Chapter 631: Chapter 195: Outstanding Role Player
The life of a rising star with the Lakers is monotonous, tough and simple. From the end of May to early August, except for the time spent on flights, he has been busy training and filming Ultraman.
In mid-August, the crew from Tsuburaya Productions began withdrawing people. The remaining scenes to be shot were all dramas with fewer props needed; many could be left for the next shoot.
Models are still very expensive...
With less time spent on filming, Zhang Hao has more time in the afternoon and evening, thus increasing his training time.
In the past two months of training, over a month was spent with an instructor, and he learned a lot.
After receiving guidance from others, he entered personal training phase, focusing on reinforcing his strong points in mid-to-long range shooting.
Quick catch-and-shoot, moving without the ball, were areas to be strengthened.
Catching the ball for turnaround fadeaway, post-up turnaround fadeaway, post-up techniques were areas to be continued strengthening.
Ball-handling methods like spin and driving to the basket, off-ball positioning and catching while driving to the basket were key skills to develop.
Of course, the basics of dribbling and passing, he practiced even during breaks from filming, always holding a ball...
Although it may seem chaotic, he efficiently managed his time by contemplating the next day’s training each night in learning mode. He amazed even legendary figures who dominated the NBA like Magician, James Worthy, and Jabbar.
Zhang Hao entered his personal training mode while the Lakers’ "Nightmare Legion" remained the focus of discussion among media and fans.
When the Lakers’ "Nightmare Legion" was formed, it shocked the media, but afterward, it transformed into many media outlets attacking Barkley for clinging to powerful teammates.
There wasn’t much to criticize. O’Neal was a center other teams didn’t want; Orlando thought he wasn’t worth the million-dollar salary anymore. The Magic struggled for a year, offering only 56 million over 5 years, intending to save funds to renew Anfernee Hardaway, and handed Horace Grant 29 million over 2 years, which any year was higher than the highest year of O’Neal’s 56 million over 5 years. The Lakers spent 127 million to get him, which could not be criticized.
Kenny Anderson bounced between three teams within a year, becoming a wanderer. The Lakers signed and traded to acquire him, which also couldn’t be criticized.
Thus, only Barkley remained, as Barkley himself admitted to clinging to powerful teammates...
The shock transformed into concentrated media attacks due to the frightening appearance of the Lakers’ lineup! Although the Lakers fans were plentiful, other teams’ fans together surely outnumbered Lakers fans. Naturally, the media penned unfavorable news about the Lakers, news attacking them, garnering more interest, higher ratings, and newspaper sales.
The lineup receiving criticism was a certainty, followed by various doubts regarding team chemistry, excessive veteran presence, and young stars focusing on filming TV series or commercial performances neglecting their main responsibilities...
The core issue remained — were the Lakers too eager for instant success, potentially impacting Zhang Hao’s development?
The relationship between Zhang Hao and O’Neal...
Hack-a-Shaq strategy was brought up again, with many experts starting to study how to maximize the strategy’s effectiveness.
On the 76ers’ side, Campbell received many team offers, but the 76ers chose not to trade, keeping the center who was outstanding at rebounding and positioning, at least for now.
As the Lakers faced relentless attacks, a subtle fact emerged — Zhang Hao, once able to grab headlines even by dining out, had almost no news since O’Neal joined; Barkley openly stated his intent to stick with powerful teammates, focusing criticism onto himself.
Meanwhile, O’Neal jovially criticized the Magic daily, appearing on television and news, enjoying unprecedented fame...
...
While the Lakers became the target for media criticism and constant public opinion bombardment, some media discussed more practical issues, which concerned Lakers fans.
That is, the Lakers still had 3 spots, how to handle them?
Though the 12-man roster was quickly assembled, there must be contingency plans.
Magician at 37 years, Barkley nearing 34, injury risk is unavoidably present, and O’Neal had a significant injury risk, thus there had to be backup options.
However, Lakers fans were less worried and more interested, wondering who would come to cling to powerful teammates with this lineup?
Soon, players eager to join arrived immediately. On August 17th, the veteran Jerome Kersey, who refused offers from several weak teams during off-season, even rejecting Adelman’s appeals, announced he would sign a true veteran minimum contract for one year at 250,000 US Dollars with the Lakers after weighing invitations from multiple championship-contending teams, including the Bulls.
This differed from media reports of "Magician renewing with the Lakers on a minimum salary", as Magician’s one-year 1 million US Dollars salary was considered quite good, comparable to mid-first-round rookies.
Jerome Kersey, averaging 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds last season, is beloved by all coaches, diligent, hardworking, focused, with leadership skills... having played 12 years and possessing many qualities of a high-quality veteran.
Throughout his career, he scored over 10,000 points, pulled over 6,000 rebounds, made over 2,000 assists, along with over 1,300 steals and over 700 blocks. In his peak, he averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks and during the 89-90 season, when Blazers reached the finals, he averaged 20+ points in the entire playoffs, having played in playoffs for 10 years with abundant experience and outstanding leadership record.
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