Champions Creed

Chapter 370 369: LeBron James is the least qualified one among them (ask for monthly ticket!)

After signing Frenchman Boris Diaw, the Warriors' 12-man roster for the new season has been fully filled.

After everything was over, the Golden State Warriors also signed a maximum salary contract with Amar'e Stoudemire before he started the third year of his rookie contract.

The new contract will take effect in 2006 and last for five years, with a fourth year being a player option.

This means that at least until 2010, Amar'e Stoudemire will belong to the Golden State Warriors. This dynasty pioneer will then firmly stand by the side of the emperor Roger and conquer cities with him.

The early renewal of Stoudemire's contract was a sense of security given to Roger by Russian Mikhail Prokhorov. Roger no longer has to worry about stupid things like Atlanta's "DPOY is not worth the maximum salary".

Mikhail Prokhorov's indifference to the cost of running the team is not just talk. It only took 30 seconds from Bob Bass's proposal to renew Stoudemire's contract in advance to Prokhorov's decision to pay.

Bob Bass only knew that his Russian boss was willing to spend money on women. As long as he liked them, he would think the money was worth it even if it only lasted ten minutes when he was not in good condition.

But I didn't expect that she would be so generous in spending money on men.

Stoudemire was naturally very excited to get a contract extension two years in advance. Just three years ago, his brother wanted to rely on selling Roger's autographed jersey to support his family. Now, he is about to become a star player with an annual salary of tens of millions, and his brothers and sisters no longer need to worry about survival.

Amar'e Stoudemire is now eager to put in a better performance in the new season to prove that he deserves this trust.

To this end, he paid to attend the Dream Team training camp, hoping to develop his own back-to-the-basket offense.

For Roger's sake, Dream gave Stoudemire a 30% discount.

In addition, with coach Hubie officially announcing his retirement, the Warriors also gave Eric Spoelstra a formal head coach contract.

From an unknown personal editor of Roger to a championship coach with rings in his hands, Eric Spoelstra is writing an epic, and even greater chapters are waiting for him.

At this point, the Golden State Warriors are fully prepared for the defending season. But before the start of the new season training camp, Roger still has one thing to do.

A week before the new season training camp, Roger and Mikhail Prokhorov attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Oracle Arena. (Although it is called Oracle Arena in the novel, this place corresponds to the Chase Center, the new arena of the Warriors in reality)
As the Russians expected, in addition to a large number of reporters, there were also many San Francisco fans gathering outside the Oracle Arena on the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Mission Bay, which was once filled with the smell of rotten fish and dilapidated warehouses, has now transformed into the most popular place in San Francisco.

This is exactly what the Russian wanted to see, and the Golden State Warriors have helped him achieve 30% of his goal.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Roger thought it was over, but Mikhail Prokhorov picked up the microphone and said, "Today, a special ceremony will be held on site - the unveiling ceremony of Roger's statue!"

This was a surprise given to Roger by the Russians, because even Roger himself only found out three days before the ribbon-cutting ceremony that there was a statue of him in the outer plaza of the Oracle Arena.

Roger felt weird the day he heard the news, because it was too unconventional for an active player to have a statue, just like it was weird for an active player to have his jersey retired.

"I haven't retired yet, but making a statue now is like sending off in advance, or hanging a black-and-white bust in my room."

But Mikhail Prokhorov doesn't think this is a problem: "When Michael Jordan played in Chicago, there was a statue outside the United Center. Great players are like this. It's just ordinary players who have statues after retirement."

"First of all, the Bulls built the statue after Michael retired, but they didn't expect him to come back. Secondly, the story after he came back is quite embarrassing. You know, the night Michael left Chicago, someone threw a pile of shit on the statue. So, putting up a statue in advance is a very risky thing to do."

