The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

Bill Duffy once again demonstrated what "professionalism" means.

Early the next morning, he brought a predetermined gym, a team of trainers, and a team of nutritionists to Su Wan. They were all well-known figures in the circle, expensive yet highly sought after. It was only through utilizing his own resources that Bill Duffy was able to queue-jump and bring them in.

This reflected the significance Su Wan held in Bill Duffy's heart.

His ability to get things done was also highly efficient, now beyond question. The only issue was that he had too many clients, which might lead to situations where not enough attention resulted in contract renewal mix-ups.

Take, for instance, the contract renewal incident last year with Anthony Carter and the Heat Team.

Su Wan didn't have much to handle at the moment and could continue the cooperation for the time being. When the time came that he had more off-court matters to manage, or when the agent contract expired—after all, it was only for two years—he would consider other agents more suitable.

During the special training period, Su Wan also drew three months' salary in advance from Danny Ferri, on top of what had been drawn earlier. Before the new season even began, he had already taken half of the first year's contract money.

With the salary from the first three months, the original holder had bought a house close to the gym and a car—the house was modest, 80 square meters, and the car a standard Ford, leaving some money to spare, which Su Wan used to repay part of the original holder's "big house" debt.

Currently, the money in his pocket wasn't sufficient to pay the salaries of trainers and nutritionists.

Danny Ferri readily agreed and even asked Su Wan if he wanted to draw more in advance. His genial attitude made Su Wan feel uneasy. But Su didn't stand on ceremony and simply drew another seven months' salary in advance. Danny Ferri didn't hesitate at all, agreeing promptly. Before hanging up the phone, he even reminded Su Wan, "If you run into any trouble, give me a call. I won't refuse as long as it's within my power to help!"

This appearance of being worthless... could it be the so-called "fawning dog" mode that the Cavaliers only showed towards LeBron James?

And to tell the truth, the fawning was quite satisfactory, making one feel comfortable.

"Thanks, I'm going to get washed up, I'm off to train!" Su Wan automatically stepped into the role of a "goddess."

Listening to the dial tone on the phone, Danny Ferri broke into a pleased smile; he could feel the change in Su Wan's tone, indicating that his actions had made Su Wan happy!

Bozer's "rebellious" behavior had hurt him deeply. It also made him start to reflect on what he had done over the past two years to cause the players to lose faith in the management, to the point where they would leave the Cavaliers, regardless of any damage to their reputation.

He thought of Andre Miller and Ricky Davis, their departures were all because of one person:

LeBron James!

In the last two years, the Cavaliers had invested too much energy into LeBron James, considering everything from his perspective and sparing no efforts to secure his position, even employing drastic measures.

Now it seemed that these measures were excessive, leading to other players losing faith in the management.

Su Wan exhibited his potential beyond the tenth pick in the first round during the summer league and the Olympics. To prevent a Bozer-like tragedy from recurring, Danny Ferri had been paying close attention to Su beginning during the Olympics, and now he was all ears to Su's requests, aiming to make Su feel valued by the team.

So far, the plan was a success.

The new season hadn't started yet, but the relationship between management and Su Wan couldn't be more pleasant.

Having settled the matter of money, Su Wan devoted himself to physical training. After the Olympics, there was only one month left until the teams would start their training camps. During this month, Su focused exclusively on improving his physical fitness.

Ages 19 to 22 are the "golden age" for improving one's physical fitness. Although Su's potential for physical attributes was nearly depleted, he still made noticeable progress over the month.

"Upper Body Strength: 68→71 (75); Lower Body Strength: 69→72 (78); Core Strength: 73→79 (88); Coordination: 70→74 (80); Speed: 72→75 (78); Cross Movement: 72→75 (80); Explosive Power: 80→82 (85); Jumping: 84→85 (85); Physical Fitness: 72→78 (88); Injury Resistance: 75 (75);"

Having spent a large number of zone points to increase the potential of his physical fitness and core strength, these two attributes were the quickest to improve, both increasing by 6 points.

Apart from polishing his physical fitness, he also gained some weight, from 94KG to 96KG.

With the change in his physical fitness and mass, his appearance also underwent some noticeable changes:

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Firstly, his muscles distribution had become much more even, with well-defined muscle lines visible everywhere. His every move brimmed with strength and explosive power. The prominent pectoral muscles, along with much thicker arms, signified his robust ability to compete physically.

When Bill Duffy saw him again, he couldn't help but whistled, "wow, man, I think the Cavaliers coach will be conquered by you the moment he sees you. Your whole body tells people that you've been soaking in sweat all summer!"

September 15th, the first day of the Cavaliers' new season training camp.

Su Wan had just parked his car in the underground parking lot of Quicken Loans Arena when he saw a brand-new Honda in front of him.

"Man? OMG, did you live in the arena after the Olympics?"

Calderon rolled down the driver's side window and stuck his head out, his face full of surprise.

Even if Bill Duffy, as his agent, was prone to exaggerate, Calderon's initial reaction confirmed that Su Wan's summer improvements were indeed significant. More confidence and composure were evident in the depths of his eyes.

Danny Ferry had organized a press conference for him, Calderon, and Drew Gooden, who was traded over the summer to fill the gap left by Bozer's departure.

Drew Gooden's best season had been averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. For a fourth overall pick in a "weak" year, that was certainly decent. But he wasn't the main attraction for the media today.

The man wearing the number 99 jersey, Su Wan, was whom reporters were most eager to interview.

They had heard many stories about this rookie throughout the summer.

And they had many questions they wanted to ask.

So much so that the tables for Calderon and Drew Gooden were deserted, while a dense crowd of people surrounded Su Wan. Calderon didn't seem to mind. As a rookie, he didn't have the exposure nor the performance and potential of Su Wan, so he was prepared to be overlooked. But Gooden felt a bit awkward. It would be his third year in the league this coming season, yet he was far less popular than Su Wan, a rookie who hadn't even played a game yet. It felt as if he suddenly had hemorrhoids.

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September 15, Cavaliers rookie press conference Su Wan interview digest:

"Man, why did you choose the number 99 jersey?"

"The homophony for '99' is very auspicious in our Huaxia culture. It is also the highest number in NBA jersey numbers. That represents my goal."

"Man, you look in great shape. Are you confident about winning 'Rookie of the Year' this season?"

"I think I'm quite confident, but it's just happened where a Cavaliers player got 'Rookie of the Year.' Actually, there are other things I'd rather accomplish... The last time the Cavaliers made it to the playoffs was in the 97-98 season, about six years ago, which feels very distant. What Clevelanders are more eager to see than me winning Rookie of the Year is for the Cavaliers to make it back to the playoffs. Last season LeBron came, but unfortunately, we fell short. But don't worry, now that I'm here, nobody can stop us from reaching the playoffs!"

"Man, I had some fantasies about meeting you for the first time, but now I'm very disappointed!"

"Well, it's not too late for you to leave. As you can see, I'm not short of one more reporter!"

"I just feel like you aren't as flamboyant as you were during the summer league."

"If I open my mouth without even knowing who my opponents are for the new season, then I should probably see a psychologist."

"What do you think of LeBron James, your talented teammate?"

"Good, good question. I want to know how well we'll get along too."

"You've already had some contact with him. We all know you took a photo together during the summer league, and he specifically came to watch your game."

"Just that one encounter? Well, I feel like I don't really like you from our first meeting. Do you think I can say you're a very unpleasant person?"

"So, you don't think you and he can become good partners?"

"I didn't say that. LeBron's talent is clear to everyone. On the contrary, I think we can become the next Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen!"

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