Chapter 119: A True Leader.
"LeBron didn't mean to. Neither of us noticed each other at the time. This team has been placed under a microscope."
"We had a private conversation after the game, just the two of us, and discussed his role on the team. We cleared things up."
A few days later, while LeBron was in the middle of a media storm, Spoelstra brought up the 'shoulder bump' incident again.
"That incident had nothing to do with LeBron. It was Nike's staff who confiscated the footage, and LeBron wasn't even aware of it."
Nike's senior executive, Lynn Merritt, also stepped up to 'explain' the situation.
"One quarter's results are a fluke. Luck outweighs skill."
"LeBron is a great team player, while some people only care about themselves."
"Free agents have the right to make their own choices; LeBron shouldn't be criticized."
Windhorst, too, published several articles on ESPN defending LeBron.
While LeBron found himself at the center of the storm, everyone around him was doing the same thing: coddling him.
Meanwhile, Han Sen had already flown back to Memphis alone after dropping Swift off.
After getting off the plane and seeing this wave of news, he suddenly understood LeBron's behavior a lot better.
Wasn't he just a kid spoiled by his whole family? And at this point, he's so spoiled there's no saving him.
Because if you're used to always being coddled, the moment that stops, your only options are to flip the table or have a mental breakdown.
Either way, it's not something the people around him want to see.
But Han Sen had an unexpected gain.
This time, his goal was simply to generate media buzz and divert attention. He hadn't even considered gaining 'hater points'.
Even though Nike was constantly promoting LeBron, and his fanbase would continue to grow, they couldn't keep up with the number of fans leaving after all this negative press.
Plus, the die-hard LeBron fans had already maxed out their potential for providing 'hater points', so there wasn't much more to gain from them.
However, as the situation continued to escalate, he still managed to collect nearly 200,000 hater points!
It was clear that every single LeBron fan absolutely hated him by now.
With his 'hater points' quickly reaching 1.6 million, he was now just 300,000 short of acquiring the mid-range shooting talent he wanted.
And this next wave could potentially max it out.
Back home, the Grizzlies were about to face the defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, for the first time this season.
Previously, when Han Sen was in the Eastern Conference, he didn't get many chances to play against the Lakers. But now, in the Western Conference, it was time to harvest 'hater points' from Kobe fans!
On his first day back in Memphis, Han Sen arrived at the arena around 5:30 a.m. for his usual early training session, and Grover showed up at almost the same time.
After an entire summer of this, Han Sen had already adapted to this routine.
By around 7 a.m., Han Sen wrapped up his training and, as usual, was ready to shower and grab some breakfast.
As he headed back to the locker room, he unexpectedly bumped into someone inside.
"Mike, you're here early," Han Sen greeted Conley with a smile.
Due to his unique training schedule, he hadn't run into anyone at this hour before, so he was surprised to see Conley so early today.
Conley looked at Han Sen, drenched in sweat, and froze.
"Don't tell me you've already finished a whole session?" Conley's eyes were filled with disbelief.
He had come early today because Hollins had asked him to join a film study session, especially since the Lakers were their biggest rivals in the West.
It would've been one thing if Han Sen had just arrived at the gym, but seeing him like this made it clear he was already done.
"Just a quick fitness session," Han casually replied.
Conley chuckled to himself. He thought he knew Han Sen pretty well by now, but it seemed he had been overconfident in that assumption.
Now he understood why Han Sen had quickly established himself in the Grizzlies and even earned the respect of someone like Rudy Gay.
It was then that Conley remembered their interrupted conversation they had back in Cleveland.
"I had a brief chat with Zach the other day." Conley glanced at the time and saw there was still room to talk, so he sat down beside Han Sen.
When Conley mentioned Zach Randolph, Han Sen stopped what he was doing and sat back down.
"Is it related to me?" If Conley was bringing it up, it had to be for one of two reasons: either he saw Han Sen as the team leader, so any major team issues needed his input, or it directly involved him.
Anyone but Rudy Gay would easily figure out that it was the latter.
Conley nodded.
"Your status on the team has risen too quickly since you arrived, and it's made Zach feel threatened," Conley quickly added, "Of course, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, because you help us win."
Hearing Conley's explanation, Han Sen could see where he was coming from.
As a rookie, he had immediately gone after Rudy Gay and now had essentially taken over as the team's core perimeter player.
He was also the Grizzlies' leading scorer.
