Champions Creed

Chapter 68 067: Choose One
The 1994 NBA Finals was exciting.

As Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell said: "Kenny was traded many times, Thorpe was traded many times, and I was also abandoned by the Spurs. The three of us are typical vagabond players. But now, we are the champions!"

As Tomjanovich said: "I just tell my players not to take shortcuts and never forget their championship heart."

Just as Jerry Krause said about Roger: "The best part of Roger's rookie season was not a jump shot or a buzzer beater, but the story he wrote against the world with running, collision, blood and perseverance."

Perfect story, perfect script, everything in the 93-94 season was in line with David Stern's expectations.

There is only one bad news: the ratings of the 1994 NBA Finals were only 12. In comparison, the ratings of last season's Finals were 17.9. The ratings of the Finals have returned to the level of ten years ago.

This is certainly not Roger or Olajuwon's fault, they played a wonderful series.

There is only one reason for this phenomenon: the league still needs Michael Jordan.

Having a successor to Jordan is not enough, people need the real Michael Jordan.

If you think that a few newcomers can shake Jordan and Nike's years of accumulation and hard work in just one season, it is simply wishful thinking.

So, will Michael Jordan come back?

This is a topic that people discuss every day.

They didn't know yet that Michael Jordan had actually already started preparing for this.

Because Michael Jordan was angry.

After Roger broke Jordan's orbital bone, there was no direct communication between Jordan and Roger.

Statements like "Michael is no longer needed" and "The Bulls have entered the Roger era" are all being said by the media.

But in the interview after the finals, Roger admitted that he had said such words in person.

In fact, before the media, Pippen called Jordan to tell him what Roger had done.

It was also he who informed the media about this matter.

It is not difficult to imagine Jordan's mood. He felt that this was Roger's open declaration of war against him.

So he decided to come back next season.

This decision was made earlier than in the original history.

He had no reason to wait any longer. Roger had already gotten everything he could from the Bulls except the championship.

Does he really have to wait for Roger to tell the world that the Bulls can win the championship without Michael Jordan before he makes a comeback?
As for when he will return next season, Jordan has not yet decided.

Because before that, Jordan had to meet with the Bulls management first.

He needs some reassurance, and he is confident that he will get everything he wants.

Before the draft, Jerry Krause met with Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf in his office at the Berto Center.

Also present was Financial Director Sasha Smith.

Sasha gave Klaus and Reinsdorf a brief introduction to the Bulls' revenue this season. As expected, the Bulls' data on peripheral merchandise and ticket revenue fell significantly compared to the previous year.

Roger's jersey is the best-selling jersey of the Bulls this year, but it still cannot compare with the sales of the No. 23 jersey.

Although the tickets are sold out every time, that's because the ticket prices have been reduced. In those glorious years when the Bulls won the championship, many people simply couldn't afford the tickets, and now they can finally come and see what happened here.

In fact, it’s not just bulls that are affected.

Nike sales are down, as are overall NBA ratings.

In such an environment, the Bulls are still able to maintain profitability, which is already very good.

So Klaus thinks the boss should be satisfied with this year's marketing situation.

So after Sasha finished speaking, Krause immediately began his performance: "Jerry, we are only one step away from the championship this season. I have a plan that can help us overcome the Houston Rockets!"

"tell me the story."

"I want to trade Scott for Shawn Kemp from Seattle this summer!

Our inside line needs that kind of intensity, and Scott, you saw what he did in this year's playoffs. His abandonment of the team at a critical moment was cowardly and unforgivable! He betrayed his teammates and betrayed us! If it weren't for Roger, we would have lost in the Eastern Conference Finals because of his childish behavior!
What Hakeem Olajuwon fears most is the Sonics' front line. As long as we make our front line stronger next season, we will have a chance to beat those bastards in Aviation City!

Yes, Roger failed this year, but the 27-year-old Jordan and Pippen also failed to win the championship. The 18-year-old Roger has done what the 27-year-old Jordan could do. So I believe that Roger will lead us into the next golden age. "

Klaus couldn't wait to get rid of the troublemaker. That bastard who never respected him would disappear from his sight forever!
But Krause knew that his opinion on the Pippen trade was not important, what was important was Reinsdorf's opinion.

No matter how much Krause disliked Pippen, he couldn't change the fact that Pippen was an important asset to the team.

Krause can do whatever he wants with Cartwright and Kukoc.

But if you want to move Pippen, you have to get the boss’s personal approval.

The boss is always in a corner that others don't pay much attention to, watching his team coldly and making choices and changes at the right time.

Reinsdorf believed in Krause, after all, he was his own agent. As for Pippen, he was not a loyal boy, so Reinsdorf had no objection to the trade of Pippen.

He called Klaus here today because he had something more important to say.

