Champions Creed

Chapter 263 262: Half a month is already my greatest mercy (ask for monthly tickets!)
The city of Los Angeles has always been inseparable from the glittering stars.

In the early 1900s, most movie camera and equipment patents were held by Thomas Edison's Motion Picture Patent Company in New Jersey, who sought to make huge profits by monopolizing the movie industry.

However, this monopolistic behavior led to resistance from some filmmakers and the decentralized development of the film industry, so countless filmmakers began to move to Los Angeles, which became the capital of the American film industry and even spawned art halls such as the San Fernando Valley.

This place became a gathering place for movie stars, setting the tone for the star-studded Los Angeles.

After that, Los Angeles became synonymous with glamour, which of course was also reflected in the local basketball team.

If you look through their team history list, you will find famous names such as George Mikan, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe, and Shark.

They have gathered Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor at the same time, as well as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic John and James Worthy.

A mediocre lineup is not worthy of this dreamy Great Western Forum Arena. Words like glittering, gorgeous, star-studded, and entertaining are the style of the Lakers and Los Angeles.

But even looking at the Lakers' glorious history, this lineup in the summer of 2000 was quite exaggerated.

Kobe, Shaq, and Hill. There is no need to say much about the popularity of Kobe and Shaq. How popular is Grant Hill?
Many people may not know that Fila also entered the basketball market, and Grant Hill was their only endorser. Last season, Fila's sales in the US basketball shoe market were only behind Reebok and Nike.

Even Adidas was squeezed out of the top three.

All of this is due to Grant Hill's influence.

Of course, Fila basketball shoes adopt a low-price strategy, and one of the reasons why they are able to achieve sales is that they are not as expensive as Reebok and Nike.

But Fila’s outstanding market share still depends on the support of Grant Hill.

You have to know that in the original timeline, since the death of Grant Hill, Fila has almost disappeared from the basketball market.

In other words, his popularity alone can bring a brand's sneaker sales to third place in the United States.

This is the terrifying part of the Lakers' lineup. The three stars not only have outstanding personal abilities, but are also extremely popular. Moreover, they are all very young.

The entire league was in panic, with Craig Popovich of the Spurs calling the deal "like a robbery in Inglewood, Los Angeles."

Doc Rivers of the Magic believes that "If the Timberwolves are cheating stupidly, then the Los Angeles Lakers are cheating smartly. Me? I have become a tool for Tim Duncan to raise the price!"

Charles Barkley, who has found a new job at TNT, was even more sarcastic: "Although the next season has not yet begun, I suggest that the General Manager of the Year award be given directly to the great Joe Dumars. Old Joe single-handedly created a super lineup that will go down in history. Don't worry about whether this super lineup is in Detroit, just say whether it is a super lineup."

Although this lineup caused a lot of controversy and made countless owners complain, some even hoped that Stern would stop the deal because it would undermine competitiveness.

But Stern had no choice, as the deal was indeed compliant and in line with the salary matching principle.

If one of the Lakers or the Pistons were entrusted by the league, Stern would definitely stop it. But the Lakers and the Pistons are both independent teams, and as long as they comply with the rules, they can complete the transaction.

This is the case with all sign-and-trade deals; the value of the trading chips on both sides cannot be equal.

If the Pistons do not accept this deal, they will have to let go of Grant Hill, whose contract is expiring.

By signing first and then trading, at least they can get two draft picks as compensation.

It's the same principle as spending money on scratch tickets.

Jerry Buss' decisive move made the luxury tax rules that small-market owners had hoped to introduce to restrict big-market teams become a piece of waste paper.

Next season, the Lakers' Big3 salary alone will be as high as 3809 million, while the salary cap for next season is only 3550 million, which means that the Lakers will need to pay a high luxury tax to maintain this lineup.

But in a market as big as Los Angeles, the Lakers can still make a profit even if they pay a high luxury tax by building a super lineup.

Big ball markets can still gain advantages by spending money.

Unless this lineup loses its appeal within a year.

For Jerry Buss, this was a big gamble.

The Lakers must win the championship next season, otherwise this lineup will lose its box office appeal, and the expensive luxury tax will begin to show its horror.

