God of NBA point guards

Chapter 425 Defending Battle

Mutombo has also attracted many teams, such as the Hawks and Bulls.

The Hawks offered Mutombo a five-year, $5 million contract, which immediately attracted the attention of the African continent.

But at this time, Bulls general manager Jerry Krause contacted his agent, which made him hesitate again.

However, the Bulls couldn't offer a big contract for the Eagles, and only offered a five-year contract of $5 million with an annual salary of $3500 million.

The old contract ended, and Jordan entered the new contract, with a three-year salary of $7200 million and an annual salary of $2400 million, but his annual salary last season was only $382 million, so this season only occupies less than $600 million in salary space, which is about the same as Zhou Quan. .

At this point, the Bulls have to free up 500 million space first, and they have to trade Kevin Willis and another important rotation player to make up the space.

The $2100 million is less, but the championship is also very attractive, and Mutombo can't decide for a while.

Michael Jordan didn't wait for the big dream, and his expectations for Mutombo became stronger, so he put pressure on Jerry Krause.

After repeated consideration, Jerry Krause once again offered a contract of 5 million for 4500 years, so that he would have to vacate 700 million in space.

Mutombo also considered for a long time and agreed to the Bulls' contract.

Then Krause began to clean up contracts and prepare cap space for signings.

Kevin Willis, Luke Langley, and Randy Brown were put on the shelves, and the three added up to exactly $700 million in space.

Fortunately, the Bulls still have Bill Wennington as a center substitute, and Randy Brown is only a fringe player, without excessively weakening the thickness of the lineup.

In New York, David Stern received a trade request and hesitated.

If the Bulls get Mutombo, the difficulty of the Sonics' three consecutive championships will increase exponentially, which he knows very well.

The question he considers is whether this deal is conducive to the development of the league. In fact, the situation in the last finals was a bit one-sided. The Bulls only won one game. If the Bulls fans did not make trouble, they might be swept away. This is not conducive to balance, so Ultimately he decided to go through with the deal.

On the afternoon of the 20th, the transaction was completed and the Bulls officially announced the signing of Mutombo.

This free signing immediately shocked the entire league.

Lakers general manager Jerry West accepted an interview with Los Angeles TV and said when talking about the deal:
"The Bulls' lineup is so strong that it is frightening. This is not good for the development of the league. It will trigger vicious competition and lead to the grouping of superstars at their peak. This time Mutombo joined the Bulls, which is worse than Barkley being traded to Mosaic .”

"This is a hug, this is an absolute hug."

After Whithit heard the news, he immediately contacted a familiar reporter and expressed his opinion to the media.

After many people expressed concerns, Bulls general manager Jerry Krause stood up and explained: "Our transactions are all within the league rules, and there is nothing illegal about introducing Mutombo from the free market. Holding a group is just a normal reinforcement.

And everyone knows that Dikembe is weak offensively and strong defensively. We mainly strengthen the inside defense, and the offensive end has not been strengthened, or even weakened. "

But no matter what the Bulls management explained, the Bulls' strong lineup made the entire league uneasy, and even suppressed the fear of the Supersonics.

The Supersonics have won two consecutive championships, and now they want to hit the third consecutive championship. They are the public enemy of the league. The entire league wants to stop it, but now the Bulls' deal has attracted firepower for the Supersonics.

On this day, Whithit contacted Zhou Quan, who was doing his best boxing training, and said: "Iron Fist, now the Bulls' lineup is much stronger than last season, especially the inside defense, with Mutombo as the gate, It will be much more difficult for us to kill in."

Zhou Quannian said: "Mutombo, Toni Kukoc, Pippen, Jordan, Ron Harper, this defense, that is, Kukoc is worse, and the other four, the Bulls have created an iron barrel lineup! "

"Yeah, now we are a little passive, there is no room to introduce players, and it is difficult for better role players." Whithit said awkwardly.

Zhou Quan said: "Bob, we must find a better center, and a center with a mid-range shot. We must find a way to pull Mutombo out of the basket, otherwise we will not be able to play against the Bulls."

Whithit said: "Mutombo sits on the basket and poses too much threat to our breakthrough, but Rodman can't pull it out. How can we call him out?"

