Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 157 Honorable Return
The 2008 NBA Draft has concluded. Aside from the Memphis Grizzlies trading down to the 23rd pick to select Serge Ibaka, the most intriguing change occurred with the Seattle SuperSonics. Having already drafted Kevin Love, they no longer needed to acquire a power forward, having originally planned to select Ibaka with the 24th overall pick.

So they turned to the seemingly insignificant second pick in the second round and unexpectedly selected DeAndre Jordan, who was still waiting in the green room, making a bold bet.

In this way, the NBA was abstracted into a form that Xu Ling did not recognize in a short period of time.

Westbrook went to the Lakers?
Love and Jordan went to the SuperSonics?
The Thunder's "Big Three" may no longer exist, but it's also unlikely that the Thunder's "Big Three" will never exist.

Is replacing Love with Westbrook an improvement or a downgrade?

Perhaps focusing solely on an individual's peak achievement is a flaw, but what about their compatibility with Durant?

Westbrook's development with the Lakers is even more noteworthy. It's worth noting that Westbrook isn't currently seen as a proper point guard; he's more like a short shooting guard with explosive athleticism, similar to Dwyane Wade. Therefore, the Lakers believe he can coexist with Devin Harris. However, if Harris falters, Westbrook's opportunities to control the ball will arise.

His career path is unlikely to change.

Many things are destined to happen this summer.

The biggest storm is over the New Jersey Nets, who are determined to rebuild and are prepared to put Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson on the trading block, focusing all their efforts on Rudy Gay as the core of their rebuild.

Meanwhile, Kings' Ron Artest has indicated he will not opt ​​out of his current contract, and the Kings are no longer willing to continue working with him.

For teams aiming to win the championship, acquiring strong, immediate contributors at a low cost is essential.

But until the trade is actually completed, it's insignificant compared to the overall excitement of the offseason, as players always find ways to generate buzz during the offseason.

The first to stir things up was the Chicago Bulls' newly drafted number one pick, Derrick Rose. He casually remarked that he hoped to wear the number 25 jersey in the NBA.

These words caused an immediate uproar in Chicago. The 25th? Didn't he know what that number meant to the city? How could a native Chicagoan be completely ignorant of Benjamin Wilson's past?
Wilson, who died young 24 years ago, is the most heartbreaking "what if" in the history of Chicago basketball. His story is like a beacon, illuminating the path for those who follow. The emergence of Rose was once seen as a perfect sequel to this tragic legend—Chicago finally had another homegrown talent worthy of carrying hope.

But now, this genius is going to touch that sacred number that carries collective memory with such a nonchalant attitude?
Fortunately, with the emergency intervention of his public relations team, Rose finally understood the weight of his decision. He changed his number to 1, although this inevitably brought to mind the Memphis number 1 who caused a stir in the league last season.

Then came another matter.

Shaquille O'Neill is happy with most things. He basks in the warm Phoenix sun, has been reinstated as a local police superintendent with some law enforcement powers—one of his ways of paying homage to his stepfather. Life is good, and Phoenix is ​​definitely an ideal place to retire.

However, this wonderful situation began to change after Kobe won the championship by clinging to the coattails of the Germans.

As you know, O'Neal's magnanimity is only one percent of his capacity. Since leaving the Lakers, he has been proclaiming that Kobe, who is free from his influence, is destined to never win a championship. However, Kobe's championship this year undoubtedly undermined his long-held argument. The media's rebuttal and the fans' ubiquitous ridicule stung this giant baby who never wanted to lose a verbal battle.

So he accepted the call of fate and gave an impromptu rap performance of "Kobe Eats My Butt" in a nightclub.

As the situation began to escalate, O'Neal realized he might once again be crowned king of Lilliput, so he quickly issued a statement explaining that his song wasn't intended to hurt Kobe: "Everyone who knows Shaq knows two things about me: first, I'm a rapper, and second, I'm a comedian. When I played with Kobe, we, along with Brian Shaw and JR Reed, would often do impromptu raps. Just for fun, and our lyrics were always crazier than that. If I hurt anyone's feelings, I apologize."

Kobe wouldn't listen to his apology. He was preparing for the Olympics with the Dream Team, and his first reaction upon hearing the news was anger, followed by a demand for a response from his team.

Kobe's team responded to this by taking away something O'Neal valued—they filed a complaint with O'Neal's police department, which ultimately led to the department revoking the controversial individual's badge.

The ongoing OK saga continued to influence fans in the summer of 2008, when Xu Ling was waiting for news from China.

He felt even more disgusted when he saw O'Neal and Kobe making headlines in this way.

What's wrong with this world?
But what he didn't realize was that this might be the world's true nature.

Socialites sell their reproductive videos to gain fame, superstars gain a sense of accomplishment by insulting their partners, and rich heiresses gain national popularity by acting foolish on TV shows to anger the entire nation.

These infuriating things keep happening, yet people still flock to them.

That morning, Xu Ling finished her morning strength training and dragged her slightly tired body back to her apartment.

