The longest river

Chapter 192 Jordan is not retiring
After settling things at the training camp, Yang Shuai returned to Portland.

However, Chandler did not accompany him this time; he had been discouraged by Yao Ming's performance at the training camp and went home first.

After returning to Portland, Yang Shuai took advantage of Kobe's absence from brand promotions and brought him over from Los Angeles.

Kobe is also seething with anger right now.

In the Lakers' Western Conference Finals game against the Rockets, he, as the season's best sixth man and who had performed well in the first two rounds, surprisingly did not get much playing time.

After the season ended, he approached Jerry West to express his dissatisfaction and hoped the team would fire Harris.

However, West's future was uncertain at this time, because the Lakers were swept, and Buss had lost some confidence in the team West had built around O'Neal.

Jerry Buss had originally promised West a $200 million bonus at the end of the season, but now he's not going to pay it, which has made West consider leaving the Lakers.

Unable to achieve his goal, Kobe locked himself in the training facility after the season ended.

This time, Yang Shuai noticed that Kobe had finally made significant progress. Kobe's ball control and speed during breakthroughs had improved considerably.

This intensified the competition between Yang Shuai and Kobe, and of course, Yang Shuai also gained more points.

Yang Shuai's current plan is to continue improving his ability to break through defenses and his mid-range shooting.

His thinking was clear: he wasn't in a hurry to expand his arsenal, but rather to upgrade the capabilities of his existing arsenal to the highest level.

Making it impossible for your opponent to defend against him is more effective than making your opponent not know how to defend against him.

A few days after Kobe arrived, they sat together to watch Game 6 of the Finals live.

After five intense games, the Bulls are now leading the Rockets 3-2.

They are poised to lift the championship trophy on home soil.

Before the game, the two predicted the outcome. Kobe thought the Bulls would win because Jordan didn't play a Game 7 in the Finals.

Yang Shuai, however, is more optimistic about the Rockets because the Rockets are in such good form this year, even more so than when they were sixth in the West.

Moreover, in terms of strength, the Rockets are actually no worse than the Bulls; they have the ability to force Jordan into a Game 7.

After the match started, Yang Shuai's prediction came true.

Hakeem Olajuwon returned to his peak form, completely dominating Langley on the opposing team.

Moreover, Barkley also suppressed Rodman, who had lost to Jordan in the 1993 Finals, and this was his best chance to win back.

The rest of the Rockets were also playing with great mental fortitude, maintaining their lead from the first quarter onwards.

By the end of the third quarter, they had even extended their lead to double digits.

It seems the "myth" of Jordan not playing a Game 7 in the Finals is about to be broken tonight.

However, as the game entered its final quarter, Jordan began to step up and take over the game.

That feeling transcended ability and was more like a spiritual one, much like the feeling Yang Shuai had in the final quarter of Game 1 against the Jazz.

Inspired by Jordan, Pippen and Rodman also started playing with all their might.

With 30 seconds left in the game, Jordan's layup finally helped the Bulls tie the score.

In the Rockets' final possession after a timeout, Hakeem Olajuwon had the ball in the low post and attempted a one-on-one attack.

Then a familiar scene unfolded.

Jordan paid homage to Yang Shuai by sneaking out from behind Olajuwon and stealing the ball!
The figures of two great players intersected at this moment, and the duel between them was resolved at this moment.

Jordan dribbled the ball up the court, running down the clock. With six seconds left in the game, he began to drive past Drexler.

When he got to the free-throw line, he used his assist hand to push his opponent away and then took the final mid-range shot.

"That was a foul!" Kobe yelled.

However, the referee did not blow the whistle.

Just like when Miller pushed Jordan away.

The referee chose to give the players the final say in the game at the last moment.

"Shh!"

With a crisp click, Jordan completed the game-winning shot.

Although he was forced to the ground by the "Cleveland Glide" last year and failed to score a game-winning shot, he finally scored a game-winning shot against the real "Glide" this year!