Zhou Quan said with a smile: "It depends on the tactical movement, and it can still be called out. Rodman doesn't attack, and Mutombo can't defend him. He is best at protecting the basket. Who has the strongest offense inside? , he will mainly defend whoever he is defending, as long as the person he is defending pulls out of the penalty area, he can only follow him, and there are very few opportunities to change defenses."

Whithit smiled bitterly: "So, looking for a center like Sam Perkins?"

Zhou Quan said with a smile: "Basically, you must have a good mid-range shot. It is better to have a long-range shot. But Sam Perkins' efficiency is too low. You need to find a center who is more accurate in mid-range shots and good at shooting open positions. Too slow, as long as Dikembe Mutombo doesn't follow, or if he follows, my ball will reach him."

"Okay, I'll discuss it with George Karl," Whithit said.

At this time, Dawson contacted the postman's agent, and also sent a trade offer to the Jazz, exchanging Barkley for Karl Malone.

The postman was a little moved when he learned that Mosaic wanted to trade himself.

He teamed up with Dameng. This combination of insiders is absolutely the best in the league, but the outsiders are so bad that they can't be seen. With the glider, they were swept by the supersonic speed. He and Dameng are not sure.

After receiving the offer, Jerry Sloan was unmoved and directly rejected it.

Barkley is already dead, but the postman is at his peak. The value of the two is not at the same level. How could he agree?

Then he called the postman and said clearly: "Carl, Mosaic has no bargaining chip to trade you at all, and Barkley is already dead, unless they use Big Dream as a bargaining chip, but in that case, the transaction is meaningless."

The postman fell silent, and then Jerry Sloan continued: "Carl, you still have a three-year contract, and you can play for another three years. If not, I will let you leave freely, okay?"

"Three years?"

The postman smiled wryly. He is 33 years old, and he will be 34 next season, and he will be 37 after three years of playing.

Jerry Sloan said very strongly: "In short, I can't trade you for Barkley. If you leave, this lineup that has been polished for many years will be useless."

The postman said airily: "Then ask the boss to increase investment. We still have a middle-class regulation. We have no reinforcements. How can we beat the supersonic? Do you still want to be swept away by the iron fist?"

Jerry Sloan was silent for a while. The football market in Salt Lake City is so big, it is impossible for the boss to increase investment. It would be good not to spend money.

……

At 8 am on August 25th, the NBA announced the list of the top 9 superstars selected, and Zhou Quan was among them.

The league also announced that it will hold an awards ceremony for the top 97 superstars during the [-] All-Star Weekend.

On August 8, Zhou Quan and Holyfield jointly held a press conference, which was regarded as a warm-up before the defending battle.

"Zhou, Don King has been contacting us. He wants to arrange for you to fight Michael Tyson. By the way, you will defend your title against No. 1 Holyfield, and he will challenge the current head of the WBA, Bruce Sale, on No. 7." Deng, if he wins, he will have the title of world champion again." After the press conference, Philip said.

"If I lose to Holyfield this time and lose the title, will he still fight me? Wouldn't it be better to fight Holyfield then?" Zhou Quan asked.

"He said, no matter whether you win or lose, I hope to fight with you. Zhou, even if you lose this defending battle and you don't have the title, but your popularity is still there, I don't think it will fall, he So do Mr. Arum and Mr. Dewar," Philip said.

Zhou Quan thought about it. Tyson's popularity is indeed very high now, and he won't suffer a loss in a fight. It would be better if he could beat him, so he nodded and said, "I only have one request, and I can't give in. I don't want Don Jin Suck blood on me."

"Of course. Your current popularity is definitely no worse than Tyson. How can we give in?" Phillip nodded.

From this day onwards, the major gambling companies set up odds for this boxing match.

In terms of odds, there is no big gap. It is obvious that the major gambling companies generally think that this boxing match is equal, and that the strength of the two is equal, and either has a chance to win.

On the whole, more gambling companies give Holyfield lower odds.

In other words, most gambling companies believe that Holyfield has a better chance of winning.

However, a gambling company in Las Vegas unexpectedly did not offer a handicap for this boxing match, but made a surprising one.

