One Year Left to Play

As they were talking, Marbury suddenly changed the subject: "Aix, I heard you made five million from a TV series? You have to treat us today!"

"Uh... well..."

"So stingy! Can’t even treat us to lunch?" Marbury looked at Zhang Hao with disdain.

"No," Zhang Hao shook his head, "I mean I made more than five million from the TV series."

"..."

"..."

Not just Marbury, even Garnett, who hadn’t said a word since seeing Zhang Hao, wanted to pin this guy to the side of the road and give him a beating!

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Zhang Hao changed the subject: "Where are we going for lunch?"

It was clumsy, but the two young wolves chose to go with the topic change; talking about money really hurts feelings.

Starting with this question...

Marbury asked Garnett, "Kevin, where are we going for lunch?"

Garnett widened his eyes at Marbury: "I was going to have a nutrition meal at the gym, you were the one who wanted to go out for lunch!"

"..." This time Zhang Hao was speechless.

...

In the end, it was Zhang Hao who called for a car, and they ended up at a popular restaurant in Inglewood Town. With some face-selling, the restaurant manager got them a table without a reservation.

Marbury’s enthusiasm was something Zhang Hao wasn’t very used to, but whether it was enthusiastic or not depended mainly on the person. Last year’s Adidas Training Camp, Marbury already knew Garnett and Zhang Hao were stronger than him. The former was already being evaluated by the media as NBA first-round material, and the latter’s mid-range shot at the camp shouldn’t exist among high schoolers.

Just as Marbury had expected, Garnett and Zhang Hao joined the NBA, remaining top-tier talents.

With weaker players, only then did Marbury show his proud side.

After entering the NBA, Marbury wasn’t the type to be liked by teammates at the Timberwolves; he only hung out with Garnett, Guglielota, Terry Burton, and others, barely acknowledging fringe players or regular substitutes.

In contrast, Zhang Hao earned his teammates’ recognition quickly whether it was in Brooklyn or now with the Lakers, thanks to his consistent demeanor with every teammate, both on and off the court.

But everyone has their own personality traits. Zhang Hao didn’t think there was anything wrong with Marbury because he couldn’t directly feel Marbury’s arrogance.

Garnett wasn’t a warm person, Zhang Hao initially tried to adopt a persona, but later found out that being a bit cold was genuinely comfortable; it was easier to say no to others without causing awkwardness, and it became a habit.

During lunch, it was Marbury enthusiastically talking, to which Garnett had gotten used over the past few months, and Zhang Hao seemed quite used to it too.

...

...

The fans of our team are really not adorable...

By 6:40 in the evening, after warming up, when Zhang Hao and his teammates took the field, the atmosphere was pretty lackluster.

The fans were enthusiastic during the home game yesterday, but today they reverted to the usual Los Angeles Nobles Team fan demeanor, eating and drinking as usual.

Even the new Timberwolves player Marbury was surprised by the atmosphere, while Garnett was a bit more accustomed; it was similar when he came here last season, but both felt somewhat disrespected.

However, the Lakers players didn’t underestimate their opponents. Zhang Hao was ready to give his all against anyone; even with back-to-back games, his stamina was no issue. With "Jabbar’s wellness technique" and learning mode, there was no impact playing back-to-back games the next day?

That’s pretty much how things were.

Kenny Anderson has now regained the feel of playing alongside Zhang Hao and Jason Williams with the Brooklyn Nets last season. The only difference is that the teammates on the guard line are stronger and there’s a top-50 superstar as a substitute.

He’s fully realized that some things were just overthinking on his part.

In the first half against the Raptors and Hornets, Barkley demanded to go solo at least 5 times in these two games, but after Zhang Hao started playing hard... can you imagine how the team’s current strongest player never once went solo offensively during a whole game?

Yes, in yesterday’s game against the Phoenix Suns, Kenny Anderson didn’t see Barkley go solo even once, playing only 18 minutes total with 4 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was just an average substitute who was decent at passing and great at securing rebounds.

Jason Williams also felt a heavy burden on his shoulders and couldn’t understand how his playing time was now even longer than Barkley’s. He initially thought that with Barkley and O’Neal joining and seeing the Magician in even better shape than last season in preseason, he would become more marginalized. He was ready to accept reduced playing time and a diminished role.

He expected to play more only when O’Neal got injured.

However, only a few games into the new season, Jason Williams realized he was too naive, completely unable to figure out the schemes of savvy veterans like the Magician and Barkley!

He, Zhang Hao, and Kenny Anderson, players who were all abandoned by the Brooklyn Nets on the same day last season, have now landed in Los Angeles, joining a team widely regarded as a championship favorite, becoming core and key players!

Moreover, all three experienced the same situation; they didn’t dare underestimate any opponent, but their teammates weren’t like that...

Not that the teammates were slacking off or not playing seriously.

Barkley was taking it easy, but when on the court, he was active in rebounding, running for alley-oops, making passes, and defense. He simply didn’t want to play long minutes or charge into the offensive end. While his defensive contributions could be debated, everything else Barkley diligently pursued, he did pretty well.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!