Champions Creed

Chapter 148 Chapter 147: This is not as simple as victory or defeat, this is a life-and-death competition (please give me a monthly ticket!)

Michael Jordan didn't expect things to end this way.

He overestimated his influence.

He also found it difficult to accept this ending.

Just two years ago, in the summer of 1994, Michael Jordan, who had just finished playing baseball, could still show up in Reinsdorf's office with a proud look on his face and offer him one irresistible offer after another.

And Reinsdorf could do nothing but nod and agree, even if the condition was to trade Roger.

What about now? Those damn bastards actually wished me good luck, as if to say, "It's up to you to take the contract or not"!
Michael Jordan realized that he had completely lost control of the situation.

The privileges of the God of Basketball have completely disappeared.

In the past, his unrivaled commercial value and one championship after another gave him the right to do whatever he wanted.

Among these rights is the right to be extremely disrespectful to the general manager and the boss.

He could call those two Jerrys sons of bitches and still get a lot of money from them.

But now it’s different. The consecutive losses in the playoffs have made the whole world realize that Michael Jordan is just a human being, not the Black Jesus.

He is similar to most of the stars of the past. He was indeed very strong in his peak period, but he also had his downturns.

Although he won three consecutive championships, in terms of total number of championships, Jordan is not as good as Magic Johnson. Can he be called a god?

Of course, Jordan is still one of the most commercially valuable players. With Nike's marketing capabilities, even if a player wins a few championships and the total number of championships is not enough, he can still be a superstar, so Jordan's three consecutive championships are still very impressive.

In fact, the Bulls were willing to give Jordan 2 million for two years, which is still the highest annual salary contract in history, surpassing Roger's.

After the increase, Roger's annual salary next season will only be 2200 million.

As long as Jordan signs this contract, he can get an annual salary of 2500 million, which will immediately defeat Roger and become the man with the highest annual salary in the league.

But 3000 million? Jordan is not worth it. The Bulls now have the confidence to let Jordan learn what mutual respect is.

The difference between 2500 million and 3000 million is 500 million, and in two years it will be 1000 million.

Considering Michael Jordan's net worth, he doesn't need that 1000 million at all.

That wasn't enough for him to spend a few nights at the casino.

What he lacks is respect.

What he needs is for the Bulls management to obey his orders.

What he wants is absolute control.

So, even though the contract from the Bulls is not bad, the proud and arrogant Michael Jordan would never accept it!
He doesn't allow anyone to offend him.

Originally, in the summer of 96, Reinsdorf obediently gave Jordan 3000 million U.S. dollars, but Jordan was still offended because Reinsdorf complained after paying: "One day in the future, I know I will regret it."

Because of this sentence, Jordan, who was paid 3000 million dollars, felt offended, and his relationship with Reinsdorf was completely broken.

And now, Reinsdorf is not even willing to give 3000 million, which is the most offensive.

Jordan's self-esteem will never make him work with Reinsdorf again, never!

He even doesn't want to appear in the United Center again!

Their relationship ends here, and the former king is preparing to move the capital!

Michael Jordan rejected the offer and told the Bulls they would not make a second offer.

"There's nothing left to talk about between us," David Falk told Reinsdorf.

Now the whole world knows that Michael Jordan is about to make a major decision that will shock the league, and everyone is waiting for this decision.

Where should the capital be moved? Actually, there are not many places suitable for Jordan.

Apart from Chicago, New York is probably the only one left.

Because other teams cannot afford to offer an annual salary of more than 2000 million, only a large market like New York can allow Jordan to obtain such a large sponsorship.

Well, the Lakers also have this ability. Jerry West really pursued Jordan and even sent Magic Johnson to communicate with Jordan.

"In Los Angeles, you can also get a lot of business contracts. The most important thing is that the 18-year-old kid from Philadelphia is the next Scott Pippen, or even better!" Magic said firmly on the phone.

But Jordan rejected the kindness of Magic and Logo.

The Lakers were able to barely satisfy Jordan in terms of money, and it was very easy for him to find commercial endorsements in Los Angeles.

What's more, Lakers owner Jerry Buss's rainbow party is a paradise that every man yearns for.

