After the World Championships, Lin Yu returned to the United States. He stayed in Los Angeles for a while until the end of September, when he went to Cleveland.
Cleveland is adjacent to Lake Erie to the north, and the shores of Lake Erie are almost all residential areas for wealthy people. Lin Yu lives in the St. Clair District on the east side.
But at this moment, he was in the Ohio District on the west side.
LeBron James's residence in Cleveland is in the Ohio District. It is a manor-style mansion covering an area of about 2,000 square meters. The main building has three floors. The third floor has a huge terrace that overlooks Lake Erie.
There was a party going on on the terrace, and most of the attendees were Cavaliers players and coaches.
Lin Yu stood by the railing of the terrace, holding a glass of corn juice, overlooking Lake Erie, while exchanging something with Andre Varejao beside him.
"Lin, at the World Championships, I went to watch the match between you and the US team. You played really well. No one has ever been able to push the US team to a dead end on their own."
Lin Yu smiled and thanked him, and then said very honestly: "Thank you, Andre, but I must say that I didn't watch much of the Brazilian team's game."
Varejao shook his head: "Forget it, we performed too poorly in this World Championships and went home in the top 16. I hope we can perform better at the Yanjing Olympics two years later."
"Let's not talk about the World Championships. Let's talk about next season. I can see that LeBron attaches great importance to you. You should be the starter at the second position, Lin."
Varejao suddenly changed the topic to his main position next season, and Lin Yu gradually smelled something unusual.
He quickly shook his head: "I didn't get a commitment from the coaching staff, but to me, the starting substitute is no different. But you, Andre, the team has not found a third substitute center this year. Your playing time
There should be more, right?”
"I hope so."
Varejao is also a second-round pick, and the 2006/07 season is also the last year of his three-year contract. He and Lin Yu should have the same idea.
Get more playing time, more ball rights, and produce better data, and then next summer, they can seek a contract with a higher salary.
After chatting with Varejao for a while, LeBron James came over, holding a glass of red wine, and touched Lin Yu's corn juice.
"Lin, you should have met your teammates, right?"
Lin Yu nodded. When the party started, he had already greeted Big Z, Drew Gooden, and Donyel Marshall one by one.
When Lin Yu met Larry Hughes, Lin Yu was stunned. Larry Hughes just gave him a cold look and said nothing.
Therefore, this is also the reason why Lin Yu was unwilling to discuss the starting position with Varejao before. He speculated that in the new season, there may be some direct confrontations in the competition for the second starting position.
"Mike and the others are here, let's go and meet our coaches together."
In the living room on the third floor, Lin Yu met the Cavaliers' coaching staff.
"Mike, you know, he is an excellent head coach, very good at coaching defense, and this is what you are best at."
Lin Yu smiled and said hello: "Hello, Mr. Coach."
Mike Brown stood up and shook hands with Lin Yu: "You don't have to be so polite, just call me Mike."
Lin Yu followed the instructions and called Mike.
This is different from Doc Rivers' requirements. It seems that Mike Brown is more accustomed to getting along with his players.
"Brendan Malone, the team's chief assistant coach."
Brendan Malone is the father of future Nuggets head coach Mike Malone, and Lin Yu still knows his name.
"This is Phil Handy, the player development coach, and this is Tony Jones, the offensive coach."
Through James' introduction, Lin Yu basically got to know the members of the Cavaliers' coaching staff.
Phil Handy took the initiative to come over and communicate: "Lin, I have read some reports about you. Your training time is a little too long. I heard that it is from four to eight in the morning, nine to eleven, and one o'clock.
Five o'clock, six to eight o'clock?"
"That's right, Phil."
"It's too long. Sometimes training for too long is not a good thing. My advice to you is to only train when you need it most."
Lin Yu smiled and nodded. He was preparing to reduce his training volume in the new season. Now, Phil Handy's advice gave him a step forward.
"Your advice is correct, Phil. After my injury, I was already considering reducing my training time."
"This is what it should be. If the training time is too long, it will easily affect the state of the official competition. It is best to reduce it to 8 hours a day, 8 hours of training, 8 hours of leisure life, and 8 hours of free time.
Hours of sleep time is the most reasonable.”
Phil Handy continued: "As for what you need to improve now, I think it should be running without the ball. If you can have a top running without the ball, your scoring will be simpler and easier."
Lin Yu nodded. After returning to Cleveland, he restarted special training in the summer. With the assistance of David Alexander, he has been conducting high-intensity special training without the ball.
"By the way, I would like to know about your personal training when you were at Celtic. What are the main courses?"
"Strength and shooting drills."
"Your shooting is already very good. You will be fine with proper training to maintain the feel. As for confrontation, you should be 105 kilograms now, right?"
Phil Handy began to ask Lin Yu his weight.
Lin Yu also quickly responded: "I just weighed myself yesterday, 108 kilograms."
"You have to stop gaining weight. In the Cavaliers, our requirement for you is to mainly play the second position and occasionally play the third position. For players in the second position, excessive weight may affect your speed and speed.
Flexibility." Mike Brown jumped in.
Lin Yu continued to nod: "Okay, Mike."
After some exchanges, Lin Yu figured out the arrangements for him by the Cavaliers coaching staff.
"At the beginning of the season, you will be a substitute, mainly playing the second and third positions." Mike Brown said. "Of course, all positions on the team are competitive, so you will only temporarily play as a substitute.
"
Lin Yu expressed his understanding, and starting from the bench didn't sound like a bad thing.
He had just arrived in a strange place, and he didn't want to conflict with the players on the same team because of the starting position.
As for competition for positions, of course it all depends on the players themselves.
Whoever performs well will be the starter.
By the middle of the season, Lin Yu showed a much better personal performance than Larry Hughes and grabbed the starting position.
By that time, Larry Hughes's reaction should also be convinced.
At a party, Lin Yu met his teammates and coaches. Before leaving, Mike Brown reminded him: "It's time for pre-season training to start in two days. Remember not to be late."