Champions Creed

Chapter 313 312: You and I at least have a common goal (please give me a monthly ticket!)

This summer's transfer market will be hotter than ever.

The transfer rumors of Shaquille O'Neal, Paul Pierce and Roger are enough to feed all sports media in the United States in any summer.

And this summer, all three of them have transfer moves at the same time.

For the media and fans, this is simply a feast. In this era when the Internet has gradually become popular, various basketball-related forums have started the first round of survival of the fittest. Because those forums with poor servers will be directly overwhelmed by huge traffic in the past few days.

After Roger recovered from the emotion of parting, he officially started his cake-eating journey, with the first stop being the Big Apple.

New York fans have recently demonstrated what it means to "If you think a woman with big breasts, a round butt and good looks is definitely not a good woman, it only proves that you have never owned this woman."

When Roger played for other teams, New York fans called him a devil, a bastard, and the most damned person in the world.

There is a unique slogan in Madison Square Garden called "Fuck Roger".

There is a reason why New Yorkers hate Roger so much. After all, the bloody history of the New York Knicks throughout the 90s was Roger's history of massacre.

Roger destroyed the New York gang led by Pat Riley, and also eliminated the super Knicks led by Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing.

Ever since Jordan was beaten into retirement, the New York Knicks have never recovered until now.

You could definitely say that it was Roger who made the Knicks the mess they are in now.

Therefore, fans in no city in the entire league hate Roger more than New Yorkers.

But now, when Roger is likely to come to New York, fans all over New York have changed their attitudes.

The results of ESPN's street interviews were simply ridiculous.

"Michael Jordan can't save New York, but Roger can! Everyone in New York knows that Roger is a better player than Michael Jordan. We knew it six years ago!"

"New York has been Roger's territory since ancient times. Have you forgotten? Before he became the savior of Atlanta, his nickname was the Mayor of New York!"

"Why do you hate Roger? New York is a very inclusive city. Don't say Roger is Asian. Don't say Roger has defeated us. Even if Roger is a transgender homosexual, he is welcome here."

"Dead enemies? No, no, no, that's not the case. Long live the unity of the people of the world!"

Even Spike Lee, the black director who once quarreled with Roger at Madison Square Garden, appeared in front of the camera wearing a customized No. 14 Knicks jersey: "I love Roger!"

The reaction of New York fans really made the whole United States feel like living in Bengbu, but this also shows Roger's appeal and influence.

If it were an ordinary star coming to New York, the worldly-wise New York fans might not be so negative.

But Roger? It was a blessing to meet him.

Roger went to New York, and before he even met James Dolan, numerous commercial endorsements had already come to him. It must be said that this is the commercial value of New York.

But Roger decided to postpone all these business contracts and make a decision after meeting James Dolan.

It took only 10 minutes after Roger met James Dolan for the first time, but this guy who is known as "the worst franchise owner in history" left a deep impression on him.

When Roger, Eric Fleischer and James Dolan walked into the lobby of the Madison Square Garden Entertainment headquarters building, a security guard looked at Dolan and Roger with a surprised expression, stood there and forgot what to say.

At this moment, James Dolan suddenly became furious without warning. He was only 167 cm tall and had a big belly. He instantly looked like a murderous penguin. He strode towards the security guard who was staring at him and Roger: "Damn it! What's your name and which department do you belong to!?"

The surroundings suddenly became quiet. No one dared to breathe heavily and stared at their boss.

The security guard's expression changed from surprise to fear, and he said his name tremblingly.

James Dolan walked up to the security guard and viciously poked his finger in the chest: "Have I ever told you that the security department should greet me or important guests respectfully? Why are you staring at us stupidly? I tell you, Leiris, if you do it again, you'll fucking take off your clothes and get out!"

After yelling, perhaps realizing that he had lost control in front of Roger, James Dolan took out a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped his sweat, took a deep breath, and then forced a smile: "Let's go, Roger, don't worry, let's go to the office and talk."

Roger glanced at Eric Fleischer beside him. Fleischer shrugged and was not surprised by James Dolan's performance just now.

The "culture of fear" advocated by James Dolan in the NBA circle has long been well-known.

Although he is only 167 cm tall, in this basketball world full of giants, James Dolan has always considered himself a fighter.

He likes to create a "culture of fear" in his team to demonstrate his iron-fisted style.

He doesn't want to be the kind of boss who gets along well with his employees. He wants everyone to know where they are and what they should do.

