Champions Creed

Chapter 189 Chapter 188: I really want to discuss basketball issues in depth (please give me a monthly ticket!)

Atlanta, your God is here.

A simple slogan brought spring to Atlanta.

The Reebok factory was working at full capacity to make Roger's jerseys for the Eagles.

The Eagles' season tickets were sold out, marking the first time in the team's history that a season ticket was sold out.

The outside of the Georgia Dome was covered with posters of Roger, and fans gathered outside the stadium plaza, cheering.

The basketball market here has come back to life.

Apart from Michael Jordan, there is no other basketball player who is so easily associated with God.

However, this is the true feeling of Atlanta fans.

Roger's arrival was like God coming to them.

However, Roger's arrival really depends on that boiled egg, because the huge commercial impact created by his joining New York last season and the ultimate battle between New York and Magic greatly increased the league's revenue, which made the salary cap increase a lot compared to the original history of 1997, reaching 3000 million.

Otherwise, the Hawks would not be able to get Roger without paying attention to the salary-matching rules.

This summer, Atlantans are more excited than during the Centennial Olympic Summer of 1996.

Reebok stores in Atlanta were packed, and Roger's sneakers were sold out.

Of course, the phrase “sold out” means completely different things to different stores.

Eagles fans made a request to the team: "Take our wallets and release Roger's jersey!"

Even the quality of music teachers in KTV is getting higher. After all, who doesn’t want Roger to be their VIP customer?
The whole of Atlanta was booming.

However, apart from Atlanta fans, fans of other teams in the league were very disappointed.

The Bulls fans were stunned. The team sent Pippen to the Hawks just for the Hawks' 99 draft pick.

Now that Roger has become a player of the Eagles, this draft pick has become worthless!
After all, no matter how badly Roger performs as the team leader, it is impossible for them to not even make the playoffs.

So this deal is equivalent to giving Pippen to the Hawks for free!

Klaus wanted to die. He felt that Roger was sent by God to punish him!
The 76ers fans were also very unhappy. The original purpose of the 98 draft pick swap with the Hawks was to ensure that the 76ers had a guaranteed lottery pick in the summer of 98.

But the deal has now become a losing proposition.

The fans in Minneapolis were extremely disappointed. They had already given Roger and KG a resounding nickname respectively - the Hunter and the Hound.

It's obvious who the hound is.

Garnett was still dreaming the day before yesterday. He dreamed that he was holding the O'Brien Cup and snuggling in Roger's arms. Roger was stroking his head and sticking out his tongue.

But when I woke up, everything was gone.

The whole world is discussing this deal, and Roger joining the Hawks has also created a new hot topic - what kind of results can Atlanta achieve next season?
Last season, the Atlanta Hawks were a lottery team.

Even though it’s the best team among the lottery teams, it’s still a lottery team after all.

This was Roger's first time playing for a lottery team.

When he joined the Bulls in 1993, the Bulls were champions.

When he joined the Magic in 1994, the Magic had already tasted the playoffs under the leadership of O'Neal.

The Atlanta Hawks are not a competitive team.

It is not easy to turn a lottery team into a championship team.

Although the Hawks brought in Pippen this summer, Pippen is still an unknown after all.

No one knows how much he will be able to recover after ankle surgery.

Besides, having two people on a team is not enough.

When Roger arrived in Orlando, the Magic built a championship team for him and the Sharks.

But look at what the Hawks have left now. Because the Hawks' previous goal was to train McGrady, they almost emptied the team of its main players.

The departures of Blaylock, Latner, Tyrone Corbin and others almost broke up the team.

Aside from the guys mentioned above, there is only playoff wimp Steve Smith.

Steve Smith was very afraid of confrontation in the playoffs and relied heavily on three-pointers, which was one of the main reasons why he was sent away by the Heat.

How much he can help Roger is unknown.

And, a very, very serious problem - neither Scott Pippen nor Steve Smith likes Roger!
Roger has never been a good person. Since his rookie season, there has been constant news about him in the locker room.

From beating up Pippen and Jordan to breaking up with the Shark.

Roger was a controversial figure from beginning to end.

He can't suddenly become a nice, friendly colleague after arriving at the Eagles.

When O'Neal learned that Roger was traded to the Hawks, he laughed with gloating: "Next season, the Atlanta Hawks' locker room will be more explosive than the fireworks display at Disneyland! Me? I get along very well with Kobe. He is the most humble person I have ever met. He is very ambitious. He said he will surpass Roger in all aspects. I firmly believe in this!"

