This striker is a bit of a monster

Chapter 143 Charlotte 'The Twins'

After the draft, Michael Jordan, the small owner of the Bobcats, took the initiative to call Zhou Lin. First of all, he expressed his congratulations. At this time, Jordan was also ambitious, and he talked with Zhou Lin about a lot of blueprints similar to the future. What about reaching the playoffs in three years, entering the Eastern Conference finals in five years, and winning the championship within eight years, Zhou Lin felt that Jordan really wanted too much.

A team composed of rookie teams and role players discarded by other teams does not even have a winning culture. Although the Eastern Conference is slightly less competitive, it is not bad to touch the floor of the Eastern Conference Finals in ten or eight years. , also the championship.

However, Zhou Lin didn't mean to disobey his future boss, and responded humbly and agreeably.

"If you need help, just call me."

Jordan also knew that Zhou Lin would be very busy today, so he hung up the phone quickly.

Including Zhou Lin's high school teammates, college teammates, members of the coaching staff, and members of the Bobcats, all called or texted Zhou Lin one after another. Of course, the time of each call was very short because there were too many people calling up.

Then there were interviews with American and domestic journalists.

Bobcats head coach Bernie Bickerstaff called a little later, probably knowing that Zhou Lin would be very busy today.

"Hi, I'm Zhou Lin!"

"Hi Zhou, I'm Coach Bernie Bickerstaff."

Coach Bernie Bickerstaff would have preferred to take Adam Morrison at No. [-], a decision that has been made by everyone on the Bobcats for a long time.

But under Jordan's insistence, he had to choose Zhou Lin.

He speaks more honestly than Jordan.

On the phone, he first expressed his congratulations to Zhou Lin for being able to enter the NBA, and then said that Zhou Lin needs to adapt to the NBA environment and the intensity of the game, and his role positioning will also undergo certain changes, because the team's rookies are too big. There are too many players who need to be trained.

Of course, he will help Zhou Lin to adapt.

However, it seems that Bernie Bickerstaff doesn't like him that much, or... Jordan insists on choosing him, which makes Bickerstaff, the team manager and coach, feel a little uncomfortable.

Even if it is as strong as the Lakers, in those years when the Bass family seized power, there were constant civil strife, and the team suffered repeated defeats.

Of course, the Bobcats situation is not the same as the Lakers' infighting in those years.

After all, Jordan is the boss and Bickerstaff is the coach.

Of course, I may be thinking too much.

Zhou Lin, who has been a man for two lives, is a little more sensitive than his peers after all. He can hear the meaning in Coach Bickerstaff's words, and he seems to want to have his own right to speak.

And this attitude made Zhou Lin a little uneasy.

After all, Bickerstaff determines Zhou Lin's playing time and team position.

……

Overlooking Charlotte from the plane, you can see a whole piece of refreshing green. Although Charlotte is a city with a developed financial industry, it enjoys the reputation of a green city and is one of the most livable cities in the United States. From the United States The capital, Washington, D.C., is only 500 kilometers away from Charlotte.

On July 7, Zhou Lin came to Charlotte again, and this time Zhou Lin came to Charlotte to settle down, where he would spend at least one or two years of his career.

He officially transitioned from a student player to a professional player.

He has to face a more complicated environment, and at the same time, he will have an extremely generous salary.

The only person accompanying him this time was his manager, Thomas Jackson.

Because Zhou Lin did not settle down, she asked her mother Xu Fanghua to bring her younger sister back to China first, while Misha needed to continue her studies.

On July 7, Zhou Lin and the team completed a formal meeting with the team's management and big boss Robert Johnson.

During the meeting, the management will guarantee Zhou Lin's stable playing time, team status and shooting rights.

As the team with the lowest market value in the NBA and the least marketable team, it is still in the period of gathering talent.

The rookies of the team all have the opportunity to show themselves to the fullest.

It is almost impossible to recruit stars who have played in their prime. The composition of the team is all expected from recruits and corners, although there are also talents similar to Gerald Wallace.

In addition to making moves in the draft during the offseason, it is conceivable that the Bobcats are warming up in the free market.

Also arriving on the same day was Brandon Roy.

The two also completed the team's signing ceremony on the same day.

