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Chapter 71 Oracle Arena Incident (1.95 million words updated, please subscribe!)

On this day, facing Bird's sky-high asking price
Knowing that the opportunity was rare, Mullin had the urge to burn Bird alive at the stake until the end of the meeting.

"If you want to burn me at the stake, don't do that."

"Why?"

"Because I'm Larry Bird, I get to decide how I die."

"."

"And this deal is obviously a loss for us. You only used two insignificant role players to trade away an All-Star small forward from me, and he just scored 15 points and contributed 5 steals in the game."

"Larry, Michael and Adonal are not insignificant role players! They are important players to us. What's more, you asked for four of our draft picks."

"But I also have to give up a player to equalize the salaries of both players in this deal. Why can't you be more considerate of me?"

In November 2005, after the "Auburn Hills Palace Incident" was lifted,
Ron Artest, who had been away from the court for nearly a year, showed good competitive form on the court, but because he felt that he could not get support from the team, the conflict between Artest and the Pacers management was inevitable.

Historically, after a period of fermentation.
Eventually the Pacers would make a trade with the Kings, trading Artest for another All-Star small forward, Peja Stojakovic.

Although, due to a series of problems such as injury and disease risks
As a result, Peja is not as good as Pacers fans imagined.

But when the deal was first made, this All-Star-for-All-Star deal was definitely a fair price with no deception.

This
This is also the reason why Larry Bird dared to ask for such a high price in front of Chris Mullin at this moment.

After all, he is Bird who never likes to suffer losses.

Even facing his old friend Mullin, Bird couldn't let him take Artest away for nothing.

……

First, I watched the Messiah crush the Cavaliers with "The.Dunk" in Cleveland.
Then, after spending a not-so-pleasant night with the team in Miami, Dunleavy Jr. had just returned to Oakland when he saw the news that the Warriors and the Pacers were about to complete a deal.

In the original history, although Warriors general manager Mullin would also send away Dunleavy Jr., Murphy and others in the future trade of Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington, he happily accepted the gift package sent by Bird.
But for Mike Dunleavy, who didn't know what would happen in the future, he suddenly felt melancholy when he saw the news.

Because, he finally saw that damn dawn.
Since entering the league wearing a hat that reads "I can become the third pick thanks to old Dunleavy," Dunleavy Jr. has never had such a moment.

This moment is called:

He finally met someone who appreciated his off-ball movement and basketball IQ.

Under the Warriors' new system, next to Qin Yue, Dunleavy Jr. undoubtedly spent an extremely happy half month.

Even if Qin Yue had been more aggressive in the pre-season training camp, he would probably have had to change his career to play in the WNBA.
But compared to the respect and appreciation I received on the field
In the eyes of little Dunleavy, what did that kick mean?

However, those good days are about to end.

and
Such good days may never come again.

Therefore, even though he had already prepared himself for the possibility of being traded, Dunleavy Jr. still didn't want to open the news he saw on the day he returned to Oakland.

"You packed your bags and came to say goodbye to us without even reading the news? Mike, I suggest you read the news carefully."

"Ok?"

[Latest news, the Golden State Warriors have reached a trade agreement with the Indiana Pacers.

In this deal, the Golden State Warriors will send Mickael Pietrus, Adonal Foyle and their first-round draft picks in 2006 and 2008, and second-round draft picks in 2007 and 2009.

The Pacers will send All-Star forward Ron Artest and Anthony Johnson, who is used to balance the trade salary, to Oakland. 】

Four draft picks.

Petrus Gafoyle.

The Warriors got Artest and a passerby from the Pacers.

On the day the transaction was completed, this transaction, which was destined to be difficult to evaluate, sparked heated discussions.

Pacers fans felt like they were robbed by the Warriors.

"They traded away our All-Star small forward for two role players?"

Warriors fans believe that Mullin must have received a kickback in this deal.

"Why does Ron Artest want four of our draft picks?"