Looking at the sharks who were enjoying themselves in Los Angeles, Roger sighed.

I hope your honeymoon phase can last a little longer.

This is a sincere blessing.

However, lineup issues and locker room problems are indeed the difficulties that Roger needs to face right now.

Roger never thought that his career in Atlanta would be as smooth as his career in Orlando. Three championships in three years was indeed a bit too smooth.

But even if there are difficulties, Roger is confident that he can create the same glory here.

There is always a solution to every problem. The summer is still long, so let’s take it one step at a time.

Before he could resolve all these problems, Roger had to make a public appearance in Atlanta.

When Ted Turner said he wanted to give Roger a big public appearance, Roger thought he would give him a press conference at a luxury hotel.

It turned out that Roger underestimated how much the team and Atlanta valued him.

Because Ted Turner actually teamed up with the city government to organize a grand welcome parade for Roger.

He married her in great style.

On the third day in Atlanta, Roger participated in the parade.

It can be said that the scale is comparable to the championship parade.

Roger rode a two-passenger bus with the word "Truth" printed on it, traveling along the Chattahoochee River all the way to Pence de Leon Boulevard. Passing vehicles honked at him, and fans who gathered on the roadside in the scorching sun also cheered.

This gave Roger the illusion of participating in two championship parades a year.

When they arrived at the outer plaza of the Georgia Dome, the red carpet had been rolled out and Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell was waiting for Roger holding the key to the city.

Keys to cities in the United States are generally given to respected residents or people the city wishes to honor.

The practice dates back to the Middle Ages, when city walls had gates guarded by guards during the day and locked at night. Receiving a key to the city symbolized that the recipient was a trusted friend of the city's inhabitants, free to come and go as they pleased. Today, it is a highly symbolic honor.

Before Roger played any game in Atlanta, the mayor of Atlanta personally appeared and presented the key to the city to Roger, which fully demonstrated how much Atlanta valued Roger.

How could we not take it seriously? The 1996 Atlanta Olympics caused the entire Georgia economy to become sluggish.

He originally wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, but ended up spending more than he earned.

Moreover, it did not bring any good reputation to Atlanta.

Even the Chinese commentator Huang Jianxiang complained: "This is the most shabby Olympics ever. My T-shirts and perfume were stolen from my room!"

The title of "the most rudimentary Olympics" was not taken away by Tokyo until the 21st century.

Bill Campbell really needs someone to stimulate Atlanta's economy.

What can Roger bring?
Brought countless attention.

Next season, the Eagles will have countless nationally televised games, and tens of millions of fans will see Atlanta on TV.

This can stimulate the tourism industry and attract many tourists to Atlanta for consumption.

The Eagles' season tickets for next season have already been sold out, which means that the surrounding restaurant and hotel revenues will increase exponentially, increasing the government's tax revenue on tickets, parking and accommodation.

Yes, "Mad Dog" was one of Major League Baseball's greatest pitchers.

But his commercial value is far less than Roger's.

So, is Roger just a basketball player?
No, he is the savior of all Atlanta!

Roger got out of the car, walked onto the stage amid the cheers of countless fans, and took the key to the city from the mayor.

Then, he attended the unveiling ceremony of his own jersey.

That’s right, Roger just found out about this today.

There was even an unveiling ceremony for his jersey for next season.

A large black cloth covered the side of the Georgia Dome. Roger pressed a button and the black cloth slowly fell down, revealing a giant No. 14 Eagles jersey on the back.

Roger decided to continue wearing No. 14 in the Eagles, and Reebok did not want Roger to change his number because the marketing of No. 14 jerseys is currently very good, and this number has the opportunity to become a legend like No. 23.

The jersey was unveiled, followed by cheers that shook the entire Georgia Stadium.

Roger really hoped Wilkins didn't see this.

Sorry man, your jersey retirement ceremony is definitely not as grand as mine.

Finally, Roger took the microphone and spoke to Atlanta fans for the first time:

"I'm here for one reason and one reason only and that is to put Atlanta basketball on a winning track. Just remember, I will bring a championship to Atlanta, I promise you. So, come watch the game next season because this year is going to be a very, very exciting year!"

Roger was arrogant enough, but he still didn't say, "There are not one, not two, not three, not four, not five champions."

In Roger's view, arrogance is one thing, and bragging is another.

