Chapter 0002: The Crisis of Career

Play well to secure a contract

He now realizes that apart from having a two-year non-guaranteed contract with the Eagles, he possesses no other capital that would allow him to survive in this era

This led to Liu Mang being selected by the Hawks with their second-round pick in this super draft year, as Stern was vigorously developing the overseas basketball market, particularly in China, and coincidentally, there was a Chinese college student participating in the draft who had a decent shooting ability from beyond the arc.

The third type consists of only one person - the magician, Johnson

No one understands Liu Mang better than himself. Although he can play basketball and loves watching the NBA, his skills on the court are quite average. Playing half-court three-on-three games with classmates in China is fine, but playing in the NBA? That's just nonsense!

The halftime break was not particularly long. Liu Mang had been lost in thought in the restroom for quite a while. The break had already passed, and he could hear the voices of the team staff calling his name to inform him that the game was about to start.

As for ways to make money ...? ... The first thing that came to Liu Mang's mind was the team's salary, but he was merely a second-round draft pick; how high could his salary possibly be

In 2001, the internet had not yet become widespread, with internet access limited to one or two megabits of bandwidth. Mobile phones had just begun to phase out the bulky "big brother" models. In the United States, online gaming was still in its infancy, represented by the first generation of web-based "The Sims." In Asia, the only online game was "Legend of Mir." Friends would still gather to sing karaoke in the traditional queueing style.

Francis is the first true dual-position guard in NBA history. Unlike Iverson, who transitioned to the shooting guard position under Larry Brown during the 2000-2001 season, Francis from the very beginning "dominated" all responsibilities of both the shooting guard and point guard positions, leading the team's rhythm while also being the team's leading scorer

This is indeed a good thing, as agents are generally the closest to the players. If any agent is found to be involved in something irregular, it would be troublesome to explain.

300,000 US dollars certainly holds significant purchasing power in the United States, but does having this 300,000 US dollars mean one can live off it without any effort?

There is no doubt that the person in the mirror is oneself. Liu Mang has been looking at his own face in the mirror for over 20 years, and he knows it better than anyone. He pulled down his pants and took a look; the mole in the middle of his younger brother's hair is still there. As for why his height has increased by 20 centimeters, he is now 1.93 meters tall

Liu Mang responded and adjusted his jersey, preparing to go... then to guard the water cooler...

Lost in thought as he recalled the gradually merging and clear memories in his mind, Liu Mang stared blankly at the mirror

Liu Mang, known in English as Ace Liu, received his English name from his college coach, signifying that his shooting pierces through opponents like an ice blade. He was born on August 26, 1982, and is currently 19 years old, a Chinese student studying in the United States. After completing his sophomore year at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he entered the NBA draft, where he was unexpectedly selected by the Atlanta Hawks, whose owner aimed to follow the footsteps of Commissioner David Stern in expanding into the Chinese market, being chosen in the second round with the 24th pick overall and the 53rd pick overall. His strengths in basketball are ball handling and three-point shooting, which in this era are considered non-mainstream styles, making it difficult to be selected even in a less competitive draft year.

This body is not one with particularly good physical fitness, and it cannot even be considered excellent; it can only be described as mediocre. When playing in the NCAA, coaches generally place more emphasis on skills and tactical execution, which is why the "self" that Liu Mang remembers was able to perform reasonably well in the NCAA. Georgia Tech made a surprising run to the Final Eight this March, gaining some local fame in Atlanta.

Francis's impact is revolutionary for the point guard position, and currently, no one in the entire league can match him. The two point guards of the Hawks accumulated 3 fouls each before halftime. Coupled with the two fouls committed by shooting guard Jason Terry, Francis repeatedly struck against the Hawks' defensively weak backcourt, resulting in 8 fouls against the Hawks' perimeter in the first half

Francis can be regarded as a groundbreaking point guard. Although he may not be comparable to those MVPs or All-NBA level guards, his emergence was revolutionary, demonstrating that point guards can play in such a manner

As he had not participated in the draft market previously, no agents approached him before the draft, and he still does not have an agent now, thus he does not have to pay any commission to an agent

The current date is November 1, 2001, and Liu Mang's identity is a second-round rookie of the Hawks. The recently concluded halftime match is the season opener where the Hawks are hosting the Rockets.

In the past, point guards could be roughly categorized into three types. The most common type was that of point guards like Jason Kidd and John Stockton, who organized the offense and controlled the tempo. Their statistics might not always be impressive, but those with outstanding statistics were undoubtedly considered super point guards. This was a consensus in earlier times.

During the halftime break, he had already realized that the only reason he had the opportunity to play in the first half was entirely due to the presence of an exceptionally powerful point guard on the Rockets, who could even be described as the strongest point guard to date in history. The NBA has never seen such an explosive point guard—Steve Francis.

