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November 1st, 10 a.m.
Bang bang bang bang - swish!
In the silence of the training court, Butler dribbled and trembled, took a mid-range shot, and made a jump shot.
After the basketball hit the ground, he ran to retrieve it and continued practicing his mid-range jump shot.
After returning to Oakland from Los Angeles yesterday, Liam announced that the entire team would have a day off today, and the league's early-season schedule for the Warriors was too easy. After playing the Lakers, the Warriors had 2 days off before the game against the Grizzlies.
Although Los Angeles is very close to Oakland, the players weren't overly tired, but Liam still followed the usual practice of giving the team a day off after a road game, so they could rest well and prepare for the next match.
But for Butler, he didn't want to rest at all. On non-game days, training was his best way to rest, and he couldn't live without basketball.
So after a lazy sleep, he spontaneously came to the gym to practice, but since the coach was also on vacation, he had to pick up the ball alone. However, Butler was happy to do so. Collecting the ball alone also allowed him to consume more physical energy, just in time for shooting practice to stop and run quickly.
Swish!
Another clean shot. Butler's mid-range jump shot, after bouncing the ball, almost hit 100% under non-defensive conditions. He had found his rhythm and was confident that he could maintain a decent efficiency on the court.
Bang bang!
Butler picked up the ball, dribbled behind his back with two smooth crossovers, and made a jump shot, watching as the ball softly swished through the hoop.
He raised his right hand high, looked at the basketball still bouncing in place after landing, but the height was getting lower, and he didn't rush to pick it up. Instead, he sighed slightly and slowly walked under the basket.
Butler also wanted to show off his skills in the game, but after the new season started, he became a bench player. His playing time dropped drastically, his ball possession was much less than last season, and there weren't many opportunities to attack with the ball. He still had the responsibility of being a 3 and D player, mainly responsible for spacing and defending on the court.
That is, in the last game against the Lakers, he attacked a couple of times with the ball in the second quarter, but after the Lakers focused on his defense, Liam asked him to stand in the corner instead.
Boom!
Butler kicked the basketball with his foot and hit it forcefully.
He was very convinced of Liam's intentions, and in his view, Liam must have a plan for this. So, he didn't complain but practiced hard every day. However, not having the opportunity to show off on the court inevitably made Butler feel a little depressed.
He wouldn't show this emotion, but when no one was around, Butler would vent it, so he wouldn't feel uncomfortable inside. Fortunately, Liam had clearly told him that he wouldn't always be a substitute; otherwise, Butler really didn't know if he'd have other thoughts.
Butler didn't get along well with Matthews, and he admitted that Matthews was good, but he thought he was stronger than Matthews. At least Matthews's ball-handling skills were much worse than his, and if he were given Matthews' tactics, he could score more points.
Boom, swish!
Another mid-range shot. Butler's mood gradually faded, knowing that everything was arranged by the boss, and there was no use thinking too much. It was better to keep practicing. On the court, Butler could forget all his problems.
Boom – Boom –
Suddenly, Butler heard the sound of dribbling and turned his head to see a man walking from the entrance of the training court in the distance, wearing a Warriors training uniform and holding a basketball. It was Klay.
Butler's movements stopped, and he exclaimed, a bit surprised:
"Hey Klay, aren't you resting at home today?"
Klay bounced the ball toward him and replied:
"I'm a little bored at home, so I came to train. What about you? Aren't you resting at home?"
Butler was stunned. No one had asked him this question for a year, and all the Warriors players knew that Butler never had free time in his life. He would relax for half a day at most after consecutive road trips, but he never spent a whole day without practicing.
But then he realized that Klay didn't know about his habit and hadn't spoken to him about it.
Butler laughed, "Didn't they tell you? My nickname is the Sand Mouse; the basketball court is my home, and practice is my rest."
Swish!
Butler made a three-pointer on the practice court, slowly approached to pick up the ball, and said, "Sounds good, want to play? 10 shots, loser... invites the winner to dinner."
Butler, who was always frugal, had a bright eye. Was there anything better than this?
He placed his ball on the sideline, walked in front of Klay with a smile, spread his legs, lowered his center of gravity, and got closer to Klay.
"You go first."
...
Bang, bang – swish!
Butler made a triple-threat move beyond the three-point line, shook his left shoulder, and suddenly kicked hard with his right foot, running toward the left side of Klay's three-point line. Then, he stepped with his left foot, leaned against Klay's left shoulder, and stepped back to the right with the help of force, making a sharp stop. The basketball swished through the net.
Klay couldn't interfere, so he could only watch Butler make a pull-up jumper, and he shook his head helplessly.
Butler laughed: "10-5, you lost, Klay."
Klay shrugged:
"You won, what do you want to eat for lunch? I'm treating today."
Butler thought for a moment and said: "There's a new Italian restaurant that Stephen went to once, so let's try it."
Klay naturally had no problem with that and nodded, "No problem, Italian restaurant... Does Stephen like Italian food?"
He didn't know Stephen well enough yet.
Butler laughed: "Oh, by the way, you probably didn't know, Stephen's favorite food is chicken with cheese and pasta. When he was in Indiana, he loved eating at Italian restaurants and often took me with him... Stephen has good taste, and the restaurants he recommends are usually worth a visit."
Klay then separated from Butler and practiced separately until noon, when he packed his things, and Butler took Klay to the Italian restaurant.
They returned after dinner to continue training, and there was a players' lounge at the Oracle Center, where they rested for an hour before practicing in the evening.
The Italian restaurant wasn't very far from the Oracle Center, just 15 minutes by car.
The two entered the restaurant, chose a seat, and sat down, waiting for their order. But while they were talking, Butler casually looked toward the door and was a bit stunned. He then waved at Klay and smiled:
"Look over there."
