So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 70 Retirement (please subscribe)
  Meng Lang should also have left a good impression on Shaquille O'Neal.

On September 9th, the Magic's closed training camp opened, which was also the Magic's media open day.

Shaquille O'Neal looked at the reporters surrounding him. He was in a good mood and took the initiative to talk about Meng Lang. Of course, he mentioned Hardaway first: "I don't want to answer any more questions about Anfernee. I love this guy. I look forward to joining forces with him. We will do a great job. I want to talk about Dream. I know there are many voices questioning him in Orlando. I hope you can stop these doubts. The new season has not started yet. Be tolerant to our newcomers. point!"

He has already shown his ideology as the boss of Meng Lang.

At this time, Meng Lang and Hardaway were holding up their new season jerseys for the media in the audience to take pictures. Somehow, he thought of the "women's street" in Absterdam, where they displayed their bodies in this way.

Well, it’s all about making money!

Meng Lang comforted himself in this way.

As long as it's related to making money, then everything is not shabby.

Anfernee Hardaway chose the No. 1 jersey. The reporter asked him to explain why he chose this jersey. He said: "This is my position, and this is also the role I think I should play on this team. Shaq, I, and Dream will lead this team to complete its rise!"

A beautiful scene.

Very good, the seeds of the gap with the "Shark" were sown!

Meng Lang's choice was a bit bold. He chose No. 23.

Media reporters had noticed this a long time ago, so after Hardaway answered the question, they immediately pointed their "guns" at Meng Lang.

"What else could it be because Jordan should have two accounts to settle with me now!"

Jordan had criticized him so many times in front of the media and belittled him so many times. It was time for Meng Lang to fight back!

He has a grudge with Jordan, if he provokes Jordan. This is something the media likes to see.

But these reporters never expected that Meng Lang's provocation would be so straightforward!
  them……

Even more excited!

Does this rookie really not consider the consequences at all?

Meng Lang: The consequences? What are the consequences?
  He knows the direction of the future plot, and he knows very well that even if there are consequences, it will only be one and a half years later. Michael Jordan can't stop retiring just because of his provocation, right?
  Then his "protagonist halo" is too big!
  Knowing this, Meng Lang, who knew that he would die miserably if he met Jordan again with his current strength, had no scruples at all and directly provoked Jordan.

This is a great way for newbies to increase their exposure!
  You know, he has to enter the "Rookie Challenge" in the new season! ——This is a new initiative that has just entered the All-Star Weekend this year. The purpose is to increase the projects of the All-Star Weekend and at the same time increase the star flavor of the newcomers.

The competition among the "93 generation" is not small. Meng Langguang can't produce good data without exposure.

Hardaway was frightened again: "Are you crazy for provoking Michael like this?"

Look, from the title, you can understand why Hardaway was scared.

They challenge Jordan, but they respect Jordan. To put it bluntly, they are afraid of Jordan.

The "Jordan challengers" around the "93" generation are really not very good. In terms of aggressiveness, they must be the "pan-96 generation". Their challenge to Jordan has changed from psychological activities to verbal and physical actions. That is really annoying. Jordan was so angry that there were so many classic stories in this regard:

Stackhouse who was stunned, Allen Iverson who passed Jordan in one step, and Kobe Bryant who was so crazy that Jordan couldn't understand it and even wanted to confiscate his "ball rights" on behalf of his teammates. .

Meng Lang is a pioneer!
  So they called him "Michael" and Meng Lang called him "Danzi"!
  Meng Lang accepted another one-on-one interview, and the reporter told him what Shaquille O'Neal had said for him in front of the media today. Meng Lang was a courteous person and said without hesitation: "If NBA centers have territory, Shaquille O'Neal The future will be in the middle!”

so...

burst!
  When Meng Lang returned to the locker room, this "big shark" rushed over and wanted to hug him, kiss and bite him. Fortunately, Meng Lang reacted in time and pushed Hardaway in front of him.

Unexpectedly, Shaq pushed Hardaway aside with a look of disgust:
  No, brother, who are you?
  Hardaway: ...

Meng Lang: I can't help it, I'm a good talker!

In the afternoon, Pat Williams took them to take photos for the new season. Watching the three of them standing together and playing around, his smile was like "sunshine". Meng Lang and Shaq had already praised each other. reached his ears.

In his opinion, the only hidden danger that needed to be worried about had disappeared, and the relationship between them was exceptionally harmonious.

It’s done, it’s done!
  The "Orlando Sentinel" is not very optimistic about this "threesome", well, mainly because it is not optimistic about the "22-year-old" Meng Lang. They issued a strong question:
  "Magic, when will you become No. [-] in the Eastern Conference!"

Damn it, a bunch of stinky bitches!

When Pat Williams saw the Sentinel report the next day, he couldn't help but drop a pen holder. He immediately picked it up and looked to see if it was broken.

Ok……

In a fit of anger, he got angry.

He really felt a little sore in the balls.

The Bulls have just won the "three consecutive championships", and Jordan and Pippen are also in their prime. Now if you ask a new army whether they can challenge them, aren't you thinking nonsense?

You have to give it some time to develop, right?

You see, wait two or three years and it will be over if this Magic team can beat the aging Bulls team!

Pat Williams gave the Magic this core lineup three years, but what he didn't expect was that it would come in October.

The big one is coming...

"I have reached the top of the basketball world, and there is nothing left on this court that I can miss and can no longer inspire my passion. Therefore, I have decided to retire."