With Jordan's game-winning shot, he won his fifth NBA championship.

The game was over, but Yang Shuai and Kobe were still immersed in the intense atmosphere of the match.

As Yang Shuai said, the Rockets have the morale, and their strength is comparable to that of the Bulls.

But the Bulls' spirit was too strong, especially Jordan's; that desire was palpable.

"I don't think you guys would be a match for this year's Bulls." Kobe suddenly said as the Bulls began their championship celebration.

Yang Shuai certainly understood what Kobe meant. Kobe was saying that if he had stayed with the Pacers, the Pacers might not have been a match for the Bulls this year.

Yang Shuai smiled. He didn't agree with Kobe's statement because there was no point in discussing "what ifs".

However, one thing is certain: this year's Bulls are indeed a bit tougher to beat than last year's Bulls.

"Michael can retire with his 'last shot'."

Yang Shuai originally thought that Jordan would be dissatisfied with only winning 5 championships, but the way he won the Finals was already perfect for Jordan.

"Yes, our era has begun!"

Kobe couldn't hide his excitement. Unlike McGrady, he wanted to be like Yang Shuai and become the first Kobe Bryant.

"No, this is my era."

Yang Shuai corrected Kobe's words.

Kobe wisely avoided mentioning last season's playoffs, because essentially, it was the Lakers who defeated the Trail Blazers, not him who beat Yang Shuai.

"Let's go, let's settle this one-on-one!"

However, Yang Shuai was reminded of what happened last season.

The league is now locked in a lockout, and it's unclear how long this lockout will last.

Before that, all he could do was eat, sleep, and play with beans.

A few days after the Finals ended, the Bulls held a massive championship parade in Chicago.

This parade saw the largest turnout in Chicago's history, with fans bidding farewell to the basketball legend in their own way.

Even at the parade, many fans were moved to tears and broke down emotionally.

After being shattered by Yang Shuai last season, many people's faith collapsed, but Jordan used one season, and in a way that defeated Olajuwon and the Rockets' Big Three, to rebuild his godhood.

In his final season before retiring, Jordan left fans with the most magnificent farewell.

After the parade, the Bulls, as usual, gave their championship speech outside the arena.

The speaker was Phil Jackson.

Before the season even began, Phil Jackson's Bulls career was already on its last legs.

General Manager Krause's statement that "Phil Jackson will not be re-signed even if the Bulls win 82 games" prematurely ended his Bulls career.

That's why Jackson was very emotional when he gave his speech.

After all, he has accompanied this team through so many journeys, from their first championship to now.

Many people at the scene were in tears because they knew that with Jackson's departure and Jordan's retirement, everything about the Bulls would become history.

After Jackson's speech, a Q&A session with fans began.

When the microphone was handed to Jordan, the first question asked by the reporter called upon was as expected.

Will you retire?

Even though they already knew the outcome, the fans still asked.

Even a response that offers the slightest glimmer of hope would be helpful, just like what Jordan said when he first retired.

However, Jordan's answer shocked everyone present.

"No, I will not retire."

A positive answer, but one that was completely different from what I had expected.

After a brief silence, the entire venue erupted in explosive cheers.

Jordan said he will not retire!
The Bulls' legend will continue!

"Let's have another dynasty!"

The fans who were still holding microphones shouted after they had a moment to react.

"Dynasty! Dynasty!"

The other Bulls fans in the arena seemed to be ignited with emotion, chanting in unison the term that the Bulls had coined years ago.

Jordan didn't say anything more; he looked at the scene before him with a satisfied smile.

However, Klaus, who was standing next to him, turned a deep liver color, looking extremely unpleasant.

Is it possible for the Bulls to continue?
Yes, of course there are.

Essentially, the reason the Bulls were on the verge of breaking up was due to issues between Krause, Phil Jackson, and Jordan.

So as long as team owner Jerry Reinsdorf fires Krause, all the problems will naturally disappear.

