Eight Hundred and Forty-Nine: It Has Nothing to Do with Inspiration

Latest website: During the team training the day before the start of the game between the Grizzlies and Spurs, the defending champion welcomed a new member.

While everyone was still warming up, a tall guy with long arms and a strong body walked in from the door of the training hall.

In an instant, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the unfamiliar face for a long time.

"God, look at him, he can scare people just by standing under the basket and doing nothing." Tony Allen looked at the newcomer at the door who was as tall as Gasol and couldn't help but joke. .

At this moment, the team's head coach Dave Joger walked out of the office and waved to the big man standing blankly at the door, "Hassan, come here and introduce yourself to everyone!"

Whiteside nodded slightly and walked to the middle of the training field. The rest of the Grizzlies gave Whiteside enough respect to stay quiet and get together.

"Hello everyone, my name is Hassan Whiteside, from Gastonia, North Carolina. I just signed a 10-day short contract with the Grizzlies. I hope I can help everyone." Whiteside's attitude is very humble , which made Qiaogel on the side laugh with satisfaction.

Because the Whiteside who used to be is not what he is now. If he had had the humble attitude he has now, he might not have been unable to survive in the NBA.

"Okay, Hassan, you will train with everyone today. You will listen to the trainer for the next arrangement. By the way, don't mess with him. Hassan scored 24 points in the Development League in the last game. 16 rebounds and 4 blocks, this guy is a real danger." Joger ended Whiteside's simple joining ceremony with a joke.

Afterwards, everyone dispersed, and Whiteside began training at the trainer's request.

Link looked at the young Whiteside, thinking about tomorrow's game, still very uneasy.

Indeed, in the original history, Whiteside seized the opportunity of a 10-day short contract in Miami.

But at that time, Whiteside was lucky to be able to return to the league in Miami. Because of the Heat at that time, it can be said that it was very suitable for Whiteside to grow.

"Birdman" Anderson is injured, Bosh is injured, McRoberts is out for the season, Haslem is 2.03 meters tall and still has water... The Heat's inside vacancy is bigger than that of the Grizzlies, and there is no one available.

As a result, Whiteside has been given many opportunities.

At that time, the Heat only relied on Whiteside inside, and everyone was cheering for him. His teammates had no way to count on him and had to rely on themselves.

And it just so happens that the team's main attacker is not in the paint, so Whiteside can flex his muscles and just think about rebounding and defense. It can be said that no team's living environment is better than the Heat at that time.

But in the Grizzlies, Gasol is definitely an unshakable starter. Whether Whiteside can succeed as a backup is anyone's guess.

Whiteside was a rookie in 2010, in the same class as Link. But in the past nearly five years, while Link dominated the league, Whiteside was hanging around in various lower-level leagues.

In addition to the NBA Development League, Whiteside has also traveled to Lebanon and China. Of course, Whiteside can't even play in the CBA in China, he plays in the NBL. To put it simply, it can be compared to China’s second-level basketball league.

It is impossible for this kind of player to do anything in the NBA according to normal judgment. Link believed that Joger and Chris Wallace just wanted to take a gamble, and they didn't expect much from Whiteside.

But Link is also curious about how a player with such a miserable resume suddenly became successful. If he really has potential, how did he get overlooked over the past five years?

Link then went to the office to find Jogel, hoping to learn more about Whiteside.

Link doesn't have to help Whiteside gain a foothold in the NBA, he just doesn't want to lose to the pesky Spurs.

If you don't want to lose to the Spurs, you must open up Whiteside's second line of appointment and governor.

※※※

"Hassan's information? Why are you so interested?" Joger was a little surprised when he saw Link come to him specifically for a guy with a 10-day short contract.

"I just want to know something. After all, we will fight side by side tomorrow." Link spread out and sat in front of Qiao Geer's desk.

"It doesn't matter if you don't know, because Hassan only needs to be responsible for grabbing rebounds and defending when Gasol is resting tomorrow. He doesn't have to do anything else. Of course, he can't do it. Hell, in one day, he even played pick-and-roll. No, you don’t have to cooperate at all... However, it doesn’t hurt to understand. That guy Hassan should have been in a better situation than he is now."

"Oh? As far as I know, he is only a second-round pick. How good can his situation be? Well... Of course, it's just better than me." Link curled his lips, and he almost forgot about himself He didn't even participate in the draft.

"Haha, there are many reasons why he fell into the second round. Hassan's static talent is very strong, and you can also see his height and wingspan. When he was a freshman, Hassan was selected to the best defensive team, second in the division lineup, and won the Rookie of the Week once. He averaged 13.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and an exaggerated 5.4 blocks per game. He also had 3 triple-doubles with double figures in blocks. He was indeed considered to be a lottery player at first. Rookie.”

Hearing Qiao Geer say this, Link found it incredible. A freshman center who plays like this should not fall to the second round if he needs a bicycle.

"But, well, everything has a but. Whiteside's extremely naive mind and incredible confidence make him untrustworthy. The scouting report said that Whiteside can't stay focused on the court and can't control his emotions. . During the physical test, Whiteside wore a pair of slippers and touched his height. Although his results were still much higher than others, his attitude was questionable."

Link's eyes widened and he went to the physical test wearing slippers? This is so pretentious! No wonder Jogel just used the word "incredible" to describe Whiteside's self-confidence.

"Do you find it incredible? Wait, it's not over yet. In a 15-minute one-on-one interview before the draft, Whiteside showed an almost childish arrogance. He compared himself to superstars such as Howard and Olajuwon. , and complained about why he was not ranked high in the mock draft, and believed that the scouting report ignored his three-point shooting ability..."

"In the first NBA season with the Kings, Whiteside was injured in the first game, but he did not seriously recover at all. He basically just followed the team and mixed checks. Whiteside's first training camp contract with the Kings probably allowed him to earn He paid $480,000, but what is incomprehensible is that he drove a Mercedes-Benz worth $200,000 to work on the first day of training camp."

"Once in the training of the Kings, Haitian center Dalembert wanted to teach Whiteside some blocking skills by words and deeds, but he was bluntly rejected by the self-important Whiteside... Well, you heard it right, He rejected the teachings of his predecessors... just because he thought he was as good as David Robinson."

Listening to Qiao Geer's words as if telling a story, Link really felt that his trip was worthwhile.

Without this trip, he might not have known that Whiteside had so many "wonderful stories" in his life.

Why has Whiteside not been favored by the NBA in the past five years? Because he is so capable!

In the past, people said Whiteside was as inspirational as Jeremy Lin. But now, Link realizes that Whiteside has nothing to do with inspiration. He is simply paying for the death he once committed.

From a potential center who was predicted to be selected in the lottery to now having to live on a 10-day short contract, Whiteside paid a huge price for his naivety.

After listening to Jogel tell Whiteside's story, Link became more worried about tomorrow's game.

That guy wouldn't be stupid enough to provoke Duncan...

"By the way, I have another interesting anecdote about him. I wonder if you are interested. It is said that he is very concerned about his rating in the NBA2K game. I know, this is incredible. But there are not many incredible things about him. Really? But he is indeed talented, I hope he knows his current situation."

Link nodded, indicating that he understood it almost.

Generally speaking, Whiteside is a more stubborn Cousins. Link can handle Cousins, and he believes he can handle Whiteside as well.

Speaking of which, the Kings were pretty good back then and drafted two centers who were not very bright in a row...

With one day left before the start of the game, Link decided to start with 2K to ask Whiteside not to do anything extraordinary during the game.

So after training that day, Whiteside, who had just been with the team for a day, received an invitation from Link to play games together...