Champions Creed

Chapter 146 145: Sometimes, we really can't make Roger unhappy (ask for monthly tickets!)
In the summer of 1996, there was no comeback drama, no touching story of winning the championship on Father's Day.

There will no longer be conspiracy theories like "The Bulls deliberately gave up two games to the Supersonics just to win the championship on Father's Day."

There will no longer be people with bad intentions questioning whether the classic photo of Jordan wearing brand new AJs and crying on the locker room carpet was staged.

The 72-win team failed to win the championship, and the Orlando Magic went from being the one being shaved to helping others shave their heads. Although it was not as explosive as the mutual shaving in the 24 playoffs, it also showed dominance.

History changed completely this summer.

At the same time, an embarrassing fact also emerged: since Roger entered the league, Michael Jordan couldn't even make it to the finals, let alone win the championship.

It would have been fine if this was the outcome only in the year after his return, but being blocked from the finals by the same opponent for two consecutive years was a fatal blow to Jordan's dominance.

Therefore, Reinsdorf’s mentality is completely different from that in the original history.

He is still struggling with whether Jordan is worth the historic annual salary of 3000 million.

After Jordan won his fourth championship in the summer of 96, Reinsdorf was reluctant to give him 3000 million, let alone Jordan who has reached two consecutive Eastern Conference Finals.

It's not just Jordan. Reinsdorf is even wondering whether he should really make up his mind to rebuild.

Once upon a time, Michael Jordan used his personal ability, prestige and commercial value to force the Bulls to postpone reconstruction and created a miracle.

But what about now? Does he still have that kind of influence?
Now that Jordan can't even make it to the finals, will the Bulls still listen to Jordan and keep this old team that has been squeezed dry?

The relationship between the Bulls and Jordan has undoubtedly reached a crossroads.

In the days after the end of the season, apart from Roger's arrogant acceptance speech, the hottest topic is undoubtedly the transfer topic.

Although the free market has not yet opened, various rumors have already filled the sports news pages.

According to rumors, the total amount of Alonzo Mourning and Juwan Howard's new contracts is already calculated in billions, and their annual salaries are worth tens of millions.

The league is about to officially enter the era of billion-dollar contracts and tens of millions of annual salaries.

Mourning and Howard can be considered stars, but they are not top-notch.

If they can also earn tens of millions of dollars a year, then how much are Shark and Jordan worth?
Roger once again spoke for the Sharks, believing that he deserves a big contract, but it is unknown how much the Magic will listen.

The most turbulent offseason in NBA history began in the summer of 1996.

I don’t know how much Shark and Jordan are worth, but Pippen has already filled the bathroom sink with his tears.

He looked at his annual salary of less than 300 million this season and his back teeth were almost broken.

What’s even more damning is that this contract will last for another two years!
Two years is enough for Mourning and Juwan Howard to make a lot of money!
When Pippen thought about how Roger could earn ten skins in just one year, he felt even more heartbroken!

At this moment, Pippen really wanted to lie in Larsa's arms to seek comfort, which was his paradise.

but.
Why does that little brat Marcus stay at my house every day and pester his aunt every day?
So annoying!
Before the free agent market officially opened, the 1996 NBA Draft arrived first, and a group of talented young people from all over the world were about to join this cruel game.

An hour before the draft, Jerry West was talking about Roger: "Damn Roger, that crazy bastard!"

Why was Logo so angry? It was not because Roger was teasing him by name. In fact, Roger had played professional basketball for three years but had never spoken a word to Jerry West.

The reason he was furious was that his plans were interfered with by Roger again.

That’s right, again.

Roger led his team to defeat Jordan, and then swept the Supersonics 4-0, greatly hindering Logo's shark catching plan.

Because after winning the championship, the probability of Shark staying on the team will definitely increase. This is the first time that Roger has interfered with Logo's grand plan.

The second time was last night.

Last night in Atlantic City, reporters saw Roger and the shark appear outside the casino together.

Because it was not a formal interview, the reporters could only ask some casual questions.

One of the reporters asked Roger, "Who do you think will be the No. 1996 pick in the NBA draft?"

Roger casually replied, "Maybe Kobe Bryant."

Logo didn't know if this sentence would have any impact on the draft, but Roger's words undoubtedly gave Kobe more spotlight.

What if, what if the Philadelphia 76ers or Celtics really choose Kobe in the top six?
After all, Roger is now a very influential player.

