The Clippers' training center was certainly one of the newer ones in the NBA . The previous boss of the Clippers had spent $4 . 9 million to purchase the land in 2005 and spent three years erecting a new training center .
Three sides of the training center faced the sea . It was within a mile of the beach and it was also close to the airport . The Staples Center was more than a dozen miles away . The training center was opposite the highway, so it was considered to have traffic connectivity .
The United States was, after all, a country that relied on cars . Regardless of wealth, everyone had a car . The public transport system of the U . S . has always been criticized . If Americans didn't have access to cars, their lives would change dramatically . Americans lived close to highways, just as the Chinese lived close to subway stations .
It was due to this convenient location that the property and land prices of the region around the Clippers rose quickly . That year, in that region, a 200 square meters residence could be sold for two million dollars . The Clippers' training center had become an asset worth over 100 million dollars . That was one of the reasons why the Clippers could be sold for such a high price .
A bus stopped in front of the Clippers' training center and multiple well-built young men walked off the bus . The shortest of these men was at least 6 . 2 feet and the tallest might have been over 6 . 8 . Anyone could tell that they were basketball players .
However, these people were all Chinese . They seemed totally out of place with all the English signs surrounding them .
These were members of the Chinese national men's basketball team . They were to train in the Clippers' training center for one and a half months .
Some of the younger players looked around curiously . Even this wasn't their first time in the United States, which it was for some of them, it was the first time they were receiving NBA level training . They were all eager .
Some of the players were much calmer, they seemed familiar with the surroundings .
In truth, some players used to receive their training in the NBA . Some had even played for NBA teams and took part in the NBA summer league . Although they did not have the ability to stay in the NBA, they were not strangers to it .
The first thing the team did upon arriving in L . A . was visit the training center . In truth, the basic facilities in every NBA teams' training center were more or less the same . Every team was equipped with the necessary equipment . Compared to what they had in China, the hardware of NBA teams was clearly a higher level . They were also more professional . For the players who had never been to the NBA, it was overwhelming .
Later, the members of the team returned to their hotel . Everyone had just flown from China . It was good for them to rest, in order to get over the jetlag .
Dai Li discussed the upcoming training with their head coach, Chenggong Sun .
Chenggong Sun used to be a basketball player . He had been the key player for the Chinese men's basketball team and had represented the team on multiple occasions . He represented the Chinese national basketball team in the Olympic Games as well as the World Basketball Championship . After he retired, he became the head coach of a team in the CBA and, later, was called upon to become the head coach of the men's national team .
Dai Li was no stranger to Chenggong Sun . When Dai Li was still in school, he often watched Chenggong Sun play basketball . Even after he graduated and found a job, Chenggong Sun had still been a player .
Chenggong Sun also knew about Dai Li . Back when Dai Li was the head coach of the U . S . track and field team, Chenggong Sun knew that there was a fellow Chinese achieving success in the sports world over in the U . S . When Dai Li became the head coach of the Clippers, he became a peer in the same industry . Chenggong Sun followed news about Dai Li more closely, which included the over 60% win rate Dai Li achieved by the Clippers . Chenggong Sun also knew his stats by heart . Chenggong Sun probably would have been able to dictate Dai Li's entire curriculum vitae .
… . .
In the meeting room, Dai Li talked to Chenggong Sun in Mandarin . Cassel and the other assistant coaches could not understand anything . They only sat there and looked at each other .
"Coach Sun, may I know if your team has any demands for this group training?" Dai Li asked, smiling .
"We will just follow your lead! You need not be so polite . After all, the NBA has the best training in the world . Moreover, you are one of us . I believe you will definitely create an effective training plan for us," Chenggong Sun said, laughing joyously . He passed the ball back to Dai Li .
Chenggong Sun knew that Dai Li was not originally a professional basketball coach . Yet he had still managed to lead a weak team to a win rate of over 60%, meaning Dai Li was genuinely capable . That was why Chenggong Sun did not try to show off . He was very receptive and would follow any plan . At the same time, he also wanted to test Dai Li's ability .
"Since you put it that way, I'll share my thoughts with you briefly," Dai Li said . He stopped being courteous and cleared his throat . "A month and a half is neither too long nor too short . I hope that our team can benefit greatly in this one and a half month .
"I believe there is no need for tactical training . You and the other coaches should already have very detailed tactical plans and systems for the current team, so there is no need for us to intervene here . Moreover, the tactical coaches of the Clippers are all Americans and they do not understand the Chinese basketball play style . They also don't know the traits and personalities of your players . If our tactical coaches interfered your system, I'm afraid it would be bad for the team . "
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Chenggong Sun nodded . He had not planned on allowing Dai Li to interfere with his tactical system .
Dai Li continued . "I don't see a need for technical training either . Any such training would be ineffectual over such a short period of time . Some techniques require months, even years of training . Furthermore, a lot of game time is needed for adjustments and improvements . If we use the time we have on techniques and skills, it would be a waste and the effects would be minimal . "
"Then, Coach Li, what you mean is…?" Chenggong Sun started to ask .
"I think that the best kind of training, in this case, is physical fitness training . Fitness training has the fastest results . Athletes can make significant progress and improve a lot in a short period of time . I want to use this time to make our national basketball team players stronger, with better endurance and resistance .
