So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 149 is just stealing the limelight from us rookies.

Chuck Daly's speech was like a bombshell, causing the entire Orlando media to become a mess.

No one expected that the old coach would make such a decision at this time.

Although they all knew that Chuck Daly supported Meng Lang in this matter. But I didn't expect that he would support it to such an extent. You know, when Thomas was verbally abused by fans in the Detroit Pistons, his reaction was not so intense.

Let alone Thomas at that time, in the entire history of the NBA, it is really rare for a head coach to support to this extent, no, it should be said to be rare.

But Orlando needs to face more than just one "bomb".

The day after the finals ended, "Jordan won the championship" was a hot topic in the United States.

In his first full season back, Michael Jordan once again proved that he was born to be the king of the court. He belongs on the basketball court.

After the heat lasted for two days, Chuck Daly once again accepted an interview with the media. When talking about his choice to resign as head coach of the Magic, he reiterated his attitude: "I am not impulsive. I understand why. Doing this, this is my choice, I haven't thought about the next step, but before that, I understand one thing...Orlando needs some time to cultivate their team culture and fan culture, this is not A team that has won two consecutive championships should have a fan base. They need to learn to respect it more than winning the championship. If Dream is treated like this in this team, then it is difficult for me to imagine that one day I will not be able to carry this team with me. What will a team do to me when they get further! It makes it impossible for me to continue in this position!”

What Chuck Daly didn't say was that Pat Williams actually came to him and had a detailed discussion with him in the past few days.

But because Pat Williams did not take any measures to deal with the Meng Lang incident, Pat Williams' trust in Chuck Daly has been reduced a lot, and no one Would like a general manager who shrinks back at critical moments.

"ESPN" broke a big news at this time:

If Hardaway also leaves, the credibility of the Magic's management and the city's attraction to stars will collapse to pieces. It is also for this reason that Shaquille O'Neal's agent asked this question.

"Anfernee Hardaway is considering applying for a trade. His friend told reporters very firmly: When Anfernee saw the Orlando media and fans treating Dream like this, he felt very sad!"

"Pat Williams is looking for an opportunity to renew his contract with Shaquille O'Neal, but Shaq's agent is not in a hurry to arrange for him to meet with Shaq!"

As soon as the news came out, Pat Williams stood up immediately and said in an interview with ABC reporter: "This is not true. We have not received a similar notice yet. Anfernee and the Magic There has always been very good communication between management, so I believe this was deliberately spread (in order to create panic)!”

then……

Now he has indeed become Orlando's darling. If Meng Lang leaves, he will return to his dominant position in Orlando.

But what Pat Williams didn't expect was that just a few hours after he told the Associated Press that the matter was false, ESPN actually released the original recording of the interview with Hardaway's agent.

It just so happened that the interview he accepted this time was from Sports Illustrated. Its influence is not comparable to that of ordinary media. In addition, this is a matter that is at the forefront. These words have aroused constant discussion. .

Therefore, this conversation ended in vain, but only increased Chuck Daly's anger. So much so that he was particularly aggressive during the interview today.

In the afternoon of the day when this report came out, as if to confirm Bleacher Report’s point of view, even more shocking news came from Chicago:

And his original intention has not changed at all. He still wants Shaquille O'Neal to go to a bigger city. In this way, his commercial value can be reflected to the greatest extent.

But his agent reminded him: "Are you sure you can achieve higher than your dream?"

At least he is confident in the status battle with Hardaway.

It is true that by renewing his contract with the Magic, Shaquille O'Neal can get more money.

Hardaway's agent's words directly slapped Pat Williams in the face: "We have not completely dispelled our concerns. Anfernee is really worried about the fan culture in Orlando now!"

Just like this, the current situation of no one renewing the contract of the "LV" trio has also made the summer free market even more restless. "Bleacher Report" directly called this summer "the most frenzied free market."

At the same time, it’s worth saying…

Even the "big shark" is on the sidelines...

But don’t forget, Shaquille O’Neal wanted to go to Los Angeles the most. His agent also threatened the Magic's management, and it was Pat Williams who forced him to sign.

His words obviously moved Shaquille O'Neal, which is why this news came out.

Jordan is considering seeking the biggest contract for himself!

As soon as this news came out, it really caused a stir!

Bill Walton shouted: "Crazy, crazy, completely crazy now!"

But it is worth mentioning that after the news came out, no media had any opinions on Jordan's departure, including the Chicago media.

Thinking about it, eight years of persistence led to a "three consecutive championships", and then he retired and led Pippen to win the first championship after returning. Such a guy's salary in recent years has only been:

325 million, 400 million, 400 million...

In the season that just ended, Jordan's salary was 385 million!

It is about 4.6 times less than Ewing this season. Not to mention Jordan's desire to seek a big contract, even the Chicago media believes that the Bulls owner should prepare a big contract himself to retain Jordan.

Instead of letting Jordan enter the free market and wait for a price.

The latest news soon spread within the Bulls:

Klaus prepared a contract extension that he considered sincere, but Jordan was not satisfied.

But this news did not change the attitude of the Chicago media. They asked Klaus to explain the specific value he gave for the contract extension. It can also be seen from this attitude that the Chicago media still does not believe that Krause has given a sincere enough contract.

After all, he is just a "wage earner", so what kind of price can he offer?

