Shortcut.

The tryout with the Thunder was Han Sen's most impressive yet, and he successfully secured a second-round tryout opportunity. 

"I spoke with someone from the Thunder. They'll be setting you up against James Harden, and unless something unexpected happens, they're planning to draft you with the 25th pick."

On the flight to Memphis, Thomas gave Han Sen the good news.

Han Sen looked at his agent, shocked. 'Your connections are just too good!'

But he couldn't hide his excitement. His draft projection had shot up like a rocket, from the late second round to mid-second round, and now possibly to the late first round.

This kind of rise wasn't common, even in past drafts. He owed a big thanks to Durant for helping him shine!

Of the six teams Han Sen had worked out with, the Grizzlies were one of his preferred destinations.

However, Thomas believed the Grizzlies' starting perimeter players were set, meaning there wasn't much room for Han Sen to develop there.

And while he wasn't wrong, Han Sen had become familiar with this Grizzlies roster: Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol.

It looked strong, but their perimeter defense was weak. It wasn't until they signed Tony Allen that the Grizzlies truly began to rise.

But Tony Allen was still in Boston at that point, meaning Han Sen had a real opportunity to fill that gap.

Once he arrived in Memphis, Han Sen noticed that not many top prospects had come for tryouts. The Grizzlies had the 2nd, 27th, and 36th picks in the draft, but big-name players like James Harden and Tyreke Evans had declined the Grizzlies' invitations to try out. Memphis wasn't exactly the most popular place.

During the workout, Han Sen noticed that the Grizzlies' GM, Chris Wallace, seemed to be watching him closely, which puzzled him. He was certain he had never met Wallace before.

In the one-on-one portion, the Grizzlies had their starting shooting guard, O.J. Mayo, go up against the tryouts. 

This left Han Sen even more confused. 'Did you coordinate this with the Thunder?'

Mayo wasn't as dominant as Durant, but his one-on-one skills were top-notch, and his stamina was excellent. After all, he was the 2008 third overall pick, a rookie who averaged 18.5 points per game, and had once been the top high school player in the country, even over Derrick Rose.

Although Han Sen didn't exactly dominate him, he showed off his strengths and stood out among the other prospects.

After the workout, Wallace invited Han Sen to his office privately. It was a familiar scene, reminiscent of Miami.

But Wallace's next words shocked Han Sen even more.

"We're going to trade up and draft you before the Thunder."

It wasn't the draft promise itself that surprised Han Sen, but how Wallace knew the Thunder wanted to pick him.

Did Wallace have someone inside the Thunder? Or did he buy the information?

Either way, it showed Wallace wasn't a simple GM.

But that wasn't the most important part. What mattered was Wallace's attitude toward him.

This was a promise for a first-round pick!

Thomas had said that the Thunder would likely draft him unless something unexpected happened, but nothing was guaranteed. However, the Grizzlies were making a solid commitment.

"We're really looking forward to the energy you'll bring to our perimeter defense," Wallace said, extending his hand.

"I'm excited to join the Grizzlies," Han Sen quickly stood up, shaking his hand with both hands.

'Who said Memphis wasn't a good place? This is where dreams begin!'

…

Orlando was Han Sen's last stop for tryouts.

This one was a bit unique. 

Technically, the Magic didn't fall into Thomas's category of "playoff or playoff-bound teams." With Dwight Howard in his prime, the Magic were championship contenders.

But precisely because of Howard's presence, Han Sen's skills could be maximized in their "four-out, one-in" system.

The Magic didn't have a first-round pick that year, and they were still in the playoffs against the Cavaliers. The tryout was simple, and Han Sen completed it without a hitch.

After the tryout, Han Sen finished his first round of workouts and just had to wait for the second-round tryouts with the Bobcats and Thunder.

With about a week of downtime, he stayed in Orlando to train and make a little side money.

Earlier, he'd made a small profit betting on the NCAA tournament, giving him some startup capital. He used most of it to bet on the Lakers to win the championship, leaving him with a bit left.

Now, another opportunity was right in front of him.

The Eastern Conference Finals between the Cavaliers and the Magic.

