Not long after arriving in New Orleans, I received a call from Yao Ming.
"Li Tian, why did you leave so quickly without even saying hello? You just lost the game. You can't have a problem with me winning, right?" Yao Ming started to tease Li Tian. He knew that Li Tian was leaving. There must be other reasons, but it's just a joke.
"Brother Yao, I'm also very helpless. This is still the head coach and I have to leave overnight. What can I say? It's useless even if I say it. I'm just a rookie. I'll go to Charlotte to have a good rest and then win. Wasp..." Li Tian said a lot.
I breathed a sigh of relief and finally explained it clearly.
"I'm just telling you, you can't be so stingy. What's going on? How do you feel about losing?" After understanding the whole story, Yao Ming didn't say much.
"How is it possible? If you win, it's because I didn't play, otherwise you would have had a chance." In line with the principle of not being cowardly, Li Tian still had to pretend.
"It's just you, how can you do it when you're on the court? You don't even dare to score at the basket. You still have the nerve to say you're a small forward. You've lost face in the post." Yao Ming doesn't care where Li Tian is pretending.
"Um... It will happen in the future. I just entered the alliance. I am learning slowly." Li Tian continued to quibble.
"If you didn't tell me, I would have forgotten. Are you injured? Why didn't you play in the second half?" Yao Ming was very puzzled. Li Tian didn't have the ability to create offense, but he was very good at opening up space. At the same time, he was very good defensively. The performance is also remarkable.
"This..." Li Tian replied hesitantly.
"I just had a few words with the head coach in the locker room." He didn't tell the whole story, and it would be meaningless if he did.
"Haha, you can do it. I only played a few games and I already had sex with the head coach." Yao Ming knew that Li Tian usually wouldn't quarrel with others. Li Tian didn't say the reason, and he didn't intend to ask.
"Brother Yao, how's your discussion with the team going?" Li Tian felt that it was useless to talk more, so he changed the subject.
"We are talking. We have made some progress just now. I was worried that you were injured. Just hope you are fine."
"It's okay, it's okay. It's okay." Li Tian returned with a smile.
"That's good. I will communicate with the management to see if I can trade you. Tracy McGrady also wants to trade you." Yao Ming did not forget to add.
"No, this will affect your negotiation. I can solve it myself."
The two chatted for a few more words.
...
Li Tian still trains on time and never procrastinates.
"Lee, you're like me this time." Conley continued to stand still.
"Conley, you are too busy, practice more at night."
Mark was laying out the game tactics on the side, and the two of them didn't listen, just chatting to themselves.
The players would say something to Mark from time to time.
"Let's go, Conley, take a seat and watch these guys play well. If they don't play well, let them practice more." Li Tian said playfully.
"Shut up, look, you scared Lori so much that he almost fell down." Conley saw Lori stagger.
Lowry prayed, "Don't ask me to practice extra. I'm training with Li Tian. I'm too tired. I can't attack and defend and can't reach." It started to have a shadow.
Lowry was mentioned in the starting lineup, and the already weak substitute lineup now has two main substitutes, Li Tian and Conley, sitting on the bench. The Grizzlies have really made matters worse. Although they obviously have immediate fighting ability, Mark does not use it.
Mark began to rotate personnel. Every time a player was replaced, he was breathing heavily. He didn't even have the energy to brag and spank with Li Tian.
"Lori, come on, you are the main force today." Conley teased Lowry, also telling Mark that I was still sitting on the bench. Conley was also a little dissatisfied with Mark's arrangement.
Lowry didn't answer and rolled his eyes at Conley.
The two teams tied 107-107 in regular time and entered overtime.
In overtime, the Grizzlies won 9-11. The number of player rotations was reduced and everyone's playing time increased a lot.
In the end, the Grizzlies lost the game 116-118.
The main players of the Grizzlies played extremely long, and all the starting lineup scored in double figures. Mike Miller, who played the least, played a full 41 minutes, and Lowry, who played the most, played an exaggerated 50 minutes.
The Grizzlies also shot 55%, but the number of shots was 21 times behind the Hornets. Chris Paul even scored 43 points.
...
"Hello, Mr. Mark, why did Li Tian and Conley on your bench not play for one minute in this game? Do you have any explanation?" The reporter still asked Mark the question he least wanted to face.
"This is our team's arrangement, no comment." Mark still answered officially.
"Are the two of them no longer included in the Grizzlies' future plans? Have they been put on the shelf?" The reporter worked hard to dig out breaking news and didn't care whether Mark was willing to answer.
"They are both the future of our team, they are young, and we have never sought a trade." Mark hurriedly ended the press conference.
They had to leave overnight, rush to Atlanta, and have a back-to-back game the next day.
...
That night, several teams called the Grizzlies management, hoping to make a deal with the Grizzlies.
The first one is Mosaic General Manager Mo Gou.
"Wallace, are you interested in making a deal?" Mo Gou went straight to the point.
"Mo Gou, what bad idea are you planning?" Wallace didn't believe anyone could complete a deal with Mo Gou that would benefit both parties.
"That Chinese player in your lineup has been discarded by you. How about exchanging it for a valuable player?" He began to belittle Li Tian's trading value.
Wallace is not stupid. "It's impossible. Do you want to trade Tracy McGrady? We can let you choose other players except Gasol. How about it?"
He was a fool, thinking about cheating others every day, but now he was tricked by Wallace.