The New York Times believes that if the Bulls cannot offer a contract with an annual salary of more than 2 million, then this contract cannot be described as sincere. Because... "Patrick got 1800 million, why can't Michael get 2 million?"

Well...that's how the New York media treats the core of its leadership who didn't live up to expectations.

Of course, now New Yorkers and New York media are no longer the most difficult groups of fans to serve. When it comes to "ungratefulness", the league recommends "Orlando media" and "Orlando fans" first.

Jordan wants a big contract, the Magic's "LV" supermarket has opened, and this summer has become the craziest "free market" in NBA history, which is worthy of its name.

Most media are optimistic that this summer, the league's landscape will undergo a huge change. The storm is about to come, and the undercurrent is surging. Don't forget, the "96 Draft" is about to begin.

After Kobe played his last high school game, he shouted to the media, "I will skip the NCAA and bring my talents to the NBA", which kicked off this year's draft. Then a group of "super newcomers" announced one after another that they would join this "big wave".

Before the craziest "free market" in history came, the "10 draft" that affected the NBA for the next 96 years came first...

As the center of public opinion in the free market, Meng Lang also became the center of public opinion before the draft.

Because of the 96 draft, several rookies already bear his mark:

Ray Allen, who was born at Duke, and Kobe Bryant, the second high school student in the ABCD camp to announce that he will skip the NCAA...

When they were interviewed, the name Meng Lang inevitably appeared in their questions.

When Ray Allen was being interviewed, he had the following conversation with the reporter:

"Did you have a phone call with Dream before deciding on the draft? Did he give you any advice?"

"Old K suggested that I ask for his opinion, and I took the initiative to call him. He told me that if you want to participate in the draft early, you need to seek other people's opinions, so you should wait another year. This is firm. My determination!”

"It seems like his answer was very cold?"

“I think this opinion is very useful to me and solidifies my initial thoughts!”

"Dream was selected with the fourth overall pick in the first round. Do you think you will be picked higher than him?"

"I think I am the top four best player in this draft class!"

As for Kobe.

He declined to answer questions about Meng Lang.

because……

When he excitedly shouted to the media after playing his last high school game, "I decided to skip the NCAA and bring my talents to the NBA," he thought he was cool, but after the reporter heard what he said After , the first sentence is:

"Kobe, are you trying to imitate Dream!?"

This statement made Kobe look confused.

Then he learned that when Meng Lang announced that he would skip the NCAA and enter the NBA early, he said the same thing, and it was exactly the same. Coupled with his status as "Meng Lang's disciple", it's no wonder these reporters thought so.

This troubled Kobe, who froze in place for a long time.

He really wanted to get rid of the title of "Meng Lang's disciple", but the current situation is that this hat is even more oppressive.

As a result, he became increasingly resistant to questions about Meng Lang.

Even though his agent told him that mentioning Meng Lang more in the draft will help increase the popularity. Only when there is popularity, there will be attention. This year's draft is of higher quality than this agent originally thought.

But Kobe stubbornly shook his head. He firmly believed that with his own ability, he could get a good position in this draft... If he really fell to the second round, he would even admit it if he lost the draft.

Of course, this was what he thought at the beginning. After the workout in Los Angeles, he believed that he would definitely not go undrafted.

He is capable!

It was also after the Los Angeles trial that he even rejected the topic of Meng Lang.

Let's wait and see, sooner or later he will definitely take off this hat of "Meng Lang's disciple"!

Naturally, Meng Lang would not miss the opportunity to witness this draft with his own eyes. He even appeared at Madison Square Garden. His initial thought was simply to witness this "golden generation" with his own eyes, but he obviously did not consider the popularity he would arouse.

The audience burst into huge cheers. ——In this situation, booing would be more appropriate.

But considering the "sensitive period", in this environment where New York may also get Meng Lang, even New Yorkers who are as bold as Meng Lang would not dare to boo Meng Lang at will. Everyone knows what this means.

For a long time, even the reporters on the scene didn't care about the newcomers in this draft.

Although this is a high-quality "draft", future "superstars" will appear among these people. This sense of expectation increases the popularity of all rookies. In fact, every rookie, especially " The main reason why "Super Rookie" is so popular is that it feels like opening a blind box, and people can't help but wonder what is in this box.

But the problem now is...

The "superstar" of this league is on the sidelines, and his next club has not yet been determined. The popularity surrounding him is second only to Michael Jordan, or even the same. Everyone is paying attention to his movements.

At this time, he appeared in Madison Square Garden. It was like Pan Jinlian accidentally dropped the pole downstairs when closing the window. Not to mention "Ximen Qing" who was hit on the head, even if he was not hit on the head. "Ximen Qing", the eyes looking at him were also bright at this moment.

The cheers continued for a long time and then turned into a unified slogan:

"We need meng!"

"We need meng!"

"We need meng!"

……

The audience cheered in unison, and the rookies in the front row, including the rookies in the "Little Green Room", showed envy in their eyes. They aspired to be like Meng Lang after entering the league. Everywhere can cause such a big commotion.

This is really terrible for every young newcomer who is just in the second grade of middle school!

Even Kobe, who wanted to get rid of the label of "Meng Lang's disciple", couldn't help but have this thought in his mind at this moment:

It seems good to be the second "Meng Lang"?

No, that's not right!

I don't want to be the next "Meng Lang"!

After being distracted for a moment, Kobe quickly reacted, and then showed disdain:

Tsk, it’s just stealing the limelight from us rookies!

(End of this chapter)