It turned out to be a deal that left both parties very unhappy with each other.

But since it can be achieved through the hands of Bird and Mullin, there must be a reason for it.

"Ron's heart is no longer with us, and the Warriors are willing to trade four draft picks, which is a good opportunity for us to look further ahead.

Mickael Pietrus is a quality 3D outside player, and Adonal Foyle can also help Jermaine (O'Neal) against Shaq in future games."

In fact, compared to the Peja Santiago whom the Pacers traded from the Kings in history.
If we only look at the results, Bird can only be described as making a sure profit in this deal.

And what about the Warriors?

"Michael Pietrus can't handle superstars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. We need a real striker.
Even if we have to give up some draft picks for this, so what? Our future is the Messiah, not those draft picks full of unknown factors. "

There is no doubt that this deal was concluded from the moment
At this moment, the Warriors officially got the ticket to the "strong team club" in the Western Conference, which is full of strong teams.

Although how strong they are remains to be tested.

But it's definitely a good deal.

Because as Mullin said.

Pietrus, the "French Jordan".
It has been proven in his career records against Kobe and James that he cannot compete against these players.

Moreover, if the Warriors continue to consume Qin Yue on both offense and defense,
No matter how good Qin Yue's statistics will be in the future, after two months, he will definitely be exhausted by the intensive NBA schedule.

So, they need the defense that Artest provides.

And at this moment, Artest's offensive firepower has not been taken away by time.

Five days later, after handling a series of affairs in Indianapolis, Artest officially arrived in Oakland.

Despite not having practiced with the team in advance, Artest was still arranged by Warriors head coach Montgomery into the team's starting lineup for the game against the Bucks that night.

In this regard, Artest, who will choose No. 96 as the back number of the Warriors jersey, said when introducing himself to his teammates: "I am very grateful for the trust you have given me. I believe I will live up to your expectations."

New environment, new team, new teammates, and fresh air around me
After leaving the extremely disappointing Indianapolis, Artest suddenly felt that the whole world seemed to have become better.

Under the leadership of Davis, Artest quickly completed his induction ceremony.

And got a general understanding of the current situation within the Warriors team.

At the induction ceremony, the only thing that puzzled Artest was
Only the veteran players on the Warriors were vying to carry Qin Yue's bag.

Perhaps, this is the "treat rookies well" culture that only the Warriors have?
"Let me remind you, Ron, don't try to provoke our Messiah in the locker room or on the court."

"Baran, I'm not the troublemaker you think I am."

"I know, that's why I reminded you instead of warning you."

"What happens if I try to provoke?"

"First of all, I don't think you can beat him, and secondly, you will face the wrath of the entire Bay Area all by yourself."

"Including your anger?"

"I'll load the gun the first time."

At this moment, Artest noticed that the first generation bearded man did not seem to be joking with him.

so.
Although he didn't know why this city was so obsessed with Qin Yue in such a short time, for Artest, who wanted to prove himself through his performance on the court, these were nothing.

Isn’t it just the rules?

In the NBA, which team doesn’t have its own rules?

And what's more.
In the game against the Bucks that night, on the Warriors' first offensive round after the opening, Artest felt that he had a chemical reaction with the so-called Messiah.

At that time, Artest, who was holding the ball on the right side of the court, successfully used Qin Yue's cover.

"The quality of this guy's cover is damn reassuring!"

At that moment, looking at Bobby Simmons who was completely blocked by Qin Yue, Artest thought so in his heart.

Then, Artest took an open three-pointer from the outside.

When——!
Having just joined the team, after missing this great scoring opportunity, Artest, who was planning to turn over a new leaf in Oakland, immediately stretched out his right hand to his teammates to indicate that he had failed to handle the attack properly.

However.
What embarrassed Artest was that no one on the court paid any attention to him.

Because as Qin Yue grabbed the frontcourt rebound amid the cheers of the fans, other teammates were already preparing for the second attack.

