Chapter 24 Orlando Training Camp
After signing the private agreement, the two chatted politely for a while, and then Yang Mo said goodbye. Before leaving, Pat Riley specifically told Yang Mo: "Yang, you will go to the Orlando special training camp in two days, and you must not be too prominent. Do you understand?"
"I understand." Yang Mo nodded. Since he had already promised Pat Riley, he could be more restrained. Besides, there were so many rookies participating in the Orlando training camp, who would have time to come and see him?
After Yang Mo came to open the training hall in Miami, he went to buy a mobile phone card first. He wanted to call Monkey and the others, but then he thought that this was an under-the-table deal. If it was really spread out, wouldn't it put Pat Riley in an unjust position?
Therefore, I can only suppress this excitement in my heart and wait until the day of the draft to give them a surprise.
She couldn't call Monkey and the others, so Yang Mo thought of Kim Tae Hee and quickly called her. Beep, beep, beep!
The phone rang less than three times before it was connected, and then Kim Tae-hee's voice came: "Who is this?"
Kim Tae-hee's voice was a little soft, but a little shaky.
Obviously, a little nervous.
When Yang Mo heard the voice, she felt relieved. She knew that Kim Tae-hee must have feelings for her, otherwise she would not have tolerated his "insolence" on the plane that day. In the end, he even left Yang Mo his cell phone number, which clearly showed that he had a good impression of Yang Mo.
"Guess?" Yang Mo said with a smile.
"Yang Mo, right?" Kim Tae-hee on the other end instantly cheered and Yang Mo could feel the joy and excitement over there through the radio waves.
Kim Tae-hee became so happy because of her words, Yang Mo couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. There are not many things that can make a man feel a sense of accomplishment, one of which is success in career, and the other is conquering women.
"Bingo! Congratulations, you got it right."
"What are you doing now?" Kim Tae-hee asked on the other end.
"I have nothing to do, so I'm going to rob someone." Yang Mo joked deliberately.
Yang Mo was joking, but Jin Tae-hee took it seriously and asked quickly, "Why are you robbing? Didn't you come here to play basketball? Is it because you have no money?"
Yang Mo couldn't help but feel touched when she heard Kim Tae-hee's nervous and worried tone, so she didn't want to tease her any further. After all, it was wrong to over-consume other people's concern.
"Haha, I was kidding. Where are you? I'll treat you to a delicious meal!"
"Hate it!" Kim Tae Hee said angrily, "Don't you know that you can't make jokes like this?"
"Okay, I'm sorry, I won't do it again." Yang Mo quickly apologized with a smile.
"Hmph." Kim Tae Hee said coquettishly, "If you dare to lie to me again, I will break all your bones."
"Okay, okay, I promise not to fight back."
"Okay, remember what you said."
"Okay, I remember." Yang Mo nodded and continued the topic that had been diverted before: "Where are you now?"
"I'm working. I have three print magazine shoots to do. My damn agent also arranged a photo album for me. Oh... it's so annoying." Kim Tae-hee complained to Yang Mo without any scruples. It was obvious that she had already regarded Yang Mo as her closest person.
"Well, it seems we can't meet today. I'm flying to Orlando tonight." Yang Mo said with some regret.
"What time in the evening?" Kim Tae Hee was a little anxious: "I'll see if I can spare the time."
"Nine o'clock in the evening. Forget it. I'm quite busy these days. Let's have a good get-together when we have some free time."
"That's all I can do." Kim Tae-hee said regretfully, "I'm going back to Korea in a couple of days, and I don't know when I'll come to the U.S. next time."
"I'll go to Korea to find you after the audition is over in a week."
"Okay, you have to come."
"Well, I'll hang up now. I'll contact you later."