Under the attention of the reporters, Zhou Lin and Brandon Roy took over the No. 5 jersey and the No. 35 jersey from Bernie Bickerstaff respectively.

Brandon Roy originally wanted to choose the No. 7 jersey.

However, the No. 7 jersey has been worn by Primoz Brezek.

It is worth mentioning that this gentleman is also the group opponent of the Chinese team in this year's World Championships in Japan, and a member of the Slovenian national team...

Of course, if both parties agree, it is possible to change the number and give up number 7.

However, most of these things happen when famous stars come to an unfamiliar team. The player who wears the number the star wants gives up his number to express his sincerity, and most of the stars will return the gift. In fact, it is no different from buying a jersey number.

Of course, not every time you choose to give up your number is voluntary...

However, Brandon Roy is a rookie after all, so he didn't get entangled in this aspect. He should wear No. 5, which corresponds to his draft pick.

Zhou Lin was much luckier. Lonnie Baxter, the owner of Bobcats jersey No. 35 last season, has left the Bobcats. This gentleman is also daring. He robbed near the White House in the United States, but was arrested and squatted for two months. classroom.

Uh huh, in the United States, a country that advocates freedom, we still have to pay attention to safety~
Renting a house is indeed a distressing thing. Considering that I am no longer an unknown player, I will definitely be coveted by others when I have a worth in the future.

Becoming an NBA player, Zhou Lin must ensure the security and privacy of the rented house.

In fact, the big houses of American NBA stars have been visited by thieves a lot.

Zhou Lin signed a four-year rookie contract of 4 million. The first two years are fully guaranteed contracts, and the third and fourth years are non-fully guaranteed team options. The salary is 1692 million in the first year and 361 million in the second year. , 289 million in the third year and 416 million in the fourth year.

For the top ten picks, the salary gap is still quite large. The tenth pick, Patrick O'Bryant, only has a contract of 196 million in the first year.

Almost every time you lose a pick, there will be an annual gap of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So those players whose draft picks have plummeted feel bitter. After all, this is the biggest contract most players have won in their careers.

As for those second-round picks who only signed for two years, the salary is even lower.

After tax in the first year, Zhou Lin can also get more than 200 million, but it will be a few months before his first NBA payday.

Fortunately, part of the endorsement fee for Zhou Lin's commercial filmed in May has already been credited to the account. Otherwise, it is estimated that the team will have to advance the salary from the team first.

With the help of Thomas Jackson, Zhou Lin found a 120-square-meter apartment [-] kilometers away from the arena as a temporary place to stay.

If it is not certain whether Charlotte can play for many years, Zhou Lin will not buy real estate here.

The real estate market in the United States is not like China. It may not rise in price for more than ten years. Even in old industrial cities like Detroit, the value of houses is not as good as the remaining bank loans. It is not uncommon to abandon houses and leave.

"Do you want to train together?"

The day after Zhou Lin signed the contract, Brandon Roy sent a message to Zhou Lin.

Zhou Lin and Brandon Roy just exchanged numbers yesterday.

The NBA has entered the offseason. Generally speaking, players will start to take vacations, do some rehabilitation training, and sometimes participate in some commercial activities, but there are still a large number of players who will use the offseason to go train.

They even invite each other to train together, and if there are enough people, they will even organize games.

Some teams with a better atmosphere and a more complete competition mechanism will have someone take the lead in training camps. Of course, the Bobcats have not done well in this aspect. The end of the Bobcats season is nearly three months away. Except for those who were preparing for the Orlando Summer League and began to return one after another, all other players are still on vacation.

Being uncomfortable without training, Zhou Lin of course readily accepted the invitation.

Zhou Lin and Brandon Roy can still get along very well. The two have similar personalities. Brandon Roy is not like a traditional American. He doesn't like to talk. People, life is very rigorous, do things seriously, and treat their families the same way. In the eyes of others, this kind of person's life is a bit boring.

And Zhou Lin also saw that she was a bit reticent to the media.

I've never been too fond of talking nonsense.

Zhou Lin, on the other hand, has Chinese reservations in his bones. Generally speaking, he never speaks to the full, and sometimes only seven or eight percent.

So the two feel a little sympathetic to each other.

