After trading "Magic," Hansen also immediately launched the next summer training camp.
Curry, Harden, Irving, Westbrook, those familiar faces basically all showed up.
For them, the key wasn’t in which location to participate in training, but rather that the training camp had Hansen.
It might sound strange, but the truth was that they had more opportunities to face each other in the training camp than during the season, and their skills improved more rapidly.
Especially when playing against Hansen, they also gained enormous benefits.
Irving was the first to arrive, and he seemed incredibly excited, running over to Hansen like a child as soon as he saw him, then giving Hansen a high-five and a shoulder bump with great force.
"I finally understand what you meant by what you said last year!"
Irving was very excited, but Hansen was a bit perplexed.
He had said so many things and could no longer remember what he had said to Irving.
"You said, ’Keep working hard to improve yourself, things might change someday in the future,’" Irving reminded him.
Hansen paused for a second, then couldn’t help but laugh.
At that time, he was just looking to encourage Irving who seemed down, but fate had interpreted it in another way.
However, it seemed not incorrect, because the Cavaliers’ destiny was about to change.
This training camp, in addition to old faces, had many newcomers.
Klay Thompson, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Wiggins, Zach Raven, Aaron Gordon, Porzingis, Emmanuel Mudiay, Devin Booker, and others.
Among these people were mostly rookies in their first or second year, including some who were still playing in the NCAA.
Including Ding Yanyuhang and Zou Yuchen, who had previously participated in the "East University Men’s Basketball Team Fund Program," also came.
Hansen’s training camp was gradually making a name for itself, and inviting these newcomers was also part of UA’s expansion plan.
Previously, their plans to chase after Irving and Harden didn’t go smoothly, with Nike considering Irving as the next core of their brand, and Harden having quite the appetite, so UA turned to bet on other newcomers.
Of course, this arrangement was also approved by Hansen.
Passing is a skill that, apart from depending on the passer, also depends on the receiver.
Players with strong abilities can manage to save the ball even if your pass is slightly off. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝕟𝕖𝕥
But for newcomers, it places higher demands on the passer.
If your passing isn’t precise enough, or if the timing isn’t right, they won’t be able to catch it.
Halfway through the training camp, the head of UA came to chat with Hansen and mentioned their betting targets.
They intended to place a heavy bet on Wiggins.
Wiggins was the trading chip the Cavaliers used to get Hansen, and he naturally had a connection to Hansen, plus he took over Hansen’s position on the Grizzlies.
They didn’t expect him to reach Hansen’s level, but if he could make it to the All-Star game, then UA would have their Third Giant.
Hansen hadn’t paid much attention before, but when the words "Wiggins" and "shoe endorsement contract" were directly linked together, some of his memories were awakened.
Wiggins was a good player but not a good endorser.
He was the type to endorse Adidas and wear Nike, endorse Anta and wear Adidas.
Hansen gave UA’s head two recommendations: Klay Thompson and Antetokounmpo.
Thompson was a rookie of the 2011 draft class, and his four-year rookie shoe contract with Nike would expire next summer.
As for Antetokounmpo, Nike gave him a first shoe contract that was only worth $100,000 over four years.
Both of them not only would showcase great abilities in the future but were also very suitable as endorsers.
Especially Thompson, he was a model of a responsible endorser.
If UA could secure one or both of them later on, it would be very helpful for expanding their market.
Time quickly moved on to the end of August, and after lasting a month, Hansen’s training camp also came to an end.
The effects of this round of "Magic" training were significant, especially in improving the ability to control the ball with fingertips, which already allowed Hansen to perform some showy passes.
Moreover, during this time, he inexplicably received a wave of hundreds of thousands of negative sentiments.
He hadn’t issued any statements recently, hadn’t done anything in public, and even after checking social media, he didn’t find anyone disparaging him there, which left him somewhat baffled.
It wasn’t until the end of the training camp when he and Curry started their UA China tour and landed to attend a fan meet-and-greet, where someone asked about "War Wolf," that he realized the cause.
It turns out that at the end of July, the movie "War Wolf" had set its premiere date for April 2 of the following year and had released its first trailer.
The movie’s director had been filming for a total of seven years with high expectations, and for marketing effects, they had already included him in the trailer.
And that had a direct impact.
In a movie with intensely patriotic themes, there appeared an East University basketball athlete who had yet to compete for the national team—can you blame the situation for being criticized?
And it was just the trailer; if the movie was released later, Hansen feared he would be subject to a torrent of backlash.
Hansen originally just thought he could gain some negative attention due to the controversy of the movie; he hadn’t expected to catch such a big wave.
This time their tour in Chengdu was well organized, with plans to visit the Panda Base.
For this reason, although the schedule was tight, Ajalee also came along.