"I respect your idea, and if you prefer to stay in L.A. and play, we can try to reach out to the Lakers.

From the perspective of business value development, big cities like Los Angeles and New York are very good choices. ”

Schwartz closed his mouth again after speaking, leaving Li Ao to think quietly.

Unlike just now, Li Ao responded in a few seconds: "Anyway, they are all going to tryout, and there are not many Lakers." ”

Given the answer, Schwartz didn't say anything more to avoid looking as if he was recommending a team.

When he arrived downstairs in the apartment, Li Ao called Su Qun and Xu Jicheng respectively and informed each other that his agent wanted their contact information, and the other party enthusiastically agreed.

Finally, another Chinese player is going to enter the NBA, and both of them are very excited, and recently they have been fancy reporting on Li Ao's performance during college and promoting it in China.

can get the contact information of Li Ao's agent, and the two are naturally happy.

Fortunately, Li Ao has not yet entered the NBA, so it is easy to contact.

Later, Li Ao entered the NBA, and he got busy, starting with 82 games a year, and it was convenient to contact his agent if he had an interview or something.

Schwartz was very efficient, and at noon the next day, Li Ao received a call and was given trial time.

The day after tomorrow, the 3rd, Saturday morning.

At this time, Li Ao remembered that tomorrow the Lakers will fight G5 in the West, and they will fight at home, and the Lakers are currently leading the Trail Blazers by a big score of 3-1 and are expected to advance to the finals tomorrow.

The Lakers did not go well in the Western Conference this time, winning the first game by 15 points, and they all thought they were going to stand up, but G2 lost by 29 points and was brutalized by the Trail Blazers 77-106.

The Lakers' collapsed performance affected Li Ao.

In the second round, the Lakers beat the Suns 4-1, and no one mentioned Li Ao.

Now his sentence 'OK combination is the best in the world' has been ridiculed by the media again.

He can't help it, and he is famous again.

Just when public opinion generally thought that the Lakers were going to be swept by the gentlemen 1-4, OK went berserk, G3 Kobe Bryant shot 11 of 18, and pressed the Trail Blazers' outside group explosion;

G4 Kobe Bryant incarnated as a reasonable department, taking advantage of the deterrent brought by G3's excellent performance, and the selection of shots and passes was perfect, with 18 points and 7 assists in a single game, plus O'Neal's 25 points and Glen Rice's 21 points, the Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers 103-91.

With two consecutive wins on the road, Lakers fans can once again stand up and shout 'OK combination is the best in the world' and 'Lakers championship'.

After school in the afternoon, Li Ao immediately went to the Memorial Stadium and made an appointment with the coaching staff to prepare for the trial.

At this stage of the NBA tryout, none of the four members of the coaching staff have been in personal contact.

But they haven't eaten pork and haven't seen pigs run, they were ready before, and before Li Ao went to the trial, they helped him train in a surprise attack.

This feeling that there is someone behind it, Li Ao feels very good!

…

Soon, Saturday arrived.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, Schwartz came to the apartment to pick up Li Ao and take him to the Lakers' training hall.

It was supposed to pick up one person, but it ended up being a foursome.

Aunt Courtyard Assistant and good brothers all went to join in the fun, and Liam ran to the apartment before 7 o'clock this morning to play iron with Li Ao.

Li Ao didn't refuse, and took the two of them with him.

His mentality is very relaxed, two hours after school the day before yesterday afternoon, and three hours yesterday afternoon, he carried out a 'pre-exam assault', and he already has a good understanding of the process of the trial.

The main reason is that he is treating this trial with the mentality of 'Lakers training hall day trip', whether the other party wants to choose him or not, he really wants to talk about it, and he doesn't particularly care.

However, he estimates that the Lakers will not be in a good mood today - last night Tianzun scored 22 points, 10 boards and 2 assists, Pippen scored 22 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, 6 steals and 4 blocks, and the Trail Blazers defeated the Lakers away to make the score 2-3.

Based on this factor, he doesn't have much hope for the outcome of this 'Lakers training hall day trip'.

Schwartz is also in a depressed mood now - the boss doesn't take his car! I went in a luxury car!

He secretly swore in his heart that when he made money, he would also buy a luxury car, and see if the boss dared to dislike his broken car......

Wait, he now has a player like Li Ao under his hands, he just gets a commission, he earns more, doesn't Li Ao earn more? At that time, Li Ao himself can buy a better car......

Vaco!

This tone, it seems that I can't get out of this life!

Half an hour's drive, the four arrived at the Toyota Center training gym.

The Staples Center, Memorial Stadium, and Toyota Center Training Stadium are not very far apart, and they are all about 20 minutes walking distance from each other.

said that it was a training hall, and Li Ao looked at it when he got closer, and it felt no smaller than the stadium of some universities.

