Champions Creed

Chapter 69: Goodbye Tony, my forever friend

Reinsdorf was caught in a difficult situation. Falk was forcing him to make a choice between two options.

Michael Jordan has remained silent from the start of the negotiations until now, without saying a word, and let David Falk speak on his behalf throughout the entire process.

This kind of indifference is also a way of exerting pressure. Jordan wants to use this cold sense of distance to remind Reinsdorf all the time: "Until you agree to all the conditions, we are not partners yet."

"No Michael, I don't think you and Roger have reached that point yet. There are some misunderstandings between you, but that won't be an obstacle for you to win the championship together." Reinsdorf tried to convince Jordan.

But Jordan still didn't speak, and Falk continued to act as his mouthpiece:
"Of course it's an obstacle. The locker room problems are more terrible than any opponent. I believe everyone here knows this. How can Michael coexist peacefully with a player who publicly said in the team, 'We don't need MJ'? And Roger is not the kind of person who understands teamwork. Can you imagine Michael not getting the ball on the court for 20 minutes?
Sir, you are a smart man. We all know Roger is great, he led the Bulls to the finals, but he is not the champion after all, right? Only Michael can bring the championship trophy back to Chicago. "

Reinsdorf knew that Jordan would not compromise this time and his attitude was very tough.

The Bulls owner didn't answer immediately, he was thinking.

Roger is not like Pippen, it is not so easy to make a decision.

Falk also gave him time to think.

He and Jordan stood up and straightened their suits. "Sir, we won't force you to give an answer right away. You can think about it for a few days and we'll contact each other by phone. However, the sooner the decision is made, the better. In that case, we still have time to build a team for the championship."

After that, Falk shook hands with Reinsdorf and Chris hypocritically, and then led Jordan out of the office.

As soon as they walked away, Reinsdorf angrily slammed his fist on the table.

He cursed that bastard David Falk. He hated the way that guy had just been so arrogant towards him.

But there was no way he could give up Michael Jordan.

Reinsdorf was helpless. He knew that Roger was an untamed beast, and he also knew that Jordan would never compromise.

But he thought that this kind of choice would not arise until they had worked together for at least two or three years and won a few championships for the Bulls.

But Jordan can't tolerate any sand in his eyes.

The world must revolve around him, the entire Bulls team must revolve around him.

Klaus looked at Reinsdorf. He really wanted Roger to stay. Although the boy was rebellious, at least he had never disobeyed him until now.

But even Krause himself couldn't persuade Reinsdorf to give up Jordan.

Roger is indeed a promising future, but Michael Jordan's present is too brilliant.

This is indeed a difficult decision.

While Reinsdorf was still considering it, David Falk had already started working with Nike to promote Jordan's comeback.

Many media outlets suddenly claimed that Jordan might go to the Beto Center for training in the near future to prepare for his comeback in the new season.

As a result, countless fans and media packed the Beto Center, waiting for Jordan to show up.

What's even more exaggerated is that all the hotels near the Beto Center are fully booked, even if the room rate has tripled. Fanatical fans are willing to pay to stay in the hotel, just to wait for Jordan.

Every day, helicopters from TV stations circled the sky above the Beto Center. This scene was even more exaggerated than the finals.

And all this craziness happened just because the media got wind that Jordan would make a comeback.

It was a perfect show, a proud display.

Falk used this behavior to tell Reinsdorf that Jordan still has incomparable appeal.

You have nothing to consider.

While all this was happening, Roger had already started summer training with his team.

Although the season has just ended, Roger's vacation time is actually very tight.

Because starting from mid-July, Reebok arranged various business activities for Roger, which required him to travel around the world.

It will be difficult to ensure high-quality systematic training by then.

Therefore, Roger has no extra time to waste. He still has a lot of potential to be developed.

During this period, the media reported the news that Jordan might make a comeback almost 24 hours a day, capturing his every move.

On July 7, all media were reporting a piece of news - Michael Jordan actually showed up at the Beto Center and trained inside for three hours.

His comeback seems to be a foregone conclusion!

Reporters who like to lick Jordan's dark eyes have been promoting Jordan's love for basketball and praising his strong inner strength in getting out of the shadow of his father's death, almost portraying him as a noble god.

Thinking of the vampire-like mean faces of Jordan and Falk, and then looking at the positive, optimistic Jordan who seemed like a saint in the eyes of the media, Klaus found it ridiculous.

Don’t think that shaping an image is the GOAT’s specialty, as Vice GOAT Jordan naturally has this need as well.

