basketball boulder

Chapter 13 Draft Promises
So, Li Lei and Su Qun walked into the arena together.

Su Qun asked Li Lei about the specific process of the first two trials while walking.

Li Lei knew everything.

Su Qun took out the pen and notebook that he carried with him, and recorded the key words, looking very professional.

"Did the Pistons and Heat sneak draft promises to you?"

Su Qun asked.

When encountering a player they like, many teams will inform them in advance to give the player a preparation.

"No."

Li Lei returned.

"Do not be discouraged!"

Su Qun patted Li Lei on the shoulder comfortingly: "Since Dawson knows about your trial training, for Yao Ming's sake, he will pay more attention to you. Come on!"

"Ah."

Li Lei agreed.

But I don't think so.

He experienced many setbacks when he was a child, and his heart is relatively mature.

Li Lei knows very well: relying on the mountains and falling, relying on the flow of water.In the end, you can only rely on yourself.

The NBA is a cruel world. If you don't have enough strength, it's useless to rely on anyone.

Even if Yao Ming wants to help him because of his compatriots, he is still a rookie, how much energy can he have?Can it affect the decision-making of the Mosaic team management?
Trials start soon.

Su Qun also followed in with his press card, interviewing, observing, and recording.

Mosaic team coach Jeff Van Gundy personally observed from the sidelines and occasionally gave guidance.

He is the younger brother of coach Da Fan of the Heat, known as Xiao Fan.

Unlike Da Fan, coach Xiao Fan puts more emphasis on defense than offense, which means he puts a lot of emphasis on defense.

So Li Lei easily stood out and received Xiao Fan's attention.

Especially Li Lei's all-out defensive attitude made Xiao Fan nod frequently.

After the physical test is over, there is a rest period before the start of the match.

Xiao Fan stood on the sidelines and called: "Li, come here."

Li Lei didn't know why, but he walked over obediently.

Others stared, too, wondering what was going on.

"Okay."

Coach Xiao Fan spread his feet, squatted down slightly, raised one hand high and stretched the other sideways.

This is the basic action of defense.

"Remember, defense is based on footsteps, not hands."

Xiao Fan demonstrated while talking.

"Your steals are fast and accurate, but you are not used to it. The first moment your opponent breaks through, you should move your feet to cut off the opponent's route, so that the opponent cannot accelerate, instead of always thinking about stealing. This is a gamble, not advisable !"

"Winning the championship with defense is based on real strength, not luck. Do you want to pin all the victory on luck?"

Li Lei carefully imitated Coach Xiao Fan's footsteps, keeping his words firmly in his heart.

Defend with your feet and not your hands.

Seeing Li Lei's humbly learning attitude, Xiao Fan nodded in satisfaction.

"Go back, remember to practice more and develop good defensive habits, you will benefit from it for a lifetime."

Li Lei bowed and sincerely thanked: "Thank you, coach!"

Su Qun watched from the side, smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum.

"It seems that Coach Jeff is very optimistic about Li Lei, and he actually made a small fuss in front of everyone. Isn't that what happened?"

Su Qun took out his small notebook and began to record again.

Li Lei returned to the court, turned his head, but found that everyone was staring at him.

The emotions of envy and jealousy are not hidden at all.

"Hmph! An Asian, also wants to enter the NBA?"

"How about Wang Zhizhi and Battelle? They're about to get lost. And Yao Ming, who won the No. [-] pick, was snatched away by Stoudemire as the best rookie. He's a veritable parallel importer."

Some people even sneered unabashedly.

Li Lei was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head, just sat down and had a good rest.

Coach Xiao Fan made a small fuss, which is not necessarily a good thing.

In the ensuing match, something went wrong.

Li Lei's four teammates formed an alliance to isolate Li Lei and not give Li Lei any chance.

Even if Li Lei was wide open and surrounded by an empty space like the Pacific Ocean, no one passed the ball to him.

Su Qun was sweating profusely as he watched this scene, but there was nothing he could do.

Coach Xiao Fan also frowned, but he ignored it.

This is not good for Li Lei!

"Do you want to help Li Lei?"

Coach Xiao Fan hesitated, he really liked Li Lei, but this violated the principle of fairness.

On the field.

Li Lei himself remained calm.

On the offensive end, his teammates didn't give the ball, so he simply put more energy into the defensive end.

The first is to defend your opponent.

Second, he will make up defenses for missed teammates.

Finally, if any teammate is struggling to defend, Li Lei will also actively assist in the defense.

At the end of the game, Li Lei's offensive statistics were 0 points and 0 assists, which is a big duck.

However, coach Xiao Fan's frown gradually relaxed, and he liked Li Lei even more.

Don't give up on yourself because of the isolation and exclusion of your teammates, or even blindly retaliate.

Instead, do what you can do seriously, defend without compromise, and help the team win.

This kind of mature mentality is really rare.

To be honest, as long as it is not a native American player, anyone who comes to the NBA will be excluded.

Nowitzki, Kukoc, Yao Ming, Sabonis... are all living examples.

If you can overcome these exclusions, you can survive in the NBA.On the contrary, sooner or later you have to get out.

And Li Lei's mature attitude made Xiao Fan firmly believe that he can survive in the NBA and he will be a qualified team player.

When the trial training was over, the management of the Mosaic team discussed with the coaching staff, leaving a few outstanding players to chat.

"Li Lei!"

This time, there was Li Lei's name.

When Carol Dawson pronounced the name, Xiao Fan smiled kindly at Li Lei.

Obviously, coach Xiao Fan contributed to this matter.

"Yes!"

Su Qun clenched his fist violently, more excited than Li Lei.

Later, the remaining players were brought into the office to chat in turn.

Li Lei was the last one.

Su Qun was at the side giving Li Lei psychological counseling: "Li Lei, don't be nervous, just chat normally, and be humble. But don't be too humble. If there is something you don't know, don't say you can't, just say you will study hard."

Li Lei nodded: "Mr. Su, your water glass is leaking."

"what?"

Su Qun exclaimed, and found that the water cup was not tightened tightly, and the tea had slightly wetted the trousers.

Su Qun wiped it quickly and smiled awkwardly.

Persuade Li Lei not to be nervous, but Su Qun himself was even more nervous than Li Lei.

Finally it was Li Lei's turn, Su Qun clenched his fist and said, "Come on!"

Li Lei nodded: "Come on!"

In the office, Dawson, the general manager of the Mosaic team, Morey, the assistant to the general manager, and Xiao Fan, the head coach, were sitting.

Dawson took the lead and asked about Li Lei's life experience and family situation.

Li Lei answered calmly, neither humble nor overbearing.

After a quarter of an hour, the chat ended.

Dawson stood up and shook hands with Li Lei: "Li, we are very satisfied with you. On behalf of the entire management and coaching staff of the Mosaic team, I invite you to join. The team has a No. 15 pick in the second round this year, and this is what I want for you promise."

call!
Li Lei couldn't hide his smile anymore, nodded happily and expressed his thanks.

This is the promise of the draft.

Dawson and Morey then left.

Coach Xiao Fan kept Li Lei.

"Li, there are still some problems with your defense, listen carefully..."

One taught and the other learned, and the time passed quickly.

Unbeknownst to Li Lei, Morey called Yao Ming in Shanghai as soon as he left.

"Yao, we have our eyes on Li. Next season, your compatriots will fight alongside you!"

A voice of surprise came from the opposite side.

"Great!"

After chatting for a while, Morey suddenly said, "Yao, Mr. Alexander wants to expand the market in China and cooperate with Chinese entrepreneurs for a win-win situation. I hope your team can deal with it."

……

(End of this chapter)