Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 296 Facing the Giants
Over the next two weeks, Chen Fang received Harden, Rose, Garnett, and DeRozan, who all showed him great respect by participating in the promotion of the Blue Youth King of Kings Cup and becoming the image ambassadors for the Blue Grassroots League.

The grassroots league is a national league for systematic amateur baseball, with players aged 18 and up.

Currently, 24 provincial-level administrative regions across the country are participating. Although it is the first year, it is being carried out in an orderly manner.

First, there are provincial leagues, where each district and city forms its own teams to participate. After winning the provincial championship, teams are qualified to participate in the national competition.

Currently, because these are all informal teams and the grassroots level is not fully organized, there is not much effort being put into promoting this.

Wu Zhen's NY City team has won all ten of their matches and has advanced to the semifinals of the Shandong division.

Shandong, as the home base of the Blue team, has the most well-developed grassroots league. The weekend elite tournament itself has a wide reach and great influence. In addition, Shandong itself has a wide system of amateur ball games and cup competitions. The combination of the two can easily lead to success.

Although Chen Fang kept a low profile, he had accomplished everything he needed to do. As his birthday passed, the day he was to go to the United States drew closer.

The preseason starts at the end of September, which means Chen Fang will have no more than a month for personal training.

His goals for this year are ambitious, and systematically improving himself is an urgent matter.

Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.

Chen Fang grasped Wang Zhen's hand: "This time, you've met all the people you needed to meet. Now it's up to you."

Wang Zhen chuckled: "Don't worry about things in China. Just focus on doing things well in the US, and that will make things easier for me."

The two brothers, without saying a word, made their meaning perfectly clear.

Chen Fang looked at Wu Zi: "I'll go first. We'll meet again in September after my special training is over."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of things at home." Wu Zi has been staying at home for the past few months, and her relationship with Chen Fang's parents is like that of a biological daughter. In any case, Chen Fang's status at home is already the lowest.

With everything explained, Chen Fang said to Lu Yun, "I'll leave it to you to lead the team this time. See you in Los Angeles in a couple of days!"

"It's alright, I'll take all fifty of them with me, you don't need to worry about it." Lu Yun waved his hand lazily.

They hugged each other one by one, and finally hugged Wu Zi.

"Wife, if I don't do well, I won't come back!" Chen Fang said playfully, trying to ease the feeling of parting.

Everyone laughed, and Chen Fang waved and walked towards the bridge.

The flight attendant at the cabin door was very excited, and although she was very professional, she said, "Welcome aboard, Air China welcomes you."

But the next sentence immediately switched back to the fangirl pose: "Ah, Mr. Chen, could you please sign your name?"

After fulfilling all the requests, Chen Fang began to organize his next tasks in first class.

First, there was personal training. Everything was ready at Rock, just waiting for him to return. Wick devised a four-week intensive training program.

Then came a week of special training for McGrady.

In mid-September, I rejoined the team for preseason training.

Although the Clippers have already finished the Summer League, the Clippers, with Villanueva as their main player, played well. Although they didn't win the championship, their overall performance was good.

After landing, Chen Fang will head to the training center to meet his new teammates for the first time.

As for the preseason games at the end of September, Chen Fang will need to play for a while, mainly to let the others get used to what it's like to play against him.

Every year brings new changes. At this time last year, I was still struggling to gain a foothold, but now I don't have to worry about that at all.

As Kobe said, the current Clippers team completely belongs to Chen Fang, at the team level.

But the pressure didn't decrease; it increased.

LeBron James has finally moved west to Los Angeles, and the Lakers, this tender and delicious cheese, are the perfect fit for the young king's needs.

Paul therefore signed a one-year extension, and now the entire league is eagerly anticipating how Paul and James will develop their chemistry.

But Chen Fang wasn't worried. Given Paul's personality and James's style, it was destined that they would have a hard time getting along for a long time, unless Davis could come to the Lakers a year earlier.

Otherwise, Paul, who sees no hope of winning a championship, will still choose to continue his nomadic journey, searching for an opportunity to win a championship ring.

