After the press conference, Onseld didn't criticize Lin Yu for his arrogance.
In his view, a bit of cockiness in young players wasn't such a big deal. Back in his own youth, he'd brag every year about crushing Dave Cozens, only to get thoroughly beaten each time...
At 8:30 the next morning, Lin Yu arrived at the training ground for the scheduled session.
As soon as he reached the locker room door, he heard Lorenzo's sarcastic voice echoing inside.
"Look who's on the front page now—our big star!"
"Mr. Wallace, now that you've made it big, don't look down on us little guys, okay?"
"Guess we can't bully you in here anymore. If you go crying to the coach, I might never get on the field again."
"Hey, what's your deal with our new coach? I'm not even as close as you guys are when I'm hustling on the streets with Georgetown."
Lorenzo was like a mule, relentlessly hammering away at Daben.
"Enough, you wimp." Fei Che's voice echoed through the locker room.
Lin Yu suppressed his anger, continuing to listen silently.
"What did you say, Rod?" Lorenzo glared at Fei Che.
"I said you're a wimp—only daring to act tough at times like this. Yesterday, before the game, when Onseld was here, why didn't you dare say a word?"
"What? You wanna pick a fight too?"
Having just been traded from the Trail Blazers to the Bullets this season, he had little rapport with Lorenzo. Hearing that Lorenzo had been sniping at Big Ben since early morning, he didn't hesitate to back Big Ben up.
Lin Yu hadn't held much regard for Flyer before. His impression was of a lazy, hard-drinking player. But Flyer's words and actions just now commanded Lin Yu's respect.
With Onseld absent, Flyer couldn't have been defending Big Ben just to curry favor with management.
And pleasing Lin Yu, the new coach? Even less likely. Flyer couldn't even recall Lin Yu's full name, and he didn't believe Lin Yu would last long as head coach anyway.
His outburst against Lorenzo was pure righteous indignation.
This was a player with a strong sense of justice!
What many fans didn't know was that Flying Car's Scott Rick was none other than the godfather of the legendary Irving. With such a righteous godfather, it was no wonder the "God" himself would later become so unstoppable.
"Smack! Smack!"
Lin Yu strode into the locker room, watching Lorenzo smirk and clap his hands.
Upon seeing Lin Yu, Daben's face flushed crimson. He stood in the corner of the locker room, rubbing his hands nervously, at a loss for what to do.
"Curious why I'm so close to Daben?"
"Fine. I'll show you why right now."
"Get your ass to the training field!"
Lin Yu's roar echoed throughout the locker room, drawing everyone's gaze.
Lorenzo wasn't afraid of Lin Yu at all. His genuine fear was of Onseld. Lin Yu? He was just an interim coach. Facing Lin Yu's angry shout, Lorenzo sat on the bench with a smirk, not moving an inch.
"Not coming, huh?"
"Dabon, you have one minute. I don't care how you do it—get this damn thing to the training ground!"
Lin Yu turned to Dabon, his gaze filled with exasperation, as if frustrated by someone's lack of potential.
Could Big Ben take on Lorenzo in a fight? Three Lorenzos tied together wouldn't stand a chance against Big Ben, especially with his strength skyrocketing to 104 points.
Yet now, faced with Lorenzo's humiliation, Big Ben dared not even utter a word. This infuriated Lin Yu to no end.
After receiving Lin Yu's order, Big Ben took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and charged toward Lorenzo.
Before Lorenzo could utter a word, Big Ben yanked him up by the knee, clamped his head under his armpit, and dragged Lorenzo's body toward the training ground.
This utterly absurd scene caused everyone's expressions to change drastically—even Fei Che was no exception.
Are you kidding me? Lorenzo was a 240-pound giant, yet Big Ben was hauling him away under his arm like that? Without even a hint of resistance?
Lin Yu turned and left the locker room, following Big Ben out.
No one could resist a spectacle. The rest of the locker room quickly followed suit, heading toward the training field.
"Coach, should we beat him up?"
Big Ben asked with utter innocence.
Lin Yu rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Where were you earlier? Why didn't you punch him then?"
"He called us streetwalkers! You just let that slide?"
"I... I was afraid of getting you in trouble."
"I'm your player. If I cause trouble, I'm afraid the team will fire you."
Big Ben remained his usual clueless self, a total airhead. As he spoke, he still clutched Lorenzo tightly under his arm.
"Put him down."
"Lorenzo, I know you're upset that Big Ben took your starting spot."
"If you're not convinced, I'll prove it to you right now. With so many people here, they can be your witnesses."
"I'll shoot. You and Big Ben fight for the rebound under the basket. Once you grab it, you take the putback shot. If you beat Big Ben, the starting spot is yours."
"And I'll go resign from Onselle right away."
"Of course, if you lose, you'll have to accept a little lesson."
Lin Yu didn't elaborate on the lesson, staring at Lorenzo as he waited for his response.
"Deal!"
With so many eyes on him, Lorenzo refused to back down and lose face. Besides, he saw this bet as a considerable advantage—win, and he'd reclaim his starting spot while also getting rid of the annoying Lin Yu from the Bullets.
The crowd scattered around the court, finding seats to watch the show unfold.
