Lin Yu also burst into laughter, finding Lorenzo's antics both foolish and malicious.
When Onseld was suing Riley, he had already joined the Bullets. How could he possibly be unaware of this?
Riley was the mastermind behind the Lakers' Showtime era, having led multiple NBA franchises. As a true titan of the league, even he couldn't shake Riley's influence. Who did this insignificant Lorenzo think he was?
Lorenzo realized how childish his ranting sounded. His face flushed crimson as he continued to roar, "If the league office won't work, then I'll go to the Players' Union!"
Unsurprisingly, this only made Onseld laugh even harder, tears nearly streaming down his face.
"The Players' Union?"
"If you knew anything about me, you'd know I served as Vice President of the Players' Union."
"The head back then was Big O Robertson—a guy who never lifted a finger. I recruited every single person in that union."
"Ask Buck Williams. Could he have become union president without my approval?"
"Oh, and let me tell you now: Buck's successor is Ewing—my handpicked choice."
Buck Williams, aka Buck Williams, is the current Chairman of the Players Association.
Onseld radiated authority, sneering at Lorenzo with an air of "Who dares challenge this judge?"
Forget Lorenzo—even Lin Yu was trembling with fear.
He knew Anselm was a big shot, but he never imagined this guy's influence could be so vast, practically controlling everything.
Looking at Old Bone-Breaker's imposing figure, Lin Yu found his life's ambition. Perhaps only by becoming such an influential figure could he justify his journey through time.
Lorenzo, sprawled on the floor, felt utterly defeated. He knew he was finished.
The three slaps were secondary. What truly crushed him was the end of his career.
Judging by Ancelot's attitude, he wouldn't let him off. With these old hands' methods, there were at least a hundred ways to make him vanish from the NBA!
But regret was useless now. Even if he begged Lin Yu for forgiveness, Lin wouldn't spare him.
Lin Yu had already been plotting how to establish his authority. This incident had played right into his hands. If not him, then who?
"Dismissed. Get back to training. If we lose to the Hornets tomorrow night, I'll make you all pay."
"Lin, come with me."
Onseld beckoned to Lin Yu, leading him toward his office.
"Impressive. I didn't misjudge you. You're even more exceptional than I anticipated."
"Though your methods today were a bit extreme, given your unique circumstances, a little overreach isn't necessarily a bad thing."
After taking his seat, Onseld showered Lin Yu with praise.
Lin Yu was speechless. Had he really been extreme today? You're the one who casually threatens to rip someone's balls off and feed them to wild dogs!
"I was furious at the time and didn't think much about it."
"Mr. Onseld, I truly had no idea your influence extended this far—that you could even designate the successor of the players' union."
Lin Yu's admiration was genuine.
To his surprise, Onseld looked utterly baffled. "Huh? You actually bought that nonsense?"
"It's just bullshit to fool fools. If I hadn't said that, the kid might've actually filed a complaint with the Players Association—that would've been a real headache."
"I did serve as Vice President, but that was thirty years ago. Designate a successor? Even Stern doesn't have that kind of clout."
Lin Yu nearly choked on his own blood. Just minutes ago, he'd held the old bone-crusher up as his career goal, never dreaming the whole thing was a con.
"Sigh, Mr. Onseld, it's a shame your acting talent isn't put to use in Hollywood."
The old bone-crusher beamed. "You think so too? You might not believe this, but someone once said I bear a striking resemblance to Marlon Brando."
"If they ever made a black version of The Godfather, I might actually audition. Who knows, I could snag an Oscar."
Lin Yu's mouth twitched. What kind of shameless person could compare Onseld to Brando? Those two looked like they belonged to entirely different species!
"Hey, you know what? I really do think you look just like Marlon Brando." Lin Yu said with an awkward laugh....
Back at the training ground, Lin Yu couldn't shake the feeling of unease. Onseld was just too much of a contradiction.
On the surface, he seemed like a rough, hot-tempered older man, but underneath, he was a con artist and a narcissist?
"Best stick to my original plan—win over Tendon Guy before tomorrow night's match." Lin Yu shook his head, banishing the bizarre image of Onseld channeling The Godfather from his mind.
Tendon Guy's affinity had already reached 60 points. Lin Yu continued his warm, attentive approach, spending several hours gradually raising it to 70 points.
The strategy prompt revealed Tendon Guy's attribute panel.