Especially during the Cleveland game, where the Cavaliers fans treated him as "the only player worth knowing on the Grizzlies" while ignoring Randolph.
It would've been strange if Randolph, the team's nominal leader, didn't have any thoughts about that.
This was starting to tread into "who's the boss" territory.
Just like how the infamous fallout between Shaq and Kobe had ultimately boiled down to that issue.
"I've tried talking to him, but it hasn't worked very well. It might be partly because he's been dealing with injuries and hasn't been performing well," Conley said delicately, but Han Sen knew the problem was more complicated.
That game against the Cavs had made it crystal clear.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
This was a tricky situation.
Randolph was a true powerhouse, a key player for the Grizzlies. Sure, they could easily beat a team like the Cavaliers without him, but could they win playoff series against the Lakers or the Spurs without him?
Even Kobe, as insane as he was in the 2005-06 season, could only drag his team into the playoffs. It wasn't until Gasol joined him that they became championship contenders.
Han Sen wasn't on Kobe's level, which made Randolph even more important.
"Mike, what kind of person is Zach?" Han Sen asked, looking at Conley.
Rudy had described Randolph as a 'jerk', but relying on just one person's opinion was too one-sided.
"He's got a temper, but he's a good guy," Conley said.
Now Han Sen was intrigued—how could the same person be described in two completely opposite ways?
"Of course, that's just my personal view, because Zach doesn't interact much with teammates off the court. I'm one of the few who gets along with him."
That explained a lot.
Rudy's assessment was likely based on the fact that Randolph had been a troublemaker in his younger days, which had become his 'label'.
If Conley's perspective was also valid, then it showed that Randolph's attitude had changed with age and experience.
That made sense. Unlike LeBron, Randolph hadn't been coddled by everyone around him. On the contrary, doubts and criticism had followed him throughout his career, with labels like "stat-stuffer" sticking to him.
Over time, you either get crushed by that or are forced to adapt.
"What makes you say he's a good guy?" Han Sen wanted to dig deeper because this would influence how he handled his relationship with Randolph.
"He's misunderstood," Conley replied.
Han Sen listened intently.
"I used to think he was a jerk too, especially after he broke Ruben Patterson's eye socket. But after talking to him about it, I realized he was justified."
Han Sen's eyes widened—Conley's storytelling skills were up there with Shaq's.
But Conley's next words genuinely changed Han Sen's perspective on Randolph.
"Zach hit Patterson because Patterson was bullying Qyntel Woods. That punch was him standing up for Woods."
It was like something out of a classic chivalric tale—Randolph had a strong sense of justice.
Just then, Joerger appeared at the locker room door.
He paused at the sight of Han Sen, still drenched in sweat, before motioning for Conley to head to the film room.
Han Sen went to shower, then headed downstairs for breakfast.
As he sat down to eat, he noticed Chris Wallace was also there.
Han Sen sat across from him.
After some small talk, Han Sen decided to probe further:
"Chris, what kind of player is Zach?"
Wallace didn't question why Han Sen was suddenly interested in Randolph. After some thought, he replied:
"He lost his way for a while, but now he's a good guy."
It was a similar answer to Conley's, though not exactly the same.
"I brought him to Memphis because I knew a lot about his past."
Wallace began sharing more.
He too mentioned the incident with Patterson, but in even more detail than Conley had.
"Ruben Patterson was a well-known thug in Portland, and at the time, Zach was just a second-year player. The post-game media reports all targeted him, and if you didn't dig deeper, you wouldn't know what really happened."
Han Sen completely agreed with this. Having been LeBron's teammate during his rookie season, he knew firsthand how selective media coverage could cause serious harm.
"But his temper really isn't great. You know, no matter the reason, he shouldn't have been swinging punches at a teammate."
Hmm, Han Sen put himself in Randolph's shoes for a moment.
If it were him, he figured he'd probably provoke Patterson verbally first. If the guy was a thug, he wouldn't be able to resist hitting first, and then Randolph's response would be justified—what the Americans would call 'standing your ground'.
Of course, Wallace wasn't wrong either. As the general manager, he had to approach the issue from the perspective of team unity.
"But Zach has been through a lot. I can understand why he might have a bad temper."
When they traded for someone branded as a 'stat-padder', a 'troublemaker', even a 'locker room bomb', Wallace had clearly done a lot of homework.
Randolph had the typical start for an American NBA star—he didn't even know who his father was when he was born and was raised solely by his mother.
