Competition Among Role Players

Sam Young was putting in extra effort during warm-ups today. He knew exactly what it meant for the Grizzlies to sign Link.

As a second-year player, Sam Young averaged 7.3 points in 16 minutes per game during his rookie season. Despite a pitiful 19.6% three-point percentage, his occasional dunk highlights made him a fan and team favorite.

After all, as a second-round pick, even sporadic contributions in rotation minutes during his first year was a pleasant surprise. People believed he could grow into a decent role player.

But this year, the sophomore Sam Young showed little improvement over last season. His three-point percentage had supposedly skyrocketed to 34%, but with only 0.6 attempts per game, the sample size was too small to mean anything.

Despite averaging four more minutes per game, Sam Young's scoring hadn't changed. Last year he averaged 7.3 points; this year it was 7.2.

For a rookie, stagnation is the deadliest flaw. As a senior college player, Sam Young was already a ready-made product—his potential had been largely tapped.

This season, the Grizzlies wanted a 3-and-D small forward off the bench. With his inconsistent shooting, Sam Young gradually lost Hollins' trust.

The Grizzlies originally had Xavier Henry as the perfect fit, but the Kentucky rookie forward was out for the season, forcing Memphis to look elsewhere.

Now, with the enemy at the gates, Sam Young knew he had to defend his playing time and rotation spot with his performance. If Link rose and Henry returned next season, Sam Young's Memphis career would be over.

As a second-round pick, Sam Young knew exactly what being discarded meant. At best, a trade; at worst, outright release. This was about his livelihood—he wouldn't yield an inch to Link.

While Sam Young prepared earnestly, Grizzlies assistant coach Elston Turner began explaining the team's basic tactics to Link.

"Your job is to come in as a 3-and-D player when Rudy Gay or O.J. Mayo rests. So the head coach's assignments for you aren't complicated. First, spread the floor beyond the three-point line. When we run inside plays, you shuttle between the corners to create space for Zach and Marc. Second, in transition, if your teammate pushes the ball up the middle, you decide based on the situation whether to spot up at the arc or cut to the basket..."

As an undrafted player, no coach tailors plays or holds a special meeting for you. You listen to the assistant coach's instructions right there on the practice floor. Understand it and you play; don't understand and you still play, just probably terribly. And playing terribly means collecting your $50,000 and leaving after ten days.

At first, Link found it hard to adjust. In the G League, game tactics were far less complex. The focus there was individual performance—every player fought for their own future.

But in the NBA, the focus was the team. Every seemingly ordinary attack was backed by intricate tactics. Today, Link truly experienced that there were no dumb players in the NBA.

Players who could memorize and execute such complex tactics were undoubtedly sharp. For role players, even more so. Stars could make the team adapt to them, but role players had to adapt to the team.

Though the Grizzlies' tactics were ten times more complex than the Blue Team's, thanks to Link's four years of college basketball education, understanding and remembering them wasn't too hard. And don't forget, the current Link possessed Grant Hill's decades of basketball experience and understanding.

His tactical acumen was several times stronger than rookies at his level. The experience Grant Hill had accumulated over most of his life was something ordinary people couldn't obtain even if they wanted to.

Link could only thank his lucky stars—without those four years of experience and the system, he'd never have grasped Turner's tactics so thoroughly.

"Do you roughly understand everything I've said?" After Elston Turner finished, his whiteboard was covered in dense diagrams.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Good. Now go run through the plays with the trainer to get comfortable. I'll talk to Coach Hollins—if all goes well, you'll get to test yourself in the scrimmage later. Oh, and your number 0 jersey is ready. Don't wear that black vest anymore when the scrimmage starts."

Hearing "number 0 jersey" fired Link up. For himself and Upshaw, no one was going to stop him today!

The Grizzlies' scrimmage had one thing in common with the Blue Team's: Hollins also liked mixing starters with reserves.

This built team chemistry while making the scrimmage feel like real competition. With both sides roughly equal, there was no blowout.