As for investment, it is simply nonsense. Even if he truly remembers that there were periods of irrational stock market surges before certain economic bubbles, there is no money! Moreover, the bubble crisis of the 1990s has just ended, and at least five to six years remain before the next round of crisis stories.

The second type refers to scoring-oriented point guards like Allen Iverson, John Havlicek, Isiah Thomas, and Stephon Marbury

Unlike Francis, who differs from these three types, he can organize the offense like Kidd, although not as effectively, yet he can still achieve six or seven assists per game. He can score like Iverson, though not as impressively, but he can still average over 20 points per game. Additionally, he can be versatile like Magic, contributing six or seven rebounds per game, but achieving a triple-double is quite challenging.

The ability to enter the NBA is purely due to the fact that the draft has been exceptionally poor over the past two years, with only a few players worth watching. Especially after the grueling 2000 draft, a second-round pick in 2001 was essentially equivalent to selecting someone to guard the water cooler. Outside of Popovich, it was virtually impossible to guarantee a genuinely talented player outside of that year's lottery picks; one could only gamble blindly. The talent pool has been so dismal these past two years, with players like Kobe and Tracy McGrady entering the NBA straight out of high school, which has, to some extent, set a bad precedent. This year, the Wizards' first overall pick couldn't even outperform undrafted college players in the summer league.

Liu Mang once contemplated what it would be like to travel back to the past. One day, he actually found himself transported back in time, only to realize that he possessed no skills whatsoever. In an era devoid of the internet and convenient transportation, even survival could pose a significant challenge.

Liu Mang is well aware that his shooting is absolutely unreliable. It is possible that the strength gained from his height, which has now approached 2 meters, along with the completely different visual perspective, could cause him to throw the ball off target.

Inside the restroom of the home team's locker room at the Phillips Arena, home of the Hawks

Liu Mang regarded this matter with despair. Although he had grown to a height of 1.93 meters, which is the height of a large NBA point guard, it is still shorter compared to most point guards in the current era. However, the draft evaluations from memory noted his two strengths: excellent ball handling and outstanding shooting.

However, after deducting 33% tax and 3% players' union dues, the salary of 460,000 in the first year amounts to less than 300,000 US dollars. As for the non-guaranteed contract in the second year, whether it can be obtained is still uncertain

It is now the year 2001, and the NBA salary cap has just surpassed 40 million. The team's primary center, the league's shot-blocking leader Ratliff, along with the team's star Rahim, the aging Kukoc, and the good-natured Muhammad, have a combined salary of 39 million. The other players earn salaries ranging from hundreds of thousands to just over a million, with none exceeding 2 million. Terry, who averages 20 + 3 + 6 and is now regarded as a future superstar, has a contract worth only 1.5 million a year

There is absolutely none here with him

Moreover, the original assessment of this identity is that it possesses excellent ball control and shooting skills, while its physical attributes are genuinely average, resembling a typical reclusive individual who has crossed over to play in the NBA with a yarn ball

He is currently in a state of despair, as he does not know any lottery numbers, and the method of becoming wealthy through buying lottery tickets is not feasible.

Now Liu Mang is unsure whether he has usurped someone else's place or if something went wrong during his time travel that caused him to grow so much taller. His appearance and some physical "birthmarks" are still the same as his original self, but one thing is certain: he did not "inherit" the original body's skills in ball control and shooting. In fact, due to his increased height, he feels somewhat clumsy handling a "smaller" basketball, completely unaccustomed to it. However, one thing is certain: he did not "inherit" the original body's skills in ball control and shooting. In fact, due to his increased height, he feels somewhat clumsy handling a "smaller" basketball, completely unaccustomed to it.

A term that frequently appears ten years later to describe Francis is "dual-energy guardian"

The Eagles' roster is quite strong, so there is little chance for a second-round rookie, especially one from a weak draft year, to get playing time during regulation. Unless something unexpected happens, he is destined to continue sitting on the bench in the second half.

Francis's desire to do so, coupled with the willingness of the legendary coach Rudy Tomjanovich to allow it, underscores his formidable strength

In dealing with such a ruthless opponent, Liu Mang felt that Coach Lang Kruger would not possibly send him onto the court

Liu Mang's salary in his rookie season was 460,000 US dollars. The state tax in Atlanta is not high, only 5%, but the federal tax rate for those with an annual salary exceeding 200,000 US dollars and below 500,000 US dollars is 28%

He possesses a physique as strong as that of a small forward, along with aerial dominance capabilities akin to those of Jordan, Carter, and James Worthy

However, Liu Mang has a feeling that Coach Lang Kruger seems to care for him quite a bit, but that part of his memory appears to be still in disarray, and he cannot recall it for the time being