The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 754 A Grand Summer

On July 6th, Gan Guoyang decided to make a comeback, like a grand fireworks display.

The dazzling explosion of public opinion gave people the opportunity to hear voices and reactions from all sides.

A week of reflection and fermentation has allowed everyone to prepare themselves psychologically and in terms of publicity.

The chain reaction triggered by Gan Guoyang's return will gradually spread throughout the summer.

Moreover, the summer of 1996 was not just about Gan Guoyang's return to the NBA.

With all these factors combined, the summer of 1996 was destined to be much more exciting than any other summer.

The NBA responded to the press conference with the utmost speed.

President David Stern warmly welcomed Gan Guoyang's return.

He did not attend the press conference in Portland because he was on a trip to Asia at the time.

The news of Forrest Gump's return is conducive to deeper cooperation between the NBA and the Asian market.

Besides Gan Guoyang, Hu Weidong was selected 39th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1995 NBA draft.

However, in the 1995-1996 season, Hu Weidong did not go to the United States in order to represent the Jiangsu team in the first CBA season.

In 1996, with Forrest Gump's comeback, the Chinese market was bound to experience a new round of expansion, which would be a good opportunity for Hu Weidong to go to the United States to play.

From a business perspective, the more Chinese players playing in the United States, the better, as it would definitely benefit the further development and expansion of the NBA in China.

Moreover, if Hu Weidong could come to the United States to play, it would be absolutely groundbreaking.

Because Gan Guoyang is essentially a player trained in the United States, while Song Tao didn't get many opportunities to perform, got injured early, and didn't leave a deep impression.

Hu Weidong is different; he is a basketball talent cultivated through the Chinese system. If he can play for the Lakers and perform well, it will have a real positive impact.

Just one day after Gan Guoyang decided to make a comeback, on July 7, an authoritative Chinese newspaper published a related article.

Gan Guoyang returns to the NBA; the league commissioner visits China, hoping more Chinese players can enter the NBA and add color to the basketball world.

This report can be said to have set the tone for public opinion regarding whether Hu Weidong will be able to play in the United States, and Stern's trip to China has once again yielded results.

It's only a matter of time before Hu Weidong joins the Lakers, and he will likely wear the number 8 jersey for the Purple and Gold.

The league supports and welcomes Forrest Gump's return, which will boost ratings, expand influence, and bring in a lot of money.

By the summer of 1996, the league's salary cap had risen to $24 million, more than five times that of 1986, a decade earlier.

A fivefold increase in the salary cap means that the league's revenue has increased fivefold, a figure comparable only to China's GDP growth during the same period.

China's GDP increased sixfold in the ten years from 1986 to 1996, and continues to grow at an even faster pace, so it's no wonder that Stern is so optimistic about this market.

The league and owners hope that Agan will return to continue expanding the pie, while the managers and players below have different reactions, each with their own agenda.

Pat Riley has a long-standing feud with the Trail Blazers, so when "I'm Back" appeared in the headlines, he immediately started making comments and criticizing it.

Since the Trail Blazers ended their championship monopoly in 1993, the championship finally returned to the East in 1994, 1995, and 1996.

The Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat, whoever makes it to the NBA Finals will be the champion, and they both tasted the sweetness of victory.

And then you tell me that terrible nightmare is coming back? We've only had a beautiful dream for three years.

“I believe that retirement should be a clean and complete retirement. If I retire one day, I will enjoy my retirement life properly, instead of being unable to stand the loneliness and coming back. What about my reasons for retiring in the first place? Was it just a joke?”

"Furthermore, it's not easy for a team to get back to its best, back to its former glory. It can easily turn into a nightmare."

Riley may have been reminding Gan Guoyang, but he was actually genuinely worried that Gan Guoyang's return would once again influence and change the league's landscape.

While publicly criticizing him, he also privately tried to contact Gan Guoyang to see if he was willing to return to the Heat.

If he were willing to come to the Heat, it would definitely be a completely different story.

If you get it, cherish it; if you can't get it, it's best to destroy it. That's Riley's attitude towards Gan Guoyang.

Moreover, the summer of 1996 was quite turbulent for the Heat, as Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler's contracts were both set to expire the following year.

The Heat are currently at an impasse in contract extension negotiations with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.