His arrival did change the status quo of the alliance, but the general situation remained the same.

Leonard went to the Raptors, while DeRozan joined the Spurs.

The Timberwolves traded Butler to the 76ers, and the Thunder traded Anthony to the Hawks. Anthony was subsequently bought out and joined the Rockets as a free agent.

After Harden was crushed by the Warriors, he lost his misplaced confidence, so the management brought in Carmelo Anthony to soothe Harden's uneasy heart.

The Hornets traded Dwight Howard to the Nets. The former league's best center is now in the decline of his career.

Like Anthony, he followed the same career trajectory as most superstars: once he started being traded frequently, his career inevitably declined.

This is also a common sight in the league: when leaving the team where they have played the longest, they begin to suffer both physically and mentally, and can no longer maintain their original superstar status.

Ultimately, it's due to a decline in physical condition.

The alliance only has a few people; it can withstand the devastation of this law.

James and Durant are both among the best; no matter which team they switch to, they will always be core players.

Of course, the Clippers were among those who made a move that shocked the league.

For two consecutive years, trading away their former core star players for high draft picks is a gamble that only the Clippers would dare to take.

After all, with the legendary West in charge, they have the confidence to take the gamble.

However, Griffin inevitably harbored great resentment towards the Clippers, even to the point that Chen Fang felt he was more dissatisfied than when he was traded to the Pistons in his previous life.

As early as the end of April, Chen Fang had already announced his seclusion. He posted a picture of himself in the mountains on Twitter, saying that he was going into the mountains with his master to cultivate himself and stay away from worldly affairs for several months.

Looking back now, it seems that I've somewhat distanced myself from the situation.

In reality, Chen Fang didn't have such thoughts. He wasn't the same Chen Fang as last year, still bound by these superficial emotions.

Since you've made up your mind, then just do it.

When Chen Fang came out of the pass, he sent a message to Griffin, but Griffin did not reply. Chen Fang knew that Griffin also resented him.

He still has a childlike personality; if he's going to hate, he'll hate everything without distinguishing between what's important and what's not.

Chen Fang didn't explain. What was there to say? It was simply a decision made by management plus his own judgment.

Griffin is no longer relevant with the Clippers, and I wouldn't jeopardize my career plans just because of a year of friendship with my teammates.

The 18-19 season will be very exciting.

Doncic and Trae Young will showcase their individual value and attract the attention of the league.

The Bucks began to emerge, Giannis Antetokounmpo began to show terrifying dominance, and the Raptors, led by Kawhi Leonard, hunted down all teams indiscriminately.

The 76ers also started to gain momentum, and after acquiring Butler, they had a solution for tough games.

Needless to say, the Nuggets are starting to bare their fangs. Nikola Jokic, arguably the strongest second-round pick in history, is about to unleash his historic level of power.

Both the Golden State Warriors and the Rockets will feel the Nuggets' strong challenge.

Another thing that made Chen Fang feel the power of fate was that Alexander, the most powerful contender for the future MVP, was still acquired by the Thunder. The Thunder used Schroder, along with future draft picks, to acquire SGA from the Hornets.

Will this allow the Thunder to disband sooner and begin rebuilding?
Chen Fang was troubled by this, believing that if Westbrook and Paul George left earlier, it would have a profound impact on the league's landscape.

This time, however, the Clippers are unlikely to acquire either of the two players mentioned above.

Chen Fang was confident.

With the Clippers' current roster, as long as Chen Fang organizes it properly and understands the characteristics of each player, the fighting power they demonstrate will not give the management any reason to have second thoughts.

The more he thought about it, the clearer his mind became, but he was really sleepy. As the plane entered the stratosphere, the noise was reduced to a minimum, and Chen Fang also fell asleep.

The following morning, Air China landed at Los Angeles International Airport.

Elijah, Duffy, and Lindsay all came to pick them up at the airport.

Chen Fang easily passed through security via the VIP channel and met with members of his core team.

"Hey, Duffy, you look like you've gained weight!"

Wow, Lindsay, you're getting more and more beautiful!

Hey bro, how's your summer going?