He has never been "kind" to his employees. Later, when Isaiah Thomas was sexually assaulted, what was the first thing James Dolan did? He fired the poor woman who was assaulted.

This is James Dolan.

After entering the office, James Dolan explained his behavior to Roger: "As an employee of the company, you need to be reminded to stay awake at all times and know what you should do at all times. I don't know why they are so afraid of me. As long as an employee is diligent and capable, there is nothing to be afraid of, don't you think so, Roger?"

Roger smiled and said nothing. Yes, yes, that’s how the masters in the 19th century treated black slaves.

There's just something about James Dolan that's an old farmer vibe that can't be washed off, and most of the old money on the East Coast has that vibe.

It was an impressive first meeting. Given this guy’s temper, Roger wouldn’t have found it strange even if he had said to his secretary “I’m very angry right now” when he was angry just now.

Seeing that Roger didn't say anything and seemed uninterested in the topic, James Dolan went straight to the point. After asking his secretary to make coffee for Roger and Fleischer, he began to make plans crazily in the office.

"You know, this is the most prosperous city in the world. Here, you can easily get valuable commercial endorsements like Michael Jordan. Here, your every move will become the focus of the world. If there is any city in the world that deserves you, it must be New York. Welcome to New York, Roger."

The pie was drawn very large, depicting Roger as Superman from DC Comics.

Every move he makes will become the focus of the world? Then Roger would have to bring a bunch of pagers to blow up Madison Square Garden.

Roger and Eric Fleischer didn't want to hear this nonsense. The commercial value of a professional athlete is based on victory, not on the market.

You can say that LeBron James' commercial value has been raised by Nike and Los Angeles, but he has four championships after all. No matter whether it is individual championships, brother championships or any other championship, four is four. Moreover, he has indeed won at least one championship in every team he joined.

If LeBron James doesn't win a championship, or joins a team but gets nothing, can he still be hyped?
Wasn’t it because they couldn’t fool people any more that they made a “decision” in 2011?

So you see, even LeBron James, who knows the most about marketing, needs victories and championships to support his marketing.

Michael Jordan did get a lot of endorsements in New York, but what happened? He was beaten and retired the next year.

Did Carmelo Anthony's commercial value increase after he came to New York? No, his influence is even lower than when he was in Denver!

Therefore, whether a player has commercial value is not determined by the market, but by his performance.

The market is just a icing on the cake. If Tim Duncan can win a championship in New York, he will be even more popular. But if Zach Randolph comes to New York, the New York market will be useless to him.

Roger came to New York, of course, because of the commercial value here, but he was more concerned about the chance to win.

And James Dolan said nothing about it.

He knows how to make promises. This tyrant is actually not as "stupid" as the legend says. If you think about it carefully, James Dolan is actually very smart. The smartest thing he did was that he hired the Smiling Assassin to be the general manager of the Knicks in 2003.

From then on, no New Yorker greeted James Dolan's mother anymore, because everyone was warmly greeting Isaiah Thomas' mother.

Can you say this is not a smart decision? Just tell me whether it has solved the problem in essence.

Roger still didn't respond, so James Dolan continued talking.

"As for helpers? Don't worry, we will use the No. 1 pick to select Yao Ming. Some people actually compared him with Sean Bradley, haha, stupid and unreasonable. As long as you have seen Yao play, you will know how extraordinary he is. We firmly believe that you and Yao will be the next strongest duo in history, and the glory of New York belongs to you."

Eric Fleischer didn't beat around the bush. As the agent of the most successful basketball player on the planet, he felt fully qualified to ask: "Yao is great, but my client needs some say in reinforcements, draft picks, and even team personnel. You know, I just want to make sure my client's dominance is never affected by some off-court reasons again."

James Dolan's eyebrows twitched noticeably. He probably wanted to frown, but realized that this might cause Roger to leave, so he tried hard to control his expression.

"Of course, Roger certainly has a say," the control freak replied with a smile.

"Really? As far as I know, that's not your style. You've always been known for interfering in the team's operations. Now that we're all sitting here, we need to have a frank conversation instead of a perfunctory 'of course you have a say', don't you, Mr. James Dolan?"

James Dolan, who was being questioned, glanced at Roger behind Eric Fleischer. From the beginning of the negotiations until now, Roger had not said a word and had no expression. He just sat there coldly.

What was his attitude? Dolan couldn't grasp it at all.

Sometimes, capturing the attitude of the player is much more important than capturing the attitude of the agent.

Sometimes it's more efficient to talk to a player directly rather than to talk to an agent.

