Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 72 You’ve never won once?
This year, the Magic chose Disney's Wide World of Sports for their training camp.

This sports town, built in 97, has the most luxurious sports facilities.

The first training session on the first day of the training camp was actually very simple, which was a physical test.

After such a long season, who knows how indulgent these rich guys will become.

Under the leadership of the team's head trainer Ted Arzonico, every player undergoes basic testing.

Especially weight.

How indulgent you are in the summer is clear after you step on the scale.

Rivers stood on the sidelines, holding the player list and thinking.

There are currently 17 players in training camp.

The interior is particularly crowded.

There are Brown, Ewing, DeKlerk, and this year's rookie Steven Hunter.

No. 4, Horace Grant, Pat Garrity, Don Reed.

Then there are the small forwards, led by McGrady.

Last summer, with Hill there, no one could take his spot.

At the time, Rivers' plan was to let McGrady swing to the 2 position.

At first, McGrady was a little reluctant.

When he was with the Raptors, he chose to leave because he was dissatisfied with being a substitute for Carter at the small forward position.

As a result, when he came to the Magic, he still had to give way to Hill.

Fortunately, he also played well at the second position.

And to be honest, McGrady was the absolute core last season, playing from the No. 1 position to the No. 3 position, and he was not necessarily fixed to a certain position.

But this season McGrady has already spoken.

He wants to gain weight and play the three position, which is the position he wants to play most.

In other words, a forward-guard swingman.

This doesn’t really matter. Rivers has already made up his mind that no matter what position he plays, McGrady is the absolute offensive core.

Left and right are partners with Miller.

The rest are small forwards Monty Williams and Jad Buechler.

At the No. 2 position, there are Courtney Alexander, who was traded from the Wizards, Laron Proffitt, and rookie Jerrell Sather.

At point guard, Darrell Armstrong leads the way, with Troy Hudson as a backup.
Then there's center Todd Fowler, who's on a training camp contract.

Exactly 17 people.

Severe lightheadedness.

Rivers pondered for a moment and circled Todd Fuller's name.

There was no place for him in the interior, so he had to give up.

Speaking of which, he was a lottery pick in 96. He was in the league for a few years, but he ended up having no ball to play.

Then, Rivers drew a line under another name.

Laron Profit.

He was Rivers' first choice, and although Chuck Daly had a guiding hand for him, he was still sent to the Wizards by Rivers.

Rivers wasn't very optimistic about him then, and he still isn't very optimistic about him now.

In Brown's trade, he was just a supporting role.

If he is removed, the roster is full, but Rivers still feels that the inside is too crowded.

Last year's Magic team exposed a major problem, which was insufficient scoring ability.

McGrady alone is not enough.

Another scoring star is sitting on the bench.

So Rivers still wants a scorer.

For example, Reed, who was noticed in the previous summer league.

But the Bucks are unwilling to do so.

They did mention that they wanted Chris Hunter.

After some consideration, Rivers refused.

Hunter was at least the No. 15 pick, while Reed was only a second-round pick.

Moreover, Hunter is a player from his alma mater of high school, so there is a sense of ties between them.

I scratched my head with a headache, and it was over over there.

Rivers took the result and took a look, all of them were crosses.

Compared to their weight at the end of last season, all of them are over the limit.

And McGrady.

He clamored to gain weight, and he got what he wanted.

At the end of last season, he weighed 210 pounds (95 kilograms), and now it has soared to 219 pounds.

It can be seen that he has indulged himself a lot at home during this offseason.

Rivers noticed Brown's weight.

Still 255 pounds.

If Rivers remembers correctly, Brown was also at this weight during the tryout.

That was in June. After being elected as the top scorer, several months had passed, but my weight had not changed at all.

This kid was not idle at all during the offseason.

Rivers looked up at the court and saw Brown, who was surrounded by several veterans and talking, and nodded secretly.

As I said, which head coach doesn’t like self-disciplined players?

Without giving it any more thought, he immediately stood up and went to the court. The extra training and weight recovery were giving Arzonico's team a headache.

Now there is a more pressing matter before Rivers.

