The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 27: Shocked Upon Arrival

No way! How could James know about him?

"You might not know this, but LeBron and Stephen are both from Akron, they were even born in the same hospital. Stephen is a fan of LeBron, and LeBron has gone to see Stephen play in the NCAA; their relationship is closer than you’d think," Thomas really knew his stuff.

Hansen couldn’t help but laugh helplessly; he had forgotten the 2016 finals mantra "The Akron Son Must Triumph."

Although he didn’t know how James and Curry communicated, it was highly likely that Curry’s knowledge of him was the reason James knew about him.

And he could play defense with a three-point shot and had the big-game mentality (ready to take the heat). Switching places, he’d choose himself too.

As for the final draft pick, James was Cleveland’s "Emperor," his opinion was surely a royal decree to the Cavaliers’ management.

Especially since James also had a player option next summer.

Perhaps the general manager of the Cavaliers just asked casually who we’d pick for the 30th spot, but once James made his choice, the Cavaliers would certainly do everything to make it happen.

"This is also a good thing for you. Championship-contending teams usually don’t have many opportunities, but if LeBron favors you, you could get more chances."

Like hell it is!

Hansen was on the verge of becoming Ningci Hyuga, his eyes rolling back in an instant.

If it were anyone else, faced with this level of attention from the team’s star, they might have been won over on the spot.

But Hansen, he had no interest in being a "Sword Guard"!

As someone who had thoroughly memorized "BOAT sayings," he knew all too well what kind of person James was.

Becoming brothers with that kind of person, you wouldn’t know how you were sold out in the end.

"The market in Cleveland might be a bit small, but it’s a hot team now with high attention," Thomas, not quite understanding where Hansen’s reluctance came from, did his best to smooth things over.

Hansen tried to squeeze out a smile; Thomas as his agent had already done as much as he could.

But that did remind him.

The reason he posted that comment on social media before was precisely targeting the LeBron fans demographic.

Going to the Cavaliers, wouldn’t haters just come to him on a silver platter?

...

After attending the draft, Hansen first went back to Miami.

Following James, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry contacted Thomas to inform him of the upcoming schedule.

A week later, the Cavaliers would hold a press conference to welcome him and Conningham;

Then around July 10th, he’d join the team to participate in the Las Vegas Summer League;

Finally, around late September, they’d start the new season’s training camp, with the specific dates to be announced later.

This meant he had to head to Cleveland in the next couple of days since he still needed time to find a place to live.

He went back to Miami to pack and say farewell to his teammates.

Hansen bought a small gift for each of his teammates.

The past year or so at Barry University was indeed very memorable for him, especially the experience on the school team.

Most people knew they wouldn’t make it to the NBA and knew that Hansen was the only one with a chance, so instead of rivalry, they united tightly around Hansen.

Moreover, a championship in the second division meant nothing to NBA scouts, but for everyone on the team, including Hansen, it was a fond memory.

However, Hansen found it amusing that his teammates were less interested in his gifts and more eager to get his autograph.

Especially Rondo, who not only brought jerseys and sneakers but even prepared two markers for signing.

"You can’t eat autographs," Hansen said, somewhat speechless at his antics.

"Not now, but later they will be worth something!" Rondo said while pulling out a cap from his backpack.

Alright, this guy had quite an eye for investment. freēnovelkiss.com

In the evening, Hansen took his teammates out to party at a nightclub.

Most of his teammates were off talking business with the ladies, leaving Hansen and Rondo alone in the room.

Hansen also took out a big item from his bag; it was the camera he had promised to give Rondo.

The Canon EOS 7D, one of the best cameras of its time, had cost him over a thousand US dollars.

Rondo burst into tears, his art could finally ascend to a new level.

"You’re not actually planning on becoming a photographer, are you?" Hansen, seeing his reaction, couldn’t help asking curiously.

"Of course not, it’s just a hobby," Rondo carefully put away the camera.

