The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 239 Prohibition

Chapter 239 Prohibition
As Walton officially returned and signed with the team, the Trail Blazers' key players ended their vacations and returned to Portland at the end of September.

The preseason training camp will officially start on October 1st. Gan Guoyang couldn't sleep at all the night before. Even though he had fought several rounds with Wang Fuxi, he still felt very energetic.

With Walton's return, the start of the new season, and his improved skills and agility after losing weight, Gan Guoyang felt great and couldn't wait to give Rambis another elbow.

He can't wait to join his new team in training camp and work with the coaching staff to develop tactics and plans for the new season.

Wang Fuxi was already fast asleep beside him, exhausted. Gan Guoyang ran to the living room sofa, picked up the phone, and after thinking for a moment, dialed the number of Jordan's new home in Chicago.

The person who answered the phone was not Jordan himself, but his bodyguard George Keller, whom Gan Guoyang knew.

“George, this is Forrest Gump. Let Michael take the call.”

"Oh Sonny, um... it's not very convenient right now, it's already so late..."

"Make sure Michael finishes this fight quickly! Call me back when he's done; I have something important to tell him."

Five minutes later, Jordan called Gan Guoyang back: "George told me you have something important to tell me, what is it?"

Gan Guoyang said, "The most important thing is that we will win the championship in the new season!"

"..."

"We, which 'we'?"

"Nonsense, of course it's the Portland Trail Blazers. What else could it be but you and me?"

Jordan didn't know what to say, and after a long silence, he said, "Sonny, are you sleepwalking?"

"No, I wasn't. I was just sharing my joy with you."

Jordan was so angry he wanted to fly to Portland and strangle Gan Guoyang. He had gotten himself to answer the phone at 1 a.m., and all he got to do was spout this nonsense!
Jordan knew that the Trail Blazers had made it to the Western Conference Finals and battled the Lakers the previous season, and were indeed just one step away from the NBA Finals.

However, Walton's return during the offseason, aside from triggering a wave of nostalgia among Portland fans, has not been viewed favorably by outsiders in terms of tactics and overall strength.

After all, Walton was once an MVP, but injuries have taken a heavy toll on him. In the last six seasons, he has played a total of 169 games, averaging 28 games per season.

数据从巅峰期的18分、14个篮板、3.2盖帽、5个助攻的全能超级中锋，变成现在10+9+2+2的普通内线。

It's already a miracle that he can continue playing in the NBA. Whether he can play a full season without getting injured is a big question mark.

"Let's try to play a healthy season first," Jordan reminded Gan Guoyang about the health issues they would face.

Of course, Jordan himself didn't know that he would soon be out for the rest of the season due to a scaphoid fracture, and he only played three regular season games.

Gan Guoyang didn't elaborate, expressing his confidence in the Trail Blazers' new medical team and system, which were all resources introduced by Larry Fleischer.

Although Wharton's physical examination results were not optimistic, his bones, muscles, and joints had reached a delicate balance.

Last season, Walton played 67 games, the most of any player in his career, even more than in his championship season in 1977.

This is why the Boston Celtics also wanted Walton; Walton's persistence was the fundamental reason why he was valued.

He kept falling down and getting back up, just to prove that he could still fight on his beloved basketball court.

This willpower has sustained him to this day, and now that he's back in Portland, Gan Guoyang doesn't want to disappoint him.

"Michael, you'll just be following me around eating my dust!" Gan Guoyang said before hanging up the phone.

Jordan was so angry he didn't know what to say. He was supposed to go to sleep, but he couldn't fall asleep until after 3 a.m.

Gan Guoyang felt much better after making the phone call and finally fell asleep. The next day, as usual, he got up early and went out for a run.

Just as dawn was breaking, he saw a brand-new Porsche parked in front of his neighbor Jerome Koch's house, its silvery surface gleaming in the morning light.

"This guy bought a new car again; looks like he's back."

When I got to Thompson's house, the pile of newspapers had been cleared away, so he must have finished his vacation and returned to Portland.

There were signs of life at the door of the house where Drexler, Vandeweghe, and others were staying; everyone had returned.

As for the young and fringe players who participated in the rookie training camp in September, they stayed in a motel near Portland Community College.

Portland is really not a city suitable for spending long periods of summer; the rain is too much and too sticky, which is not good for training and physical recovery.

