Gan Guoyang looked at Terry Porter and said, "Terry, do you have the confidence to take over my role?"
Porter reclined in his seat, glanced at Gan Guoyang, and said, "Sorry Sonny, I’m a year older than you."
Joking with the veterans, Gan Guoyang focused his gaze on young players like Arenas, Brad Miller, Raja Bell, Eddie House, and Gerald Wallace.
Gan Guoyang didn’t say much, only mentioning that during the season, they would have many good opportunities they must seize.
Now is the era of young people, the NBA updates quickly, and if you have the talent and ambition, you need to show it and quickly stand out.
"Rest assured, I am always patient; if you can stand out, you will be among the first batch of meritorious stars of the Glory Team, holding a significant place in history. I won’t trade you away for famous stars; the championship isn’t that important to me. Leaving a future and seeds for the Glory Team is my true goal."
Gan Guoyang wasn’t just bluffing; during his career, the only player he couldn’t work with and traded away was Van Exel.
All other new recruits selected by the Trail Blazers won championships with Gan Guoyang, including someone as flawed as Vandeweghe.
When the management proposed trade suggestions multiple times, Gan Guoyang always refused, demanding to keep the original roster. He believed he could win the championship with his teammates instead of constantly switching players for the "most suitable" ones.
Gan Guoyang believed there was no ideal fit; being on the same team was fate. If you’re fated with me, Ah Gan, I’ll lead you to a championship.
A player like Van Exel, who disappeared during playoffs and left the team directly, truly had no fate.
After returning to Las Vegas, the players dispersed to rest for a few days before the 2001-2002 regular season kicks off.
The coaching staff couldn’t afford to be idle; Tomjanovich gained many insights from a few preseason games.
Many things only reveal themselves in actual games, not during practice.
First, regarding whether Gan Guoyang should play the three or four position, by observing multiple games, Tomjanovich felt that limiting someone of Ah Gan’s accomplishments and abilities would be a mistake.
So, if he wants to play three, let him play three; if he wants four, let him have that, too, based on team composition and game needs.
As a pairing, Tomjanovich promoted rookie Gerald Wallace to the starting lineup.
This 19-year-old newcomer is bursting with explosive energy, perfectly balancing with the veterans.
Secondly, at the point guard position, although the Glory Team has veterans like Cole and Porter, Tomjanovich believed they were too old to handle starting responsibilities.
For instance, Porter couldn’t handle starting since the 1996-1997 season and could only play over 20 minutes off the bench.
Now, he seems breathless all the time, like he’s living on borrowed time. Making him a starter is like asking him to die.
Steve-Kerr never really started in his life, and now league guards are getting better, especially the smaller guards. They’re getting faster and fiercer in their breakthroughs, so making Cole start is like giving the opponents points.
Therefore, Tomjanovich boldly employed young players, making the physically gifted and hard-working Gilbert Arenas the starting point guard.
At shooting guard, Riddle was initially the number one choice for a starter,
but after evaluation, Tomjanovich decided that although Riddle, a former Trail Blazer, had skills, his discipline was lacking, and his form was declining significantly.
Being a good substitute would be great; as for the starting spot, let’s give it to the youth; hence he favored Raja Bell.
Tomjanovich, as a head coach, not only understands basketball but also politics.
The boss already voiced on the plane that young players should be given more opportunities. He immediately decided to start the youth to nurture them.
A day before the regular season officially begins, Tomjanovich specially gathers the three rookies for a meal and chat.
Although all three are rookies, their situations are different.
Gerald Wallace was a first-round pick; he had a successful high school and college career, even winning the Naismith Award.
Being the 25th pick in the first round was satisfying, after all, he was only 19. Later, being selected in the expansion draft to Las Vegas made him happier.
Sacramento was a backwater, while Las Vegas was a big city, and being on the same team as the Basketball God naturally was a plus.
So Gerald Wallace was in good spirits, always grinning, looking like a carefree little leopard.
In the team, Gan Guoyang nicknamed him Little Black Panther.
Learning about his starting position, Gerald Wallace grinned broadly, feeling very pleased.
Arenas, however, differs from Wallace. His college career was also very successful, leading the University of Arizona to the NCAA national final, the pinnacle of college basketball.
It was a chance for Arenas to make a name for himself, but he didn’t perform well due to a knee injury, hitting only 4 out of 17 shots in the entire game, leading to Arizona’s loss to Duke and loss of the championship.
This became Arenas’ biggest regret, followed by his ego bruised when he was overlooked by all teams in the 2001 draft first round, only to be picked by the Warriors in the second round.
Shortly after, he was traded by the Warriors to Las Vegas for two second-round picks.
Arenas felt humiliated, having always believed he would be a top ten pick.
His classmate Richard Jefferson was selected in the first round; Jefferson was always Arenas’ junior at Arizona.
The University of Arizona even contacted him before the draft, suggesting if no team picks him, he should return to college basketball—teams that tested Arenas reportedly were pessimistic, believing picking him in the first round would be a disaster.
Arenas was furious, cursing every team that passed on him, swearing to become an All-Star and make them regret their decision.
Thus, Arenas carried a great deal of resentment, with a strong desire to stand out.
When he learned Tomjanovich intended for him to start his rookie season, Arenas said, "I won’t let you down, coach, absolutely not."
Tomjanovich knew Arenas trained extremely hard, to the point of self-destructive training.
As a 20-year-old rookie, there is no need to overtrain; there is still a long road ahead.
But Arenas was determined to prove himself and intentionally chose the number 0 to symbolize starting from nothing.
At Arizona, he wore the number 25 jersey, which has nothing to do with 0.
Regarding Raja Bell, his situation was different; he was an undrafted player.
Although he performed well in college, winning the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Year, it was of no use during the draft.
In 1999, Bell went undrafted, then went to the CBA, winning a championship with the Yakima Sun King, and making the All-Star lineup, giving him a chance in the NBA.
He first joined the San Antonio Spurs, then later in the 2000-2001 season, he was signed by the 76ers towards the end, gaining the opportunity to participate fully in their 2001 playoff run, reaching the finals, and playing in every final game.
Though his stats weren’t outstanding, this experience of going undrafted, winning a championship in the CBA, then reaching an NBA final while appearing in each game immensely toughened Raja Bell.
So, despite appearing as a rookie, Bell’s mindset is stable and resilient, treasuring every opportunity that comes his way.
Upon being sent to Las Vegas, he understood his chance to advance wasn’t far.
His only concern was whether, in a veteran-led team centered around Ah Gan, young players could truly develop.
Now, with Ah Gan discussing giving young players opportunities and the coach placing rookies in starting roles, it looked promising.
But Bell’s substantial experience over Arenas and Wallace taught him promises could be retracted; today’s starting role might not be there tomorrow.
The talk of developing young talent and winning championships could quickly transform into trading rookies for superstars; such occurrences are frequent in the NBA, or professional sports generally.
Thus, regarding optimistic promises, Bell was cautiously optimistic; he nodded lightly upon hearing Tomjanovich’s words, acknowledging he’d work hard, keeping further thoughts to himself.
These three rookies, each with distinct mindsets and goals, found themselves thrust into the forefront of the Glory Team, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Suns.