NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 194 Plane crash!

"I think I need a therapist."

In the team locker room, Meng Jin found Phil Jackson.

"Then you may have found the wrong person. I'm an assistant coach, and I teach basketball."

Phil Jackson tried to make a joke, but he failed to make Meng Jin laugh.

Meng Jin has been under a lot of psychological pressure in recent months. Although others cannot see it, Meng Jin is not the kind of person who will easily collapse, but this kind of pressure does exist.

"Phil, I've recently discovered that meditation isn't working."

In the past two seasons, meditation could calm Meng Jin's heart, but during this period of time, he did not feel calm when doing meditation exercises. Instead, he felt more confused.

"How do you meditate?" Phil Jackson asked.

"Sit down with your feet on the ground and your hands on your knees."

Phil Jackson interrupted Meng Jin halfway through his speech and said, "That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking about your inner thoughts."

"I want to be calm. I want to forget all the worries, anxieties and unpleasant things. I want to throw myself into the competition with a brand new self," Meng Jin said.

Phil Jackson nodded: "Good, that's good, this is the original intention of everyone to meditate, but what I want to say is that this is a wrong concept."

"Wrong concept?" Meng Jin asked doubtfully.

Phil Jackson nodded, and then continued: "Meditation is not about blocking thoughts and controlling the mind. It is a process in which we give up control, do not intervene, do not intervene, and learn to focus in a passive way."

"Then what's the point of this?" Meng Jin was a little impatient. He felt that Phil Jackson was being mysterious.

Phil Jackson patted him on the shoulder and motioned for him to sit down.

After the two sat down, Phil Jackson began to explain: "The purpose of meditation is not to make you forget your troubles, or to turn unhappy things into happy things. This is meditation, not magic, let alone sorcery. The purpose of meditation is to make you more sober and to allow you to look at your emotions from a third-party perspective."

Phil Jackson paused after he finished speaking, and seeing that Meng Jin had no intention of responding, he continued, "Meditation will make you more awakened. I never said that meditation can free you from unpleasant emotions. It's just that when you are more awakened, those unpleasant situations will no longer have room to take effect."

"It's just some psychological trick."

After Meng Jin finished speaking, Phil Jackson immediately retorted: "No, no, no, that's a serious mistake. Let me ask you a question. Have you found the negative emotions such as sadness, pain, anxiety, etc. in your heart?"

Meng Jin thought about it and shook his head: "No."

Indeed, no, Meng Jin could feel these emotions, but when he studied them carefully, he found it was really difficult to find them.

"These emotions you are afraid of are just your reactions to the original emotions. These reactions will make the whole situation worse. Emotions themselves are often not the problem. What causes problems is our reaction to these emotions. For example, if you are angry, you respond to this anger with more atmosphere, which will add fuel to the fire. For example, if you are worried, you start to worry about your worries. Only by taking a step back can you get a clearer perspective. People are always unclear about this, so they fall into endless pain."

Meng Jin seemed to have some understanding and said, "Is this what it means when the authorities are confused but the bystanders are clear?"

Phil Jackson nodded: "If you can open an outsider's perspective on everything, then no emotion can affect you."

“Maybe I should change my mindset when meditating,” Meng Jin said.

"You should have done that a long time ago, you should have allowed these feelings to come and go, no matter how strong or difficult or upsetting they were," Phil Jackson said.

"When I'm upset, I can't focus on meditation. I'll think about those things every few seconds or ten seconds," said Meng Jin.

"This is normal, it's very normal. Not to mention when you're upset, it's easy to get distracted even when you're meditating without any worries. All we have to do at this time is to gently remind ourselves and then bring our thoughts back," said Phil Jackson.

"Phil, do you feel the same way?" Meng Jin asked.

"Of course, everyone is like this. There are always people who think that meditation can control their emotions and control their thoughts. If you can control your thoughts, then you have no reason to worry about anything. You will block out all those unpleasant thoughts and live in peace with all those happy thoughts. No one can do this, and this is not the original intention of meditation."