But what about the team's competitiveness?
Logo just traded away the team's only All-Star player, Ceballos, and now the biggest name on the team is Nick Van Exel, who averaged 14 points per game last season.

Once Jordan joins, the team will not have any salary space to sign other people.

So Jordan is going to join the Lakers and continue to be beaten by Roger?
No, it can't happen, Jordan is on the edge of the cliff.

He has lost to Roger twice in a row, and there must not be a third time.

His influence and commercial value have been greatly affected at present, but at least he can still maintain his leading position.

But if losing to Roger happens for the third time, it will be a devastating blow!

Jordan is not the kind of person who likes to take shortcuts. If he was only 25 years old, then OK, he could grow with the team and build his own team.

He did just that when he moved past the Detroit Pistons.

But Jordan will be 34 years old in half a year, and it is impossible for him to accompany the Lakers in the rebuilding process at this stage.

If he also wants to wait for the team to rebuild, why doesn't he stay with the Bulls?
If the next few years are destined to be fruitless, what is the point of him continuing to play?
Jordan's strong desire to win made him eager to get back a point. He had to win it back!
So, Jordan's next stop is clear.

While the whole world was discussing Jordan's destination, David Falk was already doing what he did best in front of Knicks general manager Ernie Grunfeld - making conditions.

But this time the conditions were not so complicated. Michael Jordan had only one requirement: the head coach must be Phil Jackson.

Jordan didn't trust the bald guy Jeff Van Gundy. He thought Van Gundy was not the kind of person who could lead a championship team.

A few years ago, that guy was just a little follower of Pat Riley and had no prestige at all.

Phil Jackson is different. He knows how to control the locker room and how to make everyone find their position.

If he can control Dennis Rodman, then there is no one in this world that he cannot control.

Of course, the Knicks agreed to this condition without a second thought. As long as they could get Michael Jordan, what did changing the coach matter?

Just like that, the contract was finalized.

Michael Jordan signed a contract with the Knicks for $1200 million a year, and of course he also had a $1500 million endorsement with the Sheraton Hotel, but in order to avoid suspicion from the league, the endorsement contract would be signed later.

Jordan only signed for one year, and from now on, Michael Jordan will only sign for one year, because what Jordan needs is not future security, but the opportunity to win now.

Michael Jordan did not make any big announcement on live TV to announce his "decision".

He did the same thing as when he made his comeback, except he sent a fax to all the major TV stations.

In the fax, Jordan first gave a heartfelt confession to Chicago fans, explaining how much he loved this city and how reluctant he was to leave.

Finally, he announced his decision to join the New York Knicks: "I love Chicago and the fans of Chicago, just like I love my family. But because of basketball, I have to make this difficult decision. However, no matter where I am, my heart will always be in Chicago."

Well, even Jordan, who left a dynasty for Chicago, knew that such things were best done tactfully, and a simple fax would be enough.

Don't do something like an hour-long live TV broadcast to stab your fans in the heart just for the sake of gimmicks and so-called subversion.

Of course, it goes without saying that even though it was just a fax, it still caused a huge sensation in the basketball world.

From the East Coast to the West Coast, every newspaper, every media, and every fan was reporting one thing: Michael Jordan really teamed up with Patrick Ewing!
Although rumors about Jordan joining the Knicks were already flying around, giving everyone enough psychological expectations.

But rumors are just rumors after all.

When it really happened, fans were still excited even though they had expected it.

Chicago fans are already cursing.

But it's not all criticism of Jordan.

Chicago fans are roughly divided into two camps. One camp thinks that Jerry Krause is the world's number one idiot. Only he would forcefully rebuild a team with Michael Jordan.

Another group believes that Jordan betrayed Chicago.

Of course, there are still more people who curse Krause. His conflict with Jordan is well known to everyone. Over the years, he has become a cunning businessman in the minds of Bulls fans.

Regardless, Michael Jordan is undoubtedly under tremendous pressure. He is the business card of Chicago, and his career is highly tied to the Chicago Bulls. But now, he has chosen to leave.

But Jordan had no choice. Two consecutive years of losses, the continued decline in influence and the Bulls' determination to rebuild forced him to change places and start over.

The day after signing with the Knicks, a huge convoy like the one in an action movie escorting the US president shuttled through the tree-lined paths in the suburbs of Hobe Sound, Florida.