The Cavaliers had been title contenders for the past few years. They made the Finals in 2007, lost to the eventual champions, the Celtics, in seven games in 2008, and had the best record in the league this year with 66 wins.

With the Celtics eliminated by the Magic in the semifinals, it seemed like the Cavaliers were destined to return to the Finals and face Kobe in the long-awaited 23 vs 24 showdown.

So naturally, Han Sen bet on the Magic.

With the high odds on the Magic, it was an easy decision for him, especially since he knew the Magic would make the Finals, not the Cavaliers.

Having placed his bet, he went to the game in person.

The Cavaliers had lost a game earlier, giving up their home-court advantage, so this was a must-win for them. 

But soon after the game started, they fell behind.

'Dwight Howard is a beast!' Han Sen thought.

Even though Han Sen had seen Howard play at his peak, the live experience was much more intense.

Howard was dominating, getting whatever he wanted on the court. The Cavaliers couldn't stop him with single coverage, so they had to collapse on him, which left the Magic's shooters wide open on the perimeter.

The Cavaliers started fouling Howard to send him to the free-throw line, but he was hitting his free throws tonight.

What was even more devastating was Howard's defensive dominance, limiting LeBron James.

At the end of the first quarter, the Magic led 24-17.

But in the second half, everything changed.

Not because the Cavaliers surged or the Magic faltered, but because Howard picked up three fouls, adding to the one from the first quarter, giving him four by halftime!

"This is rigged!" Rondo, who was sitting next to Han Sen, couldn't help but complain even though he had bet on the Cavaliers to win.

For him to say something like that, it showed how bad the refereeing was, especially with the Magic playing at home.

Howard was fouled out in the third quarter, finishing with 24 points and 9 rebounds in 28 minutes. LeBron scored 41 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and dished out 9 assists, going 18-for-24 from the free-throw line.

But in the end, the Cavaliers still lost 88-99.

Even with the calls going against the Magic, they were just too good for the Cavaliers.

…

A week later, Han Sen wrapped up his second-round tryouts with the Bobcats and Thunder, officially concluding his tryout journey.

The Heat at 43, the Bobcats at 40, the Grizzlies at 27, and the Thunder at 25 — these were the four draft commitments he had received.

The tryouts had been a success.

Of course, none of these promises were public or guaranteed, but at least it was clear that he would be drafted for sure.

By early June, with the draft less than two weeks away, Han Sen had some free time.

In addition to continuing his training, he started to study the "hater value" concept.

The spike in [hater points] he got from Jordan was a fluke, but social media was still his main source.

However, he noticed that the last time his [hater points] increased, it wasn't by much.

He eventually realized that there might be a limit to how much [hater points] an individual can generate.

That made sense. If it wasn't capped, it could be farmed indefinitely.

This meant he had to keep attracting new 'haters' to continue growing his points and prepare for the next talent upgrade.

So, he posted a new status on his profile, inspired by the Cavaliers-Magic series.

"Dwight Howard averaged 5.3 fouls per game in the series, fouling out in 3 of 6 games, yet the Magic still eliminated the Cavaliers 4-2."

Sure enough, his social media was bombarded by LeBron James' fans.

"How else can Howard stop LeBron but by fouling him? Can't defend, so blame the refs?"

"LeBron averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8 assists in the series. What more do you want him to do?"

"If Howard fouled out that many times and the Magic still won, doesn't that mean his teammates are way better than LeBron's?"

"Cavs lost, but LeBron didn't lose!"

…

LeBron's reputation during his first stint with the Cavaliers was still decent. Apart from the frequent traveling violations and some favorable calls, he was the league's dragon-slayer.

So, with Han Sen backing his argument with stats, he couldn't escape the wrath of LeBron fans.

Han Sen thought he could go even harder.

He followed up with another post:

"LeBron averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8 assists in the series, but Dwight Howard eliminated him from the playoffs."

With just that, the floodgates opened!

This time, Han Sen didn't bother responding.

Instead, he focused on another piece of news that had caught his eye.

Allen Iverson was seriously considering a return to the NBA.