But Roger did not participate in the conversation at all. It was the cunning and aggressive Eric Fleischer who was talking all the time, which made James Dolan feel passive in the negotiations.

Roger certainly didn't mean to give James Dolan a hard time. This was a negotiation technique that Roger and Eric Fleischer had been using for many years.

Roger won't talk to his boss until everything is settled, which is a signal: Hey, don't get so close, I'm not yours yet.

When Roger talks to you, it means the negotiation is close to success. But obviously, James Dolan is far from that step.

Faced with the questioning, this workplace tyrant was a little unhappy.

"I said, of course Roger has the right to speak, this is the most sincere attitude. But I must first be responsible for Madison Square Garden Entertainment behind it, and I can't let anything override the interests of the company. But you don't have to worry about this at all. Would I watch the best star waste his youth in New York? We have the most professional team to help Roger customize the lineup. We won't be stupid enough to let DPOY go. There's nothing to worry about."

Roger on the side laughed. This is exactly what worries us the most.

In the original timeline, the leadership team of the New York Knicks changed one after another, from Isiah Thomas to Larry Brown, from Phil Jackson to Derek Fisher, and burned countless US dollars. The result was that from the 21st century to 2024, there were only 24 playoff appearances in 8 years, and 6 of them were first-round exits.

One of the main reasons why so many people cannot make the Knicks successful is that no matter who is replaced in the leadership team, behind him is James Dolan, the James Dolan who always likes to give blind instructions.

If he is unwilling to delegate power to Roger, Roger will have no confidence in the management level of the Knicks.

The negotiations were hastily concluded, and James Dolan still emphasized at the end: "We will take Yao Ming in the draft, 100% certain."

As if this was some very important bargaining chip.

Roger left New York that night. He was no longer optimistic about joining New York.

Although the New York market is unrivaled, Roger is somewhat worried that he will get stuck in the New York market.

As a god-like figure, Roger couldn't stay in New York for many years doing nothing.

In fact, Roger's goal is to create another three consecutive championships or four consecutive championships with the same team, which is unprecedented in modern basketball, in the last stop of his career.

As we all know, the influence of the two three-peat championships was enough to be surpassed by Nike's four individual championships in the 21s of the 20st century.

And even Michael Jordan has a small flaw of 6＜11.

Roger didn't want to leave any blemishes, and he didn't want to sit at home after retirement and watch a bunch of fans and news every day using someone who was obviously not as good as him to make trouble.

He wants to become a GOAT who cannot be surpassed in every aspect. As a player who is only 27 years old but already has seven championships and has not experienced any devastating injuries, if he does not have this ambition, then Roger does not deserve the title of GOAT.

Roger can accept not winning a championship in the first three years of joining a new team, because the new team may need to grow and build, and he is willing to grow with the team. He is going to build a legend, not to curry favor with others. But if he still can't win a championship in more than three years, or can only win one championship after three years, that is not Roger's plan.

Given the Knicks' management level, can they support Roger to win three consecutive championships or even four consecutive championships in three years if they are unwilling to give up power? It's too difficult.

James Dolan's bad temper and strong desire for control make it difficult to work with him.

However, before Roger decides whether to settle down in New York, he still needs to try out the food in other places.

So the next day Roger went to the second stop of his pancake-eating journey, San Francisco.

The meeting place between Mikhail Prokhorov and Roger was very special, in the training hall of the Warriors training center.

The 206cm tall sports fan wanted to take on the best basketball player in the world.

Of course, this was agreed to in advance by Roger, so as not to appear too rude.

Seeing Roger walking into the stadium, Prokhorov was as excited as a fan and greeted Roger with a Mao-flavored accent: "God, when was the last time we met? A year ago? Two years ago? I only remember that Ted Turner was still in charge of the Atlanta Hawks at that time. Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Roger!"

Roger shook hands with this boss of unusual height. To be honest, this was the first time Roger had to look up at the team owner. His height was in stark contrast to James Dolan yesterday.

"Go ahead, Roger. We've prepared a locker room for you. You promised me that you would let me see the best basketball player in the world!"

Roger waved his hand: "No need to change clothes."

Looking at Roger, who was wearing a suit and leather shoes, Prokhorov laughed: "Are you sure? I'm not that weak."

Roger just waved his hand, signaling Prokhorov to serve directly.

Roger, dressed in a suit, received the basketball and began to smoothly switch hands between his crotch and behind his back.

Prokhorov opened his arms seriously. Although he had never played professional basketball, he was considered a master among amateurs.

He works out regularly and is very confident about his body.

