Champions Creed

Chapter 25 025: New Iron Triangle

Inside the Palace of Auburn Hills, people didn't wait for the trade rumors to become reality.

Until David Stern took office again, the deal between the Warriors and the Magic had not been finalized.

After listening to what Eric said, Roger looked at Stern on the stage.

Stern happened to meet Roger's eyes and gave him a barely perceptible smile.

Although he knew his name would appear next, Roger couldn't help but clench his fists.

The dream of having David Stern's name called out at the draft is about to come true.

Stern opened the envelope belonging to the Mavericks. This was the first time David Stern read out such a special name at a draft:

"With the fourth pick in the first round of the 1993 NBA draft, the Dallas Mavericks selected Roger from Bullock High School!"

The whole audience was in an uproar. Jack McRae, the general manager of the Timberwolves who had created the Bad Boys in Detroit, opened his eyes wide and said, "Damn it, what the hell happened!?"

The Timberwolves had already decided to take Roger with the fifth pick. Maybe Christian Laettner didn't like Roger, but McRoss didn't think it mattered.

Magic Johnson and Skyhook didn't like each other at first. In 81, Magic Johnson even publicly stated: "Because of that man, I had to change my rhythm style. When he leaves, you will be able to see real magic performances."

Even though it had come to the point where they publicly expressed their intention to let the other go, they still teamed up to win the championship.

Some things are just for fun, there is no need to take them seriously. We are all adults, so why bother talking about likes and dislikes?

Therefore, McRoss had already set his sights on Roger, and he even rejected the Bulls' trade request.

Considering that the Dallas Mavericks with the fourth pick don't want to take a guard, the Timberwolves' only obstacle is the Warriors with the third pick.

After seeing the Warriors choose Hardaway, McRoss felt that Roger was definitely the winner.

As a result, Roger was selected by the most unlikely team, the Dallas Mavericks!

This is the NBA draft, you never know what incredible decision the other side will make.

McRoss's mind went blank. When he came to his senses, Roger had already walked onto the stage, wearing a Mavericks baseball cap.

At that moment, McRoss felt the same as if he had seen his wife sleeping with another man: "Why with him? When did they get together?!"

Stern smiled and shook Roger's hand: "Bless you, Truth. You have opened the door for Chinese players to enter the NBA. You will be a legend."

Roger nodded politely: "Thank you, sir."

After saying that, Roger glanced at the restless stands.

Entering the NBA, finally achieved!

Offstage, Eric Fleischer shook hands with Lu An and said, "Congratulations, sir. From now on, you don't have to worry about Roger's new sneakers anymore."

Lu An looked at Roger on the stage, his eyes red. This strong man who had never been defeated by life finally cried.

Of course he knew that behind these countless flashes of light were Roger practicing until exhaustion every night but still persisting.

He was very happy that Roger's efforts were finally rewarded.

After stepping down from the stage, Roger immediately accepted an interview with CBS live host Steve Jones.

"Congratulations on becoming the first high school rookie since 1975, and you are higher than expected at No. . But a year ago, you couldn't even make the high school team. So Roger, how do you feel now?"

"I'm glad I found my talent and used my hard work to turn it into what it is now. As for the fourth pick, it's a very good position. But I will still prove that I'm better than Webber, Bradley and Penny. There was only one best guard in the 93 draft. With my current worth, I can exchange for countless pennies."

Although this sentence mentioned all the rookies selected in the top three, it is obvious that it is more directed at Penny.

This is Roger's little riposte to Pence.

Roger doesn't care whether he is the third or fourth pick, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care about other people's provocations.

Afterwards, Steve Jones asked one last question: "What do you want to say to the fans in Dallas?"

“It’s time to put everyone’s attention back on Dallas!”

Well, Roger himself felt that what he said was a bit fake.

Because he knew that he would never report to Dallas.

The task of getting everyone's attention back to Dallas should be left to the German tennis genius. Chinese tennis geniuses cannot help with this.

After Roger finished the interview, he took off his Mavericks hat and his expression seemed a little too cold.

This scene was photographed by many reporters, who were immediately excited and even thought of the headline for the next day's newspaper: "Dallas is unfortunately going to get another genius who can't play basketball."

The reason for this is that after the Mavericks selected Jim Jackson last year, Jackson did not play in the first 120 days of the season because he wanted a 6-year, $2100 million contract, but the Mavericks were only willing to give him 4 years and $1000 million.

The enraged Jim Jackson vowed that even if he didn't play, he would never accept an offer much lower than his expected.

