"Shaq, how come what you said is exactly the same as what Kobe said?
I just came here and I didn’t know who was the boss of the team.
Now please tell me, who told a lie, and who should I believe? "
Duan pretended not to know, but when O'Neal heard this, he subconsciously thought that Kobe was wooing new players again and wanted to compete with him to seize power.
It is unbearable!
O'Neal didn't make any distinction and immediately exclaimed loudly, "What, that damn guy Kobe!"
He actually told you that the Los Angeles Lakers are his team?
Rookie, you must not believe him, he is lying to you, I am the boss of the team.
Shaq has led this Lakers to three championships!
Rookie, don't you want to play with the great Shaq and win a championship together? "
“But this year’s championship is the San Antonio Spurs led by Tim Duncan!
He seems to have defeated you in the previous Western Conference semifinals, right?
He beat you twice, won two championships, he won the championship earlier than you, and he was younger than you.
Are you sure you can take revenge on Duncan next year?
Next year you'll be a year older, but he'll be even stronger! "
Du En's vicious words were directly inserted into O'Neal's lung tube, instantly making O'Neal explode with anger.
"Fake, you are deliberately looking for trouble, right?
Did that bastard Kobe want you to piss me off on purpose?
What benefits does Kobe give you? Do you think Kobe can really replace me and become the boss of the Lakers?
Shaq is Superman and is about to return! Rookie, just stay on the bench next season! "
After O'Neal scolded him, he threatened Du En with the power of the team boss.
Du En smiled upon hearing this; "Haha, Shaq, do you think I'm here to assist Kobe?
Are you looking down on me too much? I was the 13th overall lottery pick in the first round, and so was Kobe!
Kobe wants to compete with you for the top spot, can’t I?
I didn't come to the Lakers to compete with Kobe for second place!
Old Bass has promised me that I am the future of the team.
He told me, your contract is too big, your contract is bigger than Michael Jordan!
You make more money in one year than the Bass family makes in several years.
No team owner is willing to see players earn so much, and no team owner is willing to work for his players.
Not even if that person was Michael Jordan, who brought six championships to the Chicago Bulls.
But just because he took 30 million for two years, he was fired!
Immediately, you will also get 30 million. It is also 30 million for two consecutive years, and it is still 35 million larger than Jordan!
Haha, you are about to be fired too!
If you can't retreat like Jordan, you will be publicly humiliated by the wealthy Lakers, kicked out, and live on the streets.
You will be like Hakeem Olajuwon, abandoned on a team that no one cares about, and then quietly leave the NBA.
Of course, Los Angeles fans will never forget your contribution.
While cheering for Kobe, they will remember the three championships that Kobe and you won together! "
After carefully studying the operating rules of the NBA, it is not difficult to understand why the OK group broke up.
In fact, Kobe is not the bomb, O'Neal is.
O'Neal's huge contract has put pressure on the Lakers' salary space and has become the biggest hidden danger of the Lakers' internal strife.
Of course, Kobe was the one who set off the bomb.
But even so, Kobe, who made mistakes, was instead promoted to the head of the Lakers, leading the failed Lakers to the playoffs many times.
In the end, he was able to hold on until the moon came out, and after getting help from Gasol, he proved himself with his second consecutive championship.
As the bomb itself, O'Neal, although he did not take the initiative to cause trouble, was still sent away by Bass after the incident.
To put it bluntly, the NBA has been suspended so many times and negotiated so many times. In the final analysis, it is still a labor conflict.
O'Neal takes too much money, and any team owner will be unhappy.
Not to mention the Buss family, which runs the Lakers as the family's only business and has little money.
Duan took the initiative to help O'Neal break his illusions about the Lakers, making him clearly realize that the crux of his inability to stay in the Lakers was not that Kobe's rise threatened his position as the team's boss.
It was the three-year contract extension that Buss offered early in order to allow him to wholeheartedly win the championship for the Lakers.
"Fake...boom——"
O'Neill cursed angrily, and then Duan heard the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground, and then the phone signal was interrupted.
Guessing that O'Neal would probably smash the phone, Du En didn't pay much attention to it. O'Neal was so angry that there was nothing he could do to him.
Even if O'Neal wants to confront Old Buss, at most it will only lead to O'Neal being kicked out early and traded to other teams.
To take a step back, once this happens, even if O'Neill is retained, Duan will be the main culprit to be executed.
For Du En, it's not necessarily a bad thing.
The Lakers F4, which cannot resolve its conflicts, is doomed to fail.
Duan cannot win the championship here, and changing to another team may have a better chance of achieving what he wants.
Ever since, the heartless Du En started today's training on his own.
However, more than an hour later, after receiving a reminder from the Lakers staff, Duan discovered that the phone rang again.
Du En picked up the phone and checked the caller ID. It turned out to be the number O'Neal had called before.
"Hey, hey, Shaq, did you change your cell phone so soon?"
When O'Neill heard Du En's ridicule, instead of being angry, O'Neill uncharacteristically apologized to Du En.