His situation was even worse than many others because he had three younger siblings, and for a long time, they relied on welfare to get by.
When Randolph was young, he had only one pair of jeans, which he wore so often that they became stiff with dirt. But he never washed them—not because he was dirty, but because he had no other pants to wear. His classmates even gave him a nickname, 'Hard Shell', because of it.
Eventually, when he couldn't stand it anymore, he went to Walmart to steal a pair of pants and got caught red-handed. He ended up in juvenile detention for a month.
Imagine that environment—a single mother working multiple jobs to take care of four children. What kind of education could those kids get, aside from simply 'surviving'?
Wallace's next story was one Han Sen had heard from other black NBA players: joining gangs, getting involved in drug deals, and street fights.
If it weren't for basketball, they'd probably have been found dead in some street corner one day.
That's the reality for many poor African Americans in the U.S.
From Rudy Gay's warning to Conley's description to Wallace's account, it was like puzzle pieces coming together to reveal the full picture of Randolph.
By the time breakfast was over, Han Sen knew how he was going to resolve things between him and Randolph.
---
Before practice started, he had Conley arrange a meeting with Randolph.
After practice, Conley brought them to a nearby café.
Randolph seemed uneasy since he hadn't known Conley had also invited Han Sen.
As they sat down in the café, Han Sen wasted no time. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and slid it across the table toward Randolph.
Randolph eyed it cautiously before picking it up, clearly a bit uneasy. As he scanned the document, his expression quickly shifted from confusion to surprise.
It was the agreement between Han Sen and the Cavaliers. Randolph stared at it for a moment before looking up at Han Sen.
"That's right," Han Sen said, leaning back in his chair. "I wasn't just traded here. I chose Memphis."
Randolph furrowed his brow, still trying to process it. Conley, who was sitting beside them, peeked over at the paper and was just as stunned.
"Zach, you know why I chose Memphis?" Han Sen asked, his tone calm but direct.
Randolph shook his head slowly.
"Because of you."
Randolph looked at him, confused. "Me?"
"Yeah," Han Sen nodded. "Before I got here, all I heard was people saying you were just a stat-chaser, a guy who put up numbers but didn't make a real impact. But we've played against each other, Zach. I know you're more than that. I've seen what you can do, and I know you're someone who can actually change the game."
Randolph's expression softened. It was clear he wasn't expecting that.
"They just couldn't see past their biases," Han Sen continued. "They painted you as the guy they wanted you to be. But that's their problem, not yours."
Randolph didn't say anything, but there was a flicker of recognition in his eyes.
Han Sen leaned in, making sure Randolph was really listening. "I get it, man. I've been there too. They tried to put me in a box too. Said I wasn't good enough, even after I helped take down Boston in the playoffs. But I know what it's like to be underestimated."
The two locked eyes for a moment, and Han Sen could see it—the connection.
"Look, Zach. I came here for one reason. From day one, I've said it: I'm here to win a championship in Memphis."
Randolph shifted in his seat, a skeptical look crossing his face. "A championship? Us?" He couldn't help but scoff a little, thinking it was just more big talk.
"Yeah, us," Han Sen said, his voice firm. "I'm not here to pad stats or just make noise. I'm here to win. And I know you are too."
Randolph raised an eyebrow, still unsure. "You really think we're better than Cleveland? They had the best record last season."
Han Sen shrugged. "Records don't mean a thing when your best player can't hit a jumper and spends more time playing hero than actually improving his game. LeBron's chasing stats, man, not championships. That's why they lost. That's why they'll keep losing."
Randolph didn't have an argument for that. He'd seen it happen with his own eyes.
Han Sen leaned forward, putting his hand out. "Zach, let's do this. Let's win a championship and prove all those people wrong. Show them what we're really about."
Randolph looked at Han Sen's outstretched hand. For a moment, it was like the years of doubt, frustration, and disrespect melted away. He wasn't just a stat-padder. He wasn't just a troubled player passed from team to team. He was someone who still had something to prove.
With a determined nod, Randolph clasped Han Sen's hand. "Let's do it," he said, conviction in his voice. "Let's win that championship."
Han Sen grinned, knowing he'd reached him.
Randolph stood up, adjusting his headband with a smile. "Come on, man, I know a place with some good food. My treat."
As they left the café, Randolph threw his arm around Han Sen's shoulder, the tension between them gone.
Watching from behind, Conley couldn't help but smile. Han Sen wasn't just a great player—he was a real leader.
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