"Phil, you should be a psychiatrist," said Meng Jin.

"I said, I'm a basketball coach," Phil Jackson laughed.

"I'm serious, Phil, the profession of psychologist is more suitable for you." Meng Jin said.

"Well, maybe I'll consider it someday when I'm unemployed," said Phil Jackson.

"I will definitely introduce you to some business when the time comes. There are many players in the league who have mental problems, and most of them are unaware that they have mental illnesses."

Meng Jin closed his eyes after he finished speaking. He was about to start experiencing the bystander perspective that Phil Jackson had just mentioned.

Meng or Michael, this has become the biggest headache for boss Reinsdorf in recent times.

In terms of on-court strength, Jordan is the MVP and Meng Jin is also the MVP.

In terms of potential, Meng Jin is 4 years younger than Jordan.

In terms of commercial value, both of them are top-level. Whether Meng Jin or Jordan leads the team, the Bulls' home games will definitely be packed. Reinsdorf has never doubted this.

But no boss would think the money is too much, and until this moment Reinsdorf was still dreaming of keeping both cash cows.

"Boss, if we do this, we might end up losing both of them," Jerry Krause said bluntly.

"Who do you prefer to keep?" Reinsdorf asked this question knowingly, as he had always known that Klaus preferred Meng Jin.

Klaus was also very clear-headed. He knew that his boss was not asking about his preferences, but asking for his reasons. Klaus would not miss the opportunity to convince his boss.

"Boss, Meng is younger, he has more potential, and we can build another championship team around him even without Michael."

"Fans love him, not just those in North America, but also in Asia and Europe. Meng went to Europe this summer to attend an event, and I heard that the scene was very popular. He is very popular in Europe, and his MJ series also sells very well. This is a reflection of his commercial value. Michael's reputation among fans has declined recently because of certain things, especially among black fans. In addition, Michael's gambling addiction has become more and more serious recently. If the matter is exposed, it will have a great impact on his form."

If it was a year or two years ago, Reinsdorf would have thought that Klaus was talking nonsense, but now he can see Meng Jin's influence. Even though he likes Jordan more from the bottom of his heart, a businessman always prioritizes business.

However, Reinsdorf also has his concerns, that is, Meng Jinci has not completed the contract renewal to date.

"If Meng Jin still doesn't agree to renew his contract with us within 10 days, we will put him on the shelf," said Reinsdorf.

Krause nodded. If Meng Jin did not renew his contract with the Bulls and sent Jordan away, Reinsdorf would face a situation where he would get nothing. No businessman would take such a risk.

In the next few days, Krause made his final offer to Meng Jin. The Bulls gave Meng Jin 4 million US dollars for four years and promised to let Jordan leave in the near future.

Meng Jin was satisfied with the offer. If he signed the contract, he would be the highest paid player in the league. He was not afraid of Krause's empty promises. He and Jordan had come to this point, and one of them had to leave. If the Bulls were really reluctant to send Jordan away, he could just leave. If he was not wanted here, he would find another way. If Meng Jin applied to leave now, at least 29 teams in the league, not to mention 20, would be interested in him.

Meng Jin's contract renewal has been basically finalized, and what remains are some details.

In the two games that Jordan was suspended, the Bulls won two consecutive games. It was not because Jordan was incompetent, but because the conflict between him and Meng Jin hurt the team.

Jordan did not train with the team these days. He chose to let himself go. First, he went to the Atlantic Casino to have fun for a day, and then he played golf with his friends for a few days. Jordan lost 50 US dollars in just a few days, most of which was lost to Esquinas, who is a shareholder of the San Diego Sports Center.

On January 1, Meng Jin and his agent Falk were discussing the details of the new contract in the house when the doorbell rang.

"Meng, do you have any guests?" Falk asked.

Meng Jin shook his head: "No, it might be a sales pitch."

