I just play ball

Chapter 143 I'm Really Not Interested
In mid-July every year, in order to maintain attention and let rookies adapt to the rhythm of professional games as soon as possible, the NBA will hold a summer league in Las Vegas. At that time, each team will arrange a temporary head coach to lead the team. team to play.

This role is usually filled by assistant coaches or people close to the team. Most of them used to be NBA players or have relevant coaching experience. Sometimes the coach will take the post in person. For example, the head coach of Thunder Summer League in 08 was Scott Brooks. In charge, because he had just taken over the team at that time and needed to get familiar with it as soon as possible.

Summer League coaches have relatively easy tasks. Most of them only need to be responsible for checking whether a certain player is compatible with the team's tactical system and whether they have potential to be tapped. Basically, they can change players according to the roller skating plan.

Li Yue wants to be the coach of the Summer League this time. The purpose is to maximize his ability to select players and leave the most suitable candidates for the team.

I didn't intend to do this at first, but since some people in the team think that helping to find players is too much, they simply do it together. Those who understand will naturally understand, and those who don't don't need to explain, but it is still D'Antoni's business, and you must ask for permission. .

"Of course, but it may be more troublesome. Active players should not be qualified to serve as coaches." D'Antoni's tone was slightly tangled, "Well, my brother will be the interim head coach, and you can follow the guidance throughout the process."

"That's best, I hope he doesn't mind."

Li Yue thinks it is feasible, and this plan can save a lot of trouble.

"Absolutely not, I will notify him immediately to explain the situation."

After hanging up the phone, Li Yue returned to the sidelines and continued to observe the game between the blue and white teams. Jesse and Bonnie disappeared.

The game has progressed to the second round, and Covington played again, still responsible for defending the blue team's small forward.

Perhaps the encouragement effect of the previous conversation was too great. Covington became more courageous as the battle progressed, and the blue team's small forward continued to suffer. Later, he was too scared to break through. As a result, the blue team's offensive efficiency was greatly reduced, and the white team played a wave to take the lead.

Just as he was watching intently, suddenly a middle-aged man with a small crew cut came up to him with a shrewd smile on his face.

"Hey, let me introduce myself, my name is Gerrard, and I am currently working as a scout for the Rockets."

"Hello." Li Yue nodded politely in response, not intending to chat further, not even saying his own name.

That thought, Gerrard didn't care, but said with a smile: "Congratulations to you for winning the championship."

"Thank you." Li Yue's tone was still cold, strongly implying that he didn't want to chat.

Gerrard had an unaware expression on his face: "May I ask, are you also here to inspect the upcoming players?"

"Just take a look." Li Yue said perfunctorily, thinking that this person did it on purpose, why don't you go away first?
"I also think that Tennessee State boy is very good, and I plan to suggest that the ball be traded up to get the first-round pick." Gerrard showed confidence, "He can perfectly serve as a substitute for Parsons, and he can even serve as a substitute for Patterson, very Fit for a rocket."

Li Yue was a little confused when he heard the words.

Is it necessary for a Rockets scout to tell a Lakers player this?

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation!
What is the purpose?
Recalling what Gerrard said carefully, he did not mention the names of the players present, but he pointed out Tennessee State University. It seems that he wanted to use words to get information-whether he is interested in Covington, and if he is interested , to what extent?

What is the value of this to the Rockets?
After thinking about it, after some inferences, Li Yue felt that the Rockets really wanted Covington.

But you may feel that the 34th pick is too expensive, and if you want to get it easily, you need to scare away competitors before that.

And you can't use the method of complaining about shortcomings, after all, I know the small forward position very well.

"He's not bad, his basic skills are relatively solid, and he should be able to serve as the third substitute after being trained in the G League for a season." Li Yue's tone was quite flat, and he deliberately used non-deterministic words, as if he had little interest in Covington." But if it’s a strong championship team, it’s almost meaningless, and I don’t have so much time to cultivate, so I was almost fired at the beginning.”

This is only a short way to say, 'The Lakers will not choose, you can do whatever you want, don't worry about being robbed'!
"I see." Gerald said with a dull tone, "What do you think is wrong with him?"

Hearing this, Li Yue wanted to tell the truth, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Gerald's suspicious expression.

"It's not bad, but it's very common for senior players who have a certain level of combat power, but not enough to become a regular rotation. If you can make good use of your physical condition, you can provide some help to the team." Li Yue finished. He shook his head slightly, as if he felt very sorry for Covington's current strength.

"That's it." Gerrard's expression was obviously relaxed, he raised his hand to cover his mouth and lowered his voice, "Then there are still players you fancy here? I should be able to provide you with some information, 99% of them cannot be selected, maybe they can Help you pick the right players and ease the difficulties you're about to face."

This is as considerate as if an old friend said it, because if Howard renews his contract with a five-year maximum salary, plus the management will definitely give himself a five-year maximum salary qualification quotation contract, as well as Nash, Kobe, Gasol, Artest, etc. With the main contract, the Lakers' salary space will explode next season, but there are many fewer players. They really need some basic salary players as immediate combat power.

Li Yue originally planned to decline politely, but suddenly thought that if he really made a request, he might be able to completely dispel Gerald's doubts.

Cheating sucks, but it's fair competition.

"Is it better to have a defensive guard? It's better to be able to shoot a few three-pointers stably." Li Yue said seriously. Nash has been plagued by injuries throughout the season, and he will be older next season, so it is necessary to prepare in advance.

"Wait a minute, let me take a look." Gerrard took out a small book from his pocket, quickly flipped through two pages, and then pointed to the field, "Vanderbleu from Marquette University is okay, It's the No. 14 player on the blue team."

Li Yue looked over, just in time to see Van der Brue shoot a shot, hit the board with a three-pointer, and the position was far away.

"Eh..." Gerald looked embarrassed, and took out his notebook again, trying to find it again.

"Forget it, I'll take a closer look." Li Yue waved his hand to stop him, not wanting to continue to deceive the other party.

"That's all right, I'll do it first." Gerald smiled and nodded, then turned and left.

Li Yue looked back and continued to observe Covington's performance on the field, just in time to see him pass the ball to his shooting guard teammate.

Swish!The three-pointer hit the net hollowly, and Li Yue tightened his eyes instantly.

Originally, it was just a three-pointer, but the shooting position was relatively far away, and the speed was extremely fast, which looked quite interesting.

Li Yue subconsciously looked at the player's back, and saw curry written on it.

"It's another player with the surname Curry. Does this surname have a bonus for shooting three-pointers?"

(End of this chapter)