The Los Angeles Lakers finally made the playoffs this season, the first time since the Sharks traveled east.

Kobe Bryant's hard work for this is visible to the naked eye, in the upcoming 2005-2006 regular season, the world was shocked by his individual ability, in February and March, almost every game cut more than 40 points, in the face of the Raptors, even the active single-game scoring record refreshed to 81 points.

This shows how strong he is. On the other hand, of course, it also proves how his teammates are... Weak.

So, Kobe Bryant is clamoring for reinforcements almost every summer, and it's bringing in a star-level point guard.

The whole world knows he's been eye-to-eye with Jason Kidd for a long time, but... The price offered by the New Jersey Nets is unacceptable to the Lakers: is it crazy to want their big baby, Andrew Bynum, who will take over the banner of the Lakers' great center in the future?

However, Kobe Bryant's will could not but be submissive.

So, general manager Kupchak assured him that he would be selected for a point guard in the draft this summer.

Then, the Black Mamba handpicked Bruce Lee.

This made Kupchak rather depressed.

For Bruce Lee, the biggest dark horse in college basketball this year, the Lakers' top management is obviously divided into two factions. Kupchak, who had made a special trip to Stanford to inspect Li Zhen and also observed the training of the Crimson team, was very unimpressed with Li Zhen. And Jeanie Buss, who was there to watch the game and witnessed Li Zhen lead the team to kill UCLA, yearns for Bruce.

The current high-level politics at the Lakers club is... Old Bass is the emperor who sits in the military tent in China. Then his youngest son, Jim Bas, was in the same faction as the general manager Kupchak. His daughter, Jeanie Buss, is in the same league as head coach Phil Jackson.

Although the whole world knows that Jenny Buss is stronger in personal ability than Jim Bass, the elder Bass still has a slight preference for his son in his heart.

On the one hand, he needs the Zen master to command the team, and on the other hand, he is worried that the Zen master, a careerist, has too strong control over the team. Phil Jackson has wanted to take a stake in the club more than once, and he's now... Crawled onto Jeanie Buss's bed on crutches...... It's hard to be wary.

Therefore, the two factions are always inseparable.

And when... Bruce showed up at the Lakers' training gym. The four executives of these two groups have arrived.

Kobe Bryant also put down the barbell plate in his hand and came to the scene in person.

The specifications must be high.

The content of the trial is actually very simple. It's just some simple dribbling speed test, shooting test... Frankly speaking, Li Zhen's performance was very mediocre.

His strength lies not in the change of direction in front of a few chairs, nor in the various open shots and pull-up jump shots.

He's a game-type player who needs to be in a real game scenario to get the most out of it.

"I don't know why I'm wasting my time here. I know he has a stellar resume in the NCAA, but dozens of players who play well in the NCAA emerge every year, but how many more make a name for themselves in the NBA? It's basically two different concepts of the playing environment. ”

Jim Bass took Lee's static data and complained loudly: "Moreover, is it crazy that Bill Duffy guy actually refused to test his players for dynamic data?" Who does he think this guy is? A super-talent who has already been promised drafts by multiple teams? ”

"Don't be so babbling, Jim. Adults should be quieter. ”

Jeanie Buss looked at the second brother with some mockery, she liked the static data that Bruce Lee had just completed: "Look. A barefoot net height of 188 and an arm span of 201. This shows that his defensive coverage is far greater than that of the average point guard, and with his coveted big hands, his defense is certainly not much worse. And, most importantly, this... His weight has already reached 76 kilograms. That's 5 kilograms more than he had been 43 days ago. Can you understand the significance of this? ”

"I don't understand!! All I know is that his skeleton doesn't look like it's holding muscles. He simply couldn't be a qualified NBA player. Moreover, I don't think his ability is outstanding, judging from the center of gravity and amplitude of the dribble, his agility and coordination are just ordinary goods. And also... Don't you think he's shooting a little bit low? Even the worst guard on the Lakers' bench won't shoot 56-of-100 from the field at the training floor. ”

Jim Bass finally couldn't take it anymore: "It's time to end this ridiculous game." We still have to work on the next playoffs... That's all that matters. Instead of spending time on this so-called NCAA dark horse with mediocre talent. ”

With that, he got up and left.

Also leaving was Kupchak.

After they left, Phil Jackson raised an eyebrow as well.

To be honest, he also thinks that Li Zhen who tried out today is not good enough.

He felt... Jenny Bass may have lost her eyes. And..."Bryant, I can understand the need for a good helper. But right now, the big question before us is how to deal with the Phoenix Suns, who are third in the West. The Suns have been very strong this year, and Stephen Nash has led a group of elite soldiers to start a fast whirlwind ......"

Phil Jackson's words weren't finished.

"Wait a minute."

Bryant abruptly interrupted him, and he walked out of the office.

He took the initiative to walk towards Bruce Lee.

Li Zhen and his agent Bill Duffy are discussing the latest static physical measurement data: "I actually grew 2 centimeters taller, and I gained a lot of weight. ”

To be honest, Bill Duffy also has a bit of a headache right now.

Judging from the several items in the tryout, Bruce's performance was very mediocre, and it can even be described as clumsy. Therefore, he shrewdly rejected the Lakers' request for dynamic physical testing, because he knew that the dynamic data would definitely be more ugly after it came out.

But... There's no way to hide it.

There had to be a way to play to Bruce's strengths. However, a clever brain, perfect tactical control, a fast-paced manufacturing master... These things are simply not visible in ordinary trials.

Will it be later... To refuse individual tryouts for all teams and run to a training camp for a joint tryout?

But in the joint training camp, the big players will not play. Only players who don't get a draft promise will put on a hard show.

This will further weaken Bruce's draft market.

Bill Duffy felt quite big-headed, and he had a sense of strength and nowhere to go.

That's when Kobe Bryant walked over and offered a tryout that Bill Duffy had never heard of.

……