"I analyzed our opponents in Asia . At the moment, our main adversaries are Australia, New Zealand, and Iran . Australia has a lot of players in the NBA, and several among them are even considered stars . If they were to return and play for the Australian national team, the Australian team would have the capability to play evenly against the strong teams of Europe and America . Truth be told, if the Australian team manages to gather all their players, they are definitely out of our league .
"The situation in New Zealand is similar to the one in Australia . They have a lot of excellent players . If all of those players join the New Zealand team, they would have the strength to play evenly against the teams in Europe and America as well . However, the top players of Australia and New Zealand seem unwilling to represent and play for their country . Most of the time, we only face their second-tier team .
"Moreover, Australia and New Zealand are not participating in this upcoming Asian Games, so Iran is our main opponent . The skills of the Iranian team are pretty decent in the Asian region . The physical qualities of West Asian players are also ideal . However, in the past few years, as the Iranian team has gradually aged, the team is currently transitioning between the young and old players . They are no longer as strong as they were .
"Another thing is naturalization players . The Korean, Japanese and Philippines team all have naturalization players, right? The Filipino team actually has quite a few, even some who used to play in the NBA . It's no exaggeration to say that some of their better players could single-handedly destroy the average team in Asia!"
As Dai Li spoke, he looked at Chenggong Sun, as if asking for his opinion .
Chenggong Sun shook his head in resignation . "This is indeed the case . The current Philippines team has more naturalized players than local ones . Some have dual citizenship so they are both Filipino and American . This means that they have a basketball background in the United States . Although some of their skills are coarse and they are unable to play in the U . S . , they can dominate in Asia . The naturalized players in the Philippines really change the tone of Asian basketball . "
"That's why I think that our players need physical fitness training . We need to let the players who only rely on the physical qualities to know our strength," Dai Li said with confidence .
Not all of the naturalized players in the Philippines were amazing . Some of them only played in Asian basketball leagues and some only played in the local leagues in the Philippines . Those who only managed to play in the Filipino basketball league were quite bad .
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In truth, these players weren't skilled, so they couldn't really play in the United States . American basketball players, who had skills and technique, could still play in the European basketball leagues to earn money if they couldn't make it into the NBA . Those who had a little talent could play in the CBA for a decent wage . They did not have to be reduced to playing in the Filipino basketball league .
The Filipino team was also not physically the strongest when compared to the muscular Americans . However, when compared to local players in Asia, they were much stronger .
Regarding naturalized players in the Philippines, most played with their body . They only knew how to play solo and their skills and technique were rubbish . Such players could still manage when playing against average Asian players, they had an advantage with their bodies . However, when faced with players who were equally strong physically, their lack of skills would be exposed .
Chenggong Sun lowered his head and thought for over a minute . He finally nodded, agreeing Dai Li's point .
To Chenggong Sun, what Dai Li said seemed reasonable . Since tactics and skills could not be developed in such a short period of time, physical fitness was the only thing left to be trained .
Basketball is, after all, a highly physical sport . Chenggong Sun also considered the fact that Dai Li was originally a physical fitness coach . Physical fitness training was probably the kind of training he excelled at .
"Coach Sun, if you have no objections, I will create a training plan as soon as possible . However, my plan will not be limited to only physical training It will also include the daily lifestyle and food intake of the athletes . I hope that during this period, players will be disciplined and follow my instructions," Dai Li said .
"Naturally," Chenggong Sun said, nodding . However, the word "discipline" seemed very out of place to him in a place like the United States .
. . .
Dai Li led multiple coaches onto the court . The players from the Chinese team immediately formed a line .
It was only then that the people discovered that among the group that followed Dai Li onto the court was a man who looked very familiar .
"Is that Wood?"
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"Wood? Which Wood?"
"How many Woods do you know? He's the youngest MVP ever in the regular season!"
"Wood is a Clippers' player?"
"Wood, it's really Wood! That's right, it's him!"
Wood's appearance caused several seconds of ruckus in the line . They never would have thought that they would have the chance to meet a superstar because the Clippers' season was over .
Dai Li walked in front and coughed to signal that he wanted them to quiet down . He then said, "I'm sure you already know the person beside me . From today onwards, Wood will be training with you!"
"Wood will train with us?"
"Train with an NBA superstar? Awesome!"
"Help me take a picture later . I want to be in a photo training with Wood . "
A few of the younger players seemed very eager to start .
Dai Li smiled and said, "Fellas, opportunities to train with a regular season MVP of the NBA are far and few in between . I hope that you will value this opportunity . The amount that you learn from Wood will depend on all of you!"
Not far from the group, Coach Chenggong Sun was shell-shocked . He never would have imagined that Dai Li could bring Wood to train with the men's basketball team .
Looks like Coach Li has put a lot of effort into training the team . It was definitely the correct decision to work with the Clippers this time . From this alone, I can beautify the U . S . outstation training report more and hope that the basketball association can finish up our strategic partnership with the Clippers . Our players will get even more opportunities to train with these NBA superstars, even if we do just serve as their training partners . This is definitely better than training back in the mainland!Please download our sponsor's game to support us!