The Whip of the God of Basketball

2002 was a difficult and painful year for Wang Zhizhi. In 2001, he reached the first pinnacle of his life, successfully bid for the Olympic Games on behalf of the Chinese Olympic delegation, and successfully landed in the NBA and became the first person in China.

But in 2002, the situation began to take a turn for the worse. First of all, his playing time in the Mavericks continued to decrease, and he began to become the main guardian of the water fountain.

For Wang Zhizhi, who experienced the glory in 2001, the inner gap is natural. In March, he chose to break up with his former manager Xia Song, and let Chen Weiming, a friend he met on the TV show, be his new assistant.

From this moment on, a thought that has been entrenched in Wang Zhizhi's mind for a long time has taken root. He decided to stay in the United States innately and not return to China to participate in the national team's training camp. He's going to summer league and working hard on his next contract.

On June 24th, two days before the 2002 NBA Draft, Wang Zhizhi and his assistant Chen Weiming came to Los Angeles. This year’s Summer League will be held in Los Angeles as usual, with many players on the Pacific Coast and Southwest. For Wang Zhizhi, coming to Los Angeles is an opportunity.

Although the Dallas Mavericks agreed with Wang Zhizhi to participate in the summer league on behalf of the team, Nelson Jr. has been persuading Wang Zhizhi to return to China to play for the national team. This made Wang Zhizhi finally choose to give up playing for the Mavericks. a new contract.

The plane arrived in Los Angeles at 9 am on the 24th. After getting off the plane, Wang Zhizhi and Chen Weiming took a taxi to a hotel near the Nike-air West Training Center, where they booked a room. The Nike-air Western Training Center is a place where many stars play together in summer. For professional players, going to the place where the stars get together can attract attention and get opportunities.

It was already noon when they arrived at the hotel, and Wang Zhizhi and Chen Weiming chose to settle their lunch in a nearby small restaurant. After coming to the United States, the problem of eating has always been a big problem for Wang Zhizhi. He doesn't like to eat Western food, and American Chinese food is completely different from Chinese food.

"When will Schwartz come? The steak here is a bit old." Wang Zhizhi asked Chen Weiming in Chinese while eating the old steak fried in the restaurant.

"About twelve o'clock...he will... come, he said, use the phone, don't worry, don't answer." Chen Weiming replied to Wang Zhizhi in his not-so-fluent broken Chinese, he could feel the slightly anxious look on Wang Zhizhi's face, Ever since he said goodbye to Mavericks on May 20th, Wang Zhizhi's brow has never been relaxed.

Chen Weiming was originally an employee of NBA Entertainment Company. Because of his Chinese identity, he was sent to Dallas to record some programs about Wang Zhizhi. The two became good friends after going back and forth. Chen Weiming grew up in New York, and his parents are first-generation expatriates, so he can speak some Chinese, which became the link between Wang Zhizhi and him. In a foreign country full of strange faces, it is possible to have a yellow skin and black hair A partner who can also speak Chinese is really invaluable to Wang Zhizhi.

It was also Chen Weiming who, after becoming Wang Zhizhi's friend, tried his best to persuade Wang Zhizhi to give up returning to China in the summer and earnestly participate in the NBA summer league and pre-season training camp. Only in this way can his basketball skills be trained, enough to really gain a foothold in the NBA.

Wang Zhizhi was moved. He is a simple person with a simple idea. He loves basketball and loves basketball. He hopes to create his own world in the NBA, play a role on the court, and enjoy the fun and honor brought by basketball. Instead of sitting on the bench like now. So he didn't consider at all that before he entered the NBA, he signed a tripartite agreement with the Chinese Basketball Association and the Bayi Men's Basketball Team, which clearly stipulated that after the end of the NBA season, he must return to China to participate in the national team training camp and represent the national team in international competitions .

Faced with this problem, Wang Zhizhi used the simplest and rudest way to solve it, which is to block all the voices persuading him to return to China. He fired his agent in March, and Xia Song, who led him into the NBA, This middleman who mediates in many parties. Facing the advice of Nelson Jr. of the Mavericks, he didn't listen to it, so he directly ended the contract with the Mavericks and tested the free market.

However, this seemingly decisive behavior does not mean that he is confident about his future. On the contrary, he feels that his future is full of uncertainty, so he anxiously waits for news from his agent Schwartz in the restaurant. He came to Los Angeles one step earlier to pave the way for Wang Zhizhi's summer league trip. In the NBA, Schwartz can also be regarded as the No. 1 figure. As an excellent agent, he has big-name stars such as Jason Kidd and Paul Pierce under his command, and has faintly replaced David Falk as the No. 1 player in the NBA. Broker Trends.

That's why Wang Zhizhi trusted him so much, and he agreed to meet at the restaurant at twelve o'clock, and he appeared in front of Wang Zhizhi at eleven fifty. Schwartz is short, with gray shaggy curly hair, a pair of light-colored toad glasses, and a beard. He looks like an IT engineer in the 1990s. He walks briskly, looks lively, and looks like a guy who can make trouble.