"FBI! Please open the door!" Soon, a shout was heard from the door.

"Damn it!" Falk stood up suddenly: "Did you get into trouble? Molestation? Forcing women?"

"Shit, does the woman I, Meng Jin, like need to be forced?" Meng Jin asked.

"What's going on?" Falk asked.

"How the hell should I know!" said Meng Jin.

"Open the door first, don't worry, I will help you." Falk said, and Meng Jin opened the door.

Standing at the door were two FBI police officers in uniform. One of them glanced at Meng Jin and asked, "Is it convenient for you to come in?"

Meng Jin opened the door and let the two in.

The FBI police officer asked straight to the point: "Mr. Michael Jordan has been found to be involved in a homicide. We have some questions for you."

"What!?"

After the police said this, Falk next to him couldn't sit still anymore. Meng Jin was his big client, and so was Jordan!

After questioning, Meng Jin finally figured out what happened. One day ago, a man named Eddie Dow was killed at home. The police determined it was a burglary and murder case. The thief took all the cash, but left behind three checks totaling 16 US dollars. The checks were exactly those from Jordan. After being verified by Dow's asset management lawyer, it was found that these checks were used by Jordan to repay gambling money. Jordan often held small-scale golf and gambling parties at his home on Hilton Head Island, and Eddie Dow was a frequent visitor there. This was where he lost the money.

The police asked Meng Jin whether he knew that Jordan held gambling parties on the island and whether he had close contact with Eddie Dow. Meng Jin wanted to tell them that yes, Michael did it, but reason overcame impulse. He really didn't know about these things. He had withdrawn from Jordan's social circle more than a year ago and had never met these people.

Just like that, an accidental murder revealed the secret of Michael Jordan's gambling addiction. This incident caused shock throughout the league. Reporters urged NBA Commissioner David Stern to condemn Jordan. David Stern said the league would immediately investigate Jordan. David Stern intended to keep Jordan. At this time, he was already one of the faces of the league. It is not easy to cultivate such a face player. It took David Stern nearly 7 years to create a Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan's father, James Jordan, chose to speak out for his son at the first time. He said: "These are all fake news. Michael is not such a person. I know him very well. He is my son."

Between his son's reputation and lying, James Jordan chose the latter. He couldn't watch his son being ruined like this. He couldn't do it, and no father could do it.

"He's not the president or the pope," Nike spokesman Dusty Kidd said in response to a reporter's question.

This wave of remarks can be regarded as reverse public relations. The Nike spokesperson's remarks are equivalent to admitting that Jordan was involved in large-scale gambling.

What is surprising is that Krause stood up and spoke for Jordan at this time.

Krause said: "I have full confidence in him as a person, and please keep your confidence in him. Michael has always been a role model for players."

Krause said this not for Michael Jordan's image, but for the image of the entire Bulls team, and also to get a good price for Jordan.

On February 2, the entire Bulls team flew to Los Angeles for an away game. Before the game started, James Jordan found his son Jordan. He knew that Jordan needed comfort very much at this time. Although Jordan looked very calm at this time, he was even playing cards with his friends.

Jordan told his father that everything was fine and not to worry about him.

After James Jordan finished talking with his son, he found Meng Jin. Jordan Sr. did not fall out with Meng Jin because of his son. The two maintained a good relationship. Since they had training in the afternoon, the two did not talk for too long. James Jordan left the hotel where the Bulls were staying at around 4 pm and went to Los Angeles Airport to catch a plane. He had a party in Chicago in the evening.

Meng Jin never imagined that this would be his last conversation with James Jordan.

Just three minutes into the game, Jordan suddenly left the court. During the intermission, Meng Jin received the news that an accident had occurred on the flight that James Jordan was on. The flight collided with the landing American Airlines Flight 3 (US1493) during takeoff. For a moment, the flight was engulfed in flames and more than 1493 people died on the spot, including James Jordan.

(End of this chapter)