The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 374 - 198 "Don’t Cry Brother, You’re Home Now"_2

Chapter 374: Chapter 198 "Don’t Cry Brother, You’re Home Now"_2

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 game.

After two games, his performance remained lackluster.

Hansen looked for Joerger.

His "God’s Afterglow" reaching a bottleneck at this time, Livingston had been quite helpful.

And from training, Hansen knew that Livingston had the ability.

Not to mention 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 game, 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 moment.

Although it was already October, there were still plenty of people in the free market waiting for an opportunity.

In terms of fame, 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 game 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 moment, Hansen remembered that Livingston had started his career with the Clippers.

Though times had changed, thinking about that video of the 90-degree leg break that went viral on social media 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 environments 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 came 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 affirmed.

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 moment.

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 game, Livingston got another chance during the substitution phase in the third and fourth quarters.

This time, 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 game, he received the ball on the weak side high post and nailed a beautiful turnaround fadeaway jumper over Gordon.

Such performance had the commentators 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 moment, Guy reached out to pat his shoulder and gave it a strong rub:

"Don’t cry, brother. You’re home now."

...

The League’s preseason had not yet ended, but a video was going viral on social media.

After James arrived in Oklahoma City, his team began a marketing blitz for him.

And you had to admire their business acumen.

Despite being an agricultural city, they managed to make a buzz.

In the video, James held a Mexican taco filled with fresh produce from Oklahoma City. After taking a bite, he shouted "taco tuesday" at the camera and let out a burst of his trademark "gigigigigi" laugh.

That’s right, this was a promotional ad James 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 James’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, James has over thirty million.

Why can everything the ’Penguin’ touches turn to gold? Because of a huge user base.

Nike had been building James’s image as the "Chosen One" even before he joined the League, plus the annual marketing costs invested in him, he himself had long become a super-sized billboard.

In fact, following James’s transfer to the Thunders, the number of nationwide live broadcast games for the Thunders jumped from 10 the previous season to 22 this season.

Nike also invested a lot in advertisements in Oklahoma City, which resulted in a significant increase in the Thunders’ season ticket sales compared to last season.

Brands that had formed strategic partnerships with James 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 name 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 time came 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.

James didn’t play much in the preseason, but another new addition to the team, Robin Lopez, performed 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 agreement, 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 meters 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 become clear right at the season’s start.

Because the Thunders’ opponent in the opener was none other than the Grizzlies.