And many teams feel that Roger understands Kobe better than most and knows his value.

Logo had already discussed with his old partner Elgin Baylor that he would send All-Star forward Cedric Ceballos and center Divac, who averaged 21 points per game for two consecutive seasons, to the Clippers, provided that the Clippers helped him choose someone at the seventh pick.

This year's draft has a so-called "super draft six" consisting of Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdul-Rahim, Steven Marbury, Ray Allen and Antoine Walker.

The talents of these six players are considered to be far superior to other rookies. They are six players that cannot be missed in this year's draft and will definitely be selected in the top six picks.

And Kobe, because of the changes Roger brought about, is considered by most people to be the second best player in this year's draft after the super draft six.

First, Roger proved that a high school guard can succeed in the NBA. Second, the duel between Kobe and Stackhouse, which was initiated by Roger last year, made Kobe famous.

This resulted in Kobe's predicted draft ranking being still very high, even though he did not have a brilliant performance in the just-concluded McDonald's All-Star Game, with all the limelight stolen by O'Neal Jr., Tim Thomas and Mike Miller.

Therefore, if the Lakers want to get Kobe, they need at least the seventh pick, not the thirteenth in the original history.

At this pick, Divac is definitely not a player that can be traded for. The Lakers can only give up the mature All-Star forward Ceballos to gamble on the seventh pick.

But even so, the Lakers are still not safe.

The seventh pick is only the highest draft pick the Lakers can trade for, and it does not mean that Kobe will definitely be selected with this pick.

Because both Philadelphia and Boston are very likely to give up the players in the Super Six to select that high school genius.

Kobe is extremely popular in Philadelphia and is the pride of Philadelphia fans. Many fans hope he can play for the 76ers.

Auerbach also had a high opinion of Kobe, and God knows whether he wanted to create a Kobe + Duncan combination.

And what Roger said may increase the probability of those two teams choosing Kobe.

This is why Logo is so annoyed with Roger, he feels that his plans have become extremely unsafe because of that guy.

Fortunately, what Logo worried about did not happen.

An hour later, at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey, the first name David Stern read out was Allen Iverson.

76ers general manager Pat Close did struggle for a long time between Kobe and AI, but ultimately chose the bulldog from Georgetown University for three reasons.

First, the 76ers believe that AI’s talent is no less than Kobe’s, and he has experience in college basketball, so he is more reliable.

Secondly, AI has only tried out for the 76ers. This shows his confidence and is also his way of respecting and expressing his loyalty to the 76ers.

Third, during the interview, Cross asked AI who he admired most in the league. AI did not answer Jordan or Roger, but said an unexpected name: Gary Payton.

A poor DPOY who just got taught a lesson by the scoring champion in the finals.

"He's not the tallest or the fastest on the court, but he's very tenacious and he's not afraid of any opponent, even if they're extremely strong. He's a fighter, and so am I."

This answer reminded Cross of a long-standing story about Roger during the 1993 draft.

At that time, Nuggets general manager Bernie Bickerstaff asked Roger: "Who do you admire most in the NBA?"

Roger's answer was equally unexpected: "Reggie Miller, he is very tenacious. If someone scores under his defense, he will immediately fight back."

As Roger became famous, this story became almost known to everyone among NBA fans.

AI's similar answer made the 76ers believe that he also has Roger's unyielding spirit.

They don't look up to the superstars, they are their enemies!
On the basketball court, they don't respect anyone!

And players with this kind of temperament will definitely succeed!

With the sixth pick, the Boston Celtics took Antoine Walker, a safer choice.

Only a genius could know what was going on with the Celtics, because Auerbach had always been a risk-taker.

He was the first professional basketball coach to let five black players start, and the first person who dared to hire a black coach. It seemed that the word "conservative" had never appeared in the dictionary of Auerbach and the Celtics.

But this time, the Celtics chose to be conservative.

Just like that, to the seventh pick.

Kobe had a smile on his face. When he heard Antoine Walker's name being called out sixth, he was as happy as if he had been chosen himself.

Jerry West handed his old teammate Elgin Baylor a small note at this time. This was his only action tonight. On the note was a simple sentence: "Use that No. 7 pick to help us select Kobe Bryant, and then we will complete the deal."

Sure enough, the Clippers chose Kobe with the seventh pick.

He hugged his family, then walked onto the stage and shook hands with David Stern.