"What are you planning to do in the future?" Hansen had become close with Rondo, not just because they were roommates, but also because Rondo’s situation easily reminded him of his own past life.

He had dreams of basketball but no fate with the NBA.

"I plan to be a lawyer," Rondo said, sitting up straight.

Hansen suddenly thought of Thomas, who had also come from a legal background.

That profession could last a lifetime or lead to opportunities in other fields, and in the United States, it’s considered a very good choice.

Of course, since Rondo is male, the prospect of being a female lawyer is off the table for him.

"Do you think I just seemed like one?" Rondo said with a smile, relaxing back into a comfortable position.

"Here’s to your success," Hansen toasted.

The day after the gathering ended, Hansen took a flight to Cleveland.

The moment he stepped out of the airport in Cleveland, his emotions were complex.

In his past life, he had seen fans liken Cleveland to Tie Ling back home.

Now, it looked like those fans were pretty accurate.

Different from Miami’s jungle of buildings, here the high-rises were few and far between, giving off a distinct post-industrial, abandoned-city vibe.

No wonder this was a desert in the realm of the four major sports leagues; sports are closely tied to the economy.

But on the plus side, the greenery here seemed quite nice, and being a port city, the air was refreshingly clean.

Once he got in a car, he also noticed another advantage of this city; there was no traffic congestion.

This was truly a good place to retire to.

He found a single’s apartment near the arena quite easily, and it was very affordable, too.

As the second-largest city in Ohio, Cleveland City had a population of under four hundred thousand—a true village city.

After he dealt with his accommodation situation and got his shipped luggage to his new place, he then made his way to the Quicken Loans Arena.

Before the official press conference, there were a few things he needed to confirm.

Quicken Loans Arena was one of Cleveland’s landmark buildings, but looking a bit desolate due to its age and the low foot traffic during the off-season.

At the entrance, he could see a huge promotional poster with James holding the ball with both hands in front of him, Ilgauskas and Mo Williams flanking him, arms crossed.

Speaking of which, soon after the draft, the Cavaliers made a trade with the Phoenix Suns to acquire "Big Shark" O’Neal; the poster just hadn’t been updated yet.

When he entered the arena, he found Conningham waiting in the office.

They had already met previously at the draft, so conversation started easily.

After a while, Ferry came in.

The first thing they needed to confirm was the jersey number for the new season.

The choice of number was simple; as long as it wasn’t already retired by the team, in principle, any number was available.

But realistically, you also had to consider the numbers worn by current team members, unless you could convince someone to give their number up, you couldn’t choose it.

Like James’s number 23; that was out of the question.

Unfortunately, the number 17 that Hansen wore in NCAA belonged to Andre Vallejo.

Although he wasn’t featured on the promotional poster, he was a veteran who had served five years with the Cavaliers, so Hansen had to pick another number.

After choosing a number, Ferry also took them to familiarize themselves with the second floor of the arena, including the training hall, gym, medical room, and more.

Since their lockers weren’t set up yet, Ferry didn’t take them to the locker room.

After getting acquainted with the arena, and two days later, they first went to Ferry’s office to pick up their jerseys with their numbers on them, then headed to the press conference venue together.

Contrary to what Hansen had expected, quite a few reporters showed up.

At Ferry’s request, they posed with their jerseys in front of the reporters for photographs.

As soon as they sat down after the photo session, a reporter started asking Hansen questions.

The inquiry was related to his choice of jersey number.

"Why did you choose number 77?"

In the NBA, there are no restrictions on the range of numbers players can choose, but players with high numbers are still uncommon.

However, the reasoning behind Hansen’s choice wasn’t completely unpredictable; he had worn number 17 in NCAA, and the difference between 17 and 77 was just an extra line.

Hansen leaned forward a bit and moved the microphone closer to himself, speaking calmly:

"God has a hundred points of basketball talent, He gave 23 to Michael Jordan, and I intend to take the remaining 77."