Every Encounter Is Important.

"Boom!"

It was like a thunderclap out of nowhere.

Everyone present was stunned.

What kind of person could make such a shocking statement?

No, what kind of arrogant rookie would dare to say something so brazen!

Even back when "The Big Fundamental" Tim Duncan, who had teams across the league tanking to get him, spoke, the most he said was, "Let's get ready to win big."

Forget about the reporters; even Ferry almost collapsed onto the table.

Because LeBron had specifically named him, Ferry hadn't had the time to really get to know Han Sen yet.

Now, it looked like they had drafted some kind of godly character.

And with just this one question, many reporters who were ready to grill Han Sen swallowed their questions.

To acquire the 16th pick, the Cavaliers had traded last year's 19th pick, J.J. Hickson, along with this year's 46th pick.

Hickson was originally a key development project for the Cavaliers' frontcourt, and many local Cleveland reporters were unhappy with the trade.

But now, who dared ask about that? 

If they asked, and Han Sen responded with, "The Cavs should've traded the first overall pick for me," they wouldn't even know how to write their articles.

The press conference proceeded smoothly. Other than his jaw-dropping response to the first question, Han Sen's later statements were all normal.

The reporters collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

But after the conference ended, something still felt off to them. Normally, in these situations, it's the rookies who feel the pressure. This time, the dynamic was completely flipped.

Later that same day, he received a long-distance call from back home.

It was someone from the basketball association, who had gotten his contact info from his parents.

They wanted him to skip the summer league and instead join the national team's training camp to prepare for the upcoming Asian Championship in Tianjin in early August.

And they reassured him that they would handle things with the Cavaliers' management.

Han Sen, of course, loved his country, and he wanted the chance to represent the national team in international competitions, especially at a tournament so close to home. It's something any East Asian player would dream of.

So even though the request came unexpectedly, he didn't outright reject it.

He simply asked one question: would the national team be participating in this year's Las Vegas Summer League, like they had in 2007?

If they were, he would be willing to skip representing the Cavaliers.

After all, as long as he appeared in the Summer League, whether for the Cavs or the national team, the Cavaliers would be able to see him, and that would secure his spot in the upcoming season, or at least in the pre-season.

Unfortunately, the answer was no.

Han Sen ultimately had to refuse. Even though he knew that following in Wang Zhizhi's footsteps would cast a shadow over his national team career, he couldn't gamble his professional career for the Asian Championship.

Additionally, he was annoyed by the basketball association's approach.

If they wanted him for the Asian Championship, why hadn't they approached him earlier?

Why make such a last-minute request— only after he'd been drafted by the NBA? 

No one likes being treated like a backup plan.

After handling the national team issue, the day after the press conference, Han Sen and Cunningham boarded a plane to Las Vegas.

NBA Summer League teams are put together on short notice, so practices are usually held at the competition venues.

Accompanying them to Las Vegas was the coaching staff for the summer league team.

And the head coach caught Han Sen off guard— it was none other than Michael Malone! 

He had ties with LeBron James on the Cavaliers?

As expected, every encounter in life is a reunion after a long time apart.

Han Sen wasted no time, seating himself next to Malone on the plane.

Sitting on a plane is boring, and since Malone was still in his thirties at the time, Han Sen used his social skills to strike up a great conversation with him.

During their chat, he learned a few things about Malone.

Malone had been working for the Cavaliers since 2005, meaning he had been with LeBron for four seasons.

Moreover, Malone's father, Brendan Malone, had also been a head coach for the Cavaliers, coaching LeBron during the 2004-05 season.

This wasn't just a casual connection— it ran deep.

So, did the "father-son connection" between Malone and LeBron fall apart later, or had their relationship always been rocky? 

For Han Sen, this was something worth investigating.

Five hours later, they finally arrived at their hotel in Las Vegas.

It was already past 10 PM, and with practice scheduled for early the next morning, he wasn't in the mood to explore the vibrant nightlife of Sin City.

He quickly showered and prepared to go to bed.

Before sleeping, he checked the system, and what he saw instantly erased his sleepiness.

In the time it took to fly, his [hater points] had shot up by more than 3,000!

Was sitting on a plane the best way to attract hate from the heavens?

He checked his social media, and sure enough, it was blowing up.

And the mix of comments was wild.

The biggest wave came from his statement about the number 77 jersey.

It could all be summed up with one phrase: "I'm a key maker; do you have a key for me?"

One comment, in particular, made him laugh out loud.

"Why is 23 Michael Jordan and not LeBron James?"

It was clear that after his previous fact-busting posts, a lot of LeBron fans had started following his account.

Then there were people digging up his earlier remarks about LeBron.

The Cavaliers had drafted a LeBron hater— just hearing that was exciting enough.

There were even many comments in Chinese.

That likely had something to do with the interview he gave during the draft.

At that time, he had specifically targeted the haters back home to boost his [hater points], and of course, he was now reaping what he'd sown.

Because of the time lag from information traveling across the ocean, everything was coming together now.

And the best part was, despite the language barrier, people from different places were still able to communicate with each other.

His social media account was as lively as a New Year's celebration.

Han Sen was more than happy to see this "festivity."

It was like raising a pot of venomous creatures; the ones in his pot had started to merge.

But this whole spectacle meant that his every move in the Summer League would be under intense scrutiny.

The next day, he met his summer league teammates at the training facility.

Most of them were undrafted players, along with a few fringe free agents looking for work in the league.

These players didn't have much name recognition; the only exception was Coby Karl. Not because he was particularly strong, but because he was the son of Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl.

Yep, a classic case of nepotism.

In terms of talent, the Cavaliers' Summer League team was definitely one of the weakest among the 22 participating teams.

The upside was that this would give more opportunities to rookies, especially Han Sen and Cunningham.