dmims Chapter 404 Shocks the Entire Alliance! Stern Changes Deal Overnight
Chapter 404 Shocks the Entire Alliance! Stern Changes Deal Overnight
"What are you thinking?" Bird looked at Lin Tian warily. "I have a feeling you're trying to trick me again."
"What are you talking about, Larry! What are you saying! When have I ever cheated you?" Lin Tian shrugged and said, "How good have I been to you! Have my draft strategies and advice for you ever been wrong? Have my trade suggestions for you ever been overlooked?"
"No," Bird shook his head and said, "Besides suddenly having to quickly get Chris on the team before the draft and bringing Barkley and Isaiah, whom I hate, to the team, let me think... Oh, right! Also, you were suspended for fighting, which forced me to beg around to barely put together a roster, and..."
"That's enough, shut up." Lin Tian waved his hand and said, "Are you guys even listening?"
"Listen!" Jordan and Bird exclaimed in unison.
"Since Michael is coming anyway, Vince is going to do a sign-and-trade, and the Nets are begging us for help, why not let Michael get more?"
Seeing Bird and Lin Tian looking at him, Jordan shrugged and said, "I'm rich, but only a fool would complain about having too much money! I worked for free for a year last year, so taking a minimum salary this year is no problem, but if I can earn more, why should I save money for those damn capitalists?"
"Larry?"
"I'm fine with it too! FUXX!" Bird and Jordan were no ordinary people; they were only a little slower than Lin Tian in their reactions, but they quickly understood what Lin Tian meant.
Bird, in particular, slapped his thigh and cursed a few times.
Lin Tian and Jordan really didn't understand why this guy was so excited.
"Damn it, those Simon brothers want to save money, but I'm not letting them save this time! I'm going to spend all their money!"
Lin Tian immediately understood that Bird was still resentful that the Simon brothers had dismantled such a dynasty-like team!
Moreover, judging from Bird's appearance, it's highly likely that he was persuaded by the two brothers and thinks they did the right thing, but he's just not happy about it.
This guy will most likely be stuck with this for the entire summer, or even a year or two.
With that in mind, Lin Tian decided to help his partner out again.
"Not only will you spend money, you'll make them beg you to spend it!" Lin Tian said sinisterly. "When the time comes, don't say that Michael decided to come here on his own initiative. You'll tell them that Michael wants to retire, and he's even drafted his retirement statement. You risked your life to stop him and make him wait!"
"You know what I mean?"
"You fucking filthy!" Bird stood up excitedly, cursed at Lin Tian, and then turned and walked towards the door: "Wait for my good news."
"That bastard's dirtier than me," Lin Tian muttered, then turned to Jordan and said, "Looking for a place to hang out?"
"No way," Jordan decisively shook his head. "How about I go to your gym for a bit? I'm starting to train again today. Next season, I'm going to crush the Wizards!"
"And what about Iverson, Kobe, McGrady, Pierce? I'll take them all down, one by one!"
"Dry them all up! Dry them all up!" Lin Tian pointed his finger, then sat back down and said, "Then I won't go. I'll watch TV for a while."
An hour later, Bird quickly arrived at Melvin Simon's villa and rang the doorbell.
"What's wrong, Larry? Coming to my place so late isn't like you." Melvin looked at Bird and gestured for him to go inside first.
"It's extremely urgent! We must resolve this tonight, or we might really miss the chance to build a dynasty! A true dynasty!" Bird, hiding his smugness, began his performance!
"Larry," Melvin said, a hint of impatience in his eyes, "we've discussed this countless times! I've said it before, unless Vince accepts a mid-level contract or slightly above that, we can't keep him!"
"But we all know that's impossible, right? I don't know why Vince hasn't found another team yet, and I don't know what you talked about with him, but honestly, can't we just let him take a damn max contract? I'm even willing to go all out with him on a sign-and-trade."
"Considering his previous contributions, we can forgo any draft picks or similar rewards. My only request is that we not increase our payroll any further."
