Chapter 322 A small test of one’s skills
“Thank God, we finally got that child…” Jerry West said with a look of relief as he looked at Ken Kaneki on the stage wearing a baseball cap with the Lakers logo.

“Calm down, Jerry. We are only halfway to our revival.” Jerry Buss chuckled and looked at Kupchak and asked, “How is it, Mitch? Has the Hornets responded?”

“Yes,” Mitch Kupchak answered neatly. “The other party’s asking price is very reasonable. As long as we send Vlade Divac and a second-round draft pick next year, they will promise to help us select that kid.”

“Very good…” Jerry Buss nodded thoughtfully and said, “Then the next step is to negotiate with the giant…”

“With the 2016th pick in the 13 first round, the Charlotte Hornets selected… Kobe Bryant!”

As David Stern finished speaking, under the spotlight on the sidelines, the ambition in Jerry Buss’ eyes was particularly clear.

……

“Shaq, nice to meet you.” Not long after the draft, in a luxury hotel in Los Angeles, Jerry West was meeting alone with a tall giant and his agent.

“Okay, let me make it short.” Shaquille O’Neal looked at Jerry West in front of him and shrugged his shoulders and said, “What kind of conditions are you going to offer to recruit me?”

“A seven-year, $120 million contract and more than one championship trophy.” Jerry West said to Shaquille O’Neal with his eyes sparkling.

“Championship…” Shaquille O’Neal curled his lips noncommittally and muttered softly, “You might as well look forward to Michael’s second retirement…”

“I understand your thoughts, but please believe me, the Lakers never joke about championships.” Jerry West looked at Shaquille O’Neal solemnly and said, “I believe you have also seen the two kids we recruited. If you can join us, we will have a combination of Chamberlain + Magic + Jordan… Just think about it, just one Magic and an old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are enough to create a storm of Showtime in the league, not to mention three Hall of Fame players in their prime.”

“I’m serious, West…” Shaquille O’Neal’s expression became unusually serious. “You’ve seen these two kids in person. Do you really think these two guys can help me win the championship?”

“Don’t worry, Shaq.” Jerry West said with a playful smile, “I guarantee you will win the championship before Finney Hardaway.”

“Well, happy cooperation.” Shaquille O’Neal seemed to have been touched on the pain point. He stood up decisively, stretched out his hand to Jerry West and said.

……

“Hey, Kobe, did you watch the news yesterday?” The next day, in the Lakers’ training hall, Kaneki Ken was watching the hot news on his phone with relish, while saying to Kobe Bryant who was doing shooting practice on the court, “It seems that our team is going to have an incredible big man.”

“I heard about it.” Kobe Bryant lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat off his cheeks, raised his hand and shot another three-pointer, then sat down next to Kaneki Ken, “This guy said he was here to be the boss of the team…”

“You seem to care a lot, Kobe?” Kaneki Ken put down his phone, went to the sidelines, picked up a basketball and threw it out, saying in a playful tone, “Are you still thinking of competing with me for the position of team leader?”

“Shit, I never said I was here to assist you.” Kobe Bryant threw the ball to Kaneki Ken with an unhappy look on his face and said, “You’d better stay strong forever, and don’t let me get the chance to kick your ass.”

“Yo boys, you’re here so early?” At this moment, Jerry West pushed open the door of the stadium and walked in with a smile.

“What’s wrong, Jerry?” Kaneki Ken looked at Jerry West with a puzzled look on his face and asked, “The team’s main lineup has been completely replaced. Shouldn’t you be busy shopping in the free agent market during this period?”

“Just leave this to Mitch. He just needs to provide a general direction.” Jerry West smiled and explained to the two of them, “I’m here today to inform you that the Lakers’ season training camp will start tomorrow…”

“You mean the summer league?” Kobe Bryant said, playing with the basketball in his hand with interest. “How is it? Who is our opponent in the first game?”

