The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 38 The Leader of the Cavaliers

In no time, Malone entered the locker room.

"You okay?" Malone asked, pointing to his chest as he came in.

"It did hurt a bit, but it suddenly stopped hurting when you asked," Hansen joked as he patted his chest.

Malone gave a heartwarming smile.

"Mike wants you in his office," Malone said, referring to the head coach, Brown.

Hansen nodded and got to his feet.

"Admit your mistake when you see him; Mike is actually quite approachable," Malone advised Hansen on the way there.

Hansen nodded seriously.

After the Summer League ended, he had thought about how to win Malone over.

But now it seemed unnecessary. Judging from today’s actions, Malone already treated him like his apprentice.

So, no matter what he thought, there was no need to anger Malone.

As soon as he entered the head coach’s office, Hansen saw Brown sitting there with a murderous look on his face.

Brown gestured for Malone to leave and shut the door behind him.

"Do you know what you did wrong now?"

Hansen shook his head.

That reaction was like a spring under Brown’s butt—he jumped up instantly.

"Andre (Varejao) pushed me first, I don’t think there was anything wrong with pushing back," Hansen replied confidently.

Brown slammed the desk in anger, was that the point?

The point was James!

By blocking James so publicly in front of so many people, was James supposed to lose face?!

Admittedly, the team staff had reacted quickly and had already confiscated the reporters’ cameras, but they couldn’t confiscate their mouths!

Of course, Brown couldn’t possibly say that out loud. It would be too sycophantic.

"Do you know what’s the most important thing for a team?" Brown calmed his tone a bit.

Hansen didn’t answer because it was clear that Brown wasn’t really asking him.

"It’s unity!" Indeed, Brown answered his own question.

"Basketball is a team sport, and the team needs a leader. LeBron is that leader, and everyone else must rally closely around him. Only then can the team perform to its fullest potential and take another step forward."

How many seasons had they been united for, and the best they could show was getting swept in the finals?

"Coach, you’re right," Hansen said, nodding in agreement.

Brown was taken aback; he had not expected Hansen to respond that way.

Does this guy even know how to have a conversation?

"Cough!" Brown gave an awkward cough, "Well, do you know what you did wrong now?"

Hansen still shook his head.

"You!" Brown pointed at Hansen, veins popping.

"Do you know that today’s practice was open to the media?"

"I do."

"And you still made such aggressive defensive moves? If that gets reported, it’s detrimental to the team’s unity!"

"Is it?" Hansen was puzzled, "If we’re giving it our all in practice and playing with such intensity, shouldn’t the media report that we’re eager to make a strong comeback?"

"You!"

Brown slammed the desk again, taking another thousand hit points of damage.

Brown was so infuriated he sat back down in his chair.

Even a pig’s head should understand what he was saying.

It was clear Hansen had no intention of following along with Brown’s script.

"Get out!"

Brown yelled, pointing to the door.

"Aye-aye, coach."

Hansen stood up and left the coach’s office.

Open the door, and there was Malone, still at the doorway.

Malone sighed helplessly at the first glimpse of him, then signaled for Hansen to go back before he himself entered Brown’s office again.

Watching this, Hansen felt conflicted.

Back in the locker room, the Cavaliers players had also started to return, but James was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, the Cavaliers players’ glances toward Hansen were clear-cut.

The original Cavaliers players all looked at him with hostility.

While the new players looked at him with a certain amount of admiration.

Clearly, Hansen wasn’t the only one who felt that strange atmosphere at the Cavaliers training camp.

But most people would choose silence in such a situation, especially since they were newcomers who held no sway.

Moreover, as Hansen had previously said, everyone knew how high James’ status was in the Cavaliers.

Submitting to the inevitable and biting one’s tongue was always better than being shown the door.

Conningham changed his clothes, and Hansen called him to leave together.

By the evening, the two returned to the gym for additional training.

"After this first set of exercises, don’t rush and hurt yourself trying to get stronger too fast," Conningham couldn’t help but remind Hansen.

"Don’t worry, I have a measure of it."

Hansen really did have a measure of it.

There used to be a prevalent saying in the domestic scene that "three-from-one-big" ruined many players.

But in fact, the training frequency of NBA players is not any less than that of domestic players.

The key issues are the scientific approach to training and the intensity of each training session.

