My Name is Kobe Bryant

Kobe's training was transferred to the Lakers training hall. West and Harris were very concerned about Kobe's growth, and specially arranged Gary Vitti to manage Kobe's training for Kobe's training.

Gary Vitti has been with the Lakers for 12 years since he was hired by Pat Riley from the University of Portland as a trainer in 1984. In 12 years, from SHOWTIME members such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and James Worthy, he has also become the chief trainer and team doctor of the Lakers.

"Boom, boom, boom" Gary Vitti heard the crisp sound of a basketball hitting the floor as soon as he entered the court early in the morning.

He has always considered himself a workaholic. At this time when most of the team staff were on vacation, he returned to his post immediately after receiving a call from West. He was a little surprised by the sound coming from the arena in the early morning. The sun in Los Angeles has just risen now. You must know that the season has just ended, and the players have all gone on vacation.

"Hi, Gary." Kobe greeted Gary who entered the training hall. He had completed mid-range shooting training and was shooting a three-pointer.

"Oh, you are the familiar kid that West asked me to take care of? You got up really early!" Gary has seen many players who train hard, and SHOWTIME can't be played by talent. He thought that Kobe was just on a whim, and it was not uncommon for such players to come to training as soon as their foreheads became hot.

"Stop nagging, old Gary, get me the ball! I'm going to hit 1,000 threes before breakfast."

This kid is really rude! Gary secretly thought, today's training Gary is going to torture Kobe to tears, let him know how powerful the devil Gary is!

When the time came to night, Gary looked at Kobe, who was still alive and kicking, and took him back to the court to shoot after the strength training. A little collapsed, isn't this kid fatigued?

"Brat, give me the ball, I want to go home!" Garivetti, he didn't seem to realize that this summer has just begun.

. . . . . .

"Rob, I need you to help me find some players to practice with." Kobe was lying in the apartment provided by the Lakers, and he and Pelinka had settled down in Los Angeles. And Joe Bryant and Pamela Bryant are back in Philadelphia.

I feel that training with trainers every day is a bit boring and the intensity is not enough. So he wants a few players to train with him. At this time, the big-name players are all on vacation. Isn't it good to enjoy life? Who would like to accompany a 17-year-old boy to practice hard in the hot summer?

Kobe thought of several candidates. The first is the point guard Derek Fisher, who was selected by the Lakers with the No. 24 pick this year. Check in for training. This is not good, only hard-working people are worthy of being my teammate of Kobe Bryant!

Then there's this year's undrafted rookie, Ben Wallace. The future Pistons defensive gate, unexpectedly no one cares about it this year. The reason is simple. An older center with a public height of 2.01 meters, or even an inside player with an actual height of only 1.98 meters, will not be respected at any time. Bryant remembers the undrafted Ben Wallace, who played in summer league with the Washington Bullets before getting a contract, and Bryant wanted to poach him.

The last candidate is Bruce Bowen, a super perimeter lock-up defensive player who was selected to the first team of the best defensive team 5 times and was selected to the second team of the best defensive team 3 times. Unfortunately, he was not selected in the 1993 NBA draft. After four seasons in the American CBA and the French Basketball League, he should be looking for a chance to enter the NBA.

"Understood, BOSS. I'll find a way to get them here." What Kobe likes most about Pelinka is that he never asks unnecessary questions and handles some tedious things in an orderly manner.

Kobe currently has little influence on the Lakers team, and it is difficult for him to influence the management's decision to sign players without any achievements. So Kobe wants to let them play a dominant performance from the beginning of sparring to participating in the summer league. Kobe believes that West and Harris will definitely sign them after seeing their performance.

He is also preparing to build his own team. A loner will definitely be limited everywhere. If you want enough right to speak, strength is part of it, and so is my younger brother. The big players of the Lakers will not be the younger brother of a 17-year-old high school student.

Generally speaking, the NBA pays salaries on fixed paydays. The default is the 1st and 15th of each month. From November 15th to the end of the regular season, there are a total of 12 payouts. In other words, there is no such thing as playoff salary, but there is a playoff bonus. Of course, there are many issues with this bonus, so it will not be written in the contract. It all depends on how the boss pays it.

Although he signed a three-year rookie contract of 3.51 million US dollars, so far Kobe is still a poor man. This is also the reason why he lives in the apartment provided by the team for free. At present, several sports businessmen have proposed good endorsement contracts, but Kobe has not signed. The endorsement amount will become worthless.

So the current Kobe is so poor, he doesn't care much. After all, people who spend every day in the training hall don't need too much money.

And when Kobe was training for the summer league, a heavy news bombarded the entire newspaper and magazine pages.

On July 18, Shaquille O'Neal left the Magic for four years and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. The total contract amount is 120 million U.S. dollars in seven years.

July 18, 1996 was Penny Hardaway's 25th birthday, but on that day, O'Neal did not hold a birthday party for his former good brother Hardaway, because he was doing a more important thing --- signing with the Los Angeles Lakers .

There are many opinions about why O'Neill left Orlando, but many people believe that his departure has something to do with Hardaway, or that the Sharks were forced to leave by Hardaway.

Kobe asked O'Neal in private, and he knew it was nonsense, and the cooperation between O'Neal and Hardaway was intimate. Hardaway has a humble and mature personality. He prefers to hide his aura and give O'Neal the opportunity to show off.

When the problem arises, the management of the Magic does not pay much attention to O'Neal, and even wants to renew O'Neal at a low price. They are confident that O'Neal will stay in Orlando. It's just this unfounded confidence and managerial arrogance that pissed off O'Neill.

O'Neal yearned for the exposure in Los Angeles, yearned for the sunshine in California, and was attracted by West's promised future prospects. The Lakers promised to provide O'Neal with 35 tickets for each game, and "Magic" Johnson was willing to use his The private garage was given to O'Neal --- it wasn't just a question of money, but the Lakers gave O'Neal the respect he needed.