“You should be familiar with our opponent in the first game.” Jerry West said with a sly look in his eyes, “The Philadelphia 76ers, the shortest No. pick in the NBA so far. Gentlemen, don’t let the fans in Los Angeles down.”

“Allen Iverson…” Kaneki Ken raised his eyebrows and played with the basketball in his hand, saying in a playful tone, “Although it’s not quite there, but as the first opponent in the NBA, it’s still a bit important.”

……

“Hello, audience friends! Welcome to watch the first game of the NBA Summer League. The two teams in this game are the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. As the biggest highlight of this game, what kind of wonderful performance will the Lakers’ newly selected backcourt duo have when facing the No. draft pick? Let us wait and see!”

As time passed, Kaneki Ken’s first game after coming to the NBA officially began.

“Hey you!” Allen Iverson raised his eyebrows at Kaneki Ken who was standing near the center line. “I heard from Jerry that you once beat Jordan in his training camp?”

“Emmm, which one?” Kaneki Ken asked with a frown.

“Jerry, Jerry Stackhouse.” Allen Iverson couldn’t help but frowned as he looked at Kaneki Ken who looked calm and collected.

“Oh, you’re talking about him~” Kaneki Ken scratched his cheek a little lately, and said in a playful tone, “The one you are talking about happened a long time ago…”

Kaneki Ken turned his head and looked at Kobe Bryant and said, “That guy is no longer suitable to be my opponent… I suggest that he try Kobe Bryant, even though he was beaten by Kobe during the tryout.”

“Oh? So you are very strong?” Allen Iverson looked at Kaneki Ken with interest.

“It’s just average…” Kaneki Ken looked at Allen Iverson with a playful look and said, “At least he’s better than you, the top draft pick!”

“Beep beep~”

As Kaneki Ken finished speaking, a sharp whistle sounded on the sidelines. Kaneki Ken and Allen Iverson also looked towards the center line immediately, only to see Ben Wallace with his afro jumping up immediately and grabbing the opening ball from Derrick Coleman.

“Shit, what did this guy eat during the offseason? He’s so fat that he can hardly jump…” Allen Iverson looked at Derrick Coleman with some disdain and muttered softly. “You should take care of yourself, No. 76 pick.” Kaneki Ken took a step forward to grab the basketball, and decisively pushed forward to the front court, standing at the top of the ers’ three-point arc and said with a smile.

“Do you want to try to attack on your own, Asian boy?” Allen Iverson opened his arms and blocked Kaneki Ken, saying in a playful tone.

“It’s not the time yet, Allen. We are playing as point guard now.” Kaneki Ken raised his eyebrows slightly and looked towards the inside. He shook his right hand lightly, and the basketball flew straight into the restricted area of ​​the 76ers team.

“Fuck! This bald rookie is so fast!” Different from the calm atmosphere at the top of the three-point arc, at this moment, Derrick Coleman, who was standing in the penalty area, was looking at Kobe Bryant in horror as he cut into the inside after Ben Wallace’s pick-and-roll. He hurriedly adjusted his steps, trying to disrupt the pass before Kobe Bryant completed the alley-oop.

“boom!”

As the sound of a basketball being slammed into the basket was heard, Derrick Coleman, who was unable to defend in time, was finally hit by an alley-oop dunk by Kobe Bryant.

“A beautiful alley-oop! Kaneki Ken made a clever alley-oop pass to Kobe Bryant! The Lakers scored first!” The commentator on the sidelines cheered excitedly as he watched Kaneki Ken and Kobe Bryant high-fiving in the middle of the court.

“What’s wrong with you, Coleman?” Allen Iverson said to Derrick Coleman who was guarding the paint with a dissatisfied look on his face, “You were dunked on by a defender in the paint? This is not your usual style!”

“I don’t need you to teach me how to play in the NBA, rookie.” Derrick Coleman looked at Allen Iverson with dissatisfaction and said, “Besides, it’s just a summer league for performance, there’s no need to try so hard.”

“Bullshit…” Allen Iverson looked at Derrick Coleman who looked indifferent and clenched his fists in dissatisfaction.