"This kind of embarrassment will never happen to you because no one can force you to flee the Bay Area. You are anti-traditional. You took off the retired No. 14 on the first day you came to the Bay Area, but everyone supported you. Tradition is shit in front of you. You are the one who sets new standards." The Russian answered confidently.

Mikhail Prokhorov made Roger accept this fact, but when the statue was about to be unveiled, Roger was still a little nervous.

Because sometimes, you have no idea what the statue behind the curtain will look like.

Before unveiling the statue, Prokhorov told everyone: "For this great moment, I have invited a mysterious guest to participate in the unveiling ceremony."

The Russian finished speaking, and Roger leaned his head closer to his ear, "Pocky, what damn thing happened today that I don't know about? I don't like surprises!"

“Hahahaha, I promise,” Prokhorov laughed triumphantly. He was probably the first person in the world to make the God of Basketball look surprised. “There’s nothing you don’t know about next.”

Soon, a man Roger was very familiar with came up from the backstage. At this happy moment, the man's expression was like a prisoner about to be executed. After seeing a bunch of reporters and fans, he reluctantly showed a fake smile that was seen through at a glance.

Roger looked at the guy who came out and couldn't help but applaud with the fans.

"I take that back Pocky, I love this surprise!"

Michael Jordan walked up to Roger with a fake smile and hugged him: "You and that damn Russian should go to hell!"

"Michael, I really didn't know he asked you to attend the ceremony, and I don't know why you agreed. But if I knew, I would definitely wait for you with my hands full of championship rings."

"There's no place in hell for you, Roger!"

Jordan had reason to be angry. Although many years had passed since the competition between him and Roger, Michael Jordan was definitely not the kind of person who could shake hands with Roger and make peace, just as he would never shake hands with the Smiling Assassin no matter how many years passed.

Some things just don't fade away with time.

Jordan agreed because he didn't want to go back on his word.

Last season, Michael Jordan made a bet with Roger that if Roger won the championship, he would allow Roger to add a sentence under his statue in the future: Michael Jordan's most respected, most admired and only great opponent that he could not defeat.

Moreover, he promised to unveil Roger's statue in person when the time comes.

This matter caused a lot of controversy at the time, and the two of them also made the bet public in front of the media.

So when Michael got the call from Mikhail Prokhorov, he couldn't refuse.

As a man, he can be defeated but he cannot go back on his word.

What would people think of him if he refused to keep his promise?

Just like that, Michael Jordan showed up in the Bay Area with gritted teeth. It felt like holding the enemy's hand and dancing with the enemy on his own grave.

Michael Jordan swore that he never wanted to set foot in the Bay Area again in his life!
Accompanied by Michael Jordan, Roger and Prokhorov simultaneously pulled back the black cloth covering the statue.

After pulling it open, Roger saw the largest statue in NBA history, which was 7.3 meters high including the base. The statue's movements were simple, which was what Roger always did after winning a championship, jumping onto the technical platform and raising his arms to the audience.

What made Roger happy was that the statue's body shape, even the wrinkles on the jersey, were perfectly restored to reality. The face was not 80% like, but it was % the same. In short, you can tell at a glance that this statue belongs to Roger.

There are two sentences engraved on the base of the statue, the first one is "No one will come after you".

The second sentence is "Michael Jordan's most respected, most admired and only great opponent he could not defeat."

After reading this, Ludan really wanted to pick up a hammer and smash the statue to pieces on the spot.

But there was no way, Michael Jordan's bottom line prevented him from ignoring what he said.

After all the ceremonies were over, Prokhorov invited Roger and Michael Jordan to have dinner together.

During the meal, Roger asked Michael Jordan what his next plans were.

Although Michael Jordan created an extremely passionate script last season, it must be said that the beginning of his career as a boss was a complete failure.

But Michael Jordan didn't seem discouraged. He was not the kind of person who was unwilling to challenge difficulties. He still did not give up the transformation: "I have already invested in the Charlotte Bobcats, which has just joined the league."