But what choice did old Bass have? He could only go to the gambling table.

If the OK combination had only lost to the Hawks last season, Jerry Buss could still make some modifications to the lineup and continue using it.

But the OK combination was swept away directly!
The Lakers are already a team with 69 wins in the regular season. Is there any room for improvement?

The only way is to pile up stars.

How did the Lakers achieve such glory in Showtime in the 80s? Stacking up stars!
The Lakers not only had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but also selected Magic Johnson and James Worthy, which laid the foundation for the Lakers to win five championships.

Jerry Buss believes in this kind of successful experience. If two stars are not enough, then add another one.

The Los Angeles Lakers have become the traffic center this summer, but no one thinks the league will end directly.

After all, it was Roger who sat on the throne.

No matter how abnormal the Lakers' lineup is, fans still think the Hawks have a chance of winning.

This is the trust that Roger has earned with his five championships in seven years.

Back then, people thought the lineup of Michael Jordan + Patrick Ewing + Larry Johnson was invincible, but what was the result?
Although the Hawks only added two veterans, Hornacek and Grant, this summer, they are still the biggest favorites to win the championship.

And now, Roger, the most terrifying monster in the league, is holding his annual training camp.

Thanks to the increase in Roger's training camp's influence and Reebok's hype, its popularity has become on par with Adidas' ABCD training camp.

Given the success of McGrady and others, Roger's training camp has also become a treasure trove for NBA scouts to find the next talent.

This year, the high school students participating in the training camp have attracted much attention.

Including high school wizards such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kwame Brown, and Tyson Chandler.

This was the first time Roger met LeBron James. It turned out that he didn't look like he was 50 years old so early.

James was very polite. He shook Roger's hand, said hello, and asked Roger about his experience as a high school student participating in the draft.

All of a sudden, Roger understood why Kobe was so annoying.

He still remembers the first time he met Kobe. The guy wanted to challenge him one-on-one when they met.

Look at LeBron, how well-behaved and how high his emotional intelligence is. He greets everyone and chats with everyone, wishing to turn everyone in the audience into his brothers.

Is there really anyone in this world who doesn't like him?
James also performed very well in the scrimmage on the third day of training camp.

He was not inferior even when facing senior players such as Kwame Brown and Tyson Chandler.

He can dribble like a guard and break through like Charles Barkley. His footwork was unpredictable in high school. Many footwork that others find awkward, he can do smoothly.

There was even one shot where he was able to score after a confrontation in the air with Kwame Brown, who was a senior at the same grade.

He proved that he is indeed worthy of being called the best high school player ever.

After the game, James, who scored 18 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, was named the training camp MVP.

Roger personally presented him with the award: "I admire LeBron's team awareness. At critical moments, no matter who his teammates are, famous or not, he will be happy to share the ball. This is a rare quality."

After finishing speaking, Roger handed the trophy to James and told him meaningfully: "The future is yours."

James was very excited. The last person to receive Roger's blessing was Tim Duncan, who won the championship in 1999.

Now, the person who is blessed has become James himself, and he really feels that his future is bright.

Roger couldn't possibly lie to me, could he?
After the training camp ended, the media said that this was the most exciting game in the history of Roger's training camp and the one with the highest quality lineup.

Tyson Chandler, Kwame Brown, James and Anthony, these are four potential future No. 1 draft picks!
But Roger privately told Joe Abunassar, who was also participating in the training camp: "This is the most boring training camp I have ever experienced."

"Why? The game is obviously very exciting and the players do have great potential."

"I can't explain it, I just find it boring. Why aren't college players allowed to participate in commercial training camps? I really want to see Yao Ming beat up Drew Gooden."

"I don't think Yao is a college player, either?"

"Shut up, Joe. I just want to see him beat up the NCAA players."

In fact, the real reason why Roger felt bored was that he felt that this training camp could not change anyone's fate.

Kwame Brown's dominance in high school was real, and his performance in the training camp was also very good, so he will most likely be the No. 01 pick in the draft.

What about James? He will most likely be the No. 03 pick in the draft.

Unlike before, Roger can change Maddie's fate and implicate the entire history.

Roger found the monotony of this year boring.

However, Roger didn't know that his appearance was actually changing the fate of LeBron James.