"It's impossible for Tracy McGrady. We traded Li just to be his substitute. Let's talk about other conditions." Mo Gou refused directly.
"Then there's no need to talk. We have no plans to trade for the time being." Wallace still wanted to use Li Tian to see if he could get more sponsorship.
The Grizzlies' performance is too poor, coupled with Li Tian's frequent changes on the court, the score is now almost falling below 15 points per game.
"What's going on? Did the grizzly bear agree?" Mosaic staff asked.
"I don't agree. It's just asking for a high price. But as long as he answers the phone, it proves that he is also looking for a deal. Let's wait and see." After receiving this answer, Tracy McGrady left a little disappointed.
"General manager, the most important thing for us now is the negotiation with Yao. There is no chance of a trade, but Yao's negotiation must be concluded as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he refuses to play and then seeks a trade, it will be disastrous for us. ." The assistant did not forget to remind Mo Gou that Yao Ming is the team's top priority.
"Fuck, what's going on? How could Yao bring this up? In the past, he always obeyed the head coach's arrangements." Mo Gou also started to worry and started thinking about how to communicate with Yao Ming.
...
"Wallace, I think this is not the first call you received, so let's not go around in circles and let's talk directly." Larry Harris got straight to the point and didn't delay.
"No problem, Harris." Wallace received several calls, all of which wanted to trade the Grizzlies' two rookies.
"We want those two rookies from your team. What do you think? Are you interested in trading?" Harris was unambiguous and directly wanted to trade for two people.
"Harris, you have to know that these two are the best assets of our team. Are you planning to trade Yi or Bogut for the two of them?" Wallace hopes that Yi Jianlian can come to Memphis, so sure. There will be a lot of Chinese sponsorship.
"It's impossible. They are the future of our team. If you add Gasol, I can consider trading Bogut." When they first started talking about a trade, neither of them was willing to hand over their real assets.
The two kept changing the candidates for the deal, but in the end they still couldn't negotiate a deal.
It can only be put on hold temporarily, and Wallace is not in a hurry. The deal is negotiated slowly. If it doesn't work, he will bring in another team to trade, as long as the deal can be completed.
On the Grizzlies' plane flying to Atlanta, the Grizzlies' trade rumors were also exposed by some well-known reporters.
"Grizzlies players will be traded."
"Li Tian was sold at a bargain price for the team's future second-round pick."
"Conley is suspected of being put on the shelf."
"Multiple teams are discussing trades with Memphis."
"The Bucks hope to get Li Tian to improve their defense."
...
The Grizzlies generals' planes haven't even landed yet, and trade rumors are already flying everywhere.
Dragging my tired body, I arrived at the hotel I had booked in advance.
"Lee, we are about to be traded." Conley saw a piece of news, and both Conley and Li Tian were put on the shelf.
It also happened that various teams began to bid for Li Tian, with different prices.
The media also offered various trade plans to the Grizzlies.
"Well, you're being put on the shelf, so stop making trouble. If I still have credibility, it's impossible for you. The team selected you because of your talent. You haven't played a few times, so they won't put you on the shelf." Traded." Li Tian doesn't believe the Grizzlies will choose to trade Conley now.
Conley's performance is still good. It's not that he didn't perform as expected on the court, it's just that he didn't have many opportunities to play. The Grizzlies will not be so impatient.
"The NBA is a capital market. It's possible for anyone to be traded. You don't need to comfort me." Conley is also very disappointed with the Grizzlies. If he can be traded to a team with more playing opportunities, Conley wouldn't mind being traded. trade.
"Yes, it seems that I have to pack up my things. Maybe I will be traded in the next game." Li Tian has long been fed up with Mark's arrangement, and he is very welcome to be traded.
"Li, forget it, don't think about it, just go to bed early." Conley didn't say much, he was very tired from the long flight.
Various teams are still continuing to communicate with the Grizzlies and looking for trades.
Many teams came to contact him for trade, but none of them gave a substantial offer. They all wanted to get Li Tian from the Grizzlies for free.
...
Li Tian ignored this and got up early the next day to go to the training venue arranged by the team.
As usual, I started with three-point training, running and strength training, and today I also added mid-range shooting training, hoping to increase my offensive methods.
It was not until noon that Gasol and the others arrived.
"Paul, you didn't do anything again last night, right? You didn't come to training until now." He looked in the direction where Gasol was coming.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I was too tired from playing overtime yesterday. Damn it, we were asked to fly to Atlanta overnight. We didn't have a good rest on the plane. I haven't recovered yet." Gasol complained, really. I couldn't bear it, I couldn't rest at all, I had to catch flights back to back and all night long.
Li Tian glanced at everyone, with big circles in his eyes, "You are a group of national treasures."
Laughing with Conley.
"Lee, you guys did a whole game off the court. It's really good to have a rest." Gasol envied these two people and asked when he could arrange a rest.
A few of them were training and chatting, and bursts of laughter broke out from time to time.
"Li, I saw in the news that you were going to be traded. What happened? Did you propose a trade to the team?" Gasol took advantage of the break and came to Li Tian.
"I don't know either. You have to know that if you are traded, especially a second-round pick like me, you will definitely be the last one to know. I don't know what happened. I am only a second-round pick. What qualifications do I have to propose a trade?" ." Li Tian spread his hands, saying that he didn't know anything.