NBA backer king

Chapter 362

At this time, far away in Los Angeles, Lakers owner Jerry Buss was on the phone at his home.

He called general manager Jerry West and said, "Jerry, I think it's time to contact O'Neal's agent. We will initiate a transaction immediately. The entire Lakers team is a bargaining chip."

"Okay, Jerry."

West on the opposite side was not surprised at all, this was something the two had discussed long ago.

The two have two plans. The first one is the best. Wait for O'Neal's contract to end and become a free agent. The Lakers offer a contract worth [-] million yuan. Coupled with the huge attraction of Los Angeles and the Lakers, they can directly bring O'Neal to Los Angeles. The Magic's usual performance against O'Neal will definitely not match the contract.

The second set of plans is the current situation. The Magic has obvious internal strife. In order to prevent other teams from attacking O'Neal, the Lakers must act first.

Although this plan would cost a lot, if you can get a monster that can compete with old K, then all the costs will be worth it.

At the same time, in Miami, Pat Riley is also making final considerations. Should he keep Alonzo Mourning, who has just been traded in, or use Mourning to trade O'Neal?
"Do it!"

In fact, he didn't need to think too much, he quickly made up his mind. Although Mourning is good, but with O'Neal, who would want Mourning?
Instead of giving Mourning a [-] million yuan contract, it is better to give O'Neal, this choice is not difficult.

……

Soon, Pat Williams, the general manager of the Magic who was still in the American West Arena, received a call from Jerry West.

When he saw the number, he knew what the other party's purpose was, and the strange thing was that he was relieved, he hadn't made a final decision yet, at this moment, under the action of external force, he actually made a decision.

"Hello, Jerry."

"Hello, dear Pat, good evening."

The two exchanged pleasantries on the phone, and Pat Williams said impatiently, "Okay, Jerry, just tell me what your purpose is."

"readily!"

After a compliment, West immediately said: "Give me O'Neal, what do you want, the Lakers have it, just take it."

At this time, the cell phone of the assistant next to him rang, and he went to the side to answer it. It turned out to be Pat Riley. He immediately said a few words to the other party, and then came to Williams' side, whispering: "Sir, Pat Riley is willing to exchange Shaq with Mourning as the main chip."

Williams was taken aback, the call came so fast, Pat Riley also wanted to take advantage of the fire?

However, Mourning has been having conflicts with Larry Johnson in the Hornets, and he is not a good guy. His temper is much worse than O’Neal’s. He also asked for a contract worth [-] million yuan.

So immediately, he ruled out the possibility of a deal with the Heat, and Pat Riley couldn't fool him.

"Reject him, we have no room for Mourning." He ordered briefly.

Miami's Pat Riley was a little disappointed, but he just gave it a try to see if the magic management's mind was broken. Looking at it now, it hasn't been completely broken.

Next, Pat Williams began to discuss trading chips with Jerry West.

The Lakers' lineup is still good. There are actor Divac and Eldon Campbell on the inside, both are good, Ceballos and Eddie Jones on the outside, and Nick Van Exel at the first position. These are the main bargaining chips.

But the Magic can't have all of them, because the Lakers can't really give all these people to the Magic, and the Magic's salary space can't accommodate it.

The two talked at the beginning, and then ended the phone call. The Magic still have to think carefully about it, and they are not in a hurry. There is still time before the transaction window closes, leaving room for regret.

……

With 31 wins and 3 losses, the Suns alone rank first in the Western Conference. The second-placed Spurs have pulled off 5 wins, and the Jazz have 6 wins.

In the East, the Bulls were 32 wins and 3 losses before that, ranking first in the league with one more game than the Suns.

The second place in the Eastern Conference is the Magic. They lost tonight's game and are 6 games behind the Bulls. The Pacers and Cavaliers behind them are even worse.

With the deepening of the regular season, the East and West teams began to show a trend of riding the dust.

It's just that the Suns have a lot of injuries, and the main lineup is also weak. The media generally believe that its strength cannot be sustained for a long time.

Some media even believe that the Suns have given up on the playoffs, and are trying their best to fight in the regular season for the old K's desire to hit the MVP.

Although the Bulls also had some injuries, Jordan and Pippen were in good condition and rarely missed games. Among the main players, only Rodman suffered injuries. The media basically believed that they could continue to be strong, and even had a chance to break the record of 93 wins in the 94/72 season.

The regular season continues, and Wang Tiejun is also struggling to maintain his record before his lightning comeback.

After the Suns won the Magic, they won an away game against the Trail Blazers, and then returned home to beat the Kings, starting an eight-game road trip.

The first game against the Pacers, lost, and got the fourth loss of the season.