"I honestly think there aren't many bosses in the league as easy to talk to as me, so I really don't want to settle this score with you anymore! But your performance has really disappointed me, Larry, I'm extremely disappointed!"
After Melvin finished venting, Bird's smile became increasingly uncontrollable. Finally, after Melvin finished speaking his last sentence, Bird pretended to be troubled and said, "But, I wasn't talking about Vince. I've already accepted the fact that he'll definitely leave. I'm not the kind of person who insists on dwelling on this kind of thing."
"So who do you want to bring in? If it's not Vince, all we can use are the mid-level exception and minimum contracts. Do you even need to discuss this with me? Just get him there already!"
"But we don't have enough salary cap space right now, so we have to reach an agreement with the Nets for a sign-and-trade, so I..."
"Larry! I'm not saying that again!" Melvin had completely lost his patience. He had two girls waiting for him in bed. He stood up and said, "Unless you get Michael Jordan on board, don't let our paychecks go up any further!"
"I really got Michael Jordan!" Bird knew it was time, and finally, comfortably, he threw out his trump card!
"I don't care who you've won over, who am I anyway?"
Melvin sat down again immediately after finishing his sentence.
"Michael Jordan." Bird's smile grew even more sly. "We all know about the falling out between Michael and Pauline. Honestly, he was heartbroken by the Washingtonians. He really wanted to retire and find a quiet place to relax."
"He had even drafted his retirement statement and decided to have it published by a familiar media outlet."
"But before he announced his retirement, he called some of his best buddies and wanted to get together with us one last time as a professional player."
"Then, I persuaded him to stop! At least for now, Michael was willing to wait, but this time he was unwilling to make any more salary sacrifices. He wanted a maximum contract! And he only wanted to play for one year! I knew his demands were difficult, and our salary cap would be locked up again."
"Our luxury tax might even exceed the limit again, so I didn't dare agree to his request. I asked Lin to calm him down and talk to him, and then I came here hoping to have a chat with you all."
"Say yes! Why not say yes! That's Michael Jordan! He's the most commercially valuable superstar in history! With him, do you know how much more money we can make in a year! His earning power is way greater than Vince's!"
"Furthermore, his reunion with Lin's teammates, the Bulls' championship backcourt reunited, the core of two dynasties coming together, and the two strongest players in history continuing to work together—these are all hype! This will bring us a lot of attention and revenue!"
"Say yes, Larry! Why not say yes?"
"But I'm worried," Bird continued his hypocritical and superficial acting, but Melvin was clearly blinded by the news that Jordan was going to join the Pacers.
After all, that's countless US dollars!
Melvin stood up immediately and said, "There's nothing to worry about! If we can sign Michael, we have to!"
"But Pauline might hold a grudge because of this."
"Fuck Paulin! I'm not afraid of him! He holds a grudge against me? Perfect, I'll use this opportunity to speak for Michael! I'll speak for the players! I'll let all the fans know that Jerry Buss isn't the only great boss in the league, I'm just as good!"
"Let's go, Larry. You just said Michael hasn't completely made up his mind yet, right? I'll go with you. We need to show our sincerity! I'll go with you! I'll take care of showing sincerity, and we'll win Michael over!"
"And another thing! You did a fantastic job this time! Absolutely fantastic! You can tear up that contract extension we gave you at the start of the offseason."
"We underestimated your abilities. How about a 25% raise? That would be more in line with your contributions!"
Melvin said as he walked towards the bedroom, "Wait for me, I'll get dressed, and then we'll go and persuade Michael!"
After Melvin entered the room, Bird's smile completely crumbled.
A big win!
Damn boss, trying to save money?
This time, I'm not letting you save money! You'll be begging me to spend it!
I'm going to spend money while you guys give me raises, and I'm going to make you pay exorbitant luxury taxes while you're still grateful to me and think I'm the number one management team in the universe!
That felt so satisfying!
He sent messages to Jordan and Lin Tian, briefly explaining what had happened and asking them to cooperate by showing their pain and struggle. Lin Tian was to play the role of comforting and guiding them, while Jordan was to drown his sorrows in alcohol and show his unease, uncertainty, and distrust!
