The three-point line is really too close

Chapter 83 Lakers Championship? !The bull is coming!
Memphis, Tennessee.

"Hi, Jerry, I'm Mitch Kupchak, sorry to bother you."

"Long time no see, Mickey, you're welcome."

The old man who answered the phone was named West.

Jerry West.

The logo prototype of the alliance.

A man full of wisdom and strategy.

In the 1996 NBA draft, Jerry West, then the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, traded the team's main center Vlad Divac for Kobe Bryant, the 13th overall pick selected by the Hornets. At the same time, he signed Shaquille O'Neal, the biggest "shark" in the free market, and created the "OK" combination single-handedly.

This kicked off the Lakers dynasty at the beginning of the century, and he played a major role in the Lakers' three consecutive championships.

Jerry West is therefore known as the "Godfather" of the Lakers.

"I know, you are an eternal Laker, and now I have encountered a tangled matter, and I want to listen to your advice..."

Kupchak told West about the Warriors' trade request for Zhang Bolong.

After hearing this, West didn't have any emotional fluctuations, but spoke flatly:
"Long, I know, that nice Chinese boy."

"Yeah, he's good and the fans love him."

"I want to know, Mickey, do you want the future or the present more? Or in other words, do you want the future or the championship."

Now Kupchak no longer hesitated.

"Want to be a champion!"

What's the use in the future?Isn't it just more expectations for the championship?

Since you can hit the championship now, why wait for the future?
West smiled.

"Then what do you think of the combination of Kobe, Baron and Paul?"

"I think...huh?!"

Paul, Pau Gasol? !
Kupchak's heart was pounding. West was the basketball director of the Grizzlies, and what he said would never be aimless.

Reminiscent of Gasol's injury and the Grizzlies' messy record, Kupchak knows it all.

The general manager with good business ability is keenly aware that this financially weak team is likely to seek reconstruction.

"I really like that little guy, he looks great in a Lakers jersey."

West didn't say anything more, and the two exchanged pleasantries, and then ended the call.

At this time, Kupchak's heart seemed to be surging with a huge wave.

Kobe, Baron Davis, Pau Gasol...

He really wanted to shout those five words out loud in the office:

Lakers championship!
……

At this moment, Zhang Bolong didn't know that he had been brought to the negotiating table for the deal.

But even if he knew, he wouldn't be too surprised.

The NBA is originally a business field, so many stars who were famous for their loyalty in the previous life, how many of them can have one person and one city?

The former Timberwolves logo "Wolf King" Garnett also uttered the famous saying in suffering:

"Loyalty can hurt you sometimes because you can't be young again."

Exhausting youth for the team, and finally being regarded as a burden, kicked away, loyalty is not safe at that time.

The most ruthless thing in the world is that heroes are not allowed to see their gray hair.

Until 2021, when he travels through, there are very few stars in the NBA who can have one person and one city. If it is not the head star, it is almost impossible to find.

The Heat's Haslem counts as one, and if you look for it again, Zhang Bolong has no impression.

After defeating the Raptors, the Lakers are about to usher in their fourth consecutive home game.

After a short day of rest, they will start again against the Chicago Bulls.

When it comes to the Bulls, I'm afraid that His Royal Highness, the all-powerful trapeze, will appear in everyone's mind.

At the same time that the song "Sirius" (Sirius), which made countless visiting team players desperate, was played, Michael Jordan played in the tsunami.

Leading the Bulls to defeat their opponents time and time again, winning championship trophies one after another!
Jordan created the glory of the Bulls dynasty, and he is almost equal to the glory of the Bulls.

This is the case.

In 1998, Jordan, who had achieved great success, retired bravely and bid farewell to the basketball world for the second time.Old officials such as Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Luke Longley and Tony Kukoc also left the Bulls one after another, and the Bulls dynasty began to decline.

Since then, the Bulls' winning percentage has not exceeded [-]% for six consecutive years, and it has hovered around [-]% all year round.

The Red Army, which was feared by everyone back then, suddenly became a puny underdog who was bullied by everyone.

No star is willing to come to the team, and the team itself has only cultivated one star, and gave it to the Clippers as the "captain", that is Elton Brand.

However, in recent years, the record of this seemingly hopeless Bulls team has gradually improved.

After successively selecting Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, the young talents of the Bulls have grown rapidly, helping the Bulls to return to a [-]% winning percentage the year before last.
Especially this year's joining of defensive champion Ben Wallace has also reawakened the long-sleeping ambitions of the Chicagoans.

In the first game of this season, the Bulls and Big Ben swept away the feud of being swept out by the Miamis in the playoffs last season, and beat the defending champion 108:66, making a good start for the new season.

It's just that due to the big changes in the lineup, the Bulls are still running in, and now they only have a record of 3 wins and 6 losses.

At eight o'clock in the evening on November 2006, 11, the Lakers' home game against the Bulls officially started.

In the ESPN studio, an old white man with white hair and sunken eye sockets was paired with a round, bald black man with glasses to explain today's game.

The old man is Hubie Brown, a well-known NBA coach and commentator who is nearly seventy years old, and the man with glasses is also the highly acclaimed ABC/ESPN commentator Mike Tirico.

And in the middle of the two, a black man was sitting there, exuding an unparalleled superstar look.

He is the guest ESPN specially invited to this field, the current small owner of the Bobcats, Michael Jordan.

As the eternal god of Chicago, "His Royal Highness Flying Man" is also very interested in this game.

Although because of the fierce conflict with general manager Klaus, Jordan has not been to the Bulls home court once after retiring, but he still has deep feelings for this red fertile soil in his heart, and he looks forward to the wonderful performance of this group of young people .

At the same time, the opponent of the Bulls in this game is also one of the reasons why Jordan came to the studio.

His little brother Kobe was there.

After retiring, Jordan still likes to watch the Lakers game very much. In Kobe, he can find some shadow of himself.

Kobe had talked to Jordan about the Bulls during the offseason, saying that he liked those young people.

On the phone, Kobe expressed his admiration for Luol Deng, feeling that he could be his own Pippen, and complained about Jordan's draft vision.

"Morrison and Bird only look alike, you don't understand the draft at all!"

This made Jordan very dissatisfied.

The Morrison he chose was "Bird II", how could he be comparable to "Little Pippen" in Chicago!

(End of this chapter)