Hakeem Olajuwon just got married this year to a young and beautiful wife, and he wants a retirement contract that is big and long enough.

In the 1995-1996 season, Hakeem Olajuwon remained one of the best centers in the league.

As for Drexler, he won the championship in 1995, and his years of hard work finally paid off. Drexler then relaxed.

Drexler played only 50 games in the 96 season, completely losing out to Michael Jordan in the competition.

Riley could tell that both sides were getting tired of each other.

Riley doesn't want to stop; he doesn't want the team to lose competitiveness and enter a period of decline and rebuilding after winning the championship.

After winning the championship in 1995, Riley traded away John Starks, a key contributor to the championship victory, to the Golden State Warriors in the middle of the 96 season, in exchange for Tim Hardaway.

This trade was both brilliant and ruthless; it made the Heat more competitive, but it also damaged the team's morale.

No team wants to see its teammates traded after winning a championship. Tim Hardaway is indeed better than Starks, but a sense of distrust permeates the Heat team.

Riley speaks eloquently about team building in his bestselling book, but it's hard to say whether he truly believes in "trust and loyalty" or simply uses it as a tool to win people over.

When Gan Guoyang returned to Portland, the resulting uproar and frenzy undoubtedly impacted the South Coast and many people.

While watching the live broadcast, Hakeem Olajuwon might have wondered whether Forrest Gump's advice, "Loyalty can hurt you," was the truth or just a devil's whisper tempting him to fall.

In short, after a long period of revenge and finally achieving some success, Riley needs to move on to the next stage of his basketball career.

He hoped Forrest Gump would come to Miami and help him start a new chapter, but he knew in his heart that if Forrest Gump did that, he wouldn't be himself.

Therefore, Riley still set his sights on his own team's resources. If moving John Starks wasn't enough, he could try other players as well.

Deep down, Riley may have believed in loyalty and trust, but he left them in Kentucky, in his younger days.

Many team management teams share Riley's idea of ​​giving it a try; after all, it's not illegal to think about it, and what if it works?

During the week or so before Gan Guoyang announced the results, every team's general manager's office in the league called him.

Even Jerry Krause, the general manager of the Chicago Bulls, made a polite phone call to inquire whether Gan Guoyang would be willing to work with Jordan.

Gan Guoyang smiled and said, "I'm willing, as long as your salary cap can sign me at a satisfactory price."

Krause actually did some calculations; he wanted to try a sign-and-trade, offering anyone on the Bulls except Jordan for Forrest Gump. If Forrest were willing to team up with Jordan, the Chicago Bulls would become a true super team in the NBA, equivalent to Chamberlain + Russell, or Bird + Johnson.

However, owner Reinsdorf quickly dissuaded Klaus from such fantasies, saying, "You should focus on how to further strengthen the inside game! That damn thing is coming back again..."

This is a more pragmatic approach. It's impossible for Agan to go to another team, so strengthening the interior defense is the top priority.

Of course, there are also more pragmatic approaches. Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was aimed at Liu Bang, and while everyone else was focused on Forrest Gump, he set his sights on a more suitable candidate.

For example, the cunning Jerry West.

He spent four years in Portland, working with Gan Guoyang for those four years, winning the championship every year.

He knew clearly what a profound connection existed between Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers.

It could be said that he didn't belong to this city, but rather the city belonged to him. The more difficult and challenging the team was, the less likely Forrest Gump would leave.

So when Jack Nicholson, like a complaining woman, once again told West that he should bring Forrest Gump to team up with Kidd.

West told Nicholson bluntly that it was impossible for Forrest Gump to come to Los Angeles.

But we will have a more suitable option.

Jerry West has set his sights on Florida, on the shark in Orlando.

In the Eastern Conference, dominated by the Heat and Bulls, the Magic, despite acquiring the talented duo of O'Neal and Hardaway, struggled to make a breakthrough in the short term.

In 1995, they were eliminated by the Heat and Hakeem Olajuwon in the Eastern Conference Semifinals; in 1996, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were slaughtered by Michael Jordan.

In the summer of 1996, O'Neal's contract had a player option, which allowed him to stay with the Magic and sign a super contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

This is what most NBA stars do: sign with their original team, take the biggest contract, and lead the team to win the championship.

However, when I'm Back came in June, the Magic's management made an extremely foolish decision in an attempt to lower the price.