He went straight into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and the warm water washed over his body, temporarily taking away his fatigue and the summer's oppressive heat.

After a quick rinse, Xu Ling wrapped a towel around herself and went to the living room.

Xu Ling habitually picked up the Blackberry phone on the table—he had been using this phone for a while. Last year, Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone to the world, which would completely change human life, but he did not change his phone. He had completely broken his phone addiction, and even though the era of smartphones had begun, it still seemed very rudimentary compared to the omnipotent smartphone in his memory.

Just as Xu Ling was about to check for new text messages, his phone suddenly vibrated, and a familiar international long-distance number appeared on the screen—+8610, the area code of the capital city.

Xu Ling froze instantly.

He had saved this number for a long time but had never dialed it. It was the direct line to an important official in the Basketball Association, who had told him, "If there's any final news, I'll notify you immediately." Now, the call was ringing.

Xu Ling took a deep breath, swiped to answer the call, and held the phone close to his ear.

"Hey?"

"Comrade Xu Ling." A steady male voice came from the other end of the phone, with a clear Beijing accent. It was Director Li, the head of the External Liaison Department of the Basketball Association. "I am now officially informing you that, after our efforts and communication, FIBA ​​has officially approved your eligibility to represent the Chinese men's basketball team this morning."

"Based on FIBA's final ruling, and the decisions of the General Administration of Sport and the Association," Director Li's voice continued, "you will be registered as an official member of the Chinese Men's Basketball Team to participate in the 29th Olympic Games to be held in the capital this August. Welcome, Comrade Xu Ling!"

Director Li said a lot, but Xu Ling only remembered that he said at the end: "...We will send the relevant documents and specific itinerary to your email as soon as possible. We look forward to your return. The national team needs you, and the people of the whole country are looking forward to your arrival."

Xu Ling remained silent for a few seconds before giving an extremely simple answer: "Okay!"

call ended.

Xu Ling put down his phone and walked to the window. The California sun was still shining, but his summer was about to be completely different.

At the same time Xu Ling received the call, the Chinese Basketball Association held an emergency press conference.

The spokesperson for the Chinese Basketball Association announced the news with excitement and solemnity to reporters who had already received the information. Almost simultaneously, official media outlets such as Xinhua News Agency and CCTV News broadcast this major news throughout China via television, radio, and the internet.

Breaking News: NBA rising star Xu Ling has officially received FIBA ​​clearance and will represent the Chinese men's basketball team at the Olympics!

[Chinese basketball welcomes a historic reinforcement! Xu Ling's identity confirmed!]

[Yao Ming's timely return from injury is joined by his best partner! Xu Ling has been selected for the national team roster!]

On the sports section of a portal website, the same news story dominated the front page, and the number of clicks skyrocketed exponentially.

At that time, there were still some primitive Simplified Chinese internet forums, such as Tianya and Tieba. The number of replies to related posts instantly reached thousands or even tens of thousands. Hupu, although a niche forum, was considered a professional basketball forum and even experienced lag due to excessive traffic.

"With Xu Shen, anything is possible!"

"Will I finally get to see Xu Ling wear the national team jersey?"

"Yao Ming + Xu Ling + Yi Jianlian! This is a world-class team! Forget about aiming for the top eight or even the top six, I think they can even dream of winning a medal!"

Similar responses flooded various websites. Xu Ling's season in the NBA not only made him a sensation in the NBA, but also in China.

Even before this, Xu Ling already had a huge fan base in China.

When the news of his official representation of the national team was announced, the fervor could no longer be contained.

A few days later, Beijing Capital International Airport
Despite the efforts of relevant departments to keep Xu Ling's arrival itinerary confidential, the news leaked out at some point, and when Xu Ling's flight from Los Angeles landed, the reception hall was already packed with people.

The crowd that greeted the guests was extremely diverse: there were official reception staff dressed in uniform and holding banners; there were reporters from various media outlets carrying cameras and microphones; there were enthusiastic fans wearing Grizzlies No. 1 jerseys; and there were even many ordinary people who came spontaneously just to witness this historic moment.

When Xu Ling finally appeared at the entrance of the passage, the entire hall instantly erupted in cheers.

Xu Ling, dressed in a simple gray T-shirt, stood out conspicuously amidst airport security personnel, Roderick Craig, and two full-time bodyguards.

Then, deafening cheers and screams, along with the clicking of camera shutters, came crashing down like a tsunami.

"Xu Ling! Xu Ling!!"

"Welcome home!!"

"Xu Ling, look here!!"

Go China Men's Basketball Team!

Xu Ling stopped in his tracks. This future star, known for his aloofness from fans in the NBA, seemed to have something hardened in his heart melt a little by the heat of his hometown at this moment.

However, he quickly composed himself and, escorted by Roderick Craig and two bodyguards temporarily assigned by the country, politely declined all the microphones offered to him and the recording pens that were almost pressed against his face. He then left the scene swiftly under the arrangement of a designated person.

(End of this chapter)