Champions Creed

Chapter 79 078: Michael, who lost face, solves the locker room problem (asking for monthly tickets!)

After waiting for a long time, reporters finally saw Michael Jordan walk into the press conference.

Originally, the Zen Master hoped that Jordan would not attend the press conference today, because it was obvious that Jordan would be furious with the reporters' questions.

But Jordan told Phil Jackson: "I'm not a coward who only knows how to escape."

So, Jordan showed up anyway. There was no smile on his face, and he wore sunglasses to hide his gaze.

Nothing reveals emotions better than eyes, and he didn't want reporters to catch any emotions in his eyes.

When the press conference began, Phil Jackson and Pippen beside Jordan became decorations, because with Jordan there, no one would ask them any questions.

Jordan thought that the reporters would at most ask questions like "Why didn't you shake hands with the Magic players after the game?"

However, the excitement of today's press conference completely exceeded Jordan's expectations.

The first question was a blast: "Michael, there are rumors that Roger's trade was pushed by you as one of the conditions for your return to the Bulls. Is this true?"

The corner of Michael Jordan's mouth twitched. Why was this matter brought to the table?
Not many people knew about this. In fact, on the day of the negotiation, there were only four people present: himself, Falk, Reinsdorf and Klaus.

First, let's rule out Falk, who Jordan believes will never betray him. That guy may be ruthless to NBA bosses, but he is loyal to his employer.

As for Reinsdorf, the boss behind the scenes, he would never get involved with reporters, and it was impossible for him to do so.

That leaves only Klaus.

Michael Jordan hated Krause. He had never liked him since the day the fat Penguin decided to trade Charles Oakley. But there was one thing Jordan could be sure of: Krause was definitely not a snitch.

He wanted the team's locker room to be peaceful more than anyone else. When the book "The Jordan Rules", which was full of scandals about the Bulls' locker room, came out, Krause was the angriest person on the team except Jordan.

Last season, when he learned from the Zen Master that assistant coach Johnny Bach always talked too much to the outside world and that it was possible that he was the one who leaked the information, Krause fired Bach without hesitation. He was full of hatred for the leaker. (But later, the author of "The Jordan Rules" confessed to the Bulls owner that his source of information was not Bach, but Phil Jackson. It was a wonderful locker room struggle.)
So, even if the fat guy is a complete jerk, he would never do something like leaking team secrets.

Since no one leaked the information, there is only one possibility - the outside world has begun to make various speculations about this unreasonable transaction.

Just like some media have been saying that Jordan's retirement last season was a "secret suspension" by Stern due to his alleged gambling case, the media always likes to spread conspiracy theories based on hearsay.

Obviously, Roger's performance has completely bankrupted the rationality of this deal. People don't believe that Krause really traded Roger because of his concern for Roger's relationship with Jordan. Roger and Pippen's relationship was also not good last season, but didn't the Bulls still make it to the finals?

Even if Roger and Jordan's relationship this season is no different from strangers, given Roger's strength, Krause will keep Roger to pair with Jordan, allowing the Bulls to easily win a few more championships.

It is even less likely that the media will believe that Krause really traded Roger in order to find a power forward who is more suitable for Jordan. Even if the Bulls got Anderson and three additional first-round picks in addition to Webber, this deal would still be a huge loss.

Therefore, the reporters could only look for reasons from other aspects. Judging from the irreconcilable relationship between Roger and Jordan, it is entirely possible that Jordan was directly involved in the transaction.

Unfortunately, this time the media's speculation was correct.

But Jordan would naturally not admit it. How could Michael, the great God who loves Chicago, threaten the team?
Jordan spread his hands: "How is that possible? I don't have that much power."

"So do you think the Bulls made a profit or a loss on this deal?"

"If you want me to rate management's behavior, I'm sorry, I will never do that."

"Then let's talk about Roger. How do you comment on what he said about making sure you never play in the finals again?"

"What?" Jordan didn't expect Roger to be so bold.

"He thinks that if he is replaced by you, the Bulls will not only not win the championship, but will never even make the finals. Michael, what do you think?"

"Bullshit! What qualifications does he have to say that? How many championships does he have? He doesn't know anything!"

"But he obviously knows how to beat the Bulls, Michael. Tonight, the Magic beat the Bulls by double digits."

"He only won once, and one victory doesn't mean anything! I will win back, I'll back!" Jordan said, angrily threw down the microphone and left the press conference.

