Chapter Six: Jordan: Coach, I Want to Play Point Guard!

A few months ago, when Phil Jackson decided to draft Lin Tian, he hadn’t watched a single one of his games. He hadn’t even been present at Lin Tian’s tryout in Chicago. All the information Jackson had about Lin Tian came from rookie reports, college statistics, and from the chief scout, Clemens.

After all, the Bulls only had a 52nd overall pick, and Jackson couldn’t be bothered to spend too much effort researching such a late selection.

“Good enough,” he thought.

Moreover, the one who had the real decisive say in who to pick was that stubborn, overweight Klaus. As for Jackson’s relationship with Klaus? Well, it was the kind where both would fiercely desire to overpower each other’s mothers, preferably with the other kneeling and watching in shock.

Not exactly mortal enemies, but close enough.

But who was Phil Jackson? The league’s foremost psychological master, renowned for manipulating minds and delivering motivational speeches—undeniably the top tactician in the league!

If he truly wanted a player, Jackson had countless ways to make Klaus pick him.

It all came down to whether it was worth his effort.

As for Lin Tian, Jackson’s impression was simple: a tall guard, intelligent, studying psychology, and an Ivy League scholar.

With these attributes combined, even without watching a second of Lin Tian’s games, Jackson felt it was worth giving him a shot.

This kind of player—high IQ, tall, average athleticism—was exactly Jackson’s favorite type.

Of course, monsters like Kobe, Jordan, or Shaq were in a league of their own; who wouldn’t love those?

Besides, Lin Tian was just a late second-round rookie; if he flopped, that was Klaus’s problem, not Jackson’s.

So, over the following days, Jackson cleverly planted the notion in Klaus’s mind that Lin Tian was a useless, annoying waste of space.

Thus, when the draft rolled around at the end of June, Lin Tian naturally became a member of the Chicago Bulls.

Klaus’s thinking was simple: if a late second-round rookie fails, it’s because you, Jackson, can’t handle players. What does the league’s top general manager have to do with that?

And so, by a twist of fate, Lin Tian found himself on the Bulls roster.

He was unaware of this entire backstory, nor did he need to be. It didn’t matter.

What mattered was that Jackson didn’t care at all when Lin Tian antagonized three tightly-knit fringe players on the very first day of training camp. Jackson thought it was no big deal—but the fact that Lin Tian dared to provoke Jordan piqued his curiosity.

Was this kid simply foolish, or was he truly tough?

With that thought, Jackson’s anticipation for the training camp grew, his dark amusement fully ignited.

As tensions rose on the court, with Lin Tian and Jordan refusing to back down, their heads nearly touching, Jackson clapped his hands and shouted, “Come on, kids! Over here! Training camp is officially underway!”

“Consider yourself lucky, kid,” Jordan sneered as he passed Lin Tian. “I hope you have skills to match your courage. Otherwise, you’ll disappoint me greatly.”

“I thought your trash talk would be fiercer than that. Honestly, I’m already disappointed,” Lin Tian shot back without backing down, aiming to provoke Jordan’s emotions.

The experience of the three guys he had just ruffled was nothing compared to what Lin Tian sought: to draw out the best from Jordan—the God of Basketball himself.

Unfortunately, Jordan’s spirit was as unshakable as ever. A few taunts didn’t faze him at all. He merely turned back to Lin Tian and said, “I hope you can keep that mouth running during practice.”

Before Lin Tian could retort, the players began to gather quickly around Jackson, waiting for his speech. Most paid no mind to Lin Tian’s confrontation with Jordan.

In this league, there were countless young players who didn’t know their place. Some, a little kinder, looked at Lin Tian with sympathy.

Experienced veterans had already started contemplating helping Lin Tian pack his locker.

Crossing Jordan was a fate worse than death.

No one believed Lin Tian could survive long on the Bulls after provoking Jordan.

Jackson, however, acted as if he saw nothing and knew nothing. After delivering an inspiring opening speech, the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls training camp officially began.

The initial physical conditioning, drills, and various exercises proceeded normally.

Lin Tian was meticulous, giving his all in every task.

Towards the end of the session, Jackson gathered everyone for a scrimmage to assess their condition. Everyone knew what was about to happen—and it finally did.

Jordan calmly raised his hand. “Coach, I want to try playing point guard. I’ve been working on that this summer. Let me give it a shot. Ron, can you play shooting guard?”

Ron Harper nodded immediately, not daring to disagree.

Jordan continued, “What about that rookie who just joined the team today? Dare to get on the court and show us what you’ve got? Or are you already too tired from practice? What, soft legs?”

Normally, the scrimmage pitted starters against reserves, with Steve Kerr usually running point for the bench squad. But today, Lin Tian would take that role. Even if he might not get playing time, Kerr had no objections.

It was obvious to everyone that Jordan wasn’t trying to give Lin Tian a chance; he was looking for an opportunity to beat him down and teach him a lesson.

Lin Tian, naturally, wouldn’t refuse. Fearlessly, he stared back at Jordan. “I told you, I’m not a rookie. My name is Lin Tian. You can call me Lin or LT!”

Jordan scoffed and sauntered past him arrogantly. “If you’re still standing after the game, then tell me your name.”

Jordan hadn’t felt this eager to crush someone in a long time. This rookie was arrogantly reckless.

But arrogance has to be backed up. If all you have is a loud mouth, you earn neither respect nor recognition—only ridicule.

“Alright, Michael, Ron, Scott, Luke, and Dennis, you’re one team.”

“Lin, Steve, Zhu, Tony, and Bill, you’re the other. Let’s get on the court!”