So, at this moment, Reinsdorf... yes, his face looked even worse than Klaus's.

Klaus was merely a puppet of Reinsdorf, carrying out Reinsdorf's will.

Essentially, Reinsdorf had had enough of Phil Jackson's sheltered management style, which made him feel like he had lost control of the team.

Jordan's actions at this point were actually forcing him to comply.

It has to be said that Jordan's move was quite clever; his declaration of never retiring gave fans something to imagine and something to look forward to.

This is the will of the fans!

If Reinsdorf goes against this public opinion and forcibly breaks up the Bulls, then even if Jordan leaves, the Bulls' market will suffer a devastating collapse.

Rebuilding also requires ticket support.

It's a pity that live streaming didn't exist back then, otherwise, given Yang Shuai's gossipy nature, he would definitely have jumped up excitedly.

Just like Yao Ming said, he jumped up and hit the ceiling.

Even though he didn't see the live broadcast, Yang Shuai was still very excited when he saw the news.

He genuinely thought Jordan could retire when he watched the game before.

But since Jordan insisted on continuing, things became interesting again.

After watching Game 6 between the Bulls and the Rockets, he also had the idea of ​​facing Jordan in the Finals.

Previously, this was impossible because it was on the same partition, but now it has become possible.

……

Jordan had already returned to his loyal betting table.

After he made those remarks, the Bulls' management went ballistic, and Reinsdorf confronted him directly upon returning to the arena, demanding to know exactly what he wanted.

He was too lazy to answer or argue, so he went straight to Las Vegas to avoid the storm.

He didn't want to get involved in those arguments; he just wanted a result.

However, looking at the good hand he had, he couldn't help but think of Yang Shuai.

He actually wanted to face the Trail Blazers in the Finals. He wanted to win back the loss to Yang Shuai himself, just like he did after losing to the Magic. Only then could he retire with a satisfied heart.

……

The Bulls were still at loggerheads with Jordan, but on June 22, negotiations between the two sides came to a halt.

This means that the lockout will officially begin on July 1st, the start of the new season.

Because he had been prepared for this, Yang Shuai was not surprised when he received the news.

However, his NBA career was quite unique, as he experienced two lockouts in just three years in the league.

Despite the shutdown, the draft will not be affected.

Before the draft, Yang Shuai met with Whitsit and suggested some players to him.

Carter and Pierce were players he encountered during his high school years, and there was also Nowitzki, whom Yang Shuai said he had seen at his personal training camp and thought he was quite good (in fact, Nowitzki wasn't there).

If the Trail Blazers can draft just one of these three players, and then add him, Billups, Wallace, and the others, his "more than one" could be changed to "more than seven".

Since he's a time traveler and can talk to management, not using the Heavenly Eye would be asking for trouble.

Of course, he could only offer advice, since the management certainly has its own players to scout, and whether the team can actually select them is another matter entirely.

After giving the advice, Yang Shuai now has one more thing to watch: the NBA draft.

However, he was alone this time. Kobe wasn't interested in this kind of thing. As for Paul, he was at the draft in Vancouver.

Because the training camp was held early, there were some senior high school students there. Yang Shuai noticed a familiar name and asked Paul to find a way to sign him.

Rashad Lewis.

Yang Shuai didn't know much about Lewis's career, but he had heard of the name because Lewis was known in history for his worthless contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

However, at the beginning of the century, those who could sign contracts worth hundreds of millions of yuan, even if they weren't All-Stars, wouldn't be too far off.

As for why he didn't recommend Lewis to Whitsea before, it's because the Trail Blazers already had Wallace.

Lewis and Wallace have conflicting positions and overlapping playing styles. In addition, the team also has Grant, who would just sit on the bench anyway. It would be better to let him go for a better opportunity to develop.

After all, this is the first person to be officially signed by HARK, and the company's brand is very important.

The talent show was about to begin, and Yang Shuai had prepared sunflower seeds, peanuts, and drinks.