In the 1993 playoffs, Knicks guard John Starks completed a beautiful dunk over Grant and Jordan, which was undoubtedly the highlight of his career.

The NBA chose this picture when making Starks' star card, but there was only Grant in the background of Starks on the card, and Jordan was actually photoshopped out.

This is similar to the behavior of the goat confiscating the video after being blocked.

How could his godhood be shaken by a mere Starks?

The same is true for this comeback. How could a perfect person like Jordan be associated with profiteering?
Therefore, Nike guided the media to interpret this comeback from the perspective of passion and strength, without mentioning the three demands he forced the management to make.

The sports world is waiting to see what Jordan will say, and people are curious about how Jordan will announce his return.

In fact, Jordan is also troubled by this issue.

Jordan looked at the press release in his hand at the training ground and shook his head. "There are too many irrelevant contents. I don't want to be a nagging woman and then burst into tears at the press conference. I'm not a crybaby like Scott. This draft doesn't capture what I want to say at all. What I need is something concise and powerful. David, rewrite it for me."

The comeback press release written by David Falk was rejected by Jordan again, and this is the fourth version rejected by Jordan.

Falk was speechless. He handed the pen to Jordan and said, "Michael, how about this? You can write it yourself. I'm not a great writer. If it doesn't work, I'll try to ask Toni Morrison (the winner of the 93 Nobel Prize in Literature) to write a press release for you based on the inner world of black people and combine it with the mysterious elements of magical realism?"

Falk was just joking and complaining, but he didn't expect Jordan to actually take the pen after thinking for a few seconds: "You know what, David, I actually have a good idea."

On July 7, the three major TV stations, ABC, CBS and NBC, urgently stopped broadcasting because they all received a fax at the same time.

The fax was not a threat to blow up the Pentagon. The subject line was mundane: "Michael Jordan issues the following statement through his personal attorney and agent David Falk regarding his future career plans."

The statement contained only one sentence, which was written by Jordan himself: "I'm back!"

With just one simple statement, an earthquake started in the basketball world.

Of course, the appearance of this statement also means one thing: Reinsdorf has made his choice.

Roger learned about the Bulls' decision to trade him from his agent Eric Fleischer. The team did not notify Roger directly, but contacted Fleischer, his agent.

At that moment, Roger just felt relieved.

Fuck Scottie Pippen, fuck Michael Jordan.

He no longer has to get mad at the fragile Pippen.

He no longer has to face that boiled egg who has paranoid delusions and doesn't know how to respect others.

He no longer has to disobey Jordan only in training without anyone around, he can challenge Jordan in front of the cameras of the whole world!
Did Roger do anything wrong in the Bulls? He just didn't want to be bullied by Pippen and Jordan, so he fought back, and then happened to lead the team to win a lot of games.

As a result, the two stubborn old guys refused to do so, because they could not accept people who did not lick their boots, as that would affect their status and divinity.

Roger would rather lick seafood sashimi than lick them.

We are all involved in competitive sports. Why can you disrespect me while I have to be respectful to you?

Only masochists and bootlickers like to play basketball with these two psychopaths.

Of course, Roger was still a little unwilling, after all, he lost to Jordan in this competition, although this was not entirely because of basketball reasons.

But he'll be leaving soon, and he'll have plenty of chances to win it back.

Thinking that he could finally go somewhere else to play basketball, Roger even became more motivated to practice more.

"So, where will Klaus send me?" This is Roger's biggest concern now. "Can we just wait passively for the deal?"

"There are many teams that have made offers to Krause. Normally, it is difficult for us to interfere with the team's transactions, but we are not completely passive. If Krause really sends you to a place with no future, such as Dallas or Milwaukee, we will interfere."

"How do you interfere?"

"We have a player option next summer, and we can opt out of the contract. So if he wants to trade you to those crappy places, we can publicly state that we will not renew the contract with the team. If they pay a high price but only get the right to use you for one year, they will definitely be scared off. Reebok, as well as I, will do our best to force Krause to send you to a competitive team."

Reebok has long wanted Roger to leave Chicago, because if he plays in Chicago, people will always only pay attention to AJ.

Therefore, they will also use all resources and public opinion to help Roger go to a more suitable place. Even if Reebok is not as powerful as Nike in this regard, it still has some power.

Roger nodded, then called on Abunasa and the trainers to continue training.

All he can do now is keep training and wait for good news.

Meanwhile, Jerry Krause had to put Roger on the shelf.

Although he was reluctant, he now had to use Roger to gain the best interests for the team.

As expected, Roger was very popular in the trading market and was almost sought after by the entire league.

