Champions Creed

Chapter 310 Chapter 309: San Francisco? New York? (Seeking monthly ticket!)
In the process of becoming an official Los Angeles police officer, Shaquille O'Neal realized an important point: you can never understand another person. You think you understand, but you don't.

He has participated in many arrests during the offseason. A model couple walking their children on the street may be a pair of scammers, a single man who looks harmless may be a murderer, and a seemingly literary online writer may be an old prostitute who likes to play around.

Everyone has their own little thoughts and secrets.

It's like Shaquille O'Neal always thought Mitch Kupchak was a good person. He was not as irritable as Jerry West, always spoke in a gentle manner, and had a good relationship with everyone.

When he first took over Jerry West's position, he shook Shark's hand and told him: "I will make you a Laker for life!"

It was as if he, as general manager, had promised the Sharks the position of absolute leader.

But now, everything has changed.

The last time they met, Mitch Kupchak clearly told O'Neal that if they renewed the contract, they were only willing to offer a two-year guaranteed contract.

This is an extremely insecure offer for the 30-year-old Shark who is already plagued by injuries.

O'Neal didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This is what Mitch Kupchak meant by "I will make you a Laker for life."

So, it is impossible for you to understand a person.

They always say one thing and do another.

The Sharks always thought that Mitch Kupchak was on their side, but when he made an offer, the Sharks realized that their relationship was just a superficial friendship.

There are also those legendary superstars and celebrities who are said to care about the Lakers and are two-faced. When OK was getting more and more upset, none of them had the courage to say a word to Kobe or Shark. Instead, the small character Brian Shaw often played the role of glue between OK and the Lakers.

They boasted wildly on TV and in front of the media about how much they loved the Lakers and how much they cared about the team, but when the team was in real trouble and needed them to play their remaining heat, they disappeared.

It's impossible to know someone and not know what they are thinking.

This truth is O'Neal's biggest gain in Los Angeles.

Apart from the more diverse women than in Orlando, this was almost his only gain in Los Angeles.

After five years in Los Angeles with great ambitions, Shaquille O'Neal still had nothing in his hands and had not won any honors.

The curse of not being able to win a championship after leaving Roger caused O'Neal's career height to steadily decline every year.

O'Neal's new agent Perry Rogers believes that if the Lakers still cannot win the championship this year, the best way right now is to apply for a trade in the summer.

The Sharks can't keep wasting time in Los Angeles any longer. If they do, the height of their career will continue to drop.

Basketball is not a game. The lineup of Shaq + Kobe + Grant Hill is brilliant, but the completely broken relationship between Shaq and Kobe has turned their fighting power into 1+1<2.

In the original timeline, the conflict between OK and the Warriors got out of control in the 02-03 season, and it completely broke out in the 03-04 season with the sentence "Shaq did it too."

But in this timeline, another version of "Shaq did it too" appeared earlier.

The incident started when Kobe was interviewed on an ESPN program and talked about his training and game attitude.

The host then said: "Very few players can train like you, and many players are ruined by excessive indulgence. After the game, most fans' lives are filled with alcohol, sports cars and women. Sometimes, they are even willing to spend millions of dollars on women."

Kobe, who has a very high emotional intelligence, smiled and said the famous quote: "Yes, many people do this, like Shaq did it too."

This sentence almost caused Shark to break up with Shanny, greatly affected Shark's public image, and ruined the already tense relationship between OK and Shark.

Mitch Kupchak's negative attitude towards contract renewal and Kobe's backstabbing made Doc Rivers, a fool who lost Duncan, openly mock him on a TV show: "The relationship between Shaq, Kobe and the Lakers is the biggest joke in the history of professional sports."

O'Neal was criticized and ridiculed, but he really didn't know what he did wrong. It was all Kobe's fault.

Look at what Kobe has done over the years. That bastard screwed up his relationship with the Zen Master, screwed up his relationship with his biological father, and screwed up his relationship with O'Neal.

Why is it that he has such a bad relationship with everyone? Has no one ever thought about this?
Sometimes O'Neal even felt that Roger was the easiest person he had ever met!

He won't betray you, and he won't say anything like "Shaq did that, too."

He will only be ruthless for the sake of winning, and will only want to suppress you in the team, but he will never cause you trouble in your life.

In short, O'Neal really can't stay in the Lakers anymore. You can imagine how bad it is for a place that makes the Sharks think Roger is a good person.

He is now eager to try out for another competitive team.

As for how to manipulate transactions?

It's simple. The Sharks' contract doesn't expire until 2004, but they have a player option in 2003.

So the Sharks can follow Roger's example and spread the word that if they are traded to a bad team, they will opt out after a year.