This year's number one draft pick belongs to the Clippers, who selected center Michael Olowokandi from the University of the Pacific. Olowokandi averaged 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game in his junior season.

Hmm, Yang Shuai had never heard of this person.

He seemed to have heard of Mike Bibby, the Grizzlies' second overall pick.

Then there's Antoine Jamison, who was fourth overall, and he's a very famous player.

According to his deskmate, Jamison was one of the classic CBA teammates—old, bad at defense, and poorly played.

To Yang Shuai's surprise, Jamison was actually from North Carolina.

He had previously heard that Carter had also gone to North Carolina after graduating from high school, which meant that Jamison and Carter were alumni.

And it's not just alumni.

Carter was selected fifth overall by the Warriors, and then the Warriors and Raptors immediately made a trade, sending him to the Raptors.

The Trail Blazers ultimately failed to acquire Carter.

However, this was to be expected.

Given this draft position, the Trail Blazers would probably have to trade Yang Shuai to acquire him.

The sixth pick belonged to the Mavericks, who selected Robert Treller, also known as "Tractor," who was Yang Shuai's teammate at the Nike training camp.

Yang Shuai was stunned when he saw this. Nowitzki is the greatest player in the history of the Mavericks. Why did the Mavericks choose Treyler?
Could it be that?
It wasn't mentioned that after the Sacramento Kings selected "White Chocolate" Williams with the 7th pick, and the Philadelphia 76ers drafted Larry Hughes, another CBA teammate of LeBron James, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Dirk Nowitzki with the 9th pick and then traded him to the Dallas Mavericks. A 69th pick swap isn't unusual in the draft.

Pierce then went to the Celtics with the tenth pick.

Even though he knew the history of the parallel universe, Yang Shuai still couldn't help but burst out laughing when he saw Pierce's expression when he heard the result on the live broadcast.

Pierce's bold statement to the Lakers' championship banner that he wanted to join his hometown team was still fresh in his memory.

Just then, Yang Shuai's phone vibrated.

Whitshire sent him a text message.

He communicated with teams that had the 5th to 10th picks, but they all had players they wanted to draft and were not interested in trading future draft picks.

Yang Shuai felt somewhat regretful upon seeing this.

This is the uncertainty of the draft.

Moreover, after looking through the list, he found that from the fourth pick to the tenth pick, all of them had made their mark on history.

At this point in time, those teams all believe they have made choices that could change the future of their teams.

Lewis was eventually selected 13th overall by the Magic.

This marks the third consecutive NBA draft that has seen a high school player selected as a lottery pick.

Lewis's ranking is clearly related to Yang Shuai and other "predecessors".

But in addition to that, Paul's role was also crucial.

Lewis is a stretch forward with good speed and athleticism. Although he is only a high school player, his draft prospects are not bad. He is on the green room list.

However, he made a fatal mistake by claiming that he only wanted to play for his hometown team, Houston.

This is really stupid. Look at Pierce, he also wants to play for his hometown team, but he won't actually say it to others.

Because the draft is too unpredictable, even if you get a draft promise, the team may not necessarily pick you in the end.

Ultimately, Paul successfully persuaded Lewis to change his mind through his eloquence, thus preventing his draft position from being affected.

The Magic have a player like Hardaway who can pass the ball well, and Grant's contract is about to expire. Lewis would have a great opportunity to develop there.

HARK has successfully taken this first step.

The Trail Blazers ultimately selected Tyronn Lue with the 18th overall pick.

Ok?
He was stunned for a moment when he saw the team's final decision.

He had been feeling rather bored as those he knew were chosen, but this turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

Teammates of superstars, the mastermind behind the NBA's best tactics, a self-proclaimed half-Chinese, and the NBA's tactical genius coach, Lu Yuanwai Lu.

Never expected it!

Yang Shuai has never seen Lu play, but he has watched a lot of Lu's coaching games.