Although Jordan was born in Brooklyn, he grew up in North Carolina, and he was still very interested in developing the NBA team in his hometown.

Roger reminded his old rival: "You'd better not set unrealistic goals like you did last season."

"Are you teaching me how to do things Roger?"

"No, it's just that you should be prepared for your team not to make the playoffs for many years and monitor your blood pressure at all times. You know, it's a very boring thing to not be able to make a breakthrough in performance for many years."

"You don't have to tell me, and I have my own goals."

“What other goal could there be than making the playoffs?”

Seeing Roger asking this, Michael Jordan smiled and held up his cigar: "Look, my team may not make it to the playoffs in the next few years, but I will find a way to prevent others from making it to the playoffs so that they can go on vacation with me."

From the eyes of the boiled egg, Roger seemed to see Michael Jordan ten years ago.

His eyes revealed determination, seriousness and murderous intent.

Who are these “others” who can’t make the playoffs?
It seems the answer is obvious.

"Is it necessary Michael? He's just a kid. Besides, you already taught him a lesson last season."

"Is that a kid? He is the most hypocritical and sinister guy I have ever seen! Last season is last season, and there is still a long story between him and me!" "But how can you stop him? Rely on Emeka Okafor? Please Michael, although he is not strong, he is not that weak either."

"It's too easy to target him. We all know what kind of defense he fears the most. It's difficult to come up with a lineup that is enough to win the championship, but it's not too difficult to come up with a lineup that is enough to kill him."

"You're such a jerk, Michael."

"How dare you say that? Do I need to remind you of what you did to him last season?"

"Well, gentlemen," the Russian raised his glass, "I'm actually curious, how did we know that the 'he' we were talking about was the same person without mentioning the name at all?"

The three of them burst out laughing. There was nothing they could do; his features were too obvious.

Roger's ribbon-cutting ceremony and statue unveiling became the biggest news before the offseason.

Some Nike media accused Roger of being too arrogant by building the statue in advance, but these voices were insignificant.

Nowadays, Roger has the right to decide who can enter the locker room to interview him and who is not eligible for the interview opportunity. This is the normal ecology of the basketball court, and this is the right that the current No. 1 player should have. And Roger's criteria for determining whether a media outlet is qualified is actually very simple. If you often criticize me, why should I be friendly to you?

Therefore, most mainstream media outlets are afraid to go against Roger.

Jim Gray's fate in 1997 still shocks the media. (Background: He induced the Sharks to talk nonsense on the show and maliciously said that he wanted to see the complacent Roger fail. Later, because Roger won three consecutive championships, ESPN did not want to be at odds with Roger and fired him.)

The greater Roger's influence, the smaller Nike's public opinion power.

After all, no one wants to lose the qualification to interview the No. 1 player in basketball.

Therefore, except for some small media, most mainstream media reported the statue unveiling ceremony positively.

But just because the media doesn't dare to provoke Roger doesn't mean his opponents don't.

Kobe Bryant showed his new jersey to everyone at the press conference on the media day of the new season. He will take off the No. 8 and wear No. 15 next season.

With the Eagle County incident coming to an end, Kobe Bryant seems to want to create a sense of rebirth by changing his number.

As for why he chose No. 15, Kobe Bryant explained: "15 represents wisdom and freedom, and represents the suffering and gospel of Jesus Christ."

The copywriting is good, but no one believes this ridiculous reason.

Why number 15? Because Roger is number 14!
Kobe Bryant's ambition is like a photographer's pants riding up at a car show; he can't hide his thoughts at all.

He also said bluntly at the press conference: "Roger has never even played a game in Oracle Arena, so I don't know what the meaning of the statue is. Maybe he won't win a championship in San Francisco?"

The Eagle County incident was like a nightmare, a nightmare that lasted for a whole year.

He became notorious for this, which caused his wife to have a miscarriage and almost led to the breakdown of their marriage.

But now, it's all over.