However, when Atai raised his hand this time, Qin Yue discovered him at the first moment.

then
Another open three-point shot opportunity appeared in front of Artest.

Swish-!
This time, Artest, who was better prepared, successfully hit his first three-pointer in his Warriors career.

When retreating, Atai wanted to express his gratitude to Qin Yue.
But before he could speak, he saw Qin Yue retreating back to the defense zone with other teammates at an astonishing speed.

“What a good team.”

Artest was thinking in his heart at this moment.

In the first quarter, under the instigation of Qin Yue and Davis, all five starting players of the Warriors scored points.

Among them, Artest made 6 of 2 shots and 3 of 1 three-pointers, becoming the player responsible for lowering the overall shooting percentage of the Warriors team tonight.

During the intermission, Artest took the initiative to talk to Davis and asked, "Is your offense so smooth every night?"

Hearing this, Davis shook his head and said, "It's just that our opponent tonight is relatively weak."

Bucks this season
Very weak?
Although the Bucks were indeed terrible last season.

But this season, they have Michael Redd, Maurice Williams, T.J. Ford, Jamal Magloire and Andrew Bogut.
Currently ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference.

Artest had the opportunity to play against them once before when he was with the Pacers.

In that game, Artest, who scored 24 points and 6 assists, and his teammates were defeated by the Bucks led by Reed in the final moments.

So, somehow, Artest always felt that Davis was showing off to him.

However, soon, the Warriors' bench lineup, led by Dunleavy and Murphy, further opened up the score.
Artest felt that the Bucks seemed like a weak team in front of the Warriors.

And then what caught Artest's eye was.
Dunleavy, who always left the impression of a "softie" when playing against him in the past, seemed to be possessed by the soul of Larry Bird tonight.

Not only is he accurate from the outside, but his movement also always disrupts the Bucks' defensive formation for the Warriors.

Even Troy Murphy
In front of the rookie named Bogut selected by the Bucks this year, they all showed their tough guy style.

In the first half of this quarter, when Bogut was about to score a rebound under the basket, Murphy hugged him and threw him to the floor.

"Did he play like this before?" Turning his gaze to Davis, Artest pointed at Murphy on the court and asked.

Seeing this, Davis shook his head and said, "Not really but Troy has definitely become a lot tougher on the court lately, especially when it comes to fouls."

Before arriving in Oakland, Artest had imagined that he, the All-Star small forward, would bring some shock to the Warriors. However, he never expected that the one who would be shocked tonight would be himself.

If everything continues like this.

Artest will undoubtedly have a wonderful night and a .
A perfect Warriors debut.

But tonight I couldn't even get hard in front of Murphy.

At this time, no one on the Bucks bench apparently noticed that a pair of resentful eyes had been fixed on Jason Richardson.

You ask why the owner of these eyes targeted Richardson?

Because compared to other players in the Warriors, in the eyes of the owner, Richardson is the easiest to bully.
His expression of laughter since the beginning of the game has become a thorn in the heart of the owner of these eyes.

Why do you keep laughing?

It turns out that using a dog to describe Mr. Andrew Bogut is a good idea.
It is indeed a huge insult to this lovely species of dogs.

On the court, as Bogut became more and more angry, the mean and dirty genes in his bones were awakened.
An accident soon caused the originally calm and uneventful game to be interrupted.

At that time, after re-entering the game
Richardson, who received the pass from Qin Yue, wanted to perform a windmill dunk for the fans who were already drowsy because of the team's big lead.

But what caught Richardson off guard was that the moment he landed after dunking
A sinister and resentful foot had already ambushed where he landed.

Then, as Richardson fell to the ground with his face covered in pain, the entire stadium fell into chaos.

At that time on the field
Even though the perpetrator Bogut pretended to be aggrieved and tried to disguise the incident as an accident, the Warriors players surrounded him at the first moment.