Compared to his "mentor," Doc Rivers, the mastermind behind human comebacks, Lue, in addition to continuing his mentor's motivational speeches, has repeatedly led his team to dramatic comebacks, making him a highly capable coach.

Moreover, just because Lu stood up to Mo Gou, he felt that Lu was the kind of person worth befriending.

With the draft concluded, a new lockout officially began after July 1st.

During the suspension, players received no salary and were unable to use the team's playing field.

Having experienced this once before, Yang Shuai was already very familiar with these things.

This is why he didn't hold his training sessions at the Rose Garden Arena.

It was around this time that, including the last month of the regular season, the playoffs, and the end of the season, he accumulated 10 points.

Then he directly redeemed a batch of A-level burst damage talents.

After he made the exchange, his breakthrough limit also reached 97.

Once he reaches the pinnacle of this training, his drives to the basket will become a more threatening offensive weapon than three-pointers next season.

By then, it won't be so easy for his opponents to stop him from scoring by wearing him down.

It's important to know that during Jordan's first three-peat, he didn't rely on post-up moves, turnaround fadeaways, or other similar strategies; most of the time, he relied on strong drives to the basket.

Especially since Yang Shuai had already reduced his weight to 96 kilograms and continued to strengthen his muscle groups, it was inevitable that breakthroughs would become his main offensive tactic.

It was at this moment that Yang Shuai unexpectedly received a text message from Yao Ming.

Moreover, the content of the text message was something he couldn't have imagined even if he racked his brains; it could be summed up in just two words: "Borrow money!"

If someone else had sent him this kind of text message, he would most likely have deleted their contact information immediately. However, Yao Ming and Yang Shuai returned the call directly.

Yang Shuai learned the whole story over the phone.

After Yao Ming and Liu Wei started playing in the AAU, Li Yaoming returned to China, leaving them some money before he left, but not much.

Li Yaoming may have thought that sponsors would be responsible for Yao Ming and his teammates' meals during their subsequent games.

This clearly shows a lack of understanding of AAU events. For example, Yang Shuai only had sponsors to help him when he played in tournaments. In regular events, he had to pay for his own expenses.

As a result, they managed to survive for a month, but they ran out of the bonuses from the training camp and ended up eating the hotel's free breakfast in the morning and a double cheeseburger for 99 cents at noon.

Yao Ming originally intended to resell the phone for money, but then he remembered Yang Shuai.

"You can pay interest, I will definitely pay it back!"

Yao Ming emphasized on the phone, his tone only slightly lower than Xu Sanduo's.

Yang Shuai definitely wants Yao Ming to repay him.

The issue of lending money should actually be viewed dialectically.

If you borrow money and don't pay it back, you can't even be friends anymore; but if you borrow and pay it back, it can actually help two people quickly build a friendship.

To put it bluntly, this matter really depends on whether you have enough money to bear the consequences of the other party not paying back.

Secondly, it depends on who the person borrowing the money is.

It's obvious that Yang Shuai doesn't lack the money he borrowed from Yao Ming, and based on his past understanding and previous interactions, Yao Ming will definitely repay the money if given the opportunity.

After hanging up the phone, Yang Shuai asked Rondo to send Yao Ming a credit card with a limit of 100,000 yuan.

The reason it wasn't a bank card was because having so much money would make Yao Ming think he had ulterior motives.

August arrived in the blink of an eye.

The two sides have not sat down to negotiate again for a month since the previous negotiations ended in discord.

With the lockout seemingly far off, NBA players have begun to find themselves with nothing to do.

The conflict between Jordan and the Bulls was put on hold, and he left Las Vegas to play baseball again.

O'Neal ran into the recording studio and started recording a song;
Malone and Rodman even went to the UFC to play wrestling matches;
Kobe also left Portland and embarked on an Asian tour with Adidas (without a stop in China).

However, the most abstract and unique one has to be the Suns' Waiman Tisdale.

