Chapter 8: Contracts
The Knicks were pressing hard on offense, with Oakley shining from mid-range and even knocking down some long-range shots, pulling defenders further out. Meanwhile, Zhao Dong was straight-up dominating in the low post, working the paint like a damn pro. But Charlie Ward, the point guard, had barely fed him the ball—just twice all game. One was on a fast break, and the other came off an offensive rebound that caught him off guard. Ward had straight-up ignored another chance to hit him in prime position.
Ewing knocked down a shot, pushing the lead to 85-76. The Warriors were coming back down on offense.
Joe Smith, matched up against Zhao Dong, decided to switch it up. Instead of sticking to the low block, he sprinted to the right wing, trying to shake off Zhao Dong and create space for a clean jumper. It worked—Zhao Dong was just a step slow closing in. Smith caught a crisp pass from Mark Price, squared up just inside the 45-degree three-point line, and let it fly.
Zhao Dong, a step behind, exploded into the air, going all out to block the shot. His bounce was insane—Kobe-like, with a defensive reach that was just unreal. Even the great Michael Jordan rarely elevated past the rim on his jump shots, usually aiming just below it.
"Snapped!"
Zhao Dong sent that ball flying into the stands with a nasty rejection, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
"Damn, Tom, this dude's got freak bounce," Ernie Grunfeld said, leaning over and grinning at assistant coach Thibodeau from the bench.
"I've seen his physicals," Thibodeau replied, still baffled. "He's got a vertical between 40 and 50 centimeters. But Ernie, how the hell wasn't this kid drafted? With hops like that and solid fundamentals, he should've been a first-rounder."
Ernie scratched his head, thinking. "I didn't really notice him at first, but watching him in summer league, dude's got game—both ends of the floor. Might be the whole Chinese thing... You know how it is. Teams focus more on potential than versatility. And his numbers in the draft combine were all over the place. Either someone messed up or there was a glitch in the system. If the real numbers were in, this guy should've been an easy first-round pick."
Back on offense, Smith was calling for the rock, but Price ignored him. Instead, Chris Mullin, their left-wing sniper, cashed in a smooth two-pointer.
Zhao Dong stayed locked in, hunting for an offensive rebound. But no luck. Ewing and Houston were running the show in crunch time, with Oakley cleaning up the boards. Zhao Dong only managed to snag one defensive board and had zero offensive chances.
When the final buzzer sounded, Zhao Dong immediately activated the system.
"Congratulations, host. You held Joe Smith to single digits."
"You blocked more than three shots in a single quarter, dunked five times, and earned two skill points and one quality point as a reward."
"However, the continuous system mission has failed and has now been canceled."
Zhao Dong smirked. "Not bad. Too bad they don't count the points when I'm riding the damn bench." He shook his head but wasn't too mad—his performance was still solid.
Before heading to the locker room, reporters Zhang Lili and Sun Zhenping flagged him down for a quick interview. After about ten minutes of back-and-forth, they finally wrapped up, and he dipped.
After showering, he realized Ewing and the vets had already left for the post-game press conference. He popped in his earbuds, blasting some music while thinking about how to use his new skill points.
He decided to drop two skill points into his low-post offense and one quality point into his speed. That bumped his low-post offense to 82 and his speed to 77. He was stacking up his strengths while slowly fixing his speed issue.
As for those dynasty-level sniper missions? First up was Michael Jordan. The OK combo (Shaq and young Kobe) wasn't a real problem yet, and Kobe still had years to go before he became a killer. But Jordan? The dude was already a walking nightmare. If nobody could contain him, it was gonna be up to Zhao Dong.
And speed? That was his biggest problem going up against His Airness.
"Gotta work on my speed," Zhao Dong muttered, clenching his fist.
(TL: Skill Points is for the Technical Ratings
Quality Points is for Physical Attributes.)
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Two hours later, the Knicks were on a plane heading to L.A.
"Yo, Zhao Dong, got a sec?" Knicks GM Ernie Grunfeld slid into the seat next to him.
Zhao Dong's heart kicked up a notch. He'd balled out today. Was this finally it? His 10-day deal was expiring soon, and this road trip was wrapping up.
"Let's get straight to it," Ernie said, handing him a folder.
Zhao Dong flipped it open and felt a rush of adrenaline. It was a contract offer.
A 3+1 deal. The fourth year was a team option.
Year 1: $900,500
Year 2: $1.12 million
Year 3: $1.35 million
Year 4: $1.72 million (team option)
Total: $5.14 million
Back in his past life, he would've signed that contract without hesitation. Rookie minimums back then were just $200K a year, so this was a damn dream come true for an undrafted dude. This was mid-first-round money.
But now?
Now, he had the system.
And his standards were way higher.
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