Harden is currently riding high. The Sacramento Kings' Head Coach has already told him that he will be the team's core player next season, with plenty of playing time and ball possession, just waiting to level up.
"To be honest, I don't really like the Toronto Raptors; it always feels like playing abroad," DeRozan quickly changed the subject when he saw the atmosphere cool.
"You guys are all right; I'll definitely be backing up Paul next season. Maybe this situation won't change during my rookie contract," Collison said resignedly, taking it easy.
"Being a substitute isn't bad. Paul is very skilled, and you're both the same height, so you can secretly learn a few tricks. Anyway, I feel pretty good with the 76ers. All rookies are like this; you might even have to run errands and carry bags for the veteran players."
Holiday has the best mindset; he's already very satisfied to be a first-round pick with a guaranteed contract.
Curry watched everyone describe their rookie lives, one after another, and suddenly understood why Kayce had brought him over.
In fact, no one lives comfortably after entering the NBA; after all, the league competition is too fierce.
Thinking about his situation with the Warriors, it's not too bad. At worst, he'll start from scratch. Basketball itself doesn't lie.
Griffin watched Kayce showing off his dribbling on the side and immediately changed the subject.
"Kayce, I heard you told the Chinese media that you wanted to win Rookie of the Year and even campaigned for yourself to be an All-Star. TNT recently reported this. Did you really say these things?"
Kayce was speechless upon hearing this. Good heavens, I even gave an interview in Mandarin, and it still got dug up. How idle are you guys!
"Of course, after all, the Rookie of the Year award can only be won during the rookie season, and it would be a pity to miss it. As for the All-Star, of course, I have to campaign in advance!"
Griffin watched Kayce show off his fancy dribbling while nonchalantly bragging, and couldn't help but retort directly.
"You're thinking too far ahead. Besides, a rookie being selected as an All-Star? You really dare to dream. The competition for Western Conference forwards is very intense!"
Kayce glanced at Griffin and continued slowly, "I've switched to playing guard. The competition pressure for guards should be much less."
"Hey, guys, how did we jump straight to the All-Star? Is it that crazy? Why don't we think about how to become a starter first!" Curry saw that their discussion was getting out of hand and wanted to pull them back quickly.
"I think Kayce's idea is good. Maybe I can squeeze out Paul as a Western Conference guard. Maybe I can also make the All-Star team!" Harden had already become overconfident and immediately joined the bragging.
"If you put it that way, then I can also make the Western Conference forwards. Should I also campaign in advance?" Griffin thought about it, felt he could do it too, and immediately started bragging.
At this point, everyone let loose. Kobe was just so-so, LeBron always relied on the referees, Nowitzki's style of play wasn't tough, and Howard was just a jumper. After a chaotic session of bragging, everyone was in a good mood.
Kayce looked at the situation with some amusement, "Actually, I really plan to win an award, and entering the All-Star team, I really wasn't bragging."
A simple get-together can provide emotional comfort, as understanding that others are also not doing so well naturally improves one's mood significantly.
Today's game is against the Los Angeles Clippers. Griffin, as this year's first overall pick, naturally attracted many fans, and tickets sold out early.
"Kayce, it's the same today; play the entire first quarter, then we'll see the situation on the court. Your playing time shouldn't be too much," the Assistant Coach immediately gave Kayce the lowdown.
"I understand, Coach, don't worry, I'll protect myself," Kayce naturally knew the Assistant Coach's thoughts.
"Today we will see a wonderful matchup. In the March NCAA elimination tournament, Kayce successfully eliminated Griffin. We wonder what kind of sparks will fly between the two teams in this game."
The commentator was enthusiastically stirring up the atmosphere.
Kayce watched Griffin showboating with dunks during warm-ups, causing the front-row spectators to shriek, and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. This guy isn't afraid of getting injured, dunking so flashy.
"Alright, the game begins. Byron wins the tip-off for the Thunder."
No matter how high Griffin can jump, it can't compensate for his short arms.
Kayce calmly dribbled past half-court and began instructing Byron to come for a screen. Unfortunately, the screen wasn't solid enough, and the Clippers' guard squeezed past directly. Kayce executed a half-spin fake, then quickly accelerated and broke through with the ball in his left hand.
Facing the defensive player who had rotated over from the inside, he made a direct underhand pass. Byron successfully received the lob and slammed it down with both hands.
"Clang!" The basketball hoop trembled from the dunk.
"A powerful and forceful dunk! This drive and pass by the Thunder was very successful," the live commentator praised the offense loudly.
Byron, the unlucky kid, hadn't gotten many opportunities recently because Kayce always played only one quarter in the last two games. Once he ran around aimlessly with the team, it was truly difficult for him to get a lob pass.
The Clippers' offense, after a screen, immediately sent the ball to Griffin. He showily executed a triple threat, drove right, then suddenly a reverse spin completely shook off his defender, and threw down a one-handed tomahawk dunk.
"Clang!" He slammed the ball fiercely into the basket. It must be said that Griffin's small techniques are all good, and his ball-handling skills even surpass most interior players.
"Ah!!!" This dunk also ignited the atmosphere in the arena.
"A very beautiful dunk! Perhaps Griffin should participate in the Slam Dunk Contest next season. I believe he will definitely win the championship!" The live commentator began to heap praise.
Kayce didn't want to show off dunks; he was in a steady flow now. The offensive rhythm, under his leadership, proceeded in an orderly manner. After continuous drives and passes by the Thunder, Kayce got an open shot in the corner and directly shot a 3-pointer.
"Swish!" It went straight through the net. The Clippers' defense was like paper.
When the Clippers attacked, Griffin showed off his passing again, directly an inside-to-inside pass. Byron's defense was distracted, and the opposing interior player scored an easy bucket.
After Kayce dribbled past half-court, he found that the opponent was using a forward to guard him. Feeling the physical pressure, he first protected the ball with his back, then directly used a large-amplitude premature change of direction to shake off the defender, and accelerated directly towards the paint.
While moving, he suddenly faked a pass and went straight up, directly faking out the interior defender, then a simple floater.
"Swish!" 2 points scored.
"A brilliant fake, directly deceiving the defender!" The commentator again sang praises for Kayce.
Next, both sides went back and forth, scoring continuously. With 2 minutes left in the first quarter, the Clippers were starting to play a bit wildly because Griffin had come off the court.
Sure enough, they just shot when they got the ball, and only passed when they had no other option. Kayce was waiting for this kind of pass, directly stole the ball, sprinted to the frontcourt, and threw down a tomahawk dunk.
"Clang!" The atmosphere group on the Thunder's bench wildly waved towels.
"Is it really going to be a one-quarter clock-out again? Every team in the Summer League has the same routine."
Kayce, on defense, was a bit helpless. Now he couldn't even earn achievement badges because the game was too easy.