Champions Creed

Chapter 22: We will become the next Magic and Skyhook

In the subsequent games, Alan Houston still showed his expected level.

He shoots accurately and never takes shots randomly. He moves smartly and defends hard.

But Roger's talent has overshadowed everyone else.

Most high school players' performance will be discounted to some extent after entering the NCAA, and the same is true for NCAA players after entering the NBA.

But Roger didn't feel any discomfort in this game composed of top college students, and he played very smoothly.

This made McKinney believe that Roger was the one whose combat capability was similar to Alan's, but whose potential was three blocks ahead of Alan!

Don Cheney was surprised that Roger's behavior was not in line with common sense.

No matter how good a high school student is, he can never be comparable to these top players who have played in college for several years.

On the side, Roger's agent Eric Fleischer looked at Don Cheney's surprised expression and was secretly proud of himself.

He knew this would be the result; he had been waiting for Don Cheney's surprised expression.

It’s not that Eric has the ability to predict the future, but he knows very well how hard Roger works to make it to the NBA.

None of the college players present had thought about hiring a trainer to help them improve, so their level has been stagnant from March Madness to now.

But Roger kept getting stronger and never wasted a day.

The biggest mistake a person can make in life is to think that there is still time. Fortunately, Roger did not make this mistake.

He quietly caught up with these college basketball geniuses, he quietly developed new scoring methods, and he was hungry to realize all his potential.

This process is certainly hard. Take Roger's finishing at the basket as an example. He was able to successfully finish under Bradley's defense because he trained his proficiency in finishing with both hands at the basket every day. The training content was very boring, which was to jump up and layup on the spot, and jump up in the air before the basketball landed, change hands to catch the ball and continue the layup.

He kept jumping up and doing layups with his left and right hands, repeating these basic movements that were so familiar to him that he was tired of them. Eric fell asleep while watching from the side.

But even so, Roger never missed a day.

So, Eric had anticipated Roger's performance.

This is also the reason why he dared to reject the Bulls' tryout invitation.

Roger is destined to be selected in the lottery!
The reason why he chose the Pistons as his first stop for a tryout was because the Pistons happened to have the last two lottery picks, the 10th and 11th.

As long as they can impress the Pistons, it would be like telling the entire league: "Roger is a lottery player. If you want to get him, prepare your lottery pick."

In the end, Roger's white team won the 28-minute training match.

Alan Houston scored 15 points, but the highest scorer was Roger, who scored 20 points.

28 points in 20 minutes, plus 40 points in a single game at the McDonald's All-Star Game and 58 points in a single game in the state championship game.

Billy McKinnie was already imagining Roger scoring big points in the NBA.

After the workout, the Pistons general manager called Roger and Eric over:
"Luo, you are undoubtedly the best rookie in this tryout. If you are not picked at the 10th pick in the draft two months later, we will choose you. You don't have to worry about the contract. The Pistons are not under much pressure on salary at the moment. Our total salary last season was the sixth lowest in the league. In Detroit, you will definitely get a salary package that you can't get anywhere else."

Salary and benefits are something that needs to be negotiated intensively in the draft in this era.

The Pistons are currently rebuilding, and the only player with a contract exceeding 200 million is the Smiling Assassin.

This means that team owners definitely have ample room to offer rookie contracts.

After the tryout, McKinney specially invited Roger and Eric to dinner.

But Eric didn't discuss the contract with him in detail in advance.

Because he thought that Roger didn't belong here.

After returning to the hotel, he told Roger: "Your draft pick is not limited to this. After tomorrow, people will know everything that happened in Detroit. And those teams with higher draft picks will soon be unable to contain their curiosity."

Detroit is both an insurance policy and a springboard.

Sure enough, the next day, media all over the United States were reporting on Roger's outstanding performance in the tryout.

A Pistons insider revealed that Roger is no less impressive than top college scorers like Alan Houston. ——Detroit Free Press.

Roger's performance is impressive, he will definitely be a star player in the future. -Billy McKinney

In a training match with top college players such as Alan Houston and Sean Bradley, Roger became the highest scorer of the game! - The New York Times

As we expected, after the top high school players, the top college players were also killed. - John Anderson, host of ESPN's "SportsCenter" program

All signs indicate that Roger has received a commitment from the Pistons with the 10th or 11th pick, and he is unlikely to fall out of the lottery! - Jonesville Observer

Most of this information was leaked deliberately by Eric.

