Champions Creed

Chapter 267: Welcome to the Knights of the Round Table (asking for monthly tickets!)
The Sacramento Kings' defeat was shocking. Prior to this, the Kings had won consecutive games relying on a smooth offense and had never lost by more than double digits.

But in front of the Hawks, the Kings showed an extreme sense of contrast.

They are usually gorgeous, dignified and unattainable, but they were toyed with by the Eagles.

O'Neal suggested that the Kings should be renamed the Queens: "How dare they call themselves the Kings? The real king of California is in Los Angeles. Do those sissies have a winning gene? No, they just got lucky and stole two games from my head last season."

The Sharks are indeed qualified to mock the Kings, who are also based in California, because the Lakers are really strong this season.

The glory of big3 shines on every inch of Los Angeles.

Of course, the Lakers have yet to go through the final test.

The Bucks and Kings also looked strong before meeting the Hawks, but the Hawks shattered all filters.

Therefore, whether the Lakers' Big3 has the potential to be champions or not, it still depends on Roger to verify it.

Although the Lakers had already beaten the Hawks once in the opening game, because Roger was not there, even O'Neal would not brag about the victory in that game.

But the complete battle between the Hawks and the Lakers Big3 will have to wait until Christmas.

Roger has begun to get tired of David Stern always scheduling the Hawks vs. Lakers on Christmas, which is almost as regular as the Spring Festival Gala's Unforgettable Tonight.

Who wants to spend Christmas every year with the person they hate the most? Roger is fed up with looking at the shark's fat face every Christmas.

But there is no way. The two most profitable teams in the league are playing the most profitable game at the most profitable time. This is an opportunity that Stern will never miss.

Until then, the Hawks and Lakers can only demonstrate their dominance from a distance.

After today's training, Lenny Wilkens saw Roger practice shooting with Michael Reed for another hour, and after the training, he studied the game videos of Steve Kerr and Robert Horry with Reed.

Roger doesn't do this every day; he's not Michael Reed's babysitter.

But at least one day a week, Roger would stay and help Reed improve.

Unlike Pierce and Marion who were left alone, Roger wanted to help Reed because he wanted to change Reed's playing style.

Even in his heyday, Michael Redd was not a player with outstanding off-ball skills. Yes, he liked to shoot three-pointers, but his off-ball skills and positioning awareness were not top-notch. In fact, he was a ball-dominant player who dominated the ball. Fans who watched Yi Jianlian's rookie season should remember how domineering Redd was at that time.

Many times he was unable to cleverly run to a good open space, so he simply held the ball and shot blindly against the defense.

After all, Reid was always a ball-handler in college and high school, and he started to transform into a shooter after entering the NBA. After entering the NBA, he was not trained as a player, and his success was purely due to his own efforts. Therefore, many of his playing habits are difficult to change.

Roger needs to correct this and make Reid understand that he doesn't necessarily have to hold the ball with both hands to sprint.

Steve Kerr and Robert Horry, who Roger considered to be true champion-level off-ball players, were the best people for Reed to learn from. In fact, if Roger hadn't intervened, they would have been the most dominant players in the NBA from the mid-90s to the first decade of the 21st century.

This is not an exaggeration. In the original timeline, Steve Kerr and Robert Horry won twelve of the fourteen championships from 1994 to 2007!
The battle between Magic Birds is not as exciting as theirs!

Well, of course Roger knows that Curry is more worthy of learning, but it is impossible for Roger to travel through time and space to get a video tape of Curry playing for the Warriors.

A championship-level off-ball expert, this is the direction Roger hopes Michael Reed will develop into.

So, he needed to take some time to turn Reed into what he wanted him to be.

After watching the video, Reed wanted to practice shooting, but Roger stopped him: "Go back and rest. I don't want you to get injured before you even play."

The original timeline was that Reed trained too hard in his rookie season and ended up being injured early, wasting a year.

Roger doesn't want to wait. In his plan, Reed would be best able to play a role this season.

Walking into the parking lot, Michael Reed took out his keys and unlocked his second-hand Mercedes.

Reed's salary this season is only 31. Taking into account taxes and other miscellaneous expenses, he will only get a little more than half.

So he didn't want to waste money on luxury cars, but it was embarrassing to drive a broken car to the training hall, so he had to buy a second-hand car to save face.

As soon as he opened the car door, Roger drove past in his Ferrari, which cost more than Reed's annual salary. "See you tomorrow, Michael. Remember, follow Old Joe's plan to practice more. You are not allowed to increase the amount without permission."

