Kapitel 9: Signing a guaranteed contract and winning a meal with Kirby!
Zeng Zhen was at the Lakers' training gym in the afternoon.
Most of the Lakers' staff offices are on this side as well.
Zeng Zhen did not go directly to the training ground, but after meeting up with Schwartz, who was waiting for a while, the two went to the general manager's office.
Along the way, the Lakers' staff smiled and greeted Zeng Zhen.
Players are very much a part of the team and everyone else serves the players.
If the players make the playoffs and get good name recognition, the team staff will make more money.
Conversely, if many teams don't make the playoffs, the incomes of many of the bottom-feeders on the team will suffer.
Arriving at the Lakers' general manager's office, Kupchak was ready with all the contract-related paperwork.
Kupchak wasn't a superstar by any stretch of the imagination as a player, but he was a member of an NBA championship team and has a glowing resume.
After retiring in 1986, Kupchak became Jerry West's assistant general manager and took over all general manager duties, but he had no real power as a general manager until 2000, when Jerry West resigned as league vice president and went to the Memphis Grizzlies as team manager, and Kupchak made the complete transition from player to management.
In the first big trade he orchestrated, the Lakers brought in then-superstars Karl Malone and Gary Payton.
But Kupchak also made a lot of questionable trades, trading Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and Brian Grant, with O'Neal then going on to win a championship with the Heat.
Such Kupchak but had to face the Lakers star Kobe with a group of Lakers fans strongly questioned.
Of course, Kupchak has always been confident in his work, and he's convinced he made the right choice.
O'Neill is already in a downward spiral, and this is just the afterglow of his doom.
Kupchak's re-signing process with Zeng Zhen went very smoothly and there were no surprises.
2 years 3 million, the second year has a player option, but the second year is only 1 million guaranteed, 500,000 belongs to the incentive mechanism, as long as you meet some conditions to get it, the main one is the average score must not be less than 8 points, the season out of the field must not be less than 65 games.
Zeng Zhen did not resist to this kind of condition, it was not a high demand, under normal circumstances, he could get this 3 million dollars of protection amount.
After signing the contract, the director of public relations also took a picture of Kupchak with Zeng Zhen.
The announcement was then made on the Lakers' official website.
Zeng Zhen also requested an advance on his salary, $500,000 in cash, in advance with Kupchak.
For the Lakers, this money is nothing, but for Zeng Zhen, this money is very important.
Zeng Zhen needs to use the money to improve his life.
......
"Zeng Zhen moves to guaranteed contract, agrees to two-year, $3 million deal with Lakers.
"One Crazy Play Locks Up Contract, Zeng Zhen Becomes Inspirational Player.
"Chinese guard locks up Laker contract!
"Kobe Expects the Best Backcourt Help.
"30+ in a single game, Zeng Zhen has shown potential.
"Zeng Zhen's contract is a boost to the Lakers' immediate backcourt.
"The Chinese national team has someone in the backfield.
'Betting on a Chinese guard? The Lakers are in a hurry.
"The NBA can't be a one-game story, and China's had strength remains to be seen.
"This Lakers signing is coma-inducing.
"Kidd Won't Be Coming, Lakers Won't Part With Bynum, Kupchak Another Breathless Operation.
After the Lakers' public relations director sent the announcement out, the media quickly caught wind of it, each writing frantic headlines.
Not just the ones with expectations, but the ones that are wildly disparaging.
There are also a lot of Lakers fans who saw Zeng Zhen play before the Lakers played the Rockets as well, and they thought Zeng Zhen was untouchable.
Although Zeng Zhen played well in the last game, he still didn't satisfy all Laker fans.
Now Kupchak looks to mean that instead of bringing in Kidd, the superstar point guard who has been recently fired up with the Lakers, he's ready to let Zeng Zhen take on the backcourt responsibilities next.
Many fans are angry, and their anger is not directed at Zeng Zhen, but at the team's inability to continue to bring in stars.
After signing the contract and coming out of the office.
Zeng Zhen also heard the system prompt.
"Quest completed, get D grade attribute card (+1 attribute below 70 points)."
"Use a D-rank attribute card!"
Zeng Zhen chose to allow 48 points of power to be raised to 49 points.
This little bit of improvement wouldn't be obvious, but Zeng Zhen believed that it would be quick over time.
Domestic media organizations are also urgently preparing to send reporters to Los Angeles to book an interview with Zeng Zhen.
Zeng Zhen returned to the practice field immediately after signing his contract.
