The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 79: Trade - Tang Bei or Larry Johnson? (Seeking first subscription)

After the press conference, the Hornets set off overnight for another back-to-back game against the Golden State Warriors tomorrow.

The following day, many media outlets reported on the Suns' game against the Hornets the previous night.

Tang Bei blocked Barkley four times, two of which were featured in the official Top 10 Plays of the Day.

Although the Suns won the game, Barkley's poor performance made him the backdrop for Tang Bei's excellent play in media reports.

In addition, it is unknown who leaked the story about the two wrestling in the players' tunnel.

This is not surprising, as not only were the starting lineups of both teams present, but also a team of security personnel.

Barkley was a formidable player in the NBA. Even villains like Laimbeer and Karl Malone wouldn't easily mess with him.

Now, he was subdued by Tang Bei in a single round with a single move, which further reinforced Tang Bei's image as a violent individual.

That evening, the Hornets played against the Warriors.

The Warriors are currently 5-8 and relatively weak, but the Hornets are playing back-to-back games and are not in good physical condition, which still puts some pressure on the Hornets.

Fortunately, Tang Bei had no rivals in the low post. The Warriors didn't have a dominant center, and their starting center, Alexander, was only 206 centimeters tall. He made 13 of 19 field goals and 10 of 19 free throws, scoring 36 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.

With Larry Johnson in good form, shooting 8-for-16 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line, he also scored 23 points.

Dell Curry also regained his touch, scoring 18 points and replacing the injured John Newman as the team's sixth man.

The Hornets defeated the Warriors 118-103, securing their 12th win without suffering a demoralizing losing streak and continuing their dark horse run.

The next day, after lunch, the Hornets set off for Sacramento.

The straight-line distance is only 120 kilometers. If it's not a private plane, taking a bus is actually more convenient. It doesn't require a long waiting time and can take you directly to the city, instead of an airport that's far from the city center.

On December 4th, the Hornets defeated the Kings, securing their 13th win, and then flew to Los Angeles overnight to challenge the Clippers in a back-to-back game on the 5th.

The team's record is excellent, ranking first in the league, but the management is in a very bad mood because Larry Johnson's agent has once again requested a trade from them.

Larry Johnson's agent made it clear that he wanted to leave the Hornets before the trade window closed.

The management team, led by owner George Shinn, held a meeting on the matter.

"Larry Johnson can't leave. If he's traded, how many fans will still buy tickets to the game?"

"Yes, the combined jersey sales of everyone on our team, including Tang Bei, are still less than Larry's sales alone."

"Our team's most important goal right now is to maintain reasonable operational capabilities, not to compete for the championship. We've only been in the NBA for a few seasons, and we simply don't have the foundation to contend for a title."

"But Tang is too good. If we trade him, where will we find another center like him?"

"It's a pity, but we need to analyze the problem calmly. What I'm saying is that without Larry Johnson, we might go bankrupt. But without Don, we'll just have a worse record, but we'll survive."

"Yes, our team simply can't accommodate both of them, and one of them will have to leave sooner or later. I think it's better to keep Larry Johnson, who can help the team make money, than to keep Tang."

Listening to the executives' discussion, the boss, George Shinn, was in a bad mood.

He favors Tang Bei more, but the team is more reliant on Larry Johnson's influence, and survival is the Hornets' most important goal.

Another executive said, "Trading Larry Johnson would cause major problems for our operations, so it's the worst option."

Trading Tang Bei would give us a decent package in return. We don't have a huge playoff goal, so trading Tang Bei is actually the optimal solution, not an unacceptable one.

Someone chimed in, "That's right, I think so too. Trading for Tang Bei is the most worthwhile deal."

Another person emphasized: "North Carolina is dominated by the NCAA, and Charlotte even more so. It is not easy for the Hornets to develop here and it is difficult for them to develop their own fans. They must rely on NCAA stars."

Larry Johnson built a huge following and fanbase starting in the NCAA; he can't be replaced by Don here.

