Training Camp

Boston Celtics general manager's office:

"Welcome to the Celtics family!"

"Thank you. I won't let you down!"

Today was the day Goodwin signed with the Celtics. He'd brought a lawyer along to look over his contract.

After the lawyer and Goodwin had both reviewed it, Goodwin signed his name.

The contract was now official, and Goodwin had officially become a member of the Boston Celtics.

Goodwin had signed a three-year, $1.8 million contract. Just look at first overall pick LeBron James, who'd signed a four-year, $18.79 million deal, averaging $4.7 million a year. Goodwin made only $600,000. That was the difference in contract value between a second-round pick and a lottery pick!

Goodwin's take-home pay would even be less than $300,000 a year, because taxes in North America were terrifying, with all kinds of them.

Federal taxes, state taxes, pension taxes, agent commissions, various kinds of insurance, and more!

First were federal taxes. There were seven federal tax brackets. People earning as little as $9,875 a year paid just 10%, while those earning more than $518,400 paid 37%.

Next came state taxes, which varied from state to state. California had the highest rate at 13.3%, while states like Florida, Nevada, and Texas had no personal income tax at all. Ohio, Wyoming, and South Dakota, among others, had no corporate income tax, while Alaska, Delaware, and Montana had no sales tax.

Then there was the league's 4% pension tax, followed by agent commissions. Commissions were generally set at 1.5% to 4% of a player's contract. The better the player, the lower the commission tended to be. Players like The Diesel, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan could command max contracts wherever they went.

Last came the various insurance policies. NBA players' premiums ranged from 1.5% to 5%. For example, a player earning $40 million a year would pay at least $600,000 in insurance premiums. The more serious the injury risk, the higher the premium. However, the team covered these costs, so they didn't have much impact on a player's salary.

After all the deductions, an NBA player took home only about 41% of his salary.

Goodwin thought that was fine, though. He didn't have any expensive hobbies or anything that required a lot of money. Besides, he believed that with the System, he could become a superstar in the league.

Becoming a superstar meant money would pour into Goodwin's pockets.

Money meant strength!

All he had to do was train.

Just as Goodwin was about to say goodbye, Danny Ainge called him back. "Goodwin, I heard you don't have an agent yet. Would you like me to recommend one?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Goodwin shook his head. "Sorry, Ainge. I don't need one for now."

Goodwin had already thought about this. What did a rookie need an agent for? You should wear a hat that fits your head.

"All right. Let me know if you need one, and I'll find someone for you!" Goodwin's answer had taken Danny Ainge by surprise. He'd actually turned him down.

But Danny Ainge liked Goodwin even more for it. He was only nineteen, yet already so mature. A player's personality could sometimes affect his performance on the court.

Goodwin nodded, then said goodbye to Danny Ainge and hurried home to continue training. Otherwise, he'd have to "work overtime" again.

After months of brutal training, Goodwin had long since gotten used to it. But as he adapted, the System automatically added more training.

Goodwin didn't react much to that, but when he saw that completing the tasks still earned him just one skill point, he got seriously upset.

"System, why are you copying the worst habits? More work for the same pay?"

"Train properly. If you fail, I'll randomly deduct two attribute points."

That was a killer!

What could Goodwin do with an "unethical boss" like this? He couldn't exactly fire it and get a new one. He could only endure it!

As Mencius said, when Heaven was about to entrust someone with a great responsibility, it first tested their resolve, wore out their muscles and bones, and starved their body.

Bring it on. No matter how much there was, he could take it.

And so Goodwin kept his head down and trained at home. He didn't even take part in the Summer League.

Goodwin didn't think there was much point in playing in the Summer League. He'd rather work hard and train at home.

But because of this, Goodwin earned the resentment of interim coach John Carroll, who hadn't liked him in the first place.

In his view, picking Goodwin was worse than picking Kyle Korver.

Kyle Elliot Korver came from a basketball family. His parents and two uncles had all played on college basketball teams, and his mother had once scored 74 points in a high school game.

Kyle Korver spent his college years in Omaha, Nebraska. His school, Creighton University, wasn't a prestigious university, but Korver became a star there. In the 2000–01 season, his sophomore year, he averaged 14.6 points and 5.8 rebounds. He improved to 15.1 points as a junior, then averaged 17.8 points in his senior year, getting better every season.

As a junior, Kyle Korver led his team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. In his senior year, he shot 48% from three-point range and improved on defense as well. He finished his four-year college career with 371 three-pointers, a Creighton University record and the sixth-highest total in NCAA history.

Compared with Goodwin, who had played in fewer games and for less time, John Carroll considered Kyle Korver the better player.

Unfortunately, Danny Ainge preferred Goodwin, and even Red Auerbach favored him. What could a coach like John Carroll say about that?

John Carroll had thought that since they were on the same team, he'd give Goodwin a proper look and see what he could do. But the kid didn't even show up for the Summer League. John Carroll was so furious he nearly lost it.

John Carroll had previously been an NCAA head coach, where the coach was in charge of everything. But this was the NBA, where things were the other way around: the stars were in charge. Clearly, John Carroll hadn't grasped the difference.

So John Carroll was determined to make things difficult for Goodwin in the new season.

Goodwin, of course, had no idea. Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. His memories of his past life told him that interim coach John Carroll wouldn't last long with the Boston Celtics.

Time passed, and the new season drew closer.

On September 26, the Boston Celtics officially began training camp. As a member of the team, Goodwin got up early, washed up, brushed his teeth, and ate the nutritious breakfast he'd made himself.

As he ate, he grumbled, "Once I have the money, I'm hiring a nutritionist."

After eating his fill, Goodwin slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed to the Boston Celtics' practice facility.