"Fuck! This damn bastard!" At that moment, even Artest, who was on the team's first day, was furious.

just
At the moment when Artest was about to rush into the court, he noticed that Artest's expression was not right, and he saw Qin Yue rushing towards Bogut.
In a flash, Mike Dunleavy picked up the bench from the bench and rushed to Bogut at the fastest speed. He jumped up and smashed the bench hard on his head!
boom--!
At that moment, Dunleavy's smash shocked everyone present!

To the point that people didn't even have time to care about how many obscene words Dunleavy Jr. hurled at Bogut.

And, after knocking Bogut unconscious.
Dunleavy Jr. also yelled at the Bucks players who were about to step forward: "You want to fight? Come on! Today I will definitely fight you bastards to the end!"

in fact
After Dunleavy Jr. knocked Bogut unconscious, the Bucks players, knowing they were in the wrong, just wanted to show concern for Bogut's injury.

But facing the completely crazy little Dunleavy at this moment, who would dare to step forward?

In the end, the farce ended with Bogut being carried off the court on a stretcher, Richardson returning to the locker room for treatment, and Dunleavy Jr. being ejected.

Afterwards, Mike Dunleavy will definitely be punished by the league.

"How many games will he be suspended for?" At this moment, Artest, who already had great respect for the Warriors team, looked at Davis beside him and asked.

"It doesn't matter. No matter how long it takes, we will wait for him to come back." Turning his gaze to Artest, Davis said firmly. Then, after a pause, the first generation of the bearded man added: "Mike is our hero tonight!"

In fact, at the moment he picked up the bench and rushed towards Bogut.
Dunleavy, who was not close to Richardson, had only one thought in his mind:
That is, he must not allow Artest, who had just reformed, and the Messiah of the Warriors to be suspended.

So, he picked up the bench without hesitation.

Without hesitation, he smashed Bogut's head, which could have been chopped off without any consequences.

At the Oracle Arena, when Dunleavy Jr. was ejected, Qin Yueyi, regardless of the possible punishment the league might impose on him, led all the fans in applauding the player who had always been known as a "softie".

Although in this life, Qin Yue did let the Warriors go on a completely different path.

But at this moment.
The "Golden State Gang" was formed unintentionally!

"Welcome to the team, Ron."

Before the game resumed, Qin Yue stretched out his big hand to Artest and said.

The next second, Artest, who felt that he had finally found the right organization, laughed and said, "Next, we can't let this game end like this."

Hearing this, Qin Yue nodded and said, "There is no court etiquette on this court tonight! Everyone, there is no so-called garbage time tonight!"

On the field, after the game restarted
Qin Yue, who rushed all the way from the inside to the outside, first slapped away Morris Williams' shot, then controlled the second landing point and made a solo slam dunk, officially kicking off the massacre.

On this night, when have the Bucks players, who have no grudges against the Warriors in the past or present, ever seen such a scene?

On the court, all the Warriors players would rush towards them like crazy as soon as they came on the court.

Even to control the situation
In the third and fourth quarters, Qin Yue, Brown, and Artest were fouled out one after another.
But those Warriors scraps who were substituted in will also fight for every ball!

In the final quarter, until the last offensive round, the Warriors completed the alley-oop dunk by Biedrins, who had five fouls (only played for 11 minutes).
This nightmare night for all Bucks players finally came to an end.

In the end, the Bucks scored 58 points in the game thanks to 97 free throws.

But the Warriors ignited the entire Oakland and detonated the entire Bay Area with their 140 points that night!
The NBA headquarters
When the video of Dunleavy's "shocking hit" in the game was sent to David Stern.
"Couldn't our referee stop him before he could shoot?"

Hearing this, Vice President Mark wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "David, you have to know that if the referees didn't give priority to holding Qin
Now, the protagonist of this video is the Warriors Messiah."

Seeing this, after taking a deep breath, Stern said: "How is Andrew Bogut's injury?"

Mark replied: "It is said to be a concussion."

Then Stern asked about Richardson's injury.

