Chapter 1163: Chapter 370: The Cold-Hearted Emperor
Roger didn’t know if it was because he liked Boris Diaw’s way of speaking, but he always found this Frenchman very agreeable.
First of all, in the Warriors’ training camp, there was an incident straight out of a story — Boris Diaw lazily carrying a coffee cup and wearing slippers casually broke Amar’e Stoudemire’s team record for vertical jumping as he passed by, then picked up his coffee cup, put on his slippers, and left nonchalantly.
This time, Roger witnessed this moment firsthand, proving the truth of the story.
Diaw appeared laid-back, casual, not seeming to take anything too seriously. Of course, he never missed training, didn’t show laziness during shooting practice, but always gave off a relaxed vibe.
Finally, Roger could only sum it up with one sentence: that’s just the French way.
This super talent was never frantic, not the kind to scream all day, “I want to win a championship.”
Logically, such a person and Roger shouldn’t be able to coexist.
Roger couldn’t stand laziness, couldn’t stand this non-competitive personality. He needed the whole team to be as eager as he was.
But Diaw’s relaxation was different from others. During training, he always completed every task seriously, and he approached training games very earnestly. He seemed relaxed, but never treated his work irresponsibly.
Yet once training was over, he turned back into a sloth, leisurely walking to the dressing room to brew a cup of coffee, then wandering aimlessly around the new arena like an old man strolling in a park.
Roger noticed that Diaw’s remarks at the media day’s press conference might not have been meant to mock LeBron James; perhaps he truly found it funny.
Additionally, as the son of a women’s basketball Hall of Fame member, Boris Diaw performed exceptionally well in training games, showcasing excellent basketball intelligence and outstanding teamwork awareness.
He wasn’t the type of player to score highly, nor a ferocious rebounding machine, and he couldn’t command the ball like a true Magic.
But he could do everything; his standalone stats might not be the best, but he had them all.
It turned out that Roger thought Diaw was excellent not out of favoritism. Even Erik Spoelstra marveled: “He’s the first player whom I don’t know what position to assign him. He seems to be able to play and excel in any position. Compared to KG, LeBron and the likes, he truly is a position-less player, and I need more time to think about his role next season.”
Boris Diaw left a strong impression on both Roger and Spoelstra; however, Jason Richardson has been performing the best recently.
His mid-range shots are still terrible. If anyone tells you that someone efficient in three-pointers is also accurate in mid-range, Jason Richardson is a good counterexample.
His ball-handling skills are still not great, meaning he still lacks the ability to carry the ball single-handedly. It’s a talent issue, and training can’t necessarily change it.
But due to years of continuous weight gain, his finishing rate under the basket has clearly improved compared to last season, and his judgment of passing and steals is exceptional on the defensive end.
He’s full of passion and hasn’t relaxed his mentality despite winning the championship last season.
Even in training games, he seriously competes against every matchup, and when he can slam, he never opts for a layup.
Strong, serious, rough, ruthless… his demeanor perfectly fits the nickname “Golden State Gangsters.”
Roger is delighted to see Jason Richardson’s progress, but not everyone is pleased with his improvement.
On the sixth day of training camp, Allan Houston finally arrived late.
Initially, he asked for three days off, but on the third morning he still didn’t appear at the training facility. It wasn’t until noon that he called Spoelstra: “I’m afraid I’ll need a few more days.”
Thus, Allan Houston didn’t show up until the sixth day.
Upon his return, Allan Houston was informed by Roger: “You’ll start from the bench next season.”
“What? Roger, I don’t understand.”
Allan Houston had been diligent last season and never had any conflicts with Roger.
He didn’t understand why Roger told him this upon first seeing him.
“You can’t just come here and take the place of those who worked harder than you. Haven’t we said? No one can miss preseason training camp unless it’s for urgent family matters.”
“I asked Erik for leave.”
“Erik doesn’t call the shots here, Allan. If you want to get back to the starting line-up, you’d better take preseason training camp seriously and prove you can.”
After Roger finished speaking, he turned to leave the dressing room, but after taking two steps he seemed to remember something, so he turned back to add: “You’d better cherish this opportunity to prove yourself again, Allan, it’s the only thing I can say to you.”
Roger’s intention wasn’t to strip Allan Houston of his starting position, but to hope he would become alert and pull himself out of the joy of winning the championship.
But this tactic failed.
In the afternoon’s training game, Allan Houston was completely crushed by Jason Richardson.
Allan Houston’s condition was very poor, not due to physical issues, but mindset issues.