NBA backer king

Chapter 312 The Bull Prepares to Rebuild
Losing the G3 game allowed the Suns to get the match point and was likely to be swept away. The entire Bulls, from top to bottom, from the coaching staff to the players, from the boss to the management, were all at a loss as if they had lost their souls.

From the moment the game ended, Jordan felt empty, from his mind to his body.

He propped his hands on his knees, panting heavily, dripping sweat down his chin onto the floor, and soon gathered into a small puddle of water.

Hearing the loud roar of sweeping the Bulls, he raised his head to look at the mad West Arena, and then at the Suns celebrating wildly, his eyes were very dazed.

A few meters away, Barkley looked at his friend Jordan, and said to Dameng beside him with great emotion: "I have never seen such an expression on Michael's face. He looks very dazed and helpless."

"I do not have either."

Dameng replied, and added: "Even if he was suppressed by the bad boy army back then, he never did this. At that time, he was still full of fighting spirit."

"Do you two idiots have the right to pity him? His honor can crush you." Next to him, Larry Bird's voice that deserved to be beaten.

"Especially when there are people with empty hands." Magic Johnson's voice sounded even worse.

The veins on Dameng's forehead almost exploded, he gave the magician a hard look, and said angrily, "Ervin, don't even try to get old K to the Lakers, the Suns won't let him go. You think the Suns' management team are all idiots with 50+ points in a row in the Finals?
Old K won't go either, he's about to win the second championship, and he will win another championship in the future. With the three championships in hand, he has personally built his mother team into a wealthy family. Phoenix will definitely erect a statue for him, which is much better than going to the Lakers to continue to write glory for you. "

The corner of Magic Johnson's face twitched. This bastard seems to have a point. Do you want to suggest the management to get O'Neal?
At this time, some reporters came to interview a few people, and they readily accepted the interview.

"Larry, do you think the Bulls have a chance of coming back?" a reporter asked.

Hearing this question, Larry Bird couldn't help laughing, and then said: "In this finals, God is wearing the No. 33 jersey, and his cameo is the center of the Suns."

"Oh!"

Those who heard it suddenly exclaimed.

"So Larry, do you think the Bulls have a chance of avoiding a sweep?" another reporter asked hastily.

Larry Bird thought for a while before answering this question, and then said: "It depends on the opportunity. After all, it is Michael's team. He is capable of winning from this Suns team."

"What opportunity are you referring to?" the reporter asked.

Larry Bird said seriously: "Compared with the Bulls, the Suns are certainly stronger, but where is the key to victory?
In terms of the inside line, in front of the old K, the Bulls' inside line can only be described as rotten. This is the most important point of victory, but it is not the key point.

If the Bulls had met the Suns instead of Mosaic in the finals last year, even without the glider, the Bulls would have to work hard to win the Suns.

Of course, they should still be able to win, because Jordan and Pippen should be able to lock the Lightning, and the old K is not as strong as he is now.

But this year the Suns have an extra glider, which is a change, the most critical point, the Bulls can no longer lock the Lightning, he has a helper.

The opportunity I'm talking about is that unless the Suns have problems on the outside, such as injuries, cold hands, etc., it is difficult for the Bulls not to be swept. "

"Why don't you think that the Suns will have problems like injuries inside?" The reporter asked again.

Larry Bird smiled and said: "Because Old K has never had an injury in the past three seasons, so the possibility of injury this time is also the smallest.

And I don't think about his touch. Tonight, the Bulls will hurt another meat shield. Can anyone stop him from attacking the basket in the next game?He doesn't need touch at all, just put the ball in the basket. "

Over there, a reporter asked Barkley: "Charles, do you think Michael will be swept?"

Barkley couldn't help but glanced at Jordan's direction just now. There was no one there. He looked at the Bulls' bench and saw that there was no one there. He shook his head and said, "With the current state of the Suns and old K's current state, it may be very difficult. Old K will not let go of the opportunity to sweep the Bulls and Michael."

"If the Suns sweep the Bulls, do you think this team will be the strongest team in history?" the reporter asked again.

There was a look of envy in Barkley's eyes, and he shook his head with a smile and said: "Last season, the Bulls had the best regular season record of 72 wins and 10 in history.

So the Suns can now be called the strongest team, because the Bulls have no chance of a comeback. This Suns does not need to sweep the Bulls at all to be recognized as the strongest team in history. "

Dameng and others next to him couldn't help but nodded, agreeing with Barkley's statement.

O'Neal muttered: "But the Suns' record in the regular season did not surpass the Bulls' record last season."