"Let me drink water! You should read this report first!" After sitting down, Schwartz threw a newspaper in front of Wang Zhizhi and Chen Weiming, and then took a glass of lemonade and drank it down.

Wang Zhizhi only glanced at the headline of the report, and his face changed completely. Although his English has been a problem for a year after he came to the United States, he is mainly limited to speaking, listening and reading. The headline of that report was "Wang Zhizhi Confronts the Chinese Government or Will Defect", which was written by a female reporter named Judy Flood of the Dallas Morning News.

"I didn't defect, I just want to play basketball!" Wang Zhizhi gripped the newspaper tightly and said to himself. Although he violated his previous promise and refused to return to China to play, Wang Zhizhi only wanted to improve his skills as soon as possible to gain a foothold in the league. He was out of his own considerations, ignoring the country and the collective, but he definitely had no intention of betraying the country.

"I'm going to talk to this newspaper and reporter!" Wang Zhizhi couldn't hold back his emotions, and Chen Weiming hurriedly persuaded him: "Don't get excited, don't, calm down, calm down."

Although Schwartz didn't know what Wang Zhizhi was talking about, he knew that he must be very angry and might have some impulsive thoughts, so he waved to Wang Zhizhi to signal him to calm down.

"Calm down, Wang, this should be an expected report, but it's just a media scaremongering. In the United States, there are such false reports every day. As long as it cools down in a few days, everyone will forget about these things. Look at those players in the NBA, which ones have no scandal reports, and which ones are really affected? As long as they perform well on the court, none of this will be a problem." After drinking the water, Schwartz looked quite calm down.

Chen Weiming on the side also nodded, and roughly recounted what Schwartz said just now in Chinese. Wang Zhizhi could understand Schwartz's words, and after hearing Chen Weiming's retelling, he finally calmed down.

"Then... then can I play?" Wang Zhizhi asked Schwartz in simple English.

At this time, Schwartz had a sly smile on his face. He adjusted his glasses and said to Wang Zhizhi: "Yes, you can play now. Not only can you play, but a team has already contacted me to sign the contract directly." I'm going to kill you!"

After more than a month, there was finally a piece of good news. Wang Zhizhi almost jumped up for joy. His brows that had been furrowed were finally relaxed, and even the pimples on his face were a little brighter. He had a bright smile on his face. Can't wait to ask: "Which team is it? Where am I going to play?"

Schwartz did not answer him, but took out an envelope from his pocket, took out a piece of letter paper from it, put it in front of Wang Zhizhi and said, "This is a fax sent to you, from that team. Write it on I didn't read your name, because I can't read it either."

Wang Zhizhi felt a little strange. Why couldn't Schwartz understand the fax sent to him? When he picked up the letter paper and opened it, he realized that it was a fax written in Chinese, with square characters on the white paper. Seeing such a letter, Wang Zhizhi felt very cordial. He saw the letter read: "Dear Comrade Wang Zhizhi : When you read this fax, our Boston Celtics should have made a decision to sign you. I am Fox Leon, the new head coach of the Celtics, and I recommend the team Sign you as a free agent. The reason why I want you to join the Celtics is not only to appreciate your talent, but also to consider the team's tactical needs. I will discuss these issues with you after you come to the team. You talk about it. Before that, I know that you have encountered some troubles and faced some choices. Please allow me to say a few words here. Please remember and do as much as possible. First of all, the team has decided to cooperate with You don’t have to worry about work when you sign a contract, so please abide by the previous agreement with your country and home team, and return to China to participate in training and competitions. For a professional player, no matter how unreasonable the previous agreement is, since it is agreed and signed Name, you should abide by the content of the agreement and do your due diligence. I think that you are not only a player, but also a soldier. This is the minimum. Second, the report by the Dallas Morning News will definitely have a very bad impact , It must be killed before the influence expands. The best way is to hold a press conference, clarify the misunderstanding, and take advantage of the situation to announce the return to the national team. Third, when participating in the national team training and competition, please be sure to protect your body, Scientific training and scientific diet. At that time, we will send trainers and nutritionists to communicate with you remotely. It is important to win glory for the country. Only by protecting yourself can you protect the fire of revolution. Finally, after reading this letter, please destroy it immediately, and don’t doubt me Sincerity and kindness, after the draft, I will meet you in person. Before that, I hope you can handle all the problems according to my suggestion. If you have any difficulties, please contact your former good friend and manager Xia Song. People can't forget those who have been kind to them in the past. Sincerely - FOX-Lion-from-boston."

"What's the matter, Wang?" Chen Weiming looked at Wang Zhizhi, feeling dazed after reading the letter, asked, and wanted to take the letter over to read.

As a result, Wang Zhizhi held the letter tightly in his hand, then tore it into pieces, and threw it into the trash can.

"It's a love letter written by a female fan. I already have a wife, so I won't think about it anymore." Wang Zhizhi said after tearing up the letter.