The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 493 Gone with the Wind
This wasn't the first time Hornacek had delivered such a brilliant game-winning shot.

During March Madness in 1986, in the first round of the NCAA National Championship between Iowa State and Ohio University, Hornacek threw an almost identical game-winning shot.

With two seconds left in the game, he received a sideline pass from his teammate at a 45-degree angle on the left and shot the winning shot, helping Iowa State advance to the Round of 32.

This was the shot that made Hornacek famous, the shot that brought him to the attention of NBA scouts.

Otherwise, even with his father's recommendation, it would be difficult for him to enter the NBA, since his physical attributes look too poor and he looks rather unassuming.

Now, after more than a season of honing his skills, and spending every day practicing shooting with Forrest Gump, Curry, and Porter, Hornacek has made rapid progress.

From initially struggling to complete even a single training session, he has now become an important substitute on the Trail Blazers' bench.

It was precisely because of his versatility and potential that the Trail Blazers had the confidence to trade Jim Paxson.

This game-winning goal is proof that Hornacek is a very promising player.

A convincing victory saved the Trail Blazers from a season-ending defeat against the Lakers.

Because they are both in the Pacific Division, they will have one more game to play at the end of the season.

After winning this crucial game against the Lakers, the entire Trail Blazers team was exhausted.

They then narrowly won their away game against the Los Angeles Clippers, almost slipping up.

The Clippers are a complete tanking team this year. Gene Shu, after leaving the Bullets, has returned to the Clippers for the second time, hoping to revive his reputation as the "Tinkerman".

But the Clippers are truly rotten to the core. Gene Shul has no one else to rely on, so even a skilled cook can't make a meal without rice.

Moreover, a head coach's peak period is about 15 to 20 years. After 20 years, it becomes difficult to make any breakthroughs and they will gradually fall behind the times.

This is a natural law, just like the lifespan of a player's career.

Gene Shue has led many struggling teams out of the mire and up to the top step by step.

Although he never reached the top spot, success is not defined by winning the championship.

Gene Schoo was greatly affected by his conflict with Charles Barkley last season, which ultimately led to his dismissal.

He originally wanted to lead Barkley and Bullets to the Finals, but it ended badly.

Of all the teams he tried to fix, the Clippers were the only one he couldn't fix.

So he wanted to give it a try when he returned to the Clippers for the new season, but unfortunately the Clippers are really a mess.

At over 50 years old and nearing the end of his coaching career, Gene Schoo was unable to reintegrate the team.

The Clippers were able to fight to the end in this game against the Trail Blazers mainly because the Trail Blazers were too tired and relaxed both physically and mentally, which gave the Clippers an opportunity.

In the final stages of the game, the Trail Blazers pulled away in several key offensive and defensive possessions, ultimately securing the victory over the Clippers.

109:107, a narrow victory by 2 points.

At the end of the game, Gene Shu and Jack Ramsey shook hands and hugged.

Seeing Ramsey lead the Trail Blazers toward the championship, Gene Shu expressed his envy, but Jack Ramsey said, "I'm just being pushed along. This is no longer our era."

Since the Trail Blazers won the championship last year with Gan Guoyang's "one against four" strategy, Ramsey has no right to say that Gene Shu's tactics are no longer effective.

Gene Shu was the originator of the "one against four" tactic, using it to lead the Bullets and the 76ers to the NBA Finals.

But he failed to win the championship, while his old rival Ramsey won the championship using the same tactic, which was truly ironic.

Ramsey's words resonated with Gene Schoo, who noted the immense changes the NBA has undergone since he began coaching in 1966.

The older generation of coaches is gradually passing away, and this league is no longer suitable for them.

“Do you remember your trip to Hawaii in 1980?” Gene-Shu asked.

“I remember that meeting where I was against three-pointers, and you were a supporter of them. We argued and argued, and almost came to blows. It was Cunningham and Wilkens who stopped us.”

"That's right, but the Trail Blazers are shooting more three-pointers than any other team right now."

“I’ve said it before, I’m being pushed forward, not leading the way, I’m falling behind.”

