The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 266 You Have to Beat Me

Jordan hasn't chatted with his friends in the industry for a while. When Gan Guoyang called before, he either didn't answer or unplugged the phone.

Now that he has the chance to vent to Gan Guoyang, he holds onto the phone and won't let go, giving Jerry Krause a good rant—this is actually a good thing, it shows that he doesn't keep his bad feelings to himself, but vents them through various methods.

Krause is considered a "homecoming" member of the Bulls. He served as the Bulls' general manager five years ago, but was fired after only a few months.

He couldn't reach an agreement with the Bulls' board on hiring a coach, and he leaked information before making a decision. As a result, the board disagreed with his decision and believed that he had overstepped his authority, so he was fired.

This made Krause feel extremely humiliated. As a general manager, he couldn't even decide on the team's coaching staff. So what was the point of the board appointing him as the manager?

Of course, the Bulls' board of directors had been making such terrible decisions for a long time; otherwise, how could they have been in such a bad situation in the early 80s?

Finally, in the spring of 1985, the Bulls underwent a major change. Chicago White Sox owner Reinstein acquired the Bulls and became the team's majority owner, freeing the team from the need for a board of directors. The Bulls became Reinstein's personal fiefdom.

This situation is similar to that of the Warriors. The owners and shareholders who used to focus on running the team are becoming less and less competitive and can no longer compete with the wealthy individuals who have extensive businesses and large capital bases.

The North American basketball industry is gradually entering a big-spending era. Although the salary cap prevents players from being bought as freely as in European football, player salaries still require substantial financial support.

How can those small business owners who painstakingly build their businesses just to make a little profit and dividends compete with big players like Rheinsdorf who own multiple teams and invest without limit?

Therefore, these small business owners and shareholders were "buy out" or retained only a portion of their shares to receive dividends, thus withdrawing from the team's management decisions.

This trend has been accelerating since David Stern took office, because Stern believed that "dictatorship is the secret to the development of the sports industry," a point he, of course, could not make public in the United States.

When Rheinsdorf took over, his first task was to find a manager to build a new team for him. Unfortunately, Inman was sacked in September, otherwise Rheinsdorf would have considered this experienced white glove.

At the time, Jerry Krause was a scout for the White Sox. Reinsdorf admired the cunning fat man and brought him back to the Bulls, where he once again took the position of team manager.

The first thing Klaus did upon taking office was to re-select the head coach in order to establish his authority, redeem himself, and prove that he, as the manager, had the right to decide on the head coach selection!

So he fired Rauchry, whom Jordan really liked, and chose Stan Albek instead. However, this was not Krause's preferred choice; Albek was just a stopgap measure.

"You know what, Forrest Gump? Krause is only 5'6", but he weighs 260 pounds! My God, the same weight as you, but can he even play center? 5'6!"

Jordan complained about Krause's weight on the phone. He was very unhappy with Krause replacing Rahee. The key point is that Albek was not Krause's choice either, which shows that he removed Rahee purely to retaliate for what happened before and to highlight his authority.

Rauchry became a victim of Klaus's trial.

"Stop talking nonsense. I'm no longer 260 pounds. I'm only around 248 pounds. I'm very agile now. I'm the league's scoring champion."

Gan Guoyang weighed 250 pounds when he first entered the league last season. As the season progressed, his weight increased to nearly 260 pounds, specifically around 258 pounds. He lost 10 pounds in the summer and maintained his weight below 250 pounds.

"Klaus is just trying to assert his authority. Honestly, I hate people like that the most. Although he says he wants to build the team around me, he trades away all the people he doesn't like, and those are the people I do like. Like Coach Rauchy and Rod Higgins, he fired a lot of people, some of whom were really good guys. I get along well with them, but... I bet when I get back to the team, it'll be all his people, and none of the people I'm close to will be there."

Jordan is a very sentimental person. He values ​​everyone he has a personal relationship with and takes care of them in every way.

