The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 451 The Eternal Pioneers

In the summer of 1987, many things happened in the world.

During his visit to Germany in June, Ronald Reagan called on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall in a speech in Berlin.

In China, during the visit of Yugoslavian leaders in June, the central government further emphasized the correctness and necessity of reform and opening up, and stressed the need to accelerate the pace of reform and opening up.

In July, Taiwan lifted martial law after 38 years, abolished the martial law decree, and restored normal social order.

The barriers of the Cold War have shown signs of loosening, and the economic development brought about by the new technological revolution has relaxed the political atmosphere in many countries and regions.

But on the other side of the Middle East, the Iran-Iraq War was raging.

Although the United Nations intervened to mediate and demanded an immediate ceasefire, neither Iraq nor Iran, which had been fighting for seven years and harbored deep-seated grievances, was willing to make concessions.

The war escalated into an increasingly brutal and irrational state.

Ship raids were no longer enough to satisfy the retaliatory mentality of both sides; missile-based city raids were imminent.

The summer of 1987 in the NBA was also full of changes, and every offseason is a place where hope is born.

After the NBA Finals, the NBA Draft was held in New York, and the San Antonio Spurs, who got the number one pick, did not hesitate to select David Robinson, the superstar center from the Naval Academy.

Because he graduated from the Naval Academy, Robinson had to serve in the Navy for two years and couldn't report to the Spurs immediately. However, the Spurs still chose him because his talent was so great that they were willing to wait.

The Suns, with the second pick, selected Amen Gilliam; the Nets, with the third pick, selected Dennis Hopson; and the Clippers, with the fourth pick, selected Reggie Williams.

Unlike last year when teams blindly drafted white centers with high draft picks, this season teams have become more discerning and have started selecting physically gifted Black forwards and guards.

There is only one Bill Walton. Clumsy white centers are no longer favored. None of them can make it. Instead, they are like wooden stakes in front of agile and powerful new-style centers like Gan Guoyang and Olajuwon.

With the fifth pick, the Seattle SuperSonics used a pick from New York to select Scottie Pippen, an unknown small forward from the University of Arkansas.

However, Seattle already had McDaniel in the same position, so the main reason for picking Pippen was to complete a trade with the Bulls.

After drafting Pippen, the SuperSonics immediately traded him to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Alden Polynes, a 7-foot-tall Haitian center selected by the Bulls with the eighth overall pick.

Western Conference teams have all suffered from Forrest Gump's style of play. With soft, white centers proving ineffective, picking a tough, black center might be a good option.

This year's draft also saw two of Gan Guoyang's defeated opponents from California enter and be selected: Kevin Johnson from Sacramento and Reggie Miller from Los Angeles.

The Sacramento Kings, who had the sixth overall pick, did not select their local basketball hero, but instead chose North Carolina guard Kenny Smith.

Kevin Johnson was selected seventh overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, forcing him to leave beautiful, warm California to play in Ohio as Mark Price's backup.

Reggie Miller, also from California, was selected eleventh overall by the Indiana Pacers. Miller was actually quite confused when he was drafted by the Pacers because he had no idea where Indiana was. He only knew that it was in the Midwest and that it was full of cornfields.

Pacers die-hard fans were also unhappy with the selection, hoping the team would draft Indiana star Steve Alford (the guard who replaced Stockton in the 1984 Olympics), but Donnie Walsh picked a skinny UCLA player instead.

The Bulls selected Horace Grant with the tenth pick, ahead of Reggie Miller.

Neither Pippen nor Grant were options that Jordan liked.

He didn't understand why Krause didn't choose those star players who graduated from prestigious universities and achieved success in the NCAA, but instead chose this country bumpkin who was struggling in the lower leagues of NAIA.

With Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers winning the championship in 1987, Jordan's anxiety about the team's performance intensified, and this anxiety manifested as resentment that he vented in the Bulls' training camp.

Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant are definitely in for a tough time; Jordan has become the undisputed tyrant of the Chicago Bulls.

With the defending champion Portland Trail Blazers holding the 21st pick, their options are limited, and Buckwalt has set his sights on the frontcourt.

In the 1987 season, the Trail Blazers' interior defense was basically carried by Gan Guoyang alone. Walton was injured for most of the season, and Jones and Thompson were aging.