Big Ben and Lorenzo positioned themselves under the basket, while Lin Yu stood beyond the three-point line, casually tossing the ball toward the hoop.
The shot was way off, not even grazing the rim before crashing into the backboard.
Big Ben had already leaped for the rebound, using sheer force to shove Lorenzo aside as he soared to grab the board.
After landing, he spun his back to the defender, shoved Lorenzo aside once more, and soared for a two-handed slam after carving out space.
The second possession was nearly a carbon copy of the first: Big Ben grabbed the rebound, shoved Lorenzo aside, and slammed it home.
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
The rim reverberated with each impact as Big Ben relentlessly grabbed rebound after rebound, mechanically shoving Lorenzo aside for dunk after dunk.
After ten possessions, Lorenzo was utterly spent. He'd poured every ounce of strength into battling Big Ben, yet failed to score a single basket.
He did grab one offensive rebound, but just as he prepared to shoot, Big Ben swatted it away with a massive block.
"What's going on? All this commotion?"
Onseld arrived for work, saw the training court buzzing with activity, and hurried over to check it out.
Legler quickly whispered everything that had happened in the locker room to Onseld. He had a favorable impression of Lin Yu, so naturally, his account leaned heavily in Lin Yu's favor, embellishing Lorenzo's words and actions.
"What? That guy openly insulted the team's head coach in the locker room?!"
"Damn it, he treated my words like they were worthless?"
Anselmo's burly frame trembled with rage. He'd warned everyone on the training ground yesterday to respect the coach, yet today, Lorenzo dared to insult him openly.
If he didn't give Lorenzo a lesson he'd never forget, Anselmo felt his own career would be over.
Just as he prepared to step forward and deal with Lorenzo, Lin Yu spoke.
"If you wish to continue, we can keep fighting like this indefinitely."
"The outcome won't change."
"Are you ready to accept your punishment now?"
Lin Yu's voice was as cold as ice as he stared at Lorenzo and spoke slowly.
Lorenzo had yet to grasp the gravity of the situation. He figured accepting punishment was no big deal—at worst, it would mean running a few laps or doing some squats.
"Fine, I'll take it."
The words barely left his mouth when Lin Yu lunged forward in a single stride. His palm, charged with force, slammed into Lorenzo's mouth.
"That'll shut your filthy mouth. You think you're something special?"
Smack!
"You really think I don't have a temper?"
"SMACK!"
"Talking shit behind my back? Your whole family is streetwalkers."
"SMACK!"
Three vicious slaps landed hard across Lorenzo's face.
Everyone froze in shock. They never dreamed that Lin Yu, who'd been expressionless a second ago, could turn so vicious so fast—unleashing three consecutive slaps in an instant.
Some veteran players who'd previously dismissed Lin Yu now silently thanked their lucky stars after witnessing his brutality.
Thank God I didn't mess with Lin Yu. Otherwise, I'd be the one getting slapped today.
Lin Yu's reckless act served one purpose: to establish his authority!
Due to his age, most Bullet Squad players had dismissed Lin Yu as insignificant. Now that he'd demonstrated his methods, even if he couldn't intimidate every single player, at least the fringe members would behave themselves from now on. They wouldn't dare challenge the head coach's authority by stepping out of line.
Standing outside the crowd, Onseld stared in disbelief and then broke into a broad grin. He found Lin Yu increasingly appealing.
"I'll kill you!"
Lorenzo's eyes turned red with humiliation. Lin Yu's move had been too sudden—he hadn't even had time to react. By the time he did, he'd already taken three solid slaps across the face.
Daben was standing right beside him. How could he stand by and do nothing?
He lunged forward, tackling Lorenzo to the ground and pinning him beneath him.
"Nice work!"
"You bastard should've known better than to lay a hand on Lin Yu! If I'd been the one to hit you, I swear I'd have ripped your balls off and fed them to the dogs!"
Anseldo stepped out from the crowd, his gaze filled with utter disgust as he looked at Lorenzo.
"You guys..."
"I'm going to the league to sue you!"
Lorenzo struggled feebly to his feet, unable to move, bellowing at the top of his lungs.
Hearing this, Onseld burst into laughter as if he'd heard the funniest joke of his life, laughing until he was gasping for breath.
"Sue us in the League? You want to take me to court?"
"Even Pat Riley got screwed when he tried to sue me. He ended up handing over Juwan willingly. You? You probably don't even know which way the League headquarters' front door faces!"
Onseld's most glorious moment in life came from a lawsuit that lasted half a year.
When Juwan Howard's contract expired, Heat boss Pat Riley offered him a sky-high $100 million deal, and both parties had already signed the agreement.
By all accounts, this was a mutually agreed-upon deal that violated no rules—not even the heavens could have stopped it.
Yet somehow, Anseld pulled it off. He took the Heat to the league headquarters, and the contract was indeed voided. Juwan Howard remained with the Bullets.
Of course, from a god's-eye view, Onseld's maneuver was a classic case of shooting himself in the foot, as Howard later became the poster child for overpaid underperformers.
But at that moment, this was Onseld's crowning achievement—a testament to his connections and influence within the league, where even Pat Riley had to back down.