That's a rule change.

The long-awaited three-second defense and the permission for zone defense have finally been implemented.

All teams go back to the starting point and learn again.

The training camp only lasts for a week, and Rivers needs to seize the time to get these guys familiar with the new rules, even though he is not sure what kind of changes they will bring about.

But before that, he still has to do one thing, which is to confirm the starting position.

There's not much to say about the other four positions.

Basically it's Armstrong, Miller, McGrady, and Grant.

Only the center.

Rivers hasn't made a decision yet.

Logically speaking, since Brown was traded for and is the No. 1 pick, he must be the starter and be trained with all his strength.

But the problem is that Brown is a top high school draft pick and has not experienced four years of college training.

He played well in the Summer League and seemed to be adapting well.

But there are no tactics in the summer league.

The biggest difference between high school students and college students is actually their understanding of tactics.

Everyone can handle a mindless one-on-one duel, but in a team sport involving five players that requires tactical execution and coordination, Lavers has no idea how Brown will perform.

Don’t say that high school has tactics.

For a high school genius like Brown, the only tactic he knows is to just reach out and pass the ball, and everyone will revolve around him.

What Rivers is considering now is whether to give Brown some time first, let him play as a substitute and get familiar with the rhythm and tactics of the NBA game, or to directly promote him to the starting lineup.

In addition, it must also depend on the personal abilities of the two people.

So Rivers clapped his hands, called everyone forward, said a few words of encouragement, and then called out the names of Brown and De Klerk.

"There's only one starting position. I don't care who's the top draft pick or who has more experience. I only care about who's more capable."

As a rookie head coach, Rivers is now playing team basketball, competing fiercely, and motivating his team to death.

Otherwise, how could he lead a group of role players with an annual salary of less than 500 million last season, and win 41 games and almost return to the playoffs when the whole league thought the Magic would be at the bottom?

Did he get the Coach of the Year award for nothing?

"So I want you two to have a fair fight. Whoever wins gets to start."

"But this is only temporary. If anyone performs poorly, I will immediately remove him from the starting lineup."

"Besides, you're teammates. I hope this is just healthy competition and doesn't affect your friendship."

Rivers looked at the two men.

The players present immediately started to boo.

Especially some veterans, they all started whistling.

Grant even rubbed Brown's shoulders and said angrily, "Brown, listen to me. Give this guy a little shock from the newcomers."

Brown nodded vigorously.

Tang Sen said that from the moment he entered the league, he had to be prepared to accept all competition.

There is no need to be afraid. Winning is good, but if you lose, just practice hard and try again.

Instead, it was De Klerk who suddenly raised his hand.

"Coach, forget it. I give up. Let Brown start."

Still fighting?
compete?

I have been abused by Brown for a month, so I have to compete with him with my head.

It’s not like I haven’t been a substitute before.

De Klerk is aware that he is not as strong as others and has to admit defeat.

The crowd that was making noises suddenly quieted down.

Everyone looked at De Klerk with strange expressions.

Are you giving up before the fight even starts?
"give up?"

Rivers immediately frowned. He didn't even have the courage to fight. Such a player was not acceptable.

“Andrew, I need an explanation?”

Rivers asked in a deep voice.

His tone was a little heavy.

De Klerk's face changed slightly, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Actually, I've been training with Brown for the last month. We've fought each other countless times."

He glanced at Brown and said bitterly, "And I've never won once."

Offense and defense, they were beaten from all sides.

"And coach, have you forgotten that I was beaten once before when Brown came to the Magic for a tryout?"

De Klerk reminded gloomily.

Rivers' passionate speech was as if the two were meeting for the first time.

Rivers was stunned.

Yes!

A few months passed and I had forgotten that when I tried out Brown, it was De Klerk who was arranged to be the one.

"Andrew, you really... have never won once?" Pat Garrity, who was beside De Klerk, couldn't help but ask.

De Klerk rolled his eyes at him speechlessly. He was really bringing up things that were not related to the topic.

Anyway, ever since Tang Sen pulled me over at the end of April, I seem to have been taught lessons all the time.

(End of this chapter)