The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 211 Substitute
In the evening, the Accor Arena was packed to capacity.

In the player tunnel, the starters from the Heat and the Knicks met.

The two teams are bitter rivals. Tang Bei once stole a Knicks basketball hoop from Madison Square Garden, and now no one knows where it is. He then beat up Oakley and Mason.

Especially during the offseason, the Knicks wanted to trade Ewing for Tang Bei, which made their relationship even more complicated.

The Knicks' internal relations are not much better than the Heat's, and Patrick Ewing has little affection for the management.

For this reason, when Yu Yin saw Tang Bei, she felt a sense of shared misfortune.

"Tang, you've been traded one day too?"

Oakley spoke first, his face full of sarcasm.

"I'll come over next year and become your boss."

Tang Bei broke Oakley's defenses with just one sentence, and Oakley shouted angrily, "Impossible! I'd rather retire!"

With a laugh, Tang Bei said, "Have you made enough money? The NBA salary cap is going to increase significantly every year. Are you willing to retire?"

“Then I’ll be traded away,” Oakley said unhappily.

“I will ask management to let you stay,” Tang Bei said.

"Shit!" Oakley was so angry he almost vomited blood.

Tang Bei pointed at Oakley and Mason and said, "Don't run away. Wait for me to come over next year and lead you to the championship. Your value will skyrocket then, and you can expect to get big contracts."

Oakley and the others exchanged glances. Tang Bei said to Ewing, "King Kong, I've won two championships, one MVP, and two Finals MVPs in just three seasons in the league. I can say that I'm the second best player in the league right now. Who dares to say they're the best? And yet you still got traded by Pat Riley. You've played ten seasons and achieved nothing. What's so frustrating about being traded?"

"I?"

Patrick Ewing thought about it and realized that it made sense. He didn't have a championship, an MVP, or a Finals MVP, so it was normal for him to be traded.

But why do those words sound so hurtful?
"Are you definitely coming to the Knicks next year?" he asked.

Tang Bei nodded and said, "My contract expires next year. The Heat can only get assets by signing and trading. If the management doesn't agree to my conditions, how can I renew my contract? So unless the Knicks back out, I'm definitely going to New York."

Ewing said helplessly, "Looks like I'll have to buy a house in Miami now."

"Ha ha!"

Tang Bei laughed loudly, "Who said gorillas are dull? Isn't this just a joke?"
Next up, the Heat go first.

"Severe phobia! Severe phobia..."

When Tang Bei entered the arena, enthusiastic cheers and applause erupted.

His performances in the 94 World Championship and the two Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals series made him a familiar face to French basketball fans.

Most of these French basketball fans were not familiar with other NBA players, or even Ewing. They bought tickets to watch Tang Bei play.

"It seems I have some fame in France."

He waved to the stands and stopped to sign autographs for a few young fans.

The competition officially began at eight o'clock.

Jump ball, Heat attack.

Tang Bei entered the paint. It was just a preseason game, and Ewing didn't defend him head-on, but instead fronted him.

Mourning's mid-range shot is actually not that great; he's better at strong drives to the basket and low-post back-to-the-basket moves. So he also went to the basket, and Oakley followed suit. The four big men immediately made the area around the basket crowded.

"You, go out and create space," Tang Bei said to Mo Ning, pointing outside the restricted area.

"you?"

Mo Ning was furious.

At that moment, Avery Johnson passed the ball in, and Tang Bei leaped up, caught the ball, landed, and then rose again to deliver a powerful two-handed slam dunk over Mourning.

Ewing and Oakley watched from the sidelines, offering no defense whatsoever, just passive-aggressive defense.

Oakley has come to terms with it. Tang Bei is definitely coming to the Knicks next year, so it's better to ease the tension. If they remain bitter enemies, he'll be beaten to death in the locker room next year.

And Ewing, who was destined to become a bargaining chip in the trade for Tang Bei, had even less intention to defend. Fighting for the Knicks? Screw that!
"boom!"

Tang Bei hangs high above the rim, while Mourning, who was dunked on, crashes to the ground.

"WOW!"

The audience erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

Stan Van Gundy, standing on the sidelines, was dumbfounded. He could only be thankful that Pat Riley had already boarded a plane back to the United States; otherwise, seeing this scene would have made him furious.

