Champions Creed

Chapter 363: The Lion and the Rabbit (asking for monthly ticket)
The most arrogant press conference in NBA history has gone viral.

Many sports stars have followed Roger's example, putting their legs on the table, lining up a bunch of their honors, and then taking photos with these honors.

For a time, many similar photos appeared on the Internet.

Charles Barkley also got in on the fun, placing an MVP trophy and a framed picture of him kissing a donkey's ass on his desk.

That is truly a unique honor.

However, players like Gary Payton and Patrick Ewing are in an awkward situation because they can't even produce a trophy.

Roger created a photo pose that only winners are eligible to follow.

After the championship parade, it was discovered that Roger did not immediately report to the national team.

Instead, he appeared in Hawaii, vacationing at the beach with Adriana Lima.

Looking at Adriana Lima's fat butt that can't be covered by swimming trunks at all, fans can't help but wonder, after such a fierce hand-to-hand battle with the Pistons and then taking such a vacation, does Roger really have the energy to play in the Olympics?

The intensity of the competition during this vacation will probably not be lower than that of the finals.

In fact, Roger is not the only privileged player in the Chinese team this time.

Except for Wang Zhizhi who ended the season early, Battelle and Yao Ming will also report to the national team later.

Yes, this is one of the conditions for Roger to join. All Chinese players who play in the NBA playoffs will get extra rest time.

You can't expect Chinese basketball to discover talents like Kawamura Yuki who is less than 170 cm tall without shoes, but they are not stupid enough to go against the best basketball players in the world.

As long as Roger doesn't make any requests that go against principles, most of his requests will be met.

Roger has about a week to enjoy his vacation before reporting to the national team.

On the beach in Hawaii, Roger was applying sunscreen to Adriana Lima's buttocks. As she moaned, Roger's phone rang at an inopportune time.

Even Eric Fleischer and Mikhail Prokhorov wouldn't call Roger these days. They all knew that Roger needed an uninterrupted vacation.

Roger tried to reach for the phone, but Lima grabbed Roger's hand: "Honey, don't stop."

"Don't worry, we still have a lot of time." Roger picked up the phone.

Because the person who disturbs me at this time must have something important to do.

You know, in order not to be disturbed, Roger even arranged the draft tasks for Bob Bass before going on vacation.

In the 2004 draft, with the Warriors as the pick, Roger had only one target, and that was Trevor Ariza.

Tony Allen is certainly good, but with the Warriors' draft pick, they probably can't even pick Tony, so they can only look for a lower pick.

Trevor Ariza once perfectly explained the question "If an ordinary player is given the playing time, ball rights and tactical status of a superstar, can he become a superstar?" His experience with the Rockets proved that Ariza is not cut out to be a superstar, and it is useless to give him a tactical status and shooting rights.

But Roger's team doesn't need a future superstar. Ariza is an excellent 3D wing resource, and this precious resource must not be watched by others.

Bob Buss, who has received the order, will do his best to get Ariza in the Warriors' lineup next season, so he won't bother Roger.

In short, if someone calls at this time, there must be something that needs to be discussed immediately.

After picking up the phone, the note on the caller ID was KG.

"Kevin, you should know that I'm very busy right now."

"Too busy putting sunscreen on your supermodel girlfriend?"

"Uh, hurry up and tell me what's going on!"

"I'm sorry, Roger. You know I won't bother you easily. But now, the Timberwolves don't want to renew the contracts with Sam and Latrell! Damn, you guessed it so accurately. Latrell said something stupid. He actually told the Timberwolves that a salary of tens of millions a year was not enough to support his family. How could he negotiate like that? He and the team have completely fallen out. As for Sam, the Timberwolves are worried about his injuries and don't want to renew his contract.

Damn, I don't know how to communicate with management. I have done my best for this team and I don't know why they don't support me. If Latrell and Sam leave like this, we will become a shitty team again!
Do you think I need to stay here?"

Roger realized that this was an issue that could change Kevin Garnett's career, and it was indeed a conversation that needed to take place immediately.

Garnett's six-year, $6 million contract with the Timberwolves took effect in 1.2 and expired this summer.

In the original timeline, the Timberwolves renewed Garnett's contract in advance in the summer of 2003, and the reason Garnett agreed to renew the contract was that the Timberwolves brought in Sprewell and Cassell.

But in this timeline, Eric Fleisher was cautious and did not renew his contract with the Timberwolves in advance last season in order to prevent the Timberwolves from locking in Garnett and then giving up on reinforcements.

