The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 452 The Train Arrives
After Gan Guoyang returned from China, he learned that Spoelstra and Adelman had left.

At first he was shocked and wanted to talk to the two of them, but then he calmed down and thought it was quite normal.

Since Bobby Bellman joined the Trail Blazers, Adelman's status has plummeted, and he's even lost his job of relaying messages.

Larry Weinberger wasn't a super-rich boss; he gave Bellman a fixed salary, making it difficult for Adelman to get a raise.

Now a championship-winning assistant coach with two rings, he has received offers from many teams. Whether for money or for success, his departure is a perfectly normal choice.

Gan Guoyang knew that Rick Adelman had the potential to be a head coach; he had it so much that he would become a great coach.

As for Spoelstra, a marketing guru, his relationship with Ramsey has never been good.

Ramsey is an old-school coach who dislikes all sorts of fancy marketing and packaging for teams.

Although he has become much more open-minded in the past two years, it is only on the basketball court; off the court, he is still a stubborn old man.

After winning his third championship with the Trail Blazers, Ramsey's status in the coaching world was further elevated, giving him a bit of a Portland godfather vibe.

This would certainly make Spoelstra's life much more difficult, so he simply followed in Inman's footsteps and went to the south coast to look for opportunities.

Gan Guoyang called both of them separately to congratulate them on making a name for themselves in their new teams.

"But when we fight, I won't hold back," Gan Guoyang said to them, half-jokingly and half-threateningly.

After hanging up the phone, Gan Guoyang couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

His feeling last season was correct; the Trail Blazers were indeed changing.

The team is like the Ship of Theseus sailing on the sea. One day, everyone on the team, from the owner to the manager, from the players to the cleaners, will be replaced.

The championship did not slow down this replacement process; on the contrary, it accelerated it to some extent.

Currently, this dispersion is only occurring in the management team; the player roster remains relatively stable because the Trail Blazers' players are all under contract.

Gan Guoyang will be in the final year of his contract this season, and the Trail Blazers' management is preparing to begin early contract extension negotiations with him.

It is rumored that the Trail Blazers want to retain Forrest Gump with a 10-year mega-contract, making him a totem of Portland.

Gan Guoyang, however, had his own plans. He did not intend to leave, but he also did not want to sign such a long contract.

In the long run, the NBA is on the rise, with the salary cap constantly increasing, and the longer the contract, the more disadvantageous it will be in the future.

Drexler's contract also expires at the end of this season; he signed a two-year, $77 contract with the Trail Blazers in the summer of 1986.

Compared to Drexler's performance on the field, this contract was a steal. In the summer of 1988, Drexler would certainly have sought a bigger contract.

Vandeweghe's semi-invisible performance in the 1986 playoffs was disappointing, but the Trail Blazers still gave him a six-year contract and lowered the price.

Vandeweghe's performance in the 1987 season was crucial; he was arguably the second-best player after Gan Guoyang, repeatedly making key shots at critical moments.

From the current perspective, this long-term contract is worthwhile.

However, starting from the finals, Vandeweghe was plagued by a back injury.

Vandeweghe needs to properly manage his injury this summer.

Mitchell Thompson's contract was set to expire in the 1988-1989 season.

Porter, Kossie, Hornacek, and others all had very low-cost rookie contracts.

Overall, the Trail Blazers' salary situation is very healthy.

In order to achieve a three-peat, Buckwalt called Spurs general manager Bob Bass.

On July 1, the Trail Blazers completed a trade, sending a 1988 first-round draft pick to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for veteran center "The Train" Gilmore.

This star center, who was once angrily thrown to the ground by Gan Guoyang, became Gan Guoyang's backup and also became the most important piece of the puzzle for the Trail Blazers' pursuit of a three-peat in the 1987-1988 season.

When this deal took place, Gan Guoyang had already left Portland for New York.

In New York, he continued to train with Bernard King to improve his offensive skills.

Bernard King has finally recovered from his terrible ACL tear and is able to continue playing.

On April 10, 1987, he made his comeback in a game between the New York Knicks and the Milwaukee Bucks. The moment he stepped back onto the court, Madison Square Garden erupted in a huge cheer, welcoming their former king.

He performed poorly that night. Having just recovered from a serious injury, he hadn't found his rhythm yet and only scored 7 points.

The Knicks suffered a crushing 39-point defeat to the Bucks.

Bernard King then scored 20 points in the game against the Celtics.

Then he scored 19 points, and then against the formidable Pistons, he scored 30 points!
He announced to the people that the King of New York had returned.

In the last three games of the season, Kim scored 30, 29, and 31 points respectively.

He remains the same all-around scorer, capable of delivering spectacular scoring performances.

He wants to stay in New York, work with Patrick Ewing, and move toward higher goals.

However, the fans' cheers could not sway the Knicks' management; New York already had a new king.

The NBA showed its ruthless side to this injured old king who was trying to make a comeback.

The Knicks' new management did not want Bernard King's presence to affect Ewing's development, so they refused to renew King's contract.

Ewing did not play a single game with King, and he missed the remainder of the regular season due to a knee injury starting in April.

It's clear that Ewing isn't interested in the former New York boss; he wants to build his own team.

So, Bernard King became a free agent, and he needed to find a new job and play in a new place.

Before that, he must ensure he is in good condition, after all, the ACL is not a minor injury, and he hasn't played for almost two years.

He decided to train with the hottest guy in the entire league, Gan Guoyang, since that kid had learned a lot from him.

Now it's time to give back to our master and pass on our skills to each other.

At the City College of New York, the two rented a venue and gathered a group of players to practice together.

In order to find his best form in the summer, Jin decided to train exactly like Gan Guoyang, and for as long as Gan Guoyang trained.

After only half a day, Jin couldn't take it anymore. The intensity and duration of this guy's training were too high, completely pushing Jin to his limits.

While Jin and the others sat on the floor panting, Gan Guoyang was still running and making moves on the field.

His offensive footwork and shot selection have surpassed his teacher's, becoming more refined, diverse, and varied than Bernard King's.

Gan Guoyang combined the best of modern center and classic small forward techniques to create his own unique technical system.

With strength, speed, and competitiveness, Bernard King thought to himself, "Forrest Gump is still improving." This ignited Bernard King's fighting spirit.

He has known Gan Guoyang for many years, and now Gan Guoyang has won two NBA championships, but the two have never faced each other on the NBA court.

It's all because of injuries that they keep missing matches.

Jin persevered and completed 60% of the training content.

During her rest and meal, Jin felt like her legs no longer belonged to her.

"Forrest Gump, how exactly is your body constructed? No wonder you're called a cyborg, the nickname was definitely well-deserved."

"Like you, I'm made of carbon atoms. Physical fitness is the foundation of all sports, and I'm lucky to have a good foundation."

Halfway through the meal, Bernard King's pager went off, and he made a phone call.

Upon returning, Bernard King couldn't hide his excitement, exclaiming, "Forrest Gump, a team wants to sign me!"

"Who is it? Could it be one of our pioneers?"

"No, it was Rahee who just called me. The Bullets want to sign me and want me to go to Washington to talk."

"Woh! Bullet, on the same team as Charles! That kid's good, you guys have a chance to get the runner-up title next season."

Bernard King had a strange expression, but he didn't refute Gan Guoyang. Instead, he said, "Maybe the championship really is yours. Just now, Rahee told me some news. He said the Trail Blazers signed Gilmore and the train went to Portland."

(End of this chapter)