The Knicks' game location is set in Long Beach, California, and staff have booked local hotels.

Yang Rui and Thibodeau are on a business trip and receive a subsidy of $60 a day. In the future, they will also receive meals for away games, and the salary is good. However, this time there is no special plane, so they have to fly to Long Beach in economy class and meet with the "temporary workers".

On July 4, Yang Rui received the best news. All five people he valued accepted the invitation and represented the Knicks in the summer league. Three of the seven players chosen by Thibaudou refused, and they could only replace others to make up for it.

Thibodeau chose players who had NBA experience and had been marginal players in NBA. Although they did not prove their strength, they also became familiar with each other and did not worry about not having a team invitation. The Knicks are recognized as giants and it is difficult to stay in the team after the summer league. They are unwilling to try and are afraid of wasting time.

In the end, the Knicks gathered 12 people, all of which were hard to name. The scout Maguire and his son suggested choosing a few more, but Yang Rui refused, insisting that it was not necessary.

Van Gundy felt that this lineup was too miserable and he didn't have the confidence to achieve good results by leading the team.

Before the expedition, the management held a meeting. Glenn Walsh, who had seen Yang Rui a little dislike, got angry. "Do you understand basketball? There are 15 players in other teams, you only have 12 people, and you are still some people who have no NBA experience and cannot name them. The biggest brand is Wallace, the Wizards' fringeman. Does he want to lead the team to lose all of them?"

Yang Rui was confident and smiled and said, "Mr. Walsh, don't be excited. I decided to choose 12 players after careful consideration. This will make it easier to find outstanding players and sign the new season to help the team."

Of course Walsh doesn't believe it. "There are only 8 players in the team's contract now. This summer league is very important. Even if we sign in the free market, we need at least 4 or 5 young and potential players to train, instead of looking for veterans who are declining in the free market. Can you do it?"

"Of course, otherwise why are you signing me? Are you not optimistic about this lineup?"

Van Gundy couldn't help but speak: "Of course we are not optimistic. The people you chose are not famous at all."

"I don't think fame is important, but fitting into a tactical system is the most important thing. Let me give you a simple example. If the starring of the movie "Instinct" was replaced by Jack Nicholson with better acting skills and Oprah Winfrey with more famous, how much box office would they think there would be?"

Everyone couldn't help but think about the picture... and the box office is still there? Are you crazy?!

Ernie Grenfeld shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Jerry, I know you are young and motivated and confident... but it is too risky to prove yourself in this way."

Glenn said angrily: "The fight started on the 7th, and even if you want to invite someone with strength, you can't find it."

Yang Rui stood up, patted his hands twice, attracted everyone's attention to him, and smiled and said, "Since that's the case, Mr. Walsh, how about we bet?"

Glenn was indeed on the trap. "What are you betting on?"

Yang Rui smiled and snapped his fingers. "Just bet on whether the Knicks can win the Summer League. If I win, I will naturally bring back 4 or 5 potential newcomers. Of course, we don't keep talented people, and we will know whether it is valuable in the preseason."

"Listen, he's so crazy that he's gone." Glenn felt insulted with his IQ and shouted: "Just this broken lineup, let Chuck Daly lead the team, will he dare to say he's winning all the time? This is a dream!"

Yang Rui said in a hurry, just like the other party was not angry at him, "I like the Knicks because the label of this team is iron-blooded. Mr. Walsh, please answer a question. Which is more difficult do you think is the best comparison between winning the summer league and winning the NBA championship next season?"

Isn't this nonsense? Of course it is the champion. Everyone looked at Glenn Walsh and waited to see the joke, but this question could not be answered at all.

Glenn was speechless, her eyelids twitched in anger, and the fat on her belly was shaking.

You are so immoral. Why did you get involved in the summer league to the championship? Isn’t this clear that I don’t like the Knicks winning the championship? I just don’t like you, Chinese, right?

Fortunately, Yang Rui just pointed out and didn't talk about the championship aggressively. Glenn was really afraid that he would say "Do you think winning the championship is just a dream?", otherwise everyone's face would not look good.

Yang Rui would not have a slander with the deputy manager for anything, that would be too stupid and would not have any benefits. He wanted to take this opportunity to show off and wait for the summer league to achieve more dazzling results.