In short, Bird had to put on this act perfectly and flawlessly!
"I'll act with you next time. I'm out having some fun. Don't call me, I'm busy." Lin replied with a message that made Bird want to smash his phone in less than two minutes.
"This is too much trouble. Either don't sign, or don't cause me any trouble. You decide." Jordan's recovery also made Bird's liver tremble with anger.
Those two bastards! Can't I even show off a little?
At this moment, Melvin stepped forward and said, "Let's go. Where are they? At your house or Lin's?"
"They, or rather Michael, don't want to see you because..."
God knows how Bird explained things to Melvin that night, but Lin Tian and Jordan didn't care.
"Rachel's got real charm!" Jordan said, watching Friends on TV. "Why don't you just get her?"
"I'm not a pile driver," Lin Tian cursed. "Besides, she was a goddess of your era. I prefer younger girls."
"I'm not old!"
"Who the hell said you're old? I said your goddess is old!"
"Doesn't that mean I'm old?"
Two childish kids were arguing on the sofa, and then they decided to beat each other to death with a basketball. So they took the basketball and headed towards the basketball court in the backyard.
Three days later, after being bombarded with information about various trades, transfers, player retirements, rookies joining the league, the US team's crushing defeat in the World Championship, and Jordan's falling out with the Wizards, a brand new news item overshadowed all the previous news.
The most explosive and crazy news of this summer has arrived!
Or rather, the most explosive string of news has been released!
"The New Jersey Nets and Michael Jordan have reached a one-year, $12 million maximum contract agreement!"
"The Indiana Pacers activated Vince Carter's Bird rights and signed him to a five-year, $65 million max contract. Then, the Pacers traded Carter to the Nets, swapping teams!"
Jordan joins the Pacers, Carter joins the Nets!
Either of these two pieces of news would be enough to change the situation in the league and shake the league, but this time, they happened at the same time!
Everyone could see that this was a premeditated deal!
Jordan clearly took a roundabout approach, accepting a high salary while joining the Pacers, the team he wanted to go to, while the Nets got Carter, whom they had been pursuing all summer!
In this way, the Nets have completed their rebuilding process very quickly and spent all their budget. Next season, they will be able to field a starting lineup of four superstars: Kidd, Carter, Yao Ming, and Gasol, while on the bench sit Al Harrington, who is widely regarded as a potential All-Star!
The Nets have added much-needed outside scorers and bench firepower. They have squeezed every last drop out of the Pacers, and their weaknesses have been perfectly addressed. It's time for the Nets to officially set sail!
What's even more frightening is undoubtedly the Pacers.
As for the reason? Two names are enough.
Michael Jordan + Lin Tian!
The Pacers, whose rotation was already stretched thin due to the departures of Carter and Ellington, have almost instantly strengthened their roster. Now everyone believes that this team, which has won four championships in five years, is destined to be even stronger next season!
That's Lin Tian + Jordan!
Even at 39, Jordan was still a player who could have dominated the world with the help of the United States and the Soviet Union.
"Michael + Lin? What's so scary about that?" O'Neal scoffed, his face full of disdain, and said to his agent on the other end of the phone, "I didn't slack off this summer, and my injury is fully healed! They'll know how terrifying the Shaq is again!"
After saying that, O'Neal hung up the phone. He suddenly felt that the game in front of him was no longer interesting, so he threw down the game controller and walked towards the weight room.
In Philadelphia, a drunken Allen Iverson found his phone among a pile of clothes lying around. After answering it, he heard only one sentence from the other end before he sat bolt upright.
After staring blankly on the bed for a while, his eyes suddenly lit up with excitement!
In Orlando, Duncan, who was alone in his auto repair shop studying cars, was pulled out from under a car by McGrady: "Tim, the Indianapolis have strengthened their roster again, Michael + Lin, are you confident?"
"Confidence is useless, we haven't even played against them in the playoffs yet." Duncan instinctively reached out with his grimy hand to rub McGrady's head, but McGrady reacted quickly, shaking his head to avoid the claw.