TNT commentator Ernie Johnson talked to Hubie Brown next to him: "Hube, this kid was not chosen by chance. As a high school student, he was considered the strongest player outside the group of six. He and Roger were both teachers and friends. He played against NBA player Brian Shaw at the age of 11, and defeated Jerry Stackhouse in a one-on-one duel last summer. He is talented, and people think he will be the next Roger!"

Roger is only 21 years old, but he already has a successor.

Hubie Brown nodded. "Yes, Jerry West told me this morning that this kid will have a great career in the future and his future is immeasurable. I believe every word he says about this kid."

Hubie Brown suddenly stopped talking at this point. Oops, I think I let something slip.

But it doesn't matter, it will happen soon anyway.

After leaving Stern, Kobe walked to the studio and accepted an interview with Ernie Johnson: "Brian, congratulations. Roger, who was also a high school rookie and is now a two-time FMVP winner, thinks you should be selected with the first pick. What do you think of his evaluation of you?"

"Thank you for the compliment. He is the backbone and role model for all high school players. I can't wait to play against him on the court!"

Kobe's eyes were full of desire. He was now a real NBA player and he couldn't wait to join the competition with Roger.

At this time, Kobe didn't know how difficult this road would be.

People would not have expected that this would be the beginning of another great round of competition.

Not long after Kobe finished the interview, David Stern came on stage and announced that the Los Angeles Lakers sent All-Star forwards Cedric Ceballos and Vlade Divac to the Clippers for Kobe Bryant, who was still hot. Because the Clippers still had salary space, this deal did not require capital balancing.

In other words, while Jerry West got Kobe, he also freed up a lot of salary space, allowing the Lakers to make big moves in the free agent market.

Great trader.

This is the sixth time the Clippers and Lakers have made a trade in history. The last time the two teams made a trade was in 1983.

This time, after 13 years, will be a deal that changes the fate of the Lakers.

O'Neal was lying on the big bed in the hotel watching the draft with Roger. Because he had just finished the finals, the Dream Team allowed him to report after attending the championship parade.

So O'Neal took advantage of these few days to take Roger to Atlantic City to have some fun. At this time, the two of them planned to go to the casino to squander their extra US dollars after watching the draft.

Roger has no interest in gambling, but it doesn't matter if he tries it.

Seeing Kobe mention Roger, the Shark was also very curious: "Do you think that guy can really be the next you? Can his popularity be half as high as yours?"

"That depends on whether he can manage his younger brothers well. This is the key to the key."

"what?"

"Nothing, Shaq, let's go, we'll be back early tonight. By the way, how's your contract extension going?"

O'Neal shrugged: "My agent is still negotiating. I don't know what there is to discuss. The boss clearly promised me."

Yes, he promised that if you win the championship, he will give you a contract that matches your performance.

So the question is, what is a matching contract?

He thinks $1500 million is a good enough contract. If you think $2000 million is a good enough contract, then we should continue the discussion. But Roger thinks DeVos won't be so stupid as to let the shark go again.

In this history, there was no Penny to interfere with the Sharks' contract renewal, and no Sentinel to make trouble.

Even if the price isn't right at first, you should be able to come to an agreement after a few more discussions.

In the next draft, the Mavericks took Lorenzen Wright with the ninth pick, who was originally selected seventh.

The Hornets took this year's March Madness tournament MOP, Kentucky legendary player Tony Delk, with the 13th pick.

In short, because Kobe was selected early, there were some changes in the subsequent draft.

But they are all minor changes.

Those key players still overlap with the original historical trajectory.

For example, Peja Stojakovic, who became a professional player at the age of 16, was still selected by the Kings.

For example, Steve Nash, who aspired to be a football or ice hockey star, ended up being a basketball player for the Phoenix Suns.

Another high school student Jermaine O'Neal was picked by the Trail Blazers. After the Lakers took Kobe, they picked a point guard with the same preference as Cao Cao at the 24th pick.
At the 29th pick, the Magic selected Travis Knight, a 213-cm white center from the prestigious Connecticut University. He played in college for four years and averaged 9.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2 blocks per game last season.

You read that right, these are his best stats in the NCAA.

Even though he was 213 cm tall, Roger still thought it was too ridiculous that a guy with no potential and no immediate combat effectiveness was selected in the first round. If you say height is everything, the 76ers will probably throw 229 cm Sean Bradley in your face.

Only God knows what John Gabriel likes about him. Maybe it's because he's strong and can help Roger and Shark carry a few more bags.

