Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 78 Another Level

Li Sheng shook his head, but said: "But he has already won the championship, hasn't he? Besides, he is not a small player, but a main force. He has made great contributions on both ends of the offense and defense. The improvement in this off-season will also allow him to perform better in the new season.

"The GDP of the Spurs is old, and they need new players to carry the banner. There is no more suitable candidate than him, so he will have more ball possessions, more performance, and become the new core of the Spurs. With the momentum of the Spurs, they have retained the lineup from last season. The GDP is still fueled, and the new players have grown up.

"Do you think it is possible for their lineup to win another championship, and at that time, is it possible for Leonard to win an FMVP first? He may improve in the future, and the Spurs may still win the championship. With this progress, how can you be sure that he can't surpass you?"

Durant was stunned for a moment, obviously he also realized that what he and Li Sheng said were not the same thing.

What he thinks is that his one-on-one strength is stronger than Leonard's. It doesn't matter if his defense is not as good. The offense is much stronger. I can block your attack and I am not afraid of your defense. Am I better than you?
What Li Sheng thinks is that Leonard is in the Spurs group. If Leonard can continue to improve in the future-Durant, who has been training with him for a month, also believes in this point, then he will reap a lot of honors in the future, because many honors are plainly based on your results.

And this result is often inseparable from the team's record.

Similarly, the evaluation of the outside world will also be based on this, just like when Kobe was at the peak of his personal ability before 09, the Lakers have been in a quagmire. At that time, many people said that he was a brush and laughed at him.

When he was not that strong personally, the Lakers won two consecutive championships, and his personal evaluation suddenly reversed.

If there was no serious injury at the end of last season, perhaps the "future" Kobe could still reap some personal honors.

Durant also thought of his old rival James. He was the league's scoring leader in the 11-12 season. In that shrinking season, the Thunder's record was better than that of the Heat.

In this case, James actually beat him to get his third regular season MVP, which also made him very unconvinced.

It's a pity that he failed to win back in the finals. Instead, he was swept by the gentleman, allowing James to successfully win the FMVP and become the veritable No.1 of the season.

Fortunately, James' second consecutive MVP this season, but he failed to defend the title. He did not reinterpret the story of double MVPs in a single season, which reduced the legend, and Durant was really relieved.

Thinking that this had something to do with the head coach in front of him, he had an indescribable feeling.

But it cannot be denied that what Li Sheng said really gave Durant a sense of "I've seen this".

Durant also doesn't think he lost to James, just because he has better teammates, and he only has Westbrook.

It is enough to already have James, and now there is Leonard. Durant feels that if he really develops as Li Sheng said, and Leonard wins the championship, FMVP, and even MVP in the future.

In fact, Li Sheng has always felt that the reason why Durant went to the Warriors in his previous life may be James, and the reason why he left the Warriors may have something to do with Leonard, especially when Leonard won the championship in 19 years, the stimulation to him will not be less than the Green formula.

He was overwhelmed by James in the early stage of his career, and he was almost overwhelmed by Leonard in the middle and late stages of his career. Can Durant not be popular?

"So, you should understand that the outside world doesn't care whether your personal ability is really better than James, because this cannot be quantified. When it comes to real comparison, it is the championship, the MVP, and the FMVP. LeBron has all these things, and Kawhi may have them in the future. What about you?"

Durant said in a difficult tone, "Sir, just tell me what I'm going to do."

Li Sheng is satisfied, this attitude is right.

He said that these are to create Durant's sense of crisis. Durant is sensitive and even a little inferior. This has something to do with his living environment since he was a child, and it will make people feel that he is arrogant, such as calling himself "God" and thinking that he is the number one in the world.

So on the one hand, he really wants to gain honor, and it doesn't matter if he gives up or sacrifices something for it, but on the other hand, he will be very concerned about his status, especially after he has already won the honor...

"KD, what I mean is very simple, as I said before, let you do what you are best at, I will build your own team for you, but you also have to listen to me.

"Maybe I can't prove anything yet, but you have seen the progress of Giannis and the others. Do you think they can be your good helpers?"

Durant hesitated for a moment, but nodded.

Among other things, when Li Sheng learned from Udoka that there was a 3VS3 halftime, Durant called Leonard and Green very uncomfortable to defend, and then half-jokingly said that he did not want to be an opponent with them, Li Sheng asked Udoka to arrange it again, and replaced Antetokounmpo with Robertson to defend against him, allowing him to experience the defensive ability of his rookie teammates.

So even if the shooting has improved a lot, Antetokounmpo and Robertson, who still haven't been recognized by him, at least let him recognize it defensively.

And they are still rookies, and the current progress is also visible, so the future is certainly worth looking forward to.

"Remember, this is just the beginning, I will help you, but I also need your help and support. I hope you trust me as much as I trust you. Remember when I always believed that you would be the best player in the league?
"I hope that one day I don't need to go to the media to explain it tirelessly, but just show them your performance and your report card in their faces to prove that I am right."

It was rare for Durant to face Li Sheng and smiled.

Although he told Durant a lot, in Li Sheng's view, Durant is actually relatively easy to settle.

Ordinarily, he has experienced a lot, and he should know that judging people should be based on listening to his words and observing his actions, rather than believing whatever he has a good relationship with. But until the "future" went to the Nets, when facing Irving, he still had the attitude of "this is my brother, I believe him".

Of course, the difference between closeness and closeness is also obvious. For example, it is another attitude towards Harden, "I didn't know he was unhappy until he left."

Li Sheng didn't want to get too close to him, after all, this is working together and not making friends, as long as he can listen to his own opinions more.

And Li Sheng is also convinced that when they achieve success one by one in the future, Durant will naturally believe him without having to say it himself.

In fact, Durant's character is like this. When he feels respected and praised, he will naturally give you face.

Of course, whether or not there will be a trumpet behind the scenes is another matter.

In contrast, Westbrook's side is more tricky.

When Li Sheng was still in China, he heard from Collins that Westbrook planned to come to fulfill the bet with him in the near future, that is, to shoot with Robertson.

To be honest, if it is Robertson who can fully cash out the shooting card and the "Ray Allen" yellow card template, Li Sheng has reason to believe that his shooting can beat Westbrook, but there is only a certain probability.

Now Robertson's progress is obvious. Compared with when he first started training a month ago, he has improved by several percentage points, and he is becoming more and more stable.

But that's not enough!
(End of this chapter)