"asshole!"

Mo Ning got up, panting heavily, and was furious.

"This is my restricted area. Even if the Heavenly King himself comes, he'd better get out of here." Tang Bei said this and then ran towards the backcourt.

"Alonzo, pull out on the offensive end!" Stan Van Gundy shouted from the sidelines.

"Yes."

Mo Ning replied, feeling frustrated and aggrieved.

But he's used to it. Anyway, he couldn't compete with Larry Johnson with the Hornets, so it's normal that he can't compete with Tang Bei with the Heat.

However, upon further reflection, he realized that Tang Bei had also failed to outcompete Larry Johnson in the Hornets, and this made him feel much better.

This preseason game became a showcase for Tang Bei and Ewing.

Tang Bei scored 35 points in just 27 minutes, shooting 16-for-16 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line, almost achieving a perfect shooting percentage.

Ewing also scored 32 points, and Tang Bei didn't defend him much.

After playing two preseason games, the two made quite a splash in France before flying back to New York to continue the rest of the preseason.

During his time in New York, Tang Bei, accompanied by Eric Fleischer, secretly met with the Knicks' management.

Currently, the Knicks are 50% owned by the Dolan family-controlled American Money TV and 50% owned by ITT. ITT, in turn, owns 85% of Madison Square Garden, while American Money TV owns 15%.

However, the James Dolan family is very interested in Madison Square Garden and the Knicks, especially after the Knicks' trade involving the Heat with Tang Bei came to light.

The secret meeting between the two sides further confirmed their intention to trade next year and issues such as Tang Bei's contract extension with the Knicks.

However, Tang Bei didn't have any demands regarding other treatments, but he was not very satisfied with the training base.

The Knicks' training facility is an hour's drive from Madison Square Garden, a two-hour round trip, which he considers a waste of time and an excessively long commute.

Knicks president Dave Checkerts said that rents in downtown New York City are too expensive and that building a training facility in the city would be too costly.

“I hope the team will seriously consider my request. I don’t want to waste two hours on the road every day.”

"Tang, let's think about it some more."

"OK, I hope for a good result. We all need to compromise and make sacrifices for the championship."

"Of course, I will inform Mr. Fleischer immediately once I have the results."

After the meeting, the Knicks president and general manager discussed it briefly and, without much consideration, notified American Money and ITT, requesting the board of directors to allocate additional funds for building a training base in the city.

The Knicks have always had a problem with their training facility being too far from the game venue, and indeed many star players are unwilling to come to the Knicks.

Ewing played for the Knicks for ten years without achieving anything, while Tang Bei won two consecutive championships for the Heat in just three seasons, and is even very likely to win a three-peat.

Therefore, the Knicks are determined to acquire Tang Bei, and establishing a training base in the city is not an unacceptable thing.

The cost was as high as 20 million US dollars, and there were also hundreds of millions of dollars in rent to support each year. At the board meeting, ITT disagreed, but America Money TV agreed.

ITT is owned by the Dolan family, a family that started in the entertainment industry. In the United States, entertainment and sports are closely linked, and the Dolan family has long wanted to enter the sports industry. Therefore, they have been trying to acquire the Knicks and Madison Square Garden, and have been eyeing the shares held by ITT.

The Dolan family even wanted to complete the acquisition before the deal with Tangbei was finalized, but ITT wasn't stupid and held onto its shares tightly.

But now the opportunity has come. ITT does not plan to invest heavily in building a new training base in the city. So the Lann family is against it and, together with Dave Cekitz and other Knicks executives, is using this opportunity to force ITT to give up its shares.

Moreover, the Dolan family even suggested that hundreds of millions of dollars should be invested to demolish and rebuild Madison Square Garden.

Considering the tens of millions of dollars in additional annual expenses required after the acquisition of Tangbei, as well as the enormous cost of rebuilding Madison Square Garden, ITT's attitude has wavered somewhat.

The main reason is that rebuilding Madison Square Garden would be too expensive. The Knicks are currently worth only tens of millions of dollars, and ITT has no intention of investing hundreds of millions of dollars.

During the preseason, the numerous conflicts between Tang Bei and Pat Riley, and the reasons why Pat Riley was no longer the head coach, were finally exposed after in-depth investigation by the media.