Reggie Miller exploded with a three-pointer. He made 8 of 6 shots and scored 40 points from the field. His shooting percentage was as high as 75%. With an extremely efficient performance, he defeated the Suns.

And Wang Tiejun was also tired. He was in a bad state, his attack was weak, and his shooting touch was not good. He made as many as 5 turnovers and only scored 31 points and 13 rebounds.

But then Lightning returned from injury, the Suns' main lineup was restored, and they won consecutive victories over the Timberwolves and Bucks, achieving a record of 35 wins and 4 losses, still ranking first in the Western Conference.

At four o'clock in the afternoon on January 1, the Suns arrived in Chicago.

Previously, the Bulls had 37 wins and 3 losses, one game more than the Suns, and the record was first in the league.

So this away game is very important to the Suns and Lao Wang. If they can win it, it will be the same as losing. In the case of one less game, there is only one victory away, and it is very hopeful to catch up.

At the request of the media, the Suns held a press conference at the hotel at five o'clock.

A reporter from the Chicago Sports News asked: "Old K, although the current record of the Suns looks very good, but when facing strong teams, their performance is average, and they can only beat weak teams.

For example, the Magic, when O'Neal was on the court, the Suns fell behind, which shows that the Suns can only win the Magic without O'Neal.

Another example is Mosaic. When the Big Three are in good condition, the Suns are defeated by a big score, and you can only defeat three Big Three with diarrhea.

So how do you look at this problem?Do you think the Suns are just a regular season team, not a playoff team? "

"Let's speak with data." Old Wang said disdainfully.

The reporter was speechless. Isn't the rogue method our exclusive use? How can you use it?

"Old K, the Bulls were swept away in the finals, so how confident are you in winning the current Bulls for tomorrow's game?" The New York Times reporter asked.

"With one more Rodman, can the Bulls win?"

Anyway, regardless of whether you can win or not, you can't lose by talking loudly, Lao Wang said with a smile.

The reporter reminded with a smile: "It is true that they only have one more Rodman, but you are missing two generals, Dan Marley and Drexler."

"So what? We're still No. [-] in the West."

There was a fighting spirit in the old Wang's eyes, and he said seriously: "If the bull wants to win us, it depends on whether their bones are hard enough, and whether their teeth are sharp enough."

"hiss!"

As soon as these words came out, a large area of ​​local reporters below gasped, and there were a lot of discussions.

"Is this old K going crazy again? How many insiders did the Bulls hurt in the finals? It's just the regular season, so is it necessary?"

"He wants to compete for MVP, the lineup is not strong, how can he get it if he is not crazy?"

"It's not worth it. If he injures two of them, we will be in big trouble. The Suns may not have a chance to reach the finals. We don't need to fight them to the death in the regular season."

At this time, in the locker room of the Bulls headquarters training base, a group of players had just finished afternoon training and had just returned to the locker room.

The TV on the wall was on, and the channel was Chicago TV, which happened to be the news of the Sun's press conference.

When a dozen players saw this, the outside players were fine, but the faces of the inside players suddenly changed.

Their faces really changed, because Wang Tiejun's words instantly made them seem to return to the finals half a year ago, the finals that was brutally ruled by old K, how many ribs did they shatter?After playing four finals, how many of them were hospitalized?How many people can still stand?

Two, six insiders, four went to the hospital, and the last two were able to walk off the court standing up.

Now that they heard Old K's name, they felt chills in their hearts, unable to fight. Old K's name seemed to be a taboo in their hearts.

But now, they had to face the beast again.

"Michael, what do you think?" Phil Jackson asked at this time.

Jordan stared at Wang Tiejun on the TV with sharp eyes, but he didn't answer immediately.

But Pippen next to him said: "This guy is serious. He hasn't won the MVP yet. It's very difficult for the Suns to compete for the championship this season. He is determined in the regular season. We really can't afford to fight him in the regular season."

Jordan immediately turned his head to look at Pippen, his sharp eyes were full of dissatisfaction.

Pi Laoer immediately shut his mouth, for fear of offending the tyrant.

"Michael?" Phil Jackson asked again.

Only then did Jordan say: "Those three old fellows in Mosaic may not be able to do anything, one after another injury, we have to be prepared to meet old K again in the finals."

As soon as this was said, everyone in the locker room looked pale.

Especially for a few insiders, the huge pressure instantly hit their hearts, making them unable to breathe well, and the pressure was extremely high.

Jordan originally wanted to say that since it was possible to meet Old K again in the finals, he should try the depth of this Suns team now, but at this moment he noticed that the atmosphere in the locker room was not right, and the faces of several inside teammates changed. He immediately realized that Old K hadn't appeared in front of them.

This time, his heart also lifted, and he felt bad.

