Three and Seventeen

Daniel sent the clips. Then he drove to the facility. He found Marcus on the practice court, shirt soaked, replaying trap reads with an assistant coach holding a pad. Luka sat cross-legged at half court with a tablet, muttering about timing. Tyrese shot corner threes alone, every miss making him angrier. Behind the glass, Jamal moved through resistance bands in the training pool, jaw clenched against pain. Dawson stood beside Daniel. "They're not quitting," the coach said. Daniel watched Marcus split a trap, jump, and fire a pass to the opposite corner before landing. "Then neither am I." The Price trade happened two days later. ESPN called it another surrender. Local callers raged about losing the only veteran who could create his own shot.