Legend of Tomorrow

On September 30, the Suns held their annual media day. Players and coaching staff went to the arena to report for interviews and take core makeup photos.

Guo Xu had nothing to do at home and arrived a little early. At the entrance of the arena, he met an uncle in a suit and leather collar, half a head taller than himself, with yellow hair and a yellow beard. He took a closer look and saw who it wasn't Mike D'Antoni?

Guo Xu had the impression that D'Antoni only became the head coach of the Suns in the 2004-2005 season. Today, he encountered a very unexpected incident. He thought he had traveled through time again and blurted out: Why are you here?

In fact, he remembered wrongly. Frank Johnson was laid off in the middle of the 2003-2004 season, and D'Antoni took over as the first assistant coach.

Jason, do you know me? D'Antoni asked in surprise.

Guo Xu realized the gaffe and reacted very quickly. He immediately stretched out his hand and said with a smile: Yes, nice to meet you, Mike. I saw your photo at Kobe's house.

He wasn't just lying, he had actually seen it.

D'Antoni, who has dual citizenship in the United States and Italy, can speak fluent English and Italian. After participating in the 1973 draft, he played poorly in the NBA for a few years. Then he went to Italy and played for Milan for 13 seasons and became The club's all-time scoring leader.

He was Joe Bryant's teammate when he played in Milan, and was called his first basketball hero by Kobe Bryant. His style of play deeply influenced Kobe.

I'm glad to see you too. D'Antoni shook Guo Xu's hand vigorously.

The two entered the arena chatting, and Guo Xu learned that D'Antoni had joined the team's coaching staff at the end of June and was the team's first assistant, earlier than he had joined.

The media day was held on the court, and Haslem was the first to arrive, just to wait for Guo Xu. He took long strides to greet them, which shocked both Guo Xu and D'Antoni, because the ground was shaking as he ran away.

Hello, Jason.

Hello... Guo Xu swallowed and recognized who this guy was. Udunis...why are you so fat?

Guo Xu's memory of his past life was a bit fuzzy. When he saw someone, he remembered that Haslem had gained weight for a while after the draft. He went to France to play in the low-level league for a season and lost 110 kilograms. After returning home, his friends thought he was seriously ill. . He then played summer league for the Heat and performed well enough to earn a contract.

At this time, he invited Haslem to play in the preseason.

A bit early.

Haslem was a little happy and a little embarrassed, and said with a wry smile: Thank you for inviting me to play in the preseason. I couldn't control my weight in the summer. I'm really sorry.

D'Antoni was secretly amused. This fat man was actually invited by Guo Xu. He was almost spherical, and he couldn't believe it at first glance.

When Guo Xu saw that Haslem was wearing extremely tight sportswear, he guessed that he still wanted to participate in the training camp, even if he couldn't stay, he still wanted to give it a try.

He thought for a moment and came up with an idea. Although it is a bit early, with Haslem's perseverance, he will definitely be able to lose weight as long as he is given a chance. If he is retained this year, he will have a younger brother in the team with MAX loyalty in the future.

On the other hand, if the Suns don't sign Haslem after training and let him go to France, he may join the Heat next year and stage a Thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi, even if you turn your fighting spirit into a horse, you can't catch up. My good show.

So, Guo Xu encouraged: Although you are a little fatter, you may not be able to stay. Perform well in the training camp. I was most impressed by you in the NCAA finals that year. I believe you will lose weight.

After saying that, he wanted to pat Haslem's back, but found that his 191cm wingspan could not reach the center of his back, so he could only pat the flesh on the side...

Thank you, I will definitely work hard. Haslem was so excited that he almost cried. He had not experienced this feeling of being trusted for a long time.

He has been looked down upon since he signed up for the draft because he is already 22 years old and did not participate in the draft until after four years of college. He is also a short blue-collar insider. Although he was selected to the 2002 conference first team, no one believed he could play in the NBA.

Guo Xu tortured him once in the game, but believed in his strength. He felt like a dream.

When he first received the call, Haslem thought about giving up the opportunity and going home after saying thank you, for fear of being laughed at. After thinking about it for five days, he changed his mind and vowed to enter the NBA, even if he could only play for one season and make some memories.

Recently, he only eats one meal a day, as long as he doesn't starve to death, and he is working hard to lose weight.

The players arrived at the arena one after another. Guo Xu looked at the information of his teammates. Some of them he knew, while others were unfamiliar to him. There are a total of 17 people playing preseason games on behalf of the Suns, and two will be eliminated.

The good news for Haslem is that there is not much competition inside. It is easy for big men to find jobs in the free market. They are divided among various teams. Except for him and Moore, two flawed players, no one wants to join the Suns.

Brian Colangelo recruited all outside players to strengthen the team's bench depth.

Guo Xu chatted with his teammates for a while, but the players were generally not very relaxed because they were all newcomers.

Joe Johnson, Moore, Alston and others were afraid of saying the wrong thing, so they kept their postures extremely low.

Amare Stoudemire is the most confident. After meeting Guo Xu, he showed no stage fright at all. He patted his chest and said: Jason, as long as you play pick-and-roll offense with me and pass the ball to me, I will definitely pass the ball to me. The ball goes in, and I’m particularly good at pick-and-rolls.”

Let's try it during the training match. I believe you. Guo Xu smiled.

The most powerful thing about Stoudemire is his ability to follow the pick-and-roll. He is as fast as a defender and is the fastest inside. He was underestimated when he was drafted, but he is actually the best physical player in this class and is destined to become a star.

Nene Hilario was the last to arrive. His body is very strong. He is 211cm tall and weighs 113kg. He is all muscle. He has not yet grown a braided hairstyle like Ronaldinho. He has a bald head, but he has a beard, which makes it hard to believe that he is only 20 years old.

This strong man grew up too fast. His original name was Mebeinal Rodney Hilario. After arriving in the NBA, he adopted a very cute nickname. In Brazil, Nene means baby. .

Like most Brazilian children, Nene played football since he was a child and attracted the attention of some professional clubs. However, he grew too tall and had to switch to basketball at the age of 14, and then played for Vascoda in Brazil. Gamma Club.

In 2001, Nene represented the Brazilian team in the World Friendship Games. In the game against the US team, he scored 8 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks in 18 minutes, 3 of which were given to Jermaine O'Neal.

After the game, Nene received an invitation to the Chicago basketball training camp. This is a well-known youth basketball training camp in the United States. He continued to perform well in the training camp and eventually participated in the 2002 NBA draft.

Although he came into contact with basketball late and his skills were rough, Nene was still selected with the 7th overall pick. Because he has a superhuman body, excellent strength, jumping ability, and good mobility, he is a brutal inside man.

Guo Xu wanted to chat more with Nene, because he is an important teammate in the new season and the team needs his defense. But Nene's English was poor and he could only carry on simple conversations. When Guo Xu spoke too fast, he couldn't understand and could only giggle.

In addition to basketball skills, English conversation is also something Nene needs to improve as soon as possible.

Guo Xu, Marion, and Gugliotta took the core makeup photos together, and the interview began.