Basketball miracles

Chapter 216 [I Don't Want to Be an Ordinary Person]

The Heat have also signed Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem.

Although the league has regulations on rookie salaries, teams can still offer contracts with a premium of up to 20%.

比如2002年状元姚明的1804万美刀就是20%溢价，这也是篮协放人时火箭队给出的保证。今年詹姆斯的1880万美刀也是20%溢价，而韦德这份合同中规中矩，他最大能拿到1346万美刀，热火只给他开出了4年1234万美刀。

Losing a million dollars may seem insignificant, but the contract reveals the management's attitude towards Wade. Pat Riley has decided to make Shaw the core player, with Wade, the fifth overall pick, assisting him.

Xiao Tu's salary will not be less than Wade's in the future, because he will be able to earn a high salary a year earlier.

Haslem's rookie contract is a two-year, $990,000 deal—an absolute steal—and he doesn't have Bird rights. This is the kind of treatment you get for an older, undrafted player. Haslem is already quite satisfied; his initial goal was just a one-year minimum salary.

The Heat held a press conference in Miami, where the three new players made their debut and displayed their jerseys.

Today, not only Miami reporters, but also many reporters from other places came to interview Xiao Tu, believing that there would be big news.

Dwyane Wade is a high draft pick but doesn't talk much, while Xiao Tu is a second-round pick but dares to mock his fellow number one draft picks. What kind of sparks will these two create when they team up?
How would they evaluate each other? Would they become good partners or have conflicts?

Xiao Tu chose number 24, Wade chose number 3, and Haslem chose number 40.

The most reporters interviewed Xiao Tu, who first talked about his feelings about joining the Heat.

He's not a local and doesn't have any "childhood dream" of playing for the Heat, but he likes Miami and is optimistic about the Heat's future.

A reporter asked, "Why did you choose the 24th? Is there any special significance to it?"

"It doesn't have any special meaning. Nobody on the Heat wore this number, so I just picked it," Xiao Tu said with a smile. No Heat player in history has ever worn number 24.

The reporter asked, "So who is your favorite athlete?"

"Magic Johnson, I hope to play Showtime basketball with the Heat!"

Reporters thought this was news, and one immediately followed up with: "Last season, the Heat mainly focused on half-court offense and rarely launched fast breaks. How did you manage to play Showtime?"

Xiao Tu answered without hesitation: "It's simple, I will lead the team to speed up the pace. Everyone run, and we'll win the new season through offense!"

A reporter immediately asked the crucial question: "You're just a rookie, and you just said you'd lead the team?"

Xiao Tu smiled and said, "Can't a rookie lead a team? Although no one says I'm the chosen one, I'm confident I can do better than the chosen one. I will become an excellent playmaker, a big man playmaker like Magic Johnson."

Xiao Tu isn't the chosen one, but he knows how to stage accidents.

As long as he says that, fans will compare him to LeBron James, and that comparison will continue indefinitely.

If he can win, he can gradually turn LeBron fans into Shaw fans.

From now on, his fans will be the most brainless; no matter what he does, there will always be people defending him.

Pat Riley was also at the press conference today, and a reporter immediately asked him, "Will you make Shaw the Heat's primary star in the new season?"

Riley gave an affirmative answer. "Yes. Seb is very well-rounded, reminding me of Magic Johnson. He proved himself in the Summer League, and no one on the Heat is more suitable to be the core player than him."

Eddie Jones' absence from today's press conference also shows that he is not suitable to be the core player.

With important new teammates joining the team, Jones didn't even bother to welcome them, offer a few words of opinion, or try to ride the wave of popularity. Riley interpreted this as Jones not considering the Heat as his own team at all.

For someone like Jones, Riley can simply take away his ball possession and be done with it; there's no need for special notification. Once the season starts, Riley can have Jones reduce his shot attempts and become a spot-up three-point shooter on the perimeter, and he probably won't object.

Eddie Jones is someone who is always "replaced as the lead actor".

With the Lakers, Jones was dropped by management after failing to achieve results alongside O'Neal, and Kobe took his place.

Jones was traded to the Heat after just one year as the Hornets' leader, because the team wanted to develop Baron Davis.

Now he's going to be a "stand-in" again; at 32, he's destined to be unable to compete with Xiao Tu.

A reporter also interviewed Wade. "You were the 5th overall pick in the first round, and now the team is focusing on developing Shaw. What's your opinion on him?" "Draft position doesn't represent a player's ability. Seb is incredibly talented, not just because he's technically versatile. He's very confident and never gets nervous. I think he's the most underrated rookie. We'll be great teammates, and I'm not jealous of him." Wade practically admitted that Shaw was stronger.

