So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 148: I won’t renew my contract with Orlando anyway

The sonorous and powerful words echoed throughout the scene, leaving the scene completely silent. Most of the reporters had wonderful expressions:

Surprise, surprise, surprise, surprise, and...

Excited!

And, of course, there's the dullness of Orlando's reporters.

They never expected that Meng Lang suddenly came on the scene, not to compromise, but to brew a big wave!

They looked at Meng Lang, but they thought it was nothing strange.

This is a dream!

Chuck Daly had been watching from the entrance. Listening to Meng Lang's words, the corners of his mouth became higher and higher.

Meng Lang suddenly asked himself to be on the active list. When he was about to play, he was a little surprised, and then he felt that things were not that simple.

Sure enough, he didn't think too much, and Meng Lang prepared a stronger counterattack.

And this is Meng Lang!

From the first time he met this guy, he gave a powerful response to Laettner's aggressiveness and contempt, and to Jordan's disdain.

Laettner was so stunned that he couldn't utter a word, and his blushing look still lingers in Chuck Daly's memory.

This is Jordan's dominance in this era.

He believed that from that time on, Meng Lang's name was added to the list that Jordan wanted to deal with!

Chuck Daly has always believed that his enthusiasm for coaching this new team is entirely motivated by his expectation to coach Meng Lang. He coached Meng Lang as he wished, and during this period he established a very good relationship with Meng Lang. They also achieved success together. His trust was rewarded. Meng Lang was definitely his most valuable asset.

The scolding was such a relief!

These days, even Chuck Daly feels depressed for Meng Lang. Whether it is the media in Orlando or the fans of the Magic, they have gone too far. He even began to doubt whether coaching the Magic was the right choice.

no……

"Dream, you did a great job, I finally let out my breath!"

A large part of the reason he left Detroit was that he felt that Detroit fans didn't know how to cherish them.

If New York had Meng Lang, I'm afraid the "New York Times" would draw a "clown picture" of Jordan every day to mock Jordan.

In the final analysis, it is still difficult for the Magic to maintain the status quo of their current lineup this summer, which limits their vision. They believe that without such a lineup, it will be difficult to compete with Jordan and the Bulls.

Just like when Rivers takes over as the head coach of the Bucks in 2024, the team management in the Eastern Conference all think that the dawn is reasonable.

They don't think Meng Lang can lead the team to break through Jordan if he is not in this lineup...

As for Jordan...

Well, this kind of distrust, to put it bluntly, is because the NBA culture in this city has not really been formed.

After Hardaway learned about this, he came over and hugged Meng Lang tightly. There was no doubt that he supported Meng Lang in doing such a thing.

This is Meng Lang. He came to the NBA with a strong purpose. He came to make a big fuss, not just go through it quietly. How could such a guy compromise?

How is it possible to compromise?

There are obviously many American cities with a better basketball atmosphere. For example, Las Vegas has always wanted to have a local team, but it has never been able to take shape.

Maybe there shouldn't be an Orlando Magic in this league.

They only enjoy the glory that players bring to the city, but they are not willing to kneel on them and worship them. Let's put it this way, the local fans are so rude. This city doesn't have the atmosphere that an NBA team city should have.

When he came back, all fans in the league except the Bulls felt that the sky was dark.

Just kidding, this is the first player in NBA history to win consecutive Finals MVPs in the first two years of his career. He is also the youngest regular season MVP in NBA history.

So after he listened to Meng Lang's venting, he said directly in an interview with reporters: "Dream is definitely a more precious asset than the championship, but people in Orlando have never realized this!"

With this title, how dare Orlando fans?

He really can't figure it out!

Meng Lang's "bomb" exploded like boiling water all over the United States the next day.

Most of them, like the reporters in Orlando, thought that Meng Lang's early comeback from injury was a compromise. However, they did not expect that Meng Lang's comeback was not a compromise, but a harsh response to these guys.

And in an extremely disgusting way:

Do you think I can beat the Bulls?

