Chapter 47: The Signing that Shocked the League - Marlon Payton Joins the Lakers!
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The game between the Lakers and the Nuggets surprised many media reporters.
Anthony actually lost to Wang Chong in a one-on-one duel? This was big news!
Anyone who watched the game knew that this time, Wang Chong didn't rely on the strength of his teammates. He defeated Anthony one-on-one on the court, particularly on the offensive end, with all sorts of unstoppable mid-range shots that left Anthony frustrated.
On the other hand, Wang Chong's defense made Anthony very uncomfortable. It was somewhat manageable in the first half, but in the second half, Anthony's shooting percentage began to plummet due to his physical exhaustion. It was a terrible showing.
The final result was Wang Chong scoring 40 points in a single game, beating Anthony, who only managed 20 points, and leading the Lakers to victory!
During the NBA offseason, when the league is on hold, this kind of news was huge, even more exciting than LeBron James' debut in the Orlando Summer League two days earlier! After all, James scored 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in his debut—a decent, but not spectacular performance.
Of course, this was partly because James didn't get much playing time.
As mentioned before, the Summer League is a platform for NBA teams to train their new recruits, providing more opportunities for players who have yet to prove their abilities to showcase themselves. Even famous rookies like James, Anthony, and Wade are just going through the motions in the Summer League, using it to acclimate to the professional league's atmosphere.
James played less than 20 minutes in his debut, and his performance efficiency was quite high for the time he was given.
However, in this era of print media, people don't analyze things too deeply. Many just glance at the newspaper, and the takeaway is that Wang Chong scored 40 points against Anthony; the third pick, Anthony, only scored 20 points; and the first pick, James, had only 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in his debut—all of which were not as impressive as Wang Chong's performance.
What's going on? Could it be that the No. 1 and No. 3 picks aren't as good as a rookie who was picked 13th in the first round?
With this explosive scoring performance, Wang Chong successfully made many casual fans remember his name, and his reputation spread throughout the league.
In the following games, more Los Angeles fans flocked to watch, eager to see firsthand the strength of the young rookies the Lakers had acquired and to judge if they could become the best support for the Shaq-Kobe (OK) duo to win the championship in the upcoming season.
The Southern California Summer League was held in Los Angeles, the Lakers' territory.
So, Wang Chong and the other Lakers rookies got to experience firsthand the fan atmosphere of one of the NBA's most storied franchises. What was once a quiet Summer League, with sparse attendance, suddenly became packed.
The league organizers couldn't help but smile because they were making significant profits just from ticket sales.
However, in the subsequent games, Wang Chong's playing time gradually decreased, and so did his scoring.
This wasn't a bad sign. On the contrary, the reduction in Wang Chong's playing time was because the Lakers' coaching staff believed he no longer needed to be tested in Summer League games.
After the showdown with Anthony, the Lakers' management and coaching staff were all on high alert. Head coach Phil Jackson, who wasn't in Los Angeles at the time, flew back overnight and appeared in person at the game between the Lakers and the New York Knicks the following day to watch Wang Chong up close.
After just a few minutes of watching, Phil Jackson said seriously to his assistant coach, "Next season, he will be our starting small forward!"
Although Phil Jackson doesn't have absolute control over the team like Gregg Popovich of the Spurs or Pat Riley of the Heat, he is the coach with the most championships in the league. The six championships with the Bulls, plus the Lakers' three-peat not long ago, give Phil Jackson, who has nine championship rings, an unparalleled status. What he says, at least within the team, is taken as gospel, and no one questions it.
Since he said Wang Chong would be the starter next season, no one could challenge his position.
While the Summer League was in full swing, there was also plenty of action off the court.
In mid-July, news of trades and signings broke almost daily.
However, no team's so-called big moves could compare to what the Lakers were doing.
Almost everyone in the league knew that after the Lakers' disappointing playoff exit last season, they were bound to stir up a storm when the free agency market opened.
The strength of the Shaq-Kobe combination was enough to attract many veteran players willing to join the team on minimum deals.
Even so, when the day finally arrived, the entire league was left stunned by the Lakers' blockbuster moves.
The names of the players choosing to join the Lakers were simply too iconic!
Karl Malone, the heart and soul of the Utah Jazz and a superstar who had played for the team for 18 seasons, officially announced that he would join the Los Angeles Lakers for a base salary of $1.5 million a year, launching one last push for a championship.
Malone is an absolute all-time great, with countless honors, including two MVPs. During his prime, his prowess was on par with that of Shaquille O'Neal.
Even in the recently concluded season, at 40 years old, Malone still averaged 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. While he wasn't as dominant as before, he was certainly still at an All-Star level.
For such a star to join the Lakers for a minimum salary showed just how much Malone craved a championship.
But that wasn't all.
Following Malone's announcement, another renowned star, point guard Gary Payton, also declared that he would be joining the Lakers on a one-year, $4.92 million contract.
Payton's contract was a bit higher than Malone's, which made sense. After all, Malone was 40 years old; even if his stats were still good, he would be 41 next season.
But Gary Payton was different. Born in 1968, Payton was only 35 years old. Though past the prime age for most professional players, he wasn't at the end of his career. Remember, Michael Jordan was still winning championships at age 36, averaging 32.4 points per game in the playoffs.
Though Payton could not be directly compared to Jordan, as a guard, his career longevity was slightly longer than that of big men.
In the 2002-03 season, Payton played for the SuperSonics and the Bucks, averaging 20.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game across 80 games—also All-Star level stats. For a star of this caliber to earn less than $5 million annually was almost like daylight robbery.
The Lakers spent less than $7 million combined to acquire two players who could easily provide a 20+8 standard. This audacious move left the entire league in shock.
End of this chapter
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