Everyone either went back to their hometowns, or to dry, cool places, or sunny beaches. While Gan Guoyang was on his trip to China, Larry Weinberger organized the whole team to take a cruise to the Caribbean.

Kossie traveled with his grandmother, the Bill Shawnley family, team staff, and others, using the Caribbean sun and warm breezes to dispel the damp chill of Portland. Drexler spent the entire summer in Houston, training with Hakeem Olajuwon and Moses Malone at the University of Houston, and he was even stronger than last season.

He signed a new contract with the Trail Blazers in the summer with an annual salary of $42. However, this contract only runs until 1988. Like Gan Guoyang, Drexler hopes that after the salary cap increases, he will be able to sign a larger contract instead of being tied to a long-term deal.

Vandeweghe, Thompson, and others are active in basketball training camps in Los Angeles. They participated together in Newell's "Big Man" training camp to further hone their skills.

Most of the Trail Blazers' veteran players live in villas and apartments in Oswick Lake Hills Park, but Bill Walton, who returned to Portland, did not. He moved into a large log cabin in northwest Portland—a large house specially built for Walton by the Polish team to accommodate his particularly tall stature when he was drafted by the Trail Blazers in 1974.

The house is also famous because it is located on Nixon Road in Portland, and Walton was a staunch opponent of Nixon because of the Vietnam War.

He was arrested in college for participating in anti-war activities, and later wrote a letter to Nixon to protest, even asking John Wooden to sign the letter.

After Walton left Portland, the site was left vacant and became a community building. When Walton decided to return, the community immediately cleaned and restored it to its former glory as the giant's cave.

Walton had just woken up in the morning, and for the past few days he felt as if he were dreaming, as if he had returned to the past.

Portland has changed a lot, but there are also many things that haven't changed: the friends, the streets, the buildings.

This large house, in particular, holds many memories for Wharton. From the second-floor terrace, he could see the rushing Willamette River.

Then he saw a tall figure running along the banks of the Willamette River in the morning light; it was Forrest Gump.

"Is this Rocky? What a crazy kid. Ramsey said he gets up and runs every morning, and it turns out it's true."

Over the course of a season, Gan Guoyang's running figure was almost ubiquitous throughout Portland, becoming a unique sight in the city's early mornings.

Walton finished washing up and having breakfast early, and after getting everything ready, he set off in his Toyota Land Cruiser—a car that the Blazers bought for him when he first arrived in Portland, and the dealer gave him another one when he returned.

When Gan Guoyang arrived at the training ground of the Portland Community Center, he found that the gym was already practicing shooting. Jerome Kossie, Jim Paxson, Terry Porter, and others were also there.

When they saw Walton, they all greeted him loudly, but Walton seemed nervous and only responded to Gan Guoyang, ignoring everyone else.

Walton had a severe stutter and speech impediments when he was young, so he had communication difficulties with the Trail Blazers' medical team because he couldn't express certain feelings clearly.

He's much better now, but once he gets nervous, he immediately becomes speechless. He doesn't want to stutter, so he can only choose to remain silent for the time being.

After a while, Walton came out of the locker room, having changed his clothes, and explained his problem to his teammates one by one. Everyone understood that the giant was not arrogant, but nervous.

Subsequently, Drexler, Vandeweghe, and others arrived. Once the coaching staff, including Jack Ramsey and Adelman, were all present, the Trail Blazers' training camp for the new season officially began.

Ramsey saw Walton warming up on the field and went up to him, saying, "Seeing you training here feels like a dream."

Walton grinned and whispered, "Jack, wait... wait a minute, don't make me and... and my teammates give speeches, okay? Let's just practice, no speeches."

Wharton was worried about what kind of speech Dr. Jack would ask him to give; he was afraid of such large audiences and needed to get used to it.

Ramsey nodded and said, "I understand. You'll have a chance to speak in the future. But you have to promise me one thing."

"what's up?"

"You're not allowed to take Forrest Gump hiking."

"Oh, I know, I'm not going to climb mountains, I'm going back to Portland to play basketball."

"You're not allowed to go hiking or cycling either."

"Okay, got it."

"You are not allowed to go into the mountains to cut wood."

"Oh, I gave up logging a long time ago."

"Backpacking in central Oregon is not allowed."

"It's the same as hiking!"

"You are not allowed to take him to the Philippines or Egypt, and not even to the Galapagos."