After attending the welcome ceremony, Roger went to the welcome dinner prepared by Ted Turner and the city government.

There, Roger met many local politicians and businessmen in Atlanta. It did him no harm to expand his network.

As the dinner was about to end, a woman with a standard hourglass figure, wearing a black tight dress and black stockings, walked towards Roger with a glass of wine.

The saying "bust circumference is proportional to arm thickness, and hip circumference is proportional to waist circumference" obviously does not apply to her.

"Welcome to Atlanta, Truth." The woman raised her glass and clinked it with Roger's.

"Thank you."

"I'm Sofia Vergara, the host of CNN's Spanish travel program. Next season I'll be a guest sports host and reporter, and we'll meet often. Do you have any advice for me, a newbie in the sports world?" the woman said in a joking tone.

"You'd better not ask too much about what happens in the locker room. Even if one day you see Scott Pippen has titanium implants in his eyes, it's best not to ask too much." Roger shifted his eyes away from the man's chest.

"Hahahaha, you're easier to get along with than I thought. This is my first time as a sports show host. If there's anything I don't understand about the NBA, can I call you for advice? For example, the salary-matching rule for trades. The rule I found says that when two teams trade players, the salary of one team's players cannot be higher than 125% of the other team's salary + $10. But your and Tracy's salaries clearly don't meet this condition. So, how was the deal reached?"

Roger handed Sophia a business card. "I love discussing basketball. Regarding the deal between Tracy and I, it's all thanks to the increase in the league's salary cap and Scott's low contract. The salary rules are very complicated. If we have time, we can discuss it in depth."

Roger wasn't lying, he really wanted to discuss basketball in depth.

Although the dinner was a big one, Roger just wanted it to be over, to get through the day, and to discuss basketball matters with the team.

In any case, the team needs to build an excellent lineup with at least seven to eight players who can rotate.

Roger cannot guarantee that the team will win the championship right away next season, but he must also let the team get used to winning and make the team competitive.

At present, the only four players who can really play a role on the court for the Hawks are Roger himself, Pippen, Steve Smith and Alan Henderson.

Roger doesn't know about other players, but it will probably be difficult for them to make a difference in the high-level playoffs.

Because Roger didn't recognize those names at all.

As a former veteran fan and current practitioner, if Roger has never heard of a player, it can be basically confirmed that they are just scraps.

They had too little influence on the game.

So the next morning, Roger couldn't wait to meet with Ted Turner and Babcock.

In the conference room, the team's head coach, Lenny Wilkens, the only one selected as both the top 50 superstars and the top 10 coaches, was also there.

"Roger, which position do you think we should add now?" Ted Turner asked Roger's opinion first, then waved to Lost beside him, "Go get Roger a cup of coffee."

"We need guards, forwards, and centers."

"Great." Pete Babcock shrugged and smiled.

Lenny Wilkens breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't say "We still need a coach."

As the head coach, Wilkens expressed his opinion: "We need some players who can pass the ball. We have to work harder on offense next season."

"I think we need some forwards who can play multiple positions. It doesn't matter whether they can pass the ball or not, but they have to be able to defend. We don't have the conditions to play top-level positional offense, so we have to find ways to counterattack more. If we want to get counterattack opportunities, we have to have the ability to force the opponent to make mistakes on the defensive end." Roger refuted Wilkens on the spot.

Ted Turner looked at Roger, then at the highly respected Wilkens, and waved his hand: "Pete, find me some forwards who can play multiple positions."

Lenny Wilkens, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 89, joined the Dream Team coaching staff in 92, and led the Dream Team to the Olympics as head coach in 96, was somewhat surprising because he has always had a say in the Hawks due to his historical status.

But now he must learn to accept the fact that Roger's voice is unshakable.

It's not that Lenny Wilkens can't accept this, he knows what a star can bring to a team.

But Wilkens had a doubt: "You said we should play defense, but the problem is that we don't have a tall center at all, and it's hard to find an excellent tall center in the market. We don't have many chips in our hands, and the ones left are players with low trading value. The salary space is locked, and we can only sign some veteran special contracts, but there is no center we want in them."

"Lenny," Roger took a sip of steaming coffee, "Who says you have to have a tall center to be a good defender? To be honest, I fucking hate tall centers, especially those who are tall and fat."

Lenny Wilkens was stunned.

He wondered if Roger was Atlanta's God.

He only knew that coaching Roger would be the biggest challenge of his career.

(End of this chapter)