Jordan's expression was pained, but he did not cry out. Instead, he took advantage of Hansen's montary distraction to knock the basketball away.
But after slapping the ball away, he could not stand and crouched down.
Hansen was startled.
Although he wanted to gain notoriety and win the ga, he had no intention of injuring Jordan.
He quickly went over to inquire about Jordan's condition.
Bickerstaff also quickly ca to their side.
After a brief exchange, Jordan stood up.
To Hansen's surprise, Jordan actually signaled for the ga to continue.
Now Hansen was a little unsure of the situation. Jordan was not soone else who would pretend to be injured when close to losing.
But since Jordan insisted on continuing, he had no choice but to play on.
Hansen passed the ball, and after a feint, Jordan imdiately jumped up to shoot.
Hansen hadn't expected Jordan to be so decisive. Plus, his focus was not as sharp right now, so he didn't manage to cause much disturbance to Jordan's shot.
Jordan's shot was quick and decisive.
But after making the shot, Jordan's expression was pained once again.
This ti he signaled to stop the one-on-one and called Bickerstaff over.
In the end, Jordan left the court with the support of others.
Hansen watched as Jordan disappeared, stunned for a while before coming back to reality.
The gym was nearly empty and Hansen was prepared to leave.
Just then, Bickerstaff returned.
"It was an accident," Hansen said, as he saw Bickerstaff approaching to explain.
"I know," Bickerstaff said with a smile, patting Hansen on the shoulder,
"Michael asked to tell you not to overthink it. It's inevitable in basketball gas, and he wanted you to focus on the upcoming tryouts."
Hearing this, Hansen was sowhat bewildered, suddenly unsure what kind of person Jordan really was.
...
After finishing the Charlotte tryout, Hansen returned to Miami to prepare for the Heat's tryout.
But before the Heat tryout began, the Arican entertainnt dia TMZ broke the news that Jordan had two broken ribs from being hit by Hansen during the Bobcats' tryout.
Hmm, nad and shad.
In fact, after the tryout that day, Bickerstaff had instructed the people present not to spread the word.
But TMZ had reportedly paid too much for the story.
Besides, with so many people present that day, it would be difficult to track down the leak.
The imdiate result was that when Hansen showed up at the Heat's tryout venue, a swarm of reporters from the major sports dia crowded around him.
Seeing this scene, Hansen couldn't help but laugh and cry at the sa ti.
His fa was low now, and dia attention was good for his draft prospects, but he hadn't expected it to co in this form.
Thinking about it, the news of Jordan being hit by Artest and breaking his ribs was also widely known.
So was the basketball god's Achilles' heel actually his ribs?
The reporters surrounded Hansen, a scene usually reserved for NBA stars.
Questions bombarded him, mostly about the details of Jordan's injury.
Hansen knew that with so many people there that day, lying was impossible, so his answers had to be a blend of fact with a little artistic license.
"He was guarding , and I tried to push away his arm with my right hand, but accidentally my elbow hit his chest."
Hansen first recounted the events simply, then added,
"I am not happy about accidentally hurting Michael, but after he broke his ribs, Michael ca back in, made a crucial shot, and then left the court."
With Hansen's story complete, the reporters nodded as if it all made sense.
This was the thing they knew Jordan would do.
Was Jordan's shot crucial?
Obviously not; whether Jordan was injured or not, Hansen would have won that one-on-one.
But that was not what mattered.
What matters most in life is timing.
If he really bragged about winning against a 46-year-old Jordan, it would actually make him seem petty.
Moreover, he got over 200 negative fa points from the one-on-one with Jordan.
So giving Jordan face was just creating an opportunity for myself to garner the notorious notoriety in the future.
After finishing the interview, Hansen turned to join the Miami Heat's tryout.
This ti, most of the players trying out with him were considered second-round prospects.
This was because the Heat did not have a first-round pick this year, only the 43rd and 60th picks in the second round.
