Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

The training camp held by the Timberwolves has officially ended, and the players have relaxed after a period of tension.

Of course, this relaxation is for the Timberwolves' main players.

The vast majority of substitute players have not experienced the baptism of the brutal regular season and playoffs. If they want to become official players, they need to train hard during the offseason just to get a chance to stand out.

Yao Ming and his team started to prepare to return to China after their trip to Minnesota. This time they did not plan to let Yao Ming settle down here directly, but just came to the United States to make some preparations.

During his time in the United States, Yao Ming also participated in many training camps and got many opportunities personally.

Several scouts and coaches from strong NCAA schools were very interested in Yao Ming's talent and hoped that Yao Ming could join the team.

Moreover, some NBA scouts who have close contact with Chinese people also suggested that Yao Ming's team let Yao Ming train in the NCAA for two years to adapt to the intensity and rhythm of the games here before officially participating in the draft.

There are even some teams that can't wait to invite Yao Ming. There are rumors that the Pistons are very interested in Yao Ming, and the New York Knicks even want to buy out Yao Ming directly.

Scouts from most teams are very optimistic about Yao Ming's future prospects, and the opinions they give are very pertinent and very suitable for Yao Ming's development.

However, these pertinent suggestions were rejected by Yao Ming's team.

As for Yao Ming himself, he is still willing to develop in the United States at this time. Although he is young and has never achieved any results in the CBA, his ambitions are no longer confined to the country. He hopes to prove his talent and ability on the highest stage of world basketball.

But this was just his wishful thinking.

The Shanghai Sharks have invested so much in him, and the team owner has also seen Yao Ming's worth and his future from the offers from multiple NBA teams.

He hopes that Yao Ming can first achieve good results in China, lead the Shanghai Sharks to win the championship, and then consider going abroad.

A million-dollar buyout contract is indeed very tempting to the team, but those who can become bosses still have some foresight and are not confused by the immediate benefits. They hope to dig out more value from Yao Ming.

It was precisely because of this selfish motive that Yao Ming's plan to travel to the United States was shelved.

It’s just that Yao Ming’s desire to play in the United States is very strong. After undergoing various advanced training methods in the Timberwolves training camp, Yao Ming is no longer satisfied with the backward training in China.

The training in the domestic league is actually very backward. The group training is nothing more than the basics of the basics such as running, dribbling, and shooting. Even if a player joins the national team, the coaching staff will not provide special training for her based on her individual characteristics.

Coaches focus on players that fit their system, rather than building a specific system around a particular player.

This coaching philosophy is completely different from the NBA's coaching philosophy that focuses on star players.

In the NBA, every team that can perform well in the playoffs is one that can fully utilize the characteristics of its star players.

Whether it is the triangle offense that helped the Bulls win three consecutive championships, or the Timberwolves that have now blocked the Bulls' second dynasty, the coaches are actually formulating various tactics around the players, and their normal training is also to develop the characteristics of each player.

Things like basic running and dribbling are not training items that the coaching staff would arrange at all.

Yao Ming and the team management had a conflict over the issue of going to the United States. It is not known how the two sides coordinated. The final result was that they brought two trainers back to China from the United States.

As for what role the two trainers introduced can play in Yao Ming's growth process, I am afraid we can only know in the future.

Wu Dao no longer has any interest in Yao Ming's future development. As he enters the off-season, he might as well focus on his current life and training.

Improving himself and finding ways to help the team win consecutive championships are what he needs to consider most right now.

A lot of things happen during the NBA offseason, and the most eye-catching one is naturally the transfer of various players.

Shaquille O'Neal signed a super contract with the Lakers. By mid-July, the impact of this super contract had reached its maximum, and fierce conflicts broke out between the players and management of many teams.

Of course, the players will not be satisfied with the low salary they currently receive. O'Neal's super-large contract also makes everyone jealous.

However, without Garnett adding fuel to the fire this year, the disputes among the players caused by salary are still under control.