He wants to devote himself to basketball and save his messed up life.

Shaquille O'Neal also mocked at the media day: "I don't know what this behavior is. It's like carving words on your own tombstone. That bastard is hopelessly conceited. He seems to have forgotten that championship rings are not given out every year."

Tim Duncan's response was not so intense, but he also expressed his dissatisfaction metaphorically in a joking way: "I have to ask why the team didn't build a statue for me after I won the first championship in 99. If I am qualified for winning a championship for the team, I should have a statue outside! That's right, you can report this matter. Tim Duncan officially broke up with the Spurs because of the statue issue!"

Even LeBron James joined in the fun: "You know, Roger is an extremely good player. He deserves a statue of his own. But if a champion is eligible for a statue, it will lower the value of this event. I think Mikhail Prokhorov is a bit too exaggerated. Roger is great, but Russians should not abuse this method to highlight Roger's greatness."

Many players seemed to be dissatisfied with the fact that Roger received the statue after winning only one championship for the Warriors, and this dissatisfaction almost all came from jealousy.

The largest statue in history stands at the entrance of the most luxurious arena in the NBA.

Who wouldn’t be jealous when seeing this?
On the other hand, three new players, Boris Diaw, Trevor Ariza and Matt Barnes, officially debuted on the Warriors' media day.

This year, the Warriors' press conference was held in the training ground. The new training ground in Oracle Arena is very large, but it was still packed with media.

Reporters asked Roger many questions, many of which were about the statue.

“Does it put pressure on you to have a statue made in advance without retiring?”

"Not at all, that would be a motivation for me. You know, I don't want to have a bad game and then find out that the statue's head is smashed."

"It seems that many stars have objections to this statue. What do you think about this?"

Roger leaned forward and looked at all the reporters below: "I don't give a shit about what they say. This is my statue. I think it's great."

Very good, the familiar taste is back.

The ESPN program was right, this is not the Golden State Warriors, this is the Golden State Gang.

Because the leader of this team is a bandit-like character.

On the side, Boris Dio, who just joined the team, asked jokingly: "I'm curious, who thinks Roger is not worthy of having a statue?"

"Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James."

"Wait, LeBron?" Diaw interrupted the reporter.

"Yes, LeBron, he thinks the abuse of statues will detract from the legend of the players who were given statues."

"Hahahahahaha", the French laughed, "LeBron? What qualifications does LeBron have to comment on this?"

Roger turned his head to look at Dio. The Frenchman who had just insulted the Chosen One simply picked up an exquisite small cup on the table and took a sip of coffee. He didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what he said.

He succeeded in gaining Roger's favor.

To be honest, Roger was also curious.

From Michael Jordan to Boris Diaw, why is everyone in history targeting the naive LeBron? Has his halo disappeared with the disappearance of Nike's media influence?
As a loyal James fan, Roger was heartbroken by this situation.

He has to speak up for LeBron James.

"In fact, I don't think anyone else is qualified to judge."

After a pause, Roger continued, "But there is no doubt that LeBron James is the least qualified one among them."

After the press conference, Roger was in a good mood. He decided that he would try to be nicer to Boris Dior in the future.

Some people make Roger happy, but some people make Roger unhappy.

After returning to the locker room, Roger found that there was one person missing. At first he thought it was because the new locker room was too big and looked empty, but after a careful count, he found that there was indeed one person missing.

Eric Spoelstra also came over and told Roger: "Alan Houston has asked for leave. He will not return to training camp until the third day."

"reason?"

"He has business events to attend."

"That's not an excuse. Business activities can be scheduled in advance. Even I didn't miss the training camp."

"What are you going to do?"

"Wait until he comes back."

Roger knows that not all players are interested in building a dynasty.

Some people relax after winning a championship.

But Roger would never allow anyone on his team to slack off.

If so, he would exercise his rights a little.

The right to be the supreme king of this team.

(End of this chapter)