However, from a manager's perspective, such a personality is not suitable. It may be okay for a small team, but a large team, like a football team, cannot be maintained by personal feelings.

Successful teams need faith, discipline, and rules. As a leader, you sometimes have to be ruthless. Being too sentimental will only lead to the team's gradual decay.

Although Gan Guoyang didn't know Klaus, he actually agreed with Klaus's approach. For a team to be reborn, it must remove the festering sores of the past. And in the process of removing the sores, pain is inevitable, as is the removal of some healthy tissue. This kind of work must be done, and someone must take the knife.

When Gan Guoyang first arrived at the Trail Blazers, he knew that the team's biggest problem was its medical system, which not only harmed the players and affected their morale, but also hindered the signing of free agents.

With his accumulated popularity and the help of Larry Fleischer, Gan Guoyang managed to remove the Blazers' rotten wound, ultimately leading to the return of Bill Walton this year.

However, before Walton returns, Stu Inman has to take the blame, so after meeting with Walton, Gan Guoyang went back to Portland and had a meal with owner Weinberg and Inman to seriously discuss the matter.

At that moment, Inman understood his fate; he knew that for the future of the Trail Blazers, he had no choice but to sacrifice himself.

Gan Guoyang did not run away. He could have hidden behind Weinberger and taken it all as the boss's will, since he was Weinberger's treasure now.

Gan Guoyang confronted Inman directly, saying that this was his idea, not Weinberg's decision alone; he simply wanted to "borrow your head for a use."

Gan Guoyang endured Inman's anger and tears. After all, Inman had grown up with the Trail Blazers, and that kind of emotion was something that most managers couldn't understand.

Inman joined the Portland Trail Blazers in 1970 when they were first established. At that time, there were only a few people in the management and coaching staff, and everyone had multiple roles. He was the team's chief scout and also in charge of team management.

In the summer, he will accompany the players on road trips to various parts of Oregon to play preseason games and promote the team for the new season.

He also recalled that the team's first preseason game wasn't even played in Oregon because there weren't any available arenas there, so it had to be held in Longview, Washington.

Everyone first drove to Memorial Arena, then boarded a bus and spent 45 minutes traveling to Longview. They also set off early so they could get to the arena early to interact with fans and promote the brand-new NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers.

From there, the Trail Blazers grew step by step, winning the championship in 7 years and becoming the best-run team in the NBA in 10 years.

Inman made many mistakes; he lacked the intuition and courage of a superstar. However, he also made many correct decisions, otherwise the Trail Blazers would not have succeeded.

In the end, he chose to sacrifice himself and leave, as his final contribution to the pioneers.

When Gan Guoyang saw Inman and Nelson shake hands and use tactics to defeat the Trail Blazers, Gan Guoyang could understand him.

"Oh, right, Forrest, let me tell you, Krause also brought in an assistant coach named Tex Winter. He came up with some kind of triangle offense, freaking, I have no idea what that is. And you know what? Albec isn't Krause's final choice either. He really wants to develop a guy named Phil Jackson, to make him an assistant coach and then head coach. That guy came to the team for his interview wearing flip-flops and a big straw hat! These are all his people! Where are my people?"

Jordan criticized Winter and Jackson, but Gan Guoyang couldn't help but laugh, thinking that this guy really didn't know how to judge people.

Krause was indeed very visionary. He wasn't just trying to establish authority, as Jordan claimed; he wanted to create a completely new Chicago Bulls.

He had more intuition and courage than Inman. Both Tyx Winter and Phil Jackson were players Krause made shortly after joining the Bulls.

Especially Phil Jackson, whom Krause has been following for many years. Jackson has been coaching in the Puerto Rican league for five years and is considered the best coach.

Krause wanted him to come to the Bulls as an assistant coach, but he failed the interview with head coach Albec. Krause compromised for the time being, asking Jackson to be patient and wait a little longer.

"Michael, you have to remember, when you can keep winning, all of Chicago is yours. Eventually, the whole world will be yours."

"Of course, the premise is that you can beat me."

(End of this chapter)