"Duane, you are my brother.
I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have gotten angry with you just now.
Can you accept my apology? I sincerely apologize to you.
After the new season starts, I will definitely take good care of you and won't let others bully you.
We can win many championships together like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson! "
O'Neal suddenly changed his gender, which also surprised Du En.
Maybe O'Neal's agent was around when he made the call, or maybe O'Neal was taught a lesson by his stepfather.
Just like when O'Neal mocked Yao Ming and caused an uproar, O'Neal's stepfather took the initiative to ask O'Neal to apologize to Yao Ming after learning about it.
He even took the initiative to call Yao Ming's father to express his incompetence in raising his son and apologize on behalf of O'Neal.
"Shaq, I accept your apology.
At the same time, I am also willing to accept your kindness and play ball with you.
I didn't expect you to be so smart and realize the problem so quickly.
Today, the only player in the league who is more expensive than you is Kevin Garnett.
Do you believe that he will take the initiative to renew his contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves this summer with a salary cut? "
2003 was really a bad year for O'Neal.
On the one hand, it was his own injuries, and on the other hand, Duncan won double MVPs and officially aspired to the No. 1 spot.
At the same time, Garnett has been outpacing O'Neal in salary, which makes O'Neal, the leader of the league, very unhappy.
Over the years, O'Neal's salary has basically been in line with Garnett's. If Garnett takes a pay cut, it's not impossible for O'Neal to take a pay cut.
Because Duncan caught up, Duncan defeated the Lakers led by O'Neal twice in the Western Conference and has now won two championships.
Duncan's skills have long been beyond improvement, but his physical condition can be said to have only truly reached its peak in the past two years.
O'Neal himself knows his state and has begun to decline.
If you can't catch the tail of the peak and win a few more championships, you will be surpassed by Duncan sooner or later.
At that time, maybe it will be like Olajuwon and Jordan. On the surface, you sing and I come on the stage, and jointly rule the 90s. It seems that they are brilliant for a while, but in fact they will always be far behind Jordan.
The proud and arrogant O'Neal is naturally unwilling to become someone else's foil.
"Great, Du En, you agreed to my apology, and we will be brothers from now on!
Let's work together to drive away this damn guy Kobe!
I will help you make room for him.
I support you starting and becoming the boss of the Lakers.
Of course, the Lakers are still Shaq's team now!
Shaq will give you the team in two years, just like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic! "
Hearing what O'Neill said on the other end of the phone, Du En couldn't help laughing.
This is just right. Isn't O'Neal just such a small-minded person with a little cleverness?
Now let him be fooled and make him an obedient little brother and a tool to fight off the Kobe Palace.
After two years when you can no longer win, you can step aside and make way for someone more worthy. Anyway, I already have all the honors I deserve, so I can show off with peace of mind.
There is no pressure to lead a team, and when the time comes, I will turn into "I am afraid of everything if I get money", and then continue to play music and dance.
It can only be said that O'Neal's calculation was too loud.
"Shaq, I'm curious, why did you have to drive Kobe away?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic have won so many championships together, but don't forget that they also have James Worthy beside them!
Kobe will cost less than 14 million next season. He can average 25+ or even 30+ per game in the playoffs, and he can also provide stable and excellent defense.
Can the entire league find another outside star as efficient, stable, and willing to take the initiative to defend and lock down the opponent's offensive arrows as Kobe?
Compared with your big contract, Kobe's contract is so worth it!
No team's management would be stupid enough to give away their own value-for-money contracts. "
Hearing what Du En said, O'Neal seemed a little unhappy: "Du En, aren't we brothers? Why do you keep speaking for Kobe!"
“It’s precisely because we are brothers that I’m always thinking about you.
Didn't I explain it to you before? Kobe is not your enemy, your enemy is the team owner Old Buss!
If the Lakers can't win the championship next season, they won't be able to make money.
Faced with the big contract between you and Kobe, Old Buss will definitely clear out one of them, and the one who is cleared out will definitely be you.
Duncan is only 12 million, which is not as expensive as Kobe. The contracts of Duncan and Kobe combined are about the same as yours.
As long as Duncan keeps winning, Old Buss will definitely feel that you are not worth it and that you are too expensive.
The owners of other teams will think so too. They will feel that as long as Shaq cannot bring a championship to the team, it is not worth the price.
Therefore, I advise you, if you want to stay with the Lakers and become the second Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, you can slightly lower your salary requirements. "
"Why do you want me to take a salary cut? Shaq's contract was all earned through Shaq's hard work.
Haven't you ever thought about it? As long as Kobe's contract expires and the Lakers no longer renew his contract, the team will have no salary pressure!
Moreover, when the team selects you and trains you as a future star, doesn't it just want you to replace Kobe? "
No player is willing to take a pay cut, even the multi-millionaire who holds the highest salary in the league.
Gorilla Ewing has a silly saying: "We make a lot, but we spend a lot."
