Lakers' Kupchak

To be honest, Coach McHaney was a bit bothered. If it had been the previous Li Zhen evading his questions like this, he would have readily thrown the guy on the bench. But now, his choice was to give a smile and say, "OK, go wash off that tired look on your face. These past few days have really put you through a lot."

That's the reality of the world. When you're weak, you find everyone targeting you, everyone scheming against you. But as you grow stronger, you find everyone is accommodating, kind, and even a little bit flattering towards you—although they know they can't really get much from you.

Of course, Li Zhen wasn't powerful enough to have everyone be so accommodating and kind towards him. But for Coach McHaney, he was willing to be accommodating to Li Zhen to this extent. There was no choice; they needed him to win games.

Moreover, recently, Bruce Li's fame had become incredibly loud. Four consecutive unbelievable victories had placed his name on the headlines of basketball media repeatedly. Now, even Lakers' General Manager Kupchak had called, hoping to attend an internal team scrimmage to get a better look at Bruce Li.

After Shaquille O'Neal left, the Lakers had been struggling at the threshold of the Western Conference playoffs. Besides Kobe Bryant, there were hardly any strong points in their starting lineup, especially at the point guard position. Whether it was Smush Parker or Sasha Vujačić, they were not up to par. This season, Kobe Bryant had even demanded immediate changes, eager to get an outstanding point guard as support. For this, he even suggested the team send promising rookies to New Jersey, as it seemed like Jason Kidd wasn't very happy with the Nets.

However, in the end, the Lakers didn't take the initiative. On one hand, the Nets didn't provide accurate information, and on the other hand, they couldn't bring themselves to let go of Andrew Bynum... because many executives believed Bynum had the potential to inherit the great legacy of the Lakers' center position. (T/N: Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha)

So, the Lakers planned to pick a good point guard in this year's draft. Due to Kobe Bryant's stellar performance this season, it was almost impossible for them to have a lottery pick. So, their sights were set on relatively later areas. The two point guards they were currently eyeing for the draft were Rajon Rondo from Kentucky and Jordan Farmar from UCLA.

Among the Lakers' internal scouting reports, it was explicitly written: Farmar is one of the point guards in this year's draft with the best court awareness. He has exceptionally talented passing abilities and an unparalleled ability to read the game. Since his freshman year, he has been a leader for UCLA. In the fiercely competitive American college basketball scene, this kind of temperament is quite rare.

Farmar is very adept at controlling the game's tempo, knowing what speed to play at to best undermine the opponent and help the team. He intelligently organizes the game's rhythm through dribbling, completely overwhelming the opponent's defense. Furthermore, Farmar is a master of pick-and-rolls, very skilled in choosing when and how to pass, drive, or shoot. He has a high basketball IQ, adept in various little moves, street skills, and psychological tactics. His only weakness lies in his average physical attributes; he lacks explosiveness in his first step, and it's difficult for him to gain an advantage in speed, agility, and strength in personal confrontations at NBA levels. However, strangely enough, despite not being fast, his vertical jump is outstanding, reaching up to 42.5 inches with a maximum running start. He's accurate in mid-range shooting, but his three-point accuracy still needs testing. His defensive abilities are average.

Such accolades almost made the Lakers' upper management decide to go all-in for Jordan Farmar.

But recently... Bruce Li from Stanford University had caused seismic waves in Northern California. Just yesterday, he brought the earthquake to the Mexican border, miraculously scoring a double-20 in San Diego and leading an incredible comeback, defeating the top draft prospect Aldridge-led Longhorns.

Coupled with the repeated endorsements from Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kupchak decided to make a personal trip.

In the California basketball circle, the Lakers' general manager had far more resources and connections than others. He easily found Coach McHaney and obtained the opportunity to attend the scrimmage. This made all the other team scouts and assistant coaches waiting outside envious.

...

Before the training started, Li Zhen carefully studied Coach McHaney's newly praised tactical system.

"This is basically the same as before," Scott complained, displeased. "You're responsible for bringing the ball over half-court, then pass it to TJ Walton for an isolation. I don't believe this tactic can win games."

"I think you should reject this tactic. You have to understand, scouts from all over America are coming to San Diego to watch you. If you can't perform exceptionally in this game, they'll scatter. The high popularity you've worked so hard to maintain will immediately dissipate, and March Madness will change rapidly. Too many things are happening in rapid succession. Today, you're the star, but tomorrow, some player might explode with a phenomenal performance and steal all your limelight!"

Thompson also walked over to emphasize to Li Zhen.

Frank Benson, although not one to mince words, also strongly supported Li Zhen in refusing.

Nobody wants to play with TJ Walton, who averages 22.4 shots per game. Everyone wants to play with Bruce Li, who has averaged 13.5 assists in the last four games.

But... in the NCAA, the head coach is an absolute authority. Those famous coaches can even have complete control, not caring about any instructions from the school, and can freely manage the playing time of any player.

This is fundamentally different from the NBA, which is a commercial league. The NCAA is a league that severely exploits players, where coaches earn millions of dollars in annual salaries while players only receive some meal card subsidies from the school. Only those who perform exceptionally well receive full scholarships.

Li Zhen pursed his lips.

He planned to have a good chat with Coach Jamie Lin and Coach McHaney after today's scrimmage.

Just then, TJ Walton walked into the locker room whistling.

He looked quite pleased.

"Guys, your king has returned! Tomorrow afternoon, let me lead you over the bodies of Kansas and into the long-awaited Sweet Sixteen!"

His words were met with indifference.

But TJ Walton didn't mind.

He was enjoying the feeling of all the scouts flocking to him now. He believed his era was about to come.

Thanks to that ridiculous fool Bruce Li, who had diverted all the attention to the Stanford Cardinals, now... wait for me to reap all the praise!

Those scouts who came for him would ultimately deliver scouting reports with my name on them to the desks of general managers of various NBA clubs.

Just wait and see.

The NBA will be even more exciting thanks to the great TJ Walton!