Kobe accepted Gan Guoyang’s advice and spent more time in the gym; while others were doing shooting drills, he practiced his floater technique with one hand.
The fourth day of training has ended. Tomorrow the team will have a day off, and the day after tomorrow we will play a preseason game with the Phoenix Suns at the Memorial Coliseum.
Although the Memorial Coliseum is no longer used as the official arena for the Trail Blazers’ games, it still serves as a backup venue for some summer leagues and preseason games.
Bird summarized the first phase of training; their main focus was physical fitness, defense, and shooting.
These are very simple yet extremely important elements, which can be said to be the three basic components of a basketball game.
Bird specially thanked the players for their cooperation, saying, "I thought as a rookie coach, I would encounter some difficulties and troubles. But everything went unexpectedly smoothly, which surprised and touched me. Perhaps I misjudged most of you before; actually, you are all well-behaved and outstanding young kids, just misunderstood by others in the past. Very good, very good, I hope this continues. Tomorrow is a rest day, and the day after tomorrow we have a preseason game, everyone prepare well. Today’s training ends here. Uh... you, come to my office for a moment."
Bird pointed at Ruben Embad, signaling him to step out of line.
Embad immediately felt something was wrong; his experience told him something bad might happen.
Sure enough, upon reaching the office, Bird straightforwardly told Embad, "Sorry Ruben, you’ve been released."
Embad took a long time to react, saying in disbelief, "I...I signed a guaranteed contract!"
"I know, so you will receive compensation, but you are still released."
"Is there something I did wrong? I think I performed well, I can still continue training!"
Embad kept explaining to Bird; he desperately wanted the opportunity to play for the Trail Blazers; he had persisted through the rookie camp.
Bird shook his head and said, "It’s not that you didn’t work hard, but we need a small forward more. Now that Kobe is injured, our need for a small forward is even greater."
The Trail Blazers originally lacked a three-position player, and Kobe’s height and play style could fill this position, but now he’s sidelined due to an unexpected injury.
The Trail Blazers must add a small forward; Embad as a point guard is obviously not suitable, and the other three non-guaranteed contract players also don’t meet Bird’s requirements; they will all be released.
This is the NBA, where the elimination rate for ordinary players is high; yesterday you were training hard, dreaming of stepping onto the NBA stage, and the next day you’re packing up to leave.
Of course, Embad, who has a guaranteed contract, will receive decent compensation, enough to cover his expenses while he seeks his next contract.
But Embad doesn’t plan to give up easily; he lingered in Bird’s office, begging Bird for a chance, almost pleading.
Embad knew clearly that at this time, a point guard like him, once released, would find it difficult to be picked up by another team.
Furthermore, Embad knew playing beside Ah Gan with the Portland Trail Blazers was absolutely different from playing elsewhere.
Facing Embad’s persistence, Bird became annoyed, raising his voice, "A decision is a decision; I’m not discussing with you, Ruben, I’m informing you of the result! This is the NBA; the NBA is like this! If you want to stay in the NBA, the first thing to learn is to accept failure and abandonment, then go back, pack up, and start over!"
Embad is 24 this year, a rookie, just stepping into the world of the NBA, trying hard to establish himself here.
But for players lacking sufficient talent, reaching this point has been extremely challenging, using all their strength.
To survive and make some achievements, merely relying on effort is definitely not enough; much luck is needed too.
Embad’s luck was clearly insufficient; Kobe’s injury and the Trail Blazers’ lineup deficiencies led to his unavoidable exit despite holding a contract.
Confronted with Bird’s reprimand, Embad’s eyes reddened with tears about to fall, and seeing him like this made Bird feel uneasy; this was arguably the hardest part since he became a head coach.
Embad still wouldn’t leave the office; Bird suppressed his sympathy, opened the office door, and asked him to leave.
Gan Guoyang happened to pass by and saw Bird’s angry face and Embad crying; he exclaimed, "Coach, are you secretly bullying Ruben?"
Bird wished he could pick up the trash can from the floor and smash it on Gan Guoyang’s head, or simply release this guy too!
"Show some respect for my taste, Sonny! Also, Ruben is leaving the team, but he seemingly can’t face this reality."
Gan Guoyang immediately understood the situation; he had seen cases like this many times; it’s normal for NBA teams to welcome and bid farewell.
Gan Guoyang took Embad aside in the hallway, turned his back, and said a few words to him, quickly stopping Embad’s tears.
After exchanging a few more words, Embad even managed to smile, ultimately expressing gratitude continuously before heading to the locker room to pack his things.
Bird was surprised watching all this. After Embad left, he stopped Gan Guoyang and asked, "What did you tell him? Could it be that he doesn’t need to leave?"
Gan Guoyang said, "Of course not, I respect the decisions of the coaching staff and management; we do need a small forward."
"Then what did you tell him?"
"I told him I would expose the matter of Bird bullying you and make him compensate you a huge sum."