Not long after the appointment, Brandon Roy came to pick up Zhou Lin in a Mercedes-Benz.

"A new car?"

"Second-hand!"

Not much to say, the two went straight to the court to start working.

Practice alone, practice together, single-handedly, and stop after sweating profusely.

……

The summer league in Orlando is small in scale and short in schedule, with only 4 days in total.

From July 7 to July 11, Zhou Lin was also allowed to return to China to join the training team after the summer league.

American summer leagues generally contain a large number of rookies and sophomores, as well as unsigned free agents and undrafted picks that the team has to investigate.

Invited teams, in addition to NBA teams, there will be some exceptions, and some international teams will also be invited to participate. For example, the Chinese national team has also used the NBA Summer League to train for several times.

The Orlando Summer League that the Charlotte Bobcats play in is not as big or as difficult as the Las Vegas Summer League.

There are only 6 teams in total, namely the Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Bobcats.

The strongest team is undoubtedly the Charlotte Bobcats, because the Bobcats have only two years of history.

When other teams participate in the summer league, they take rookies from the first and second years plus a few water dispenser players, while the Bobcats come to participate and basically take half of the main regular season teams.

The leader of the summer league is Bernie Bickerstaff's son ** Bickerstaff, an assistant coach who has just turned 27 - Billy Herman, who temporarily replaced the Bobcats in the summer league And the team's drinking fountain player Melvin Ely is 1 year younger.

However, there are no spectators in the summer league at this time, except for the players and coaches of the two teams and the staff accompanying the teams, there are only referees and technical personnel.

The Blazers' No. 3 pick Zhou Lin No. 5 pick Brandon Roy, and the No. [-] pick Tyrus Thomas who was finally acquired by the Chicago Bulls at a big price.

It can be said that he is the biggest player in this Orlando Summer League.

In addition, the Orlando Magic's No. 11 pick this year is JJ. Redick, the Indiana Pacers' No. 17 pick Rodney Carter, and the No. 31 dunk maniac James White.

The New Jersey Nets selected Marcus Williams with the 22nd overall pick and Josh Boone with the 23rd overall pick from the Connecticut Twins, Zhou Lin's old rivals, also came to Orlando.

The strength of the Bobcats participating in the Orlando Summer League this time is unique.

The final results also confirmed this point.

In the first game against the Magic at home with JJ. Redick, Zhou Lin had 15 points and 8 assists.

Even in the next game, **. Bickerstaff also tried to make Zhou Lin a cameo as the starting point guard.

Summer League is also essentially a testing ground.

After all, one of Zhou Lin's templates is Magic Johnson!

In the end, with the help of last year's No. [-] pick Raymond Felton and the previous year's No. [-] pick Emeka Okafor and team leader Gerald Wallace, the Charlotte Bobcats won A bloodless victory won the Orlando Summer League championship.

布兰登.罗伊是奥兰多夏季联赛的得分王，场均24.2分3.2助攻，周林则是有17.2分5.6助攻4.2篮板的数据。

In fact, Zhou Lin felt that the summer league was very easy, even a little easier than the NCAA Crazy Three games.

Brandon Roy around Zhou Lin made him feel much easier to play.

If he and Brandon Roy played in the NCAA team, it would not be so difficult to win the championship.

On the official website of the Charlotte Hornets, the twin star combination of Zhou Lin and Brandon Roy has been compared to the combination of Anthony Walker and Paul Pierce.

Zhou Lin's nickname of "Son of Miracle" and Brandon Roy's nickname of "Killer" also began to appear frequently in Charlotte's local newspapers and television media.

Brandon Roy's "killer" name is in the summer league game against the Pacers. In the post-match interview after Zhou Lin assisted Brandon Roy's lore at the last minute, Zhou Lin said that Brandon Roy is the most ruthless killer, and Brandon Roy's nickname of 'killer' has spread like wildfire.

"I will make an appointment for training when I come back!"

Brandon Roy saw Zhou Lin off in person.

After playing the summer league, Zhou Lin didn't return to Charlotte. He flew directly from Orlando to China, and started preparing for the 2006 World Championships in Japan.

　Uh... The title of the chapter is that the Bobcats Gemini will be better, but it's a pity that I can't change it because of my quick hand

　　
　
(End of this chapter)