Everyone couldn't help but nodded, and Magic Johnson said: "This may be the only flaw."

But he paused and said again: "It's just that if the Suns complete four rounds of sweeps and win the championship, then I think they will undoubtedly be the strongest in history."

As soon as this was said, everyone couldn't help nodding, and even O'Neill had nothing to say.

On the sidelines, after Wang Tiejun celebrated with everyone, he also began to accept on-site interviews.

"Old K, congratulations on winning the G3 battle."

"Thank you."

"The Bulls have another injury inside, and now you have a huge advantage inside, so in the next G4 game, will you really sweep the Bulls?"

Lao Wang said with a smile: "There is no doubt that I will not show mercy, because the best way to respect the opponent is to do our best to destroy the opponent and defeat them, and the Bull is the opponent we should respect."

All the reporters around couldn't help shrinking their eyes when they heard this sentence.

They felt a great coldness and cruelty, the feeling of wanting to stomp their opponents on the floor and turn them into ashes, which made their hearts tremble slightly.

They looked at Wang Tiejun's smiling face and his white teeth from time to time, as if they saw a beast biting and devouring his prey.

"Old K, just now Barkley said that you are already the strongest team in NBA history, what do you think?" a reporter asked.

When Lao Wang heard this, he immediately laughed, and said with a smile on his face: "Really? If I say no, wouldn't it be a shame to Charles? Well, I will give him face, and he is right. We are the strongest team in history this year."

"Hey, old K, Erwin said that if they can win four rounds, they will be the strongest team."

At this time, Barkley and a group of people finished the interview and walked over. After hearing this sentence, Dameng said loudly.

Upon hearing this, Lao Wang said without thinking, "Then sweep them away."

After saying this, he shouted to his teammates who were being interviewed not far away: "Brothers, sweep the Bulls, and we will ascend to the throne of the strongest team in history."

"Sweep them!"

Lightning and the others shouted excitedly.

"Sweeping the bull... ouch!"

The glider Drexler was the most excited, his teeth were trembling, and he accidentally bit his tongue when shouting excitedly, causing tears to flow out from the pain.

"Sweep the bull! Sweep the bull..."

Countless Suns fans who were still nostalgic in the arena shouted.

After the interview was over, Wang Tiejun and Yu Feihong said a few words, and after greeting each other, they went back to the locker room with their teammates.

In the locker room of the visiting team, on a June day, the air conditioner seemed to be turned on too high, the atmosphere was as cold as ice, and no one spoke.

Outside, general manager Jerry Krause had no intention of going in. He didn't want to face Jordan's face at this time.

The owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, stood aside, also unwilling to go in.

"Jerry..."

Klaus motioned, and the two walked to the other end of the corridor and began talking.

"Jerry, I..."

Krause hesitated, then said, "I want to break up this team."

"what?"

Jerry Reinsdorf was taken aback, feeling a little dazed. Is this team, which was called the strongest team in history last season, on the verge of being dismantled?

"Jerry, what exactly are you thinking?"

But he trusted Klaus' ability, forced himself to calm down and asked.

After sorting out his thoughts, Klaus said: "We have successfully won three championships by building a strong outside lineup, but now the times are different. Behemoths like Old K are too dominant in the low post. They have completely surpassed the three super centers and completely obliterated our advantage on the outside. If we don't build a strong inside lineup in a targeted manner, we will lose the competitiveness of the championship."

Jerry Reinsdorf frowned and asked, "Can't we just strengthen the inside line?"

Jerry Krause sighed: "We don't have a good pick at all, so we can only dismantle this lineup and trade. If we want to get a center that can compete with the old K, it is impossible without enough chips, and it is impossible to make small troubles. And we don't have much time. Michael is not young, and his contract expires next year. Before that, we must complete the reconstruction as soon as possible."

Jerry Reinsdorf couldn't help but nodded, as if that was the case.

Klaus added: "My idea of ​​building a team is to build an internal and external dual core..."

Having said that, the locker room door opened, and Phil Jackson walked out.

He really couldn't bear the cold atmosphere inside, Jordan's attitude of going crazy but not saying a word made him unable to stay any longer, so he just came out to take a breath.

"Phil, come here."

After Jerry Reinsdorf saw it, he greeted him, and Phil Jackson hurried over.

Krause actually doesn't want to talk to Phil Jackson about rebuilding the team right now, or even reveal the news.