Before today's scrimmage, Hollins gathered everyone and assigned the lineups. Sam Young was on high alert—he had a year and a half of NBA experience and couldn't lose to an undrafted player!

"Thabeet, Randolph, Sam, Mayo, and Vasquez—you're one team. Marc Gasol, Darrell Arthur, Link, Tony Allen, and Conley—you're the other. Everyone else, be ready to sub in."

As soon as Hollins announced the list, everyone perked up. They all knew Link's presence would make today's scrimmage unusually interesting.

Hearing he was on the opposite side from Link, Randolph cracked his knuckles. In truth, Randolph was no longer a thug. Since arriving in Memphis, he'd become a textbook case of a reformed man.

But Randolph didn't want a softie on his team. The Grizzlies didn't welcome weak players. So today, he'd thoroughly test Link's mettle.

"Don't be nervous, buddy. Stick to the plays, and chances will come!" Before the scrimmage, Tony Allen patted Link on the shoulder.

Elston Turner, acting as the trainer-referee, blew his whistle. The game began!

Since it was a scrimmage, they skipped the jump ball. Randolph's side inbounded from the baseline.

Sam Young was very active, constantly cutting and weaving on offense, looking for a chance to slash to the basket.

Randolph received a pass in the low post from Venezuelan guard Vasquez. He could have easily backed down his younger teammate Darrell Arthur. But Randolph, always one to stir things up, chose not to go solo. Instead, he played high-post facilitator, bouncing a pass to Sam Young cutting to the rim!

Sam Young was a "springy" forward who loved high-flying plays. If he could dunk over Link in practice, it would surely deepen Hollins' trust in him.

With that thought, Sam Young leaped without fully shaking Link. Seeing this, Hollins shook his head instead of feeling pleased.

"Sam's too impatient."

The moment Hollins finished muttering to himself, Sam Young lost the ball. The instant he jumped, Link seized the opportunity to swipe cleanly, disrupting Young's dunk.

Link's strip was experienced and calm, crisp and clean. It didn't look like a rookie at all.

But that was Link's trait—his maturity beyond his years had long become his hallmark.

After stripping Sam Young, Link immediately passed to Conley and then drifted toward the right corner.

Hollins was pleasantly surprised by Link's tactical movement. This was his first time playing in the Grizzlies' system, yet his thinking was remarkably clear. He knew when to give the ball to whom and where to run at each moment.

For a role player, that kind of performance was far more impressive to a coach.

Conley controlled the ball on the perimeter while Link faced Sam Young's harassment in the right corner.

Sam Young applied heavy physical pressure—the kind that went beyond a normal scrimmage. But he knew that for both him and Link, this wasn't a scrimmage at all. It was a battle for survival.

Young tried to intimidate Link with brute force, but as a G League player, Link feared competition the least! The G League's cruelty sometimes surpassed the NBA's!

Sam Young's rough play didn't lock Link down. When Conley passed to Darrell Arthur on the right wing beyond the arc, Link immediately sprinted toward the right corner as the play dictated!

He shoved off Sam Young, cut through the congested baseline, and ran a clean route!

Meanwhile, Sam Young's defensive steps were delayed in the crowded paint, allowing Link to slip out at just the right moment.

Arthur passed the ball, and Link leaped beyond the three-point line, catching and shooting in one motion!

The ball hadn't even gone in yet, but Hollins was already smiling. At the very least, Link had executed the play flawlessly. Anyone watching would think Link had been playing for the Grizzlies for years.

The next second, the net rippled like white foam. Link hadn't just run the play—he'd seized the scoring opportunity. The Grizzlies had finally executed a crisp three-point play like this, something their former bench unit had lacked. And that steady three-point shooting was exactly what Sam Young had failed to provide for Memphis.

Three-pointers and defense—Link had showcased his value in the clearest, most straightforward way possible. You need three-point shooting and defense, right? I've got both!

Link had already caught Hollins's attention, getting off to a strong start. But this wasn't over yet—"Uncle Zach" was growing more and more intrigued by that Chinese-American forward.