I heard that this is also the home of the WNBA Sparks, and the Lakers' team in the NBDL League, a second-tier NBA league that is being prepared, is also temporarily set here.

Schwartz contacted the Lakers before they left the apartment, and the four of them arrived at the parking lot, where the Lakers' general manager's secretary was already waiting for them.

Vivien and Liam were taken to the reception room to rest, and Li Ao and Schwartz arrived at the general manager's office.

Seeing the two coming, Jerry West got up from the desk, stretched out his hand to Li Ao, and said enthusiastically: "Oh, Leo, I finally met you, the first time I saw you playing, I was sure that you would be a member of the NBA." ”

"Thank you."

Li Ao unceremoniously shook hands with Jerry West.

After greeting Li Ao, Jerry West and Schwartz also exchanged pleasantries.

Li Ao looked at the radiant logo man and sighed lightly.

This small detail was noticed by Jerry West, who asked curiously, "Leo, why are you sighing?" ”

Schwartz wanted to cover Li Ao's mouth, he didn't know what Li Ao was going to say, but such an abnormal sigh was definitely not a good thing.

Although he hasn't known each other for a long time, he already knows very well that the mouth of this thing is easy to offend people.

But I didn't have time to cover ......

Li Ao said: "Didn't you lose to the Trail Blazers yesterday? I thought you were going to be upset today and just deal with my tryout, which was a good thing for me, but I don't know why it's a pity. ”

Schwartz covered his face in pain.

Jerry West laughed heartily a few times and said: "Hahahaha, it's just a loss, it doesn't matter, it must be us who wins in the end, didn't you say it, OK combination is the first in the world." ”

Li Ao sighed that he deserved to be the Los Angeles Lakers, and he was always full of confidence.

Even when they get the penultimate ball brother in the future, their fans will still be the 'Lakers championship' every day.

After a pleasant exchange, Jerry West led the two to the training ground.

Someone is already training!

Li Ao's eyes lit up - the second time he saw Kobe Bryant in person!

Seeing Li Ao coming, Kobe Bryant nodded at him with a smile.

Li Ao blurted out: ", Kobe Bryant can actually laugh!" ”

After saying hello, Kobe Bryant, who turned around for the next shot, shook his hand when he heard this, and a hollow outside the basket was sent.

Kobe Bryant turned his head to look at the prospective rookie: (O_o)??

Why can't I laugh anymore?

No, what do you mean I can laugh, and I'm not wearing a number 21 facial paralysis!

Originally, he had a good impression of Li Ao, the sentence 'OK combination is the best in the world', when he heard it for the first time, he felt that the whole person was about to fly.

If he turns 'OK' into 'KO', he's even more satisfied.

Then people will call him and O'Neal a knockout combination, not an OK combination.

Li Ao didn't know that before he said that, Kobe Bryant and O'Neal didn't have a 'combination name'.

The Lakers brought in Glen Rice in the 98-99 season, and in the two seasons before that, Kobe Bryant was only a substitute, averaging 15 points per game in the 97-98 season, while Glen Rice averaged 22 and 26 points per game in the first two seasons, respectively, and was selected to the third team in the 97-98 season.

Unlike Li Ao's perception, this year's Lakers are considered a 'team of three', O'Neal, Kobe, and Glen Rice.

It's just that after he said 'Lakers championship' and said 'OK combination', people can understand the meaning, knowing that he is talking about O'Neal and Kobe, and the nickname spread.

It's kind of him 'naming' the OK group.

Kobe Bryant had a good impression of Li Ao before, but now he ...... It's not going to get worse all of a sudden, but I just think that this quasi-rookie, like the rumors, really owes his mouth!

Kobe Bryant ignored the people and turned around to continue training.

The frustration of losing last night, he vented on the basket ball after ball.

On Li Ao's side, Schwartz covered his face in pain again, and before the trial began, he offended the second leader of the team, and this trial seemed to have no good results.

Fortunately, this team is not his first choice.

Jerry West smiled: "Leo, you don't have to care about Kobe's attitude, he has an arrogant personality, and after getting along for a long time, you will get used to it." ”

said this, as if he had become a Lakers player, Li Ao felt weird, and did not respond, staring at Kobe Bryant, who was practicing three points.

Wipe! I actually scored several goals in a row, and the basket was lonely without ball friction!

Look at it for a moment.

Stare at......

Kobe Bryant felt the hot gaze behind him, felt a chill down his spine, and hit the basket with a "bang".