Although he was the one who got Phil Jackson to be the assistant coach of the Bulls, he was also the one who promoted him to the position of head coach, but as the team continued to win championships in the past two years, Phil Jackson demanded more and more power, and has frequently interfered with the scope of the general manager's authority.

Moreover, the relationship between him and Jordan has always been very bad, and Phil Jackson and Jordan are in the same group. If the news of the reconstruction is revealed to Phil Jackson now, Jordan will definitely know it soon. He cannot predict Jordan's reaction after knowing it.

But the boss spoke, and he couldn't object, so he could only nod to Phil Jackson who came over.

Jerry Reinsdorf glanced at Krause and said to Phil Jackson: "Phil, Jerry said he wanted to rebuild the team, and you should listen to his ideas."

Of course he is aware of some contradictions and conflicts among his subordinates, but as the boss, the team is likely to be swept away, and he desperately hopes that his subordinates can become one. At this time, he can't control their conflicts. He will not be polite to anyone who dares to influence the team.

"what?"

Similar to Jerry Reinsdorf's reaction just now, Phil Jackson was also taken aback when he heard this sentence.

"Is this going to be rebuilt?"

His thoughts flickered, as if he had seen the brilliance when he defeated Mosaic to win the championship last season.

Klaus coughed, and had no choice but to continue: "My idea is to build an inside and outside core. Only with such a lineup can it be possible to fight against the Suns."

"Dual-core inside and outside the line?"

Phil Jackson calmed down quickly. If the boss decides to rebuild, he must get involved and seek the best interests.

Now the team may be swept away, even if it is not swept away, there is no hope of a comeback. I am afraid that Michael also supports the team's rebuilding?

In the past, when Michael was still young, he might not have supported reconstruction and would have continued to wait for the team to gradually strengthen, but now that he is 32 years old, he has no time to wait for slow reinforcement, so he should support it.

At this time, Klaus continued: "Jordan is the core of the outside line, which cannot be changed. Inside, I hope to trade for a super center, or someone of similar level. For other positions, I will be equipped with a few good main players."

Phil Jackson shook his head and said, "It's hard, there are just a few, the three super centers are unlikely to leave the team, right? O'Neal still has a one-year contract, and the possibility of old K leaving the Suns is very small. And, Mr. Krause, have you considered salary space? Do you expect them to cut their salaries and join the Bulls?"

Jerry Reinsdorf couldn't help nodding.

Now the salary of this lineup is okay, because Jordan only has an annual salary of 400 million, and Pippen is even lower, but it definitely cannot accommodate a super center, and if there is no space, it cannot be signed.

If you want to sign a free agent, you must consider the salary space. If you exceed the salary cap, you cannot sign.

(There is no such thing as a luxury tax in the NBA. It only started in 99, and now it cannot be signed if it exceeds the salary cap. There is no limit to the maximum salary of a player, but the team salary cap cannot exceed it.)
When it comes to salary, he can't help but think of Jordan.

Jordan has only one year left on his contract, and he has no intention of renewing the contract in advance. What kind of contract will he give Jordan this time next year?

He talked with David Frank once before, and Frank made it clear that Jordan's next contract's annual salary should not be less than 2000 million.

This is a bit high. On average, Ewing's contract is 1000 million a year.

If Jordan was worth 2000 million in the last three consecutive championships, but failed to make it, such a high contract would be a bit inflated.

He is not reluctant, with Jordan's influence, as long as he stays, he can earn back the ticket money and peripherals every year.

But in addition to this contract, he also needs to ensure that he can build a lineup that can compete for the championship, which is the point.

When he thinks about this matter, he can't help but have a headache, because the annual salary is tens of millions of dollars, what a heartache!

Jordan's signing does not need to consider the salary cap, because the Bulls have Jordan's bird rights and can renew the contract beyond the cap. As long as he can afford it, he can open as much as he wants.

If other teams want to grab Jordan, it will not be so easy, because they do not have Jordan's bird rights, and if they want to sign Jordan, they cannot exceed the salary cap.

However, it is not ruled out that some teams use other methods to make up for the lack of contracts, and he must guard against this.

At this time, Klaus said: "The Knicks just renewed Ewing's contract for two years, more than 800 million next year, and only 300 million in the second year. Why? I think they are playing Jordan's idea."

"what?"

Jerry Reinsdorf was stunned, and then became angry again, those bastards of the Knicks dared to make Michael's idea?

The reason why his Bulls can make a lot of money is because of Jordan. Without Jordan, how much value is left for the Bulls?
Phil Jackson frowned, glanced at Klaus, and couldn't help admiring his keen mind.