At this time, in a luxurious office in Cleveland, Michael Jordan was smoking a cigar with Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund.

Just now, they reached an agreement.

Michael Jordan will invest 2000 million to acquire a very small portion of the Cleveland Cavaliers' shares and officially become a minority owner of the Cavaliers.

For Jordan, this is the continuation of his career and also a rebirth.

Since retiring, Jordan has been working hard to transform himself into a manager. Today, he has finally achieved his dream of going from an employee to a capital itself.

Why not the Washington Wizards?

Considering that the prestige of the three-time champion Jordan is far less than that of the six-time champion Jordan, not everyone is willing to let him buy shares just for the sake of Michael Jordan's name.

The Cleveland Cavaliers did this because they had no other choice.

The Cavaliers were competitive for most of the 80s and 90s, but things started to go downhill after Shawn Kemp joined the team in the 97-98 season.

Not only did Kemp lose the charm he had in Seattle, but he also became a typical villain because of issues such as illegitimate children and separatism, which affected the image of the Cavaliers.

This team is in desperate need of a new idol.

In the 97-98 season, the Cavaliers finally got the Lithuanian center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, whom they had selected in 96 but was ruled out for the rookie season due to a fracture. They saw the next leader of Cleveland rising.

As a result, after playing for one season, Big Z was out for two consecutive seasons! In other words, Big Z was injured in three of his four seasons in the league.

Future Ben Simmons and Chandler Parsons may have gotten inspiration from him.

People also lost their expectations for this glass man, and the Cavaliers lost their popularity and became one of the least noticeable teams in the league, with very embarrassing results.

Gordon Gund, who has controlled the Cavaliers since 1983, has no intention of running the team, but he does not plan to sell all of his shares now. Instead, he hopes to increase the team's market value over a few years and then sell it at a high price.

Gordon Gund has two plans to increase the market value. The first is to tie Michael Jordan to Cleveland to increase exposure and topicality.

Second, get that Akron kid!
LeBron James would first enter the draft in 2003, which was a crucial year for the Cavaliers to change their destiny.

Look at the Orlando Magic. Although Rich DeVos foolishly let go of Shark and Roger, their marketing of the Son of Orlando was successful.

The Magic's attendance rate has declined a lot over the years compared to its dynasty period, but at least it has not become as transparent as the Cavaliers.

Can Jordan + James increase the Cavaliers' market value?
Of course you can!
At that time, it will be the best time to sell the team and cash in.

Michael Jordan was full of confidence in Cleveland. In the 80s, when the Cavaliers were Michael Jordan's arch-enemy, they were one of the teams with the highest attendance in the league.

Cleveland's market is not big, but fortunately, people here are very interested in sports.

If the Cavaliers can rebuild, the team can still become one of the most profitable teams.

"Michael, have you heard of LeBron?" Finally, the conversation between the two inevitably brought up that name.

"Of course, I'm paying attention to the super talent who led his team to win the state championship with an undefeated record in his freshman year. Yesterday, he competed with Kwame Brown in Roger's training camp and was not inferior to him. Kwame is a player I am very optimistic about. He can attack in the interior and shoot from the outside. He has incredible athletic ability, excellent height and wingspan, and can control the ball like a guard. He can even dribble the ball and play fast breaks. He is simply a combination of Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki.

In addition, his unhappy childhood gave him a strong heart and perseverance. From my professional point of view, Kwame Brown will become a dominant player one day!
But LeBron is almost as good as Kwame. He is not inferior to Kwame in the same competition. But you have to know that LeBron has just entered the second year of high school, while Kwame has entered the senior year.

This is enough to show how terrifying LeBron's talent is! "

"Right, so our goal is to get that guy in 2003! Michael, that's when our success begins!"

"Well, maybe I'll come back and play with him?" Jordan joked while smoking a cigar.

In the smoke of cigar, the hand of fate also began to act on James.
-
The offseason passed quickly, and at the end of October, Roger started his eighth preseason media day in his career.

Jeff Hornacek and Horace Grant each held up their Hawks jerseys to make their official debut.

Atlanta Spirit Co., Ltd. also sent Steve Belkin to attend the media day conference as the representative of the new owner.

