyes so hot? I can't cry! A real man bleeds but doesn't cry!

Lying in bed that night, reflecting on the day's events, he still felt it was all a bit unreal. The talent show was so exciting and nerve-wracking; as a participant, the anxiety he felt while waiting in the hall was exactly the same as waiting to check his college entrance exam scores.

What if the Thunder draft me and then don't sign me to a contract? A question popped into his mind. This possibility wasn't entirely out of the question. In NBA history, there have been cases where teams didn't sign first-round picks, let alone second-round picks.

But reason tells Jia Fei that this possibility is extremely small. Firstly, second-round pick contracts are very small, barely taking up any salary cap space for the team. As a bonus and a gamble, why not give it a try? Secondly, the Thunder didn't have a second-round pick this year, so they traded a future second-round pick and some cash to acquire him. Even if the offer wasn't substantial, there's no need to do this if they didn't intend to sign him. Therefore, logically speaking, he will most likely be a Thunder player next season.

As for the contract issue, let his agent, Schwartz, handle it. Let the professionals handle the professional matters; he just needs to focus on playing well.

Thinking about playing ball, Jia Fei immediately realized his current points situation. Checking his points, he found he only had a pitiful 71 points. It had been a while since his last redemption, but the points were increasing incredibly slowly.

Oh right, I think I've accepted a mission!

Jia Fei suddenly remembered that he had accepted a task related to a talent show selection. He immediately checked the task list and, sure enough, the task was now marked as completed.

Overjoyed, Jia Fei claimed the reward for the task, and to his surprise, it was 2000 points! He remembered that the reward for completing the first task (the agent task) was 1000 points, but this time it was 2000. This meant that the number of points awarded wasn't uniform; the system would determine the amount automatically. As for the criteria for determining the reward, he didn't care or care; all he needed to do was complete the task and claim the reward.

Jia Fei then searched the task list to see if there were any tasks he could complete. After searching for a while, he found two tasks that he hoped to complete next. One was "sign a formal contract with an NBA team," and the other was "appear in an NBA regular season game."

Many people naively believe that getting playing time in an NBA regular season game is a very simple matter. That's not the case at all. While playing time can be garbage time, the prerequisite is making the team's roster. The Thunder are a strong team, and one dominated by star perimeter players; securing a spot on the roster for such a team is no easy feat.

But on the other hand, no matter how difficult it is, there is still hope of completing it. It's still easier than those crazy tasks like winning MVP or making the All-NBA First Team!

After accepting the mission, Jia Fei redeemed the 2000 points he had just received. In an instant, his "Iverson Peak Technique Integration" increased from 2% to 4%!

Although it still wasn't fast enough, as long as there was progress, there was hope, and he wouldn't feel hopeless. After finishing all this, he lay in bed, still unable to sleep. He wondered what would happen in Oklahoma City this time, and whether he would see the Thunder Three Young Masters.

The next morning, Jia Fei got up very early. Yesterday, Thunder general manager Presti had arranged with him to leave the hotel at 9 o'clock to go to the airport and then take the Thunder's private plane to Oklahoma City.

As a newcomer, Jia Fei didn't want to leave a bad impression on the team's general manager about being unpunctual.

After finishing breakfast, Jia Fei took his luggage and waited in the hotel lobby.

A little while later, Presti and his assistant appeared, along with a middle-aged couple and a young Black man who was about 190cm tall.