The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 54 Hansen’s Counterattack

UA wasn’t considered a major brand, and since their owner came from the NFL, they were more involved in collaborations with the NFL.

In terms of basketball shoes, they were virtually unknown.

However, the offer they made to Hansen was 8 million for 4 years, which was higher than both Nike and Adidas’s offers.

Moreover, they promised to make Hansen the core spokesperson for their basketball shoes.

Although they really hadn’t signed anyone else, what mattered was the attitude.

So, when Thomas learned that Hansen was going to sign with UA, he strongly discouraged it over the phone.

Even if not signing with Nike, signing with Adidas, Jordan, or even Reebok would do.

Signing with a small brand would be disadvantageous in promoting a player in all aspects.

It could even be detrimental in award selections.

Yet, just like before, he couldn’t persuade Hansen.

What can you do when Hansen is a transmigrator?

Putting aside what he wanted to do, the UA brand was destined to skyrocket.

And that wasn’t solely because of Curry, because in 2014, its sales had already surpassed Adidas to become the second largest sports brand after Nike.

In 2014, although Curry was already a rising star, he was far from being a top superstar.

The brand had great potential for development.

While Thomas communicated with UA about contract details, Hansen would visit UA’s headquarters in Baltimore to tour and officially sign the contract after the Cavaliers’ road trip in The West concluded.

The day after the game against the Thunders, the Cavaliers headed to Phoenix for the match against The Suns.

The Suns’ performance this season was the most surprising in the entire League, as they failed to make the playoffs last season but held a 6-1 record so far, ranking them at the top of the League.

Keep in mind that the biggest change in their lineup compared to last season was the loss of O’Neal. freёweɓnovel.com

Moreover, Nash was already 35 years old, and the big guns of the former run-and-gun squad – Dio, Marion, and Raja Bell – had all left the team.

Like the Pistons in The East, this was a team in decline.

Their most significant change stemmed from the head coach; Alvin Gentry, while retaining the run-and-gun system of two wing guards quickly breaking away, a spread baseline formation, V-cuts on the wing sides to get open, and perimeter shooting, had also instilled a defensive component that made The Suns both offensively and defensively formidable.

It looked like the precursor to the Warriors.

In that game, Hansen lost his starting spot and saw his time on the court drastically reduced to 18 minutes.

As he had anticipated, by not accepting James’ favor in the Cavaliers, it was like taking a stand against him, with no middle ground.

In this game, Nash targeted O’Neal in various ways, and The Suns played fluidly under his system.

The Cavaliers ultimately lost the game 105 to 111.

In the post-game press conference, The Suns’ head coach Gentry mentioned the key factor for the win.

"I’m not sure why they didn’t use Hansen more; he managed to limit KD while scoring 20 points in the last game, which is incredible," he said.

For an opposing coach to proactively praise a rookie and consider him the key to the game’s outcome was very rare.

However, considering that Gentry had a high opinion of Hansen when he tried out for The Suns, and later during the draft repeatedly recommended him to Cole, this was to be expected.

He probably regretted not having the chance to coach Hansen.

But it wasn’t only Gentry who was puzzled; apart from a few people within the Cavaliers, no one knew the real reason.

After the game against The Suns, the Cavaliers immediately rushed to Utah to face off against the Jazz.

The game was almost a replica of the Cavaliers versus The Suns, with the Jazz using pick-and-rolls to dismantle O’Neal’s defense.

The difference was, Brown gave up on O’Neal in the second half, and as a result, Bozer, the "Old Knight," wreaked havoc in the Cavaliers’ interior.

Ultimately, with Deron Williams scoring 25 points and 10 assists and Bozer putting up 28 points and 12 rebounds, the Jazz defeated the Cavaliers 107 to 103.

Hansen still wasn’t starting and only played 19 minutes.

The Cavaliers, after suffering two consecutive losses, returned to Cleveland with a record of 5 wins and 4 losses.

It was at this time that Carrell published an article on ESPN titled "On Mike Brown’s Personnel Principles," which sparked heated debate.

Hansen expected his playing time to be reduced, but he certainly wouldn’t just sit by idly.

He couldn’t directly attack James, so he did what he had done before, targeting people around James—this time, his choice was Brown.

"I don’t know what happened, I’m very healthy and full of energy."

The article began with Carrell’s post-game interview with Hansen after the Cavaliers faced the Jazz.

Using this as a basis, Carrell extended to his news headline, the issue with Brown’s personnel choices.

From the beginning of the season stubbornly insisting on using Varejao, leading to the team narrowly avoiding a two-game losing streak at the start, thanks to Hansen’s clutch three-pointer saving the day.

To Hansen’s standout performance against the Thunders as a starter, followed by his sudden, inexplicable removal from the starting lineup and a reduction in playing time that resulted in another two-game losing streak for the team.

In the end, he also mentioned former Cavalier player Alexander Pavlovic, who was the Cavaliers’ best 3D player and a core part of the regular season rotation, but only got an average of 8 minutes of playing time in last season’s playoffs.

"Mike’s personnel principle is that there is no principle. It’s all mood-based. If he continues to stick with this principle, the Cavaliers are likely doomed to repeat past mistakes."

There were no explicit criticisms in the article, but the tone was very heavy.

Next year would be an option year for James, so this season the Cavaliers could only aim for the championship, otherwise, James would likely leave.

Now, Brown’s personnel decisions were directly linked to whether the Cavaliers could win the championship, and this led to an enormous backlash from public opinion.

Hansen returned to regular training in Cleveland, still arriving an hour earlier than everyone else, heading to the gym to lift weights.

James didn’t come today, unclear what he was up to.

Hansen had just started training when someone stormed furiously into the gym, and headed straight to where he was.

Seeing that it was Brown, he understood why James hadn’t come today.

"Morning, Coach," Hansen greeted with a forced smile,

"Are you complaining about your playing time to the ESPN reporter?" Brown didn’t appreciate his "kindness" and started off with an accusation.

"Seems like it." Hansen hadn’t actually complained directly, but it didn’t really make a difference.

"Why would you do that?" Brown was very dissatisfied with Hansen’s attitude.

"To get more playing time," Hansen replied, looking at Brown as if caring for him.

Isn’t that obvious? Why even ask?

"What I’m asking is why you had to say it to the media? Couldn’t you have brought these requests to me in private?" Brown confronted Hansen up close, grinding his teeth, now facing an unprecedented amount of public scrutiny.

Looking at Brown’s anxious expression, Hansen simply responded, "Would it have mattered?"

From the moment James changed the training time and Brown didn’t dare utter a peep, to the whole world knowing Varejao wasn’t a good fit in the starting lineup yet Brown lacked the courage to switch him out due to his status as James’s little brother.

Now, he had just put on an excellent performance, reaching a new career high, only to be removed from the starting lineup and see his playing time sharply cut just because he didn’t accept James’s favor.

Was Brown effective?

What could he decide!

"This isn’t about whether it’s effective or not. You need to understand one thing: internal problems within the team are always solved internally. No one takes it outside!" Brown was somewhat frantic and furious.

"Alright, so we handle it internally?" Hansen said as he stood up, picking up a dumbbell and looking down at Brown,

"Who told you to pull a player who just scored 20 points and then helped the team win from the starting lineup, leading directly to two consecutive team losses? Do you dare say?"

"You! You’re crazy!" Brown instinctively took a step back from Hansen’s towering presence.

"If you can’t even achieve basic fairness, then damn it, just trade me!"

Hansen yelled at Brown, then after his outburst, he threw the dumbbell to the floor and stormed out of the gym without looking back.