One Year Left to Play-Chapter 177 - 57: Basketball Scoundrel

Regarding Zhang Hao’s understanding of Gerald Glass’s abilities and other aspects, Gerald Glass was already on a non-guaranteed contract in its final year, and Butch Baird’s decision essentially announced the end of Gerald Glass’s NBA career.

After Butch Baird announced the news, he left the restaurant, and the place immediately buzzed with chatter.

"Gerald’s contract for the new season was 480,000, right? That’s too bad! He won’t get a single penny now," Chales felt a sense of sympathy.

"It was inevitable that Gerald would be cut. During the game against the Hornets, he didn’t get up until two in the afternoon, and he only arrived at the arena as warm-ups were ending."

"True, but it’s just too sudden. I thought he would be cut mid-season, at least earning a few thousand per game, making money as long as he played."

For Zhang Hao and Kenny Anderson, an annual salary of 480,000 US dollars wasn’t much, but it was different for Chales.

However, he didn’t harbor any negative feelings toward Butch Baird; Baird really had a way with these things.

Zhang Hao listened quietly to their conversation, feeling that Butch Baird was truly formidable.

He chose the most suitable person to set an example!

"Did they notify Glass of the curfew rule, or had they already prepared to cut Glass before the season started to save salary?" Zhang Hao didn’t voice these thoughts.

But regarding this approach, Zhang Hao thought it might have an immediate effect from a disciplinary standpoint.

Very direct, very simple, very blunt.

No room for negotiation; the team, besides rules mandated by the league, didn’t have many other regulations, nor were they stringent.

Previously there was leniency, and many violated the rules.

Butch Baird just made a decision—to strictly enforce the regulations.

The new regulations were merely a catalyst.

Zhang Hao glanced around at his teammates; some felt uneasy, but some players were excited by it.

The team was genuinely changing!

"Impressive! Not good at coaching, but great at these maneuvers!"

Zhang Hao prepared to grab more food to calm his nerves—these nerves were in a good way.

He initially thought the team would be like a quagmire, where he would struggle and just focus on himself, but now it seemed they might have a chance to try to win games!

Over this period, he felt they had some hope, as for the cut Glass...someone would always be cut, as long as it wasn’t Mr. Zhang himself.

Just as Zhang Hao was feeling excited, he noticed the TV in the restaurant showing something interesting, and by the end, a curse word echoed in the restaurant...

...

Yesterday, Michael Jordan was interviewed by TNT and was asked about this year’s rookies.

This was an annual occurrence, where the league’s top stars evaluate the rookies.

They don’t wait until the regular season has progressed, or even until the pre-season is over; they do it as soon as the rookies show a bit of performance.

The reason... being a superstar at playing doesn’t necessarily mean having a good eye for talent.

The topic needed to be created.

After retiring for over a season, Jordan returned, and naturally, they had to get his thoughts.

Previously, Jordan had been tricked; he used to honestly evaluate rookies based on his own perceptions, praising who he thought was good, usually picking someone he favored from the lottery picks, and that rookie often turned out to be a bust.

In the past, every time Jordan participated in such an interview, newly-entered NBA rookies were extremely anxious, afraid their name would pop out of Jordan’s mouth.

Fortunately, later, Jordan wised up. Instead of praising a single player who might turn out to be a bust, he complimented all the lottery picks.

After that, the much-anticipated by fans and dreaded by rookies "Cursed Rookie" segment gradually faded in influence.

Having retired for over a year and returning again, Jordan became more composed with the media, complimented rookies more skillfully, using words more professionally, and left room for reconsideration.

He praised every lottery pick, even those who performed poorly in the initial pre-season games, expressing anticipation, unwilling to be slapped in the face again.

Perhaps it was because the Bulls were soon facing the Brooklyn Nets in the pre-season that, after complimenting the lottery picks, Jordan specifically mentioned Zhang Hao: "Aix’s mid-range shot is amazing; he’s definitely one of the league’s best mid-range shooters. He just graduated high school—impressive. I’d love to challenge him and see whose mid-range is better..." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

...

...

As the pre-season began, Zhang Hao gained some spotlight but was limited to the "rookie" scope.

If he weren’t a rookie, such pre-season performance wouldn’t be surprising.

But Jordan’s remarks put Zhang Hao right at the center of current fan discussions!

After breakfast, Zhang Hao boarded the team bus with the team and went to the United Center, the Bulls’ new home court put into use in the latter half of last season, where they conducted team training under the guidance of the coaching staff.

The training content was simple, with no specific targeting, yet Zhang Hao clearly felt a huge difference from before.

Unlike the past tactical training sessions, which involved more comprehensive practice, this time focused on adjusting commonly used tactics in recent games.

Adjustments based on actual gameplay, modifications in detail.

Initially, Zhang Hao thought it was a tactical review, but upon closer observation, he realized changes were indeed happening.