Duncan could only shrug and say, "But I'm not afraid of them, Tracy. Who brought you here?"
"How about starting training earlier?"
"What about Grant?" Duncan asked curiously. "I heard Grant can play now?"
"Grant's ready too! This time he says he's really recovered!" McGrady said excitedly. "This time, the three of us teaming up, we're sure to achieve something! Michael's only 39, there's nothing to be afraid of!"
"There's nothing to be afraid of, but I'm worried we won't run into them," Duncan muttered as he changed out of his work clothes, washed his hands, and then smacked McGrady on the head again. "Let's go, let's go practice."
"Paul, didn't you dominate Michael last season and then trash talk him like crazy?" The first thing Antoine Walker did after receiving this message was to call his good friend Pierce: "He went to Indiana to team up with Lin."
"Are you scared? I suggest you rest your players when you play against the Pacers!"
"Goed to Indiana? FUXX!! Why? FUXX!! Last season I beat Michael, and Lin made me do it! FUXX!! What am I afraid of? I'll just tell Michael that Lin made me do it, right? FUXX!! What the hell, how the hell did these two bastards team up? FUXX!!"
"You said 'FUXX' five times, I think that proves you're terrified!"
"What are you trying to say about Antoine? Are you trying to schedule matches in advance so you can rest players?"
"No, I just wanted to tell you, should we consider starting training earlier? We've had a whole summer off."
"No need." Pierce refused Walker without even thinking. "Training early won't make us any better, we might as well have a few more days of fun! I'm in Alaska right now, do you want to come?"
"Yes! Wait for me!"
"Fuck! How could Frank agree to help the Indians get across the bridge? Is he crazy?! If we just signed Michael directly and didn't agree to a sign-and-trade, wouldn't we have kept Michael on the team?" Kidd cursed, extremely dissatisfied with the team's "keeping their word" attitude!
"Jason, didn't you say you were confident you could win the championship for the team?" Coach Scott said with a smile, "Are you scared?"
"Scared?" Kidd scoffed. "Can things get any worse than last season? I'm going to find Vince, Yao, and Paul right now, and our training camp can start early!"
"Lin? Your contract expires the year after next. Why don't you bring Michael to New York? I'll offer you both max contracts! Hey? Hey? Uh, why did you hang up?" Dolan looked at the phone that had been hung up on and shook his head helplessly.
"Lin teamed up with Michael?" Stern's eyes widened, and he stood up from his chair. "Fuck! Why in Indiana?"
"If only it were in New York or Los Angeles! At the very least, it should be in Chicago! Indiana! What a waste."
"How did he get there? Did he sign first and then change it? How did the signing and change process work? Was it only for one year? I understand."
"Never mind anything else, just focus on generating buzz for me! Make sure Michael and Lin team up again! Make it really hot! Then get the people in charge of scheduling over here, we need to rearrange the schedule! Luckily it hasn't been announced yet, or it would be terrible."
"Oh, and call the people in charge of rules and terms over as well. I think some people will try to exploit loopholes in the rules this time with Michael's 'sign first, then exchange' policy. We need to plug those loopholes in advance!"
"We'll also talk to TNT and ABC to see if they want to change their broadcast plans or add more Pacers games that are broadcast nationwide."
"Also, have all the procedures in China been completed? If so, we can probably announce it now!"
"Alright, that's about enough!"
…………
In an instant, the news of Jordan joining the Pacers caused a huge uproar!
After all, this is the second collaboration between two rulers of the alliance, so such a large-scale upheaval is to be expected!
More importantly, Lin Tian is already an MVP-level player, and he will definitely not decline at his age. Even though Jordan is not the same as he was 5 years ago, he has already proven through his performance last season that he is not lacking in skill, but just lacking in stamina!
With the Wizards, he single-handedly carried the team and almost sent that terrible team into the playoffs. Now, with Lin Tian and the Pacers' mature system to support him, Jordan's physical disadvantage will be completely eliminated!