This caused trouble for both of them; their phones were bombarded with calls from the media. They both decided not to respond to the media and turned off their phones.

"The untold story between Severe Fear and the Mastermind stems from Pat Riley's insistence on trading Tang Bei during the offseason."

"Pat Riley's motives for stopping Tang Bei's three-peat are worth investigating."

"Tang Bei's targeting of Pat Riley is not the behavior a player should exhibit."

“Mickey Arison paid a huge price to bring in Pat Riley, but he should have used that money to leave behind Severe Fear.”

"Pat Riley backed down, but deep-seated fear still clung to the Heat. Could this be the reason for Micky Arison's trade to Tang Bei? After all, no owner wants their team controlled by a single player."

"So far, Tang Bei and his fellow draft classmate Mourning have not cooperated in the twin towers strategy. Mourning was personally recruited by Pat Riley. Does this mean that the two have a major conflict or even a clash because of Pat Riley?"

"According to inside sources, Tang Bei has taken complete control of the team, Mourning is isolated by all his teammates in the locker room, and even acting head coach Stan Van Gundy is unable to truly control the team."

"Severe phobia has become the dominant force on the Heat."

"Is Tang Bei spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to gift his fourteen teammates expensive Cartier watches in an attempt to win them over?"

"When Tang Bei first met Pat Riley, he publicly said, 'We had already won two consecutive championships before you came,' which means that the relationship between the two could not be repaired."

Immediately, all sorts of related news emerged one after another, causing quite a stir.

Seeing these news reports, Heat owner Mickey Arison must really regret bringing in Pat Riley.

As the media has said, if he had used the money he used to acquire Pat Riley to give to Tang Bei, the Heat might have won a few more championships.

However, after careful consideration, he still rejected the correctness of this approach, because he could not accept his team being controlled by a single player.

Giving the money to Tang Bei is not as good as giving it to Pat Riley. He believes in Riley's abilities and will definitely build the Heat into a better team.

He believes that a superb manager is the soul of a team, like the Celtics' Red Auerbach; the management should surpass the players.

These news reports also caused Pat Riley considerable confusion and stress, as he worried that the support from Mickey Arison would disappear. After calming down, he began to re-examine his behavior since joining the Heat, as well as his attitude towards Tang Bei.

After much thought, he, with his strong desire for control, believed that he had not done anything wrong, but had been a little too hasty.

Lewis Shaffer is right. Tang Bei will be traded next year anyway, so there's no need to go against him this season.

Although this concession made him feel very frustrated and depressed, it was the most effective way to resolve the current team conflicts.

After thinking it through, he made a phone call to Mickey Arison.

"Hey Pat, are you okay?" Allison said as he answered the phone.

"I'm fine, Mickey, thank you for your concern."

He breathed a sigh of relief because Allison's tone was full of concern, which meant that Allison's attitude towards him had not changed much.

“Pat, I really hope the team can achieve a three-peat, it’s very important.”

"Yes, I also think it's important."

"After Tang leaves next year, you will be in charge of this team, and I will not interfere too much."

“Mickey, I promise to build the Miami Heat’s team culture, just like the Celtics and the Lakers.”

"That's fantastic. Yes, I believe this is something Tang couldn't bring to the Heat."

The two talked for half an hour, during which Mickey Arison praised Pat Riley's concession and believed it was the best solution at present.

Finally, in an effort to ease tensions within the team, Alisson decided to throw a party and invite everyone to attend.

Tang Bei was also puzzled by the news, and on Eric Fleischer's advice, he did not respond.

Fleischer thought the media frenzy would soon pass, but it didn't. The media began to dig deeper into Tang Bei's past violent acts, which were brought up again.

Even the fact that Tang Bei did not immigrate to the United States or apply for a green card has been brought up by the media for analysis, with all sorts of opinions being offered.

Eric Fleischer said, "That's how Michael Jordan is treated. The media and the public, out of their dark psychology, really want to see the dark side of public figures. Don't take it to heart, just ignore them."

"This is a problem that you have to face as a superstar, or even the face of the NBA, because there will always be people who don't like you, because the interests behind your competitors want to destroy you."

"You are now the true number one player in the league. Michael Jordan couldn't beat you, so he needed to find a superstar center to partner with, which is why he went to the Lakers."

