Ohio State University, in the office of the school's basketball team, a big black man is sitting in front of the computer, a busy worker.
He was seven feet tall and very tall. The desk seemed dwarfed in front of him. The normal-sized mouse was held in his hand like an ordinary person holding an egg.
"Gray, it's time to get off work." The colleague next to him was already planning to go out.
"I'll leave after completing this form." The big guy named Gray said.
"Okay, I'll leave first." The colleague paused and then said, "School hasn't started yet, so you don't have to work so hard."
"I want to get familiar with the work of an assistant coach as soon as possible. After all, I have been a player before and have never been a coach." Gray said.
After his colleagues left, Gray got busy again.
At this moment, the phone rang, and the caller ID showed an unfamiliar phone number.
"I don't know. Is this an advertisement?" Gray thought for a moment and refused to accept it.
However, five minutes later, the man called again, and Gray had no choice but to answer the call.
"Hello, are you Mr. Gray? I'm very sorry. I originally planned to contact you through your agent, but I heard that you have fired your agent..." the other party said.
"I'm Gray, who are you?" Gray asked.
"My name is Johnson, I am the general manager of the Clippers. I am in Columbus now. I hope to meet you..."
…
Johnson put down the phone, turned to Dai Li and said, "We have already made an appointment. We will meet at the hotel restaurant tomorrow night."
"There is still one day left, so let's go shopping. I heard that Columbus has many attractions worth visiting." Dai Li stood up as he spoke.
Johnson changed the subject and asked, "Do you really want to choose Gray?"
"Of course, I remember when he participated in the draft, he was hailed as a rare talent in fifty years. Some even said that his talent surpassed that of the current NBA No. 1 Bronny! He won the Mr. Basketball of America in high school. , apart from Brownie, only Gray has done this."
"Indeed, his talent is surprising, but his injuries are equally surprising. After entering the NBA, he only played a total of 105 games. The rest of the time he was recuperating from injuries. What use is there for such a glass man? Use? Maybe he was injured before he even had time to play. We are a team, not a nursing home." Johnson said.
"Have you forgotten that what I am best at is rehabilitation training? And we all know that Gray's main problem is leg length, and I have experience in this area. I once trained Olympic champion Sean Ford, who is Long or short legs." Dai Li replied with a smile.
"Basketball is different from sprinting. Sprinting is just one person running, but basketball involves physical confrontation, especially the post players. They have to constantly compete with their opponents for position and jump up to grab rebounds." Johnson continued, shaking his head. Said: "As a seven-foot-long man, Gray weighs close to 290 pounds. This weight is a burden on the waist, knees and ankles. If he has long or short legs, it will be even worse. In the fierce physical confrontation, , it would be strange if he didn’t get hurt!”
"I know everything you said. I have read Gray's medical report. I am confident that we can solve his leg length problem. Moreover, his talent is really something that I can't let go of. I believe he can be in my team." Cash in on your talent!" Dai Li said as he took out his phone, found a picture, handed it to Johnson, and then said: "
"This is Gray's side-to-side data when he joined the NBA. He ran back and forth in the penalty area in 11.67 seconds and sprinted in three-quarters of a field in 3.27 seconds. Can you imagine that this is the data produced by a man who is seven feet tall and weighs 285 pounds? This agility means that he can switch defenders during defense. With him, we can implement unlimited defensive switching tactics like the Rockets."
"And Gray's offense and defense in the interior are both top-notch. He has the ability to attack in the low post, has skills at the basket, can rebound, and is good at blocking shots. Coupled with his agile feet, he has all the qualities of a super center. ! In the last season of the Trail Blazers, he only needed 24 minutes to hand over 11 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, with a shooting percentage of 60%. If the same data is converted into 36 minutes, it would be 16.7 He scored 12.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks. As long as he can stay healthy, he will become a super center on the upper limit, and he will also be a top basket defender on the lower limit."
"What you said, everyone in the NBA knows that before Gray entered the NBA, he was already regarded by everyone as a future super center and even the ruler of the league. But it is different now. In the small ball era, there is no need for super centers in the small ball era, and the most popular thing now is the space inside man." Johnson said.
"Did the small ball era eliminate super centers, or did the lack of super centers usher in the small ball era in the league?" Dai Li suddenly asked such a question.
"This..." Johnson suddenly realized that this was really an unanswerable question.
The era when super centers dominated the NBA was not that long ago. Johnson also experienced that era, and he knew how terrifying super centers were. The NBA has indeed seen many excellent insiders in recent years, but compared with the super centers of the year, they are really far behind.
Not talking about the finishing ability at the basket, just talking about low-post offense, any super center back then had no solution when it came to one-on-one offense in the low post. Only super centers can defend super centers one-on-one in the low post. Nowadays, very few centers in the NBA have the ability to attack in the low post, let alone attack in the low post that makes the opponent unable to solve the problem.
Of course, it is not popular now to let the center play in the low post. The most popular way for today's post players to score is to float outside and shoot three-pointers, or rush to the basket to eat in space, and there are even many dunkers who are good at grabbing secondary rebounds. They are all known as internal pillars.
