Champion Rules

Chapter 9 009: The moment the legend sprouts (please read it!)
Since Lynch's continued outstanding performance in the youth league, his life has changed dramatically.

At school, he became very popular and received countless pink envelopes with lipstick prints on them every day.

Lynch, of course, did not respond to these letters.

According to his explanation to Teodosic: "If the girls want to sleep with me, I can accompany them, but forget about love. I am not a casual person."

The restaurant's business is getting better and better because of Lynch. Every weekend, FMP fans wearing orange hats will flock to the restaurant and order some of Lynch's favorite dishes.

Of course, more and more basketball agents are coming to us.

There are Americans wearing Armani and old Italian men wearing Jean-Paul Gaultier.

They look different and speak with different accents.

But before leaving, everyone would say something similar to Wu Lan: "Madam, I promise to bring your son to the NBA draft and even make him the next Yao!"

Every agent who said this would be impressed by Wu Lan's calmness. The mother did not rush anyone to contact her son in advance. She just told them: "We will contact you if we need you. Thank you very much."

This casual rejection is not simple at all.

What does the NBA draft mean? If you are selected in the first round, it means you will have the opportunity to sign your name on a contract worth millions of dollars.

According to the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, as long as you sign the rookie contract, even if you are eliminated by the team due to lack of strength in the middle of the season, you can still take away at least three years of full salary.

And that is a wealth that many people dare not imagine in their entire lives.

It is no exaggeration to say that participating in the NBA draft can allow a person to restart his life.

Most parents would jump for joy upon learning their child has a chance to enter the NBA draft.

Therefore, Wu Lan's reaction made those grown men feel incredible.

From the beginning to the end, the mother clearly reminded herself of one thing: whether Lynch can go to the NBA draft is not up to these sweet-talking agents.

This woman who cooks in the kitchen knows what competitive sports are all about. It's the same for any sport. If you want to go professional, you have to start training from a young age and then pray for the favor of the goddess of luck.

But Lady Luck rarely favors anyone.

If an agent could bring someone to the NBA just by talking about it, the NBA wouldn't be so valuable.

It doesn't matter what those well-dressed men say. What matters is that Lynch must focus on basketball without being disturbed by the outside world.

What's more, Lynch already has an agent named Misko. Although they haven't officially cooperated, he can already help handle most of the problems.

More brokers will only lead to more disagreements and problems.

Fortunately, Lynch himself was not dazzled by his slightly increased fame.

His life is still the same as before he became famous. He goes to training early after school every day and continues to practice after training.

His weight was slowly increasing, and the muscles in his arms, torso and thighs had become visibly more solid, making him look like a real man.

He seemed to have grown a lot taller. Wu Lan had not measured Lin Qi's exact height now, but she firmly believed that her "milk strategy" must have worked.

The biggest improvement is Lynch's post-up offense. During training, he can already use the post-up as a regular weapon.

In the next game, Lynch wants to test his current level of post-up shooting.

In addition to his progress in basketball, Wu Lan was also happy that Lin Qi had a true friend.

He became increasingly close to the boy named Milos Teodosic and would often bring him to the restaurant.

He was a polite but taciturn child, completely opposite to Lynch's personality, but they got along very well.

This friendship stems from their complementary cooperation on the court.

Lynch always helps Theo clear threats on the defensive end, and Theo can always find the perfect angle to pass the ball to Lynch.

They are like a trinity on the court, inseparable.

Now, even their extra training always starts and ends at the same time.

But today, January 8, 2003, they did not practice together.

Lynch treated Theo to dinner at his restaurant tonight to celebrate Christmas.

Serbs are Orthodox Christians and follow the Julian calendar, so their Christmas is on January 7th every year.

At this moment, the young Serbian man who can create passing magic with his deft hands is clumsily holding the chopsticks, trying to pick up the food on the plate.

"Lynch, I think we should go back and practice more. I always feel guilty about taking a vacation."

Lin Qi glanced at Theo speechlessly. Holiday? Guilt? What kind of chosen one are you!
"Come on, man, can't you just enjoy my mom's cooking? If you can't even enjoy it, how are you going to be a champion?"

“Is there any necessary connection between them?”

"Of course it matters. Winning a championship is a comprehensive experience. If you can't enjoy it, why fight for it?"

