The longest river

Chapter 110 I want it all
Yang Shuai actually said he would take care of Jordan!
If Jordan were so easy to deal with, he wouldn't be some kind of "Black Jesus" or "God of Basketball"!

If anyone else had said that, everyone in the room would have laughed their heads off.

But Yang Shuai's words made people wonder: Has this guy evolved again?
You should know that his teammates have witnessed Yang Shuai's transformation from a defensive liability to a defensive ace.

They also knew exactly what kind of ruthless person Yang Shuai was; he would never have said such a thing if he didn't have enough confidence.

And just as everyone was waiting for Yang Shuai to continue, he had already sat down, and his outlook was brief.

But these few words gave the Pacers players a lot of confidence, and the confidence of the speaker after the dinner was clearly back.

Before the dinner party ended, Jermaine O'Neal returned with a large bag of donuts.

Like Yang Shuai before him, he successfully pulled off the rookie prank without making a fool of himself.

At Yang Shuai's signal, Jermaine O'Neal began distributing donuts to everyone present.

McGee looked terrible after receiving the donut; he felt like he'd been pranked.

"Derek, donuts should be eaten while they're hot."

Yang Shuai kindly reminded him while eating a donut.

"Negative energy from Derek McGee +448".

McGee was furious, but when he saw that everyone's eyes were on him, he picked up the donut and took a big bite.

The next second, his brows furrowed tightly.

He took his anger out on the donuts, and ended up accidentally biting his own tongue.

"Negative energy from Derek McGee +648".

McGee already harbored hostility towards Yang Shuai, and now he glared at Yang Shuai even more fiercely, venting all his resentment on him.

After the dinner, Bird called Yang Shuai to his office.

"Are you really confident you can handle Michael?" Bird was also curious about where Yang Shuai's confidence came from.

"I practiced my defense hard this summer."

Yang Shuai doesn't know how effective his current one-on-one defensive ability would be against Jordan, but if it's not enough, he can continue to improve.

Bird looked at Yang's physique, which had become noticeably stronger than at the end of the season, and finally nodded.

Then, he talked about the main purpose of calling Yang Shuai over: the role arrangement for the new season.

He gave Yang Shuai two choices.

The first option is to start at small forward.

He also mentioned the disadvantages of starting.

"Reggie will still be the team's first choice."

In other words, if Yang Shuai starts, his tactical role will not change much compared to last season.

This was actually expected. Miller's overall strength is still better than Yang's, not to mention that Miller just renewed his salary with the Pacers for tens of millions of dollars.

The second option is to substitute the sixth man.

Bird will give Yang Shuai playing time at the same level as the starters, that is, between 30 and 35 minutes, and will give Yang Shuai a higher tactical status, and will keep him on the court in the decisive moments.

The difference between these two options is huge; anyone who thinks for a moment will know that the second one is the better choice.

After all, starting is just a title; only playing time and tactical status are real.

Furthermore, Bird's description also suggests that he preferred Yang to choose the second option.

After all, that way he could better soothe the emotions of the veteran players.

Or rather, although he supported Yang Shuai, he arranged a gradual path for Yang Shuai.

Once Yang Shuai's playing time and statistics improve, he will become a starter for the team, and even the veteran players will have no objection.

Can I choose both?

Yang Shuai's answer stunned Bird again. The "braggart" from his playing days looked even more surprised than when he heard Yang Shuai say he wanted to take care of Jordan.

Can I possibly want all of this?

You little rascal, you're too greedy!
However, Yang Shuai's next words made him fall into deep thought.

"When we played the Bulls last season, they built an advantage for us in the first two games. If we play them again, we have to put pressure on them from the start."

Bird finally smiled helplessly.

Yang Shuai's words are clearly reasonable.

Unlike Miller, Yang Shuai's focus is still on the Bulls, including the things he said in his outlook, which all show that he considers the Bulls to be his biggest rival.

However, Yang Shuai needs both a starting position and playing time, so he can't give him both all at once at the beginning of this season.

After all, everyone knows that Yang Shuai was strongly recommended by him to come to the Pacers. If he continues to show favoritism, even if he is Bird, it will be difficult for him to win over the public as a new coach.

"I can only offer you the second option at most. If you want both, you'll have to fight for them yourself."

Bird finally revealed his true intentions to Yang.

“No problem.” Yang Shuai has matured a lot over the past year, and he didn’t want to make things too difficult for Bird.

As long as the path of "I want it all" is open, he is confident that he can reach the destination.

After leaving Bird's office, Yang Shuai returned to the locker room.

He planned to practice a little longer before going back.

By this time, the dinner was over, and the team members had all gone back to rest and prepare for the official training camp the next day.