“Jack, you’ve really changed a lot, it’s unbelievable.” “Nothing unbelievable… do you still have that video reel?”

"Video recording? Oh, of course we'll keep it. We can take it out and watch it from time to time for some fun."

"Give me a copy. I think I might need it in the future, so I'll keep it as a souvenir."

The video Ramsey was referring to was from a game between the Trail Blazers and the Bullets one year, where everyone was sitting on metal folding chairs on the sidelines.

Ramsey was very agitated during the match, frequently standing up from his chair and yelling at the referee.

Referee Jack Madden warned Ramsey to stop standing up so often, or he would be called for a technical foul.

Ramsey couldn't help but stand up once, but immediately remembered the referee's warning and quickly sat back down.

As a result, the stool moved back a little when he got up, and he didn't sit properly and fell hard on his bottom.

Instead of offering comfort, Jack Madden gave Ramsey a technical foul.

The game was broadcast live, and afterwards Gene Shue edited the footage and saved it. He not only watched it in the locker room, but also cosplayed Ramsey falling down, which made the Bullets players laugh.

This incident, coupled with an argument on the island of Hawaii in 1980, caused some unpleasantness between the two.

Now that both of them realize their coach's life is nearing its end, they let go of that little grudge and let it all go with the wind.

Ramsey has come to terms with everything. He's no longer so obsessed with winning or losing, and consequently, he's not as demanding of the players. He's also less likely to wander the streets late at night after losing an away game.

He has only one thought now: to make the playoffs, win the championship, and end his coaching career perfectly.

March has arrived, and the playoffs are getting closer.

At this point, the issue of dissolving the players' union entered a new phase.

Fleischer's office collected all the votes from players across all 23 teams. Of the 276 active players, 268 voted in favor of dissolving the union, while the remaining 8 abstained, resulting in a 99% approval rate.

Fleischer quickly relayed the message to the NBA, and David Stern was now truly panicked, knowing that Fleischer was serious.

If the union does dissolve and the league and the union cannot reach a collective bargaining agreement, then the teams will have to negotiate with each player individually, and each player will sign a personalized contract based on their own needs.

Forget about the salary cap. Salary expenses, medical care, and injury insurance will all have to be handled by each team individually, which would be a huge hassle.

Just hours after the message was delivered, Stern called Fleischer, and the two arranged a meeting for peace talks.

This time, the talks are no longer between Stern and Fleischer, because the league knows that the two have too much animosity and have fought too many times, and they are afraid that the talks will lead to another fight.

Therefore, the main player in this league negotiation is the Bullets' owner, Paulin.

He and Fleischer were good friends, and they had similar backgrounds and resonated with each other.

With the new negotiation strategy and target, the talks between labor and management progressed much more smoothly.

A few weeks later, before the regular season was over, the two sides reached a preliminary agreement.

The labor side knew they couldn't change the salary cap and draft pick, two of the three demands that Fleischer had insisted on, so they chose to compromise and no longer insisted on them.

However, Fleischer insisted on allowing players to transfer freely after their contracts expired, without any restrictions or requiring new teams to provide their parent teams with draft picks, cash compensation, or any other form of compensation.

Seeing that Fleischer had abandoned his approach of undermining the NBA, and with Pollin mediating, Stern finally agreed to remove restrictions on free agent transfers.

Of course, complete cancellation is impossible. Both parties can still discuss it or stipulate it in the contract. This is the origin of restricted free agents and unrestricted free agents.

At the same time, Stern promised that the 1988 draft would be reduced to two rounds, since most players outside the two rounds would not be able to enter the league, which would be a complete waste and would damage the image of the NBA by drafting all sorts of random people.

Stern also assured that he would at least double the salary cap in the near future to increase players' income.

Fleischer's struggle finally paid off, with the two sides reaching a seven-year agreement that expired in the 1994 season.

The alliance will have seven years to develop without having to worry about labor relations issues.

What made Stern even happier was that Larry Fleischer, his biggest rival, was finally retiring and leaving the union.

Everything from the past will be gone with the wind.

(End of this chapter)