They actually started a poll among Orlando fans asking, "Who deserves a super contract more, Forrest Gump or Shaquille O'Neal?"

Magic fans actually participated in the vote, and most of their votes went to Gan Guoyang: he is better than O'Neal.

Magic fans might say they're naive, but they're not entirely stupid. Of course they know that Forrest Gump is better than Shaquille O'Neal and deserves a super contract.

To say they're not stupid is an understatement; they really are. Forrest Gump isn't coming, so what good is it to vote for him other than making O'Neal angry?

So, in a fit of anger, O'Neal rejected the contract offer from the Magic and instead listened to offers from other teams.

Jerry West seized the opportunity and, while other teams were making futile efforts to recruit Forrest Gump, he focused most of his energy on Shaquille O'Neal.

On the day Gan Guoyang announced his return to the NBA, Jerry West was meeting with Shaquille O'Neal in Los Angeles, offering him a record-breaking 7-year, $1.2 million contract.

The contract expires in 2003, and O'Neal will have a player option in 2001.

This was undoubtedly a huge contract. The NBA in 1996 was an era of flying checks and star players being able to switch teams at will.

Things got a bit out of control after Charlie Grantham replaced Larry Fleischer as union president.

Grantham has been too focused on pleasing the players and has forgotten the importance of balance, which has allowed star players to make a fortune over the years.

At that time, many players, especially rookie stars, started with contracts of tens of millions of dollars for more than 10 years.

For example, Chris Webber, Glenn Robinson, and Juwan Howard—the player market is quite chaotic.

Star players profit, shrewd management takes advantage of the chaos, but ordinary players and those at the bottom have a much harder time.

West had figured out O'Neal, but the Magic clearly didn't have that kind of brain; they failed to grasp the situation.

The Magic could offer more, but O'Neal has already been disheartened by a series of moves by the Magic's management.

Shaquille O'Neal asked Jerry West a question: "Who is better, me or Forrest Gump? Why not choose Forrest Gump?"

Jerry West didn't say Forrest Gump was better, or that Forrest Gump didn't want to come so we chose you; he's not stupid.

West replied bluntly, "You're the better one. Forrest Gump is too old. The future belongs to you."

West may have said something against his will, but he said the truth.

O'Neal doesn't need answers; whether Forrest Gump is stronger or he himself is stronger depends on his performance on the court.

He needs the team's attitude and the management's support; big men don't like to be looked down upon.

From that moment on, he already had his choice in his heart.

Another issue for the Lakers is whether Magic Johnson will stay or retire.

Two days after "I'm Back" was released on July 1st, Johnson's contract expired.

Amid rumors of Forrest Gump's return and Larry Bird's potential coaching move to the Trail Blazers, Johnson considered playing in Portland.

Although Johnson is a Lakers legend and star player, his mindset is still quite abstract.

His contracting HIV and his actions such as hosting parties at his home and having sex with people show that he is not an ordinary person and does extraordinary things.

For example, during Gan Guoyang's retirement, he was able to appear on a TV show and kneel down in front of the camera to beg Gan Guoyang to make a comeback.

Let alone a legendary basketball star, even an ordinary person would find it difficult to do something like this.

All I can say is that this guy is truly extraordinary; the paths he walks, the food he eats, and the things he does are things that most people simply can't do.

However, when he contacted Bird to discuss the possibility of cooperation, Bird very rationally reminded him that it was best not to do so.

“Magic, I think there are more suitable fields for you to develop outside of basketball. The basketball court is a constraint for you. You don’t have to be confined here. If you really come to Portland to play, how will you position yourself? How will you face the Los Angeles Lakers? Or, do you still need a championship?”

Bird's meaning was very clear: you're too abstract; the basketball court is no longer suitable for you. There's a bigger stage waiting for you.

Magic Johnson is indeed no longer suited to the court; his playing style and physique can no longer support a high-intensity season.

Magic Johnson wouldn't be a good coach either; he's too extroverted and too talented to guide ordinary players.

So, persuaded by his friends and pressured by reality, Magic Johnson officially decided to retire.

This former magician never appeared on the basketball court again.

As always, the NBA is a stage where one player leaves and another stays; some rush to take exams under the cover of night, while others resign and return to their hometowns.

The tumultuous summer of 1996 had only just begun to unfold.

(End of this chapter)