The final result is that players' salaries began to increase significantly, and the NBA officially entered a period of rapid salary growth.

Such things do not have much impact on Wu Dao as a rookie, but they are also of great benefit to his future. Therefore, when facing interviews from media reporters, Wu Dao will firmly stand on the side of the players.

There's nothing we can do about it, since he is a player himself.

Wu Dao’s statement naturally caused some waves in the alliance. Although the waves were not big, it did guide a wave of public opinion.

In the basketball circle, Wu Dao, who has won the championship, is neither big nor small, and can be considered a star.

Although the basketball market in Minnesota is small and the influence of winning the championship is not great, thanks to the fact that Wu Dao is a yellow person, he has too many fans of the same skin color. These "tap water" also make Wu Dao's influence expand rapidly.

This small public opinion storm caused by martial arts also made Nike's assessment of the value of martial arts take it to a higher level.

In fact, when Wu Dao first entered the alliance, his commercial value had already been noticed by many brands.

Several well-known sports brands have already made offers to Wu Dao early on, hoping that he can endorse their own sneakers.

However, Wudao was just an unknown newcomer in the league at that time, and the only thing that could demonstrate his value was his skin.

At that time, he would naturally not be attracted by the small profits of a few million.

Wu Dao has very high expectations for himself and will not be bound by a small contract. What he wants is to get a bigger endorsement contract after becoming famous in the league.

And now, the opportunity has finally come!
The negotiations between Wu Dao and "Hook" were protracted. Both sides were trying their best to fight for their own interests. Wu Dao not only wanted endorsement fees in the billions, he even wanted to have his own signed shoes like Michael.

During this off-season, besides training, Wu Dao focused most of his energy on the negotiations with Nike.

As for other sports brands, he has no intention of cooperating with them at all.

The reason is very simple. Wu Dao not only sees the commercial value of Hook, but also his influence in the NBA league and his future development prospects.

It can be said that as long as Wu Dao can be firmly tied to the hook, then in the next fifteen years of the league, as long as he does not suffer major injuries and functional degradation, he will be the biggest top player in the league after Michael Jordan. The value contained in it can no longer be measured in money.

Nike conducted a comprehensive assessment of Wu Dao as a whole. His age, his skin color, and his current position on the court all became plus points.

Nike sees the future in Wu Dao. Cooperating with such an Asian player who has achieved success in the NBA will definitely bring more benefits than disadvantages to them.

Positions 1 to 5.

The positions that are easiest to sell shoes are actually the 2nd and 3rd positions, because in a game, the players in these two positions often have the most finishes and their playing style is the most entertaining.

Center's sneakers are the hardest to sell, and fortunately, Bu Dao doesn't play the 5 position.

Wu Dao's playing style is flamboyant. For him, skills such as dunking and fadeaway jump shots are as easy as eating and drinking. His skin color will also help him to open up the Asian market, and his age also means that he will be at his peak for a long time.

All these things are the value of Wu Dao himself.

After nearly half a month of negotiation, Wu Dao finally got his first sports brand endorsement contract from Ami.

When the news was announced, the $10 billion lifetime contract completely pushed Bu Dao to the forefront. At the same time as this shocking news was released, the personal brand Nike established specifically for Bu Dao became a trivial matter.

The astonishing news of the 10 billion lifetime contract even overshadowed the various impacts of the NBA's labor dispute, and various financial newspapers made the news of Wu Dao and Hook's signing the news as the front-page headline.

When the news spread back to Asia, the whole nation was in uproar.

When the Timberwolves players were training together one day, they saw Wu Dao entering the stadium and gathered around him.

envy? envious?
All these emotions ultimately ended up with just one word: "fuck".

Although everyone knew that Gu Dao's wealth had nothing to do with them, as Wu Dao's teammates, they felt honored after hearing the news.

At least, the team boss is a wealthy man, so he can eat and drink with his friends when he goes out, so he doesn't have to pay for it himself, right? !