Hearing these words, George Shin also felt that they were right.

Upon hearing this, General Manager Tvertzke nodded thoughtfully.

On the 5th, the Hornets suffered their fourth loss of the season, losing the back-to-back game 109-119, bringing their record to 13 wins and 4 losses.

Tang Bei only scored 20 points, his shooting touch was very poor. Apart from scoring on drives to the basket, he was 0-for-6 on two-point attempts and 2-for-7 on free throws.

Larry Johnson did score 28 points, shooting 7-for-18 for a 47.1% field goal percentage, so his shooting touch was actually just average.

The Bulls previously lost to the Celtics and currently have an 11-4 record, trailing by one game, so the Hornets still have the best record in the league.

The Hornets went 2-2 in four away games, avoiding a losing streak, and their performance was acceptable. They returned to Charlotte on the afternoon of the 6th.

There are no games for the next three days. The next game is on the 9th, when they will face the Suns at home.

At 3 p.m. on the 6th, just as the team arrived at the airport, Larry Johnson's agent picked him up from the airport in a car.

At 4 p.m., the two appeared at the Hornets headquarters and met with General Manager Dave Tvertzke.

"Larry's ball possession, shot attempts, tactical status, and voice have all declined. We do not accept this change, and Larry will not play second fiddle to that guy."

“If Larry stays with the Hornets, he won’t get enough development. You’ve broken your promise to him.”

"Dear General Manager, we are requesting the transaction again."

Steve Ndicott made a third trade request in person, his attitude very firm.

Dave Tvertzke felt a throbbing pain in his temples, and no amount of pinching or squeezing could alleviate the pain.

Judging from the attitudes of Larry Johnson and Steve Ndicott, things have reached a point of no return, and the conflict between Larry Johnson and Tang Bei is irreconcilable.

When they played the Suns on the road, he thought the conflict between the two had eased, but things took a sudden turn for the worse.

He was well aware that Larry Johnson and Tang Bei were indeed not a good match.

After Tang Bei demonstrated his talent as a cornerstone of the team, the Hornets needed a power forward who could stretch the floor and do the dirty work for Tang Bei, rather than a power forward who would contest for low-post offensive space.

After a month of regular season games, Tang Bei, who debuted at his peak, has been recognized by all management, including himself, as more important than Larry Johnson and more suitable to be the cornerstone of the Hornets.

From an operational perspective, although Tang Bei's influence is rapidly accumulating thanks to his peak performance right from his debut, he is still far behind Larry Johnson.

The newly established Hornets team, however, faces immense operational pressure.

In particular, Charlotte is dominated by the NCAA, and the Hornets have not handled their development well over the past few seasons. They have had little interaction with local fans and have not formed a stable Hornets fan base.

Larry Johnson has a huge influence in the NCAA, and the operations rely heavily on him. The Hornets are currently implementing a star player strategy, but their management is not capable enough and their operational capabilities are extremely weak.

He was well aware that trading Larry Johnson would likely be a fatal blow to the Hornets' operations.

He has had two discussions with the boss and management, and more executives believe that Larry Johnson should be kept.

He originally hoped to keep Tang Bei, but after two discussions, he also began to lean towards keeping Larry Johnson.

Realistically speaking, even disregarding the conflict, if the Hornets were to force Tang Bei to stay without being able to trade Larry Johnson, Tang Bei would leave after his rookie contract expires, and the Hornets simply wouldn't have the cap space to keep him.

But he still didn't want to make the deal and wanted to delay as long as possible, hoping that time would bring about some favorable changes.

"Humph!"

Seeing Tvertzke's attitude, Larry Johnson's eyes turned cold and he was very unhappy. He could no longer tolerate his current situation, and his patience with Tang Bei had reached its limit.

His agent, Steve Endicott, sensed Tvertzke's attempt to stall, so he pressed, "Mr. Tvertzke, what do you mean?"

"Management will handle it as soon as possible."

