"Lee, look at the news......"

Early the next morning, Lee Wan was woken up by Arne Tylen's phone call and, as he said, searched for news on his phone.

"It's okay if Phil Jackson isn't optimistic, Li Wan: All I have to do is play well!"

"Confidence! The Chinese newcomer talked about the controversy between Kupchak and Phil Jackson, and said that he would play a performance that satisfied the head coach! ”

"Whether it is self-confidence or arrogance, Chinese newcomer Li Wan is not afraid to stand on the opposite side of Phil-Jackson!"

……

Li Wan suddenly had only two words left in his heart: numb!

What he meant at the time was "be yourself", and when the media interpreted it like this, it became "self-confidence" and "not afraid of Phil Jackson......

To say that this newcomer to the Lakers team does have a lot of traffic. He was a 19th pick in the first round, and he was stunned to have a fight with the exposure of those first-round top 6 newcomers.

"Am I a water reversal lately? Why did something go wrong, or did I draw the JR-Smith card and spend all my luck lately? ”

Li Wan didn't dwell too much on the impact of these reports.

Whether he wants to "be himself" or "be confident", he has to rely on strength to prove himself in the end.

Taryn picked him up at the hotel at around 8 a.m. and flew from JFK International Airport to Los Angeles.

It seems like it had just rained in Los Angeles, the air is humid, and the wind blows comfortably on your face when you get off the plane.

Los Angeles is located in southwestern California, and it rarely rains at any time of the year, except for December, January, and February, resulting in a very dry climate, and it is difficult for people living in Los Angeles to go out without wearing some moisturizer.

Rain is a blessing here.

"That should be a good sign, right?" Li Wan asked.

Taryn nodded, "You can think so. ”

He called Kupchak and learned that he had time at the moment, so he drove Li Wan to sign the contract.

The Lakers' home stadium is Staples Arena, but the usual training and Lakers' management office is not there, but at the Toyota Center Arena, which is also invested and built by Toyota.

Like the Toyota Center in Houston in '02, the stadium is divided into three floors, one floor below and two floors above ground, with all kinds of supporting facilities, restaurants, beverage bars, fan shops, and everything.

However, it is not only for the Los Angeles Lakers, but also for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, as well as the Los Angeles Kings of Major League Hockey.

Belonging to the Lakers, there are only two locker rooms in the basement and a few practice fields, and even the general manager's office are all other office buildings.

But in Los Angeles, where every inch of land is at a premium, it's not just the Los Angeles Lakers.

Well, the main thing is that Old Bass is not rich enough......

In addition to running the Lakers, the entire Buss family also runs the Los Angeles Sparks, which also train at this arena.

It's just that a few days ago, Old Bass was officially listed and wanted to be transferred.

Lisa Leslie, the star of the Sparks, is pregnant and announced that she will not play in the WNBA 07~08 season, which means that the team will spend a year together.

The WNBA was originally a loss-making business, and after missing the WNBA championship in the past few years, the Sparks' income and expenditure situation has not been optimistic, and now it will usher in a year of losing money, and the old Bass finally chose to give up.

He believes it was the right decision to relocate the Lakers from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960.

It was also this decision that made him realize that although he owned the Lakers, he was still a Lakers in Los Angeles, with a market value of at least 2 billion, but this was equivalent to his "real estate", and in addition, he was very poor.

Therefore, he set his sights on Li Wan, a Chinese man.

How many times has the Huaxia market made Alexander's worth, is there any more lucrative investment than this?

As for Phil Jackson's displeasure, then let him be dissatisfied. And Old Bass knew in his heart that this old bastard might not really look down on Li Wan.

What he thinks depends on what he does next.

This is also the reason why the old Bass hates Phil Jackson, he doesn't like this kind of employee that he can't control.

By the time Lee Wan and Tyronn arrived, Kupchak had a contract ready, a standard rookie contract that was fully guaranteed for the first three years and a team option for the fourth year.

A total of 5.84 million in 4 years.

Li Wan's annual salary in the first year was 1.29 million. Generally, it is paid on a monthly basis for 1 year and 12 months.

It is also possible to advance up to 60% of the total salary. This is to avoid those supergiants asking for a one-time salary of 20 million, which will lead to problems with the team's operating funds.

After carefully reading the terms of the contract and making sure that there was no problem, Li Wan signed his name on it, and when he handed the contract to Kupchak, who was looking at him with a smile on his face, he asked, "Can I advance my salary for 3 months in advance?" ”

All kinds of expenses for the trial before the draft were paid by Arne Tyron, about 30,000 yuan. and his 3% commission of 38,700 dollars, a total of 70,000 yuan.

He also rented a well-secured apartment near the Toyota Center and Staples Arena, with a rent of nearly 10,000 yuan for two months.

In addition, the rental house in Los Angeles is a rental house, and you need to buy your own household facilities and equipment, and you have to buy a car to travel.

His salary of 107,500 yuan in the first month alone is not enough for these expenses, not to mention that Li Wan has special training in the summer, which is another money-burning project.

Kupchak happily signed a check for 330,000 yuan and handed it to Li Wan.

"By the way, I need to confirm with you, are you going to play in the Summer League?"

"Of course!"

Li Wan did not hesitate.

Phil Jackson is unclear and he needs some performance to fight for his place in training camp.

Summer League performances may not be informative in themselves, but it's good to have a little more impression.

"OK, then before July 10th, remember to report to the team, of course, if you want to go to Las Vegas by yourself, you can also contact Phil Handy when the time comes."

Kupchak handed him Phil Handy's business card. It reads "Lakers Chief Assistant Coach". He was the head coach of the Lakers Summer League this time.

Li Wan accepted the business card and left the office with Taryn.

As soon as he got out of the arena, he asked Taryn to contact him with the training ground, today is June 26th, and there is still almost half a month before July 10th.

He needs to carry out a round of improvement in this half a month.

Summer League is where players on the fringes of the league and undrafted players are fighting for two-way contracts, and he doesn't expect anyone in that place to be willing to play with him, pass him the ball or something.

He didn't go to summer league to show his defensive prowess.

Therefore, in the next 14 days, he focused on the two aspects of special training respectively for the ability to hold the ball and the ability to shoot.