As for O'Neal, salary is a reflection of the team's status and the league's status. O'Neal just wants to be the first person.
Therefore, it is not that Duan cannot understand O'Neal's insistence on getting rid of Kobe.
Even though they are good brothers who have won three championships, how can friendship be as important as money?
Not to mention, there will inevitably be some friction after being together for a long time.
It was also because of some small things in the past that accumulated over time and caused deep grievances. In the end, they intensified under the power of the Zen master, and it seemed that they had become estranged from each other until death.
Before, Duan simply thought that Kobe was just a threat to O'Neal's status, so O'Neal had to protect himself and wanted to drive Kobe away.
Now it seems that, in the final analysis, it is still about money.
Of course, Dunn will not sit back and watch O'Neal continue to fight against Kobe Bryant.
“I just want to be the boss, if I can, I want to be the boss of OK.
Moreover, I have no intention of driving anyone away. After all, I came to the Lakers to win and win the championship.
OK combination can help me win the championship more easily, so why should I break them up? "
Du En still has a good idea. He is now just a puzzle piece for the championship, not the core of the championship.
For example, if some internal and external stars join forces as a team, they may not be able to win the championship, and if you team up with one of them alone, you may not be able to win the championship.
However, if they have already formed a team and add another piece, it will be very stable.
The OK combination is the basic team to win the championship, and Du En is just here to ride along.
It's just that Du En is greedy. Even though he is not very capable, he still wants to eat the biggest piece of cake.
Hearing what Du En said, O'Neill was speechless: "Aren't you being a rogue?
You've said it, the team's salary pressure is huge!
If you don't get rid of Kobe, you have to get rid of me. "
"Yes, that's what happened!
However, this pressure should be borne by you.
I'm just a rookie, I just want to be the boss, I just want to win the championship.
It's the boss's business to pay, and it's you who may be kicked out!
If you are not my brother, then everything has nothing to do with me! "
Du En is indeed playing rogue!
The newly arrived rookie arrogantly said that he wanted to be the boss. O'Neill thought that Du En was really capable. After careful questioning, he found out that he just wanted to take advantage.
However, what Du En said before is not unreasonable.
Realizing that his position with the Lakers was in jeopardy, O'Neal had to seek medical treatment urgently.
"Duen, we are brothers. You should help me share some of the pressure. Please help me think of a solution!"
"Shaq, didn't I say it? Cut your salary!" Du En gave the answer, and then continued, "Of course, you'd better not take the initiative to cut your salary."
"As far as I know, players who take the initiative to cut their salaries often do not end well.
You can reduce your salary skillfully, such as when Buss or Kupchak take the initiative to talk to you about contract renewal.
Make some concessions to give them some sense of accomplishment.
As for how to get them to proactively ask you to renew your contract, maybe you should let them know that the Lakers can't win without you.
Like Jordan, was Jordan worried about Pippen becoming the boss of the Bulls?
Don't worry at all, because Jordan knows Pippen's strength.
Jordan gave Pippen the opportunity to become the boss, and gave the Bulls management the opportunity to leave him and win the championship.
Facts have proved that without Jordan, the Bulls are nothing!
I heard that you are going to have surgery soon. Maybe you can take a longer time to resolve your injuries.
When Kobe cannot lead the team to win the game, Old Buss will be more anxious than Lakers fans, and he will definitely beg you.
By then, maybe you can really stage the return of the king and say something in front of Kobe.
You need me so much! Little brother, recognize the reality and let me continue to lead you to win the championship! "
O'Neill was delighted when he heard Du En's statement, but when he thought about it carefully, he felt something was wrong.
"Brother, Kobe and Pippen are different. Kobe is not good at life but he is good at playing basketball!
You also said that he can score 25+ or 30+ in the playoffs, and he can also use defense to lock down the enemy's offensive arrows!
I'm afraid that while I'm recuperating, I'll be delayed for too long and the fans will simply forget about me! "
O'Neal finally acknowledged Kobe's strength in front of Dunn, as well as the threat that Kobe's improvement in strength brought to his team status.
"You underestimate yourself! Kobe performed so well before because he played beside you.
If you are not with him, I believe he can still play at the All-Star level, but he will not immediately show the strength of a superstar.
He's been playing next to you for so long that if you let him lead the team by himself, he needs to readjust to the rhythm of the game.
Moreover, sometimes strong stars do not mean excellent team leadership ability.
When you were playing for the Magic, were you not strong enough at that time? Don't forget you beat Jordan!
During Olajuwon's years with the Rockets, was his personal performance not strong enough? Why didn’t he win the championship until he was 31?
Only when stars reach a certain age and have accumulated enough game experience do they really know how to win.
Now Kobe is not lacking in body and skills, but he just lacks the experience to lead a team to win alone! "
O'Neal was a little surprised when he heard this. Although Du En was a rookie, his words made sense but were more clear than the veteran.
"Dunn, you are right, I should go for surgery!
Next, the team will be handed over to Kobe Bryant!
I want to see if he can win without me! "