This is actually an unwritten rule in the NBA league. When players gather privately, the one with a higher status is responsible for paying the bill.

Wu Dao was a rookie before, and everyone knew how much of his salary would be left after deducting taxes. When going out to parties, Wu Dao would avoid them whenever possible.

But things are different after he has money. Even if Wu Dao does not attend the players' group gatherings himself, he is still responsible for paying the bill.

Taken advantage of?

No, this is actually a means to consolidate the team's position and win people's hearts.

Under Wu Dao's means, even the words of Philip, the head coach of the team, may not be effective. Wu Dao's will can even influence the management's selection of players.

But I do understand what I should do according to my status. After I became rich, I splurge on buying various gifts for the players and winning their hearts. Then, my life in martial arts has become low-key again.

Apart from occasionally accompanying Garnett, Barkley and others out for fun, the places he spends most of his time are the stadium and home.

Wudao began to gradually increase the intensity of his training, allowing his body to adapt to this high-pressure exercise state again.

After the Timberwolves successfully introduced Barkley to join, their reinforcement work seemed to have hit a bottleneck. The league has noticed that the Timberwolves are too strong, and other teams have also felt the threat from the Timberwolves. Until the Timberwolves planned to strengthen the No. 5 position, these NBA teams also covered up the excellent centers in their teams and had no intention of letting go.

Especially those teams in the same Western Conference as the Timberwolves, any center with some potential is firmly held in their hands, with no intention of letting them out at all.

Not only the No. 5 position, even the outstanding role players are not moving towards the Timberwolves
This also makes the Timberwolves management feel a lot of pressure. They have only won a championship, but all teams are guarding against them like thieves, fearing that their team will lose competitiveness.

There was no other choice. After discussing Wu Dao’s suggestions, the Timberwolves’ management could only turn their attention to overseas markets.

The team's echelon construction cannot stop for a moment. No matter how luxurious the starting lineup is, as long as there is room for salary, it is necessary to introduce stronger players.

The Timberwolves were extremely lucky to win the championship with a seven-man rotation, and they cannot expect to have such luck in the next season.

In the eyes of the Timberwolves management, it is a blessing from God that the team's starting players did not suffer any injuries in such a high-intensity series of games.

They cannot pin all their hopes on the fact that their main players will not be injured, so they must plan ahead and make early arrangements.

Unlike the Timberwolves, who had difficulty recruiting players, other teams that had ambitions for the championship began to frantically increase their team strength due to the huge pressure from the combined efforts of Charles Barkley and Martial Arts.

Lakers, Rockets, Spurs, Bulls.

These opponents who were once defeated by the Timberwolves have all started their own reinforcement plans. Michael Jordan is a man who is unwilling to fail. Even if Pippen leaves, he firmly believes that he can lead the Bulls to achieve revenge.

With his support, Zen Master Phil Jackson, who had already had a fierce conflict with the management, was forced to stay in the Bulls by Michael Jordan, and the team began to look for better helpers for Jordan after Pippen left.

Chris Webber, the No. 93 pick in 94 and the best rookie in , came into the sight of the Bulls management.

In the 97-98 season, Chris Webber averaged 20 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for the Washington Wizards and was considered by coach Phil Jackson as the best candidate to replace Pippen.

Excellent rim protection, strong high-post coordination ability and good passing skills can help Jordan have more room to display his skills under the defense of Martial Arts.

The Bulls had a clear goal, but they had very limited leverage. In order to win the championship, Jordan took a pay cut to renew his contract, and the $1500 million annual salary gave the Bulls room to maneuver.

This gave the Bulls management the idea of ​​breaking up the team and reorganizing it, and a huge deal that shocked the league began to brew.

At the same time, the ambitious Lakers also feel that they need to work hard in the interior if they want to defeat the Timberwolves next season. Therefore, they have also set their sights on the outstanding power forwards in the league today.

Rodman, who joined the rebuilding Bulls, was seen by them as the best solution to help O'Neal.

(End of this chapter)