Facts have proved that his guess was correct. Any remarks that whitewash the Timberwolves management by saying "Kevin Garnett took too much money himself, making it impossible for the Timberwolves to strengthen the team" are powerless, because Garnett did not get a super-max contract every year during his years with the Timberwolves. When Garnett's super-max contract expired, the Timberwolves did not make any useful reinforcements.

"You should ask Eric about this matter. You should trust his professional judgment."

"No Roger, I want your opinion."

Kevin Garnett was willing to listen to Roger's advice on such a major matter concerning the direction of his career. It was a matter of pride to be trusted like that. But Roger also knew that what he said next might very well change history.

"You know, I usually try my best to win the championship in the team I've been with, leaving no regrets. But if the team doesn't have this idea, a one-sided effort will ultimately result in nothing."

"I see, Roger."

After hanging up the phone, Roger sighed, wondering what impact this call would have on history.

However, Roger believes that there is nothing wrong with Garnett leaving Minneapolis.

Because it was clear that the Timberwolves only wanted Garnett to help sell tickets and were unwilling to invest too much for the championship.

It would be another matter if Sprewell and Cassell both took pay cuts to renew their contracts, but Garnett just left without saying a word.

This summer will still be very restless, but Roger just wants to enjoy his vacation quietly.

After all, this summer is going to be extra busy.

The one-week vacation passed quickly, and as soon as the time was up, Roger immediately embarked on his first national team training trip.

He and Yao Ming entered the Chinese team's training camp in Los Angeles. The team will train in the United States for a period of time before going to Athens together.

On the first day of training, Roger didn't put on any airs.

Apart from having his own training team, he is no different from other players on the Chinese team.

He brought Jeff Hornacek into the Chinese team's coaching staff as an assistant coach, and brought Joe Abunassar and his trainers to form a training team.

Moreover, the training team led by Roger is shared with the whole team, not just one person.

At this point, the ratio of Americans and Chinese in the Chinese team's coaching and training staff is almost 50:50.

Roger was not hindered in bringing his team into the group.

Because this year the head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team is an old acquaintance of Roger, former Lakers head coach "Silver Fox" Del Harris.

As an American coach, he certainly wants to work with an American team.

Therefore, this year's Chinese team can be regarded as a "China-US co-production" drama.

On the first day of training camp, Roger got along well with his teammates.

Zhu Fangyu was extremely enthusiastic and introduced every teammate in the team to Roger.

When talking about his club teammate, Yi Jianlian, he repeatedly emphasized: "That kid is a little introverted, but very obedient. He doesn't smoke, drink, or pick up girls."

It is obvious that Roger's arrival has brought vitality to the entire training camp.

In the past, what was the mentality of Chinese players when participating in the Olympics?
The opponents are all top superstars in the world, and we just have to do our best. And now, the greatest superstars in the world are their teammates.

So, "just do your best" turned into "try your best to win."

Everyone is already looking forward to the first game of the Olympics because the first game is against the United States and everyone wants to know what they can create in this game.

I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but the Chinese team is often placed in the same group with the American team in international competitions, and this year is no exception.

But the results this year may not be the same as usual.

At the press conference after the first day of training, Del Harris was excited: "The world of basketball is changing. We all know that the Dream Team is no longer the only one. And the greatest player is right next to me. Why can't we think about the gold medal?"

"Del, do you think this team has what it takes to compete with the Dream Team?"

"You will know the answer in the first game."

"Roger, are you getting along well with your teammates?"

"Of course, we have a lot of common topics and it's not difficult to integrate into our compatriots." Roger's answer was very official.

But the reporters did not quite agree with this answer.

As everyone knows, Roger has been playing in a high-level league for many years and has always been known for his demanding attitude towards his teammates.

Although the Chinese team also has several NBA players, the abilities of most of them cannot be compared with those of NBA players.

Can the current No. 1 player in the basketball world really tolerate this?

When Michael Jordan participated in the Olympics, he was surrounded by superstars like himself, so he never faced a challenge like Roger.

How can Roger lead a team that is not superior in overall strength to victory?

How can he keep pace with a team that is far inferior to him?
In fact, it is indeed a challenge.

During today's training, Roger discovered that many tactics that are commonplace in the NBA simply cannot be executed in the national team.

For example, in some three-point tactics, even if the opportunity arises, the Chinese team's shooters are still far less stable than NBA-level shooters.

For example, in some open-cutting tactics, it is simply difficult for Chinese players to get rid of the defense by running without the ball given their athletic ability.

So after today's training, Roger and Del Harris discussed strategy.

On the offensive end, the Chinese team's tactics are as simple as possible, because it is impossible to execute them if they are too complicated. Roger and Yao Ming will play a lot of singles and consume a lot of ball rights. Instead of letting others take inappropriate shots, it is better to let them keep their energy on the defensive end.