At that time, no bad team will increase its investment just for the short-term use of Shark for only one year, and O'Neal will be able to go to a competitive team as he wishes.

The Shaq needed a new teammate and, most importantly, a team willing to give him a long-term contract in 2003 or 2004.

Of course, the Sharks' team also knows that Roger is likely to leave Atlanta this summer, and the Lakers will have a chance to win the championship then.

But O'Neal really can't stand Kobe and the Lakers. Whether or not he wins the championship with the Lakers this year, the Shark will leave.

Of course, it would be best if I could leave with the championship!
One day after the Hawks defeated the Pistons, the Los Angeles Lakers also won Game 6 against the Sacramento Kings and successfully advanced to the finals with a total score of 4-2.

Because the Lakers had Grant Hill in this timeline, they were not dragged into a Game 7 by the Kings.

At the Western Conference champion award ceremony, only Grant Hill smiled among the Big3.

O'Neal and Kobe looked as if the Lakers were the losers, and the Western Conference championship meant nothing to either of them.

Unless they can trip Roger, there will be no change in the height of their careers.

Back in the locker room, O'Neal sat in front of his locker and was interviewed.

A reporter asked the Shark with obvious ill intentions: "The team kept passing the ball to you in the first half, and you kept scoring in the low post. But in the second half, Kobe suddenly took over the game and you couldn't catch the ball. Was this a strategy arranged by Phil?"

Reporters are so keen to discuss OK's conflicts that it's like a big reality show for Los Angeles fans and the media.

O'Neal smiled and said, "No, this is not a strategy, this is just a fragment of my miserable Lakers career."

"Shaq, will you request a trade this summer?"

"I don't predict the future, but I would be happy if Kobe asked for a trade."

"You were 2004 years old when your contract expired in 32. Do you really think you were still eligible for a long-term contract at that age?"

"I am qualified even if I am 38 years old. Mickey is just an idiot!"

O'Neal now makes no secret of the conflict between himself, Kobe and Mitch Kupchak.

The same is true for Kobe.

“Why would I pass the ball to a guy who has practiced one-tenth the time I have?”

Grant Hill sighed at the side. What kind of fighting power can such a team have? The interview ended quickly, and everyone left the locker room one after another and got on the team bus.

When O'Neal was about to leave, Grant Hill stopped him and said, "Shaq, let's talk."

If there was anyone on this Lakers team that O'Neal didn't dislike or even liked, it must be Grant Hill, so he didn't refuse: "What to talk about?"

Grant Hill asked Shark to follow him into the physical therapy room, and Shark found Kobe was there after he entered the room.

To be honest, O'Neal really wanted to rush up and strangle him to death at that time. "Shaq did it too" was the most disgusting thing O'Neal had ever heard in his life.

Kobe was also unhappy, he thought this conversation was only between him and Grant Hill. If he knew there was a shark, he would not have stayed.

Grant Hill knew that they were incompatible and that neither he nor God could repair the relationship between them.

But Grant Hill doesn't need to repair their relationship, he just needs to do one thing - let them temporarily put aside their prejudices in the finals.

"You can make a fuss all you want. If you keep going like this, the Lakers will lose to the Hawks in the finals for the third time in a row. By then, you, you, and I will all be nailed to the pillar of shame. You all know what happened to Charles Barkley in 1993, right? He let Michael Jordan take away the victory with an average of 41 points per game. From now on, the brave flying pig Charles has completely become a comedian.

Let me remind you that last season, we had Roger averaging 42.5 points per game in the Finals. To be honest, we were already clowns.

But can you imagine the consequences if this happened twice in a row?

So Kobe, put away your fucking inappropriate one-on-ones. You can't just take over the game on a whim!

If you know all the secrets about basketball but ignore them, basketball will punish you in return!"

Grant Hill's sudden outburst of swearing formed a huge contrast with his usual image. For a moment, Kobe and Shark were a little afraid to speak, which allowed Hill to perfectly control the situation of the conversation.

He also took advantage of this anger to continue speaking.

"No one doubts your ability Kobe, we all know what you can do and we will let you take over the game, but you can't always take over at inopportune times.

And Shaq, can you move on defense? A guy like Mike Bibby can score 22.7 points per game on you on a pick-and-roll. 22.7 points! Let me remind you, Shaq, he only averaged 13.7 points per game in the regular season! If you move your fat ass to interfere with him, he won't be able to play with such efficiency!

You all think you are the leader of the team and the boss.

But what's the result? You guys keep doing things that hurt the team!

Oh God, stop this childish game, we have to beat Roger for once!
I can only tell you one thing: your career will fly by, and God will not forgive you for wasting three opportunities in a row."