Eventually, the motorcade stopped outside a private golf club.

Michael Jordan got out of one of the SUVs and looked around at the quiet and pleasant environment.

Playing golf with good friends here is one of the most relaxing moments for him during the off-season every year.

Jordan walked into the golf course with his wife and children. Unlike previous years, he did not invite too many people to the golf party. Charles Barkley was busy getting his second Olympic gold medal, and Joe Dumars was seriously thinking about retirement.

In short, in this summer that is destined to be uneasy, everyone is busy with their own things.

So today, the only old friend who plays golf with Jordan is Patrick Ewing.

This was also the first meeting between Jordan and Ewing after joining the Knicks.

They need to talk.

However, because the two are already very familiar with each other, such a meeting does not need to be arranged by the team.

A standard round of golf takes several hours to complete, during which players are forced to be tied together, and most of the time is spent picking up and searching for balls, so this sport is very suitable for conversation.

Michael Jordan felt very relaxed. His relationship with Ewing prevented him from feeling the strangeness and alienation of meeting new teammates.

Ewing looked very excited because he had never been so close to the championship!
The two people's different mentalities are also reflected in their competitive state in golf.

Patrick Ewing had a lot of bad bogeys today. He wasn't focused enough and was very anxious.

He actually doesn't like playing golf. If possible, he would rather go to the Gold Club with Jordan to have fun and celebrate.

What about Michael Jordan? His situation is completely opposite to Ewing's.

In a good mood and very relaxed, he had completed eagle shots on par 5 holes three times in a row. In the end, Jordan naturally won the game without any suspense: "Ha, it's as easy as getting you on the basketball court, Pat!"

Ewing was not angry because he would never lose to Michael Jordan again.

Next, it’s up to him and Jordan to deal with the others!

After playing golf, Jordan finally seemed to want to talk about basketball: "Patrick, remember 1984?"

"What? You won the championship when you fought kick-boxing for the first time in North America in 1984?" Ewing grinned.

"Your sense of humor is as bad as ever, Pat."

"Just kidding, of course I remember that year we met."

"Yes, we won the Olympic championship together, but more importantly, we were college players at the time and we beat the NBA All-Star team in the warm-up match eight times!" Jordan said with a smile on his face. It was a proud time.

Many people only remember the legend of the college star team defeating the Dream Team composed of NBA players in 1992, but in 1984, Michael Jordan did something similar.

At that time, the American team was still composed of college students. They invited the NBA to send some stars to play eight warm-up games with the then Olympic team.

Don’t think that those participating in this warm-up game are just some NBA scraps. In fact, the lineup of that NBA star team is quite dazzling.

The players include Magic Johnson, Bird, Assassin, Kevin McHale, Bill Walton, Danny Ainge, Robert Parish, James Worthy, Drexler, Larry Nance, Michael Cooper, Alex English and other famous legendary players.

Of course, because the NBA was in the off-season at the time, not all of these people played together, and there would be certain changes in the lineup of the NBA All-Star team in every game.

However, when a star player is absent, he or she will be replaced by another NBA star.

The purpose of arranging such a strong opponent for the US team at that time was to let the young people experience some setbacks before the start of the Olympics, so that they can compete steadily and take every opponent seriously.

As a result, this Olympic team won all 8 games and had no idea what setbacks were!

It must be admitted that the NBA stars played just for fun in the first four games. But in the next four games, the NBA stars were obviously much more serious, but they still couldn't win.

The assassin was so angry at the time that he used a playoff-level foul, which made the then-US team coach Bob Knight almost rush up to fight with him.

I guess the Assassin just felt embarrassed to lose to a college student, so he hated Jordan so much afterwards.

Because Ewing and Jordan always performed the best on the team.

After the eight warm-up games, US coach Bob Knight said bluntly: "If the draft was held a month later, Michael might have been the No. 1 pick. As for Patrick, he can already celebrate being the No. 1 pick."

In 1984, the combination of Jordan and Ewing brought a little shock to the NBA.

It is true that the NBA star team, which is temporarily formed and has a changing lineup in every game, has no tactics or system, and not everyone plays seriously. Their fighting power is not as brilliant as it looks on paper.

But it is also quite outrageous that Ewing and Jordan could win eight games in a row.