On the defensive end, everyone must strictly implement the tactics and do their best to fulfill their duties. Other role players should keep 80% of their energy on the defensive end.

Defense is different from offense. Offense requires talent. Defense also requires talent, but enthusiasm can make up for some of the lack of talent.

In addition, since there is no defensive three-second rule in FIBA ​​basketball, the advantages of the three centers of the Chinese team can be better utilized. The three-man rotation of Battelle, Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi is an excellent rim protection resource even in international competitions. Such a team, as long as the attitude is correct, will definitely be able to play above-average defense.

If China can play formidable defense, this team could do well in the Olympics.

So compared to ability, Roger cares more about other people's attitudes.

Roger gets along well with everyone as long as their attitude is right.

He really felt that he would not make any big news in the national team.

"I will get along well with everyone, for sure." Thinking of this, Roger emphasized.

However, American reporters still feel that given Roger's personality, there will definitely be problems if he gets along well with teammates whose level is lower than that of the NBA championship team.

Just like a 50-year-old man marrying a 30-year-old wife, when the strength of the two parties is unequal, all kinds of troubles will definitely follow.

A New York Times reporter laughed and said, "If you don't quarrel with your teammates within a week, we believe you can get along well with your teammates."

There was laughter at the scene, and Roger shook his head: "Oh, you have no idea how gentle I am now."

On the second day of the training camp, everyone was as enthusiastic as ever.

Everyone was training hard, and no one complained even when Roger increased the training requirements and intensity.

But there are exceptions.

Roger was only halfway through the morning training when he noticed that there was someone missing from the training ground.

"Old Joe, the number of people is wrong? Why is there one missing? Who is missing?"

"The Spurs' secret weapon is in the physical room," Joe Abunassar responded, obviously referring to Battelle.

"What's up with him?"

"He said his waist was hurting."

"Does he have a back injury? Has the team doctor evaluated it?"

"From what I've heard, the medical report says he's perfectly healthy. No offense, but what kind of injury can a guy who can't play have? Mental trauma?"

"Then call him out for me!"

"Is this okay?" Joe Abunassar hesitated.

"What do you mean? What kind of bullshit question is that?"

"I don't know this national team, and neither do you. But you see, your local coach doesn't seem to want to stop him. I think he may be a privileged player like you are in the Warriors, and he has the privilege to rest."

"No, no one in this team has any privileges. Catch him out!" Roger's roar attracted the attention of the whole team.

Roger would never allow this to happen, attitude was what he needed most right now.

Once someone starts to get special treatment, everyone will relax their requirements on themselves.

Without attitude and strict requirements, it is impossible to build an iron defensive army.

Roger didn't want to give up his good vacation and waste time here with a bunch of lazy old men.

Seeing Roger getting angry at Joe Abunassar, Zhu Fangyu thought there was a conflict between them, so he walked over to Dayao and said, "Dayao, can you translate for me? What are Luo Ge and that old black man talking about?"

Yao Ming said seriously: "Someone is going to get into trouble!"

"Ah? He said a whole bunch of shit, but this is the only sentence translated?" Zhu Fangyu was confused. He felt like he was at a disadvantage because of his lack of education.

Joe Abunassar conveyed Roger's intention to the Chinese trainers, but those Chinese coaches looked embarrassed and no one dared to enter the physical therapy room where Battelle was.

"Damn, a bunch of idiots!" Roger stood up cursing and kicked open the door of the therapy room.

Then, all the Chinese players in the stadium could understand and yelled, "Why are you slacking off here? There's no one to support you here. If you want to play, then train hard. If you don't want to play, then just take off your jersey and get out!"

Del Harris didn't understand what Roger was saying, but he knew Roger was angry and was scolding his teammates without any mercy.

Silver Fox swallowed, glanced at assistant coach Jeff Hornacek beside him, and shrugged: "Damn, it seems that American sports reporters know Roger."
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Roger had a quarrel with his teammates? This is not surprising. We overestimated Roger and thought he could last a week, but he only lasted two days. - The New York Times

Listen, please stop spreading the word that the Chinese team can beat the Dream Team. In fact, the Chinese team may fall apart before going to Athens. I don't question Roger's leadership ability. He knows how to dominate a group of lions, but it's hard to imagine how a lion can cooperate with a group of rabbits. - Los Angeles Times.

Kevin Garnett publicly announced that he would not renew his contract with the Timberwolves and officially became an unrestricted free agent. This year's free agent market welcomes a big fish! ——"NBA Time and Space".

New York missed out on Roger, and now it can't miss out on Kevin. We have to do something to survive in Roger's era! - Spike Lee on Kevin Garnett becoming a free agent.

(End of this chapter)