[Lust is a bone-scraping steel blade, yet some are born with bone spurs]
Lin Yu stared at the prompt, utterly baffled—or rather, utterly disgusted. What did this mean? Was it telling him to take Legeb to see a lady?
Who would've thought? Legeb, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, looked like the epitome of an honest man. But honest men don't always do honest things.
Soon, Lin Yu faced a harsh reality: it seemed impossible to boost Legebu's affection any further.
First, Lin Yu was broke. Treating bone spurs would cost money—probably not a small amount. Living in a basement, he simply couldn't afford to take Legebu out.
Although Lin Yu still had $70,000 in salary left for this season, it wasn't paid out all at once. Plus, he had to pay 40% in taxes, leaving him roughly $40,000. If he wanted to move out of the basement and afford decent food and clothes, he'd barely have any left over.
He couldn't very well go hungry while taking Legler to meet a lady, could he?
The second reason was the ambiguous hint. What if Legler were a pure-hearted romantic? Maybe he wanted to taste the bitterness of love, not the sordid intentions Lin Yu imagined.
"Forget it. Let's tackle Legler's tactical issues first."
"If we don't fix his pick-and-roll game, even 100 points in three-point shooting won't matter."
Lin Yu understood priorities. Treating Leg Brother's bone spurs wasn't his most urgent task right now.
Legs was a shooting guard, so his ideal pick-and-roll partners were naturally point guard Flycar or small forward Weber.
Weber was undoubtedly the perfect pick-and-roller. He wasn't naturally a small forward; he'd simply moved to the three because neither he nor Uncle Huo wanted to play center.
With his tall frame and solid athleticism, he was a born pick-and-roller.
Unfortunately, Webber hadn't yet weathered the harsh realities of the league. Still burdened by his star status, he couldn't be reduced to a mere tool for Legler.
Webber's peak came after he was traded from the Bullets to the Kings, when he finally embraced unselfish play.
With Webber out of the picture, Lin Yu could only set his sights on the godfather of European basketball.
"Rod, thanks for sticking up for Daben this morning."
Lin Yu waited for a moment, and when the flying car slowed to rest, it plopped down beside him.
"Lin, I wasn't doing it for Daben. I can't stand bullies picking on the weak."
As Fly turned to look at Lin Yu, he casually covered his mouth with his arm—clearly still shaken by Lin Yu's earlier wild outburst.
Who could handle someone suddenly charging up and slapping them like that?
"Anyway, thanks for that. With you looking out for me, things'll be easier in the locker room from now on."
"Me looking out for you? Lin, do you have some misunderstanding about my standing in the locker room?"
"Howard and Weber are the real bosses in here. Me? I'm barely better off than Ben."
Lin Yu could hear the bitterness dripping from Flying Bike's words.
Come to think of it, the Bullets were a loose-knit group. Howard and Weber were practically inseparable—their clique naturally held more sway than Feiche alone.
The NBA was a world of its own, and where there was a world, there were cliques. Flyer was a lone wolf, isolated and vulnerable.
Last season, Flyer averaged 18.7 points and 9.6 assists per game against the Trail Blazers. His scoring ranked third among all point guards, trailing only "The Glove" Payton and "The Flying Squirrel" Damon Stoudamire. His assists placed fourth in the league, behind only Stockton and Kidd.
After joining the Trail Blazers, he couldn't even crack the top three in team hierarchy. Kenny, who'd been riding the coattails of the two stars, sometimes held more sway than him.
Any normal person in Flyer's situation would inevitably harbor resentment.
"You've witnessed Rod and Big Ben's potential—he'll undoubtedly become a top-tier big man someday."
"He's the future cornerstone of the Bullets' interior defense."
"You two support each other in the locker room. Once you team up, why would you need to kowtow to anyone else?"
As Lin Yu spoke, something felt off. What was he doing here after his transmigration? Was he in the NBA to film a palace intrigue drama? Why was he suddenly caught up in courtly rivalries?
"Congratulations, Host. Rod Strickland's Affinity Progress has been activated. Current Affinity: 10. Detailed information can be viewed in the player attributes panel."
"Whoa, this actually works?"
Lin Yu couldn't help but chuckle. With Flyer's affinity unlocked, he probably wouldn't resist setting screens for Leggett.
Big Ben was his locker room ally. If Leggett developed into a reliable partner, wouldn't that also count as an ally? If Flyer aspired to be the queen, naturally, the more allies she had, the better.