Training doesn’t need to last too long, but the intensity must be high, or else it won’t be effective.

"Dante, hustle on your three-point shots; you don’t want to be the background signboard in practice every day, do you?" Hansen also reminded Conningham.

Hansen was telling the truth. If Conningham didn’t develop a three-point shot, then today’s experience would become his daily routine with the Cavaliers.

Of course, this wasn’t just to avoid being a background signboard, because for a shorter player like Conningham, the only way to survive in the future would be as a stretch big.

The 3D-type power forwards were still in high demand.

"I know, in Cleveland, there’s only one person who doesn’t need to practice threes."

Conningham’s words amused Hansen; the guy was becoming bolder.

Just then, the door of the gym was pushed open.

The person at the doorway bent over as he walked in; it was Ilgauskas.

Conningham subconsciously covered his mouth, but Hansen pulled his hand away.

At this distance, Ilgauskas wasn’t going to have ears like the wind.

Ilgauskas walked up to them with a smile and said to Hansen, "Can we talk?"

Hansen nodded.

"I’ll go work over there." Conningham took the ball to another side of the gym.

"Do you need something from me?" Hansen didn’t ask Ilgauskas how he knew to find him here; after all, the guy had been with the Cavaliers for over a decade.

"I know there’s been some misunderstanding between you and LeBron."

"There’s no such thing, I haven’t even spoken to him," Hansen wasn’t sure what Ilgauskas was implying.

"LeBron is actually a very hard-working person. It seems like he’s been successful from the start, but that wouldn’t have been possible without a lot of effort."

Hansen shrugged his shoulders, not particularly interested in hearing praises of James.

However, Ilgauskas’s next words were unexpected.

"But it’s also true that because of his continuous success, he can be self-centered at times, feeling like everything should revolve around him."

Was Ilgauskas explaining why James was giving him trouble?

It made sense, but now Hansen was truly puzzled about what Ilgauskas’s intention was in coming to him.

"I hope you won’t hold any animosity towards him. After all, he’s the one who brought you here."

At that, Hansen immediately frowned; it seemed everyone in the Cavaliers had forgotten he was brought here against his will.

Seeing the change in Hansen’s expression, Ilgauskas quickly changed the subject:

"Of course, what’s more important is that such a sentiment can create tension in the Cavaliers’ atmosphere. Once a team has internal discord, its strength can be greatly diminished."

Hansen finally understood; Ilgauskas was here to mediate.

"I just said, I haven’t even spoken to him, so how can I have animosity towards him? They are the ones causing me trouble."

"I’ve seen your social media."

"Does stating facts now equate to animosity?" Hansen couldn’t understand why James’s people always felt stating facts was the same as discrediting him.

"Acting this way on the Cavaliers will put you at a disadvantage," Ilgauskas warned.

"I don’t care. Worst case, they can just trade me," Hansen wouldn’t accept threats.

"The real hardship isn’t being traded; it’s being benched," Ilgauskas looked at Hansen.

Hansen’s brows furrowed deeply.

That was an effective threat.

And considering Brown’s attitude towards James, it was entirely possible.

Even though next season, without James, he might still get opportunities, wasting an entire season was a big loss for him.

"Of course, such a situation would also be a huge loss for the Cavaliers," continued Ilgauskas.

"You seem to think highly of me."

"I’ve been in the NBA for over ten years, seen all sorts of people. I can tell if a player is capable and can contribute to the team," Ilgauskas seemed pretty straightforward in his speech.

What he didn’t say was, if due to Hansen blocking James in a training game, he got traded or benched, especially when he’s someone James specifically wanted, it would collapse the persona James built up over the years with the Cavaliers.

The reporters’ cameras may have been confiscated, but they still had mouths to speak.

"If they stop bothering me, I won’t bring trouble upon myself," Hansen just wanted to become stronger and didn’t want to waste his energy on such internal strife every day.

Moreover, he didn’t want Malone to remain stuck in the middle because of him.

"I’ll sort things out on LeBron’s side," Ilgauskas assured Hansen, "and with that guy Varejao too."

After reaching an understanding, Hansen called Conningham over to continue their training.

Once Ilgauskas had left, Hansen couldn’t help but watch his retreating figure for a while longer.

Compared to James, "Big Z" seemed more like the real leader of the Cavaliers.