If the inside players are timid in front of old K, no matter how strong they are outside, they can't do it. What should we do?
At this time, Phil Jackson analyzed: "We can't underestimate the Big Three, and the Mosaic team may be playing. Dameng has always had few injuries. This season has just approached halfway, and he has already rested for eight games. Barkley's injury may be true, but it may not be that serious. He rested more. Drexler, on the other hand, rarely truces before, this time he was really injured, and the injury was a bit severe."

When he said this, Jordan also felt that it was reasonable, nodded and said: "Three old treacherous guys, you really need to be careful."

But in this way, he felt great pressure again, because if the Big Three can stay healthy, that kind of strong lineup is even more difficult to deal with than the Suns.

……

At five o'clock in the afternoon, ESPN's NBA channel five o'clock news suddenly broke a big news, which shocked the league.

"Yes, I received an inside message that the Magic are making a big deal with the Lakers about Shaquille O'Neal..."

The reporter who broke the news was Rock Hanks, a senior NBA reporter for ESPN with a wide network of contacts. His news was about the Magic.

"Who did it?"

Magic headquarters, general manager Pat Williams was furious when he saw the news.

What was even more angry was the Lakers. The boss Old Buss and general manager West were furious. The latter immediately called Williams and asked to finalize the deal immediately to prevent changes.

……

At this time, in New York, at the NBA headquarters, David Stern is in his president's office, thinking about the feasibility of the O'Neal deal and the changes it will bring.

There is no doubt that he supported O'Neal to leave Orlando. Orlando has a Jordan successor, Hardaway, with high commercial value and no problem in the ball market. Since O'Neal cannot be kept, O'Neal can go to another big city.

What he has to consider is whether O'Neal should stay in the East or go to the West. Who is more beneficial to the development of the league?He wants to strike a balance in this.

If it was an ordinary superstar, he would not waste this brain cell, but O'Neill is not. He is the only behemoth that can compete with Old K, so his whereabouts are particularly important.

To stay in the East, of course, go to a big city team, so as to help the football market grow.

Bulls, with O'Neal, Jordan can easily complete the dynasty, but it is no longer possible, there is no space at all, and with a strong lineup, the dynasty can be easily played, and that dynasty is worthless, and it cannot reflect the greatness and strength of a superstar at all. Only a dynasty built on thorns is the glory that people look up to.

For the Knicks, if Ewing and O'Neal are swapped, it's okay. Ewing is a bit old. This team needs a super center to take over to keep the team going.

Thinking of the Knicks, he feels a little regretful. This team has spent a lot of effort on him, but it has never made it out of the East, but it has not disappointed him. The Knicks are now firmly ranked No. [-] in the league, bringing great benefits to the league.

Alternatively, Philadelphia, which failed to rebuild a few years ago, has the space and the ball market to accommodate a behemoth.

After much deliberation, he decided that these few teams were suitable.

As for the West, the Lakers are of course the most suitable. If you want to go, of course go to Los Angeles. Whether it is the ball market or the team's salary space, it is the most suitable.

Staying in the East will hinder Jordan, because Jordan is still in his peak state. With the Bulls' current lineup, there is still a chance to play a dynasty, so let O'Neal go to the West?

When Stern thought of this, he couldn't help but think of the tyranny of the Suns sweeping the Bulls last season.

The Suns are in the midst of rebuilding, but this season, with an ordinary lineup, Old K actually managed to reach No. [-] in the Western Conference, and even tied for No. [-] in the league with the Bulls at one point. It can be seen that its strength has reached the point where it has to be restricted. Most of the major bosses in the league have asked the league to issue restrictions.

Moreover, the Suns have three first-round picks in 96, namely the Hornets and Cavaliers, and the Suns themselves. Once the draft is successful, in the next five to seven years, if old K can stay healthy, then there is no doubt that the Suns will dominate the entire league.

Thinking of this, he felt a little regretful. Old K actually chose to renew his contract with the Suns. Phoenix's ball market is still too small. If he went to the Lakers, he would definitely agree with it.

"Just stay in the east."

At this time, he made a decision to let O'Neal stay in the East.

Jordan should be able to persist for a few more years. O'Neal's team can just use this time to complete the lineup construction. After Jordan gets old, O'Neal and the old K will compete again. At that time, two behemoths will be formed.

Thinking of this, he hopes that the Magic will trade O'Neal now, because the trading window is about to close. If O'Neal does not leave the Magic this season and enters the free market as a free agent after his contract is completed, it will be very difficult for him to interfere.

"Didn't Nelson say he wanted to trade Ewing for O'Neal?"

He suddenly thought of this news. After Pat Riley left, Nelson took over. Of course, his idea also aroused some public opinion, but thinking about it now, it is a very good idea.

Thinking of this, his hand reached for the phone.

(End of this chapter)