One Year Left to Play-Chapter 131 - 42: Genius! An Absolute Genius!

Butch Baird is originally a scout and advisor, not a very outstanding head coach. The team’s better coach is Randy Whitman.

However, his analytical skills and vision are excellent, as evident in the Brooklyn Nets’ draft picks for the past seven to eight years. The players he recommended for the Nets in the first round usually perform well, rarely turning out to be flops. The second round does not matter much; he likes to gamble.

Previously, when he received an invitation from Reggie Seawus to watch the Adidas Training Camp Elite Competition, he was amazed by Zhang Hao’s performance in actual combat.

Top athletic ability combined with incredibly stable shooting accuracy during real games; just these two points made him consider Zhang Hao as a draft target.

Although he did not send Zhang Hao an invitation for a tryout, he truly put effort into investigating Zhang Hao and clearly understood Zhang Hao’s characteristics during the draft—

Elite mobility at the small forward position, outstanding jumping ability, and precise mid-range shot; the drawback is being frail, having simplistic skills, and whether he can adapt to NBA-level competition is uncertain...

But if he’s just a number 9 pick aiming to be trained like Reggie Miller, and if Zhang Hao can become an NBA top-level mid-range shooter, this draft pick is not a loss! After all, being frail is something that can be improved, and Zhang Hao is only 18 years old.

Moreover, Zhang Hao possesses impressive athletic abilities, comparable to those of a high school dunk champion.

All in all, Butch Baird initially believed that Zhang Hao had the potential to become an All-Star-level player.

So, Butch Baird decisively took Zhang Hao at the ninth pick. Later, when the Lakers wanted to trade Sibaros for Zhang Hao, he worked hard to ensure the team refused the trade. They have Almon Gilliam, a player of the same type as Sibaros who is excellent at pushing forward, and if Zhang Hao can prove himself, his role in the Nets and in future team-building plans is far more critical than Sibaros.

An off-the-ball shooter with excellent athleticism, as long as he proves himself in the NBA, any team would want him.

An All-Star-level shooter with great positioning whose role in a strong team may surpass that of an additional ball-handling star!

But Butch Baird did not foresee that during this summer when Zhang Hao was 18, he would grow another three inches in height without affecting his speed!

Even though growing taller without impacting speed is surprising, it’s not extremely uncommon.

Yet Zhang Hao’s strength also increased significantly, to the point that Butch Baird started doubting the weight of the barbell was incorrectly marked.

The standard 185 pounds equals roughly an 84-kilogram bench press. Among this year’s 58 rookie candidates, the average bench press count recorded at the draft event was 9.2 reps. Both the weight and count are not very outstanding, considering participating players are between 18 to 23 years old and have not yet undergone genuine professional athlete-level strength training, with some even still growing.

During the tryout, Zhang Hao managed a bench press of six reps, far below the forwards coming out of college, though not especially poor. There have been high-pick rookies who couldn’t even manage one rep at 84 kilograms.

The key is Zhang Hao’s recent bench press test showed 20 reps! He seemed to still have some energy left!

Originally, by this point, Butch Baird was quite worried Zhang Hao’s playing style would change completely. Yet during the following shooting practice, Zhang Hao performed exceptionally well.

Height increased, strength enhanced... yet athletic ability and shooting were scarcely affected!

Regarding shooting, Zhang Hao maintained it through hard practice so the shot wasn’t influenced by changes in strength. Or rather, it did affect it, but he relied on training to remove the impact.

In terms of athletic ability and flexibility, the most "bug" feature of the Growth Card came to light—when using the Growth Card, any negative impact supposedly brought by enhanced strength or increased height was minimized, or even nonexistent!

Combining strength, speed, agility, shooting feel... Zhang Hao’s talent amazed Butch Baird beyond words!

Admittedly, among NBA-level perimeter players, his dribbling is terrible, and his technical skills are abysmal. Particularly due to the absence of ball handling, Zhang Hao cannot independently become the core of the team.

But for a shooter, lacking ball-handling skills is not particularly crucial.

Not every player on a team needs to perform ball handling.

On the contrary, no team would refuse players who excel without needing ball handling.

A genius!

A true super genius!

Seeing Zhang Hao’s physical test report, Butch Baird’s hands trembled with excitement.

Indeed, Zhang Hao’s current skills are relatively average, and there’s the disadvantage of never having played in adult matches, his game experience severely lacking.

This is his first exposure to professional basketball, yet he is directly stepping onto the NBA stage...

Examining from various aspects, Zhang Hao still has a significant chance of not proving himself.

Not just a number 9 pick; even this year’s top draft pick may not perform effectively.

But Zhang Hao already possesses the conditions needed to prove himself!

The probability of proving himself surpasses what Butch Baird initially anticipated.

Initially, Butch Baird just took a gamble; he enjoys gambling. Compared to most draft candidates this year with obvious ceiling limitations, players like Garnett and Zhang Hao whose ceilings are more uncertain, while their floors might be incredibly low, are considered worth the risk to him.

Now, it’s highly probable that his gamble is paying off!

...

Butch Baird needs to calm down.

After the test, Zhang Hao felt great. He showcased his strengths, which was already the best scenario for him, at least without performing poorly.