Wade doesn't compete for the top spot; he's never even considered it.

Upon hearing Xiao Tu's answer to the question, Wade's first thought was: "That's so cool, I could never say something like that."

Wade thinks Xiao Tu is too crazy. Isn't he afraid of messing things up in the new season?
If he doesn't perform well, Xiao Tu will definitely become the target of public criticism.

Wade gave a low-key interview, saying he would work hard with his teammates and hoped to integrate into the team as soon as possible.

He didn't even know who his teammates would be for the new season, so he didn't dare to speak.

The reporters also thought Xiao Tu was going too far; no newcomer had ever put so much pressure on themselves before. Everyone else would manage to de-stress, never make boastful claims, and their answers to questions were rather boring.

A female reporter from Miami asked, "What are your goals for the new season?"

Xiao Tu immediately replied, "Lead the team to compete for the championship."

The press conference fell silent instantly. Xiao Tu added, "You heard me right, my goal is to win the championship. And not just this season, but every season my goal is to win the championship. I hate losing, and I will fight with all my might to win every game!"

Xiao Tu felt there was nothing wrong with saying this; it's just that competing for the championship doesn't guarantee winning the title, so there's room for maneuver.

His shouting out the slogan is a great gimmick, and it will gain him more exposure in the future.

A reporter asked, "You're just a rookie, aren't you worried about the veterans on the team being unhappy with your high-profile declaration of wanting to win the championship?"

Xiao Tu laughed and said, "What's there to be dissatisfied about? Does anyone not like winning the championship? I know that no one on the Heat except me would say such a thing. That's why I, the 33rd pick, can be the core player in the new season. I have confidence and ability, but I just lack the cautious and low-key personality."

The reporter asked, "So do you think you're better than Eddie Jones?"

"Of course, I'm much stronger, and everyone will see that clearly once the season starts. I won't let his age stop me from taking on more responsibility on the court or just coast along. I want to be the best on the court, whether for the Heat or the entire league; that's my long-term goal!"

The reporters all thought Xiao Tu had gone mad, and Riley had gone mad too.

Because Riley clearly supported Xiao Tu, he didn't try to persuade him to keep a low profile at the press conference. No one had ever seen a rookie with this kind of style, especially considering his low draft position.

There is no precedent in the NBA for a second-round pick becoming a team's core player immediately upon entering the league. Let alone a second-round pick, even a highly anticipated 13th overall pick like Kobe Bryant spent two years as a substitute after joining the Lakers.

Xiao Tu's harsh words were deliberate; if he didn't boldly state his goals, Stern's support for him would be limited.

He could guess the league's approach to promoting players; normally, he would at most compare himself to LeBron James and occasionally discuss who would win Rookie of the Year.

He could easily beat LeBron James, but his mind wasn't on winning Rookie of the Year. What was there for him to compete with someone who didn't even make the playoffs? In a parallel universe, Anthony helped the Nuggets make the playoffs, and everyone thought they would be chosen as Rookie of the Year.

Unfortunately, Carmelo Anthony's alleged involvement with organized crime meant that even though making the playoffs in the Western Conference was a more prestigious achievement, he wasn't selected.

A reporter asked, "Aren't you afraid that if you don't succeed, you'll become a laughing stock because you're so high-profile?"

"I'm not afraid, because I have absolute confidence in leading the Heat to rise again in the new season. I don't want to set a small goal, just get by with my teammates, and end up with a 'good' rating."

Before the reporter could ask a question, Xiao Tu continued, "I don't think there's any word in English that's more harmful than 'not bad.' 'Not bad' makes people content with mediocrity and unable to break through their limits. I don't want to be a mediocre person."

Pat Riley led the applause; he was thoroughly excited by Xiao Tu's words.

Only someone with immense ambition could utter such words.

The reporters also found this perspective novel; Xiao Tu seemed far more commanding than James, they were completely different types of people. He hadn't even played a regular season game yet, but just his demeanor suggested he was more likely to succeed.

When James officially joined the Cavaliers, he also held a press conference, saying a lot of nonsense, not a single word of which was useful.

The only phrase the reporters remembered was "you know," which James said countless times, but nobody understood what he was trying to say. "Know what? Do you even know what you're talking about?"

Everyone had a feeling that Sebastian Shaw would become a dark horse and crush the "Chosen One" in the new season.

(End of this chapter)