He could have rested during the regular time and then come out in the fourth quarter to kill the game!
Even with his full stamina, Jordan could still be a nightmare for the league!
Just when everyone thought the Pacers were about to collapse, they pulled off this big surprise, leaving all the teams vying for the championship sighing in disappointment!
After all, several teams made crucial reinforcements this season in their pursuit of the championship!
For example, the Nets acquired Carter and Harrington from the Pacers to strengthen their roster.
Take the Mavericks, for example. After failing in the offensive battle last season, they continue to tinker with their roster under the leadership of their crazy owner, Mark Cuban.
They traded away Van Exel and LaFrentz, whom they had just acquired midway through last season, along with several of their draft picks, to the Warriors in exchange for scoring specialist Antawn Jamison.
This trade is definitely a fatal blow to Wang Zhizhi, because Jamison plays the same position as him and the two have similar playing styles, both emphasizing offense over defense. Jamison's arrival may cause Wang Zhizhi to lose the position he has just secured.
Another team that strengthened its roster this summer and was considered the top championship favorite for a long time before Jordan arrived is the Lakers!
They've been planning changes ever since they lost the Western Conference Finals last year! And it's not just about changing the roster; owner Buss even wants to move Jerry West's position and find him a successor.
But after a long private meeting between the two in early June, all the rumors disappeared! West did not leave the team and made several moves in the draft just a few days later!
He first traded the team's starting power forward, Jermaine O'Neal, to Utah in exchange for Andrei Kirilenko, a versatile forward who had just been drafted by the Jazz and had performed exceptionally well last year, point guard DeShawn Stevenson, and a 15th overall pick in the first round of the 02 draft.
He then used that draft pick to acquire a small forward for the University of Kentucky.
Tyshawn Prince, the star of "The Little Prince"!
After making consecutive moves to strengthen the team's frontcourt and backcourt, West did not leave his power forward position vacant. On the first day of free agency, he announced that the team would sign the league's top mercenary for the past few years to a one-year minimum contract.
Karl Malone!
To reiterate, Malone is no longer an MVP-caliber player. Over the years, his pursuit of a championship through multiple teams has even caused him to lose his edge and pride.
The last vestige of dignity he can maintain now is refusing to play for the Pacers!
However, from a purely skill perspective, given his average of 19+8 per game last season, he is unlikely to experience any decline this season. He remains a top-ten power forward in the league and still possesses considerable skill!
Malone, who has already played for three different teams in four years, is basically making a final push for the championship!
If he fails again this year, no matter how thick-skinned Malone is or how much he craves the championship, he certainly won't be able to keep wandering around.
After all, if he continues to wander, it would be better to join his arch-rival team, the Pacers, and team up with Jordan and Lin Tian, the two bastards who caused him the most pain in his career.
At the very least, joining a fight if you can't win is better than wandering around aimlessly if you can't win.
Well... of course, it's not much better.
In short, Malone's addition and the Lakers' reinforcements have given them a truly dream-like lineup once again! Otherwise, they wouldn't have become the top favorite after the Pacers almost broke up!
In addition, while some teams are making big spending sprees and continuing their pursuit of the championship, others are inevitably falling apart!
Miami Heat!
Last season, they relied on the veterans' incredible run to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, but during the offseason, they received another piece of bad news.
Moning's kidney disease has relapsed!
This time it was life-threatening; Mourning was even admitted to the ICU!
Although this tough guy finally overcame his illness once again, it's clear that his professional career is over! Having been hit by kidney disease twice in a row, Mourning is definitely not suitable for playing such high-intensity matches anymore.
Who can guarantee that he won't collapse on the field?
Mourning's collapse essentially signaled the end of the Heat's rebuilding journey. Riley didn't make any major trades during the offseason; he didn't re-sign PJ Brown and Eddie Jones, whose contracts had expired. He asked Payton if he wanted a change of scenery.
Although Payton didn't leave in the end, of the team's starting lineup from last season, only Payton remains. The rest have either left or retired. The Heat, who have been a top-tier team for the past 7-8 years and have reached the Eastern Conference Finals multiple times, are about to be extinguished for the time being.