“Interesting… Is this the rhythm of internal strife breaking out?” Kaneki Ken looked at Allen Iverson with a livid face, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly, “If that’s the case, then I’ll come and help out…”

“boom!”

The sound of a basketball colliding violently with the ground interrupted Kaneki Ken’s thoughts. Allen Iverson, who had been running all the way from the backcourt to the frontcourt with the ball, was now standing in front of Kaneki Ken, dribbling the ball while looking at him solemnly.

“What’s wrong? No. 1 pick, you look a little nervous~” Kaneki Ken said to Allen Iverson with a smile.

“Nervous?” Allen Iverson chuckled with some disdain and said, “As long as I can still stand on this court, I won’t be nervous…Also, let me tell you one more thing, when facing a player I hate, I will choose to put him in my highlight reel!”

“So, you think I’m annoying and want to include me in your highlights?” Kaneki Ken asked Allen Iverson with a playful look on his face.

“That’s exactly what I meant!” Allen Iverson growled, and with a light flick of his right hand, the basketball turned into an orange-red flash of lightning and flashed in front of Kaneki Ken.

“Wow, Iverson made a huge crossover and shook off Kaneki Ken!” The commentator on the sidelines first shouted excitedly, then looked at Kobe Bryant as if he had discovered something strange and said, “But we see that the No. 8 player selected by the Lakers doesn’t seem to be surprised that Kaneki Ken was shaken off… He seems to be looking forward to it!”

“What’s wrong with these guys?” Allen Iverson frowned, looked at Kobe and Bryant in front of him and muttered to himself, “No matter what, let’s get this ball first!”

“That’s not up to you!” Just as Allen Iverson’s right hand was about to push the basketball away from his fingertips, a golden figure suddenly appeared in front of him as if teleporting.

“How is this possible…” Allen Iverson looked at Kaneki Ken in front of him with a look of surprise and muttered to himself, “I clearly got past this guy just now…”

“Dribble past Kaneki Ken. Are you kidding?” Kobe Bryant looked at Kaneki Ken’s leaping figure with a playful expression and said, “This guy’s defense… he learned it from Michael!”

“boom!”

As the sound of a palm touching a basketball was heard, the basketball that had just left Allen Iverson’s fingertips instantly changed direction and flew straight to the bench outside the court.

“boom!”

As the sound of a human body falling to the ground was heard, Ben Wallace made a goalie-like save and threw the ball back into Kaneki Ken’s hands before the basketball flew out of the court.

“Stop playing those empty passes, Asian boy.” Just as Kaneki Ken was about to launch a fast break with the ball, Allen Iverson suddenly swept towards Kaneki Ken like a black lightning, and his palm stabbed straight at the basketball in Kaneki Ken’s hand.

“You… your intention to steal the ball is too obvious~” Kaneki Ken chuckled and looked at Allen Iverson, who was said to be 183cm tall but was actually just over 180cm tall, and said, “If you ignore the huge difference in physical talent… just in terms of the level of defense, you are not even as good as my old friend.”

After saying that, Kaneki Ken easily avoided being intercepted while Allen Iverson had a surprised look on his face, and he clasped his hands together and held the basketball tightly in his hands.

“Snow, guard him!” Allen Iverson quickly shouted to his teammates beside him.

“Don’t even think about scoring a goal!” Eric Snow took a step forward, stepped heavily with his right foot, jumped up, and tried desperately to block the basketball in Kaneki Ken’s hand with his palm.

“How many times do I have to tell you before you can remember it…” Kaneki Ken said with a smile as he looked at Eric Snow in front of him, “Don’t be fooled by my tall and strong appearance, my registration information is number one~”

As Kaneki Ken finished his words, the basketball once again turned into an orange-red stream of light and flew straight into the hands of Ben Wallace who had already jumped.

“boom!”

As the basket groaned as it could not bear the weight, Ben Wallace flexed his biceps and cheered excitedly to the audience on the sidelines.

(End of this chapter)