This scene undoubtedly humiliated those Nike media who tried to discredit Roger. Maybe in their mouths Roger was worthless, but now everyone's honest bodies just proved Roger's value.

Real money won’t lie. If Roger was really that bad, these teams wouldn’t make such crazy bids for him.

The Dallas Mavericks are willing to trade their newly acquired Jason Kidd and Jim Jackson for Roger.

But Krause refused, saying that the Bulls didn't need so many guards after Michael Jordan returned.

He needs an inside player, he needs a forward line, he needs something that can deal with Olajuwon.

The Supersonics came again, and they continued to push Kemp out, but the trade target changed from Pippen to Roger. Krause countered with Payton + Kemp.

Kemp is good, but he is just a bargaining chip for Pippen. If you want to trade for Roger, you have to increase the price.

The Supersonics rejected the counteroffer. They wanted to keep at least one of Kemp and Payton, otherwise the deal would be meaningless.

The Los Angeles Lakers also came knocking on the door. They faxed a team list directly to Krause with the note: "Pick any one you like."

Even Krause laughed. The Lakers seemed very generous, but what valuable things could they pick out from the garbage dump?
Ceballos? Divac? George Lynch?

Come on, what's the difference between trading Roger for them and giving them to the Lakers for free?
The Milwaukee Bucks were once close to completing the deal, and they were willing to directly take out No. 1 pick Robinson and Vin Baker.

Klaus also felt that this was the bargaining chip worthy of Roger, and he was ready to accept the offer and report it to the league.

But the next day, the Bucks suddenly canceled the transaction on their own.

Because many media believed that if Roger went to Milwaukee, he would not be able to renew his contract with the Bucks in the summer of 95.

Reebok played its trump card, and their war of public opinion worked, and they successfully scared off the Bucks, who had no exposure and competitiveness.

Not only the Bucks, many teams that learned of this situation were deterred from signing Roger. Many teams were willing to empty their funds for Roger, but were unwilling to empty their funds for Roger, who could only be used for one year.

Krause immediately realized that he didn't have many options. Roger's player options greatly limited the freedom of this transaction.

First, his trade partner must be a team that Roger is willing to go to. Second, the team must have enough chips.

With this calculation, there are very few teams that meet the requirements.

Krause's calls dwindled and deals stalled.

He must make a decision as soon as possible, otherwise it will seriously affect the team's subsequent reinforcements.

At this time, the Orlando Magic submitted their offer.

Chris Webber, a guy who also wanted to escape from the cage, was put on the negotiating table.

He just said this in an interview a few days ago: "I would rather play with a stupid pig than spend another second with Shaq."

Krause was naturally unwilling to accept this offer. First of all, Krause felt that the No. 1 pick Webber was not worthy of being traded for the No. 4 pick Roger.

Webber is talented, but his performance in his rookie season is hard to describe.

Maybe that guy can be saved, but maybe not.

Klaus was unwilling to gamble with Roger on such an uncertain X factor.

Second, the Orlando Magic have Shaq, and they are also in the East.

Let me be frank, Klaus is afraid of Roger and O'Neal joining forces!
His heart is afraid of this combination!
Although the Magic only eliminated in the first round last season, the Sharks' power has shocked the world, and Krause knows how strong Roger is.

Even if Jordan returns, Roger + O'Neal will be too threatening for the Bulls.

So he rejected the Magic, and the negotiations reached a deadlock again.

Seeing that the deal could not be reached, Jordan was almost out of patience. He complained to Falk: "What is that idiot doing? The competition in the free agent market is a race against time!"

Falk knew what Jordan meant. If Krause had not made a decision yet, he would urge that guy.

At this moment, the Magic increased their bet.

Their increased bet made Chris Webber, the No. 94 pick in , lose face.

The next day, Klaus received another call from Pat Williams.

Pat Williams' tone on the phone was extremely reluctant: "Chris Webber, Nick Anderson, and the first-round draft picks in 95, 97, and 99! But I remind you, Jerry, this is the final offer!"

Chris Webber hates the Magic management. This humiliating offer makes him seem worthless!
As the No. 94 pick in 94, trading the No. 19 pick in required giving up the team's second-best scorer with an average of points per game and three first-round picks.

This is not even a salary-matching trade, but the Bulls have a lot of players whose contracts expire this season, so they just have the space to take Anderson. In this case, the trade does not need to match the salary.

But the Orlando Sentinel said it best: "That's Roger's worth!"

As expected, they held a poll: "Is it worth going all in for Roger?"

97% of fans chose worth it.

Pat Williams knew very well that this offer was too bold.