Over the years, there has always been a small group of media who have fantasized: If Michael and Patrick really teamed up in the NBA, how many championships could they win?
And now, the world no longer has to fantasize.

This has become a reality!

In 1984, 12 years after bringing a small shock to the NBA, they really became teammates and were about to sweep the league!

The fact that Jordan brings up this past event now shows that he cherishes that memory very much.

Ewing is happier. Yes, it was so easy for them to win at that time. Now they are more mature, and they can definitely play a great record!
Jordan looked at the scenery in the distance, squinted his eyes in the breeze, took a puff of his cigar, and then his expression gradually became serious: "But, Patrick, you and I both know that it's not that easy to win the competition with the Magic."

Ewing also clenched his fists. He hated Roger as much as Jordan.

In 1994, Roger, a freshman, defeated the New York Knicks. That year, Jordan retired and Ewing felt that he was very close to the championship. But in the last 18 seconds of the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Finals, Roger, as he said, forced the damn failure into the mouths of the Knicks team.

In 1995, the Knicks once fell behind the Magic 0-2 and won two games in a row, and they were close to victory again. But in the decisive battle, Roger and the Shark's aerial relay ruined all the Knicks' efforts.

The outside world called that alley-oop the alley-oop of the century, believing that the alley-oop made Shaq and Roger truly become a whole. Everyone praised them and felt that it was one of the best shots in NBA playoff history.

But few people mention that the alley-oop almost broke the Knicks.

Pat Riley left without saying goodbye, and the team had to go through a soft rebuild in the 95-96 season. The Knicks were like a homeless person who died on the side of the road in Brooklyn, with no one caring.

Who caused all this? That damn number 14!
It was he who destroyed the Knicks team that was closest to the championship in the 90s!

If it weren't for him, Ewing believes he would have played in the finals at least once by now!
He ruined it all!
Whether he's wearing a blood red jersey or an ice blue striped jersey, he's the biggest damn bastard in the world!
"We have to win, Michael," Ewing muttered.

"It's not about winning," Jordan's eyes were as sharp as a knife, "We also want to destroy the Orlando Magic. This is not as simple as winning or losing, Patrick. This is a life-and-death competition!"

In terms of spirit and pursuit, Michael Jordan and Ewing are highly compatible.

They all firmly believed that they could accomplish something great.

The next day, the Knicks released another big news.

They sent Derek Harper and John Starks to Charlotte through a sign-and-trade deal in exchange for two-time All-Star forward "Auntie" Larry Johnson, who had completely fallen out with the Hornets.

Soon, the team reached a five-year coaching contract with Phil Jackson.

New York fans cheered, this was the glory the Knicks had never had since the 70s.

No, it may even be the most glorious time the Knicks have ever had since the team was founded!

That night, when Jordan and Ewing walked out of the casino, they just saw a new round of sun rising from the horizon, driving away the darkness around them.

Feeling the sunshine on his face, Jordan, who had been haggard, suddenly felt refreshed for some reason.

He opened his hand, then clenched it tightly, as if trying to keep the sunshine in his hand: "It's all over, Pat."

"what?"

"Those days of being associated with failure are over." Michael Jordan gazed at the rising sun.
-
There is no doubt that the New York Knicks next season will be a team that can rival the 86 Celtics and 92 Chicago Bulls and enter the discussion of the strongest teams in history! - The New York Times.

How many championships can the New York Knicks win? Maybe not one, not two, not three. -- "Slam Dunk".

I was 16 the last time the Knicks won the championship. Ladies and gentlemen, I am 40 now. Fortunately, although it has been a long wait, I can finally see the New York Knicks win the championship again. -- Spike Lee, a die-hard Knicks fan and famous black director.

Will the glory of 1984 be repeated in the 96-97 season? I don't know what this Knicks team can do, but if there is any team in the world that can stop the super duo of Roger and Shaq, it is probably only the Knicks of Michael and Patrick. - John Anderson, "Sports Center"

There are only a handful of truly top players who can win regardless of time. My goal is to make Jordan stand the test of time and prove that he is the greatest player. - David Falk in an interview with reporters.

Can the Orlando Magic win three straight championships? Readers, make your choice. - Orlando Sentinel

(End of this chapter)