He underestimated the intensity of today's press conference, just as he underestimated Roger's strength.

His sunglasses were in vain, because everyone in the audience could sense his anger even without looking through his eyes.

Now the whole world knows that he was really hurt by Roger.

The next day, Mike Jordan finally demonstrated his appeal as a veteran star in the league.

Although it was Roger who won the game and scored 50 points, people's focus was on Michael Jordan.

Tony Kukoc thinks Roger is good, Bill Cartwright, who has already left, thinks Roger is good, head coach Phil thinks Roger is good, and general manager Jerry also thinks Roger is good, so who on earth doesn't want Roger to stay on the team? - Chicago Tribune

If they really wanted to trade Roger, the Bulls should have gotten a player of Shaquille O'Neal's caliber. But because someone didn't want Roger on the team, the team dealt with him hastily. This person had better help the Bulls win the championship, otherwise what he did will be unforgivable. - Chicago Morning Post

Michael Jordan scored 47 points, but he was still not the best player in the game. Finally, there is someone who can still handle Michael Jordan on a night when he is angry. Fortunately, this person is in Orlando. According to the voting results yesterday, 100% of the fans thought Roger would win. Congratulations, you all made the right choice. - Orlando Sentinel.

In addition, the footage of Jordan being stepped over by Roger was also played on TV 24 hours a day.

Roger was a little jealous of Jordan. The scene where he dunked over Pippen and scored his 50th point in the joint defense of Pippen and Jordan did not attract much attention.

Jordan could attract everyone's attention just by lying on the ground and being ridden.

Well, maybe this is strength.

The real winner of this matchup is Reebok, and is there a better image than Roger stepping over Nike’s most important endorser in his latest Reebok shoes?

This is more effective than investing hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising!
Of course, Roger's actions also caused some controversy.

Many media outlets believe that Roger went too far. Even in competitive sports, stepping over an opponent is too rude.

"He could have easily walked around Michael!" ESPN's famous columnist Mark Stein criticized Roger.

Therefore, Reebok also informed Roger through Fleischer: "They asked you to be careful in the future. Be sure not to be disturbed by the media and be morally blackmailed. Take the opportunity to cross!"

Reebok has discovered that Nike only signs guys who want to be good boys, so it's time to try differentiation.

Neither O'Neal nor Roger can be considered good kids in the traditional sense.

Let’s carry on with our rebellion to the end!
Of course, Reebok did not forget to paint a rosy picture for Roger through Fleischer: "They also said that if you can keep up this momentum, they are very willing to sign a contract with you similar to the one between Michael Jordan and Nike after the contract expires."

What this means is a lifetime contract with shares!
Roger didn't care too much about it. Everyone would do something like that. Moreover, if Roger could really keep up this performance until the end of the five-year contract, Reebok would have no say in whether to give him that kind of contract.

After defeating Jordan, Roger's reputation has greatly increased, and now people are discussing how many championships Shark and Roger can win together.

Suddenly, Orlando, which had been an unknown team, became a major part of the basketball landscape and was considered a favorite to win the championship by most fans and media.

But the NBA is full of people who think, “Hey, I’m not the only one who sees things differently.”

Karl Malone is one of those people.

Moreover, he actually ended the Magic's recent winning streak.

After the Bulls, the Magic immediately met the Utah Jazz, currently No. 1 in the Western Conference.

In this game, Karl Malone scored 36 points and 13 rebounds, and Stockton took 18 points and 14 assists.

Typical Jazz stats, just as static as Salt Lake City.

The performance of the two Xuanming Elders was considered normal, and Brian Hill could accept their statistics.

But O'Neal allowed Antoine Carr to score 19 points efficiently, which made Brian Hill hard to accept.

Antoine Carr is already a 34-year-old veteran, averaging only 9.6 points per game this season. Most importantly, although he plays the center position, he is only 208 cm tall.

Logically speaking, this kind of player could not possibly threaten O'Neal.

The fact is that in a head-to-head matchup, players like Antoine Carr are not enough to fill the gaps between the Sharks' teeth. The reason why he can score so many points is actually very simple. NBC commentator Steve Jones said it on the spot: "Shaquille didn't follow every time he defended Carr and Stockton's pick-and-roll. He watched Antoine score 19 points from mid-range shots after the pick-and-roll."

In addition, the performance of the Magic's role players was also very poor.

Today, apart from Roger, Shark and Grant, there was no third player on the team who scored in double digits.