He unexpectedly became the focus of the press conference.

"Steve, there are rumors that the team considered removing Pete Babcock from his position as general manager during the offseason, but Roger stopped him. Is this true? Is there a confrontation between the new ownership group and Roger?"

"Fake news, absolutely fake news! We have never considered replacing Pete. He is a banner of Atlanta and a direct participant in the dynasty. Whether now or in the future, Pete will lead the team as general manager. Against Roger? I know a famous saying, don't upset the truth." Belkin evaded the question in a joking tone.

"The contracts of Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace and Shawn Marion will all expire in the near future, and judging by their current performance, their contract extensions will definitely be expensive. By then, will the team risk paying luxury tax to renew their contracts and ensure the integrity of the team's roster?"

"The luxury tax is not a problem for us. It's all about the fans, it's all about Atlanta, it's all about winning."

Steve Belkin's answer was flawless, but if Bruce Levinson had attended the press conference instead, he might have given a completely different answer.

For some reason, Roger doesn't believe a word a single boss says now, and his trust level is even lower than that of Richie DeVos of the Magic.

Because none of them can control the overall situation.

So far, Steve Belkin has done what he promised, such as keeping Pete Babcock and retaining Roger's privileges.

But how long can this situation last? Roger can only hope that it can last until he wins his third consecutive championship.

Then, reporters turned their attention to the two new players, Hornacek and Grant.

Horace Grant is very confident about the new season: "Roger and I won two championships together in Orlando. I know him and I trust him. Roger is the best championship team leader. I am always confident in his team."

Hornacek brought Abby to the press conference, so the reporters simply asked her: "Abby, do you think the Hawks can beat the Lakers in the new season?"

Abby blinked her big eyes and said, "The probability is very high. The only problem is that Dad doesn't hold Roger back."

The whole audience burst into laughter, and Hornacek also smiled awkwardly. How come this little cotton jacket is getting colder and colder?
The subsequent pre-season training camp went very smoothly. In the past few seasons, the Eagles always encountered some troubles in the pre-season training camp.

During the preseason training camp of the 97-98 season, there were conflicts between Roger, Steve Smith and Pippen.

Pierce was an unstable factor in the preseason training camp of the 98-99 season.

During the pre-season training camp of the 99-00 season, Pierce was stabbed 13 times and lay steadily on the hospital bed, sowing the seeds for the most exciting moment of the finals.

This year, the Eagles finally don't have so many problems.

Everyone has one goal, everyone has their own responsibilities, and everyone works hard enough.

Lenny Wilkens joked, "I can't believe we're getting through this."

Then the unexpected happened.

Two days before the start of the new season, Roger accidentally injured his wrist during training.

His injury is not serious and he is fully capable of playing in the game.

But Lenny Wilkens still decisively let Roger rest for half a month.

The most worrying thing about minor injuries is that they are not properly healed, as they will become more and more serious.

And Roger is the one point where the Eagles cannot afford to have any accidents.

There are less than 10 regular season games in half a month, which will not affect the final result of the season, so there is no need for Roger to take risks.

In this way, Roger had to spend the first 8 games of the new season on the bench.

The Eagles' record is average, with 4 wins and 4 losses.

In the past half month, some other things have been more concerning.

In the 00-01 season, Ray Allen's offensive win share value ranked first in the league, his true shooting percentage of 61.0% ranked fourth in the league, his three-point shooting percentage of 43.3% ranked second in the league, and his free throw percentage of 88.8% ranked sixth in the league.

In other words, he has grown into the best offensive player in the league. Under his leadership, the Milwaukee Bucks have become a force to be reckoned with in the East.

Allen Iverson led his Philadelphia 76ers to an 8-0 record in half a month. If he wins two more games, he will create the best start record in team history.

The cooperation between AI and Eric Snow, Dikembe Mutombo and others is better than people expected, and the 76ers are finally on the right track since Charles Barkley.

The Sacramento Kings improved their subpar defense this summer by adding shooting guard Doug Christie, and they also drafted Turkish power forward Hedo Turkoglu to further improve their bench depth.