His next proposal is acceptable to everyone.

"Mr. Walsh, I know that the reason why you are excited and dissatisfied with me is for the good of the team. You are afraid that I will affect the summer signing work. Our goals are actually the same, so I will try to change your view of me, make you trust me, and make everyone trust me."

Glenn breathed a sigh of relief. "Will you still bet?"

"Go to play, the bet is very simple. I won, the management invites guests to dinner and celebrates victory. If I lose, I invite everyone to dinner. You can choose any place to apologize. How do you feel?" Yang Rui smiled.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and Ernie made a decision. "Okay, that's it, I'm waiting to see you lead the team to win."

Van Gundy, Maguire and his son also agreed.

"Okay then." Glenn sighed, waved his hand with a wry smile.

At this time, his impression of Yang Rui had begun to change. Everyone present was over ten years older than him, but the atmosphere of the conference was following his rhythm, and he was the most conspicuous here.

He showed his sharpness, but his emotional intelligence was not low. The bet was that everyone had a meal together, and no matter what win or lose, it would invisibly bring him closer to the management.

If you win, everyone will definitely praise him and get directly on the throne; if you lose, he is young and apologizes with a low attitude. Who can really kill him and let him get out?

Faced with this situation, Glenn could not think of a better way to pass the test.

At the end of the meeting, Ernie asked Glenn to leave alone and asked with a smile: "Are you really angry? I signed him up and it's not a fool. This kid has a special charm, which makes people want to see what he can do. Don't you feel like this?"

Glenn sighed: "I admit that he is really different from other Chinese people. I just wonder where his confidence comes from? Why does he seem to win if he decides he will win?"

"But you're looking forward to the start of the summer league and see if he can lead the team to win, right? That's enough."

"..." Glenn was speechless, that's the truth.

Ernie did not regret it. From the moment she decided to sign Yang Rui, this was a gamble, and it was betting on Yang Rui's work ability.

He felt like he bought a lottery ticket and was waiting for the moment of the lottery draw, which made people itchy. As a person on the same front, the management of course hoped to "win the lottery" instead of spending money in vain. Once the summer league is played well, they will promote Yang Rui, which is a good gimmick.

Glenn asked: "Erni, do you believe he can lead the team to win all the team? I'm not talking casually. If you ask Jeff, he will not dare to say that he will win all the team like this."

"I hope he can create miracles." Yang Rui decided to call his friend Thomas Bentley.

The bond between the two can be seen from their names. When they were in the orphanage, the dean named him Tom. They grew up together, and although their skin colors were different, they looked better than brothers.

Searching for memories, Yang Rui learned a lot of things during his growth process.

Tom was malnourished when he was a child, very thin, too lively, and had a bit of ADHD, so no family wanted to adopt him. Jerry was adopted when he was 8 years old and often went back to the orphanage to see Tom and took out good things to share with him.

The two went to the same primary school and the same junior high school.

At the age of 12, Tom looked like a 7-8-year-old elementary school student. At the age of 14, he was so thin that he suddenly became an "ugly duckling turned into a swan", began to grow taller, and had blonde hair and a beautiful appearance.

At this age, no one would adopt Tom. He started working and supporting himself. Later, he changed his name to Thomas Bentley, which sounded very imposing. The last name is his favorite car name, and it can also be translated as "Bentley" in Chinese.

Four years later, he grew from 155cm tall to 190cm and was incredibly healthy.

During high school, Jerry's adoptive father passed away, and the roles of the two were changed at once. Thomas began to give Jerry good things and help him through the difficulties.

Jerry, who had a poor academic performance, failed to get into college and had to enter society early. Thomas used his scholarship to help him realize his dream and obtained the coaching qualification certificate.

Because Jerry benefits unilaterally, many of Thomas' classmates don't like him.

Thomas had two rich girlfriends and advised him to alienate Jerry and think about his future, but it ended up breaking up with him and his girlfriend.

As long as Thomas chooses a rich second-generation girlfriend, he will not have to worry about his future career, but he chose to raise this unrealistic and dream-chasing brother.