Michael Jordan suddenly held a press conference to announce his retirement.

This news instantly detonated the entire United States.

The whole United States exploded.

"NO, tell me this isn't true!"

"Jordan announced his retirement? Jordan? You're talking about Michael Jordan, announced his retirement? He announced his retirement?"

"This must be false news. This must be false news. Soon, these false news will be debunked. Michael will never retire!"

……

Similar remarks fill the streets across the United States.

Although there have been similar rumors since the murder of Michael Jordan's father in August, no one believed it to be true until it was confirmed. Because Jordan has just reached the peak of his career, he is also in the best years of a professional athlete, and there is another reason for him to continue climbing:

He has every chance to sit alone as the number one player in NBA history. why not?

Losing a father is certainly a devastating event.

But things like this happen every day in free America.

The strong Jordan will definitely get through it!

This is what all Jordan fans think, and you can directly equate them with NBA fans.

The number of fans who are not Jordan fans in this era is too small!

But now...

You tell me, he didn't make it through?

He wants to fulfill his father's dream?

OMG!

Meng Lang also experienced first-hand the influence of Michael Jordan in the United States.

Of course, this influence is the background of the times, the development of the times, and the experience of Michael Jordan in all aspects. Let’s put it this way, football is the number one sport in the United States, but the influence of Brady, the number one football player Compared with Michael Jordan, there is a big gap.

This disparity was reflected in the 24 hours after Michael Jordan first announced his retirement:

The stock price of America instantly fell by 125 points, while the stock price of NIKE, which has in-depth cooperation with Jordan, plummeted by 4%!

The whole Wall Street was shaken by this!

It’s hard to imagine the impact that a basketball player’s retirement can have.

The worst situation has to be the Bulls. Only a few hundred sets of season tickets for the new season have been sold so far. ESPN estimates that the Bulls' United Arena attendance rate in the new season will be less than 50%.

The city of Chicago lost 10 billion in an instant. Remember, this was 90 billion in the 10s.

Not counting indirect effects, including subsequent radiation, Chicago is estimated to have lost tens of billions.

Michael Jordan……

"The God of Basketball"!
  Now you can know why Nike is willing to set up AJ specifically for him.

The situation at that time was that AJ was everywhere. Nike would not necessarily be Nike without AJ!
  The false "goat" is useless...

What surprised Meng Lang was Hardaway's attitude. He thought this guy was going to show his "dead horse face" again, but when he saw him in the locker room the next day, except for being quieter than usual, there was no obvious sign. Frustrated.

I guess I was mentally prepared after Jordan slipped away for so many days.

Although Jordan is no longer here, he will still continue to play in the NBA.

Ok……

He was also deeply impressed by Meng Lang's "consolation" that day.

In the next few days, all the questions revolved around the two questions "Jordan has retired" and "Do you think Jordan will come back?" Meng Lang had a headache. Now he could only pray that October 10st would come soon and let this "Jordan" go to hell!
  He is no longer in the league, why not let him go?

The speechless Meng Lang encountered something even more speechless next.

In order to stabilize military morale, David Stern announced the latest contract reached between the NBA and China Central Television. The contract is very long and has only one meaning:
  This time we really have a Chinese market!

China first began to broadcast the NBA in 1987, but at that time it was all recorded broadcasts. Real-time broadcasts started in 91, but the number of broadcasts was very small, and they were all provided free of charge by David Stern. Only then can we broadcast it, but this time it’s different, we signed a contract specifically.

In Meng Lang's impression, a similar contract was only officially signed in 94, and this time it was about half a year earlier than originally.

It should have something to do with him being drafted by the NBA...

He then became the focus of media interviews over the next few days.

But the focus of these media questions is still related to Michael Jordan.

I really want to go to hell!
  Meng Lang thought that he might be distressed because of Jordan, but he never thought it would be in this form.

Blessings are unparalleled, and misfortunes do not come singly.

Meng Lang then got another piece of bad news from Chuck Daly:

In the new season, he needs to come off the bench first.

"It's probably five or six games, it could be seven or eight games, or longer, it all depends on you!"

Chuck Daly originally wanted to let Meng Lang start directly, but the Magic's wing "idea" was a bit tough.

Nick Anderson at the second position averaged 19.9 points, 6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game last season, and his performance was very dazzling. Moreover, he was also a player selected by the Magic in 1989, and there is no fault in his qualifications; the player at the third position is Denis Si. Kurt, who averaged 15.9 points per game last season, shot 40.3% from three-point range. He has won "Player of the Month" and "Player of the Week" and is also a powerful wing.

Before Chuck Daly came, these two were the team's starters. For this reason alone, he could not force one of the two to sit on the bench.

Another point is to protect Meng Lang.

In December of this year, Meng Lang actually only turned 12 years old. He is still 20 years old. At such an age, it takes some time to adapt to the intensity of the NBA.

He wasn't worried that Meng Lang couldn't squeeze out these two people, but it would take time!
  Meng Lang was helpless, but he had to accept it.

Now thinking back on the conditions of Adidas' incentive clauses, Meng Lang discovered that they were all challenging.

The road ahead for him was not so smooth.

But he also knew that Chuck Daly was doing this to protect him.

Orlando fans are already very dissatisfied with him. If he is forced to sit in the starting lineup, I am afraid that there will be problems with the team's atmosphere.

Let’s talk based on strength!

This is exactly what Meng Lang is best at.

　There will be 5 more updates released after [-]pm.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)