This former second overall pick in the 1985 draft, a star player for the Sacramento Kings and a backup center for the Phoenix Suns last season, has gone off to play jazz.

Unlike Shaquille O'Neal, whose jazz music was more of a hobby, his music quickly gained widespread fame, and he even released records and held concerts, becoming the most talented basketball player who made music and the most talented music player who played basketball.

Yang Shuai: How about I really become Charlotte and let Jay Chou live in my shadow?

Yao Ming was also preparing to return to China at this time. Just before returning to China, he finally decided to sign a 5-year, $50 contract with Reebok.

This contract is twice the size of Nike's contract.

Yao Ming also paid off his credit card immediately after signing the contract, and while returning the credit card, he also wrote a very sincere thank-you letter to Yang Shuai.

So, whether Yang Shuai borrowed money or not is something only Yao Ming himself knows.

By August 6, the labor and management sides had finally become restless and agreed to sit down and continue negotiations at a law firm in New York.

This time, the negotiating teams from both sides are much larger than before.

Besides President Stern and Vice President Ruth Grannick, there were six other owners on the investor side.

On the labor side, in addition to union executive chairman Billy Hunter, there were a total of 13 player representatives.

This included players' president Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan.

Jordan maintained his dominant position during negotiations, even directly mocking Wizards owner Paulin:
"If you can't make money, you'd better sell the team!"

This action earned him great praise from the players afterward.

However, this also led to Stern and the bosses leaving the room in public.

Labor-management negotiations have once again reached a stalemate.

Essentially, the investors still hold the dominant position in this negotiation.

The shutdown continues, and its impact persists.

The first thing to be affected is the World Championships in Athens, which will begin in August.

USA Basketball has abandoned the use of NBA players and instead uses players from the NCAA and CBA.

Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway, Glenn Rice, Vin Baker, Terrell Brandon, and others were among those removed from the list.

Secondly, in order to survive, the players began to organize charity and friendly matches. At the same time, they filed for labor arbitration, asking the court to determine that the NBA's failure to pay salaries during the lockout was illegal.

The investors were equally unyielding, threatening that the eight loss-making teams would withdraw from the league.

By September, negotiations remained stalled, 24 exhibition matches were canceled, and the training camp was postponed indefinitely.

The two sides sat down to negotiate again in October, but there was still no progress, and 99 matches scheduled for November were also canceled.

In late October, the arbitrator ruled that the owner did not have to pay the players' salaries during the work stoppage, which gave the owners more bargaining power in negotiations.

November, December…

12月23日，斯特恩宣布若1999年1月7日之前双方仍未达成协议，他将建议直接取消本赛季的比赛。

Yang Shuai was also a little surprised when he saw the news.

He never considered the possibility of the entire season being canceled; he was determined to win it back.

He was also worried about something else: such a long off-season might cause the players to lose their form.

Especially for those players who lack self-discipline, their physique may become completely out of shape.

Ultimately, he made a decision and issued a season call-up to the team.

He will convene the Trail Blazers players for a season training camp in Portland after Christmas, and he will cover the costs of the training camp.

Although it's unknown when the season will start or even if it will start at all, the Chinese believe in planning ahead.

Preparing earlier than others will give you an advantage once the season starts.

Yang Shuai has a strong appeal; not only core players like Wallace and Sabonis, but also many substitutes and rotation players have come.

Or rather, his outstanding performance in the playoffs last season and his sense of responsibility after losses have fostered a strong sense of unity within the team.

They believed that Yang Shuai could lead them to achieve something.

To Yang Shuai's relief, most of the Trail Blazers players did not experience the problems he had feared.

Wallace, in particular, looks even stronger than last season.

Failures can categorize people into different forms, and so can shutdowns.

Yang Shuai suddenly felt that the suspension might not be a bad thing, after all, his opponents might not all be so self-disciplined.

When January 6th arrived, with Ewing's statement, "We players do earn a lot, but we spend even more," public opinion immediately reversed, and those fans and media who originally felt that the players were being exploited abandoned their support.