Odom, Bynum, Cook, Kwame Brown, Walton and others also greeted Zeng Zhen and congratulated him.
Signing a guaranteed contract also means that Zeng Zhen is now officially part of the Lakers' future strategy.
Kobe didn't show up at the practice facility, and Odom said he went to physical therapy.
Kobe will take at least half a month to recover from this injury layoff.
After a brief chat with his teammates, Phil Jackson then signaled Zeng Zhen to come over.
Phil Jackson said, "Tseng, I want you to primarily improve your three-point shooting next, and you need to shoot as consistently as you can from three as you can from the field at about 40 percent so you can get consistent minutes with the team."
Kupchak talked to the Zen Master about guaranteeing Zeng Zhen's playing time, the Zen Master ignored it, but he will have his own arrangement, if Zeng Zhen can't meet his requirements, he won't arrange Zeng Zhen to appear on the field.
Zeng Zhen said, "Don't you need me to hold the ball?"
Phil Jackson said, "For the time being, you don't need to be the ball handler, Smash Parker will dominate, of course, occasionally you need to control the ball, this we need to see depending on the opponent."
Zeng Zhen nodded and agreed, although not being able to be a point guard made him a little uncomfortable, he needed to listen to his coach more than anything else at this stage.
Phil Jackson was particularly impressed with Zeng Zhen's three points, and he felt that Zeng Zhen could be developed into a spot-up shooter, so that Kobe wouldn't have to worry about running out of space in the future.
Now the Lakers only one Brian Cook's three-point shooting rate over 40%, others three are not enough 37%, seemingly not too stable, which the Lakers' outside firepower is far from enough.
The Zen Master won't begrudge Zeng Zhen a starting spot if he can be another reliable outside shooter for the Lakers.
Immediately after talking to the Zen Master, Zeng Zhen came back with a quest prompt.
"Clang, release the mission, train to shoot 10,000 threes, reward C grade attribute card (+1 attribute up to 80 points)*1, this mission is a long term mission."
"Crap, that's a lot to pitch."
Zeng Zhen saw this number is also confused, even if he training day can be able to shoot 500 three-point, that also need to shoot 20 consecutive days ah, not to mention, he can not train every day to shoot three-point ah, there are other training programs it.
Zeng Zhen asked the system, "Why didn't you just increase the three-point long-distance shooting attribute?"
"The host also wants to improve the three-point long-distance shooting attribute is more of a need to comprehend on their own, perhaps in a certain training suddenly improved, of course, the host has the opportunity to obtain the SSS level card is also possible."
"...."
Turns out it's that his three-point long range shooting is scary enough that it can't be improved by normal training.
Cursing, Zeng Zhen still went to train his three points at the first time.
One of the benefits of having a regular shooting practice in the NBA is having someone to help pick up the ball.
Trainer Jack was then in charge of picking up the ball for Zeng Zhen, and he asked, "Zeng, how many three-pointers are you going to make today?"
Jack was the original well-known NCAA shooter who just couldn't get the talent to make it to the NBA, so he wasn't able to make it to the NBA, but he did find an opportunity to work for the Lakers.
Zeng Zhen said, "Let's say 500."
Jack said, "Fark, then you'd have to make at least 1,200 three-pointers to do that."
Zeng Zhen said, "It doesn't have to be that many, just 600."
Jack laughed, "Tseng, I didn't mean to question your ability, my experience says that you get tired of pitching back there and your hits go down."
Pitching in is not the same as pitching out.
NBA players are pretty good at shooting open threes in practice, but that's a lot of volume.
Zeng Zhen laughed, "That's your experience, so I'll show you why I can play in the NBA."
Jack was still a little uncomfortable hearing Zeng Zhen's words.
Don't look at Zeng Zhen's pitching accuracy in the last game, but privately Jack is still kind of unconvinced about Zeng Zhen.
Zeng Zhen didn't shine much during training.
Zeng Zhen came to stand in the bottom corner of the right side of the three, and then Jack passed the ball to Zeng Zhen.
Zeng Zhen received the ball with a quick stomp, lift, and push.
The basketball made a wonderful arc.
"Swish!"
Zeng Zhen's mind also reflected it.
[Mission Completion: 1/10,000]
Soon, Jack's pass came again.
Zeng Zhen caught the ball steadily, and while catching the ball, he also made a good pre-movement for the shot, shaking his body and pushing the shot.
Barely a jump this time, except that he's got wrist pressure down pretty good.
The basketball made a wonderful arc.