"Tang, as the best player currently in the NBA, you have to defeat all your opponents, including the media and your rivals who are targeting you."

Tang Bei does not regret publicly clashing with Pat Riley; he is only worried about the negative consequences that might ultimately affect his three-peat.

"So, am I just going to do nothing now? Although there aren't any major problems in the locker room, conflicts with the coaching staff could still affect our chances of winning the championship."

"By the way, the boss, Allison, just said he's going back to Miami to throw a party on a luxury cruise ship at Carnival. He called me personally."

Eric Fleischer thought for a moment and said, "I'll definitely attend Allison's party; it's a sign of easing tensions and tensions."

“OK, I was originally planning to participate too,” Tang Bei said.

Eric Fleischer said, "How about this, I suggest you throw a party and invite the whole team."

"OK."

With the preseason over, major media outlets have begun making predictions about the NBA's new season.

Despite the Heat's turmoil, including a rookie head coach and the departure of two key players, Tang Bei remains, the core roster is still intact, and the team is still considered by almost all media outlets to have the highest chance of winning the championship.

However, the media generally believe that this Heat team is not as strong as last season. From the strength of the coaching staff to the matching of the roster, as well as the discord between Tang Bei and Pat Riley and Mourning, all of these factors will affect their strength.

With the development of Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway, major media outlets believe the Magic will become the second strongest team in the Eastern Conference.

However, O'Neal's early contract extension failed, and the media believed that there were cracks within the Magic, which could very well become the Magic's fatal flaw.

While the Bulls lost Jordan, their strength has certainly declined significantly. However, with the addition of Eddie Jones and Ceballos, their outside offensive capabilities remain formidable. Coupled with Pippen, all three players are capable of scoring 20+ points. Therefore, major media outlets believe that the Bulls are still a strong team in the Eastern Conference.

As for the Knicks, although their roster hasn't changed much, their morale has been low due to rumors about a potential trade involving Ewing and Pat Riley's departure to Miami. Although they still have the strength, they are not favored by the major media outlets.

Regarding the situation in the Eastern Conference, major mainstream media outlets believe that there is no championship-caliber team, and the Heat's internal conflicts are inevitable, which is the most important reason affecting the team's strength.

Major media outlets believe that the Heat, plagued by internal strife, are at best a near-championship level team.

The Magic are similar in strength to the Bulls and Knicks, but are half a level below the Heat. They belong to the level of playoff contenders and have the strength to challenge for the Eastern Conference Finals.

With Jordan's move to the West, the Lakers will once again become a strong playoff team, and the media believes that the Western Conference playoffs will be even more difficult.

In order to support Jordan, the Los Angeles Lakers management persuaded Magic Johnson to return to the game.

With Divac and Campbell in the paint, Van Exel at point guard, and Jordan and Magic Johnson, their strength is formidable in the West.

With Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp becoming more mature, and along with a host of talented players like Schrempf, Jose Hawkins, and Sam Perkins, the media believes this team remains a strong contender in the Western Conference.

Apart from the Lakers and SuperSonics, the Rockets and Spurs, with their superstar centers, remain strong teams in the Western Conference.

However, due to Hakeem Olajuwon's early contract extension, the Rockets, like the Magic, are considered by the media to be somewhat unstable.

Considering the overall situation in the Western Conference, it's a battleground of many strong teams, with no team even half a level above the Heat.

Overall, major media outlets believe that the two-time champion Heat are in a league of their own, mainly because Tang Bei's strength is too formidable.

In an interview, renowned basketball commentator Mav Albert stated:

"Several strong teams have encountered internal problems in the new season: O'Neal's Magic, Ewing's Knicks, Tang Bei's Heat, and Olajuwon's Rockets."

"These four teams all experienced serious internal divisions due to the early contract extensions and trades of their starting centers."

"We can clearly foresee that next year's offseason will be a turbulent one, and the league landscape will undergo major changes next year."

"If the Heat can resolve their internal divisions this season, I will continue to be optimistic about them completing a three-peat."

"But the Heat can't solve their internal problems and could very well collapse mid-season."

On the 24th, the Heat returned to Miami.

Over the next two days, the Heat team, from top to bottom, experienced two huge parties, which everyone attended.

After the two parties, the Heat seemed to have cleared up many conflicts, and the atmosphere of the team changed.

