After the NCAA season ended, Kayce allowed himself a few days to relax. He attended classes and studied during the day, and worked out at the gym whenever he had free time, living a very disciplined life.
Kayce wanted to graduate smoothly, but his finance major had too many courses: preparatory, mandatory, and elective courses galore. He mostly coasted through projects at school, relying entirely on his groupmates to carry him.
Kayce's learning ability was quite good, but he wasn't a genius; he was just barely excellent. In this regard, he couldn't even compare to Britney. That girl even minored in music, had already accumulated enough credits, and was just waiting for her senior year internship.
"Kayce, you really don't have to worry so much about the project. We'll definitely help you get it done, and the college will be understanding. After all, you're going to play in the NBA!"
White was Kayce's good friend at UCLA. Kayce owed a lot to him for his major courses.
"If I have time, I'll complete my tasks. After all, I feel bad always relying on your help!" Kayce didn't want to keep getting something for nothing.
"These are all minor things. Just take me to a few more of your parties, and we'll be even!" White gave Kayce a knowing look.
"No problem, plenty of hot girls!" Kayce readily agreed.
"Buzz." Kayce saw it was his agent calling and immediately signaled that he needed to step out.
"Kayce, are you free this afternoon? The Clippers want to meet with you first, and a formal tryout invitation should be sent tomorrow."
Nathan Chapman was Kayce's agent at Big Machine Records and was currently also responsible for arranging his tryouts.
"No problem, it seems you're very suited for this job. It was indeed the right choice to bring you on!" Kayce was in a good mood and started teasing Chapman.
"Come on, Kayce, when I signed you, it was because I saw your musical talent. But then you went to play basketball in high school. You almost ended my agent career prematurely!"
Chapman immediately retorted, sounding annoyed.
"My decision was a bit rash back then, but I also introduced you to Taylor. Aren't you doing great now? Besides, it's all about dealing with people, and isn't that what you're good at?"
Kayce continued to tease with a grin.
"Please, I deal with record companies! You have to release a single this year. You've been blowing me off for several years!" Chapman was starting to get flustered.
"No problem, but right now you need to help me sort out some team matters. You have so many friends; surely you have a few in the sports world." Kayce dangled another carrot.
"I hope your single is good quality. I'll help with the draft, i do have a lot of friends."
"That's good. See you this afternoon. Remember to pick me up!" Kayce quickly hung up, otherwise, he'd be nagged again.
Chapman was a typical American white man, 40 years old, in the prime of his life, with a receding hairline, and an honest character. This quality helped him make many friends in the agent circle.
The Dutton Family initially acquired Big Machine Records mainly for Kayce and Taylor. However, Kayce chose basketball in high school, while Taylor's popularity continued to soar.
Especially after Chapman used his connections to open up channels with Universal Music, record sales exploded. Don't let Chapman's complaints to Kayce fool you; in reality, this guy had already made a fortune.
In the afternoon, Kayce arrived as scheduled and met Clippers Head Coach Mike Dunleavy at a coffee shop not far from UCLA.
"It's great to meet you, Li. You were absolutely fantastic in the NCAA NBA Finals. 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. I was there in person."
Dunleavy started with the usual compliments.
"Incredible, a legendary coach like yourself also follows the NCAA? This is truly an honor for me." Kayce showered him with flattery.
"Haha, I'm just an ordinary coach. Of course, I've always followed college basketball. After seeing your performance, I immediately called the team's general manager. I hope to see you with the Clippers next season!"
"Thank you for the invitation. I can't promise anything right now, but I like Los Angeles, and I like the Clippers. If there's an opportunity to work together, it would be a wonderful experience."
Kayce's kind words flowed freely; he simply said whatever sounded good.
"Then I look forward to the tryout at the end of the month." Dunleavy also laughed.
The two then engaged in mutual flattery and extensive conversation, ultimately leaving satisfied and happy.
"Kayce, you don't really want to go to the Clippers, do you? You seemed to be having a great time chatting." Chapman was a bit puzzled.
"It would be great to play in Los Angeles, but the Clippers might not pick me. If they have the first overall pick, they might choose Griffin, as their owner has always favored that guy."
"My friends in the sports world told me that the Clippers aren't a very good choice; their team culture has some issues." Chapman advised kindly.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. You just need to help me arrange the tryout schedule. Of course, you also need to look over the contract for me." Kayce replied with a relaxed expression.
"These are all minor things, I'll help you sort them out. Have you finished writing the single? Do you need me to find someone to polish it up? And your band friends are all waiting for you. They always complain to me about being bored with Taylor."
Seeing Chapman about to start his nagging mode again, Kayce quickly interrupted him.
"The single is fine, don't worry! I'm going to train now, bye!" Kayce directly slipped away, leaving a fuming Chapman behind.
The time came to April 30th. Kayce arrived early at the Clippers' training facility.
The Los Angeles Clippers were tanking this season, having gone fishing early. There were no starting players in the training facility; after all, basketball was just a job, and most of them were probably out having fun. Who would be stuck in the training facility?
When Kayce arrived at the training facility, he found mostly trainers. There was only one big guy from the Clippers warming up.
DeAndre Jordan, selected by the Clippers in the second round, 5th pick last year, a jump-and-dunk player with somewhat unrefined skills.
"Hey, Bro, still coming to the training facility to practice at this time? You're incredibly disciplined!" Kayce went up and greeted him.
"It's great to see you, Kayce. You played great this year. Will you come to the Clippers next season?" DeAndre Jordan saw Kayce and immediately showered him with compliments.
"That depends on the Clippers' choice. I'm just here for a tryout today." Kayce shrugged.
"Alright, lads, let's get warmed up first, then we'll proceed with the tryout drills." Head Coach Dunleavy immediately called over the trainers and Kayce.
After a thorough warm-up with the Clippers' trainers, Kayce began the simplest physical measurements.
"Height without shoes 200cm, weight 97kg, wingspan 215cm, standing reach 270cm."
"100-yard dash speed, 1-step vertical jump 110cm."
Dunleavy looked at these numbers in astonishment. These physical stats might only be slightly inferior to LeBron James. This was definitely a genius!
The trainers and DeAndre Jordan were also a bit stunned after seeing Kayce's physical data. This was truly terrifying.
They had initially thought Kayce was primarily a shooter, and his physical attributes wouldn't be too outstanding. But then they saw his vertical jump and his speed. No wonder he played so effortlessly in the NCAA; with this physique, playing in the NBA would definitely be no problem!
"I must sign him!" Dunleavy made up his mind.