Jimmy Butler
This player, jokingly called Jordan's love child, had just been deemed by the Bulls to have mediocre talent and no potential to become the team's core player. They'd traded him to the Thunder.
No one would have guessed that this guy would one day leave the surging Bucks and Celtics struggling in the second round and the Eastern Conference Finals for years, even lead a team to the sixth miracle eighth-seed upset in NBA history, and take them all the way to the Finals.
Of course, Butler might not have been as easy to get along with as Paul George. Deep down, he had a bit of a troublemaker in him.
According to the original timeline, after this season he was traded to the Timberwolves, where he caused an enormous fuss. He couldn't stand Wiggins and Towns's indifference and halfhearted attitude toward practice and games. To him, they were wasting their own talent.
Then came his classic line: "I'm not the most talented guy on the team. Who is? Towns. Who's been blessed by God? Wiggins. But who works the hardest? Me!"
Then, during an intrasquad scrimmage, he led the reserves in crushing the starters, and his relationship with the Timberwolves fell apart for good.
After bouncing around and landing with the 76ers, he finally found a great coach like Spo with the Heat, along with the leadership role he'd always dreamed of. Even then, he once got into an argument with Spo during a game.
Though it was hard to say whether he'd gotten carried away later on, Butler probably hadn't yet developed that "I'm number one, and everyone else is number two" attitude.
At least in terms of being hardworking and diligent, he should get along well with Chen and Odie, who'd just left.
After some brief introductions and breaking the ice, the Bulls' two new arrivals immediately joined the team's practice.
Donovan was determined to get the team back on track as quickly as possible.
Their recent record had been ugly. If Westbrook hadn't gone on a tear in consecutive games, they'd probably have been on a long losing streak.
After finishing the day's practice, Chen Xi stayed behind as usual to get in some extra work.
As expected, yet still somewhat surprising, Butler was there too.
"Chris, let's go one-on-one!"
"Hang on. Let me finish this set."
Chen had improved a lot as a driver, and it had gone to his head a little.
After making his last three-pointer of the set, Chen Xi walked over to Butler's half of the court.
"You get extra work in every day?" Butler wiped the sweat from his face and came over.
"Of course. There's no shortcut to success. If you want to get further in this league, you have to put in more work."
"Good point." Butler nodded in agreement, then passed him the ball and gestured for Chen to take the first possession.
"Three dribbles?"
"Sure."
The classic American one-on-one format: finish the play within three dribbles.
Chen Xi held the ball in a triple threat stance, lowering his center of gravity as he sized up the tall man in front of him.
Going by Chen's 77 in one-on-one defense, Butler, who'd made his name on defense, had to be at least an 85. He was also a good deal bigger than Chen, so this wouldn't be easy.
A simple feint didn't get him anywhere, so Chen immediately pulled up for a three.
Swish~~
Easy make.
When he got the ball back, he could clearly see JB had stepped closer.
He dribbled, used an in-and-out, then a lateral step-back, and pulled up for another three.
Swish~~
"Nice shot." JB passed the ball back to him again.
"Let's play to 21."
"Okay."
When Butler got the ball again, he returned to his original stance, but he was clearly more serious now. His arms were out in front, hovering near the line where body contact began.
Chen swept the ball past the arm in front of him, then exploded into a drive and headed for the paint.
Butler stayed with him and leaned into him as he drove.
Chen stopped, pulled the ball back between his legs, and tried a shot fake, but couldn't get JB to bite. He had no choice but to turn and shoot a fadeaway, which missed.
Butler's turn to attack.
He caught the pass and went straight into a pull-up three.
Chen picked up the ball and passed it back to him.
Another pull-up three, but this time Chen had anticipated it and jumped to contest the shot.
Clang!
Possession changed hands.
Chen had the ball. He stepped back into a dribble, then made an early change of direction and drove left.
Butler's feet stayed right with him.
Chen stopped hard, spun backward, leaped, and contorted his body in midair to avoid the block as he laid it in. The ball gently dropped through the net.
"Nice shot."
Even a defender would cheer a beautiful basket. That was what it meant to love basketball for its own sake. Butler smiled and patted Chen Xi on the butt.
He was starting to respect this young man, who was so much younger than him.
He was hardworking and persistent, with solid fundamentals. It was hard to believe he was a rookie this year—and a second-round pick at that. It really did seem like scouts had let their prejudice get in the way.
The two of them practiced until nightfall, then hurriedly washed up and walked out of the arena side by side.
"Jimmy, want to grab a bite?"
"Sure. It'll be a good chance for me to get to know Oklahoma City." Butler, who'd taken a very good impression of Chen Xi, didn't turn down the invitation.
"Come on. I know a place with great barbecue. Plenty of quality protein!"
After a hearty meal, Chen drove Butler back to the apartment he'd just rented, then headed home to his own little place. The first thing he did when he got in was turn on the AC, then take another nice, hot shower.
Soaking in the bathtub, he cursed capitalism with all his heart.
I'm paying this much rent, and the bathtub is this tiny?!
By the time his contract expired, it would probably be about time to negotiate an extension with the Thunder. But even if he got a new contract, the money wouldn't come in right away. Big expenses would still have to be covered by endorsement income.
Chen Xi thought over the ins and outs of his little nest egg.
Should I do a little investing? But isn't it kind of late to buy Bitcoin and stuff now?
He'd ask Moon about it later. Pinduoduo seemed to have been founded in 2015, and it should already have grown quite a bit by now. He wondered whether it was too late to buy its stock.
Even if it was, no big deal. He was the chosen one! A Celestial Dragon with a system, for heaven's sake. Maybe one day he'd make as much as Lao Zhang or Danz!
Thinking about his financial future eased his physical fatigue, and then he went back to bed and drifted off to sleep.
Only seasoned corporate slaves knew how wonderful it was to get a regular night's sleep every day.
The next day, the Thunder hosted the Nuggets.
It was the Thunder's first game since the trade, and everyone was eager to see what the strengthened team could do.
Before the game, the Nuggets' official account announced that starting center Nikola Jokic was out with "hip tightness." Chen was a little disappointed. He'd wanted to see Teacher Jokic as he was now. The guy wasn't that good yet, so Chen could give him a good hard time first!
When the game began, the Thunder rolled out an entirely new starting lineup.
Westbrook
Butler
Sabonis
Adams
Donovan put out a balanced lineup with one big and four smaller players as the regular starters.
The Nuggets' lineup, by comparison, was much worse.
Will Barton
Gallinari
Nurkic
Darrell Arthur
Emmanuel Mudiay
Without Teacher Jokic, this lineup looked pretty short on star power. This year's seventh pick, the future Kobe Mamba, was still stuck on the bench, waiting his turn.
Tsk. Comparison really did make all the difference.
The seventh pick was riding the bench, while us 56th Picks were starting. Sweet!
Before you continue