Tvercic mumbled something, then added earnestly, "Larry, just focus on playing. I guarantee you're the player the Hornets need most."

"Humph!"

Larry Johnson simply didn't believe that. Tang Bei had gone too far as to bully him, yet the management hadn't stepped in to deal with it.

In an attempt to pressure the Hornets, Ndicott immediately contacted a familiar reporter after leaving headquarters and revealed that the Hornets would be trading Larry Johnson.

When news broke that Larry Johnson, the 91 number one draft pick and the player with the league's first nine-figure contract, was being put on the trading block, it immediately alarmed the entire league. After realizing what was happening, multiple teams contacted the Hornets, Knicks, Mavericks, Heat, and even the Lakers, all of whom reached out to Tvercz.

"Shet!"

Upon hearing this news, Tvortsk was so angry that his face turned black.

"boom!"

Just then, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and the door slammed against the wall, startling him.

"Feel sorry……"

His assistant, Peter Phillips, rushed in and said, "Sir, the public relations department called. All the external phone lines have been flooded with calls from fans. They're demanding that the Larry Johnson trade be halted."

Tvercz sighed and said, "It's still not enough time. Don't have enough influence in Charlotte! The team can't wait any longer."

Philip said, "Larry Johnson led his team to their first NCAA championship in his rookie year and was named the tournament's best player."

The following year, they reached the Final Four again, and won the John Wooden Award and the Naismith Award. They were selected to the All-American First Team for two consecutive years and were named one of the best NCAA players of the century…

Tvertzke said helplessly, "Yes, Larry Johnson's influence is definitely not comparable to Don Koko's when he first entered the league."

Peter Phillips had only been gone for five minutes when he rushed back in and said, "Sir, some fans have gathered outside headquarters to protest, demanding that management stop trading Larry Johnson. There are now hundreds of fans."

Tvortsk leaned back in his chair, dejected, just as the phone on his desk rang.

On the other end of the phone was Phil Williams, the team's president of operations. Williams was in charge of operations and was one of the executives who was determined to keep Larry Johnson.

"Dave, are you crazy?"

“No, this is just a tactic by Endicott. I did not say I wanted to trade Larry Johnson.”

"Dave, get this sorted out as soon as possible. Two sponsors just informed me that they will withdraw their sponsorship from the team if we trade Larry Johnson."

"Okay, I know what to do."

After a two-minute silence, he called Peter Phillips in and said, "Peter, go tell the public relations department that Larry Johnson is not for sale by the Hornets, and management will absolutely not trade him."

At six o'clock, just as Eric Fleischer was about to go out for dinner, ESPN Sports reported that the Hornets were not planning to trade Larry Johnson.

"Tang, the Hornets are planning to trade you."

He keenly sensed this and immediately contacted Tang Bei to inform him of the situation.

"What's going on? No, what?"

Tang Bei thought he had misheard. The team's current playing style was clearly biased towards him, and they were taking more shots. Larry Johnson couldn't compete with him on the court, so why would they trade him?

Eric Fleischer calmly stated, "The Hornets are short of money, but Larry Johnson can help the team sell tickets and merchandise, and attract sponsors. That's his greatest importance to the Hornets."

As for operations, you can't help the team right now, and if you can't compete with Larry Johnson, that's the only reason.

Besides, your trade value is greater than Larry Johnson's. Trading you would definitely bring in good assets or future draft picks, which would be a very good option for the Hornets.

"What do we do now?" Tang Bei asked angrily.

“Don’t worry, Tang. This might not be a bad thing for you,” Eric Fleischer comforted him.

After ending the call, he immediately dialed Tvortsk's office number.

He believed that Tvortsk was definitely not off work yet at this time, and would likely have to work overtime until tomorrow morning.

"Hello, I'm Tverk."

Sure enough, the call was answered quickly, and Tvertzke's voice came from the other end.

"Tvortsk, has the deal to trade for Tang been decided?" Eric Fleischer asked bluntly.

