Chapter 51: The Final Stop
Xu Ling’s tryout second stop is Seattle.
This time, Leon Rose personally accompanied him here.
The reason Rose valued this tryout was that, with the Trail Blazers having clearly stated they would select Oden, Xu Ling’s draft pick was actually not hard to predict. Either second pick or third pick.
However, among the teams with top-five picks this year, the only one with a pressing need for a shooting guard or small forward was actually the Celtics, who held the fifth pick. Xu Ling’s playing style wouldn’t conflict with Paul Pierce. And the Trail Blazers had Brandon Roy, the SuperSonics had Ray Allen, the Hawks with the fourth pick had Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, their forward line was already saturated, and the Grizzlies had traded Battier for Rudy Gay last year and were vigorously developing him. From this perspective, Xu Ling didn’t seem like a must-select player for them.
But the problem was right there. The aforementioned teams falling into the lottery zone had their reasons. The SuperSonics had internal and external troubles, the owner was preparing to move the team, and although Ray Allen had expressed loyalty, what use was an All-Star shooting guard already over 30 with both legs having undergone surgery to a rebuilding team that was constantly preparing to leave Seattle?
The Grizzlies’ situation was completely different. They drew the third pick, which put them in a special position. They had been a stable 50-win powerhouse in the Western Conference in the previous years, yet struggled to win a single playoff game, Pau Gasol’s leadership was questioned, and old coach Hubie Brown retired after his coaching stint to become a commentator. Although the team retained the core from the past, their performance plummeted, basically gearing up for a complete rebuild. Therefore, holding the third pick, they had the capital to select the player they thought had the highest talent, whether to compete with Rudy Gay or to develop as a future core. Xu Ling was one of their main targets.
This was why Leon Rose thought the Seattle tryout was crucial, because if the SuperSonics didn’t select Xu Ling, it was almost certain that the Memphis Grizzlies would take him at the third pick.
Sam Presti was very friendly. Xu Ling’s first impression of him was that he was young, maybe too young. But as a recognized genius GM, Presti had been highly regarded by Popovich during his time with the Spurs. They had always told Presti that in a few years, when R.C. Buford retired, the GM position would be his. But like countless people poached from the Spurs, when Presti got a top-hand opportunity elsewhere, he left San Antonio without hesitation.
Now, the SuperSonics team had reached a crossroads in their history. The future direction wasn’t something Presti should worry about; his only task was to seize this unforgiving draft. There were three super talents this year, the SuperSonics had the second pick, and with Oden locked for the first pick, they were essentially choosing between Durant and Xu Ling.
Durant had completed an extremely outstanding tryout here yesterday, basically meeting expectations—Kevin Garnett-like physique and Tracy McGrady’s skill set.
Xu Ling underwent the same tryout drills as in Portland. His athletic qualities were astonishing. The biggest difference was that his technical display performance was even better today. He was perfect from the NBA standard three-point line.
“Sam, I really don’t think KD is better than Eli,” Rose said from the side. “Have you ever seen anyone shoot with this kind of accuracy in a tryout?”
Presti said honestly: “No.”
“What about yesterday’s KD?”
“He was outstanding, but still not as good as today’s Eli,” Presti said. “Eli was as outstanding as I saw on site.”
Ray Allen became an obvious interfering factor. Xu Ling gave an extremely mature impression, with comprehensive skills, almost a plug-and-play super rookie. But the talent Durant showed foreshadowed a possibility—he might grow into one of the greatest players in history. Although Durant’s current immediate combat power was inferior to Xu Ling’s, his future ceiling was unimaginable.
However, Durant’s potential was largely built on the natural advantages from his height and wingspan; while the potential Xu Ling showed similarly made people believe he could become the next Kobe. If you were optimistic enough, you could even expect him to surpass Kobe.
However, in the draft world, talent was still the only universal currency.
Xu Ling completed his second perfect tryout, yet still hadn’t received any clear draft commitment.
“I guess,” Xu Ling said on the way back to the hotel, “they still want Kevin Durant more?”
Leon Rose said helplessly: “Maybe, but I think Ray Allen’s presence is the more critical factor.”
No, actually there was a more obvious reason: Durant clearly had greater momentum. Xu Ling’s brilliant NCAA champion halo was fading, and everyone seemed to have calmed down. They started doing the math purely on talent. The SuperSonics wanted Durant because his talent was higher—it was that simple.
After two consecutive outstanding performances without recognition, Xu Ling’s emotions were starting to be affected.
“Next stop is Memphis?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” Xu Ling said. “It looks like that’s where I should go.”