In fact, the Magic could have tried that physically imposing NCAA Division II center with this pick. Although his height is only enough to play as a guard, if you are brave enough to let him play as a center, he will give you an unexpectedly solid defense.

But the problem is that John Gabriel never asked Roger and Shark for their opinions on the draft.

Last season when Pat Williams was still in charge of the team, he would pretend to ask Roger who to choose.

Maybe Roger and the Sharks really offended the management, or maybe John Gabriel really felt that he was the head of the team who controlled everything.

In short, John Gabriel chose to be unconventional in the draft.

This was not a positive sign. Roger could feel the gap between himself, the Sharks and the management.

The next day at noon, the two had enough fun and flew back to Orlando. The championship parade was three days away, and it was almost time for the Sharks to come back to finalize the contract, or at least reach a verbal agreement first.

After getting off the plane, the two went back to their respective homes. Roger had a good sleep and when he woke up it was already night.

He was a little hungry, so he went to the living room to find something to eat.

After arriving in the living room, Roger turned on the TV as usual. There was an advertisement on TV, but a line of scrolling subtitles below the advertisement made Roger stunned:
"Shaquille O'Neal rejected the Magic's seven-year, $6900 million offer. His agent, Leonard Armato, has publicly stated: Now, we are willing to listen to offers from all teams."

Roger almost laughed out of anger at that time. In this era when Mourning and Juwan Howard both signed billion-dollar contracts, how dare you come up with a figure of 6900 million for seven years?

The idea is really unique.

Roger knew that this was just a tentative offer. The Magic were afraid that the price offered would be too high, so they wanted to make a tentative offer first, and then wait for the Sharks to bargain and increase the price little by little.

But the point is, this tentative offer is a bit too insulting.

Jerry West was also confused. He originally thought that after the Magic won the championship, the possibility of him defeating the Sharks was slim.

As a result, the Magic management's actions were simply pushing the Sharks out.

Is there really someone in this world who would do such a thing as "using his own wife to make trouble"?

Jerry West immediately picked up the phone: "Prepare a private plane to Orlando immediately, the sooner the better!"

Roger immediately called the Shark and said, "Don't worry Shaq, I will make them correct this mistake."

Roger has spoken before the media and once again clearly expressed his support for the sharks.

But John Gabriel seems to think that he is really powerful and can ignore the voices of stars, whether it is the draft or contract renewal.

Very good, then Roger will let him know who he is.

The next day, John Gabriel was still confident in his plan.

Because looking at the entire market, there are not many teams that have the salary space to offer O'Neal a big contract.

Give a very low price first, and then add a little "sincerity" when the time comes, and you will definitely be able to win over the shark.

This is the opposite of selling things. When selling things, you can bluff and shout out a high price, and then pretend to give a discount, but in fact the price after the discount is the real price of the product. But customers will not know this, they will only think that they have really got a good deal, and then pay immediately.

The team cannot afford to support two players worth 120 million, and Gabriel must save money for the DeVos family.

If you help your boss do this job well, you will be greeted with a promotion and a raise in salary.

After arriving at the office, John Gabriel asked his secretary to make him a cup of coffee.

Next, he has to work on the championship parade. The parade is tomorrow, and he has to make sure everything goes well before then.

At this moment, Michelle McComas, the executive director of entertainment and events who was responsible for connecting with Gabriel on this matter, stumbled into Gabriel's office.

She was holding her high heels in her hands and it looked like she ran in barefoot. Her hair was messy from running and she looked disheveled.

Michelle had always been a very refined and proper lady, and Gabriel had never seen her look so unkempt.

"what happened?"

"Something went wrong with the parade!" Michelle McComas' voice was trembling.

"What's the problem? Is it serious?"

"Very serious! Roger's agent Eric Fleischer called me this morning and said that Roger will not participate in tomorrow's championship parade. Not only that, he will refuse to participate in all off-court activities of the team. Unless the team completes Shaq's contract extension within 24 hours. If it can't be done..."

Poor Michelle began to hem and haw, she couldn't understand why Roger's agent would call a small-time character like her and tell her such a damn thing.

Of course she wouldn't understand.

Eric Fleischer's move was to indirectly tell Gabriel that they were not on the same front now, so there was no need for direct dialogue.

"What if you can't do it? Go on!" Gabriel was so angry that he felt dizzy.

"If you can't do that, then trade my client as well. If you prevent the three-peat from happening, we can wait and see."