Of course, everyone knows that the conflict is still there. It's just that the three-peat is the common goal of the boss, Mickey Arison, and Tang Bei. Everyone is compromising for this common goal and pursuing the greatest common factor. Once the goal is achieved, the conflict will re-emerge.

The following week is the official training camp period, where the Heat will continue to work on their roster and adjust their form.

Although the conflict has been eased, it does not mean that Tang Bei will give up the low position and the restricted area.

Therefore, Mourning's role in the tactics remains the same: spreading out the defense, rebounding, and doing the dirty work; he essentially plays the power forward position.

He is not suited to the power forward position because his weight has now reached 118 kilograms. He has always played as a center and is not suitable for playing out the perimeter or attacking from mid-range.

Moreover, his height is insufficient, his high post playmaking is ineffective, and his mid-range shot is inconsistent. He is less threatening in the mid-range than in the low post and the paint.

Therefore, the two did not cooperate well, and Mourning could not find his own position.

Stan Van Gundy had no solution and could only seek help from Pat Riley. After much deliberation, Riley came up with a plan.

"Kurt Thomas to start, Alonzo Mourning on the bench?" Van Gundy was extremely surprised. Wasn't this exactly what Tang Bei had said?

Pat Riley said helplessly, "This is the only way to make the starting lineup more compatible."

After the news was announced, Tang Bei couldn't laugh out loud, because on the surface they had reconciled, but secretly he was about to burst out laughing.

Alonzo Mourning was so frustrated that his face turned completely black. From the Timberwolves to the Hornets, he was always a starter and never came off the bench. But now that he's with the Heat, he's been relegated to the bench. Where can he find any justice in this?
When rookie Kurt Thomas learned that he would be starting, the pressure increased tenfold, but he was also overjoyed.

He was very clear about his role: being around someone with severe fear meant doing the hard and dirty work, and scoring points was not important.

But he knows he needs to improve his mid-range shooting skills; otherwise, without the ability to create space, he will be marginalized by those around him who suffer from severe fear.

CCTV and domestic reporters have also arrived in the past two days. Tang Bei treated everyone to dinner last year, and this year he simply threw a party and gave out shopping cards and mobile phones as gifts.

CCTV launched five channels last year, and the viewership of NBA games was very good, with advertising revenue continuing to grow. It has become the most popular program on the sports channel, and even one of the most profitable programs among all CCTV programs.

Therefore, the number of live broadcasts this season has increased to 120, double that of last year, with NBA games broadcast live every Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, up to four games per week.

The Miami Heat had a total of 60 games broadcast live, with only 22 games not broadcast. Last season, they had 35 games, an increase of 25 games.

On the evening of the 30th, Chen Long called to say that he had chosen the date for the premiere: Saturday, January 6th, 1996.

Because the Heat have a home game on the 4th, and no games from the 5th to the 7th, and an away game against the Lakers on the 8th, Saturday the 6th is the best day.

November 1, 1995, was the Heat's media day for the new season.

Tang Bei and his teammates took promotional photos at headquarters in the morning and then gave a media interview after lunch.

Pat Riley and other management also participated in the media interview session, which was attended by a large number of media outlets, mainly focusing on Tang Bei and Pat Riley.

"Don, have you resolved your conflict with Pat Riley? And how?" a reporter asked.

Tang Bei said, "I have no personal conflicts with him, and the misunderstandings at work have been resolved after communication."

"Tang, is Mourning being isolated in the locker room?"

"No, he's actively integrating into our group. Who would isolate him?"

"Tang, what do you think are the Heat's chances of successfully defending their title this season?"

"I don't think any team is capable of stopping us from defending our title."

"Mr. Riley, will you still be trading Tang next year?" a reporter asked.

“Of course not, Tang is not for sale,” Pat Riley replied with a gentlemanly smile.

Do you think Mourning is being isolated in the locker room?

"Of course not. Tang is a very competent leader, and our locker room is very stable."

"Mr. Arison, do you think this Heat team will break up after winning three consecutive championships?" a reporter asked.

“No, we’ll keep playing until we win four, five, and so on, haha!” Mickey Arison laughed.

Will the Heat re-sign Tang Bei next year?

"Of course, we hope that Tang will become a symbol of the Miami Heat, and many years later we will erect a statue in his honor."

(End of this chapter)