Yes!

Let me prove that you are right.

But if I just can’t do it, what can you do?

Meng Lang's angry outburst at the press conference triggered a strong counterattack by the Orlando media the next day. This counterattack was most intuitively reflected before the fifth game of the Bulls-Magic series.

The Bulls, who were about to eliminate the Magic, were no longer relevant.

After seeing that Meng Lang's name was not on the activation list, the people in Orlando at the scene booed Meng Lang again and again, and the curses were even more difficult to hear. Those are all the dirty words these Orlandoans can think of.

It has to be said that English is really inferior to Chinese in this regard.

Not to mention breaking the defense, Meng Lang even wanted to laugh!

He appeared amidst boos, but as usual, he waved to greet the boos.

No, no, there are still some differences from usual. His smile was actually more friendly.

An ESPN reporter on the sidelines recorded this scene.

He didn't know how to describe the shock of this photo, but if he had listened to Future Chen Li's "Inflammable and Explosive", maybe he could find the most appropriate description:

The devil hopes that I will go crazy and hope that I will not live alone.

You want me to be cool and cool, but you also want me to be frivolous and mean.

You want my eyesight and my style not to waver!

……

The people of Orlando wanted too much and were too ruthless. In exchange, the flammable and explosive Meng Lang detonated the entire city with a post-game interview that was shocking to the heavens and the earth, making the city criticized by thousands of people.

Any city with some NBA culture will not recognize the actions of the Orlando media.

The Magic are definitely the most successful team in the league in the past two years, but their success is brought about by their players, but they want to put their attitude above their players. No self-respecting player would accept such a thing.

What's more, this guy is Meng Lang!

Seeing Meng Lang turning against the city that once loved him deeply, the reporter suddenly felt that this side of Meng Lang might be what he wanted to show to these Orlando fans. He hated the city that doubted him from the get-go.

Only because the fans in Orlando quickly changed their attitude did Meng Lang not have an attack.

Now, these guys with no B numbers actually want him to bet on his career, and they still behave like this.

Just like Meng Lang said...

Why?

There is no suspense in the game. Meng Lang is the most important part of the Magic's offensive system. When he chooses to sit back and watch, the Magic's encounter with the Bulls is not only a score of 100, but also a score of 280. Basically there is no chance of winning.

The original Magic team was swept when they met the Bulls.

Now this Magic team is missing two important main rotations, Scott and Bryan, and the depth of the lineup is much weaker than at the same time. If Meng Lang had not appeared, the Bulls would have swept the Magic.

It can be seen from the start that the Bulls have already studied the "Wu Meng Magic Team", restricting everything, playing extremely smoothly, and quickly established a 6-point point difference.

But the scene was not quiet. All the boos went to the man in casual clothes on the Magic bench over and over again.

Meng Lang was also restless and stretched out his hand several times to signal that the boos could be louder.

He knows very well that the louder the boos of these people are getting, the more frustrated they will become, and they will become more and more aggrieved.

Because there is one fact before everyone’s eyes:

When this team had Meng Lang, they defeated the Bulls.

Meng Lang came on the field to give them hope, and then held the "hope" high, letting them watch the team lose. This feeling was like holding a torch to burn the "pig hair" on their bodies from a distance, that kind of feeling. The pain that is vague but continues, and then becomes more and more intense, is the most irritating method.

The more they shushed at this moment, the more they felt aggrieved!

At the end of the game, they watched their "hope" dashed. The Bulls still eliminated the Magic with a score of 4-1, and Orlando's "Triple Crown" dream was officially shattered.

Meng Lang got up early to greet his teammates, and then Jordan took the initiative to walk towards him: "Next year, I hope you won't have any more accidents, and we will have a good fight."

The Bulls defeated the Magic 4-1, which was considered "revenge" for being swept last season.

But this is from the perspective of outsiders. From Jordan's perspective, this is not revenge in the true sense. The Magic team does not have Meng Lang and does not have that intensity at all. Moreover, the Magic team finally won the game when Meng Lang played. This is what Jordan cares about, so he won't feel that if he wins this series, the debt between him and Meng Lang will be settled.