Leon Rose drove silently, his gaze sweeping over Seattle’s somewhat gloomy sky outside the window. His fingers unconsciously tapped the steering wheel, chewing on the dissatisfaction in Xu Ling’s words. He had managed many young players and knew the sensitivity of such moments. A protective instinct, or rather a more pragmatic professional intuition, took over in his heart.
“You know, Eli?” Rose said slowly, his tone no longer the agent’s smoothness but more like an ally. “Maybe we’ve been working in the wrong direction all along.”
Xu Ling turned his head in some surprise, looking at him.
Rose continued: “We’ve been trying to prove how ‘good,’ how ‘mature,’ how ‘plug-and-play’ you are, hoping to impress Portland and Seattle, but we’ve overlooked the most important point—in their eyes, ‘good’ is cheap, ‘ceiling’ is priceless. Kevin Pritchard and Sam Presti don’t want the best player; they need a ‘god’ to save the team.”
“So?”
Xu Ling asked.
“Even though it’s not the best destination, I believe as long as you perform normally in tomorrow’s tryout, we don’t need to do the Atlanta tryout.”
Compared to the Grizzlies, in Rose’s view, the Hawks were a worse destination, not to mention the low-probability event of Xu Ling falling to the fourth pick—just look at the Hawks’ lineup: at the same position as Xu Ling was the young All-Star Joe Johnson, on the wing there was Josh Smith, and last year’s number 2 draft pick Marvin Williams.
This team’s forward line was way too crowded, not conducive to rookie growth.
Rose decided to make a temporary decision to reassure Xu Ling: “We won’t do the Atlanta tryout. The place we’re going must truly need you and be willing to give you possession and a future. Like Memphis.”
The next day, news soon spread that Xu Ling’s camp had unilaterally canceled the Hawks’ tryout plan.
“Did Eli get a draft commitment from the SuperSonics?”
“Think bolder—why can’t it be the Trail Blazers?”
Someone called Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard about it, but Pritchard politely said: “Our favorite child right now is still Greg Oden.”
Sam Presti refused to comment on the matter.
But when Xu Ling’s camp announced that the Memphis Grizzlies tryout was still on, the truth became clear.
Well then, it turned out Eli Xu didn’t like Atlanta. But if you didn’t like it, why schedule the tryout in the first place? Dissatisfied Hawks fans gathered under Xu Ling’s Twitter, spewing venom. But Xu Ling had already headed to Memphis.
Xu Ling’s knowledge of the city of Memphis was very limited, and his knowledge of the Grizzlies team was similarly scant. Because before time travel, he didn’t like Ja Morant, and for Chinese fans like him, the Grizzlies’ only widely known feat in the basketball world was probably selecting Wang Zhelin at the end of the second round in 2016 while he was asleep.
In the end, that was the only connection between the Grizzlies and Wang Zhelin. Wang Zhelin had no interest in playing in the NBA, and the Grizzlies didn’t want to waste time on Wang Zhelin, so his contract rights were traded again and again until he disgraced himself at the Men’s Basketball World Cup, Wang Zhelin still held veteran status with numerous NBA teams. So, in the end, this draft pick had no effect; its only role was selecting someone.
Xu Ling and his group flew to Memphis and took a car ride to arrive at the Grizzlies’ training center.
As soon as the car stopped, before Xu Ling and Rose fully entered the door, a figure came out from inside. The man was in casual clothes, tall and straight, with a serious expression—it was the Grizzlies’ GM, the LOGO man Jerry West.
However, there was no enthusiasm on West’s face that one should have when welcoming a hot rookie prospect. His arrival was more like a calm inspection than a welcome.
“Glad to see you,” West said with a forced smile. “Welcome to Memphis.”
He extended his hand and shook with the two in turn, the action crisp and quick, parting immediately, as if just completing a fixed procedure.
“Was the journey smooth?”
Xu Ling had experienced countless greeting exchanges, but never had one made him feel so clearly that the other was just going through the motions.
“Not bad,” Xu Ling replied.
“Good,” West said. “Get ready; our tryout is about to start.”
This utterly unenthusiastic welcome created an intangible pressure. It had no hostility, yet felt more alienating than direct coldness.
Then, West suddenly stopped, turned back, and asked: “Eli, you should be very familiar with the tryout process.”
“This is my last tryout,” Xu Ling said. “Hard not to be familiar.”
“So, do you mind if we add some special drills?”
“Depends on what.”
“We happen to have a player on site today.” West’s gaze was sharp as an eagle, quickly scanning Xu Ling, not like looking at a young man full of potential, but assessing an item’s quality and flaws. “If you don’t object, after the technical segment, I’d like to arrange a live scrimmage.”
“Don’t mind.”
Xu Ling smiled. “I’m tired of acing tests against air.”
