The True Essence of Streetball: Do Not Do Useless Things

Before the tryout, Tony Allen had criticized Jiang Lin's flashy style as ineffective, but now he had to eat his words. He sincerely said, "Your offense is stylish and steady. Congratulations. You can teach me ball handling in the future."

Tony Allen was truly impressed, as he had spent the most time playing against Jiang Lin and had the deepest understanding of his offensive techniques.

"Your defense is also strong! We can learn from each other in the future," Jiang Lin replied politely, shaking hands. On the court, they were competitors; off the court, they were brothers. This is basketball.

Tony Allen was the only defender who didn't allow Jiang Lin to shoot, showing why he was so effective at guarding shooters. 

In a real 5v5 game, if he could shut down a superstar's shooting, that was half the battle won. With the twin towers in the paint, it's no wonder superstars struggled against the Grizzlies, making him a valuable starter!

The assistant coach recorded the match on his phone to keep as a treasured piece of evidence. If Jiang Lin made it big, they could boast about it on social media for years!

Everyone was undeniably excited; they had definitely struck gold!

A single 3-0 sweep was one thing, but three 3-0 sweeps against three different defensive styles spoke volumes.

The tryout was a resounding success!

GM Chris Wallace and the owner celebrated with a high-five. They had found the player they needed. The league's highest one-on-one scorer, Kevin Durant, only had a 45% shooting rate against Tony Allen. Jiang Lin had a 100% shooting rate against him. While not an exact comparison, it was still impressive!

"Yeah! Kid, you're joining us!"

"Congratulations!! We're adding a point guard to our roster."

"Congrats on passing the tryout!! I love Chinese fans the most!" Randolph, in his heart, was thinking that his offensive burden would be much lighter with such a strong player on the perimeter.

"Were you undrafted?" Gasol chatted with Jiang Lin, who said Gasol was the most memorable player to him, especially the 2008 Olympics hook shot that haunted Chinese fans.

"Tony Wroten, take a look at this guy!" Gay teased the team's rookie.

Tony Wroten felt like he had eaten something foul. He was a first-round pick by the Grizzlies at 25th overall this summer, coming from Washington University. He was in the same draft class as Jiang Lin, but a first-round pick. Jiang Lin's 10 points in a game with the Lakers were equal to Wroten's total points in 8 games with the Grizzlies…

Averaging a bit over one point per game, with 1.3 turnovers, he was now relegated to the end of the bench.

Gay's teasing wasn't unwarranted; Wroten himself was doubting life. Why was he the 25th pick while Jiang Lin went undrafted? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

"You should go to the D-League and practice more. Or maybe you should try playing one-on-one with us?" Conley suggested, something everyone was eager to see.

The same process followed, and Tony Wroten was crushed 3-0 by Gay, Conley, and Allen.

This was too much! Wallace turned green. Was their rookie that bad? What were the scouts doing?

Hollins was about to call Jiang Lin over to sign the contract when a few players, especially Tayshaun Prince, one of the Pistons' Fab Five, expressed a desire to challenge Jiang Lin. Prince's long arms, reminiscent of Liu Bei from the Three Kingdoms, intrigued him.

Jiang Lin was happy to spar with the champion player. Prince, though slim, had strong defense, and he blocked one of Jiang Lin's jump shots. However, Prince missed his shot, and Jiang Lin hit a step-back three-pointer, finding his rhythm.

Randolph couldn't help but ask, "Buddy, I want to know, why do streetball players with similar flashy moves get shut down by us, but you can blow past us so easily?"

Jiang Lin smiled, "The essence of streetball is to do no useless things. Many streetball players turn it into a performance, a show for picking up girls. But every move I make has a purpose, just like a regular crossover."

"Awesome!"

"I really like you," Gay said, finding Jiang Lin's philosophy not only philosophical but also incredibly accurate. Every move Jiang Lin made had a purpose, and falling for his feints meant getting embarrassed the next second.

"Alright, alright, free practice time. JIANG, come to the conference room; we need to draft your contract," Hollins said, stopping the players from further challenges.

"Got it." Jiang Lin had been prepared. If he hadn't wanted to choose the Grizzlies, he wouldn't have flown from New York to Memphis.

Hollins knew his players' levels. Jiang Lin's dominance only proved that his talent was far beyond an undrafted player; he was a super talent!

True to their word, they were offering a guaranteed contract!

Chris Wallace and the owner were already waiting in the conference room, discussing how they had managed to snag such a talented player in this era. This kid belonged in the green room. How did the Lakers miss out on him?

With all his skills above average and his personal offense at 100%, he was more than capable of surviving in the NBA.

Jiang Lin found a seat, noticing there was no contract on the table yet. The three men started discussing some key points with him.

Coach Lionel Hollins was brief, saying that Jiang Lin's mid-range and driving abilities had been shown in the tryout. Whether or not he could shoot threes, he had to practice three-pointers and physical confrontations.

"Don't worry, I practice every day," Jiang Lin nodded solemnly. His logo three-pointer count was at 213:20000, far from the trigger point. His goal was to practice regular threes to reach the trigger point.

Then he calmly said, "No need to rush the decision. You can sign me to a 10-day contract and let me play three games to see."

Pera and the other two laughed. The stylish owner saw the assistant bringing in the contract and patted Jiang Lin on the shoulder:

"What are you thinking? We're not the suspicious type. There's a saying in China: 'Don't use people you doubt, and don't doubt people you use.' Here's a 1+1 rookie guaranteed contract, freshly printed. Welcome, our offensive king!"