"Swish!"
...
...
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Zengzhen hit nine of his first 10 shots from the corner.
That hit rate wasn't enough to surprise Jack, and with the open floor, ten in a row isn't that hard with what NBA wideouts are capable of.
Just next.
Zeng Zhen's shot left Jack a little shocked.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
...
Zengzhen threw 96% of his first 100 pitches.
Zeng Zhen didn't take a break and kept making three shots.
By the 300th pitch, Zeng Zhen's hand was starting to get a little sore.
Starting at 400, Zeng Zhen's hitting did slip a bit as well, but it wasn't a breakneck decline.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
....
The sound of three points through the net kept ringing out.
Jack was shocked speechless by the end.
He was shocked not just by Zeng Zhen's kind of consistent hitting percentage, but by the terrifying physical ability.
Zeng Zhen was able to retain over 75% of his hitting percentage after 400 kills.
In the end, practice ended with Zeng Zhen throwing 500 on 552 attempts for a 90% overall hitting percentage.
"Whew!"
"Whew!"
After 500 three-point finishes.
Even though Zeng Zhen was physically strong, he was constantly gasping for air and was a bit out of breath.
Sweat had thoroughly wet Zeng Zhen's training clothes as well.
After Zeng Zhen stopped, he also noticed a familiar figure standing on the sidelines.
Kobe Bryant.
Zeng Zhen did not have much communication with Kobe, usually Zeng Zhen did not dare to talk to Kobe, Kobe is too harsh on his teammates.
It's hard for Sang-jin to meet those requirements, but well, that was in the past.
Now Zeng Zhen has self confidence, he won't be afraid of Kobe.
"Kobe, how's the injury recovery going?" Zeng Zhen also took the initiative to talk to Kobe.
"A game of one-on-one?"
Kobe didn't pick up on Zeng Zhen's words and instead launched a one-on-one challenge.
Apparently, he had just seen Zeng Zhen's training hits.
"Let's wait until you're healed." Zeng Zhen also refused outright.
Kobe's character is still as high-flying and competitive as ever, and he also has a desire to fight for all his teammates, and he won't relax his requirements just because Zeng Zhen is a rookie.
"I can beat you just as well with an injury." Kobe said.
Kobe puts his winning ways on display, he wants to win against anyone.
This kind of belligerence isn't malicious; it happens on every Laker practice court.
Competitive!
It's something Kobe has been emphasizing to his team.
"How about this, I won't bully you for having an injury, I just made 500 threes and used 552 shots, go ahead and try it out, if you make more than me, it's considered a win, whoever loses buys dinner." Zeng Zhen replied.
Kirby was silent, this was very difficult indeed.
"What, you don't dare?" Zeng Zhen raised his eyebrows.
Kobe did not continue to talk to Zeng Zhen after glancing at him, but simply walked to the court to shoot.
Zeng Zhen didn't stay to watch Kobe shoot, he had to go to physical therapy.
There's a game tomorrow, and if he doesn't get some recovery on his body, he might not recover tomorrow, and that would be the end of it.
At 10:00 PM.
Zeng Zhen received a text from Kirby, "You set the time and place for dinner."
Seeing this message, Zeng Zhen smiled.
Obviously, Kobe lost!
Even a healthy Kobe can't shoot three points over the current Zeng Zhen, not to mention the injuries.
Injuries more or less disrupt his rhythm.
.......
January 8th.
The Lakers hosted the Orlando Magic.
The Magic have an average record, getting 12 wins and 18 losses, and are currently in 10th place in the East.
They have Howard on the inside, Grant Hill on the front line and Francis on the outside, and their configuration is reasonable and a huge challenge for the Lakers, who are currently without Kobe.
Zeng Zhen also invited his landlord three sisters to come to the scene to watch the game, three sisters dressed today are very youthful and beautiful, the surrounding fans are also frequently side-eye them.
Instead of wearing Kobe's jersey today, Zhao Na chose to wear Zeng Zhen's jersey over here, and her pretty figure made the jersey almost too big to hold up.
Zeng Zhen greeted the girls and then went into a state of readiness.
Despite the fact that all three sisters were dressed beautifully, Zeng Zhen didn't have the heart to dwell on the women; he wanted to focus on the match.
Women only affect his hand speed for shooting threes!
Los Angeles, California
The game started soon after.
Zeng Zhen remained on the bench seat.
Zeng Zhen had been watching the game on the field and was also waiting for the coach to call his name at any moment.