Riley's attitude was very clear: the team was going to start tanking!
In addition to acquiring Hamilton this summer, the Pistons also signed Chauncey Billups, the third overall pick in the 1997 draft, to a five-year, $35 million contract. Although it is unknown when they will be able to get their own frontcourt duo, at least their backcourt duo has now been assembled in Detroit!
Meanwhile, the Pacers have also made some changes to their roster.
Reggie Miller has retired!
The guy who was still playing in the World Championships this summer, Bird never thought he would retire. He had even prepared a full mid-level contract for Miller, wanting the old man to play for another two years!
Even Miller himself originally had this idea!
But when Jordan announced he was joining the Pacers, Miller quickly made a decision: Retire! I'm not playing anymore!
I can be Carter's backup, I can be Christie's backup, but I'd rather die than be Jordan's backup!
This is what Miller said privately to his teammates when he announced his retirement.
At first, everyone, especially Lin Tian and Bird, felt a little guilty, because it felt like they had forced Miller to retire.
But then they realized they'd been overthinking it! Miller, that bastard, didn't need any sympathy or pity.
Because less than 20 minutes after announcing his retirement, this guy's resume appeared in Carlisle's email inbox.
Hmm... Carlisle is hiring a full-time shooting coach in hopes of helping players improve their free throws and shooting.
When Miller wanted to be a shooting coach for a team, it was almost impossible for him to fail the job, let alone when the team's name was the Pacers!
"You just want to yell at Michael from the coaching bench, calling him an idiot, mocking every missed shot he makes, being incredibly harsh on him in training, even torturing and humiliating him!" After Miller's rapid appointment, Lin Tian directly exposed Miller's true colors.
"Is it that obvious?" Miller's annoyingly downturned lips curved upwards this time, a rare occurrence.
They're bullying Jordan! All season long!
Who could resist such a temptation?
This is 31 times more fun than playing ball!
In the next three days, Carlisle's inbox was flooded with job applications from Ewing, Starks, Barkley, Rodman, and even Pippen, who was still playing, sent one.
If all of this passes, the Pacers' coaching staff will be absolutely spectacular, just like the All-Star Game!
However, Bird had no choice but to give Miller face, but what about the others?
Get the hell out of here!
He directly ordered Carlisle to blacklist all these people and tell them to get lost and stop messing around here!
We're fighting for the championship! What do you think this is? Playing house?
In addition, the league quickly announced several new rules and some major events before training camp began.
First, the playoff rules have been changed. The first round of matches has been changed from a best-of-five series to a best-of-seven series, in order to increase the fun of the games and sell more tickets.
Furthermore, the monthly Player of the Month award will no longer be awarded to one player per month, but will instead be awarded to one player each from the East and West conferences each month.
If the changes to these two rules were somewhat predictable and not entirely unexpected, then the following rules are enough to change the landscape of the league!
First, the league revised the sign-and-trade rule!
The new rules require players who are subject to sign-and-trade agreements to play for the team for at least one year!
In other words, free agents are not allowed to sign and then trade after signing a contract!
It also stipulates that after a sign-and-trade deal is completed, the total salary of both teams cannot exceed the luxury tax plus 400 million!
In other words, if the luxury tax is $5000 million, then after the transaction, the total salary of both parties must not exceed $5400 million!
Both of these rules will be officially implemented starting next season!
Clearly, this rule was designed for the Pacers and Jordan, and many media outlets quickly dubbed it the "Michael Jordan Rule"!
The league clearly wants to prohibit this blatant loophole-exploiting sign-and-trade scheme and prevent similar, even more outrageous and unacceptable, behavior from happening again.
Many people even said that if it weren't for the sheer hype and numerous highlights surrounding the Jordan + Lin Tian combination, Stern would likely have stopped the trade, stating that it was against the rules and citing basketball reasons to cancel it!
Stern, with his iron fist, is truly capable of doing something like this! (End of Chapter)