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Oakland, Oracle Center.
Bang - bang - swish!
In the empty training court, the dull and monotonous sound of dribbling echoed intermittently, mixed with the crisp sound of the net brushing, showcasing the excellent shooting skills of those training.
The Warriors' All-Star break doesn't end until tomorrow, but Jimmy had already started training, and he would have had even less free time if he hadn't gone to Los Angeles for the All-Star Rookie Challenge.
Jimmy seemed particularly excited today. He arrived at the Oracle Arena at 8 AM, trained until 11:30 AM, then had a 30-minute nap in the players' lounge after lunch, before continuing his training at 1 PM, as if he didn't feel tired at all.
Swish!
Jimmy sank another mid-range shot, immediately running to grab the ball and stepping beyond the three-point line to perform a triple-threat move for his next practice.
Thousands of repetitions are needed to develop muscle memory and truly master the technique, and Jimmy was infinitely close to achieving that goal.
"Hey Jimmy, have you been here long?"
Suddenly, an enthusiastic voice sounded, and Jimmy kept moving, and after shooting the ball, he turned his head and saw Danny Green walking toward him with a basketball.
"I didn't take long to start practicing." Jimmy nodded at Danny Green and walked toward the sideline, not mentioning that he had started training in the morning.
Danny Green was used to Jimmy's indifferent reactions, and they had been teammates for a year and a half, so he knew Jimmy's personality was like that, and he treated everyone the same way.
The rookie Jimmy was still a relatively introverted person, far from the "big brother" style that later made him the team's core in the Heat.
Danny Green got closer to Jimmy and started his warm-up seriously while Jimmy took the opportunity to rest for a while.
Suddenly, Danny Green spoke:
"I didn't expect Wesley to be traded... Jimmy, you're starting again."
Jimmy paused, then continued wiping the sweat off his body and said in a low voice:
"Not necessarily, Andrey Kirilenko is a star, maybe he'll be the starter."
Danny Green shook his head and said:
"How's that possible? He only has half a year left on his contract. I read many articles, and they all say the coach won't let him start. You were the starter last season, and with Wesley gone, the coach will definitely give you back the starting spot."
Jimmy smiled, his eyes revealing an undisguised joy. The reason he worked so hard today was because he had heard the news about Matthews being traded, and, as Danny Green said, Jimmy also thought he would return to the starting position.
After most of the season, he had worked diligently as a backup, training hard, waiting for the day he would return to the starting role.
No NBA player is willing to be a backup, not even Jimmy, who was discovered by Liam, and he had been on the bench for most of the season. Inevitably, there was some resentment in his heart, especially after working hard all summer and believing he was fully qualified to play as a starter.
Now that Matthews was gone, Jimmy was naturally excited, and with no place to release his energy, he poured sweat into the basketball court.
"Let's go! 10 balls, the old rules, you first!" Jimmy threw the towel on his seat and approached the court, speaking succinctly.
Danny Green smiled and followed:
"Alright!"
This was another habit of Jimmy's, he liked to go face to face with his teammates between practices. At first, it was just him and Curry, but then the whole team gradually acquired this habit due to his influence.
The two entered the court, and Danny Green moved to the top of the arc to receive Jimmy's pass.
At first, he took a hesitant step, but Jimmy remained unfazed, simply sticking to him.
The two had faced each other many times, and Jimmy knew all about Danny Green's offensive habits, knowing that he wasn't very good at dribbling and would defend his shots.
Danny Green made a fake swing to the left and tried to get past to the right, but Jimmy stuck too tightly to him and managed to steal a small part of his body. However, Danny Green's dribbling speed wasn't fast, so Jimmy easily followed him, and after Danny Green took two steps, he could only attempt a jump shot as he moved out.
Bang!
Under Jimmy's tight defense, Danny Green's shot hit the rim.
But according to the American one-on-one rules, the ball can only be bounced three times outside the three-point line, and Danny Green's shot earlier was a bit reluctant, but he had no choice but to take it.
It was now Jimmy's turn, and he chose to catch the ball inside the three-point line, where he could only bounce the ball.
Jimmy took the ball from Danny Green, made a triple-threat move at the free-throw line, and Danny Green extended his hands, waiting.
Jimmy suddenly shook his left shoulder, and Danny Green's center of gravity unconsciously shifted to the right. It was at this moment that Jimmy hit the ball with force, took a big step to the right, lifted, and shot.
Swish!
Danny Green reacted a little slower because of the shift in his center of gravity, and couldn't interfere with Jimmy's shot. The basketball swished through the net.
Danny Green looked back at the ball that dropped from the net, shook his head in frustration, approached, picked up the ball, and Jimmy smiled on his face, retreating to the three-point line and shouting at Danny Green:
"Danny, come on, you'll definitely get your chance. The coach is the best coach, as long as you're strong, you'll definitely play!"
