This striker is a bit of a monster

Chapter 139 Tryout for the Bobcats (Chapter 6K to order)
Michael Jordan is here to cut the beard!

But isn't he already optimistic about Adam Morrison?
Is this for a spare tire?

Zhou Lin really didn't want to offend Michael Jordan, who personally selected the candidate, especially since Michael Jordan was already blocking the hotel entrance.

In basketball, everyone was in awe of Jordan.

Thomas Jackson looked a bit at a loss in front of Michael Jordan.

Zhou Lin finally chose to follow Jordan on a private jet.

Zhou Lin had no intention of participating in the next joint trial training.

Of course, some rookies who may not be drafted, or players who have not been invited to a separate trial training for the time being with low draft expectations, will continue to stay in Chicago and participate in today's trial training game.

The joint trial training is also a bit similar to the training camp, and many players are willing to polish it here for a while.

What's more, there are still many media people and scouts who will continue to shop for treasures here.

There is a high probability that Zhou Lin's college teammate Lamar Butler will complete the entire trial program in Chicago.

To Zhou Lin's surprise, on Jordan's private plane, Zhou Lin also saw Adam Morrison, who was a little embarrassed to see him.

After all, Adam Morrison once told Zhou Lin face to face that the Charlotte Bobcats would definitely pick him.

Although the Charlotte Bobcats still hold the No. 50 pick in the second round, it is impossible for Zhou Lin to fall into the second round no matter what, so if the Bobcats can choose Zhou Lin's pick, only one will be the third overall pick bit.

What's more, in terms of attributes, Zhou Lin and Adam Morrison still overlap to a certain extent.

Both Adam Morrison and Zhou Lin play the No. 3 position.

It's just that Adam Morrison will guest-play in position 2 on certain occasions, while Zhou Lin will guest-play in position 4.

Therefore, Zhou Lin suddenly became Adam Morrison's direct competitor.

Heh, as long as Jordan doesn't feel embarrassed.

Two hours later, Zhou Lin arrived in Charlotte.

The staff of the Charlotte Bobcats had already been waiting at the airport, and then a group of people arrived in the Charlotte Arena, the home stadium of the Charlotte Bobcats, in a commercial vehicle.

In 2002, the Charlotte Hornets moved from Charlotte to New Orleans. Charlotte was allowed to re-establish an NBA team. In June 2003, the Charlotte Bobcats name came to the fore during the selection process.

Construction of a new gymnasium began the following year.

The Charlotte Bobcats, who have just passed their second year of NBA experience, are as brand new as the arena.

The team is full of young and energetic players.

The oldest veteran player, Bunavin Knight, is only 30 years old.

Of course, in addition to being full of vigor, the team's management is also a bit sloppy.

The team is still in the stage of accumulating talent. Except for a few high-ranking draft players, other players are acquired by the Bobcats from outside the protection list of each team.

In the Bobcats, those drinking fountain players who could only sit at the end of the bench also got a lot of opportunities.

And Gerald Wallace is undoubtedly the leader who stands out from it.

For two consecutive years, with less than 30 total wins, it was close to the bottom of the league. This is something a new team must go through.

This year is also the first time that Jordan has participated in the team's preparations and drafts as a boss.

Nature is extremely cautious.

"This is Adam, this is Zhou!"

"Hi, I'm Bernie, Bernie Bickerstaff."

"Hi, Coach Bickerstaff."

This burly black old man wearing the Bobcats training uniform is the current coach of the Bobcats.

In fact, in history, Bernie Bickerstaff's coaching in the Bobcats is not outstanding. He only coached the Bobcats for 3 seasons, and he did not bring the Bobcats into the playoffs.

And his son, ** Bickerstaff, is more familiar to Chinese people.

**. Bickerstaff is a well-known stand-in coach in the league.

He was an assistant coach for the Bobcats, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies, and Cleveland Cavaliers.

And once in the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Cleveland Cavaliers, they all have the experience of temporary regularization.

When the head coach quits, this gentleman will immediately take over. Of course, what he is doing is the finishing work that does not need to consider the record.

Because of this, many people jokingly call this gentleman an artifact.

Closer to home, Bernie Bickerstaff still has a certain ability to coach, and the Bobcats also have certain ambitions.

Many team coaches are interested in participating in the selection of players, and there are even many head coaches who also serve as the general manager of the team. This is also to make the team more united.

However, after Jordan took over the basketball affairs of the Charlotte Bobcats, the job of coach Bernie Bickerstaff became "easy". Jordan is a guy who likes to be in charge, which is also consistent with his experience as a player Related, and Jordan at the moment basically has the final say in the basketball affairs of the Charlotte Bobcats.