Klay, who was sitting across from him, turned his head and looked in the direction of Butler's finger, and saw Liam and Curry entering the door, laughing.
He said in surprise:
"That's the coach and Stephen! Are they coming here to eat too?"
Butler leaned slightly back in his chair, stood up, and said, "Looks like Stephen wants to eat chicken with cheese and pasta again. He's a bit of a social guy and doesn't like going out alone... Wait a minute, I'll go call them."
Klay nodded, saw Butler approach, and greeted Liam and Curry. They looked over, Klay greeted the two, and then the three of them came over and sat down.
Liam pulled out his chair and said with a bit of surprise:
"Klay, you're training too? I thought only Jimmy would be practicing during the holidays, but I didn't expect you to be."
Liam really didn't expect Klay to practice. In his previous life, Klay's offseason romance was widely known, and he couldn't wait to dive into his love life every day, neglecting training and finding his form in the first half of each season. Liam never thought Klay would practice during the holidays.
Klay pursed his lips, looked to the side, and said in a slightly lonely tone: "I still have a lot to improve, there's a long way to go before I catch up to Kobe. I have to make the most of every day to practice well."
Liam's eyes widened slightly. He looked at Klay and, after a moment, said: "Klay, are you even feeling down? I thought you'd never let anything bother you on the court. You always keep your composure."
Klay looked at Liam strangely: "Coach, I'm human, how can I not be affected? I really decided to focus on basketball when we were defeated by Lakewood with James Harden, and I had to sit on the bench and watch him shine. After that game, I gave up baseball and focused only on basketball…"
As he said this, his eyes lifted slightly, looking off into the distance, and his voice lowered, obviously lost in the memory.
The three of them listened silently to Klay's story, and after he finished speaking, Liam thought for a moment and suddenly said: "I want to think about it... On December 5th, we'll be playing the Thunder in Oklahoma, and then I'll give you the chance to get revenge and face Harden. What do you think?"
"Thanks, coach! I'll give him a beating then!" Klay clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, "If it weren't for him, the California High School Championship in that year and the next would have been ours!"
"Haha…"
The three of them laughed, and Curry joked: "Don't worry, Jimmy and I will do everything we can to help you beat the Thunder and make Harden taste defeat. In fact, we did it last season, but you weren't there at the time, so we'll do it again."
Butler also chimed in: "I don't know why James Harden was selected third, he doesn't seem strong at all, and we'll definitely win when the time comes…"
They all joked about Harden and the Thunder, reminiscing about the time they knocked the Thunder out of the playoffs last season. Klay was in a good mood and immediately waved his hand and said: "I'm paying for this meal!"
Butler immediately retorted without mercy: "You invited me to lunch today!"
"Well, I've even treated the coach and Stephen's part now..." Klay added quickly.
"Haha…" Liam laughed at Klay's serious look and suddenly his eyes lit up and said: "That's it, this lunch is on Klay today, tonight, I'll invite you all to my house for dinner! By the way, if you call Shangyi, Jeremy, and Draymond, the team hasn't had dinner together yet, right? I'll call everyone later, let's gather and get familiar."
Hearing Liam say this, Curry and Butler nodded repeatedly. Back in Indiana, Liam often invited the whole team to eat together. After coming to the Warriors, because the games were much more demanding than in the NCAA, and the players were adults with their own lives, they hadn't had dinner together.
Naturally, contacting teammates would have to wait until the afternoon, and then the four of them had lunch while talking and laughing.
"Stephen, what were you doing with the boss this morning?" Butler casually asked.
"We went to play golf!" Curry laughed happily, then looked at Liam with disgust, "But the boss still can't play golf, I've taken him a few times! Boss, you're so athletic, I deliberately let you win, but you can't win."
Butler and Klay laughed, and Liam spread his hands indifferently: "I don't want to, but I can't help it. I can't even play basketball, let alone golf. It's a rich man's sport, I've been poor since I was a kid and never played golf before meeting you."
Curry said: "You should learn more, now you're a rich man, how can you not play golf?"
"I have time, I could study game footage or watch anime instead…"
"Oh, okay, boss, you win, I thought you were going to find a girlfriend or something, but it turns out you were planning to watch anime!" Curry stared at Liam wide-eyed and shook his head helplessly.
Liam smiled: "Girlfriend? It depends on fate, so let it be…"
The image of Julya flashed in his mind. Last season, as time passed, Liam got busier and his contact with Julya gradually decreased. In the end, the two of them had no private interactions except for work, and he had also abandoned some unrealistic thoughts.
Liam now understood why the richer a person is, the easier it is to be single. He wasn't particularly wealthy, but his life had been filled with basketball, and he had little free time to think about other things.
Although this was because he had to train the team himself, even if he were just the team's owner, he'd still be busy with other business matters. Just like Markbaum, after all, he couldn't be idle.
Right now, Liam had no thoughts about men or women. He only focused on building a complete roster, developing rookies like Curry, Butler, Klay, and Green, to compete for championship trophies, which was his biggest goal at the moment.
This was also why Liam handed all the matters of the national Internet industry design to Mark Baum and only gave Mark Baum a general opinion.
Liam didn't know that this would diminish his own interests, but a person's energy is limited. Liam put all his thoughts into the Warriors and didn't have time to think about these things. He didn't have much desire for money either. As long as he could keep the Warriors running, that would be enough.
The four had done relatively strenuous exercise in the morning, and the meal speed was very fast, finishing in half an hour. Liam wiped his mouth with a napkin and said: "Let's go, back to training. Stephen and I will go buy something, we'll call you when the time comes, just come straight to my house and I'll cook food for you."
End of this chapter
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