After entering his second season in the league, Beast Howard's numbers for the season have also risen to 16 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, with a strong physical talent that allows him to dominate the basket with ease.
Sharks Bynum face Howard a bit of a disadvantage, Howard in the basket many times to show the power of the foul.
Francis was even more in his prime against Smush Parker, hitting back-to-back threes to open the game.
The Lakers looked a little passive in their situation on the court. The Lakers' offense was lackluster, they had no clear point guard and the offense looked very messy.
Smushpak tried hard to string the team along, but was just helpless and limited in his ability to make multiple turnovers as the Lakers' offense stalled.
The game was played for eight minutes, at which point the score came to 22-12.
"The Lakers just can't do it without Kobe."
"Smash Parker is so trashy, playing this stuff."
"Hey, where's your blowhard Soga-jin? Where's the man? How come he didn't even get a chance to play."
"The Lakers are a bad team, Fark, and watching them play fires you up every day."
"What the hell is the fight."
"Phil's triangle offense won't play without its star."
"I do hope Zeng Zhen can play so we can see if the last game was a montage."
"The last one might have just been lucky not to have been targeted in the style way, not so sure about this one."
Because most fans are so impressed with Zeng Zhen's previous, it leads to still a lot of black people exist.
Zeng Zhen, who was waiting on the sidelines, didn't know about these voices, and even if he did, he wouldn't care right now.
Now he has the bottom line!
A mouthpiece can't do him any harm.
Seeing that the situation on the field was getting worse and worse, the Zen Master took the initiative to call a halt to the game.
CCTV studio.
Zhang said, "Zeng Zhen cut down 30 points in the last game, he should be getting more chances."
Seo Je-sung said, "If there are no surprises, after this timeout, Zeng Zhen should make his debut."
Zhang Weiping laughed, "Yes, after all, Zeng Zhen just got a guaranteed contract from the Lakers, and the Lakers will surely give him more opportunities as well."
As the commentators predicted.
Zen Master called out Zeng Zhen's name during the timeout.
The Zen Master explained to Zeng Zhen, "Zeng, you go up for the no-ball run, reduce the ball-handling singles, and run as open as possible, that old guy can't defend you."
Zeng Zhen nodded his head, the Magic side playing the No. 2 position is 183 tall Nelson.
The Magic have gone to a two-guard set to better tandem their team, and that's in part to better feed the ball inside.
Zen Master also keenly recognized the opportunity, and Nelson wasn't necessarily able to keep up with Zeng Zhen.
"Lee, finish them off the way you played last game." Bynum, who was subbed out of the game, was looking forward to Zeng Zhen's debut.
The Lakers' outside did not give the magic kill, resulting in a huge pressure inside, Bynum to often face Howard's defense, a very difficult feeling.
Zeng Zhen kept taking deep breaths, there was no peak condition card in this match, he needed to play with his own condition.
Such a situation is very stressful, but Zeng Zhen has never been a person who is afraid of pressure and challenges, he quickly adjusted his mindset and was eager for the game on the field.
Not long after, the pause ended.
Lakers lineup: Smush Parker, Zeng Zhen, Luke Walton, Odom, Kwame Brown.
Magic lineup: Francis, Nelson, Grant Hill, Turkoglu, Howard.
The Magic haven't made any massive rotations yet, and have just brought up Turkoglu, obviously trying to continue to solidify their lead in the scoreboard.
The Lakers are also really rehiring Smush Parker right now because they don't have a better backup point guard.
Smushparker advances upcourt with the ball and gives it to Odom.
Odom is the pivot point for the Lakers' second unit.
Zeng Zhen greeted Kwame Brown on the right side for unassisted coverage.
Kwame Brown knuckled down and blocked to follow Nelson, and Howard couldn't follow out in time.
Zeng Zhen came out of a three-point gap after running to his left.
Odom, known as a left-handed magician, had a very wide field of vision and gave the ball away almost the moment Zeng Zhen ran out of the open space.
Zeng Zhen caught the ball on the run and were all ready to throw as well.
Get the ball with both hands.
Push shot out while stomping on the ground.
The basketball made a wonderful arc.
"Swish!"
An arrow through the heart!
22 to 15.
The sound of the basketball rubbing against the net was very crisp.
The Lakers had already started the game without scoring a three-pointer, and the three made the DJ on the floor exuberantly yell, "Zeng, Zhen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Zeng Zhen made a bow and arrow drawing gesture, he was enjoying the rhythm of the shot.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein