The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 191 - 133: A Night Talk with ’Big Bird’ and the Man Who Doesn’t Want to Be the Next Kobe_2

Chapter 191: Chapter 133: A Night Talk with ’Big Bird’ and the Man Who Doesn’t Want to Be the Next Kobe_2

Su Wan laughed when he heard this.

He knew Larry Bird had misunderstood, "It’s not someone important, his name is Jose Calderon!"

When Su had initially brought Calderon into the quagmire of the Cavaliers, where he had to warm the bench with few opportunities to play, Su, this "butterfly," felt quite guilty about it.

Larry Bird fell silent again, then said half a moment later, "Indeed, he’s not someone important!"

Who the hell is this?

Is there such a person in the League?

His expression relaxed considerably.

There were many ways to deal with an unknown little person.

"Don’t you want to work with those Super Stars?" Larry Bird was somewhat surprised, he had thought at least Su Wan would mention an All-Star Level player.

Su Wan shook his head, "Beating them is a lot more interesting than being teammates with them!"

"You’re more intriguing than I thought!"

Larry Bird’s eyes brightened a bit more.

Seeing his look, Su Wan knew the "Big Bird" was about to start the "reminiscence mode" again, and was ready to make a quick getaway, but then as he stood up, he sat down again, "Oh, Larry, could you persuade Jermaine to lose a bit of weight? And if possible, to pick up his three-point shot from the past two seasons."

Larry Bird was somewhat astonished.

Now the trend in the League was for big men to bulk up and aim to be "the next Shaquille O’Neal"!

Speaking of which, Yao Ming, a fellow countryman of Su’s, had clearly been on a weight gain trend over the last two years.

And Su Wan was actually suggesting that he persuade little O’Neal to slim down?

Without the weight, how would he hold his own in the low post?

Su Wan was well aware of Larry Bird’s doubt because he was standing at the "vantage point" of the future, looking down upon the NBA of 20 years ago.

He asked, "Larry, how likely do you think it is that the League will see another Shaquille O’Neal?"

"Big Bird" shook his head with a smile, "Not very likely!"

Not only was another "Shaquille O’Neal" unlikely, but so were another "Big Bird," another "Magic," another "Jordan."

It was a joke, with five or six decades of NBA history there have only been a few people standing on President Mountain, it wasn’t so easy for another to appear.

If it were that easy, they wouldn’t have reached such historic heights.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with new recruits training in the direction of these players.

Everything was a matter of probability.

What if it succeeded? Wouldn’t that be a huge win?

Even if not, "weakened versions," "bankrupt versions," "enhanced in certain aspects" versions would still be considered gains.

But little O’Neal was already 26 years old, he could follow his own path.

Especially now, with "the Sharks" setting in the west.

Other teams in the League no longer needed to stock up on heavy big men to deal with him.

Most importantly, little O’Neal bulking up to squat in the low post wouldn’t stand a chance against Shaquille O’Neal in his lifetime. Not to mention Shaquille, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, he couldn’t contend with any of them.

He needed to forge his own path!

On the offensive end, he could develop range, while on defense, even a future injury-plagued little O’Neal could contribute 1.7 blocks per game in the ’11-’12 seasons. He had a keen sense for blocks.

Put all these together, what do you get?

A tenacious Chris Bosh without the ball, possessing outstanding off-ball cutting instincts and the ability to fight under the basket?

A "Meimei" weakened version but with better explosive power, speed, and low-post footwork?

Call it whatever you like, becoming a top "Space Four" in the League was not an issue.

Even if he were to be remodeled according to Su Wan’s plan, becoming a prototype for "Thick Eyebrow" wasn’t impossible.

There was also one thing Su Wan didn’t mention.

Little O’Neal was also a "Glass Man," and maintaining his current weight would only end in injuries, sidelining him for the season.

This would actually affect Su Wan directly.

He had to plan ahead.

But if he directly said, "Jermaine maintaining this weight for low post brawling will get injured," that would be too damn foolish.