Prior to this, Jordan had communicated with Bernie Bickerstaff about the ownership of the No. [-] pick, and Jordan obviously meant Adam Morrison, but head coach Bernie Bickerstaff was very skeptical. . Whether Morris, a pitcher with a slightly thin body, can adapt to the intensity of NBA games.

In addition to Zhou Lin and Adam Morrison, two other rookies also came to Charlotte more than an hour later.

One of them is Ryan Hollins, whom Zhou Lin is more familiar with, a seven-foot center from UCLA. In the NCAA finals, Zhou Lin's passing military training was terrible.

This year, he is predicted to be selected between the 45th and 55th picks, and the Charlotte Bobcats do have a 3th pick in addition to the 50rd pick.

The other is six-foot-ten Solomon Jones from the University of South Florida. This is an athletic and violent power forward, somewhat similar to a weakened version of Tyrus Thomas. Lins is a little thicker, probably in the early stage of the second round, but the possibility of falling to the middle and late stage of the second round is not ruled out.

The Bobcats' reinforcement plan is very clear. The positions they need to reinforce are the fifth, second and third positions.

They had an outstanding performance at the fourth position in the 04 No. [-] pick, and they were also the first player drafted by the team. Ameka Okafor, last year they selected Sean May in the lottery.

At the No. [-] position, Raymond Felton, last year's No. [-] pick that the team worked hard to cultivate, will also give a lot of support to the two juniors when Jordan enters Charlotte.

The fifth position also needs to be strengthened. The combination of Primoz Brezek and Jack Voskul is really weak. They need to strengthen their inner frame protection and rebounding ability.

Before Jordan had seen Zhou Lin's trial results, Jordan had indeed shifted his focus to Adam Morrison. The NCAA's leading three-pointer in the country, as long as they can play [-]% of the level in the NBA, the Bobcats will probably be able to laugh.

But Zhou Lin's physical test really surprised him.

When communicating with head coach Bernie Bickerstaff on the phone, Jordan's original words were: If it doesn't work, let Zhou Lin play shooting guard!
Although everyone is here, the real trial training will officially start tomorrow, and today is just to get acquainted.

Then in the rest of the time, the staff of the Bobcats will take the players to visit the arena. If it is to visit all the facilities of the team, if it is a team with a long history such as the Celtics or the Lakers, there will be someone Specifically to talk to you about the team's background and cultural history, but the Bobcats don't need to talk about this aspect.

The Bobcats arena is very new, with all the most advanced equipment, but among all the NBA teams, this arena is relatively small, and it is the smallest among the four or five NBA arenas that Zhou Lin has been to. The maximum capacity is only about 1.8.

Of course, Charlotte is a small city with a small ball market, and the attendance rate itself is not high. No matter how big the arena is, it is useless.

After visiting all the facilities in the arena, and then having dinner together.

The team will have someone to take you to a star hotel near the arena.

But the hotels that the four rookies went to were different.

Zhou Lin and Adam Morrison went to a four-star hotel with special room service, while Ryan Hollins and Solomon Jones went to a slightly worse three-star hotel.

It's not really that the Bobcats are stingy.

However, this is also an attitude expressed by the Bobcats to the outside world.

Players with the top three picks or even the No. [-] pick will naturally not be treated the same as ordinary players in the middle and late stages of the second round.

You know, behind a player, there may be his agent, and even family and friends.

A lot of news will also be magnified and revealed by the players around the players.

It's normal to set off smoke bombs before the draft.

For example, deliberately create an illusion for the outside world, making people feel that they have a particularly bad attitude towards a certain player, so that they can rest assured that they will not do anything before your pick.

Zhou Lin lived in a suite on the [-]th floor of the hotel, overlooking everything downstairs, with a great view.

Thomas Jackson was constantly on the phone in the room.

"The Rockets are trying to trade up the No. [-] pick in their hands, and it seems that they are expected to get the No. [-] pick of the Eagles."

Thomas Jackson said: "The general manager of the Rockets still wants to see you again."

If the Rockets can make a deal and finally choose Zhou Lin, it may not be a good thing.

"If I have time, I will go."

"The Raptors' trial training for Andrea Bargnani has been completed. According to the news released by his agent, this trial training went very well. The Raptors are afraid that there is more than [-]% possibility. Will choose Andrea Bargnani, he himself should also choose the team with fewer trials."

Thomas Jackson still thinks it would be irrational for him to break up with the Raptors.

"The Celtics, who hold the seventh overall pick, I set him as the last stop of the trial."

Thomas Jackson raised his glasses and said, "...if there is enough time."