So whether it is the lack of super centers that leads to the rampant use of small balls, or whether basketball has developed into the small ball era and eliminated super centers, I am afraid no one can answer this question. Unless a true super center appears again, let's verify with practice whether the super center can beat the small ball team, or the small ball team can kill the super center with three-pointers.
…
Faced with Dai Li's invitation, Gray seemed a little overwhelmed. He had already been regarded as a glass person and could not gain a foothold in the NBA, so he came to the university to become an assistant coach. Unexpectedly, he had just joined the job. I received an olive branch from the Clippers.
The next night, Dai Li met Gray, and the situation was just as Dai Li expected. Gray was really an S+ level athlete. If there were no injuries, he would really be able to dominate an era.
"Coach Li, are you serious? Don't you care about my injury history? I might not be able to play a few games before getting injured again." Gray asked melancholy.
"It seems that you are also very concerned about your injury history." Li Dai showed a very relaxed look and continued: "If you join us, then the issue of injuries is something that our coaching staff should consider. And all you need to do is fulfill your talent!”
The word "talent" fell into Gray's ears, causing his expression to change slightly.
In high school, Gray was already known as the most talented player. He won the title of High School Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball of America. At that time, Gray had already shown absolute dominance and even received the nickname "The Great". You must know that the current number one player in the league was only nicknamed "Emperor" back then. Gray's ability to get the nickname "Emperor" also shows that everyone is optimistic about him and will become the ruler of the NBA in the future.
After entering college, Gray is still synonymous with "talent". When people talk about him, they always talk about his talent. Everyone believes that when he successfully fulfills his talent, he will dominate the entire NBA.
Gray still remembers that before he participated in the NBA draft, both the scouts and the media gave him the highest evaluation. They put all the advantages of outstanding centers in history on him, even the most picky scouts , and also praised his talent. At that time, he was not only tall and long-armed, and could jump well, but his speed and agility were not inferior to those of a small man. In the end, he entered the NBA as the No. 1 pick.
However, he failed to fulfill his talent. His long and short legs did not have much impact in high school and college, but in internal confrontations at the NBA level, he was frequently injured. In his four seasons as a rookie, he was injured in two seasons, and in the other two seasons, he only played a total of 105 games.
Gray became a glass man in people's eyes and was regarded as the "parallel import number one". From then on, when people mentioned the word "talent", it sounded particularly harsh to Gray, as if it was a mockery of him. !
Because of his talent, Gray was once praised to the sky, and because of his talent, he became the target of others' ridicule. The once resounding nickname "The Great Emperor" has also become a joke that others talk about after dinner.
Now, Gray heard the word "talent" from Dai Li's mouth again, and he felt an inexplicable sadness in his heart. He did not dare to face this word at all.
Gray was silent for a long time, and then he said, "Coach Li, can you let me think about it?"
Gray's answer made Li Dai feel the extreme lack of confidence deep in Gray's heart.
From being a favorite of heaven, to falling off the altar, to being ignored, and finally being kicked out of the NBA in despair, anyone who had experienced Gray's experience would not be confident.
Dai Li shook his head: "I hope you make a decision now. For you, considering means retreating! Now, if you want to return to the basketball court and truly realize your talents, then The only thing you can do is to move forward bravely, and once you have the slightest idea of retreating, you have failed!"
Dai Li's words were full of a special kind of incitement, which gave Gray an illusion. He felt as if he was standing on a long staircase, and the steps behind were constantly collapsing. He could no longer retreat, only the continuous Forward.
Dai Li then persuaded: "In my eyes, you are always the amazingly talented Gray, but you have not fulfilled your talent. I think you are not willing to leave the court and be an assistant coach in college for the rest of your life, right? You You are someone who is destined to become a superstar, you should not be buried here! The opportunity is right in front of you, seize the opportunity and realize your talent, you can still become an NBA superstar!"
…
In the end, Gray couldn't resist the temptation of becoming a superstar. He agreed to join the Clippers, and Dai Li left Columbus with satisfaction.
In the terminal of the airport, Dai Li wrote down a few names in his notebook.
"Center Gray, power forward Noel, small forward Raymond, shooting guard Hall, and point guard Wood. What do you think of our starting lineup?" Li Dai asked.
"If they are all healthy, this is an All-Star starting lineup." Johnson said.
"In addition, we also have the best sixth man Osev, the talented rookie Kumar, and the talented Naismith..." Li Dai continued.
"Don't forget there is Ronnie, we can still renew his contract." Johnson reminded.
"Give up Ronnie!" Dai Li said, shaking his head.
"What did you say?" Johnson even thought he heard wrongly.
"We have Raymond, Hall and Osef. If they can really stay healthy, do you think it is necessary for us to keep Ronnie?" Li Dai asked with a smile.
"I understand what you mean, but you first need to prove to me that Raymond and the others can really adapt to the NBA game. Otherwise, Ronnie will always be our best choice on the front line." Johnson said with a straight face.
"You can rest assured." Dai Li changed his voice and continued: "But I am still not very confident about the team's insiders. Although Gray has outstanding talent, after all, he has only played 105 NBA games. His experience It’s not that sufficient. So we still need to find an experienced interior substitute. You can help me keep an eye on the free market, or if other teams have suitable personnel, we can try to make a trade."