Nowadays, women know how to wear bikinis to show off their good figures.

Why should Roger be embarrassed to show off his successful tryout?
Dukan went to Krause's office with the news. Krause's jaw, which was so thin that it was only three layers thick, almost dislocated: "There's no way Roger will fall out of the lottery!?" Krause thought that Roger would face reality after the tryout and run back to Chicago in shame for the tryout.

But he didn't expect Roger to get the lottery guarantee!
A high school guard actually got the promise of lottery after just one tryout. At first, Krause only saw Roger's potential, but from the current point of view, Roger's combat effectiveness should not be underestimated!

The Bulls are not a rebuilding team, so they certainly won't make a big deal for a high school rookie. At first, Krause thought that the team would pick up Roger at the end of the first round and use him as a powerful sixth man.

Considering that Pippen's offensive stability is like the moonlight of a 40-year-old woman, it would be a great idea to have a sixth man to share Jordan's scoring pressure.

But at the moment, Roger is even seen by lottery teams as the key to reconstruction.

There is a high probability that Klaus' plan will be shelved.

The Bulls were the first NBA team to pay attention to Roger, but now they can only watch this beautiful thing from afar and cannot touch it. This is the cruelest torture in the world.

There is no way. The NBA is not a league that allows you to have both.

When you have a championship-contending roster, it means you have to say goodbye to those young top talents.

The Lakers' move to get the No. 1 pick and select James Worthy while competing for the championship is, after all, just an exception. If you want to replicate it, first of all, you need to have a stupid enough trading partner.

Klaus looked at the newspapers in his hands, feeling a little reluctant.

Is this really the end of it with Roger?

He put all of Roger's scouting reports into the drawer of his desk, not knowing when he would take them out again.

After that, Roger participated in tryouts for several lottery teams and the results were all very ideal.

In the Denver Plateau, the Nuggets were very satisfied with Roger's physical and technical tests.

But what I was most satisfied with was an answer given by Roger during the interview.

At that time, Nuggets general manager Bernie Bickerstaff asked Roger: "Who do you admire most in the NBA?"

Ninety-nine percent of the outside players will answer Jordan, and ninety-nine percent of the inside players will answer David Robinson.

But Roger's answer was unexpected: "Reggie Miller."

"Huh? Why?"

"He's very tenacious, and if someone scores on him, he'll hit them right back.

And as we all know, Reggie's physical talent is not good in the NBA. When you see him on the court, you might think you can easily knock him down and step on him. But in the blink of an eye, he will have a gloomy face, talk trash, and fight you to the death with his skinny body until the last moment.

So who do you think I admire the most? My answer is Reggie."

Afterwards, Bernie Bickerstaff admitted in an interview with local media: "We are considering the possibility of taking Roger at the ninth pick!"

Bickerstaff was impressed not only by Roger's performance in basketball, but also because he could see in the interview that Roger was a fighter who hated to lose!

The whole United States is going crazy. This high school rookie from Asia is now likely to be selected with the ninth pick?

When Roger first announced that he was going to skip college, many people said he was out of his mind.

But now, he can be confirmed as a top ten player in this year's draft!

When the whole country was speculating on which pick this special high school rookie would be selected, Roger also took time out from the tryout to shoot for the "Hot Coach" crew with Shark.

During the filming process, Roger and the shark got along very well. They played together, chatted together, and complained about Nick Anderson together.

O'Neal likes to be with Roger because on the Magic, all his teammates think his jokes are too extreme and too childish.

But he and Roger are very compatible.

Like, for example, when O'Neal painted a certain photographer's nails all pink while he was asleep.

Not only does Roger not think the shark is childish, he also suddenly says to the shark when he wakes up: "Hey Wick, don't steal your mother's nail polish."

Then, they both laughed heartily at each other's confused expressions.

O'Neal is responsible for pranks, Roger is responsible for making jokes, and both young men like rap music. Baby Shark is simply having a very happy time during this period.

Several times when Andre called Roger to chat, he could hear O'Neal's laughter around Roger.

At that moment, Andre felt his heart sour and his hair turned green.

Originally, the filming of the movie was just a small episode before the talent show.

But after the filming was over and the Sharks returned to Orlando, the Magic's management heard a proposal that made them suspect there was something wrong with their ears.

O'Neal told the team: "I think Roger is a better fit for the Magic than Webber. If you pick him, we will be the next Magic and Skyhook."

(End of this chapter)