"Thank you Roger, no one here trusts me, not even Lanny, you are the only one who trusts me."

"Lenny? He definitely wants you to succeed more than I do. It's just that he's a stubborn old man who always says nasty things. People of his generation are like that. Try your best, Michael. Don't worry about what anyone says. I will take you and me to defeat the Lakers."

After saying that, Roger left with the roar of the Ferrari.

Michael Reed also got in the car and gripped the steering wheel tightly.

Of course, I have to defeat the Lakers with Roger!
Why do some people love to practice extra? Not to mention the fatigue, it also takes up time for enjoyment. Most players who enter the NBA have huge wealth and can enjoy many things, so what is the fun of practicing extra?
In fact, just like all sports, they will get unlimited fun when they work hard to make themselves stronger and defeat their opponents in the game.

After defeating the Kings, the Hawks faced a not-so-strong opponent, the Seattle SuperSonics, at home.

If you only look at the lineup on paper, you will find that the Supersonics are actually very strong: Gary Payton, Vin Baker, Patrick Ewing, and Rashard Lewis.

The problem is that neither of them is in their prime.

Patrick Ewing completely started to lose weight after being traded to Seattle. He went from a gorilla to a fat pig. His average stats dropped to 9+7, his hit rate was only 43%, and he still got an annual salary of 1400 million. In comparison, Payton only got 1200 million a year.

After a serious season in Seattle, Vin Baker started drinking again, averaging 12+5 per game with a shooting percentage of only 42%.

Payton would never have thought that his best helper would be Rashard Lewis, the second-round pick in 98. The Hawks offered cash and draft picks to get him, and it turns out that the Hawks were indeed very good at it. This season, Lewis has averaged 14.8 points per game, with a 43-point shooting rate of %! Moreover, for a player who mainly shoots, his shooting rate is higher than that of Ewing and Vin Baker!

If the Hawks had been allowed to acquire such a tall shooter, the consequences would have been disastrous.

But even if Lewis is good enough, he can't help Payton get even the slightest chance of winning.

There was no suspense about this game before it started, but tickets were still hard to get and the venue was packed.

Because before the game starts, the Hawks will hold a jersey retirement ceremony for Dominique Wilkens.

He became the third player to have his jersey retired by the Hawks after Bob Pettit and Lou Hudson.

Although Ted Turner was no longer the boss, he had already planned this retirement ceremony. Just as he had promised, it was held in a grand and magnificent manner.

Dominique Wilkins burst into tears as he watched his jersey hanging above the Philips Arena.

In his final speech, he specially thanked Roger for allowing him to have a career without regrets.

Ted Turner was filled with emotion. When Roger approached him and asked him to help hold a tribute ceremony for Wilkins at the Hawks' home court, his original intention was to let Roger know that Atlanta could also be a basketball city and attract Roger to play in Atlanta.

Now Roger has become Atlanta's savior, but he himself is gone.

The subsequent games were completely secondary, and the Hawks easily defeated the Supersonics.

Gary Payton was very upset. In 1996, he and Roger played against each other in the finals. Four and a half years later, the Sonics have begun to rebuild, but Roger is still competing for the championship! Does this guy really not have a trough period?
Ewing sat on the bench, his eyes long gone, thinking only of where to go after the game. Maybe even he himself had forgotten that he was once one of Roger's biggest rivals.

105 to 83, the Hawks defeated the Supersonics effortlessly, and won three consecutive games since Roger's return.

The game was uneventful, but at the press conference after the game, Roger heard a not-so-peaceful piece of news: "There are rumors that the Eagles are listening to offers from other teams for Scott. Roger, do you know about this?"

"Fake news, next." Roger answered simply with three words.

But Roger didn't know whether it was true or not. He had to attend Dominic Wilkins' party tonight, and he would make sure to find out everything tomorrow.

When we got there, it felt more like a cocktail party than a party.

There is no loud music or smelly flesh and blood here, only an elegant brass band playing and a bunch of gentlemen in suits chatting.

Roger appeared in this place wearing a sweatshirt and basketball shoes and instantly became the focus.

"Dammit Dom, you call this a party? You should have told me this was a formal occasion!"

Wilkins smiled and patted Roger on the shoulder: "It doesn't matter, you are the protagonist today no matter what you wear."

"Come on, you are the protagonist today."

"No, you are the protagonist. Come on, I'll introduce you to some friends. They've been waiting for you for a long time. By the way, what would you like to drink?"

"Just juice."

