One Year Left to Play-Chapter 86 - 27: I Want Them to Regret It! (Part 2)
Originally, domestic media had almost no interest in the NBA draft tryouts, but now they’ve actively contacted the NBA side. They won’t give out Zhang Hao’s contact information, saying it might lead to legal disputes, so they’ve chosen to wait for Zhang Hao’s tryouts to interview him.
Domestic media isn’t stupid; they know what the NBA Headquarters means.
Many young media people back home sigh at the changing times. Back in the day, David Stern waited in the cold for hours before getting the chance to meet with officials, and then even gave away broadcasting rights for free so that the Imperial Channel could air NBA footage. Back then, they were treated like royalty, with people begging them to report, but now it’s the other way around.
But what can you do? The world is just this harsh.
After receiving a reply from the Chinese Imperial Sports Channel, it’s said that boisterous laughter came from the bathroom of the NBA headquarters’ president’s office...
...
A Chinese player who might get into the NBA and has a high chance of doing so has emerged, so of course, domestic sports media is excited, while public opinion on the matter in China is becoming polarized.
As the saying goes, when the bird grows big enough, all kinds of trees can emerge... no wait, when the forest grows big enough, all kinds of birds can emerge...
Plenty of sports fans are excited about this, but there are also sarcastic voices, and even discussions like "Why did he choose to study in the United States?" have popped up.
But this temporarily has little to do with Zhang Hao, as his focus is not on the media; he can’t see domestic news, nor does he pay attention to those things.
His attention is entirely on the upcoming draft tryouts.
By May 29, the teams he would be trying out with were basically confirmed.
There are a few teams he must go to, mostly those with late first-round picks.
His goal is not just the second round. Although he hasn’t paid much attention to media evaluations, he knows his draft prospects aren’t bad. The second round is a minimum option, but he definitely aims for the first round, at least to get a guaranteed contract. Even though rookie contracts these days don’t have strict rules, the only rule is that they are guaranteed contracts that can be signed for ten years...
Also, if he gets selected in the first round, he can receive the Silver Gift Package granted by Golden Finger!
Over at the Spurs, Popovich is serving as the general manager. With management fond of overseas players like this, Zhang Hao thinks it’s worth trying.
The Pistons, Phoenix Suns, SuperSonics, and Mavericks, all owning multiple draft picks, are also target teams for Zhang Hao.
These five teams are the ones Zhang Hao most wants to go to. Coincidentally, the Phoenix Suns, SuperSonics, and Pistons are also interested in him, having invited him to try out, while the Spurs and Mavericks were teams Zhang Hao called to apply for a tryout, and they agreed.
However, apart from covering accommodation and meals during tryouts, these three teams require him to cover his airfare, whereas for tryouts with the two teams in Texas, they only cover accommodation and meals, airfare is self-supported...
Besides these five teams, Zhang Hao also accepted tryout invitations from the Lakers, Clippers, and 76ers.
Two local teams and one team that’s been watching Kobe Bryant but discovered someone beat Kobe in a match.
Eight teams, a schedule packed full. From May 30 to June 22, Zhang Hao would either be in tryouts or on his way to the city of the next trial team.
...
"Remaining lifespan 392 days, usable lifespan 391 days."
Zhang Hao glanced at the time he could still live, decreasing day by day... but that’s not what’s bothering him the most.
"Why are you two tagging along when I’m going to my tryouts?"
Zhang Hao looked at his two protectors beside him, the key point being that one was a chubby fellow and the other a glamorous Latino girl...
On May 30 at 7:30 in the morning, Zhang Hao set off from his apartment heading towards the Great Western Forum. Pierce and Aprile Clark had gotten up earlier than him, even reaching his door before he did.
"Heh heh heh..."
The two flashed silly smiles simultaneously, clearly wanting to visit the Great Western Forum again.
Zhang Hao rubbed his forehead — fine, fine, let it be. After all, the Lakers’ 37th pick isn’t his target, and the Clippers are the same, their second pick looks unlikely to select him anyway, so even if bringing people to visit affects the Lakers’ impression of him, he doesn’t mind.
Moreover, the Lakers have three All-Star level perimeter players: Van Exel, Eddie Jones, and Cedric Ceballos. The substitutes also include George Lynch and Anthony Peeler, Lloyd Daniels. These six people nearly occupy all the perimeter playing time, so if Zhang Hao gets selected in the second round by the Lakers, it could be quite unfortunate.
Still, Zhang Hao had prepared well for the tryouts, having collected information over the past few days without neglecting his training. Aprile Clark and Pierce were both diligently helping out, allowing him more time to focus on training.
The Lakers and Clippers are Zhang Hao’s first two trial teams. He considers them as gaining experience so that he can perform better during tryouts with the next six teams.
Taking a taxi to the Great Western Forum, Zhang Hao was led by a staff member to the coach’s office. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
He wasn’t the only one trying out today; the Lakers held tryouts today, and although they only have one second-round pick, the number of invited players for tryouts was considerable, with team general manager Jerry West, assistant general manager Mitch Kupchek, and Jesse Buss, the young heir responsible for the scouting department from the Buss clan, all present in the coach’s office.