The No. [-] pick of the Celtics, in the eyes of Thomas Jackson, is a bit like the final safety pin. If Zhou Lin's pick fluctuates, there is still a very small possibility of falling to the seventh pick.

"Okay, you arrange it!"

Zhou Lin nodded.

In fact, before and after a player enters the election, the agent is really no less leisurely than the player, and even busier.

The most popular players, except for those championship candidate teams with a stable framework, will pay attention to them. Even if they cannot be selected, they will come to make special inquiries and try to obtain them through trading.

At least eleven teams from Thomas Jackson's side have called to inquire about Zhou Lin's situation, and eight of them have sent out trial training invitations, including the Indiana Pacers with the 17th pick... …

Thomas Jackson's two mobile phones have at least 300 text messages, including scouts and a lot of media.

After getting off the plane, he has been on the phone all the time.

"I'm going to sleep first!"

Tomorrow, I have to get up early for a trial training, and Zhou Lin fell into a deep dream when the clock passed ten o'clock in the evening.

Among the four rookies who came to Charlotte today, Zhou Lin has the best mentality, because Zhou Lin will not necessarily hang himself on the tree of the Charlotte Hornets. On the contrary, he wants to go to Charlotte even more. Orlando Trail Blazers or Houston Rockets.

"Adam, we must make more preparations and try our best to show our talents in front of the teams, so that we will increase our trip to Portland tomorrow evening, so that we can catch up with Atlanta on the 23rd and Minnesota on the 25th..."

And in Adam Morrison's room, his agent and friends were sitting together, and Adam Morrison, who was originally in a good mood, was also planning to go to a few more teams for trial training. After all, the NBA is a business. The league, the promise of the Hornets, could be overturned by themselves at any moment.

The Hornets' attitude towards Zhou Lin was too enthusiastic, and most of the positions of the two overlapped, so it was obvious that they could only choose one of the two.

Adam Morrison was at a loss.

Also tough are two projected second-round picks who can see that the Charlotte Hornets are treating them differently, and they are more polite than Zhou Lin and Adam Morrison. .

Because one more team denies itself, then there may be one more risk of losing the selection.

They don't have much room to back off.

Before the agent came to Charlotte, he kept reminding them of the precautions.

Before falling asleep, they were still pondering whether their actions during the day were appropriate and whether they attracted the Hornets' resentment.

Zhou Lin slept well and woke up naturally on time at 08:30 in the morning. The morning trial training will officially start at [-]:[-], but Zhou Lin and the others must arrive at the arena before [-]:[-].

"Adam, are you up to sleep?"

Zhou Lin finished his breakfast and was about to leave the room. Just after 07:30, he saw Adam Morrison with two big dark circles under his eyes, looking like he was insomnia.

Adam Morrison forced a smile and said, "Well, a little bit, have you had breakfast?"

Zhou Lin nodded and said, "Have eaten, let's go together?"

Adam Morrison shook his head and said, "I still have something to discuss with my agent, so you go first."

"See you at the training ground!"

Zhou Lin nodded, took Thomas Jackson out of the hotel, and walked for about 10 minutes to the Charlotte Arena.

At 45:[-], I entered the basketball court.

Zhou Lin was not the first to arrive. When Zhou Lin arrived at the stadium, Ryan Hollins and Solomon Jones had already arrived. They had already changed into the training uniforms of the Charlotte Hornets and practiced alone there.

"Hey, Zhou! It's very early!"

Bernie Bickerstaff saw Zhou Lin and shouted.

"Hi, Coach Bickerstaff." Zhou Lin hugged him, "I'm only the third one to arrive."

Coach Bickerstaff greeted, "How did you sleep?"

"Very well, thanks to the Hornets for their hospitality, I had a good dream."

Zhou Lin said: "I feel energetic now."

"Good mentality!" Bickerstaff patted Zhou Lin on the shoulder and said, "Follow the team staff and change into the training uniform first. I look forward to your excellent performance in the next trial training session."

"Do my best!" Zhou Lin nodded.

When Zhou Lin changed into the training uniform with the Hornets logo on it, walked out of the locker room and came to the court, he happened to meet Adam Morrison head-on.

The latter was still discussing something with his manager. Zhou Lin turned his back and smiled as a greeting, but Adam Morrison acted as if he didn't see Zhou Lin.

Like the joint trial training, in the individual trial training, there will also be a physical test, followed by technical individual trials such as 'shooting' and 'passing'.

After a flurry of individual tryouts, Charlotte's four rookies were called together.

There will be actual combat next, and every rookie player will try his best to show his competitiveness.

The first is a 1v1 heads-up confrontation.

Distributed according to the same position.