But Roger was dribbling the ball and actually hit Prokhorov through the crotch! In the hands of an athlete of Roger's level, the basketball is completely an extension of his body and he can control it at will!
By the time the Russian oligarch reacted and tried to chase back, Roger had already grabbed the basketball from behind him, jumped up and completed a layup with his back to the basket.

After landing, Roger adjusted his tie and said, "You are quite good, sir."

Mikhail Prokhorov laughed and clapped. He liked Roger's arrogant look.

There is no need for men who play competitive sports to be timid and overly modest.

"Continue?"

"Come on, Roger, I don't want to lose my love of basketball from now on. I have to say, this is the most painful beating I have ever received in the United States."

"I heard that you also practice free fighting?"

Prokhorov's face suddenly changed: "Hey, this can't even be compared with you!"

After just one ball exchange, Prokhorov took Roger and Fleischer to his office.

He speaks much more openly than James Dolan and gets straight to the point.

"I can invest in a basketball team at any cost. Moreover, I can build the team according to your ideas like Ted did. As long as we can win, I don't care about anything else. As long as you join, I am willing to provide you with everything."

Prokhorov probably knew that what he said was a bit outrageous, because it is impossible to do it at all costs just based on the so-called "love" for basketball. In order to make Roger believe his crazy words, he pointed to the map of the Greater Bay Area in the office.

"See? Although Oakland and San Francisco are separated by a bridge, their commercial values ​​are worlds apart. Let me be honest with you, Roger. The real purpose of my buying the Warriors was to enter the American business circle. I agreed to build the stadium in San Francisco not for charity. Two years later, the team moved to San Francisco, and the real estate and shopping malls around the new stadium are also my industries. A world-famous Warriors team can help me drive the development of surrounding industries.

That is to say, the entire Golden State Warriors is only a part of my investment. I don't make money from the Warriors, so I don't care about the team cost, the team profit, or the team control. That's why as long as you can make the Warriors win championships, win many championships, and make the Warriors as great as the Hawks, I don't care about anything else.

I don't have time to manage the team, but I completely believe in you and your team, and believe that people with successful experience are always right. So, I can give you a lot of power.

In San Francisco, you can be a franchise player all you want.”

Now Roger finally understood why Prokhorov allowed an idiot like Billy King to mess up his team.

Because the team is just a stepping stone to his larger business empire.

In essence, Prokhorov is still running the team with a businessman's mindset, rather than the so-called passion that people imagine.

But he doesn't profit directly from the Warriors, which is what distinguishes him from most other team owners.

Billy King in the original world line actually accomplished the job to some extent. The multi-giant lineup he formed did make the Nets very popular in those years, driving the industrial value around the Barclays Center to soar rapidly.

Many people thought that Prokhorov eventually left the NBA in disgrace. In fact, while he left in disgrace, he also took away billions of dollars in profits, and all the related industries around him made a lot of money.

In fact, if it weren't for the political reasons during the sensitive period, he would never have sold the Nets.

The Nets' failure in terms of record is not due to Prokhorov's fault, because he does not directly manage the team, but is only responsible for paying the money. But this also proves from the side that Prokhorov is a boss who is willing to delegate power.

So, what if a fool like Billy King is replaced by a reliable general manager? Will Prokhorov's team succeed?
While Roger was thinking about this, the tall Prokhorov put his hands on the table and said, "In short, you and I at least have a common goal - to win at all costs!"

Eric Fleischer didn't even have to ask the most important question, because the Russian said at the beginning of the negotiations: "I can do anything. I can build the team according to your ideas like Ted. As long as we can win, I don't care about anything else."

Looking at the entire history of the NBA, how many owners would do this?

Big city, sole owner, strong determination to win
This Russian Bollinger seems to have real fillings in it.

After that, the two sides negotiated many details.

That afternoon, Mikhail Prokhorov attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the construction of the team's new stadium.

Facing a bunch of reporters' cameras, the Russian seemed to be in a good mood, as if he had just made some big deal.

Wearing a helmet, he played a joke on all the reporters.

"Hey guys, don't be serious and don't be nervous. I know I'm the first foreign owner of a franchise in the NBA, but are you worried that a Russian can conquer American basketball?"

Mikhail Prokhorov smiled even more brightly when he thought of the wonderful negotiations this afternoon.

A Russian might not be able to conquer America.

But what if it's a Chinese and a Russian?

He really wanted to see the expressions of all the fans and team owners across the United States when the news came out.

It would be a beautiful scene that cannot be described in words.

(End of this chapter)