Theo didn't answer, perhaps because he couldn't find a point to refute, or perhaps because he was concentrating on picking up the food.

"By the way, I read in the newspaper that Olympiacos will send someone with the key to the vault to watch your game. Is that true? How much transfer fee are they willing to pay to take you away?" Lynch suddenly asked curiously.

This is currently the hottest gossip in the city of Belgrade. Lynch and Theo's performance not only excited the fans, but also attracted the attention of many European top teams.

Olympiacos, as the absolute overlord of the Greek league, has already had some rumors with Theo.

The local fans in Belgrade certainly do not want the team to sell Theo, and the FMP club has repeatedly reiterated that Theo is an important asset of the club.

But this is European basketball, and even the most important assets have a price.

European basketball does not follow the NBA's rule of only trading players for others; they are allowed to buy players directly with cash.

If Olympiacos is willing to offer a sufficiently attractive transfer fee, FMP might be tempted, after all, the club also needs to make money.

It's not just FMP that needs money. The agency situation of Serbian basketball clubs has been very worrying in recent years, so they are not opposed to selling players.

Even giants like Red Star and Partizan often sell outstanding players they have trained.

Serbia, once riddled with problems, has become a huge pie, with talented players being scooped up by other European clubs.

In this context, there are even some conspiracy theories: FMP has been reluctant to let Lynch and Theo play in the first team because it does not want them to be "exposed" in the first team games and affect their selling price.

In response to Lynch's question, Theo answered simply: "The rumor is true."

"Do you want to go to Olympiacos?"

"I can't say for sure. I don't know much about them."

"I think you should take advantage of this opportunity. Olympiacos have unlimited money. This means that when you come of age, they can offer you a professional contract, which FMP can't.

Most importantly, I heard that the maids and secretaries they cast are all big, thin-waisted, and long-legged!
What I mean by that is, if you want to take a few more shots in the next game with the Olympiacos scouts watching, that’s fine with me.”

Olympiacos was indeed wealthy. If Lynch remembered correctly, a few years later, Olympiacos even outcompeted the Atlanta Hawks and snatched Josh Childress with a three-year, after-tax, $2000 million contract. This was one of the few instances in NBA history where a player in his prime was snatched up by a European team.

If Theo can join this Greek giant, he will definitely not suffer any loss when signing an adult contract.

In response to Lynch's suggestion, Theo shook his head and said what might be the longest speech he had ever said in his life.

"Take more shots? Just to show off in front of Olympiacos? I refuse. Rather than sacrificing your chance to win the favor of a top club, I'd rather we both perform well and be taken away by a top club together."

"All Olympiacos wants is you, Theo. They already have several national team players up front."

"What? Is Olympiacos the only wealthy club in Europe?"

Lynch was stunned for a moment. Although the world has always promoted basketball as a team sport, it is actually very difficult not to be selfish.

The drama of team breakups caused by "selfishness" has been repeated in the basketball world for decades and is still circulating.

After all, you can't expect everyone to find their own Dwyane Wade.

But Teodosic seems to have really put "selfishness" behind him.

After saying this, Teodosic stared at Lynch, then looked away embarrassedly and became hesitant.

"Last night in front of the bonfire outside the Church of Saint Sava, I made a New Year's wish."

"May Mr. Boshko grow hair as thick as yours?" Lynch joked.

Theo's throat was like a stuck old typewriter: "May our names always be listed side by side in the European Youth Players' Value List and the Champions' Yearbook! So... so sacrificing one person for another? That won't do!"

Lin Qi's teasing froze at the corner of his mouth, and then he tried hard to suppress his laughter: "Pfft, fuck, are you fucking blushing?"

"What!? Of course not!"

"Hey, next week when you see Luka Bogdanovic on the court, won't you blush too?"

"Damn it, you can't tease me, I'm serious!"

Lynch tried hard to suppress his laughter and stretched out his long arms to hold Theo's shoulders.

"Of course, of course, you will get your wish. Next week, Luka Bogdanovic will be the stepping stone for this wish. Theo, thank you for including me in your wish."

"Young gentlemen, the food is here!" Wu Lan walked out of the kitchen carrying a few plates of food, breaking the serious atmosphere.

"Mom, there are enough dishes. Stop cooking and come and eat with us."

"What's the big deal? Milos, Lynch didn't tell me you were coming. There aren't many dishes, so just make do with what you have."