Yang Rui is quite speechless about this pair of gay friends, and the sense of incongruity is too strong!

If Thomas was a woman, a pretty blonde beauty with a strong personality, then this story would be much better.

She met a handsome sunny man who was willing to give for him since childhood. The two depended on each other for life. When she grew up, she became better and better, with a bright future. The gap in status hindered their relationship, but she never gave up on each other. After experiencing a series of setbacks, the handsome sunny man was unyielding and finally realized his dream and became an NBA basketball coach. They were happily together...

Well, that's much better. (What a shit! You just hope your best friend is a beauty, right?!)

Yang Rui organized some vocabulary and broadcast the phone.

You can't just be reborn and have a future memory and personality dominates, so you can't contact your good brothers in this life. If it weren't for Thomas' funding, he wouldn't be a coach.

The phone rang three times and it was connected. Yang Rui was a little nervous.

"Jerry, do you still know how to call? Every time I call you, I'm not at home!" Thomas's roar came from the other end of the phone, directly confusing Yang Rui's roar, and forgot everything he wanted to say.

Thomas saw that he didn't say anything for five seconds, his voice dropped from 100 decibels to 10 decibels, and his tone reached the other extreme. "Hey, what's wrong with you, right?"

"Nothing happened...I want to tell you good news. I have found a job and will definitely repay the money you borrowed from me."

Yang Rui can't be as rude as Jerry. He never borrowed money in his previous life and hated owing favors, which would make him feel very uncomfortable.

Unexpectedly, Thomas went crazy on the other side of the phone. "Fuckyou! Did you actually ask me to pay back the money? Have you forgotten what you said when I was in the orphanage? Your money is my money, and my money is also your money. You are crazy, right?"

In the United States, such things are very common, such as Iverson was elected as the No. 1 pick, and after he got rich, he raised a group of brothers in the slums, and ate his and used his. In China, such things are absolutely rare.

Yang Rui quickly changed his words. "Okay, don't be excited, don't worry, I'm not sick, I'm just a joke, I will never pay you back! What I want to express is that I have money now!"

"Did you become a coach? Which school do you go to?" Thomas asked excitedly.

"It's not a school..." Yang Rui guessed that with this guy's urinary nature, if he just said he had joined the Knicks, he could fly to New York and take him to the nearest mental hospital.

"It's not a school, is it possible that there are professional teams who want you?" Thomas' tone became a little weird.

"Yes, you'll know soon. I'm going to Changtan City on a business trip and I'll be here tomorrow." Yang Rui said with a smile.

Los Angeles is very close to Long Beach, and Thomas immediately continued: "Then I will go to Long Beach too. See you at the airport tomorrow. I will have food and accommodation."

"Someone has booked a hotel for me. Don't do anything. I'll go with my colleagues." Yang Rui asked: "Don't you have to go to work?"

"It's just an internship." Thomas asked with a smile: "Are your colleagues beautiful?"

"Male, a fat man, he is 40 years old." Yang Ruihan said.

"What a pity." Thomas sighed.

In the early morning, Yang Rui and Thibodeau boarded the plane to Long Beach together. The next morning he left the airport, he saw his buddy at a glance.

"Hi, Jerry, I'm here." Thomas wore a white T-shirt, gray casual pants, and a pair of brown sunglasses, tall and upright.

He had a golden flat head and distinct facial features. He had attracted star scouts when walking on the street. He waved at Jerry, which attracted many people to look at him.

"Is this your friend? He is much more handsome than you. You will definitely not be able to pick up girls when you go out with him." Thibodeau was a rare humor. The two of them read information together and discussed basketball tactics. They have been familiar with each other these days.

"If you can't soak, you can't soak." Yang Rui smiled.

He took the relationship lightly. He was not without a girlfriend in his previous life. He was more eager to do something big and succeed in his career.

After security check, the two brothers hugged each other.

Yang Rui is not worried about getting along with Thomas in the future. As with the image in his memory, he is easy to communicate with. Even strangers can easily become friends with him.

Thomas quietly restrained his smile, as if he was afraid that he would be too relaxed and would be difficult for Yang Rui to do it, and asked in a low voice: "Is this next to you your boss?"
To be continued...