The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball

To ensure being selected by a particular team, it's not uncommon for players to only participate in workouts with that specific team during the draft.

For example, Curry this year refused most teams and only participated in workouts with the King, the New York Knicks, and the Bobcats.

Such circumstances are generally more common among the hot prospects of the first round and are rarer in the second round.

But that's not to say it doesn't happen.

Take Austin Reeves, who, to join the Lakers, refused workout invitations from all other teams.

Hansen's draft stock was at the end of the second round, and the 43rd pick was quite a temptation for him.

Moreover, Riley's question had hit home; he liked Miami as a city, and joining the Heat Team seemed like a terrific choice.

"Mr. Riley, I want to join the Heat, but I also want to complete the remaining workouts because I want to see if I have a chance to enter the first round."

The biggest difference between NBA draft's first and second rounds is that first-round players have a mandatory four-year guaranteed contract, while second-rounders often have non-guaranteed contracts—even if there is a guarantee, it's usually just for the first year.

Before, Hansen hadn't considered this because his goal at the time was just to be picked.

But now, after two rounds of workouts, he found he was no worse than the prospects projected higher in the second round, so of course, he had to aim higher.

As for why to be frank, it's because the person across from him was Riley, a shrewd operator; inventing a thousand excuses wasn't as effective as a move of genuine sincerity.

Riley looked at Hansen for a while and then burst into laughter:

"Our draft promise to you remains unchanged. If you receive a better draft promise, I hope you will tell me about it."

"No problem, Mr. Riley."

Hansen accepted Riley's new condition.

After leaving Riley's office, Hansen felt incredibly happy.

Unfulfilled draft promises are not uncommon in the NBA, as verbal agreements don't have any binding force.

But for Riley to add new conditions after he had spoken those words indicated that the Heat truly were interested in him.

In other words, unless something major happened, his backup plan for the 43rd pick was pretty much secured.

This went smoother than he had anticipated; he had every reason to be happy.

After workouts with two teams from The East, Hansen hurried non-stop to The West; he would sequentially participate in workouts with The Suns, Thunders, and Grizzlies.

Hansen's workout with The Suns went very smoothly.

Head coach Alvin Gentry expressed great interest in Hansen and even took a long time to chat with him before the workouts had ended.

Following this, NBAdraft released its latest draft predictions; Hansen had climbed from late second round directly to mid-second round, projected to be selected by the Phoenix Suns at the 48th pick.

During NBA team workouts, the management not only refuses to disclose workout details to the media but also requires staff to keep the content confidential to prevent other teams from discovering their true intentions.

But besides management and staff, there are also rookies participating in the workouts, making such secrecy not always effective.

Take The Suns' workout, for instance—everyone could see the scene of Gentry enjoying a pleasant conversation with Hansen.

Nevertheless, Hansen felt that this projected draft outlook still wasn't enough.

Moreover, he had been so busy traveling for workouts that he hadn't had time to manage his social media, and the growth of his negative publicity was very slow.

So, before heading to Oklahoma for his workout, Hansen posted a personal status on Facebook:

"I am the best defender in the 2009 draft class."

With Hansen's previous moves, his account had already attracted a large number of detractors.

As soon as he posted this status, especially when the incident of breaking Jordan's rib was making waves, his negative publicity value immediately shot up.

"You might not be the best at defense, but you're certainly the dirtiest—after all, you could even hit a 46-year-old."

"NCAA's top scorer, 2009's best defender, why don't you just say you should be the number one pick?"

"Some play by skill, you play by self-proclamation—talk about pioneering a new track!"

...

Hansen had long been immune to these comments; he even 'liked' the remark about pioneering a new track.

Actually, this move was not only about harvesting negative publicity value but also about boosting his own brand.

The teams currently trying him out were all keeping their evaluations confidential. The Jordan incident was publicized because the news could make money, hence it couldn't be contained, but no one knew about him matching up well against Curry until now.

So he wanted the other teams he hadn't tried out for to know that the current draft reports were inaccurate, he did have defense.

As for the truth of the information, if they were interested, those teams would naturally find ways to inquire from the teams he had already tried out for.

And the upcoming tryout with the Thunders was a great opportunity.

The Thunders had been big players in the draft in recent years; they picked up Durant and Jeff Green in '07, then Westbrook and Ibaka in '08, and this year they held the 3rd, 25th, and 54th picks.

Who they would choose with the 25th and 54th picks, he didn't know, but he remembered very clearly who the 2009 third overall pick was.

Barring any surprises, he would be trying out alongside James Harden.

If he could defend against Harden during the tryouts, it was not impossible for the Thunders to consider him for their 25th pick.

...

On that day, Hansen went to Oklahoma, accompanied by Thomas.

Thomas was taking this tryout very seriously, as it was the Thunders that he had strongly recommended Hansen to.

Despite finishing at the bottom of The West in the past few years, the Thunders had accumulated enough potential, and it was only a matter of time before they produced results.

Moreover, what was more important was that the Thunders were in dire need of a 3D wing player.

Last season, they had traded with the Bulls for "Swiss Army Knife" Sabo Seferosa to start as shooting guard.

Seferosa did bring perimeter defense to the Thunders, but his three-point shooting was painfully bad, hitting less than 25%, and with Westbrook not skilled in perimeter shooting either, the Thunders' offensive spacing was terrible.

When Hansen arrived at the tryout venue, to his surprise, he did not see Harden.

However, he did see Kevin Durant!

The Thunders had missed the playoffs last season so Durant should have been enjoying his vacation by now, what was he doing at the tryouts?

This question was soon answered.

The Thunders' general manager, Presley, announced that Durant would be the one-on-one opponent for the rookies during the tryouts!

When this news was announced, all the rookies were stunned.

Although Durant had only just finished his sophomore season, he was already an elite scorer in the League, averaging 25.3 points last season with a 47.6% field goal percentage and a 42.1% three-point shooting percentage, the core of the Thunders.

Hansen felt the pressure, too.

Winning one-on-one against Curry could mean something, but not much since Curry was not known for his isolation plays.

But Hansen hadn't used his full defensive effort at the time, so he was confident he could guard a stronger one-on-one player like Harden.

However, Durant was a whole other level stronger than Harden, and facing rookies was like a demotion.

But he also sensed an opportunity.

Bringing in Durant surely wasn't just for a late second-round pick; this was probably prepared for that 25th pick.

Thomas's intel was reliable; the Thunders really did need a 3D wing player.

If he could perform well in this segment, wouldn't he be the perfect candidate?

The one-on-one tryouts started soon and, once again, Hansen's turn was last.

There was no helping it. Although his draft stock was rising, most of the players at this workout had projections as late first-rounders.

Then, Hansen watched as Durant turned into Coach Tony, giving each rookie a haircut.

His isolation ability was too much of a bug.

At 2.11 meters in shoes, Durant had enough height to play power forward with ease, but he played shooting guard, and he was a shooter at that.

Hansen had of course seen Durant on video, even Durant at his peak, but the difference between video and reality was too great.

Durant's shot wasn't just high, but also incredibly quick.

He deeply understood the phrase, "The crossover is a sign of respect, what can you do if I just pull up and shoot?" It couldn't be more apt.

Finally, it was Hansen's turn.

And it was just when Hansen stepped on the court that Durant, who had been somewhat bored, suddenly perked up.

He squinted at Hansen, "Are you the best defender from the 2009 class?"

Hansen was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly recalled something.

Durant, too, was a big surfer on the net!