Finally, on the last day of Stern's ultimatum, Henry chose to compromise and reached a new labor agreement with the management.

This labor agreement introduced many new provisions.

For example, the rookie contract has been changed from the original 3-year contract to 3+1, with an additional team option for one year, and it has been clarified that the rookie's salary is linked to the draft position.

For example, the new agreement stipulates luxury tax rules for the first time, requiring teams that exceed the salary cap to pay an equivalent amount of luxury tax;
In addition, the "average exception" and "median exception" were introduced, allowing teams to sign players on the cap, etc.

But the most crucial point, and the real reason why these negotiations broke down several times, was the stipulation regarding the maximum salary contract.

The final agreement reached by labor and management was to divide the maximum salary into tiers based on annual performance-based pay, and to link them to the salary cap.

For players who have played in the league for 0-6 years, the maximum starting salary is either $900 million or 25% of the salary cap, whichever is greater.
For 6-10 years, the starting salary is either 1100 million or 30% of the salary cap, whichever is greater.
For those with more than 10 years of service, the starting salary is either 1400 million or 35% of the salary cap, whichever is greater.

Looking at it this way, Yang Shuai's original contract can be said to have made a huge profit before the new labor agreement was reached.

Given the current state of the league, the salary cap is unlikely to see a significant increase, and even a ten-year veteran's starting salary will hardly exceed $1400 million.

With the suspension over, just like Yang Shuai experienced three years ago, teams are now scrambling to prepare for the new season.

With the opening of the free agency market, the Bulls have once again become the focus of everyone's attention.

In fact, from the perspective of the outcome of the labor negotiations, this is a good thing for the Bulls' management.

Because of the maximum salary rule, they can have an advantage in renewing the contracts of the "Big Three," especially Pippen.

After all, without this new labor agreement, Pippen, who has endured seven years of hardship, would certainly have demanded a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

However, under the new framework, he can only sign a maximum of a 6-year contract worth over 8700 million.

This will obviously save management a lot of money.

The key question is whether Bulls owner Raul Raunschweig can continue to tolerate the team slipping out of his control after being outmaneuvered by Jordan.

Because, in essence, Jordan's previous actions had completely disregarded him.

Or, as Jordan demonstrated during the labor negotiations, he was no longer content to be just a player, but wanted to be on equal footing with the owners.

After all, Jordan brings in a large portion of the league's revenue.

Due to the tight schedule, Lauensdorf didn't have much time to consider things.

Or perhaps, Lauensdorf had already made up his mind when the game was suspended.

He made the final decision: he would not fire Klaus because of Phil Jackson.

In other words, Lauensdorf would rather go against Bulls fans than continue to compromise with Jordan.

He used the most forceful way to tell the world that the Bulls were his team, not Jordan's team, and that he was the one who had the final say.

Krause then issued a statement on behalf of the Bulls, saying they would offer Jordan a one-year, $3600 million contract extension, and if Jordan chose to stay, they would seek to re-sign Rodman and Pippen.

In other words, the Bulls ultimately gave the "option" to Jordan.

But did Jordan really have a choice?
If Phil Jackson can't stay, then Winter will also leave, meaning the Bulls will have to adapt to a new tactical system in the new season.

Leaving aside whether the Bulls' players can adapt to a new tactical system within a season, it's questionable whether that system can even win a championship.

Players need a suitable tactical system to maximize their effectiveness.

So this is just the Bulls' management passing the buck to Jordan once again.

Jordan quickly responded: he would not renew his contract with the Bulls.

If Jordan doesn't retire and he won't re-sign with the Bulls, then it's easy to conclude that Jordan is going to switch teams!

The other 28 teams in the league, like jackals smelling meat, swarmed in.

Jordan's commercial value is immeasurable, not to mention that he just won three consecutive MVP awards.

The key issue isn't who wants Jordan, but where Jordan wants to go.

(End of this chapter)