NBA: James wants to team up with me

Chapter 38: Sign with the Lakers, choose No. 24, leaving others with no number to choose from.

Although Wang Chong's name did not become popular all over the country overnight, his popularity skyrocketed with the draft. Whether in the United States or across the ocean in China, many people knew that there was such a rookie in the league. Joined the league with the 13th overall pick and was traded by the Lakers.

Although the Lakers stopped in the second round of the playoffs this season, as long as the OK combination is still there, they will always be one of the league's favorites to win the championship.

However, before the news that the Lakers traded for Wang Chong had time to ferment, another unexpected incident grabbed the headlines.

Not to mention Wang Chong, even LeBron James, the No. 1 pick, looked bleak in the face of this matter.

On July 7, the day the free market opened, the most sensational thing in the league was not the trade between teams, but a piece of gossip, the well-known Kobe Bryant incident in Eagle County.

7月1日女方报警，7月2日警方在科比身上调查取证，7月4日正式签署拘捕令。

The incident involving Kobe Bryant and Eagle County caused a huge sensation in the NBA and even the United States.

After all, this is a league superstar who has been selected as an All-Star starter for several consecutive seasons, a popular idol, and one of the successors to Jordan that David Stern strongly supports.

The Eagle County incident directly caused the collapse of Kobe's popular idol's personality, and the whole country knew that he was a bastard.

The people who were most affected by this incident were undoubtedly the two core souls of the Los Angeles Lakers, head coach Phil Jackson and team boss Shaquille O'Neal.

Phil Jackson's daughter had an experience of being assaulted, which made Phil Jackson extremely disgusted with people who did such things. Originally, he was slightly prejudiced against Kobe because of his perverse and unruly character. The Eagle County incident made His dislike of Kobe reached its peak.

Not to mention the big shark.

"Shaq did it too." This sentence has since become a classic and is a typical case of Kobe betraying his teammates.

Regardless of whether Shaq did it or not, any normal person would not say it in front of the police or reporters or the media.

When Kobe Bryant said this, O'Neal, who had nothing wrong with him, could be said to have been shot while lying down. He was criticized by a large number of media and scolded by fans for no reason.

I believe that when O'Neal heard this sentence, he wanted to kill Kobe.

Even the entire Lakers team was involved in the storm of Kobe Bryant's incident.

In the midst of this turmoil, Wang Chong arrived at the Los Angeles Lakers and, accompanied by his agent Thomas, signed the first contract of his career.

NBA rookie contracts are non-negotiable. All first-round players are the same and can only sign a four-year restricted contract, and the contract amount is linked to the draft pick.

As the 730th pick in the first round, Wang Chong received a four-year contract worth 158 million yuan, with a starting salary of million in the first year.

This salary is quite different from the 4 million paid by No. 1879 pick James in four years, and slightly less than the 1200 million paid by fifth-overall Wade, but it is definitely not bad.

You know this is 2003, what does 730 million yuan mean?

Even after deducting all kinds of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, Wang Chong conservatively estimates that he will get about 450 million, which is equivalent to more than million Chinese national currency!

Just like that, Wang Chong crossed the class level and became one of the rich people!

And this is just the beginning. As long as he continues to play in the league according to his current ability, after the rookie contract ends, he will definitely be able to renew his contract with the maximum salary like James, Anthony, Wade and others. By then, his annual salary will be tens of millions, plus Being endorsed in various commercial advertisements... I can't spend all my money, I can't spend all my money at all.

After the contract is signed, Wang Chong will officially become a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and will compete in the league for the team in the next season.

<divclass="contentadv"> It can be seen that the Lakers really attach great importance to Wang Chong. Not only general manager Cook was present at the signing ceremony, but also head coach Phil Jackson.

"Wang, I have watched all your games in the championship. I like your playing style very much. I am looking forward to your performance on the court in the new season." Phil Jackson said to Wang Chong with a smile, without any trace of reason. The impact of the Kobe incident on his mood.

"One more thing, Wang." General Manager Cook said: "You have to pick a number, the team will prepare a jersey for you, and you will also receive a proportional commission from the subsequent sales of the jersey."

"Number?"

Wang Chong had never thought about this problem before, but after looking at Cook, a somewhat bad idea came to his mind.

"The 24th."

Wang Chong said.

"Okay, no problem." Cook thought for a while. The Lakers have a lot of retired jerseys, ranking among the top in the league, but the No. 24 jersey has not been retired, and no one in the team is currently using it.

However, he still asked curiously.

"Why did you choose the number 24? Is there any profound meaning?"

Wang Chong smiled and replied: "There are 24 hours in a day, and an offensive round in a basketball game is exactly 24 seconds. I hope to use this number to remind myself that I must work hard every hour and cherish every moment on the court. One second shot clock.”

"Well said, the moral is really great."

Cook admired sincerely.

But Wang Chong was so embarrassed in his heart that he almost laughed out loud.

In the future, whoever watches the NBA doesn’t know Kobe Bryant’s No. 24 jersey?

Kobe, who originally wore jersey No. 8, switched to No. 06 in the 07-24 season.

But most people believe that the reason Kobe wore No. 24 was because Jordan wore No. 23. He chose No. 24 to beat Jordan in number.

But Kobe completely denied this and explained the reason why he chose No. 24, which was what Wang Chong just said.

Please forgive Wang Chong for plagiarizing Kobe's idea, because he really wants to know what Kobe will do if he still wants to change his number like he originally did? Should you give up the No. 24 jersey, or choose a jersey with a larger number, such as No. 25?

Of course, the Lakers' management didn't know about Wang Chong's flirtatious behavior. After learning about Wang Chong's chosen number, they immediately notified the relevant staff to issue Wang Chong's No. 24 jersey.

And Wang Chong, who has completed the signing, has not been idle. Although it is the offseason, for the rookies who have just joined the league, there are many things to be busy with during this offseason.

The day after signing the contract, Wang Chong continued to leave without stopping, because the summer league was about to start. As a rookie of the Lakers, Wang Chong naturally had to play in the summer league.

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the main participating teams in the Southern California Summer League. Wang Chong will represent the Los Angeles Lakers and show his strength to the team management, coaching staff, fan groups and even the media.