Hansen saw many familiar faces; Danny Green, who had tried out with him for the Bobcats, was also there.
And he also saw "patch brother" Chase Budinger.
This guy was a dual-sport prodigy, selected as the national high school Volleyball Player of the Year and sharing McDonald's All-Arican MVP honors with Durant the sa year.
Eventually, he chose basketball over volleyball because it was more lucrative, was a teammate of Yao Ming during his Rockets era, and later transitioned back to volleyball after earning enough money in the NBA to compete for the United States in beach volleyball at the Olympics.
Green, Budinger, and including himself... the Heat were clearly looking to find a backup guard for Wade.
Since Hansen was surrounded by reporters before the tryout, he beca the target during the workout.
The players who were matched against him during the tryouts seed noticeably more excited.
Not only was the intensity of the competition higher, but also the physicality.
This wasn't for Jordan; rather, second-round prospects inherently have uncertain draft futures, and defeating the highly focused-on Hansen would naturally grab attention for them.
However, their excitent didn't embarrass Hansen; instead, it highlighted his strength even more.
Putting it bluntly, Hansen wasn't created by hype; he didn't have a star father to his na, but he had genuine, solid skills.
His current draft stock was only low because he ca from a second-tier league, but his talent had already been proven during the Bobcats' tryout.
He was no worse than any of these second-round prospects.
Right now, the Heat were away playing the playoffs against the Hawks, so the coaching staff was not present at the tryout.
But there was soone more influential than the entire coaching staff at the site: the Heat's president and general manager, Pat Riley.
With such a performance, it was hard for Riley not to take notice of Hansen.
When the tryout was over, Hansen was invited to the private office of Riley's assistant, Andy Ellisberg.
After Andy left, only Hansen and a languid Riley, lounging in his chair, remained in the office.
Hansen had never been in such a situation, especially with Riley across from him, and he felt sowhat uneasy.
"DW ntioned you to ; he said your defense isn't bad."
However, Riley's first sentence helped Hansen relax.
Wade had treated each other as training tools, and when they trained together, they also taunted each other.
Unexpectedly, Wade not only introduced his own agent to him but also spoke highly of him to Riley; he was quite a good guy.
But as he was still feeling grateful, Riley's next words shocked him.
"Since DW vouches for you, and you also perford well today, we will select you with the 43rd pick."
Was this... a draft promise?
And directly at the 43rd pick?!
Generally, tryouts aren't determined in just one round.
For example, after the Bobcats' tryout where he perford excellently, the response was that a second tryout would be arranged later.
But Riley had already made up his mind?
"Do you like the city of Miami?" Riley asked, seemingly unaware of his reaction, crossing his hands in front of him and smiling at him.
"Yes." There was no point in hiding it.
Hansen had lived in Miami for nearly a year, and although it was not as bustling as New York or Los Angeles, it was still one of the biggest cities in the United States.
Moreover, Miami had a pleasant climate and, as a coastal city with globally renowned beaches, was indeed suitable for living.
This could be seen by the fact that wealthy people from all over the world liked to settle here.
"Then are you looking forward to joining the Heat?" Perhaps noticing Hansen's expression, he added with a smile,
"You just need to be honest, no matter how you answer, it won't change the promise we've already made."
Hansen wasn't sure what Riley was trying to do; despite Riley's affable appearance, the "Divine Calculator" was renowned.
"Before I started the tryouts, my agent secured tryout opportunities with more than a dozen teams. I chose so of them, and the Heat was one of my target teams," Hansen said carefully.
Riley raised his crossed index fingers and tapped his upper lip lightly.
After glancing at the docunts on his desk, he raised his head and said, "Can I take that as you wanting to join the Heat?"
"Yes."
Riley lowered his hands and moved his chair closer to the desk, then looked seriously at Hansen.
"We are interested in you, and you want to join us, so I hope you can cancel the subsequent tryouts to ensure you can join us."
Hearing this, Hansen felt the real issue at last.
This draft promise ca with conditions.
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