The Mavericks were also very tough at the beginning. If they didn't want to sign, then they didn't have to. Anyway, the Mavericks had the right to sign Jackson. Jackson had no choice but to sign with the Mavericks. Let's see who can outlast the other.

But after the Mavericks spectacularly lost 54 of their first 50 games of the season, they just couldn't hold it in.

If the team breaks the NBA record for most losses, it will be a devastating blow to the market.

The Mavericks finally compromised and signed a contract with Jackson, hoping that this genius would save the day, so Jim Jackson's rookie season ended hastily after only 28 games.

People joked that the Mavericks picked a genius who couldn't play basketball.

At this time, seeing that Roger seemed to have no interest in Dallas, the reporters thought that a Jim Jackson-style tragedy was about to happen again in Dallas.

As for the Mavericks fans, they were confused.

The team already has Jim Jackson, and now they have Roger. What? Roger is going to play the five position with Jackson, and together they will become the fifth best center in the league?
But soon, David Stern announced a piece of news on stage:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am now announcing a transaction that just took place."

Magic fans covered their heads with their hands. Is the team really going to trade Webber for Hardaway? No!!!

O'Neal was so happy that he danced with joy. Did the Magic finally make the trade? Yeah!!!
But they soon discovered that this deal had nothing to do with the Magic.

The confused Dallas fans were confused again, because when they were preparing to eat melons, they saw the Mavericks team logo appear on the big screen!

"The Dallas Mavericks have sent Roger to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Horace Grant, B.J. Armstrong, and two future first-round draft picks, No. 95 and No. 97!"

After Stern finished speaking, the staff immediately brought a Bulls baseball cap to Roger.

Timberwolves general manager Jack McRae looked at Krause fiercely. That fat guy deserved to die. He knew Roger had rejected the Bulls' invitation to try out, but he didn't expect that Krause would resolutely choose to go all in without a tryout!
Klaus breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Roger wearing the Bulls hat.

When the Timberwolves refused to trade with him, he was completely desperate.

Fortunately, the Dallas Mavericks agreed to the Bulls' trade request, allowing the Bulls to snatch Roger one step ahead of schedule.

From the Mavericks' point of view, they are in urgent need of results, so they need experienced veterans.

Grant is one of the three most important players of the Bulls, with championship genes flowing through his body, and so is Armstrong. Their role is greater than the data seems.

With them assisting Jim Jackson, the Mavericks will have a chance to make the playoffs next season.

Even if it doesn't work, even if these two strong veterans can't improve the team's record, the Bulls still gave them two first-round draft picks.

Now that Jordan is likely to retire, and with Grant leaving, the Bulls' record will definitely plummet.

Pippen? Is it true that that guy can lead a team to achieve any great results?
By then, these two draft picks will become very useful!
Krause had to prepare for Jordan's retirement. In his mind, Roger, Kukoc and Pippen were the Bulls' hope for rebuilding and the new iron triangle.

Anyway, Grant only has one year left on his contract, and the team doesn't want to renew his contract, and the negotiations have already broken down. So why not trade him while he can still be traded to maximize the benefits?

As for the draft picks, Krause firmly believed that his newly formed Bulls triangle could definitely achieve some results in 95 and 97.

Even if the record is not good, the 94 draft pick can be retained to wait for Grant Hill and others.

Krause has always been decisive in the draft. As long as he has his eyes on someone, he doesn't mind taking a gamble on him.

In the 87 draft, Jordan almost killed Krause because he used the team's eighth pick and the first-round pick in 89 to trade for Seattle's fifth pick. In the end, he used this extremely high pick to take down a guy who had just started playing basketball in his senior year of high school and whose name he had never heard of before.

Even the person who was chosen was surprised: "How could I be ranked so high?"

The man chosen was Scott Pippen, and even though Jordan almost scolded all the women in Krause's family for this decision, it turned out to be an extremely wise draft choice.

He made the right bet.

Now, in 1993, Krause appears to be making a similar gamble again.

In 87, he selected Pippen for Jordan, and in 93, he selected Roger for Pippen.

He believed that he would succeed again.

At this time, it was not only the fans who were surprised. Steve Jones, the reporter at the scene, was also shocked and immediately ran to Krause: "Jerry, the Bulls didn't even try out Roger, but you were willing to tear up the dynasty lineup to get him! Can you give us a reason?"

Klaus smiled slightly: "Break up the dynasty lineup? No, no, no, I'm forming another new dynasty!"

After saying that, Jerry Krause proudly held up a cigar.

At that moment, he felt that he was about 90% similar to the legendary Auerbach.

(End of this chapter)