Meanwhile, third-year player Peja Stojakovic has completely evolved, averaging 11 points per game, up from 20 points last season, becoming Chris Webber's best helper, helping the team win consecutive games. The latest issue of Sports Illustrated even featured the Kings' starting lineup on the cover, with the title "The Greatest Show on the Court."

The San Antonio Spurs have completely revived after Duncan's return. After suffering a horrific meniscus injury, it can be seen that Duncan's athletic ability has been affected, but the master of fundamentals has not sunk because of this.

He is still the pillar of the San Antonio Spurs, and his statistics and efficiency are almost the same as in a healthy season. The Spurs started the season with a steady 6-2 record, looking like they were going to win the championship again.

The Dallas Mavericks have become a team with a high sense of presence, not only because the second Chinese player Wang Zhizhi officially landed, but also because Dirk Nowitzki has grown into the most comprehensive and outstanding power forward in the league. In addition, Michael Finley is willing to delegate power, and the Mavericks have finally gotten rid of the ridiculous shadow of Dallas 3J.

Of course, the most terrifying team is the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers this season are completely different from the previous ones. Shaq and Kobe are both liberated, and with Grant Hill distributing the ball, the Lakers have become the only undefeated team besides the 76ers.

Kobe and the Sharks seem to have found some kind of balance: O'Neal scored 18.6 points on the road, but 25.7 points at home. Kobe scored 24.3 points on the road, but only 18.1 points at home.

Grant Hill averaged 17.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game.

He did not participate in the fight for OK's shooting rights, but instead served as a coordinator and became the link between OK.

The OK guys had no problem with Grant Hill needing to handle the ball because they both got along well with Hill and trusted his selflessness.

In fact, Kobe, who has a super high emotional intelligence, still gave Hill a warning at the beginning of the preseason training camp.

When the Lakers first filmed a promotional ad, Kobe was dissatisfied with the lines he was going to say, so he changed them on the spot, making everyone wait for 40 minutes. After the changes, people found that Kobe had taken away many lines that originally belonged to Grant Hill.

In the end, Hill just smiled and said, "I'm not good at speaking, so it's okay to say less."

So, if someone can have a conflict with Grant Hill, he is definitely not a human being.

Grant Hill's personality meant that he didn't care about the title of boss. During his NCAA period, he was willing to be a supporting role for his teammates. In 1992, Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater, which was hailed as "the most exciting goal in NCAA history", was a buzzer-beater. Duke was trailing by 2.1 point with 1 seconds left and could only serve from the baseline. In this case, the ball was still incredibly accurately delivered to Laettner in the frontcourt, helping him to complete the buzzer-beater.

Christian Laettner became famous for this goal, but few people know that this crucial long-distance pass was actually made by Grant Hill himself. He did not take credit after the game, leaving the flowers and applause to his teammates. And over the years, he never mentioned that he was the key passer in that decisive game.

This is Grant Hill's character. Gentleman and grace, selflessness and kindness have become the labels of his career.

In this way, the Lakers showed the fighting power that people expected. They played fast-paced basketball, Kobe and Shaq were no longer in the same position, and the mark of the triangle offense was becoming less and less.

These changes have made the Los Angeles Lakers the best team in the league.

The first half of the 00-01 season was a time of flourishing competition, with the rise of newcomers making people feel deeply that the 21st century has truly arrived.

But everyone knows that the most beautiful flower is still in bud.

At the press conference after the game on the 13th, Roger confirmed that he would return in the next game.

In the next game, the opponent is Ray Allen, who is ranked first in the league in offensive efficiency and has many complaints about Roger.

Roger is relaxed about the next game.

"We all know that Ray is the best offensive player this season, just like his sex scene with porn star Tracy Lane in the movie Singled Out was so good, I loved that scene.

But don't forget that when he was filming the scene where he was fighting with the father played by Denzel Washington, he was scored 4 points by Denzel Washington. As we know, that scene was not filmed according to Spike Lee's arrangement, everything was improvised. Or in other words, it was a real fight.

So you see, if Denzel can score over him, so can I.

No matter how many goals our league's leading offensive player scores, I can easily score more than him.

Giving you half a month of performance time is the greatest mercy I can show you.

Now, give the stage back to you.”

(End of this chapter)