"According to sources within the Warriors, Jason will likely miss the next three weeks or so."

At this moment, Stern finally heard good news.

As long as Richardson's injury is not serious, the Warriors will not fall behind in the Western Conference this year due to injuries to key players.

"David, how do you want to punish Mike Dunleavy?"

"Did his father accept any media interviews after the incident?"

"Mike Sr. said his son had always been a quiet, gentle, and kind person, and he thought there must be a misunderstanding."

"Gentle and kind?"

"Mike Sr. also said that his son was young and ignorant, still a child, and hoped that the public would give him a chance to reform."

In the office, Stern, who suddenly felt overwhelmed, said: "Then for the sake of his father, give him a chance to reform."

The next day, the NBA quickly issued a penalty decision on Dunleavy Jr.

Because of intentionally using a chair to injure someone during the game, Dunleavy Jr. will be banned from the Warriors' next 12 games and fined $50000. The Warriors will not have to pay his salary during the suspension period.

In addition, after the suspension ends, Dunleavy Jr. will also participate in a three-day league safety education class as a warning.

As for Andrew Bogut who was knocked unconscious by Dunleavy Jr.
In addition to being on Stern's blacklist because of this malicious step.
Stern also suspended him for three games and fined him $3 on the grounds that he provoked Warriors players on the court, causing the situation to escalate.

Although, on the surface, Bogut's punishment doesn't seem to be as severe as Dunleavy's.
But in a sense, this player, who was known for his bad character in Qin Yue's memory, has already died socially.

After the Bucks returned to Milwaukee, not a single Bucks player chose to visit Bogut in the hospital.

Not even a single Bucks player expressed concern for him over the phone.

Because of that deliberate trip on Bogut's part in the game
As a result, the entire Bucks team was under tremendous public pressure afterwards.

Especially on the second day, as the league's punishment results came out, the Bay Area media came one after another to condemn Bogut's stepping behavior during the game.

"As a fair, open and impartial league, we know that Mr. David Stern must strictly adhere to the bottom line of procedural justice.

But if Andrew Bogut's foot-tapping behavior is not banned, more players will be injured or even killed in the future."

In fact, in the NBA, openly hugging and wrestling during games, or more aggressive defense
It will basically not cause any controversy after the game.

After all, basketball is not a sport that cannot involve physical confrontation.

But acts like malicious stepping on the court
It can only be described as immoral.

Vince Carter, who was tripped by Bowen three times in his career, said after learning the punishment for the "Oracle Arena Incident": "Jason Richardson has a good teammate."

Kobe Bryant also said in an interview: "In the game, I would rather my opponent punch me directly than be tripped."

In the Warriors team, the day after the "Oracle Arena Incident" ended, Dunleavy Jr. received hero treatment in the team.

On this day, Qin Yue, who was carrying the bag for the old player for the first time in his career, smiled and said to him: "Do you still remember how brave you were at that time?"

Hearing this, Dunleavy Jr. said with a face full of shame: "Actually, after returning to the locker room, I was shaking the whole time because I was afraid that I would lose the opportunity to play basketball from now on."

In this life, Dunleavy Jr.'s "shocking smash" not only completely changed the trajectory of his career, but he also personally bought himself a contract extension.

Although historically, after the 05/06 season, the Warriors also handed Dunleavy a five-year contract extension worth approximately $4500 million.

But compared to what Qin Yue remembered, Dunleavy's contract was considered to be the worst.
At this moment, he not only deserves this treatment, but he has also successfully gained the recognition of all teammates, coaches and fans.

However, due to Dunleavy's suspension, Richardson will miss three weeks due to injury.
The Warriors must adjust their game lineup and strategy in a timely manner.

Because in the West during this period.
Those notorious tyrants will not feel sorry or pity you.