Yang Mo briefly concluded his speech, and then hung up the phone as Kim Tae Hee reluctantly said goodbye. Although Yang Mo was not a love saint, he knew that when dealing with women, he couldn't just cling to them, but had to be close yet not too close, so that he could seize the initiative from the beginning. If he kept flattering and repeatedly sacrificed his principles from the beginning, the final result would only be to become a slave to a woman, because women are not creatures that will stop when they see something good.
That night, Yang Mo flew to Orlando. The next day, after contacting the league staff, she paid a deposit and officially entered the Orlando training camp.
After entering the training camp, they first underwent a health check, and then various physical tests. Because of Pat Riley's instructions, Yang Mo did not use his full strength during the test, which made his not-so-good stats even worse.
In this regard, the staff of the physical training camp shook their heads and looked at Yang Mo with contempt. They couldn't understand why someone with such physical fitness would come to participate in the draft. Isn't it a waste of energy? Anyone on the streets of the United States can be better than him, and he plays the power forward position. This is too... ridiculous.
Yang Mo did not take the discrimination from the staff seriously. He would not be angry or hold a grudge just because an ant stepped on him. There was no need for that.
As the draft day is approaching, almost all rookies have gone out for tryouts, so there are still many hot rookies in the training camp. Many hot rookies are surrounded by waves of reporters, including many Chinese media.
Yang Mo was not jealous at all, he just stayed in the corner and trained silently, doing simple and repetitive shooting. Compared with other players, Yang Mo's mentality was the most peaceful at this time, because other rookies were still worried about their next home, but Yang Mo already had a guarantee. And there was no need to worry about others intercepting him. As long as the general manager with a good brain would not choose Yang Mo, what he showed was too mediocre, even the staff of the physical training camp looked down on him, how could those managers be interested in him?
Yang Mo just spent his days in the training camp in a mediocre way, not showing off, not competing with other rookies, and not trying to attract attention, so he had a good relationship with most of the rookies participating in the competition.
On this day, a bunch of rookies were idle and had been training on their own every day. They were itching to get going. At Michael Beasley's suggestion, they decided to play a group competition. When he made this proposal, most of the rookies agreed, and only a few players did not participate because they were worried about getting injured. In response, Yang Mo did not express his intention to participate, nor did he refuse. Anyway, for him, he might not have the opportunity to play.
Soon, the groups were divided, and the grouping was quite interesting. The two contenders for the No. 1 draft pick (Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley) led a group, and most of the members of the group were close to them, so the positions looked a bit out of place.
For example, Derrick Rose's team actually has three point guards. In addition to Derrick Rose, there are Westbrook and Eric Gordon. These three players all want the ball, but they are able to form a team.
The Michael Beasley team is even more outrageous, as they actually have four inside players... Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph, JaVale McGee and Brook Lopez.
Yang Mo looked at the situation and finally joined Derrick Rose's team, even though he had a slightly better relationship with Michael Beasley. But if he joined Michael Beasley's team, he would definitely not have a chance to play.
After both sides found a staff member to act as a referee, the game officially began.
Michael Beasley's team's starting lineup is OJ Mayo, Courtney Lee, Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph and JaVale McGee, with Brook Lopez and Gallinari sitting on the bench.
The starting lineup of Derrick Rose's team is Derrick Rose, Westbrook, Ryan Anderson, Batum and Ibaka. Sitting on the bench are Eric Gordon and Yang Mo.
Both teams have flaws in their lineups, one focuses on the inside, while the other focuses on the outside.
This was a very interesting matchup. As soon as the scouts and general managers of several teams heard about the game, they all hurriedly gathered on the sidelines, hoping to discover more about the players' qualities through this game.
What excited the players on the field the most was that the God of Basketball, Michael Jordan, actually came to the scene and sat on the steps on the sidelines, watching the game attentively.
"Yang, do you think we will win or Beasley's side will win?" Before the game, Eric Gordon held Yang Mo's hand and whispered.
"It's hard to say. They don't have a point guard, we don't have a center, let's see who can control the rhythm on the court."
"Isn't this nonsense?" Eric Gordon muttered, "I still think we will win."