Zhou Lin VS Adam Morrison, Ryan Hollins VS Solomon Jones.

The confrontation between Zhou Lin and Adam Morrison focused all the attention on the scene. This was a one-on-one match between two high-ranked lottery picks.

To Zhou Lin's surprise, Adam Morrison was out of shape today, and his best three-pointer shot was 7 of 2. In the end, Zhou Lin won the heads-up with a big score of 10-3 victory.

Of course, the outcome of heads-up is not considered the only consideration for team selection. After all, basketball is a team sport.

It is the basketball skills and game temperament that the players have shown throughout the trial training process.

"Are you okay?" Zhou Lin patted Adam Morrison on the shoulder and asked.

"Of course, don't worry about it, I just... don't like the food here."

Adam Morrison was very polite to Zhou Lin before, but now that the two are competing for the same position, their temper is obviously not so good.

"Zhou Lin, wait a minute!"

The heads-up match between Ryan Hollins and Solomon Jones was also over, and Solomon Jones had the absolute upper hand.

"You and Solomon have a contest."

Bickerstaff said: "It can still hold on."

"of course."

Zhou Lin had another round of heads-up with Solomon Jones.

Zhou Lin won 10-6. Solomon Jones' speed couldn't keep up with Zhou Lin, but Zhou Lin still suffered a bit in terms of strength.

After one-on-one, there will be two-on-two.

Zhou Lin and Ryan Hollins are on the same team, and Solomon Jones and Adam Morrison are on the same team.

After experiencing the unfavorable situation of heads-up, Adam Morrison finally found the touch in two-on-two, and made many shots from outside the three-point line, but Zhou Lin was still the most conspicuous existence.

Even under his transfer, Ryan Hollins also played a good performance.

The combination of Zhou Lin + Ryan Hollins beat the combination of Adam Morrison and Solomon Jones.

Next there will be a 3-on-3 contest.

Bickerstaff recruited both Redmond Felton and Brevin Knight, who had just finished their rookie season. Both of them are the team's point guards, but Brevin Naihe often made guest appearances. number two.

Next, a group of Zhou Lin, Brevin Knight, and Solomon Jones will face off against Redmond Felton, Adam Morrison, and Ryan Hollins.

With the help of Redmond Felton, Adam Morrison began to exert his power, and repeatedly found subtle spaces to get shots, and once had the upper hand, but Zhou Lin also quickly found He found a way, not only used the pick-and-roll dislocation, but finally won the victory.

And most of the tryouts are over.

"Zhou, you are doing very well."

Thomas Jackson nodded and said, "It seems that the Charlotte Hornets are very satisfied with you."

As a broker, one must know how to communicate, know some legal provisions, and the most important thing is to know how to read words and deeds.

Thomas Jackson is still studying micro-expressions recently, in order to be able to read the other party's mind and obtain the maximum benefit in the negotiation.

The Hornets' satisfaction with Zhou Lin is basically beyond words, and Thomas Jackson, a clever ghost, has already seen it.

"Next, you have to participate in a round of interviews." Thomas Jackson said.

"After it's over, fly directly to Toronto."

The people who interviewed Zhou Lin were the small owner of the team, Michael Jordan, and the head coach, Bernie Bickerstaff.

Thomas Jackson told Zhou Lin that sometimes interviews will be accompanied by psychologists, and the team also attaches great importance to a player's psychological considerations, so Zhou Lin should not be nervous and try to be a little positive.

However, Michael Jordan and Bernie Bickerstaff did not put a lot of pressure on Zhou Lin. Instead, Zhou Lin talked about his past, including childhood and some experiences in school, such as It's the same as usual, and Zhou Lin replied neither humble nor overbearing.

"The last question, if the team trails at the last moment and can overtake as long as they score, and the ball is in your hands, will you choose to pass the ball or shoot yourself?"

Michael Jordan asked Zhou Lin.

"It's an unanswered question, and there's no one right set of options."

Zhou Lin said: "The team is never a single individual. The players on the field are always only one-tenth of the game, which changes rapidly, so there is no most reasonable answer to your question, just like you can make a lore shot. But it is also like assisting Steve Kerr to make a lore shot, everything is for victory, and I am willing to bear the burden of infamy for victory, and I am also willing to give glory to teammates for victory.”

"Ok."

Michael Jordan smiled and said, "I hope to have the opportunity to work together."

The next morning, Zhou Lin and Thomas Jackson arrived in Toronto.

After getting off the plane, Thomas Jackson, who was walking while reading the news on his mobile phone, suddenly raised his head and said seriously to Zhou Lin: "Charlotte seems to be interested in you, and we have to make preparations for this!"

(End of this chapter)