11月30日，在客场以99比90挑落国王后，勇士最终以10胜5负的战绩结束了他们在新赛季NBA首月的全部征程。

整个11月，秦岳场均能为勇士砍下27.4分13.8个篮板6.8次助攻2.8次封盖1.4次抢断。

How to describe Qin Yue’s performance in the first month of his rookie season?
On December 12, the NBA officially announced the major awards for November.

Qin Yue was undoubtedly elected the Western Conference Rookie of the Month.

He shared the Western Conference Player of the Month award for the first month of the new NBA season with Kobe, who averaged 41.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game for the Lakers.

In addition, in the latest NBA regular season MVP list.
Qin Yue, a rookie who just entered the league, is currently ranked sixth in the league. (Note ①)

ESPN summarized Qin Yue's performance in the first month of his rookie season as follows: "Under his leadership, the refreshing Golden State Warriors have swept away the slump of last season.

Now, let's see if he can continue his phenomenal performance this coming season."

In December, the Warriors are about to face an extremely difficult schedule.

In addition to the home games against the Spurs, Mavericks, Suns and Grizzlies.
They will also challenge the Nuggets and Jazz, who have two high-altitude home courts, on the road.

Compared to Qin Yue, who was becoming more and more successful in the NBA in November of this year.
February 12.
In the Rockets' away game against the Timberwolves, the dormant "T-Mac" suffered a back injury again.
In addition, the Rockets have only made two piecemeal trades recently. After the game, when chatting with Garnett, Yao Ming also complained to the Wolf King for the first time in his life.

Hearing this, Garnett, who felt that he and Yao Ming shared the same suffering, immediately became talkative.

"Listen to me. Although you are still young, I must tell you from my experience that there is nothing wrong with what your Chinese brother said. Yao, don't let that damn loyalty hurt you."

The new season, with only 11 wins in November.
So no matter how optimistic Garnett is by nature, he knows very well that the Timberwolves have already been eliminated in the Western Conference early this season.

In this era of "strong West and weak East", the competitive pressure in the entire West is so great.

"In fact, I talked about this topic with Ray Allen in Seattle before."

That day, looking at Garnett at this moment and recalling Ray Allen before, Yao Ming even had an urge to set up an "NBA patient group".

Seeing this, Garnett also reminded Yao Ming while sighing: "Yao, do you know that in the past, during the Michael Jordan era, there was always an unspoken rule in the NBA?"

The next second, Yao Ming shook his head.

After a pause, Garnett said: "That is, the rise of every superstar must foreshadow the fall of another superstar.

In Michael Jordan's era, if a young player wanted to get ahead, he had to challenge the old guys who were stubborn and unwilling to give up power.

Once upon a time, I was one of those challengers.

But now, I am no longer young. "

On this day, Garnett's words were obviously a reminder to Yao Ming.

Since you are also an All-Star center in the NBA, you should know that with the rise of new generation players such as Qin Yue.
The NBA landscape is bound to change dramatically in the next season or two.

In fact, the rules of the Jordan era are still applicable in the post-Jordan era.

Because this cruel and ruthless rule is the key to David Stern's ability to produce one superstar after another.

Supernova on top.

The old stars have to give way.

This is an iron rule established through tacit understanding between Stern and NBA stars in the 1980s and 1990s.

The NBA only has twenty-four All-Stars each year.

But it includes hundreds of the best basketball players in the world.

That day, Yao Ming, who had a casual chat with Garnett, once again felt that time was of the essence.

And at the same time.
In Seattle, Ray Allen, who could no longer tolerate the team's poor current situation, threw a century-old question to the team management on this day.

Although this century-old problem has no immediate solution.

But it allowed Supersonics owner Howard Schultz, who had completely despaired of the Washington state government, to see a glimmer of possibility in the darkness.

Historically, there have been many conspiracy theories about why Schultz eventually sold the SuperSonics.

But there is one conspiracy theory that is most logically consistent with reality.

That is, Schultz was unable to convince the Washington state government to fund the renovation of the KeyArena, which was then rented by the SuperSonics but was in a dilapidated state.
Stern conspired with Schultz to bring in the Oklahoma consortium led by Clayton Bennett.