This was the most rude and bold thing Grant Hill had ever done in his life. Yes, he was not as competitive as Kobe, but he was also a person with a sense of honor and shame.

He couldn't just watch himself come here to vote but not win a single championship.

From the moment the Lakers' Big3 was formed, it meant that they would fail if they didn't win the championship.

After Grant Hill finished speaking, the therapy room fell silent.

A few minutes later, O'Neal said, "I will play defense well. As for that bastard, I don't count on him at all."

After saying that, O'Neal turned and left.

Kobe was silent for a few minutes, and finally stood up and patted Grant Hill on the shoulder: "You are right, we have to stop the internal friction first."

Then he left too.

Grant Hill sat alone on the bed in the therapy room, staring at his hands.

This is the Los Angeles Lakers' last desperate fight.

At the same time, Eric Fleischer was preparing for Yao Ming's draft.

In the lottery drawing that ended earlier, the New York Knicks got the No. 1 pick as they wished.

Many media outlets called it "the second frozen letter from God to New York."

Tonight, Eric Fleischer took Yao Ming to New York for a tryout, along with Nick Collison, who had 33 points and 19 rebounds in the March Madness final a month ago.

You could say that Nick Collison is the top representative of the American center in this draft.

The Knicks knew Yao Ming had potential, but they didn't know to what extent he could achieve it now.

结果在15次低位一对一交替攻防中，姚明让尼克.科里森15中5，他自己则15中11。

In the second half, a few shots were missed due to Yao Ming's own physical condition.

In the one-on-one offense and defense in the low post, the super center who almost scored 30+20 in the NCAA finals seemed like he couldn't play in front of Yao Ming.

The Knicks are pleased with Yao's performance, who has both immediate effectiveness and potential, and are now convinced that wasting the No. 1 pick on anyone other than Yao would be a crime.

After the workout, Knicks general manager Scott Layden chatted with Eric Fleischer.

Most of the topics were about Yao Ming, but Scott Layden suddenly said, "Eric, have you ever thought about what would happen if the two greatest Chinese players joined forces on a team?"

This is an obvious hint that the New Yorkers' ambitions this summer are not just about Yao Ming.

Eric Fleischer was not surprised by the question. He waved his hand and said, "Today we are only talking about Yao. If you want to talk about Roger, you have to wait in line. The next team to talk to me about Roger should be the Golden State Warriors. They have been asking me for a long time."

"Warriors? You don't really believe that a Russian can succeed in the NBA? He doesn't understand the NBA at all. If Roger goes to San Francisco, it would be a waste of talent. I heard that another Russian is planning to acquire Chelsea. Ha, when will they buy the Statue of Liberty? Even if they buy the Statue of Liberty, they don't understand what true freedom is. Russian money is not omnipotent. You should know this, Eric."

"Russians? No, no, no, that's not the point at all. Russian money isn't everything, but Roger is. Success depends on where he is, not who the boss is. I'll talk to you about Roger's Scott, but not now."

Although it was not stated explicitly, New York has always been among Eric Fleischer's alternatives.

In fact, New York was one of the two places he thought Roger was more likely to go.

This team belongs entirely to James Dolan, there will be no shareholder war, and it has a big market comparable to Los Angeles.

Another place with a higher probability is San Francisco. If the Warriors stay in Oakland, the influence will be one thing. But if the Russians agree to build a home stadium in San Francisco, the influence of the Warriors will be another matter.

Moreover, the Warriors now completely belong to that Russian tycoon, so there will be no messy shareholder struggles.

But Mikhail Prokhorov has a big advantage over Dolan: if James Dolan is still a businessman, then Prokhorov is a real basketball fan. He is likely to do everything possible to win, just like Ted Turner did before.

San Francisco? New York?

Well, whichever of these two places prospers, Los Angeles will have to suffer a disaster first.
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The impact is huge, but we have solved a problem that was more troublesome than the Atlanta Hawks, we are stronger than ever, and we have a good chance to bring a trophy back to Los Angeles - Grant Hill talks about the impact of the relationship between OK on the game.

I just want to win, so I don't care who I pass the ball to as long as that person can help me win. - Kobe Bryant was asked if he would pass the ball to Shaq.

There is nothing complicated about defense. It’s not like I haven’t played excellent defensive performances before! —Shaq talks about his defensive attitude in the finals.

Don't listen to the bragging of those three losers. When it's all over, Roger will merge with the four championship banners behind him and become an immortal legend in Atlanta. Los Angeles? You can think of them as the steps for Roger to enter the immortal hall. It's a beautiful step, but it's just a step after all. - Atlanta Military Police.

(End of this chapter)