The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 233 Busy
Since the Western Conference Finals ended, Gan Guoyang has been extremely busy.

I went to San Francisco to receive an award, returned to Beiqiao High School to give a lecture and participate in activities, and attended the opening ceremony of the San Francisco Chinese Basketball Training Camp (Avia provided all the equipment).

Visiting Mr. Karp and listening to his views and opinions on his future tactics and playing style—he suggested that Gan Guoyang could appropriately reduce his weight to maintain his flexibility: "The premise is that Portland must find a reliable backup center."

He learned how to make Southern-style barbecue from Nate Thurmond and has been thinking about opening his own restaurant, but for now he still enjoys working with the Warriors.

Gan Guoyang was pulled along by Gan Youwei and taught him how to cook two more Gan family dishes: one was braised eel, and the other was chicken wrapped in lotus leaves. Gan Guoyang learned a lot of Gan family dishes, but he still doesn't understand what kind of cuisine they are.

Gan Youwei said that he combined the strengths of many schools of thought and embraced diversity, just like Gan Guoyang's approach to playing ball.

Gan Guoyang asked if he could make a fish-flavored burger, and almost got hit on the head with a spatula by Gan Youwei. Gan Guoyang thought that he would make it later and let Barkley try it first.

Although his son has achieved great success and the Gan family restaurant has expanded into a chain, with branches in Chinatown, Gan Youwei has always kept a low profile and insisted on pursuing the promising career of a chef. Despite his advanced age, he continues to work on the front lines of the kitchen and has been developing and improving various Chinese dishes to cater to the tastes of American customers.

However, Gan Youwei taught Gan Guoyang authentic and traditional Chinese cooking methods, hoping that his son would not forget where his roots were.

Gan Guoyang asked Gan Youwei if he wanted to join the China tour and go back to his hometown for a visit. Gan Youwei thought about it for a long time but still refused, saying that he did not want to delay his son's work and did not want to give people the impression of a nouveau riche returning home in glory.

Later, when Gan Guoyang arrived in China, Gan Youwei, who was always frugal, made several international long-distance calls to inquire about the changes and situation in China, clearly showing his concern.

Before his trip to China, Gan Guoyang also went to Los Angeles. Wang Fuxi's father, Wang Zhengmin, complained to Gan Guoyang that because Gan Guoyang kept winning games in Los Angeles, the store's business was not doing well, and some thugs even came to throw stones at him.

Gan Guoyang paid for an Indian motorcycle for his future father-in-law. Wang Zhengmin was overjoyed, all his worries disappeared, and he no longer cared about the petty thugs.

The preparations for the trip to China took two weeks. By the time he returned to the United States in July, Gan Guoyang had first gone back to Spokane to participate in the "Gan Guoyang Day" celebrations. Then he went to Las Vegas to participate in a summer league, but was dismissed by the league committee after playing for two days because the level of the competition was too high.

After that, he went to visit Bernard King and waited for the Chinese men's basketball team to visit. He stayed in New York for the entire month of August, staying at the InterContinental Hotel near the Knicks' training facility. He used Ewing's newly bought Mercedes-Benz as his mode of transportation and looked for places to play and train.

In August, Ewing had not yet signed with the Knicks, but New York's economic value was immeasurable. Ewing and his team sought a 10-year mega-contract with a first-year salary of $750,000 and a total amount of around $30 million.

Ewing's exorbitant demands surprised the New York media. Gan Guoyang's appearance in New York gave many media outlets a target to attack Ewing: Gan only signed a 4-year, $400 million contract, with a first-year salary of only $60. How dare Ewing ask for 10 years and $3000 million?

However, superstars in the league are a scarce resource. At that time, most superstars rarely changed teams. Once they were drafted and signed a contract, they would basically play for the city for life.

Apart from Wilt Chamberlain, who frequently changed teams and altered the color of his crown, other superstars such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, and Kyrie Irving all had specific reasons for changing teams during their peak years.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was killed because of the murder of a fellow church member; Moses Malone was killed because the Rockets owner who wanted to keep him died; Kyrie Irving was killed because of the league merger, and so on.

Bird, Johnson, Gan Guoyang, and Olajuwon are certainly excellent players, but they have nothing to do with New York.

Auerbach is unlikely to let Bird go, and Johnson signed a longer 25-year contract. Neither the Trail Blazers nor the Rockets would, in any sense, let Forrest Gump and Hakeem Olajuwon go.

