You're Fired

In his first game with the Rockets, Link scored 5 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, and dished out 1 assist. He hadn't played much, but thanks to two highlights that made the Top 5 Plays, he'd gotten off to a pretty good start in the NBA.

Link continued to put up solid, unremarkable performances in the next two games.

On December 9, the Rockets lost to the Bucks. Link's playing time increased to two and a half minutes, and he put up 7 points and 3 rebounds. Notably, he shot 2-for-3 from the field, scoring 6 of his 7 points from beyond the arc, plus a free throw. It was an extremely efficient performance.

On December 10, the Rockets faced the Cavaliers in the second game of a back-to-back. Thanks to Kevin Martin's ridiculous 40-point performance, the Cavaliers, who had lost James, were thoroughly crushed, and the game entered garbage time early.

With garbage time underway, Link was lucky enough to get three and a half minutes on the court. He put up 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. To produce those numbers in less than five minutes of playing time was extremely efficient.

If Link hadn't been unlucky on one shot, when the ball spun around the rim and bounced out, he would've scored double digits for the first time in the NBA.

That brought Link's three-game run to an end, and his ten-day contract with the Rockets officially expired. He'd become increasingly well-known in Houston, and it was clear that Adelman was starting to trust him more and more.

At first, Link probably hadn't been part of the team's plans. But now, Adelman was deliberately giving him more playing time.

After the game, Link returned home full of anticipation, ready to sign his second ten-day contract the next day. He had confidence in his performance over those three games and believed he'd done enough to stay in Houston.

But when Carl Jon came to see him, the news he brought was nothing like what Link had imagined.

"We need to pack. We're leaving for Oklahoma City first thing tomorrow morning."

"What did you say?" At those words, Link's good mood vanished in an instant.

His face immediately fell, too. Link wasn't Duncan or Leonard; he wore his feelings on his sleeve and didn't like hiding them.

Besides, he'd already put up with Carl Jon time and time again.

From the start, all Carl Jon had been busy doing was lining up one commercial appearance after another for him.

Whether it was showing up for a supermarket promotion, attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony for some obscure brand, or pretending to eat at a restaurant to attract customers, these gigs paid anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars, and none of them were proper commercial deals.

Link wasn't stupid. He knew the arrangement benefited Carl Jon most. Carl took a 20 percent cut from every appearance. Each payment might not have been much, but it added up. In just ten days, Carl Jon had already made tens of thousands of dollars from them.

Who wouldn't love making easy money? Especially someone as greedy as Carl Jon.

Link had always assumed that once Carl Jon had made enough money, he'd focus on getting him an NBA contract, so he hadn't interfered. But now, Jon had let him down.

Seeing Link's expression, Carl Jon hurried to explain. "Morey never planned to keep you in Houston. He signed you just to attract attention. Now that you've served your purpose, of course he won't renew your contract."

Link didn't disagree with Carl Jon. As someone who'd traveled through time, Link remembered that in 2018 and 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers had also signed a G League player named Andrew Ingram twice. The story of the aging G League player's inspiring journey had gotten a lot of attention those two years.

But did the Lakers really need Ingram? No. They'd done it to draw attention with his inspirational story. The Lakers' record had been so terrible those two years that if they hadn't cooked up a story or two, no one would've cared about them.

When the Lakers signed Ingram the first year, Link had thought they had a heart. But when they did it again the next year, he'd found the publicity campaign a little sickening. Had Andrew Ingram really fulfilled his dream? No. He'd just been used as a publicity tool.

So Morey might indeed have signed Link for the same reason. But that didn't excuse Carl Jon.

"If the Rockets don't have a place for me and Morey doesn't want to renew my contract, then apart from those goddamn commercial appearances, did you even try to get me a deal? Did you sit down across from Morey and confront him? Or did you know from the start that I had no chance of staying in Houston, but still sent me here to squeeze as much commercial value out of me as possible?"

Faced with Link's questions, Carl Jon was speechless.

"You said we could make something great together, but I'm really disappointed in what you've done, Carl."

Just as Link was losing his temper, his phone rang. He quickly pulled it out, thinking there might've been a change of heart.

Maybe Adelman had convinced Morey? Or perhaps Jordan Hill had put in a good word for him?

But no. The caller wasn't anyone from the Rockets. It was Upshaw's mother.

Link shot Carl Jon a furious glare, collected himself, and answered the call.

"Martha, what's wrong?"

"Link..."

The moment she spoke, Link knew something was wrong. Upshaw's mother was fighting back tears!

From his earlier interactions with them, Link knew the Upshaw family was optimistic. Martha especially was always smiling, no matter what life threw at her. Even when she occasionally confided in Link, she'd always made light of her troubles.

But now, the most optimistic woman Link had ever met was speaking through tears.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Link was frantic. Everyone knew that crime rates around the Upshaw family's neighborhood were high, and he feared something had happened to Upshaw.

"It's Zeke. He's in the hospital. I don't know what happened. He suddenly collapsed during the game and still hasn't woken up. The doctor said he..."

Martha paused, as though it took all her courage just to say the words. "The doctor said he collapsed because his heart stopped. They're trying to resuscitate him right now. I don't know what to do, Link. I don't know who else to call. I..."

Cardiac arrest. The words made every hair on Link's body stand on end. Suddenly, he remembered the round pill case Upshaw always carried with him.

"Don't worry, Martha. I'll book the earliest flight and get there right away. Don't worry. Zeke will be okay. He's a professional basketball player!"

Link hurriedly ended the call. He didn't even pack; he threw on his coat and headed for the door. His good friend had collapsed during a game. He couldn't worry about anything else.

"Where are you going?" Carl Jon panicked, knowing he couldn't afford to lose this cash cow.

"Back to Oklahoma City, just like you wanted!" Link snapped.

"Oklahoma City? No, the commercial appearance there isn't until noon tomorrow. There's no need to rush. We—"

Carl Jon's words cut off when he noticed the fire in Link's eyes.

"To hell with the commercial appearance, Carl Jon. You're fired. You're goddamn fired! Go find your next cash cow, and don't ever follow me again!"

The Rockets had decided not to renew his contract, and Upshaw had wound up in the hospital for reasons no one understood. Link was already furious, and Carl Jon had just given him an outlet for his anger.

Carl swallowed, clearly frightened by Link. In all the time he'd known him, he'd never seen Link angry. But Jon soon regained his composure and put on a repulsive sneer. "If you want to fire me, you'll have to pay me a fifty-thousand-dollar termination fee, Link! It's right there in black and white in the contract!"

Hearing Carl Jon say that, Link just smiled. Now he finally saw Carl Jon for what he really was. The man had never considered him a friend. Link had been right: he was nothing more than a pawn to Morey and Jon.

One wanted a cut of his commercial deals; the other wanted a "clown" to draw in fans.

Seeing Link stop, Carl Jon smirked. He thought he'd intimidated him. After all, fifty thousand dollars was a huge sum for some broke kid playing in the G League.

What he didn't know was that Link decisively pulled out the check he'd just received from the Rockets and viciously slapped it against Carl Jon's face, then spat on his shoe.

"You money-grubbing bastard. Take the check and get out of my sight. I guarantee money will be the death of you someday! And I'll be glad when it happens."

After cursing him out, Link zipped up his jacket and walked out of the rental house.

His time in Houston was over, but he didn't miss it at all. All he could think about now was getting back to Upshaw as quickly as possible.