Schultz also threatened to sell the team and move the SuperSonics to Oklahoma, exerting extreme pressure on the Washington state government and Seattle citizens who disagreed with the renovation of the stadium.

The evidence for this conspiracy theory comes from a legislative hearing on February 2006, 2.

At the hearing, Stern and Schultz will successively express their tough attitudes to the Washington State government:

The Washington state government must pay to renovate KeyArena, or the NBA will take action on its own.

"Baseball and football already have a good foundation in Washington State, and I came here as a private person to see if the NBA can get the same fair treatment.

If the state of Washington doesn’t approve the plan, we’ll be OK with that, but then we’ll take action on our own.”

Historically, this extreme pressure would ultimately lead to Seattle losing the SuperSonics as an NBA team.

Although Bennett once promised local fans that the SuperSonics would not relocate after acquiring the SuperSonics.
But from the moment the NBA decided to bring in Bennett, an Oklahoma City businessman, it had already secretly prepared for the Supersonics to move.

This is the most famous conspiracy theory that led to the Sonics' relocation.

Since Washington State is unwilling to fund the renovation of the arena that the SuperSonics have leased for a long time,
So why does the NBA still have a team here?

just
This originally irreversible result, however, on this day, because of the century-old problem raised by Ray Allen, Schultz found a way to solve it.

In fact, for a long time, the reason why Schultz left the impression of being petty to the Sonics fans was that he was a petty person.
The main reason is that after he took over the team, the Supersonics suffered a loss of 6000 million US dollars in five years.

Moreover, regarding the attitude of the Washington state government, Schultz also began to think, why should this team make me increase my investment?

"Yao revealed to me last time that if the Rockets continue to do nothing, he will most likely leave Houston in the future. If he wants to leave, do we have enough chips to trade him back?"

"In addition, Kevin (Garnett) is fed up in Minnesota and hopes to change to a new environment and play with new teammates."

On this day, Ray Allen, who always speaks his mind and never hides anything,
I just wanted to test the team's attitude and find out whether the team wants to give up or still have ambitions.
But accidentally
A magnificent picture suddenly appeared in the mind of Schultz, who was planning to conspire with Stern.

In exchange for Yao Ming's bargaining chips?
If Yao Ming really wants to leave Houston and the Supersonics are determined, Schultz believes that Stern will definitely help him secretly.

A No. 1 pick, plus a few good players, Schultz doesn't believe that this bargaining chip cannot bring back Yao Ming who is determined to leave Houston.

After all, Yao Ming had already told Alexander through the "3+1" contract he signed with the Rockets.
If the Rockets don't want to let him go for nothing after he has played for 7 seasons
Then the Rockets can only put him on the shelf in advance.

As for Garnett?
As long as the Timberwolves are willing, Schultz can immediately let the management use Rashard Lewis as the main transaction subject, and then trade with the Timberwolves along with various draft picks and scraps.

Schultz was well aware that Yao Ming's commercial value was the key to turning the Supersonics from loss to profit.

As long as the Supersonics can turn a profit.
Even the tough-minded Washington state government will surely give in by then.

"Why does that old bastard Leslie get all the benefits? Why can't a player like Yao come to Seattle to play for a few years?"

That day, Schultz had made up his mind.

He planned to discuss with Stern before that extreme pressure game the possibility of the Supersonics acquiring Yao Ming through a trade.

Anyway, no matter whether it can be successful in the end.
In Schultz's eyes, it's better than the current half-dead situation of the Supersonics.

……

PS: 1.95 words updated in a single day! See you tomorrow afternoon. Thank you again for subscribing to my readers. Because of a fever, cold and diarrhea, the update of the two chapters today was a little late. I am really sorry!

Note ①: The Player of the Month award is the Player of the Month award. During this period in the NBA, the MVP award was still based on performance.

(End of this chapter)