After the game, Karl Malone took the opportunity to speak against the odds: "That's great for the young guys, but winning the championship? They better be thankful they don't meet us in the finals, if they make it to the finals."

Karl Malone originally had no ill will towards Roger and the Shark, but the recent media opinions made him very annoyed.

Last season, the Jazz made it to the Western Conference Finals. This season, the Rockets have some discordant voices within the team, which has greatly damaged their fighting power. Logically, the Jazz should be the favorite to win the championship.

When taking turns to queue, it's always time to bring Jazz.

But the whole world forgot about them and promoted two rising stars of the new generation. So Ma Long held his breath and expressed his views after the game.

In the locker room after the game, Brian Hill was furious.

He was angry not only because O'Neal did not defend the pick-and-roll, but also because O'Neal took the lead in going to the bar the night before the game, which led to everyone's bad condition today.

None of Harper, McKay, Cage and Royer, who went with O'Neal, performed well.

"I can fucking smell the alcohol on you guys! You damn guys, you don't know how to do anything except have fun! I know this is just a regular season game, but we have a chance to compete for the championship this season, you can't treat the game with this attitude! Tomorrow morning's rest is cancelled, everyone, yes, I mean everyone will be punished to run laps!"

Brian Hill is generally an easy-going person, but he can be very tough if his bottom line is touched.

O'Neal did not refute, but just lowered his head. He knew that the head coach had every reason to be angry.

But perhaps because he felt unsatisfied, Brian Hill did not stop, but started to curse even more harshly, and pointed the finger at the leader Shaq: "Shaq, do you think you are so great just because the media praised you a few times? You are just a loser who didn't even win the first round! Just now when you were on the court, were you still thinking about those stripping girls, so you didn't see where Antoine Carr was?"

Roger spoke up at this time, although this matter had nothing to do with him and he did not participate in O'Neal's activities yesterday. But seeing that the atmosphere in the locker room was gradually tense, he had to speak up.

If he wants to win the championship, he must ensure a stable locker room. There must be no problems between players, and there must be no problems between players and coaches.

Last season with the Bulls, Roger deliberately went against Pippen because he didn't like him.

This season, he feels he has an obligation to bring peace of mind to the locker room.

"Coach, we will be at the training ground on time tomorrow." Roger walked up and patted Brian Hill on the shoulder.

"That's great!" After being interrupted, Brian Hill stopped losing his temper and turned around and left the locker room.

The players were still standing there staring at each other. Roger took action again: "Okay, go home and rest. We have training tomorrow morning."

After Roger finished speaking, everyone started to change clothes and take showers, each busy with their own things.

After that, Roger sat alone next to Shark and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't take it to heart, Brian has no other intentions, he just wants to win."

Roger knew that O'Neal was not the kind of person who would listen obediently. He bet that if he hadn't interrupted just now, and if Brian Hill had said a few more words, O'Neal would definitely explode.

A similar situation occurred last season when the Sharks fought with captain Skiles. O'Neal was willing to be punished, but Skiles kept chattering, which annoyed the Sharks.

He is not the obedient type.

O'Neal's father was a soldier and was very strict with him since he was a child. He was very particular about discipline and everything had to be done his way, with no room for negotiation.

But this makes Shark desire freedom more and hate obedience more when he is out of his father's control.

In this general pattern of sharks, at least half of them are rebellious.

He didn't explode immediately just now only because he knew he was wrong, but that doesn't mean he will always accept it.

O'Neill glanced at Roger and patted him on the shoulder: "You were right not to go yesterday."

"No Shaq, I want to go too. I know you asked me out a few times and I said no, but can't we go on a night when we don't have a game the next day?"

"Yes, you are right. We should choose a more appropriate time. So... will you go with me tomorrow night? There is no game the day after tomorrow." O'Neal laughed heartlessly.

"Okay, okay, I'll go with you tomorrow night. You see, you are free to enjoy yourself, but we are working hard for the championship after all, so enjoying yourself and winning the championship should not conflict with each other. Only children make choices, and adults like us want it all."

"That's right, Roger. I promise it won't happen again. I will stay at home or in my hotel room every night before every game this season. By the way, Roger, did that bastard Karl Malone say something about the finals?"

See, it's not that hard to calm down the locker room.

But before O'Neal could figure out what Karl Malone said, someone started making harsh remarks the next day.

