The Course of One's Destiny

Half an hour later, Su Yang rushed back to his home in Katy, found his birth certificate from memory, and then sat down to have lunch.

After a one-hour break at noon, there was no need to rush to get to work. He casually opened the R forum to check the replies to his posts.

The post predicting the final score only had five replies, and no one took it seriously, probably because anyone can make predictions. However, a netizen was curious about the identity of the so-called 'Rocket professional,' and Su Yang replied, writing that he was a video analyst.

After a moment of thought, he changed his nickname to 'Su Yang - Houston Rockets Video Analyst, the most accurate man in predicting the NBA.'

Then he clicked on the post 'Can 411 match up to Jordan,' which had eight replies. The first reply stated that Jordan became the number one player in history not only because of his impressive data accumulation but also because of his legendary status. As a rookie, he scored 63 points against the Celtics in the playoffs, then won MVP + DPOY a few years later, and went from 0-4 to 4-0 against the Pistons, followed by three consecutive championships. In the middle, he took a break for over a year to play baseball, came back, was defeated by the Magic, and then faced doubts, playing 72-10 and winning another three-peat.

The first reply was followed by several others in agreement.

It was indeed difficult to find a good counterargument, reducing the necessity for discussion, and the post lacked controversy, so it didn't take off.

After pondering a bit, he adjusted the topic of his post.

[Suppose seven superstars are on the same team, which includes Jordan, Kobe, Bird, O'Neal, Magic, Pippen, and Jason Kidd. If you had to remove one from the starting lineup and cut one from the team, and you are the team's general manager, what would you decide?]

After posting, he took out his phone to call his two aunts, who were working in Asia City, to celebrate finally finding a job. Although they were just the social connections of his original self, now that he's here, no matter how successful he becomes, he shouldn't let good people go unrewarded for their kindness.

The call connected, and after briefly explaining the situation, they agreed to celebrate with a beef hot pot dinner at their home, a rare opportunity for joy.

After hanging up, out of habit from posting on forums for years, he pressed F5 to refresh and saw ten replies.

"Kidd doesn't deserve to be on the list; I think Stockton should replace him at least."

"The original poster seems to have intentionally or unintentionally avoided superstars from the pre-80s era, like Russell..."

"There's no need for Kobe if you have Jordan; Jordan is technically superior to Kobe and can play all 48 minutes, so I'd cut Kobe and let Magic lead the bench because at this level, the team doesn't need any organization. Relatively speaking, Magic's defense is poor, and his scoring ability is average, providing the least value to the team..."

In the early 21st century, with the rise of internet forums, fans hadn't seen such a discussion-worthy topic. Within minutes, there were fifty replies discussing from various angles, and the R forum's administrator quickly marked it as an essential post.

At two in the afternoon, he returned to Compaq Center.

After completing the onboarding process, he received various office supplies and, following personnel specialist Lisa's advice, forwarded a welcome email to join the Rocket family, along with a brief self-introduction. Considering the importance of first impressions, he decided to use a humorous approach to show his attitude and skills, stating that if anything surprised everyone, it must be because his methods were too advanced.

The email was well-received, with some replies expressing appreciation for his confidence and looking forward to seeing if he was as impressive as he claimed.

He then officially met with the coaching staff, feeling a mix of anger and forced politeness from Larry Smith, which almost made him laugh out loud.

He also met briefly with equipment manager Jay Ramock, athletic trainer Keith Jones, and strength and conditioning coach David Macha. Both trainers had seen Su Yang's email and jokingly asked for his guidance on their movements.

Su Yang replied with a playful 'for sure, next time,' and then joined the coaching staff to watch the draft prospects' workouts at the arena.

Owner Alexander was also there, chatting and laughing with General Manager Dawson and the agent of Radmanovic.

Su Yang stood on the sidelines, watching the staff prepare for Radmanovic's workout, subconsciously thinking about whether there was a better way to conduct the tryout, taking the opportunity to impress while Owner Alexander was present, potentially achieving an effect ten times greater.

The tryout began soon, with Radmanovic starting on the inside five-point shooting: left short corner - left elbow area - free-throw line center - right elbow area, and right short corner, totaling 25 shots, with only 13 makes, which is quite low for an NBA-level player.

For an open shot, let alone the incredible streaks of Novak's perfect scores, even players like Ben Wallace and Dwight Howard could make more than half.

The atmosphere in the venue suddenly became a bit awkward. Radmanovic's agent looked very nervous, and General Manager Dawson and Owner Alexander didn't say anything. Head Coach Tomjanovich didn't call a stop either, and the staff had to continue with the three-point test.

Su Yang thought to himself that starting with mid-range shots was the normal procedure, but as a shooter, Radmanovic's mid-range shooting percentage was particularly poor. In his entire career, his mid-range two-point shooting percentage was only 32.9%, while his long-range two-point shooting was 36.7%. Coming to the first test a bit nervous, and with the two unfavorable factors together, he ended up with 25 out of 13.

Perhaps he had partied too hard at the nightclub last night, after all, he was known for having VIP access to all the nightclubs in Seattle.

As he pondered, the three-point test ended.

A total of 25 out of 13, quite embarrassing.

After all, he was marketed as a tall shooter, and the Rockets were considering him for his shooting abilities, but this performance was underwhelming.

"He's seriously off his game, this isn't his usual level, I sincerely request to give him another chance..." Radmanovic's agent was anxious, with competitors like Joe Johnson in the same position. Such a poor shooting percentage meant slim chances, although being selected wasn't a problem, but the draft position affected the first contract salary and tactical status. Shooters needed more ball rights.

After his words, no one spoke.

Everyone's gaze turned to Head Coach Tomjanovich, who, as the team's head coach, should have the final say.

Tom frowned slightly, seemingly hesitating whether to give another chance.

Su Yang saw this and thought that since Robert Horry left, due to the experience from two consecutive championships, the Rockets had always wanted to select a big man shooter again, to achieve the effect of 'the center ravaging under the basket + the power forward stretching outside the three-point line,' which was the second combination of Robert Horry + Hakeem Olajuwon. That's why this year they were particularly interested in Eddie Griffin, and Radmanovic was an alternative choice.

But with Radmanovic shooting so poorly, Tom's confidence and patience were obviously shaken, and he was torn about whether to give another chance.

Just thinking about it, the chief assistant coach Larry Smith next to him gave a disdainful look, as if saying, 'Aren't you bragging about being able to help players solve psychological problems in the interview? Radmanovic is obviously very nervous, go solve it.'