One Year Left to Play-Chapter 90 - 28: We’ll Be Laughed at for Picking a High Schooler!
At this moment, Zhang Hao felt inconvenienced again...
These days, there aren’t many people with mobile phones, and landlines can’t be used just anytime, anywhere. Not to mention something as convenient as WeChat for communication.
So Zhang Hao went to the arena, hoping to talk to Coach Scott Collins.
Well, only then did he know that Coach Scott Collins had already resigned...
"Holy shit! Tricked me into participating in the draft, and now the person can’t be found?"
Zhang Hao silently cursed, then chuckled to himself. In the end, the decision was his own. Having bravely taken this step, whether ahead is a cliff or a road to success, it’s still his own path. Can he really blame others?
However, even though the coach had run off, the arena was still the same arena. Zhang Hao began to practice shooting from the free-throw line. Regardless of the outcome, he couldn’t let his skills slip.
In the past period of uncertainty and confusion, the only thing that comforted him was training.
Originally, after the effect of the Growth Card wore off, he felt the dullness of training. But during the series of trials, he did gain one benefit—he got used to the monotony; monotony, at least, has a target. The feeling of helplessness during several trials of confusion was truly disheartening...
When Zhang Hao felt confused and helpless, training was his way to divert attention. Meanwhile, two teams’ management were experiencing minor internal disputes because of him.
...
The Finals had already ended on June 14th, and at that time, Zhang Hao was flying all over the U.S., participating in trials. He wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to these things.
Those days are different from the future. Now, if you want to understand something, you need to actively seek it out. Unlike in the future, whether or not you want to know something, even if you just typed the word into the input method, major apps would push that information to you.
Zhang Hao really didn’t have the mind to focus on Olajuwon sweeping past O’Neal to win the championship. He was so confused during the trials. But after the Finals ended, the new NBA season began, and the real preparatory work for the new season started. So during the trials, Zhang Hao noticed that the pace of the teams accelerated.
By June 23rd, the trial period for all teams had ended. Many teams had already decided whom to select, and what backup plans to implement if their picks were snatched.
Since decisions were being made, naturally, there would be disagreements. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
In the Philadelphia Spectrum, a notably famous old arena in NBA history, it was nearing the end of its function as the home court for NBA teams. The 76ers’ new arena was already under construction, expected to be completed by the summer of 1996 when they would move to the Wachovia Center.
In the owner’s office, the 76ers were having a meeting discussing the third pick for their draft.
"John, what are you saying? Not picking Starkhouse or McDyess and instead picking that high schooler? Have you lost your mind?" 76ers owner Joel Snyder thought he heard wrong.
The owner already started swearing directly. Other members of the 76ers coaching staff looked at head coach John Lucas helplessly! During their previous discussions, these coaches had already tried persuading John Lucas not to make such suggestions to the owner.
"Joel, he’s really talented. He’s like Reggie Miller—no, even taller than Reggie Miller and possesses strong athletic ability. Most importantly, his shooting. I’ve never seen a player his age with such exceptional shooting. He could be better than Reggie Miller..."
John Lucas diligently promoted Zhang Hao, giving the impression that he had received an agency fee from Zhang Hao.
If Zhang Hao saw this scene, he’d surely be puzzled—during his trial, this bald brother always had his eyebrows furrowed.
Joel Snyder impatiently interrupted John Lucas’s pitch: "Okay, okay, John, I understand. You think he’s talented. I trust your judgment.
However, using the third pick on a Chinese player... Chinese players are fine. I mean nothing else; Asians, Africans, Europeans—they can all be chosen if talented.
But he’s a high schooler. Using the third pick on a high schooler would be ridiculed. We could think of a way to trade for a second-round pick and select him then."
A team isn’t monolithic; meetings tended to be more of a show with everyone watching John Lucas’s embarrassment. Besides, to them, John Lucas wanting to pick a high schooler seemed like a joke.
Not to mention a Chinese high schooler—even for Kevin Garnett, the top high schooler in the U.S., their owner wouldn’t pick him.
John Lucas was also helpless. He was just a head coach, and only during the 76ers’ rebuilding stage. He had no authority over trades or selections.
Zhang Hao’s trial confusion was because he hadn’t garnered much attention.
Out of the 8 teams he tried out for, 6 immediately put him in group trials. Of course, for a player predicted to be selected in the later rounds, this treatment is normal.
In team training sessions, Zhang Hao couldn’t really show much, being a catch-and-shoot player, and others weren’t passing to him!
However, 76ers head coach John Lucas, who gave Zhang Hao a solo trial opportunity, instantly recognized the extraordinary skill Zhang Hao had in shooting.
Reggie Miller, Mark Price, Horace, Mulin, Alan Houston...