"I support you as always, Jerry. But now, I have to tell you another plan of the team." Reinsdorf said, unable to help laughing.

"what's the plan?"

"Plans for Michael Jordan's return."
-
In the 1994 NBA draft, people's topic was still Jordan's successor.

Roger and Penny alone are not enough, Stern needs more angels to save this league with declining ratings.

As it happens, the top three picks in the 94 draft all seemed likely to take over.

In the icy and snowy Milwaukee chose Glenn Robinson, a super scorer in his junior year at Purdue University. This small forward with both immediate combat effectiveness and potential should have made Bucks fans cheer.

But they were not happy at all, because Glenn Robinson declared: "I want to be a man worth 1 million!"

Bucks fans are really afraid that a Jim Jackson-style tragedy will happen to them. They are afraid that they have selected a genius who refuses to sign and refuses to play.

Have you ever seen a place where you can only choose but not use it?
Regardless of whether Big Dog can hunt a buck in the end, regardless of whether he can become a man worth 100 million, his remarks have damaged his reputation.

Therefore, this year's second and third picks are more popular with the media.

Dallas used the second pick to take the 193 cm court commander Jason Kidd. Since the draft report did not say that he would compete with his teammates for women, he was almost a perfect choice for the Mavericks.

The most popular player is Grant Hill, who is 203 cm tall and helped Duke win the NCAA championship in 1992.

He is elegant, polite, well-spoken, and can play the piano. He would never, like some popular contestants who have taken a different and rebellious approach, put his feet on the table at a press conference and yell, "What can you do to me?"

He has the vision of a point guard and treats basketball like chess. But he also has unparalleled personal offensive power, comprehensive skills, and his lightning-fast first step is unmatched.

Coach K praised: "Grant is the key to everything for us."

But most importantly, his father is a famous football player, and his mother was a classmate of First Lady Hillary. His good education and family background are tailor-made for David Stern.

If this person becomes the face of the league one day, the entire NBA will say goodbye to words like vulgar, blue-collar, and low-level.

This is the person Stern most favored to succeed Jordan after Roger and Penny. But he didn't know that Michael Jordan didn't need a successor at all.

Because at this time, Michael Jordan himself was in Reinsdorf's office, discussing his return to the NBA.

Reinsdorf attached great importance to this meeting. He wore a new tie with the Bulls logo and polished the three championship trophies in his office until they shined brightly, trying to evoke Jordan's good memories of the past.

He knew what Michael Jordan's return meant. For many years, the Chicago Bulls were the team with the highest revenue in the league. Jordan's return meant that Reinsdorf could continue to maintain this situation.

Reinsdorf was not that crazy about basketball. He was a businessman and he needed to make money. And there was no basketball player on the planet who could make more money than Michael Jordan.

At least not right now.

So, he hopes to reach an agreement with Jordan today.

Both parties arrived at the scene at the agreed time, with Klaus accompanying Reinsdorf on the Bulls' side.

On Jordan's side, it was naturally him and David Falk.

As soon as Klaus saw Falk's greedy face, he felt so sick that he wanted to vomit, and Jordan had the same reaction when he saw Klaus.

But after meeting, both sides smiled politely and shook hands.

"Long time no see Jerry. The team was in good shape last season and made it to the finals again."

"Your popularity hasn't diminished at all, Michael."

The adult world is so hypocritical.

But after sitting down, the two sides immediately began to talk about some practical matters.

Although Michael Jordan retired, his contract with the Bulls did not terminate.

Last season, Jordan played baseball, but the baseball team he joined was also owned by the Bulls. You can understand that Jordan is still fulfilling his contract with the Bulls, but he is just working in the baseball team.

His contract with the Bulls was not due to expire until the summer of 1996.

This is also the reason why Jordan had to choose to return to the Bulls. Strictly speaking, he was not a free agent yet.

Therefore, there is nothing for both parties to discuss in terms of salary, and they just need to continue to perform the contract.

But what we are going to talk about next is much more important to Jordan than his current salary.

David Falk, as Jordan's mouthpiece, spoke first: "Michael really wants to return to the Bulls family, and it's a long-term return. In fact, Michael has always been eager to help the Bulls win three or four more championships. We all know that Michael's era is not over yet! But the prerequisite for returning is that Michael's three conditions must be met. Only if these three prerequisites are met, Michael will consider returning."

Reinsdorf also hates David Falk, the damn vampire, but he can only smile now, because he represents Michael Jordan.
"You said."

"The first condition is that we will test the free agent market in the summer of 1996 and listen to other teams' offers for Michael. Before that, we will not renew our contract with the Bulls in advance."

Now, any fool knows that the salary cap will skyrocket in the summer of 95, and Krause believes that Jordan can pursue an epic offer in the summer of 1996.