Tvertzke said helplessly, "Alright, Mr. Fleischer, I won't lie to you, both I and the boss would prefer to keep Don. But..."

Eric Fleischer didn't want to listen to or talk nonsense at this moment. He didn't have time; he needed to hurry up and find an ideal job for Tang Bei.

So he interrupted him directly, saying, "Alright, Mr. Tvortsko, I understand. Now I want to know how much say he has in the deal concerning Tang?"

After a moment of silence, Tvercz said, "I'm sorry, I will consider Don's request, but the team's interests will come first."

Eric Fleischer said without hesitation, “Mr. Tvertzke, if you do not consider Don’s interests, then I will tell the media that Larry Johnson sought out Don for a private fight because he couldn’t compete with Don.”

“Mr. Fleischer, please don’t do that.”

Tvercz was startled. This concerned Larry Johnson's image and would definitely affect the team's operations. This matter absolutely could not be exposed.

Eric Fleischer suddenly roared, "You betrayed him, so I had no choice, and neither did you."

Listen, Mr. Tvortsk, regarding the Don deal, you must respect his opinion. That's our bottom line, or you know what will happen.

Tvertzke, feeling utterly helpless, said into the microphone, "Alright, Mr. Fleischer, I will try my best to consider Don's request."

“That’s settled then, Mr. Tvortsko. Please let me know if there’s any news. Goodbye.” Eric Fleischer didn’t waste any more words and hung up the phone immediately.

At 7 p.m., TNT Sports reported that the Hornets were interested in trading Tang Bei.

"The Hornets' operational capabilities are very weak. Before Larry Johnson joined the Hornets, the team lost more than ten million dollars every season. After acquiring Larry Johnson last season, the losses decreased by 80%, and it is very likely that they will be profitable this year..."

TNT also analyzed this, believing that the Hornets chose Larry Johnson because of his influence and commercial value.

"Steve, did you see the news about TNT? Do you think what TNT said is true?"

Upon seeing the news, Larry Johnson was very excited and immediately called his agent.

Endicott also said excitedly, "I saw it, it should be true. There were signs in Tvertzke's attitude before, which means the Hornets can't do without you, and they chose to trade for Tang."

"awesome!"

Larry Johnson was very pleased.

In less than half an hour, Tvercz, who was still working overtime, had received offers from a total of 22 teams.

In other words, apart from teams with three superstar centers, only two teams in the entire league did not submit offers.

"It's a tragedy for small teams. What we need to trade is something other teams want but can't get."

He lamented inwardly, blaming the Hornets' poor financial situation and the inability of Tang Bei and Larry Johnson to coexist.

On the desktop is a stack of offer sheets. The first one is from the Lakers: Divac + the Lakers' unprotected 93 first-round pick + the Lakers' top-five protected first-round pick in 95, for Tang Bei.

This is just the first offer, and there's definitely room for further negotiation, so there's no doubt that the Lakers' offer is very sincere.

He flipped down to the second document, which was the Trail Blazers' offer letter.

筹码是本赛季场均31分钟，打出19分6.6篮板2.2助攻1.2抢断2盖帽的替补前锋克里弗德罗宾逊，以及开拓者93年95年两个不受保护的首轮签。

This offer is mediocre because the Trail Blazers are a championship-caliber team, or at least a top-tier team, and the value of a first-round pick is limited.

At this moment, Zhang Heli also saw the news and called Tang Bei, asking in surprise, "Tang Bei, is it true? Why would the Hornets trade with you?"

"Eric said that trading Larry Johnson would affect the team's operations, and that's probably the reason," Tang Bei said with some helplessness.

"..."

Zhang Heli opened his mouth, but didn't find the reason absurd.

Even a hero can be brought down by a penny. This principle applies to everything from a nation to an individual, and it also applies to sports teams.

In 87, the country was so poor that it was willing to sell even strategic assets like the DF. It was normal for Huangfeng to sell Tangbei.

(End of this chapter)