The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 41 Disgusting Character

On the 3rd, the Hornets assembled, preparing to head to Miami.

Last night, Tang Bei took his 99th Dongwang Buxin Pill.

He didn't know if he could still get this thing from the treasure chest, so he kept one and planned to go back to China to find a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner to analyze its ingredients.

After eating 99 of these pills, he felt his heart rate slow down and his pulse become stronger and longer.

Previously, when he was still, his resting heart rate was about fifty beats per minute, but now it is only about forty-five beats per minute, a decrease of about 10%.

According to his limited understanding, his heart function should have increased by 10%, correspondingly reducing the rate of aging by 10%.

However, it is still unknown how long this effect will last.

The meeting was at 10 o'clock. Just after 9 o'clock, Tang Bei and John Liu left the apartment and got into the second-hand pickup truck they had just bought.

Earning dollars and spending dollars, this beat-up pickup truck cost three thousand dollars. With a little more, I could build a two-story villa back in my hometown.

He only had $1,100 left of his $6,000. If he was careful with his money, he should be able to make it until payday.

He got his driver's license in early August and is now a very good driver.

The first thing John Liu did after getting on the bus was to fasten his seatbelt and then grip the handrail tightly.

"boom!"

"Suddenly..."

Tang Bei pressed down on the accelerator, and the car shook violently as the engine revved up.

"call!"

The next moment, he released the handbrake, and the car shot forward instantly, the strong push-back feeling making him feel extremely exhilarated.

He excitedly turned to John Liu and shouted, "When I have money, I'll customize a supercar with a large interior space and experience what real acceleration feels like!"

Watch where you're going!

John Liu screamed in panic.

“I’m watching,” Tang Bei said.

"Tang, you should take better care of the car. Driving like this is doing a lot of damage to it."

John Liu intends to reason with him and appeal to his emotions.

"boom!"

His answer was the roar of the accelerator.

"squeak!"

Five minutes later, the pickup truck stopped in the headquarters parking lot.

There was a bus in the parking lot with the Hornets logo on it, but it was still early and there was no one on the bus, nor was the driver.

Tang Bei waited by the bus and spoke to John Liu in English.

With John Liu's one-on-one tutoring, his immersion in an English-speaking environment, his good learning ability, the use of flashcards, and his excellent memory, he has now mastered several thousand English words. He can handle general English conversations, and he has no problem with basketball terminology.

“Hey, Mr. Tvortske, Coach Bristol.”

"Hello, Tang."

About ten minutes later, at 9:30, several management and staff members arrived, including General Manager Dave Tverczk and Head Coach Alan Bristol.

Tang Bei met the head coach of Bristol just two days ago; he had only been back at work for a few days.

Normally, the head coach doesn't need to go to the preseason games; an assistant coach can suffice. However, Bristol only became head coach last season and lacks experience, so he will personally lead the preseason games to gain experience. At this point, cars began to pull into the parking lot, and one by one, players dragged their suitcases to the team bus.

This was also Tang Bei's first time meeting his teammates, and Tvercz personally introduced them.

He already knew the Hornets' roster; head coach Bristol had told him, and the Hornets didn't have a usable center, so he was going to be the starter from the beginning.

Besides him, the other four starters are power forward Larry Johnson, small forward David Wingate, shooting guard Kendall Gill, and point guard Muggsy Bogues.

Of these four, last season's leading scorer, Gil, averaged 20.5 points per game, the second-leading scorer, Larry Johnson, averaged 19.2 points per game, Muggsy Bogues mainly orchestrates the offense, and Wingate was just traded in this season and has average ability.

The bench players are Mike Gominsky (5), Lorenzo Williams (5, 4), Kenny Gattisson (5, 4, 3), Tom Hammond (4), J.R. Reid (4, 3), John Newman (3, 2), Kevin Lynch (3, 2), Dale Curry (2), and Tony Bennett (1).

Curry and Newman are the strongest bench players, ranking third and fourth in scoring last season, respectively, but the other bench players are generally average.

He has three backups, the main backup being Kenny Gatsisson, the starting center last season who can play three positions.

The second substitute is Gominski, a 33-year-old veteran with many injuries. Apart from his experience, he has little ability left.

The third substitute, Lorenzo Williams, is just a fringe player who's only filling in; he hasn't signed a contract yet and may not stay.

Compared to last season, many fringe players and role players have left, but the key rotation players have not changed much.

The Hornets' operations are mediocre; this roster doesn't exceed the salary cap.

The league has not introduced a luxury tax rule, nor is there any mention of fines.

However, even after using exceptions such as the Larry Bird exception, the salary cap is still exceeded. In this case, if you want to sign a player, you have to make a trade to free up salary space.

He greeted his teammates normally, but when it was Kendall Gill's turn, he said:

"Hey, rookie, I heard you got a knockout in a CBA game? Have you ever trained in boxing? I have too. My goal is to become a professional boxer after retiring from the NBA."

"To knock out someone in a basketball game?"

"God, what has this newbie done?"

The team members immediately became interested and started discussing it.

Tang Bei looked down at his teammate and could see that his eyes were full of fighting spirit, sharp and energetic.

He could understand most of what was being said, but still needed John Liu's help. He said, "I've heard that boxers make a lot of money, is that true?"

Kendall Gill shook his head and said, "Only famous boxers make money. Ordinary boxers are lucky if they can support themselves and their families. Most of the lowest-level boxers have a hard time supporting themselves and have to take on part-time jobs."

"Fame?"

Tang Bei nodded.

"Hey, newbie, I heard you signed a contract worth over ten million?" A short, black man squeezed through the crowd to stand in front of Tang Bei.

"Yes."

Tang Bei shook hands with Muggsy Bogues, the shortest player in league history.

Dell Curry said with a hint of envy, "Rookies start at $250 million, and Larry Johnson only has $252 million this season. He's the Hornets' second-highest paid player."

Just then, a red Ferrari sports car drove in, and someone said, "The auntie is here."

"Auntie?"

Tang Bei was taken aback.

“That’s Larry Johnson’s nickname; he played an older woman in an advertisement,” John Liu said.

“A disgusting character,” Dale Curry said coldly.

Tang Bei glanced at Dell Curry; this was definitely a conflict between him and Larry Johnson!
(End of this chapter)