Of course, Falk will not give the Bulls a number directly. He will first look at the offers from other teams, and then these teams will negotiate prices with each other.

According to Falk's prediction, Jordan's annual salary in 96 should be between 2000 million and 2500 million.

That’s right, five times the salary of David Robinson, who ranked first last season!
"No, that won't work!" Krause immediately retorted, "We are sincere, Michael should also show sincerity and give the team a certain sense of security. Renewing the contract in advance will benefit everyone."

Jordan didn't say anything, Falk spoke for him: "Of course we are sincere, but a contract is a contract. It is the right of every player to test the free agent market after the contract expires. Besides, Michael is not leaving the Bulls, he just wants to pursue a contract that matches his worth. The Bulls can also offer a contract, right?"

"That's enough." Reinsdorf waved his hand, interrupting the argument. "We'll talk about the summer of 96 in 96. Next one."

What Reinsdorf was thinking was, screw the summer of 96, let’s first see if Jordan can continue to win championships in the next two years.

Falk smiled triumphantly. He had no idea what that idiot Klaus was arguing about. If he wasn't so confident, he wouldn't have brought Jordan here today.

"The second condition, we've all heard, the team wants to trade Scott Pippen." Falk said and looked at Krause again, he was appreciating Krause's surprised expression. This idiot, he still thought he was in control of the situation. Ha, he was just a puppet, he was the most insignificant piece in this chess game.

Krause was indeed surprised because he had not told anyone about the Pippen trade, and currently only the owner and Supersonics general manager Wally Walker knew about it.

How did Michael Jordan and Falk get the news?
Krause may have forgotten that the head coach of the SuperSonics is George Karl. Wally Walker will definitely discuss such a big deal with the head coach.

George Karl was also from North Carolina, and he was eager to push the deal forward, so he called his junior at North Carolina, Jordan. After chatting about a bunch of random things about the baseball league, North Carolina basketball, and golf, George Karl laid out all the details of the deal and asked Jordan for his opinion. He wanted to get to know Scott Pippen better and see if he was really suitable for Payton.

So, Jordan found out about the deal by accident.

Krause has already sent away B.J. Armstrong and Horace Grant, and now he wants to send away Pippen.

He wants to dismantle his entire team and erase his entire past.

This is impossible!

"Yes, it's about the deal with Scott." Klaus knew that it was useless to quibble because Jordan and Falk came prepared.

"Very good, so Michael's second condition is to terminate the deal. There must be a place for Scott Pippen in the Bulls." Falk raised his head proudly.

"You can't interfere in management affairs. This is overstepping your authority!" Klaus tried to intimidate the other party by raising his voice.

"Of course we don't interfere in the affairs of the management," Falk spread his hands innocently, "but, is Michael an obstacle to your management of the team? Isn't Michael trying to win the championship? He just wants a competitive lineup, all for the team to win the championship!"

Reinsdorf thought about it for a moment and nodded again: "I agree, next one."

He felt that Scott Pippen was not worth mentioning at all compared to the return of Michael Jordan.

There is absolutely no need for the team to delay the progress of the negotiations for a person like Pippen.

What's more, Pippen is really...cheap!
So, why not, he stays?

So far, although Falk has been aggressive, his conditions are still within Reinsdorf's acceptable range.

This led Reinsdorf to believe that the third condition would not be too much of a stretch.

But this time, Reinsdorf was not so happy to agree, because Jordan and Falk's third condition was:
"Michael's team doesn't need a problematic player like Roger. So, the team needs to trade him away!"

"What?" Reinsdorf thought he had misheard.

Jordan is the present, Roger is the future, and he thought Jordan would be willing to play with Roger, even if they had had unpleasant experiences before. After all, the kid's talent was visible to the naked eye.

But how could Jordan allow someone who challenged his authority to stay in the team? How could he plant such a time bomb in the team?

Between Pippen and Roger, Jordan would definitely choose the former because Jordan's Chicago Bulls did not need a second such strong scorer, but they needed Pippen's defense and organization.

Most importantly, Pippen was an obedient bull terrier, while Roger was an untamable beast.

Moreover, Roger had a player option in 95, and the neighbors could hear his plan. If the Bulls extended Roger's contract with a big contract, Jordan's pursuit of a big contract would also be affected.

Jordan certainly acknowledged that Roger had talent, but trading him could also bring in outstanding talent.

In short, Jordan's position in the team cannot be challenged!

Seeing Reinsdorf hesitate, Falk continued to put pressure on him: "This is the last condition, Jerry. As long as we reach an agreement, Michael will announce his comeback in the next few days and report to the team for the new season training camp, as long as you agree to this last condition!"

Jordan said nothing, but this was already tantamount to an ultimatum.

If I am here, then there is no him!
(End of this chapter)