He wanted to defeat Meng Lang with dignity!

Meng Lang also nodded: "Don't worry, I will definitely have to fuck you again when you are at your peak, otherwise everyone will only say that I bullied an old man in the future, and I cannot accept such a thing!"

According to the original future direction, the Bulls, who finally won 72 games this season, will also have a regular season record of 69 wins in the next season. They are definitely a team that is still in its peak period.

As far as Jordan's status is concerned, this season they finally met the Sonics in the finals. Jordan almost played the worst round of the finals in his career, averaging 27.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 assists per game. 0.2 steals, 41.3 blocks, and an average field goal percentage of % per game.

This is also the only series in Jordan's 6 finals in which he averaged less than 30 points per game. In the other 5 finals, he averaged more than 30 points per game.

By the next season's finals, Jordan's average per game had changed to 32.3 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

You can say that Payton and Sean Kemp did a good job in defensive restraint, but you can also say that Jordan truly adapted to his new role in the 96-97 season and rediscovered the "God of Basketball" account password.

So Meng Lang still has a chance to have a good fight with Jordan.

Meng Lang left the scene without watching Jordan toast with the Bulls. Normally, all the media should be surrounding the Bulls at this moment. The spotlight always belongs to the winner, this is normal.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Meng Lang walked into the players' tunnel, a large group of reporters surrounded him.

Their questions were basically the same. They all wanted to know Meng Lang's plans this summer.

Meng Lang did not give a definite answer, nor could he give any definite answer. In fact, even he himself did not know where his next stop would be.

Before the start of this season, how could he have thought that he would have such a big fuss with the Orlando fans?

Originally he had some thoughts:

The main reason why Shaquille O'Neal was so screwed up by Orlando was because he didn't win the championship.

He has now won two championships for Orlando, so he should be treated as a "son of the city".

But the result...

The boos were no less loud than the original Shaquille O'Neal, and far less disgusting than Shaquille O'Neal.

Well, the "arrogant" Orlandoans don't allow players to have any rebellion. He should have known better.

"I won't renew my contract with Orlando anyway!"

This is what Meng Lang is most certain of!

The "lockout" in 98 has not yet come, and a series of regulations such as rookie contracts have not been rationalized. This makes rookie contracts not as they were originally. After the "child labor contract", the home team still has priority to renew the contract, and the players can only become the recipients. Limit players.

Now as long as the contract expires, he is a completely free agent.

The only advantage of the parent team may be the "Bird Clause". As long as the players sign with the parent team, they can get more money. Theoretically, there is no cap on this amount. This is also the real reason why Jordan can get a 3 million contract.

There are rumors that David Stern acquiesced to the Bulls owner to give 3 million beyond the salary cap and gave the Bulls special privileges. Judging from the results, this is what happened. But it really depends on the situation at the time.

In fact, players who meet the "Bird Clause" can get 3 million.

only……

No boss is willing to give them such a high price!

And even Jordan didn't expect that he could get a 3 million contract at the beginning. This was purely forced by Dolan. If it weren't for his combination of contract and endorsement, the Bulls owner would not have given Jordan 3 million, and similarly, Jordan himself would not have asked for 3 million.

So in the final analysis, this matter must be thanked to Dolan for letting Michael Jordan know how valuable he is.

Therefore, Meng Lang can be so confident in saying that he will definitely not renew his contract with Orlando. He is an unrestricted free agent.

And his words also made the reporters surrounding him shine. This was a signal. This signal meant that a battle for Meng Lang would officially begin in the coming time. And this battle will definitely be crazy!

Orlando doesn't know what to buy, and other teams are very greedy for Meng Lang!

At the same time, Chuck Daly announced to reporters the idea he had had yesterday:

"I will resign from my position in the new season and will no longer be the head coach of the Magic!"

(End of this chapter)