Except for one person. Jermaine O'Neal was still in the locker room, head down, seemingly lost in thought.

"Why are you still here?"

When Jermaine O'Neal heard the voice, he looked up and immediately stood up when he saw it was Yang Shuai.

"Thank you for today." O'Neal looked excited, and it was clear that he had been building up his emotions.

"Okay." Yang Shuai nodded, then walked back to his seat to change into his training clothes for training.

Jermaine O'Neal stood there, seemingly surprised by Yang Shuai's calm reaction.

"Is there anything else?" Yang Shuai asked, seeing that O'Neal was still there.

His support for Jermaine O'Neal stemmed not only from criticizing McGee, but also from a desire to "hold an umbrella for others after getting caught in the rain himself."

Especially since Jermaine O'Neal and he both entered the league straight from high school, and they had previously played together in the Summer League.

But whatever the reason, it was just a side thing for him. He didn't have the mentality of "I helped you, so I need you to repay me".

"No, it's nothing. Are you going to training?"

Yang Shuai was amused by Jermaine O'Neal. He couldn't very well go shopping in his training clothes, could he?
"I can help you retrieve the ball."

After seeing Yang Shuai's reaction, Jermaine O'Neal scratched his head and explained.

Yang Shuai couldn't help but take another look at O'Neal. He really was still a kid, much more naive than Yang Shuai had been back then.

However, this did change Yang Shuai's opinion of him considerably.

Having traversed such a long period of time, Yang Shuai mostly encountered Black people like Johnson and McGee; the Rondo family was extremely rare.

However, Jermaine O'Neal does seem to be that kind of person.

"Then what are you standing there for? Change your clothes."

After Yang Shuai finished speaking, he changed his clothes and headed to the training hall.

Upon hearing this, Jermaine O'Neal quickly changed his clothes and jogged after Yang Shuai.

Forty-five minutes later, Yang Shuai sat on the sidelines to rest, his gaze fixed on the field.

Jermaine O'Neal was still practicing his mid-range shooting on the court.

Jermaine O'Neal had a terrible performance in the last Summer League because he hadn't adapted to physical contact and couldn't execute his technical moves, including his shooting, which was a mess.

Just as his age suggests, he is still too immature, a rough diamond in the rough.

However, watching him practice shooting on the court, his touch is actually very soft, and his release speed is not slow either.

This confirms Yang Shuai's earlier feeling that this is a carbon copy of Garnett.

In the long run, this will be very helpful for the Pacers.

Because Dale Davis, at the power forward position, is a role player, his role is only on the defensive end, and on the offensive end he can only score easy baskets, which is actually not conducive to a spacing style of play.

However, as for Jermaine O'Neal, his shooting ability alone is enough to create space on the weak side.

Moreover, the only thing Jermaine O'Neal showcased in the Summer League was his defensive ability. As a big man, his help defense instincts and abilities were excellent.

His partnership with Schmitz should be the best on the Pacers.

Of course, this is on the premise that he can grow rapidly; what he has shown so far is far from enough.

The good news is that he should have plenty of opportunities in the new season, and his growth rate shouldn't be too slow.

After Jermaine O'Neal finished practicing, Yang Shuai gestured for him to sit next to him.

It was at this moment that he had a conversation with Jermaine O'Neal.

It's not about technical skills. Yang Shuai is an outside player, and only a second-year player at that. He certainly can't give O'Neal any technical advice.

He was talking about something related to mindset.

What he shared with Kobe was essentially the same as what he had learned from his experiences over the past year.

“Jermaine, you need to understand the difference between the NBA and high school. Here, veteran players will see rookies as a threat to their jobs.”

These are the words Bird once said to him.

"If you want something, you can't expect them to give it to you by charity. You have to fight for it and grab it yourself. Only what you fight for yourself truly belongs to you."

Of course, there are also things Yang Shuai experienced himself.

O'Neal nodded thoughtfully.

Although he couldn't fully empathize with what Yang Shuai said, he wasn't Kobe Bryant, so he could take it to heart.

The Pacers' training camp officially began the following day.

Bird suffered a serious back injury during his playing career, so he brought a stool to sit on the sidelines, and Carlisle was in charge of the training.

Just like I felt during the Summer League training, Carlisle is also a very demanding person when it comes to training.

So even though the coaching staff changed, the team's training intensity didn't decrease at all.

It might even have gotten higher.

During one defensive possession, Yang Shuai directly forced McGee into a basic dribbling error, causing him to slip the ball onto his foot.

He bumped into McGee and then immediately started yelling, "Derek, did you get diarrhea from eating donuts yesterday? Why are you so soft?"

Yang Shuai, here we go.

(End of this chapter)