Chen Fang greeted the three of them warmly, and then drove straight to Panshi.

On the way, Chen Fang, Duffy, and Lindsay finalized some recent matters, including signing contracts and media contacts.

"Everything will be ready after I finish my special training. I'll set aside a week for you all," Chen Fang promised.

The car slowly came to a stop at the entrance of Panshi.

Carl, Hannon, Wick, Mary, and Jack Smith stood in two rows at the door to greet their boss. Chen Fang didn't waste any words and led everyone into the conference room.

"Time is tight, let's begin."

“Karl, Hannon, you need to work with our former boss Drew to set up this Blue 50-person training camp.” “We’re ready. The necessary trainers and support staff are all in place, and the venue and accommodations are all arranged.” Karl’s expression was serious. This task was crucial; it was an important linchpin for Blue to establish grassroots cooperation in basketball between China and the United States.

“Although this is the first session, you are all experienced in organizing training camps. Fifty people is not a large number. The main consideration is safety. These trainees are going abroad for the first time, and we need to take this into account in all aspects. Their safety is the top priority.” Chen Fang was worried about this.

"Please rest assured, the accommodation and training will be arranged with safety factors fully considered."

“The contact person is Lu, Carl. You can contact him directly if you have any needs.”

“I need to focus on my individual training.” With that, Chen Fang looked at Wick and smiled, “Old friend, it’s been three years, it’s time we had something new!”

"Of course, I've been working on it. I have a complete plan to achieve good muscle gain and enhanced stamina without weakening explosiveness and reaction time," Wick answered confidently.

“Great! Mary, Jack. You need to keep correcting any technical errors I make as I build muscle. I need to maintain a complete technical state.”

"Yes, we have a plan. Don't worry, boss, we are professionals." Both of them nodded seriously.

"Alright, everyone go get ready. I'm going to the training center, then I'll get a good night's sleep and get over my jet lag!" Chen Fang didn't waste any more words. He called Ilya and quickly left Rock.

Ilya drove the Land Rover, and Chen Fang was in a good mood. He patted the car door and said, "Not bad, you got a Land Rover!"

“Secondhand.” Ilya grinned.

"That's great! How much did it cost?"

"A little over 5!"

"Not bad, you've made it!" Chen Fang was happy for his brother. Now Ilya has two salaries a month, and the Clippers pay him more than Rock. After taxes, Ilya takes home 20,000 a month.

An annual income of $6 is considered middle class in the United States, while in Los Angeles, $10 is generally considered acceptable.

"My next step is to buy a house!" Ilya envisioned his wonderful life.

"Yes, we want a bigger one, so we can have more children in the future!"

"Boss, why don't you buy a house?"

"I'll pass. In China, we don't have the habit of paying property tax. Considering that I have to pay it every year, I think it's more cost-effective to rent!"

“But because of this, many people will think that your heart isn’t in Los Angeles.” Ilya’s words made Chen Fang stop smiling.

He knew Ilya was referring to something, as Ilya was his informant within the team.

"No rush, the time will be more right next season!" Chen reassured Ilya.

How's the team atmosphere?

"Great, they're all young people, they can get along well, unlike last season when you could see they were divided into several groups."

"I just wonder what will happen when Beverly, Harrell, and Louie come back!" Ilya's words already highlighted his observational skills, which Chen Fang appreciated. This was exactly what he needed.

"Don't worry, I'm here!" Chen Fang said in a deep voice.

If the three people are unwilling to integrate, he doesn't mind removing them. He's already cleared out so many, so doing it again is no big deal.

As they were talking, the car arrived at the training center.

As I came out of the parking lot, I saw Lawrence standing there with a smile, it seemed he had already received the message.

"Good morning, President!" Chen Fang stated his attitude.

Lawrence was recently appointed as the Clippers' president. From general manager to president, how many people fail to take that step?

But Lawrence knew perfectly well who he was most connected to in order to get this position.

"If you're so polite, I won't dare to see you again." Lawrence's words also revealed his attitude towards Chen Fang.

Equality is the only basis for cooperation between the two sides.

"You've come at the perfect time; we just finished training."