Tekken is hit once, twice, three times, and more than three times, and the odds are 1.15, 1.09, 1.06, and 1.03, respectively.

As soon as this handicap came out, it unexpectedly received a lot of follow-up from gamblers and became the most popular handicap.

All of a sudden, other gambling companies followed suit and offered similar odds.

For example, a company’s handicap is to bet on Zhou Quan without injury to defend the title. There is a specific standard for this non-injury, not to be effectively hit once.

One company offered a handicap of how many punches Zhou Quan could dodge at most.

This type of handicap is more attractive to bet than the regular handicap.

Zhou Quan couldn't help but bet tens of thousands of dollars to buy himself to defend the title without injury.

On the 29th, Barkley couldn't help but called Jordan and asked, "Michael, are you going to watch the Tekken guy defend his title?"

"NO."

Jordan said very firmly.

Now, as long as he thinks of losing 200 million dollars last year, he will feel distressed to death, and he has long vowed not to watch Zhou Quan's boxing match again.

"Hakeem won't go either. I'll ask the postman, Larry Johnson, and Oakley." Barkley muttered.

He wanted to go a little bit, and wanted to see how Zhou Quan lost. He felt that Holyfield was stronger.

"Hey postman, are you going to Las Vegas?"

"Flying Pig, what do you want me for?"

"What about you?"

"No, what am I doing there? My farm needs me to look after it."

"Iron Fist's title defense, don't you want to see how he loses?"

"No, whether he wins or loses has nothing to do with me."

"Damn it, you were broken by him off the court, and you were beaten up by him in the boxing ring. Don't you forget?"

"Shut up! It's been a long time since the off-court fight. I've hurt other people too. It's not a grievance above the ring, it's a competition.

In fact, that professional boxing match with him was to end our feud. It was just that I lost, but our feud was over. "

"You guy, are you actually afraid of him?"

"Isn't it fear? I have the guts to fight him in the ring. Do you have the guts to fight him? You and Da Meng are both cowards."

"You bastard!"

Barkley was furious, and hung up the phone after yelling.

Angered by the postman, he didn't want to call anyone else, and he didn't want to go to Las Vegas, but thinking of the postman's words, his mood was a little complicated.

In fact, when it comes to grievances, there is no grievances between him and Iron Fist at all. In the beginning, they had a good start.

It's just that he supported Jordan face to face, ignored Iron Fist, and didn't take a neutral position, which caused the relationship between the two to deteriorate rapidly.

Of course, he didn't think it was his fault. He and Jordan were good friends. At that time, he and Iron Fist were just casual acquaintances. There was no friendship at all. There was nothing wrong with supporting Jordan.

Thinking of what his wife had said to persuade him, he couldn't help thinking that he should avoid getting involved with Tekken in the future. The postman can let go of his feud with Tekken, and he, who has no feuds, has no need to maintain that kind of rivalry with Tekken.

……

From the 31st to the 1st, a large number of private jets arrived at various airports in Las Vegas, more than [-], all of which were wealthy people from all over the United States and even all over the world.

Many of these people brought their families and girlfriends and planned to spend their holidays here, so that they could watch two consecutive world champion defenses within a week.

September 1996, 9, Las Vegas, MGM Hotel Stadium, WBC World Championship Defending Challenge.

The gymnasium with 2 people was packed to the brim, and all the seats that could be added were filled. The average ticket price reached [-] U.S. dollars, the lowest mountain top ticket was as high as [-] U.S. dollars, and the front row ticket was as high as [-] dollars. Far more than the ticket price of the NBA Finals.

Not counting PPV revenue, the box office revenue of this boxing match alone was as high as [-] billion U.S. dollars. Including on-site advertising and sponsorship revenue, it was as high as [-] million U.S. dollars.

Because of the popularity, the promoters sold US$2000 million in just three back-up matches.

There were more than [-] media present, and at least two-thirds of the cameramen had to set up their cameras on the aisle or even on the top of the mountain. There is not that much space under the boxing ring.

In the front row, half are top and first-line celebrities, and half are the world's richest people. There are also many NBA stars present, but none of them grabbed the front row.

(End of this chapter)