Before coming to the Grizzlies, Livingston had played as a backup small forward for the Bucks last season.
However, Livingston’s performance wasn’t impressive.
A shooting guard without an outside shot struggled to fit into the modern ga.
After two gas, his performance remained lackluster.
Hansen looked for Joerger.
His "God’s Afterglow" reaching a bottleneck at this ti, Livingston had been quite helpful.
And from training, Hansen knew that Livingston had the ability.
Not to ntion that as a transmigrator, Hansen knew Livingston was the kind of person who could help the team if given the chance.
He talked to Joerger about how to utilize Livingston.
Although he could play from one to three, in fact, players like this, just like Tyreke Evans, were best suited at the point guard position.
Because when playing point guard, you have an advantage in both height and build during matchups.
And if you can organize the ga, it can mask the weakness of not having an outside shot.
Joerger hadn’t expected Hansen to care so much about a marginal player, knowing such players could be replaced at any mont.
Although it was already October, there were still plenty of people in the free market waiting for an opportunity.
In terms of fa, there were many more famous than Livingston, like Jerry Stackhouse, Gerald Green, Michael Redd, and so on.
However, since Hansen had brought it up, of course, Joerger would give face.
In the next preseason ga against the Clippers, Joerger played Livingston as the point guard during the first-half rotation, and let Jordan Crawford play shooting guard.
Livingston made a passing error in his first play after coming on.
His connection during the backup shift was clearly poor.
When Joerger subbed him out, he stared blankly at the court, his eyes conveying a mix of frustration and loss.
He should have known he had missed his last chance.
At this mont, Hansen rembered that Livingston had started his career with the Clippers.
Though tis had changed, thinking about that video of the 90-degree leg break that went viral on social dia and was almost too much to watch, one could only imagine the psychological scars it left on the person involved.
It was like post-traumatic stress disorder, where similar environnts could cause physiological reactions, like a buzzing in the ears and a numbing of the body.
Hansen stood up and walked over to Livingston.
Sitting next to Livingston was Guy, who tried to greet Hansen when he saw him, but Battier, observing the situation, pulled him aside to give them space.
After sitting down, Hansen patted Livingston on the shoulder.
That’s when Livingston ca back to reality and turned to see Hansen with a mix of confusion and surprise.
"There’s still a chance," Hansen said softly, piquing Guy’s curiosity as he peered over.
"You should get another chance to go on in the second half," Hansen affird.
Livingston exhaled deeply, like a person about to drown who turns around to find a lifebuoy behind him.
"Don’t overthink it, just show who you are now, the team signed you for who you are now, not who you were in the past." What Livingston needed now was psychological counseling.
Livingston nodded, his mood visibly improving.
"Is Hansen cool or what? He’s like this with everyone on the team," Guy proudly remarked at this mont.
Hansen gave him a silent look, thinking to himself that it wouldn’t hurt to keep quiet if he had nothing to say.
Livingston smiled, "I’m glad to be one of everyone."
Hearing this, Hansen knew his words had an effect.
Hansen finally gave Livingston’s shoulder another pat before returning to his seat.
During the second half of the ga, Livingston got another chance during the substitution phase in the third and fourth quarters.
This ti, Livingston finally showcased his strengths.
He started off by assisting Faried in completing an alley-oop, showcasing his excellent vision and impressive passing skills as a tall point guard.
Then, when the team was struggling to open up the ga, he received the ball on the weak side high post and nailed a beautiful turnaround fadeaway jumper over Gordon.
Such performance had the comntators at the sidelines beginning to reminisce about Livingston’s past.
The 4th pick in 2004, the next "Magic", a broken leg, two years of recovery, years of wandering, and still appearing on the NBA court was a miracle in itself.
In this stint off the bench, Livingston scored 4 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists, displaying a strong personal style.
As he passed by Hansen, Hansen reached out for a high-five, "Well done, ’Magic’."
Livingston’s eyes instantly reddened, and after sitting back on the bench, he wrapped his head in a towel.
From his shaking shoulders, it was apparent that he was crying.
At that mont, Guy reached out to pat his shoulder and gave it a strong rub:
"Don’t cry, brother. You’re ho now."
...
The League’s preseason had not yet ended, but a video was going viral on social dia.
After Jas arrived in Oklahoma City, his team began a marketing blitz for him.
And you had to admire their business acun.
Despite being an agricultural city, they managed to make a buzz.
In the video, Jas held a xican taco filled with fresh produce from Oklahoma City. After taking a bite, he shouted "taco tuesday" at the cara and let out a burst of his trademark "gigigigigi" laugh.
That’s right, this was a promotional ad Jas did for a large agricultural company in Oklahoma City.
After the video went viral, the company’s sales doubled within a few days.
Many people wondered where Jas’s business value was, and this was just the tip of the iceberg.
You see, Hansen has over five million followers on Facebook, a fairly substantial number, but by comparison, Jas has over thirty million.
Why can everything the ’Penguin’ touches turn to gold? Because of a huge user base.
Nike had been building Jas’s image as the "Chosen One" even before he joined the League, plus the annual marketing costs invested in him, he himself had long beco a super-sized billboard.
In fact, following Jas’s transfer to the Thunders, the number of nationwide live broadcast gas for the Thunders jumped from 10 the previous season to 22 this season.
Nike also invested a lot in advertisents in Oklahoma City, which resulted in a significant increase in the Thunders’ season ticket sales compared to last season.
Brands that had ford strategic partnerships with Jas also started opening branches in Oklahoma City to tap into the market.
Even Chesapeake Energy, the largest local energy company in Oklahoma City, announced that they would na the arena in the new season, and Ford Center would henceforth be known as Chesapeake Energy Arena.
It truly was a scene where: the King has arrived, Oklahoma City is saved! The King has arrived, tomorrow for Oklahoma City is bright!
...
When the ti ca to late October, the preseason officially ended.
The Heat and the Grizzlies were the two most watched teams of the new season, both achieving a perfect record in the preseason.
In addition, the Thunders, another team that drew attention, finished the preseason with 6 wins and 1 loss.
Jas didn’t play much in the preseason, but another new addition to the team, Robin Lopez, perford very brightly.
After losing Perkins, the Thunders completed a trade with The Suns, sending Mike Miller and the protected first-round pick from the 76ers, previously acquired in the Harden trade, in exchange for Robin Lopez.
This was part of a sign-and-trade agreent, where Lopez first reached a 3-year, 15-million-dollar contract with The Suns.
Though Robin’s talent was not as top-notch as his brother Brook’s, he stood at 2.13 ters and was a full-sized center with a mid-range shooting ability, attributes that suited the Thunders.
He was also particularly good at grabbing offensive rebounds, almost matching his defensive boards, which equally fitted the Thunders’ style of play.
Of course, the preseason is just the preseason. Whether he could protect the paint for the Thunders in the new season would only be known once the regular season started.
Or maybe it would beco clear right at the season’s start.
Because the Thunders’ opponent in the opener was none other than the Grizzlies.
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