As the three entered the training ground, they saw a group of people gathered together. Upon closer inspection, they discovered that Dillon was having a one-on-one fight with Brunson.

Both are heavyweight defenders with strong lower bodies, but Dillon is 10 centimeters taller than Brunson. However, Brunson actually had the upper hand on the field.

Technically, Brunson is definitely better than Dillon, who does the dirty work. Fortunately, neither of them went all out, and the fight was back and forth.

The surrounding cheers were loud, and everyone was so engrossed in watching that no one noticed Chen Fang even when he came to their side.

Brunson took a step back, created space for a shot, and hit a three-pointer to win the game.

Dillon was unconvinced. He felt he had done nothing wrong. Just as he was about to ask the coach on the sidelines for another game, he screamed as if he had seen a ghost.

That one sound led everyone to follow Dillon's gaze and see Chen Fang.

"Long time no see!" Chen Fang said with a smile to everyone.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward. The players currently on the team are Samwell, Evans, Zubac, Richon, Jaren Jr., and Holiday.

With Dillon, Villeneuve, and several undrafted players, the dozen or so people in the audience were somewhat stunned.

"Hey, boss!" Little Jialun was the first to react. He rushed over and hugged Chen Fang tightly.

It has to be said that Jaren has high emotional intelligence. Zubac panicked and ran over, and then everyone else gathered around.

Chen Fang greeted everyone, then looked at Brunson.

Previously, Chen Fang called Brunson "brother." The first time the two met in the United States, it was Tatum who took him there. At that time, Brunson had won his first NCAA championship with his team and was enjoying great success.

Instead of embarrassing Brunson, Chen Fang walked over and hugged him tightly.

"I've always wondered when we'll fight side by side!"

Brunson was moved by those words.

His draft prospects were bleak because of his height. Despite his best efforts to increase his height by 3 centimeters, the shrewd scouts ignored him.

With no hope of being drafted in the first round, he watched his brothers being signed by the Clippers in the first round, and he felt really bad.

As the leader of the championship team, Brunson has always been the core of Villanueva's team, and he certainly dreamed of the glory of the NBA.

The turning point came quickly. When he heard that the Clippers had drafted him, Brunson suddenly realized that none of this was a coincidence; someone was manipulating things from the shadows.

During this time, he kept confirming, but he still didn't dare to go all in.

Only now, when Chen Fang said those words, did Brunson understand.

"Half of the core of this team needs the three of you. Brother, you have to shoulder half of the hope of winning the championship!" Chen said, making Brunson's whole body tremble.

He looked at Chen Fang in disbelief, while the latter nodded very seriously.

“This is a brand new team, and you will be the most important part of this team,” Chen Fang said.

"That's why I sent you here."

"As you wish, BIG KING." Brunson's words also signify his willingness to assist Chen Fang and embark on the journey to the championship together.

"Yes, we've all won NCAA championships, but I believe we all feel it's not enough. It's time to set off together towards new goals!"

After expressing his feelings, Chen Fang looked at the whole team.

"First of all, welcome to all the new brothers to the Clippers. This will be one of the most wonderful memories of your careers."

"Starting this season, we will launch our own attack on the championship. We will face the hostility of 29 teams, including some formidable opponents."

"They are giants, and what we have to do now is face the giants."

"Keep this confidence and desire. When facing giants, we have only one thought in mind."

"Knock them down, step over their corpses."

"This is what we need to do now."

"The Clippers don't need cowards, they don't need people without dreams."

"Everyone here, please join me on our journey toward the championship."

This speech stunned everyone, including Lawrence.

But soon, everyone understood that Chen Wang clearly expressed the Clippers' goal at that moment.

What I have to do is follow and charge forward together.

Rumors circulate that the Clippers' rebuilding and offseason clear-out stem from Chen Wang's response to the team's lack of fighting spirit in the playoffs.

Now that we see it, it's undeniable.

Brian had been observing silently, feeling there was no need to intervene. Chen Fang now possessed a greater sense of composure, and his demeanor exuded an air of dominance.

It seems he was truly prepared.

(End of this chapter)