Jimmy on the basketball court was much more vivid than off the court.
Danny Green heard Jimmy's shout, stopped to pick up the ball, then crouched down to grab it, turned, and threw it to Jimmy, smiling:
"I will!"
But his voice wasn't as firm, it contained a bit of bitterness and confusion.
If not for playing, who would choose to practice during the holidays?
Jimmy had regained his starting spot, but Danny Green didn't know when he would get his chance.
But he trusted the coach, and Danny Green had never complained about the coach since the coach recruited him for the team and gave him a guaranteed contract.
All he could do was train well, stay in the best shape for the opportunity that might come, and then do his best to seize it.
Danny Green approached Jimmy, bent his knees, lowered his center of gravity, spread his hands, and looked at each of Jimmy's moves very seriously, as if he were watching his own future, and said in a deep voice:
"Let's go, I'm ready!"
...
Roar!
The sound of the airplane engines pierced the sky, and Kirilenko leaned against the window, glancing at the ever-shrinking silhouette of the city outside the porthole, with joy and melancholy in his eyes.
He had really left the Jazz.
Although Kirilenko had expected that day would come sooner or later, when the day finally arrived, he still felt lost.
Kirilenko had played for the Jazz since he entered the NBA in 2001, spending a third of his life in Salt Lake City, and his knowledge of the city was as deep as that of his hometown in Izhevsk.
In those 10 years, he had achieved much: Rookie Team, Defensive Team, All-Star, Block King, maximum contract salary... He had stepped up to the peak of his career here, and now he was slowly sliding down from the peak. For the Jazz, it had ended with injury, once the NBA's most versatile warrior, unable to play 5*5 with terrifying stats anymore.
But now, everything was gone for him, and he was on his way to a new city.
There had always been a conflict between Kirilenko and Sloan, and even after leading Russia to win the European Championship and winning the MVP of the European Championship, he said, "I don't want to play in the NBA again," but the temptation of a maximum salary contract and the desire to prove himself made him return to the team, but the team's increasingly marginalized status made Kirilenko unhappy.
"I want to play basketball, I want to play happy basketball, I don't feel like a robot in Sloan's tactical system."
Kirilenko recalled what he had said. Now that he was finally out of the Jazz, and Sloan would never coach him again, he hoped to be happy in the second half of his contract. After all, he didn't know if this would be his last half year in the NBA.
Boom!
When the plane finally rose above the clouds, with sunlight shining directly through the porthole, Kirilenko covered his eyes with his hand, lowered the curtain, and turned his head back.
In any case, a new career was about to begin.
...
"Ding..."
"Hey... Oh, has Andrey already reported? Did the physical check go well... Mmmm, just make sure he's okay, give him a brief team tactic summary, let him familiarize himself, he'll start training tomorrow, and let me know if there's anything else."
After Liam finished speaking, he hung up the phone.
Larry Riley had called him and told him that Kirilenko had arrived in Auckland to report and had passed the physical examination without any problems. He was now ready to play, as long as Delon, Matthews, and the other players involved in the trade passed their medical exams.
Liam breathed a sigh of relief.
He wasn't in a hurry to have Kirilenko play right away, even though AK47 was sharp, he had just been traded. He also needed time to familiarize himself with the Warriors' tactical system to play his best, but in two days, the Warriors had a tough battle to play, and if Kirilenko could play, it would give them one more option, and the Warriors would have a better chance of winning.
The trade for Kirilenko was the result of careful discussions between Liam, the coaching staff, and Larry Riley. It was the best return the Warriors could get in this deal, and it could also fill the weak spot in their lineup. Liam wanted Hayward, but unless the Jazz's management team was collectively kicked by a donkey, that was unlikely.
Click.
Liam pressed the spacebar on his laptop, and the paused video resumed, showing the scene of the first encounter between the Warriors and the Heat this season.
The Warriors' next opponent in two days was none other than the Heat.
After a disastrous start of 9-8, the Heat lost only one of their next 22 games, reaching a 41-15 record by the All-Star weekend, placing them second in the East behind the rising Bulls.
The Big Three seemed to have figured out how to coexist, and despite occasional fluctuations, the Heat had shown very strong dominance and were truly pushing for a championship.
Now, the internet voices mocking the Heat were much quieter. The NBA is an arena of gladiators of victories and defeats, and the Heat would gain a lot of loyal fans who adore the strong when they showed great power.
Liam squinted his eyes, carefully studied the video of the Warriors' debacle, and then clicked on the clips of the last five Heat games, examining them closely.
After watching all the videos, Liam leaned back, rested in his chair, looked at the still image on the screen, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a sneer.
Although the Heat's streak was improving, the Warriors were not standing still. Now, with Kirilenko's addition, he was confident they could win this rematch.
End of this chapter
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