"OK, hey, give this gentleman a drink. Put away that damn juice and have something stronger!"

Roger:
Wilkins put his arm around Roger's shoulders and led him through the reception hall.

During this time, many people greeted Roger and Wilkins, but Wilkins just responded hurriedly.

Roger had a feeling that this cocktail party was just a cover.

What secrets are hidden behind the cocktail party?

And this secret lies in a room on the second floor of the hall.

Suddenly, Roger felt like he was in a spy movie.

What? Did Dominic Wilkins come into the room and suddenly pull out a little red book with a hammer and sickle?

"Which friends are you taking me to meet? I know all the big shots in Atlanta." Roger asked puzzled.

"You know them, but you know them as they are wearing masks. Today, I will show you the real them."

"You're getting more and more mysterious."

"Hey, here we are."

Wilkins opened the door of a room on the second floor. Inside the room, several guys in suits were chatting with glasses of wine.

When they saw Roger come in, they immediately stopped chatting and stood up.

Roger did know these people, and they were all shareholders in Atlanta Spirit Co., Ltd.

Steve Belkin was very happy and came over to shake Roger's hand: "We have been waiting for you for a long time. Come on, let me introduce my friends to you."

"Steve, you're drunk. I know everyone here."

"Do you recognize them all? Not necessarily. You know Beau Turner is Ted's youngest son and Rutherford is his son-in-law, and you can trust them. So what about this one?" Belkin pointed to a white-haired old man.

"Of course I know, Mr. Michael Gillen, a member of the board of directors." Roger replied in confusion.

"Yes, Michael Gillen. But you may not know that Michael Gillen served as the president of basketball operations for the Hawks from 77 to 86, is a partner of the Turner Group, and is a close friend of Mr. Ted Turner. In other words, he is our man, and most importantly, he is your man.

Mr. Bard Seretien, my close friend, your man."

Bard Celestian took off his hat with a smile: "I am willing to serve you."

"And Mr. Tony Seratin, a former member of the board of directors of Turner Broadcasting System and an old subordinate of Mr. Ted Turner, is also one of yours."

Roger finally understood what it meant to "You know them as they are wearing masks, today I will take you to see the real them."

He knew these people were on the board of directors, and he also knew their names. But before, except for Beau Turner and Rutherford, Roger didn't know the background and positions of the other shareholders.

Now, everyone in this room is on Steve Belkin's side, which is also his side.

There were six shareholders in the room, including Belkin, and the entire company had twelve shareholders, accounting for half of them.

This means that at least half of the people in this consortium support Roger.

But why is Belkin saying this today?

Belkin seemed to see Roger's doubts. "Sit down. Currently, there are six of us who are of the same mind, but if we want to completely gain the right to speak, we may not have enough people. When voting on many things, I cannot guarantee that the other five people except Bruce Levinson will stand on my side. So I propose that you should also participate in the voting on any major decision of the team. Thank God, this proposal was passed by a vote of 7 to 5."

Belkin paused, took a sip of wine and continued, "Recently, Bruce Levinson wants to trade Scott Pippen. I believe you have heard the rumors. He thinks Scott's salary does not match his ability and wants to trade him for Latrell Sprewell of the Wizards. To do this, we have to take on Juwan Howard, who has a lot of stats, and Michael Reed."

"This is a stupid decision," Roger commented immediately.

In Roger's opinion, although Pippen began to decline, he could still play a significant role. Unlike Ewing, he became a shell without desires.

As for the madman, given Roger's relationship with him, Roger couldn't imagine what a mess the locker room would be like.

As for Juwan Howard, Belkin's evaluation is very pertinent, a data brush that has no effect on victory.

Look at how miserable the poor Washington Wizards are under Juwan Howard. He just goes out and scores 18+7 every day and then clocks out. Winning? I have 18+7 and I still want to win? Can winning change the number of the contract?
"Yes, it's a stupid decision and it's harmful to the team. So, we will vote against it at the meeting the day after tomorrow, and you will be there. With our support and your vote, we can definitely win this vote even if everyone else doesn't support us.

This is your chance to stake your claim, Roger.

I mean, you gotta let Bruce know in this vote whose fucking team this is!
Let him know that this kind of stupid trade proposal should never appear again!"

After saying that, Belkin raised his glass, and several other shareholders also raised their glasses: "Welcome to join the Knights of the Round Table."

Roger raised his glass and clinked it with everyone else's.

He believed that the biggest obstacle to his establishment of the Atlanta dynasty had just been removed.

(End of this chapter)