The Trail Blazers needed to add fresh blood to the power forward and center positions, and they ultimately chose Greg Anderson, nicknamed "Cadillac," from the University of Houston, a former teammate of Drexler and Olajuwon.

He earned this nickname because while studying at the University of Houston, the 6-foot-10-inch tall man often rode a multi-speed road bike. The stark contrast between his massive frame and slender body made people worry that the bike might collapse under his weight.

A friend said that the bicycle was Greg's Cadillac, and that's how the nickname started.

Drexler was overjoyed by Anderson's arrival. Anderson was a member of the University of Houston fraternity and had a close relationship with Hakeem Olajuwon.

In the 1984 NCAA Finals, he went up against Forrest Gump in the paint, but of course he was beaten.

Although the two had never been teammates, and Drexler had already entered the NBA when Anderson entered the school, Drexler was very welcoming to him as a fellow fraternity member.

There weren't many good prospects in the second and third rounds, so the Trail Blazers selected a few to join the training camp.

To accommodate Gan Guoyang, the Trail Blazers selected Chinese center Song Tao with the 63rd overall pick in the third round. Given Song Tao's abilities, whether he can stay with the championship-caliber Trail Blazers is a big question mark.

However, it wouldn't be a problem to leave Song Tao a spot as a benchwarmer and let him hone his skills in the NBA.

As some people arrive, others leave. Not long after the draft ended, at the end of June, Bill Walton officially announced his retirement.

He held a retirement press conference at Memorial Stadium. Although he attended the press conference with a happy mood and three championship rings, Walton still couldn't control his emotions and burst into tears when he officially announced his departure from the basketball court.

Walton said, "I have no regrets about my career. I have suffered a lot of hardships and wanted to give up countless times, but I persevered because I wanted to stay on the court and I love playing basketball. My perseverance paid off, and I got everything I could get. I am satisfied. I will continue to love basketball, but I really can no longer help the team on the court. However, I will always be a Trail Blazer."

As he spoke, Walton shed tears again.

His professional basketball career has come to an end.

The world's metabolism is constantly in progress and has never stopped.

Walton retired with honor, and the Trail Blazers added two new players to their frontcourt.

That's definitely not enough for the Trail Blazers who want to win the championship.

The team is on its way to a great three-peat, and the management is racking their brains to find a qualified replacement for Walton.

But just as Buckwalt was calling various teams looking for opportunities, he suddenly received news that Vice President Spoelstra had resigned.

He immediately drove to Spoelstra's house to ask if the news was true, and Spoelstra nodded in affirmation.

"Are you looking for another job?" Buckwalt asked.

"It's not a high position, I just want a change of environment. Portland is not suitable for me anymore."

"Why do you say that? We're the champions! Did Stu poach you?"

Buckwalt got the answer from Spoelstra's expression and cursed under his breath.

"You're going to Milwaukee?"

"No, Stu isn't staying in Milwaukee either. We're going to the South Coast, Florida, to create a new basketball world."

Since his last conversation with Stu Inman, Spoelstra has been hesitant about leaving Portland, as he is quite comfortable there.

But they've become too comfortable, and running the business has become unchallenging. There's no team in the Oregon area that can threaten them.

After winning two championships with the team, Spoelstra felt he needed a new challenge in his life.

Especially after learning from Stu Inman that Pat Riley was also going to Miami, he made up his mind.

Spoelstra knew that Jack Ramsey didn't like him, and Spoelstra admired Riley's successful persona more.

The two will definitely work well together in Miami.

Buckwalt knew he couldn't stop them and could only sigh.

The team has clearly achieved success and continued to grow, but the people who started it together are no longer around.

How much longer can he stay in Portland?

So when Buckwalt learned that Rick Adelman was also resigning to coach the Warriors, he wasn't so surprised.

Business alliances come and go as they please. Now that everyone has found satisfaction in winning the championship and their value has increased further, they naturally want to seek new horizons to explore.

In early July, Buckwalt suddenly received a call from Stu Inman, who said to Buckwalt on the phone, "Buckworth, the team needs to strengthen its interior, right? I have a good candidate, call him right away."

"what?"

“San Antonio Spurs, call Bob Buss, I’ve got him in touch for you.”

Buckwalt immediately realized who Bass was referring to.

"Why are you still helping us?"

"Batch, I will always be a pioneer, always."

(End of this chapter)