Larry Bird, after hearing Su Wan’s vision, thought more and more that there was reason to it, he could see that the change in the "hand-check" rules would have a profound and abyssal impact. But what exactly the impact would be needed further observation.

Yet he found that Su Wan might have much deeper insights in this regard.

"Why don’t you tell Jermaine yourself?" asked Larry Bird after listening, feeling these suggestions would benefit little O’Neal.

Su Wan said, "I’m the soul of the team, not a tyrant. Can I demand what my teammates should become?"

His "team philosophy" was for everyone to work together and play to their strengths.

Of course, this was the ideal.

Players always have to do things they’re not so good at within a system, hiding their strengths.

At that time, it’s a competition to see whose strength has a bigger impact on the situation.

Two words:

Fair!

Larry Bird nodded his head, reluctantly accepting Su Wan’s argument, but he felt Su Wan had other worries.

Su Wan...

indeed had them:

The black community’s backlash, he was truly a bit wary of it.

He was merely giving friendly advice.

Once little Shaq’s "good brothers" and "family" analyzed it for him, he might just end up labeled as an utterly vile villain.

The "entourages" of NBA superstars have the same destructive power as a girlfriend’s "bestie squad."

Many of the ridiculous things stars do are instigated by their "entourages."

Better leave it to the management to directly negotiate with little O’Neal, making it seem like a "master’s command" to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Leaving the Conseco Arena at past one in the morning, the streets were bustling with groups of Indians celebrating a "parade," and from time to time, different sounds were heard from the alleys—the high probability of America’s beloved "free shopping."

Such is the freedom of the United States.

Once he entered a safer area, the excitement rose to another level.

Fans recognized Su Wan’s car and cheered him on.

Where was Su Wan the shy type?

He immediately stepped out of the car, raised the Finals MVP trophy in his hand, and shouted, "Miga!"

The atmosphere was fiery hot.

A father holding a child wanted to get closer, and the security guards in the car behind him moved forward tentatively, but Su Wan saw the timid look on the child’s face, the signed pen clutched tightly in his hand, dressed in his number 99 jersey, knowing the child wanted his autograph, stopped the bodyguards from intervening, so as not to scare the little fan.

Yeah, it was to the bodyguards he shouted "stop," not to the little fan, ow~

Su Wan’s affability made the little fan less tense.

"Su, I want to be a player just like you in the future, bring the championship to Indiana!"

The now relaxed little fan declared his goal.

It had to be said, it was a grand goal.

Su Wan knew he was bound to become the idol and goal of some kids, but seeing such a child in front of him for the first time was truly touching, and he smiled softly,

"Kid, that’s a good goal."

The affirmation and encouragement brought an even more joyful smile to the little fan’s face.

But Su Wan continued,

"But becoming the next me is too hard, you definitely can’t do it, you can try to be the next Kobe."

After all, the man standing in front of you was a rookie season Finals MVP!

On the other hand, that snake down in Los Angeles spent most of his rookie season playing with mud on the bench.

The difficulty just got a lot lower.

Unexpectedly, the little fan suddenly burst into tears:

"I don’t like Kobe, I just want to be the next you, I don’t want to be the next Kobe!"

Listening to his incomprehensible sobbing words.

Su Wan was quite moved.

You’d think with the pixel quality of today’s phones, it would be great to capture this moment!

Su Wan was regretful, but the next day he was no longer regretful because some media had tailed him last night, not only capturing him coming out of the car, shouting "Miga," but also filming the video of the little fan crying and yelling, "I don’t want to be Kobe, I want to be the next you."

The next morning, these news spread all over the United States, along with the Pacers’ championship news.

Cleveland.

LeBron woke up early and couldn’t fall back asleep.

He had gone to bed early the night before and hadn’t watched the Pacers and Spurs Finals Game 5.

Because he was afraid he couldn’t handle seeing Su Wan holding the O’Brien Cup!

But the more he avoided it, the more he thought about it.

And he always harbored a glimmer of hope, what if?

What if a "Water Dispenser" player from the Spurs had a breakout performance?

There was a possibility of an upset since the Pacers were without Su Wan and little Shaquille last night!

Should he just turn on the television and check?