So New York won a lucky draw, but the ticket said: it can only be redeemed for Patrick Ewing, and there is an additional fee, the fee is uncertain.

Ewing is sure to become a millionaire. When Gan Guoyang lent him his car, Ewing even consulted his agent Falk, who immediately said, "Lend it to him right away!"

Falk feared that New Yorkers would use Gan Guoyang to undermine Ewing's value. As long as this specter remained in New York, Ewing and Falk had to be careful.

That's why Ewing was surprised to see Gan Guoyang on the sidelines when the Knicks played a warm-up game against the Chinese men's basketball team; his team didn't want him to face Gan Guoyang directly. If the New York media seized on a weakness in the confrontation, it would inevitably generate hype and reduce Ewing's bargaining power in negotiations.

Gan Guoyang was aware of this, but he didn't care. He and Ewing were friends, and he couldn't possibly cut off Ewing's source of income. He was just a little disgusted by Falk's excessive shrewdness as a pure business agent.

As the NBA becomes increasingly commercialized, star players will command ever-higher market value and earn ever more money.

Larry Fleischer told Gan Guoyang that signing a four-year contract was a wise choice because the salary cap is visibly going to keep rising.

But for Gan Guoyang, troubles followed. During his time in New York, apart from playing basketball, his daily life was almost constantly surrounded by the eyes of fans and the media.

He was fine on his own, but when Wang Fuxi came over to spend some time alone with Gan Guoyang, he discovered that as soon as they left the hotel room, they were under the watchful eyes of the world.

New York City isn't as aloof and calm as Portland. Gan Guoyang gets recognized everywhere he goes, and people always ask him for autographs. In some places, he even caused a commotion, requiring the police to help maintain order.

Gan Guoyang is striving to achieve the treatment of Michael Jackson; he's not far from hiring bodyguards for himself.

When Michael Jordan and the Bulls came to New York for a game, the two could no longer go out for McDonald's together like they used to.

Whenever the two of them appear together, a large crowd will inevitably gather. Jordan is always surrounded by a group of people, his team, who have been with him since his time at North Carolina.

Like Rod Higgins, North Carolina teammate Adolph Silver, the Fred brothers: Fred Whitfield, Fred Grover, and Fred Kearns, three guys with the same name, as well as Gus Wright, George Keller, and others.

These people were always around Jordan, serving as his friends and followers, responsible for various tasks such as social interaction, driving, security, and accompanying services. Of course, their biggest role was to keep him company.

Gan Guoyang is very different from Jordan in this respect. He doesn't like being surrounded by a group of hangers-on, but Jordan is right: "You will need someone to help you with chores and security matters one day. Basketball is everything to you and you can't afford to be distracted."

Gan Guoyang was already looking for a financial staff member, and he thought he would find a bodyguard as well. Larry Fleischer couldn't be around Gan Guoyang all the time like Falk. Gan Guoyang needed a professional who could provide legal advice.

After seeing off the Chinese men's basketball team and learning valuable lessons from Bernard King, Gan Guoyang decided to take a break from his busy life and leave the bustling and noisy New York. He wanted to return to Spokane and Gonzaga for some peace and quiet.

He went to visit his classmates, coaches, and the Stockton family at school, and also did some final systematic training before the Trail Blazers' training camp started. He needed a quiet time to find his best form, and there was no better option than returning to Gonzaga University.

Portland experiences continuous rain in July, August, and September, making it unsuitable for training or rest. While Spokane is not far from Portland and Seattle, both rainy cities, it is located further inland and receives far less rain, with less than half the rainfall of Portland.

Moreover, most of the rain here falls as snowflakes in winter, and the summer and autumn seasons are very dry, which is suitable for grape cultivation and winemaking, as well as sports, outdoor activities, and physical conditioning.

Gan Guoyang returned to Spokane in September, the start of the semester at Gonzaga University. Stockton picked him up at the airport. The guy still couldn't bear to buy a car and drove his dad's pickup truck.

As soon as he put his luggage down and got into the car, Stockton said to Gan Guoyang, "Gan, there's something I want to tell you."

Looking at Stockton's constipated expression, which seemed to want to say something but couldn't, Gan Guoyang asked, "John, you don't want to get married, do you?"

Stockton was surprised and asked, "How did you know?"

Gan Guoyang covered his face and said, "Judging from your hesitant expression and the slightly intoxicated look in your eyes, you must be crazy about getting married!"

(End of this chapter)