Li Ao nodded with satisfaction and said to the logo man next to him, "Mr. West, can we prepare for the trial?" ”

Seeing Li Ao's inexplicably slightly smug expression, and then seeing Kobe Bryant turning his head and staring at Li Ao angrily, Jerry West shed a cold sweat.

Can these two get along?

Don't worry about it first, try it first!

Jerry West responded: "Let's go to another practice field, it's ready over there, Andre, you help Kobe Bryant train shooting, Gary, you come and warm up for Leo......"

…

Came to another training ground, there were also people in it, several trainers, and ...... Lakers head coach Phil Jackson!

Phil Jackson, who is in his 50s, told Li Ao not to be nervous and behave like a kind old man.

This image of a 'kind old man', if you don't know this guy's coaching style off the field, Li Ao really believes it.

Without the idea of chatting with the Zen master more, Li Ao first went to the locker room to change into training clothes, then took a static physical fitness measurement, and then warmed up with the help of Gary Vidi.

Warm up, Li Ao is professional!

In the first tryout, no matter what the result is, he has to give it his all and try to do his best.

Unlike the past two days when he trained in front of a familiar coach, he is feeling quite nervous now.

He kept hinting in his heart that it was just a 'test trial', and the tension was relieved.

Gotta make the most of this tryout so that you don't get nervous in the rest of the tryouts, he thought.

However, as soon as this body was hot, it was hot for nearly an hour.

I played last night's game, dealt with the media after the game, fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, and the Zen master who came to the training hall early this morning yawned a lot.

The same is true for the others, watching Li Ao warm up in an orderly manner, and in the end, Gary Wadi, who was supposed to lead the warm-up session, has become an auxiliary ...... This warm-up is too detailed for Nima!

But......

The logo man and the Zen master glanced at each other: This kind of player of the flower family has something!

When it was close to 10 o'clock, Li Ao's warm-up was finally completed, and under the command of Charlie Rose, the assistant teacher of the Zen master, Li Ao began the trial training session.

The first is the testing of dynamic physical conditions, which is carried out in its entirety.

But then the other tests ...... Yes, he's going to give it his all and show what he's capable of.

No, he just said no, and didn't try.

This made Charlie Ross feel very difficult, no matter how much he persuaded him, the other party was unwilling to try, so he looked at the Zen master and the logo man for help, and saw that both of them nodded, so he had to skip the part that Li Ao didn't want to try.

In less than an hour, all aspects of the trial are over.

The warm-up time was longer than the trial time, and the Lakers were a knife in the ass.

At the end of the trial, the logo man and the Zen master went to the side to communicate, Li Ao rested for a while, and after his body was no longer sweating profusely, he took a shower under the guidance of the trainer, changed back into his clothes, and came to the general manager's office with Schwartz again.

Jerry West got straight to the point: "Leo, we're happy with your tryout, we want to test you in more detail, Jeff, when do you have time?" ”

Without waiting for Schwartz to speak, Li Ao preemptively said, "I'm sorry, I don't want to have a second trial with you." ”

Jerry West was stunned for a moment and asked, "Why?" Do we have any mishospitable today? ”

Li Ao shook his head: "No, the legendary superstar logo man, and one of the greatest coaches of all time, Phil Jackson, tried out for me, this is a treatment I can't imagine, but I only accept the second test of the lottery pick, sorry, I'm not interested in your draft pick." ”

Jerry West was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Okay, I see...... I think we'll definitely meet again. ”

Li Ao responded: "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to try out this time, and I will have the opportunity to see you again." ”

After speaking, Li Ao pulled Schwartz, who still wanted to say something, and left the office.

When they reached a corner, after no one else, Schwartz grabbed Li Ao and complained: "Leo, you say so, is it still possible for the Lakers to choose you?" ”

Li Ao pouted: "If they really want to choose me, they will find a way, they have chips, and isn't this what you said?" I'm going to have a good draft, we're going to be a higher pick, and we can't just ask them for a 29th pick just because they want to draft us, right? 3 million contract, 5 million contract, 7 million contract, which commission do you want to get? ”

This is said to Schwartz's heart, 29 picks, 19 picks, 9 picks, the money he can get is completely different.

Looking at Li Ao's confident appearance, Schwartz also knew the reason for the other party's self-confidence, he could see that Li Ao performed very well in the trial in the aspect he was good at, and the general manager and head coach of the other party would not be able to see it?

The other party took the initiative to invite the second try!

He secretly despised himself, and when he wrote his plan, he was so bold that he was not confident at this time......

On the other side, after Li Ao and Schwartz left, the logo man immediately picked up the phone and dialed out, and after connecting, he said loudly: "Jerry! Take down the kid who planted the flowers! We're going to trade up, we have to pick him! ”

(End of chapter)