Chapter 38: Sign with the Lakers, Pick Number 24, Leaving Others with No Number to Choose From
Guys after 100 chapters I will start uploading 2 or 3 chapters per day and if we get incentives either more collections, views, rankings, reviews. I will upload more chapters, and I will start uploading the new novel next week: Warriors Godfather, super handsome man or Hollywood: Best Movie Star just one. If you want any, leave a comment.
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Although Wang Chong's name did not become famous overnight, his popularity skyrocketed with the draft. Many people, both in the United States and in China across the ocean, knew that there was such a rookie in the league who joined with the 13th pick in the first round and was traded to the Lakers.
Although the Lakers were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs this season, as long as the "OK" combination (O'Neal and Kobe) is still there, they will always be one of the favorites to win the league championship.
However, before the news of the Lakers' trade for Wang Chong had time to ferment, it was immediately overshadowed by another sudden incident that grabbed the front-page headlines.
Not to mention Wang Chong, even LeBron James, the top draft pick, seemed less significant in the face of this incident.
On July 1, the day the free agency market opened, the most sensational news in the league was not the transactions between teams but a piece of gossip—the infamous Kobe Bryant Eagle County incident.
The woman called the police on July 1, the police investigated and collected evidence against Kobe on July 2, and officially signed the arrest warrant on July 4.
The Kobe Eagle County incident caused a huge sensation in the NBA and throughout the United States.
After all, he was a league superstar who had been selected as an All-Star starter for several consecutive seasons, a popular idol, and one of David Stern's favorite successors to Michael Jordan.
The Eagle County incident directly destroyed Kobe's image as a popular idol, and all of America knew he was in deep trouble.
The people most impacted by this incident were undoubtedly the two core figures of the Los Angeles Lakers: head coach Phil Jackson and team star Shaquille O'Neal.
Phil Jackson's daughter had been sexually assaulted, which made Phil Jackson extremely disgusted with people who did such things. He already had a slight prejudice against Kobe because of his difficult character, and the Eagle County incident brought his disdain for Kobe to a peak.
As for Shaq, there's no need to mention it.
"Kobe said Shaq did it too." This later became a classic line and a typical example of Kobe throwing his teammates under the bus.
Regardless of whether Shaq did it or not, any reasonable person would not say this in front of the police, reporters, or media.
After Kobe said this, O'Neal, who was originally fine, was hit without reason and criticized by a large number of media and fans.
I believe that when O'Neal heard this, he wanted to kill Kobe.
Even the entire Lakers team was caught up in the storm of Kobe's incident.
Amidst these turbulent times, Wang Chong arrived at the Los Angeles Lakers and, accompanied by his agent Thomas, signed the first contract of his professional career.
There is no room for negotiation in NBA rookie contracts. All first-round players sign a four-year restricted contract with the contract amount linked to their draft pick.
As the 13th pick in the first round, Wang Chong received a four-year, $7.3 million contract with a starting salary of $1.58 million in the first year.
This salary is quite different from the $18.79 million for four years that the No. 1 pick LeBron James received, and is slightly less than the $12 million that the fifth pick Dwyane Wade received, but it is definitely not bad.
You have to know that this was 2003—what did $7.3 million mean?
Even after deducting various taxes, Wang Chong conservatively estimated that he could get about $4.5 million.
In this way, Wang Chong crossed the class barrier and became one of the rich people!
And this is just the beginning. As long as he continues to play in the league according to his current ability, after his rookie contract ends, he will definitely be able to renew his contract with a maximum salary like James, Anthony, Wade, and others. At that time, his annual salary will be tens of millions, plus various commercial endorsements... He will never be able to spend all that money.
After the contract was signed, Wang Chong officially became a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and would play for the team in the league in the coming new season.
It was clear that the Lakers really valued Wang Chong. Not only was General Manager Cook present at the signing ceremony, but also Head Coach Phil Jackson.
"Wang, I've watched all your games in the championship. I really like your playing style and look forward to your performance on the court in the new season," Phil Jackson said to Wang Chong with a smile, showing no sign that his mood had been affected by the Kobe incident.
"One more thing, Wang," General Manager Cook said. "You have to pick a number. The team will prepare a jersey for you, and you will also get a percentage of the proceeds from the subsequent jersey sales."
"Number?"
Wang Chong had never thought about this before, but when he looked at Cook, a somewhat mischievous idea came to his mind.
"Number 24, I think," Wang Chong said.
"Okay, no problem," Cook replied. The Lakers have retired quite a few jerseys, which ranks among the top in the league, but the No. 24 jersey has not been retired, and no one on the team is currently using it.
But he still asked with some curiosity, "Why did you choose the number 24? Is there any deep meaning behind it?"
Wang Chong smiled and replied, "There are 24 hours in a day, and an offensive round in a basketball game is exactly 24 seconds. I hope to use this number to remind myself to work hard every hour and cherish every second of offensive time on the court."
"Well said, the implication is really great," Cook exclaimed sincerely.
But Wang Chong felt so devious in his heart that he almost laughed out loud.
In the future, whoever watches the NBA will know Kobe's No. 24 jersey. Kobe, who originally wore No. 8, changed to No. 24 in the 2006-07 season.
But most people think that the reason why Kobe wears No. 24 is that Jordan wears No. 23, and he chose No. 24 to surpass Jordan in terms of number.
But Kobe completely denied this and explained why he chose No. 24, which is what Wang Chong just said.
Please forgive Wang Chong for plagiarizing Kobe's idea, because he really wants to know what to do if Kobe wants to change his number as he did originally. Should he give up the No. 24 jersey or choose a jersey with a larger number, such as No. 25?
The Lakers management, of course, did not know Wang Chong's tricks. After learning the number Wang Chong chose, they immediately notified the relevant staff to print Wang Chong's No. 24 jersey.
Wang Chong, who had completed the signing, did not stay idle. Although it was the off-season, for rookies who have just joined the league, there are a lot of things to do during this off-season.
The day after signing the contract, Wang Chong continued to move without stopping because the Summer League was about to begin, and as a rookie of the Lakers, Wang Chong naturally had to play in the Summer League.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the main participating teams in the Southern California Summer League. Wang Chong will play for the Los Angeles Lakers and show his strength to the team management, coaching staff, fans, and even the media.
End of this chapter
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Chugamc Hi guys this is Chuga. If you read this far and liked it you can leave comments, stones and reviews which is very important for a new translator / author.
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