He naturally knew the Knicks' intentions. Jordan told him that the Knicks hoped to recruit him to New York.

After observing the reaction of the two, Krause continued: "So we have no time, and we must start rebuilding the team immediately, otherwise we are very likely to lose Jordan by this time next year."

Jerry Reinsdorf nodded again and again. At this moment, he no longer had any objections in his heart, and reconstruction was imperative.

As for how to renew Jordan's contract next year, the big deal is to give him an annual salary of 2000 million, but this is also his bottom line, and there can be no more.

"Jerry, who exactly do you want to recruit? Is it possible for old K? Didn't you just want to get him before?" He asked hastily.

Klaus shook his head regretfully and said, "The contract I gave at that time was still too small, and I underestimated Mr. Colangelo's courage."

Speaking of this, he sorted out his mood and said: "This time the old K should jump out of the last year of the contract, and Colangelo should also have more courage. The possibility of us recruiting the old K is not great.

Old K played for the Suns for three years. After becoming a free agent, the Suns have his bird rights. As long as Colangeloken offers him, he can accept any contract, but we can't.

Unless, we make up for the shortfall in the contract in another form, and you have to offer Old K a super big contract that he is satisfied with but that Colangelo can't keep. "

Reinsdorf quickly shook his head, next year Jordan's contract is going to make him bleed, and if another old K comes over, can't he go bankrupt?He ran the bulls to make money, not to go bankrupt.

Klaus continued: "In addition, next season we will have more than one Suns opponent. Even like the 93/94 season, our main opponent is likely to become the Mosaic team again."

"You mean Drexler?" Phil Jackson also had some news of his own and asked sensitively.

Nodding, Klaus said: "Dream has recruited glider many times. In the last transaction, Mosaic also participated in the transaction. In the end, the Suns succeeded. This also made this Suns team, otherwise we would not lose to them."

The other two couldn't help but nodded. If the Suns didn't have a glider, their outside strength would drop by half. It would be impossible for them to compete against Jordan + Pippen. Then they would probably succeed in defending their title. Thinking of this, they sighed in unison.

Klaus said: "Drexler's contract will end when it is finished, and the Suns will renew the old K. There is no room for him, so it should be a foregone conclusion that he will leave the Suns. So where will he go? The first goal is his hometown Houston."

"Can't let him go back to Houston." Phil Jackson reacted instinctively.

Klaus glanced at Jackson, feeling like a hero, but this was also what annoyed him, because Jackson was trying to take his power.

After letting go of this thought, he nodded and said: "We really want to prevent him from returning to Houston. If Houston doesn't get the glider, then Dameng may go crazy. He is not young, and he will have no chance if he doesn't win the championship."

"Dream of trading?"

Phil Jackson and Jerry Reinsdorf got their spirits up at the same time.

With a fox-like smile on his face, Krause said, "Yes, we have a chance to trade the big dream by preventing the glider from returning to Houston.

Like Jordan, Dameng still has a one-year contract, which seems to be $530 million for next season. After we clean up the inside, there will be salary space to accommodate him next season. "

"Then what kind of contract extension are you going to give him? You must know that we will renew Michael next year. There is no big space for him at all. We don't have his bird rights." Jerry Reinsdorf reminded.

Nodding, Klaus only thought about next season's problems, and the latter problems really need to be considered. If he doesn't think clearly, he can't persuade Dameng to join the Bulls.

Dameng almost fled Houston in 92 because of contract issues. He definitely wanted a big contract. If he didn’t agree to a big contract, he wouldn’t come.

He had thought that Dameng would cut his salary and renew his contract because of the championship. If that would be perfect, he just needs to contact Dameng's agent to know if it is possible.

The three communicated together for a while, and then Phil Jackson went back to the locker room.

He still has a press conference to prepare, the Bulls are about to be swept, tonight's press conference is a difficulty for him.

"Jerry, do you want to trade Pippen for Big Dream?" Jerry Reinsdorf asked immediately after Jackson left.

Klaus nodded and said, "Jerry, we don't have any other bargaining chips. The future first-round picks, Pippen, Clifford Robinson, Kukoc, anyway, except Jordan, everyone else needs to be our bargaining chips."

Jerry Reinsdorf sighed and said nothing more.

His mind is in a mess, about rebuilding, about renewing Jordan's contract next year, and his life will be very difficult in the past two years. In short, in order to build a championship lineup, he must be prepared to bleed heavily, otherwise he will not be able to keep Jordan.

(End of this chapter)