"Ma'am, you are so kind."

"Mom, let me tell you, when Theo was talking to me just now, his face was..."

"Lynch! Do you want me to tell you about the 'all sleep and no talk' thing?!"

"What nonsense are you two kids talking about?"

"Oh, this, that, Mom, Theo, everyone, toast to a Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!"

In this bustling little restaurant, amid the clinking of glasses, the most legendary story in European basketball began to take shape.

It's just that no one has realized it yet.

On the other side, Boshko was talking on the phone with the first-team coach Vlad Durovic.

"Old man, you must come to the next game."

"Of course, I would love to see the downfall of Luke Bogdanovic, the genius that he is."

"No, no, no, what I mean is, you will see a brand new Lynch, a Lynch with gorgeous low-post offense." Boshko's tone was full of unconcealable pride.

Everything I teach is what I teach!
When Durovich sees this, he is destined to get a promotion and a raise!
Vlad Durovich's tone was filled with doubt. "Fantastic low-post offensive skills? Seriously? How could Lynch have improved so much in just a few months?"

"You'll know when you come and take a look."
-
A week later, the FMP youth team played against the Red Star youth team, and the stadium was full of people.

The huge team flag was waving and fireworks were blooming in the audience.

The Serbs, who are lifeless during the day, only seem to tear off their usual mild mask on the basketball court.

This is the Belgrade Arena, the shared home of Red Star and Partizan, and also the place with the craziest basketball atmosphere in Serbia.

Because this is a focus game, Red Star directly gave up the first team's game venue.

It was Lynch's first time playing in front of so many people.

Before the game started, Boshko told Lynch and Theo seriously: "Be prepared, in this damn place, your test today is not just Luka."

The cheers from the fans were ten times louder than usual, and Lynch felt the vibration coming from deep inside the wooden floor as soon as the soles of his shoes touched it.

"Lu-ka-!"

When Luka Bogdanovic came on the court, roars tore through the air, and the cheers, already terrifying enough, continued to rise in decibels.

Red Star fans love this war machine who has proven himself in the first team and expect him to ruthlessly crush the so-called potential stars of small teams like FMP.

The moment the referee tossed the ball, the arena suddenly fell silent. But when the Red Star team crossed the center line, the arena suddenly erupted like a volcano.

Luka Bogdanovic skillfully moved out to the three-point line to receive the ball, and used his strong body to rely on FMP's No. 3 player to break through directly.

Lynch immediately stepped up to defend, taking off the instant Luka Bogdanovic passed the ball. The result seemed to be the same as before: Luka was destined to be caught in Lynch's net.

But then, Luka took a step back, creating a little space before shooting, and the basketball just passed Lynch's fingertips and fell straight into the net.

Luka Bogdanovic showed in the first round why he can conquer the picky Red Star fans - he is an all-around small forward with first-team-level confrontation ability and a full set of offensive skills.

The last superstar produced by Red Star was Peja Stojakovic, who is now an NBA All-Star.

In the hearts of Red Star fans, Luka Bogdanovic is a Peja who can hold the ball, break through, and defend!
"Calm down, man, don't just think about blocking the shot!" Theo reminded loudly.

"Damn it, I got it!"

As soon as Lynch finished answering, he heard the fans in the stadium shouting.

"Hey! Hey! Those two little bastards are going to cry! Going to cry! Hey! Hey!"

The shouting and cursing of tens of thousands of people at the scene was like a huge rock pressing on his chest, making Lynch feel suffocated and angry.

This is the Belgrade Arena, these are the Red Star fans.

Boshko is right, it's not just Luka who will be tested tonight.

(To avoid unnecessary worries among fathers, I will state that I will definitely go to the NBA before putting it on the shelves.)
(Thanks for the 10,000 yuan reward from the big boss who wants to go to Huawu, I’m flattering you!
I'd like to thank Ximen Bu Ai Chui Xue, Yi Xi Ya, Tian Cang Ren, Red Horned Triple Cat, Boss Mei Doesn't Dig Coal, Brother Lv Shan, Confirm the Goods Have Been Signed for, Guang Yin Pao Cha, Super Handsome Old Pigeon, Dog Is Too Clingy, Ink Color Fragrance, and other big guys for their tips. Thank you all!
(Please read it, please vote!)
(End of this chapter)