"I hate to turn basketball into a personal competition, so I'm not going to judge his 50-point night. That night, the Orlando Magic won, not Roger alone.

Besides, I don't shoot 35 shots a night, or 20 free throws, so it's not easy for me to get 50 points. There's no way, if I do that, some old guys will be unhappy.

So if you really want me to judge, I would say it's nothing great and Roger's performance is overrated.

The only difference between Roger and me is that he takes more shots than I do.

Roger is far inferior to me in terms of the same number of shots."

Trail Blazers guard Rod Strickland commented on Roger's 50 points in a single game in an interview with reporters.

This guy is also a rebellious boy in the league. He drove drunk, beat his teammates, hung out in nightclubs, and hit and ran in Washington. He missed training without reason and disrespected his coach in Portland.

The Spurs owner described him as a child who was spoiled because of his outstanding talent.

It is impossible for such a devil to praise Roger in a polite manner.

But surprisingly, Drexler, who has always been friendly and introverted, has a similar attitude towards Roger: "Rod is right, he is indeed overrated. He can't defend, he can't pass, he just happens to be in two teams that are already well-equipped, that's all. 50 points? I'm not bringing up the past, I scored 1989 points in a single game in 50, it's nothing great."

Like Karl Malone, Drexler could not accept that a new generation was eyeing the championship while he had not yet won it.

It was as if he couldn't stand the fact that the HIV-positive Magic Johnson, who was specially selected by Stern to join the All-Star Game, took away his 92 All-Star MVP, and commented: "Everyone knows that I am the real AMVP."

In his opinion, if a magician is infected with HIV, he should stay at home honestly instead of relying on his emotions to compete for honors. He is not qualified at all.

As for Roger, he felt that this kind of rookie was not qualified to compete with him for the championship.

Of course, Drexler keeps everything to himself and doesn't like to speak it out.

This time he talked so much and even deliberately said that Roger's performance was good only because he was in a well-equipped team. His main purpose was to use this opportunity to put pressure on the management.

After losing in the 92 Finals, the Blazers' lineup has been unstable. In Drexler's opinion, the Blazers management made several stupid trades and signings.

Therefore, on the one hand, as an old money, he expressed his disdain for new money like Roger, and on the other hand, he indirectly expressed his dissatisfaction with the management.

He has always hoped that the team could trade Rod Strickland, a thorn in the side who made no contribution to the team but had impressive statistics, for some useful players.

However, the media's reaction made Drexler sad, because almost all of the media were mocking him.

Yes, Roger, who made it to the finals, was overrated, but Drexler, who was eliminated in the first round last season, was underestimated. This is really the funniest joke I have ever heard. --Sports Center host

99% of fans voted that the Magic's record would decline if Roger was replaced by Drexler. Therefore, Roger's victory was not just due to a good lineup. - Orlando Sentinel

Poor Clyde, is he now only able to gain a sense of existence by being a clown? I like him, I really like him, but I am disappointed with his current mentality. He has complained about the team's lineup for long enough. As a team leader, he should lead the team to win instead of complaining all the time. --Bill Walton, Trail Blazers legend.

Drexler had no idea that he would be the target of unanimous criticism.

No one spoke for him except the local media in Portland.

This made him care more about the game.

I'll show you what I can do!

The next day, before the game started, Brian Hill originally arranged for Harper to deal with Drexler.

This is a routine arrangement, and Harper usually guards the opponent's top outside scorer.

But this time, Roger raised his hand: "Brian, I have a suggestion."

"Tell me about it." Brian Hill turned back into the easy-going Hill, because during the penalty run in yesterday's training, no one, including O'Neal, complained. Moreover, O'Neal's training was even more serious, which made him forget the unpleasantness of losing to the Jazz.

Roger's suggestion was simple: "Why don't I take on Clyde myself?"

"Give me a reason, Roger."

"Reason? I just want them to know that not everyone is qualified to touch me. Is that a reason?"

"I think this suggestion is very reasonable!" The shark hurried to help his good brother.

"Shut up Shaq, I'm the boss!" Hill said, turning to look at Harper, "You go guard that idiot Rod, Roger, I'll only give you a few chances. If Drexler scores too easily, I'll let Ron go."

Hill is willing to meet some of the players' small requests, provided that the player does not make any mistakes.

Roger made an "OK" gesture: "You don't need Ron, I'm enough."

Roger is ready to go. The locker room problem has been solved, and other problems are minor.

Including Drexler!
(End of this chapter)