"Sir, coffee." The secretary, who had no idea what was going on, walked into the office and handed over a steaming cup of coffee.

"Damn it!" Gabriel picked up the coffee cup and smashed it to the ground.

"Boom!"

"what!!!"

The sound of cups hitting the carpet and the screams of ladies filled the entire office.

In the next few hours, John Gabriel and team owner Rich DeVos were unable to contact Roger or the Sharks.

They learned through the grapevine that Jerry West of the Lakers had met with the Sharks in Orlando.

Rich DeVos was also very angry. Roger had mentioned the trade in a joking tone during the regular season, but now he didn't even bother to pretend.

John Gabriel was extremely angry. He felt that he was the leader of the team, but now Roger was openly disobeying him.

Now he understood why one of the conditions for Michael Jordan's comeback was to trade Roger. He suddenly understood Michael Jordan!

If you want to truly have complete control over a team, Roger can't exist!
"Why should we be scared of him? He plays for us!" Gabriel looked at owner Rich DeVos.

He expected his boss to say, "Fuck Roger and the Sharks, this is our team!"

But Rich DeVos said nothing.

That's right, Roger plays for the Magic.

Moreover, he can't opt ​​out of his contract until 98 at the earliest. Logically speaking, it is the team that has the final say on whether to trade him or not.

But if a player has given up on the team, will he work hard for the team? Obviously not.

If the star player doesn't want to work hard for the team, can the team perform well?

That means DeVos won't make any money, because in Orlando, no one wants to watch a team that's in a state of political intrigue lose game after game.

If the Magic were in New York or Los Angeles, they might be able to make money without relying on results. But in Orlando, without Roger and without victory, who would care about the Magic? Who would pay to watch the game? Who would broadcast the Magic's games live nationwide?

Rich DeVos can certainly choose to suffer losses on both sides. He will not renew the contract with the Sharks nor trade Roger. He will let Roger and the team play badly and will not indulge you.

But capital is profit-seeking. Such a lose-lose situation is of no benefit to Rich DeVos and makes no sense. Being angry is something only children would do.

If the team wants to continue to be the most profitable team in the league, it must have results and superstars to attract exposure.

And DeVos knew very well that all this depended on Roger!

What's more, the team will soon have a chance to win three consecutive championships. DeVos is well aware of the huge commercial value behind this.

DeVos is not a fool. He is lowering the price to the sharks just to reduce costs and increase profits.

But if you really screw up, all your profits will be gone, which is not worth it.

Roger is indeed just a basketball player, but he led the Magic to successfully defeat the Bulls dynasty. He defeated the former basketball god twice in a row and won two championships within two years of joining the team, allowing DeVos to make a lot of money from the Magic every year.

If they can win three consecutive championships, such influence will allow the Magic to make money for many years.

So, even though they don't want to admit it, sometimes they really have to listen to the player!
Rich DeVos sighed. It seemed that Roger was not one of them.

He knew very well that Roger wanted to challenge how much influence he had in the team. Well, that damn bastard won.

However, after this incident, Rich DeVos will no longer have any personal relationship with Roger.

They will never be friends again.

He really doesn't want to spend $50 million a year on a Shark who only played 2000 games last season and was just a secondary.

But at least, get the three consecutive championships first.

As for all these messes, we'll slowly settle them after we win three consecutive championships.

Rich DeVos' face was livid, and he waved his hands: "Alright, John, let's get this over with. There can be no accidents in tomorrow's championship parade. If Roger and Shaq don't participate, we will become the laughing stock of the whole world. Also, there can be no accidents in the three consecutive championships. Give Shaq a high-paying short-term contract and let that bastard sign it quickly."

"What? Why compromise? Roger is just..."

Rich DeVos patted John Gabriel on the shoulder and interrupted him:
"Sometimes, we really can't let Roger down."

After hearing this, John Gabriel stood there in a daze with his mouth wide open.

He could hardly believe his ears, as if he had been hit hard in the chest.

Today he realized for the first time that not only him, but even the team owner did not dare to say that he was the absolute boss.

This is the seed of change in the NBA food chain and the beginning of players taking all the initiative.

Roger now affects not only the ownership of the championship, but the entire ecosystem of the league.

John Gabriel sighed and called Shaq's agent.

Now he knew how humble he was in the team.

He could only bully his secretary and Michelle who was running in her high heels.

In front of Roger, he is nothing!
(End of this chapter)