But a word from O'Neal's agent forced him to do so: "Shaq said that if you can't keep your promise, if the team can't do its best in this deal, then he will reconsider his relationship with the team."

Meaning, if the deal wasn't done, the Sharks wouldn't necessarily renew the contract in the summer of 1996.

Reebok is the one who is causing trouble. They have contacted O'Neal and they dream of O'Neal and Roger joining forces.

Think about how great it would be to have two of the biggest Reebok ambassadors playing together, and they would most likely perform well.
For the Magic, they cannot afford to lose the most profitable superstar in the team.

The Magic entered the league in 89, and until O'Neal came, it was a forgotten garbage team in the corner.

Although the team's best result in the two years since O'Neal came here was only the first round of the playoffs, at least the team started to make money and began to occupy a place in the league.

The team's attendance was ninth in the league last season, which is an excellent result considering the market size of Orlando.

So they can't lose O'Neal unless the team has someone who can replace O'Neal.

So under O'Neal's pressure, Pat Williams had to make such an offer.

However, Klaus still hesitated.

Roger and O'Neal teamed up, and no one knew what kind of threat they would pose.

It would be fine if the Magic were a Western Conference team, but they are an Eastern Conference team.

But right now, among the teams that Roger is willing to join, no team offers a better offer than the Magic.

Just when Krause was so worried that he couldn't sleep, David Falk called Krause and said, "Michael didn't mean to interfere with you. He just wanted to kindly remind you that if you keep procrastinating, we will just have to pick up trash in the free agent market."

Klaus didn't like Falk, but he still expressed his concerns.

Half an hour later, Klaus received another call.

This time, it was Jordan himself who called.

Jordan was very satisfied with the offer. Nick Anderson would be an extremely important addition to the back line. He was a point guard and was perfect for the triangle offense system.

As for Webber, Jordan felt that this talented power forward was just being held back.

Webber can assist, has athletic ability, and has comprehensive skills. No matter how you look at it, he is better than that damned leaker Grant, right? If he coaches him personally, Webber will definitely perform better. He has great confidence in his own vision.

Since this is the most generous offer among the limited options, why not say yes?
As for Krause's concerns, the arrogant, overbearing, and conceited Michael Jordan responded to Krause like this:
"Do you think I will lose to a stupid fat guy and a loser who lost the finals? Do you think I will be afraid? Do you think Roger can let a team that was eliminated in the first round threaten my position? In my opinion, Roger should stay in the East so that I can take better care of him."

The next day, following Jordan's "I'm back", the Chicago Bulls made another big news.

The 94 No. pick, Chris Webber, was sent to Chicago at an extremely shameful price.

O'Neal got the teammates he wanted most, and also said goodbye to the two teammates he hated most.

He almost jumped for joy.

In fact, he did jump.

When O'Neal learned of the trade, he was in the national team training camp preparing for the 94 World Championships.

When the reporter told him the news, he was as excited as a 300-pound kid. He jumped up and ran around the court with his arms raised high:

"I'm going to win the championship, I'm going to win the championship!"

When Roger learned the news of the trade, his reaction was much calmer than O'Neal's.

He was also on the training ground at the time, and it was Fleischer who hurried over to Roger and told him the news.

The first thought in Roger's mind was that he would fight with 200% of his strength the next time he returned to Chicago!

Then, Roger smiled and said, "Eric, please help me buy a villa in Orlando."

"do you have any requests?"

“The environment is pleasant, safe, large enough, luxurious enough, and most importantly, the most important thing.”

"what?"

"Don't even think about the money. I don't pursue cost-effectiveness."

Roger will sign a bunch of endorsement contracts this summer, so he has the confidence to say this.

After training, Roger returned to the locker room and his phone kept ringing.

After the call was connected, Kukoc's voice came from the receiver: "Man, I can't believe this is true! They are stupid enough to actually trade you. This is the most ridiculous trade in NBA history!"

Chris Webber would be very sad to hear this. As the No. 1 pick, he spent so many valuable chips to exchange for Roger. As a result, Kukoc still thought the deal was ridiculous.

I'm not worth a penny, am I?

"Don't be so surprised Tony, we all know what kind of person Michael is. The day he announced his return, this ending was already determined."

"Damn it, why didn't they pack me up and send me away too? Don't Scott and Michael dislike me either? Well, anyway, I'm glad you're leaving this crappy place. Go to a new city, with new teammates, and make these damn bastards regret it. Good luck, Roger."

"Tony."

"Ok?"

"Don't worry about what Scott and Michael say about you, you are the best! Thank you, and goodbye Tony, my friend forever."

(End of this chapter)