"Isiah, you'd better reconcile with Zhou Quan."
McCloskey said to Thomas: "This is what the league requires of you, and they are staring at you. If you don't reconcile with Zhou Quan, you won't be able to eliminate the concerns of the young people in the NCAA, and it will affect the foundation of the league.
You should know that the NCAA is our foundation and you are from there. When you know that the team you join in the future will have a bunch of veterans waiting to beat you in the locker room, will you still join the NBA?
Don't worry, I will mediate and won't embarrass you. "
Thomas was stunned for a long time. He understood that in order to calm public opinion, Ranbir became a victim, and so did he.
"Think about it carefully. Apart from retirement, there is only one way for you." McCloskey said.
On this afternoon, the official representative of the Pistons, Bill Laimbeer, announced his retirement. A vicious man and the most evil person in the league, he retired from the NBA stage.
This news shocked the entire league. Countless fans cheered and countless players who had been hurt by Laimbeer raised their glasses in celebration. The entire league fell into a carnival.
At 10 a.m. on the 15th, NBA officials made a decision on the incident of beating a rookie in the Pistons locker room.
Detroit Pistons, fined $1 million.
Bill Laimbeer fined an additional $100,000.
Isiah Thomas was suspended for an additional ten games and fined $50,000.
John Seeley and Mark Aguirre were each fined an additional $50,000.
The official officially characterized this incident as not a fight, but a beating of the rookie.
On the surface, such a characterization is very detrimental to the alliance. If it was a fight, it would indicate that Zhou Quan was also at fault. But now it is characterized as a beating of a rookie, and Zhou Quan was a self-defense counterattack. That is different. The responsibility lies entirely with Laimbeer and his party.
But in fact, after this matter was exposed by the media, David Stern could only recover some losses by defining it in this way. Otherwise, if it was classified as a fight, the league would definitely be criticized by public opinion and the losses would be even greater. The enthusiasm of the NCAA rookies for the NBA It will definitely be affected in a very bad way.
This treatment is also quite severe. It can be called the heaviest fine in history. Laimbeer retired and Thomas' suspension was also very severe.
In addition, the league informed the Pistons that it would tacitly allow the Pistons to compensate Zhou Quan to a certain extent.
In the afternoon, Zhou Quan received a one-year sponsorship contract from Ford Motor Company and a check for US$500,000 from the team.
There are also keys to a brand new Ford 150 double-cab pickup truck, as well as the key and lease contract of a single-family house in a high-end community.
Ford is headquartered in the Motor City of Detroit, and has always been the Pistons' largest sponsor. Ford came forward. No one can say anything about this sponsorship contract. It is aboveboard, reasonable and legal.
On the 18th, Philip rushed to Detroit, took out a stack of sponsorship contracts with a happy face, and said to Zhou Quan:
"Zhou, your popularity has soared. You are now the NBA's No. 1 Warrior, No. 1 Strongman, and Dragon Terminator. This wave of popularity has brought you real benefits. Look, this is all yours. It adds up to a hundred Thousands of dollars, you’re rich!”
Zhou Quan was speechless. How could a fight bring such great benefits? It seems that the Bad Boy Legion is indeed his noble one!
Philip added: "But these are short-term contracts. If you can have a good rookie season, your popularity can be maintained. Otherwise, the current popularity will soon dissipate."
"I see."
On the morning of the 19th, Zhou Quan was discharged from the hospital.
But he has not recovered yet and is just going home to recuperate. It will take about three weeks to recover and he may not be able to play in the first few regular season games.
In the afternoon, he first went to buy a mobile phone, commonly known as mobile phone in China, then went to the bank to repay the loan and wired another US$50,000 to his father.
Fifty thousand US dollars is enough to solve the family's financial problems. If it is too much, he is afraid that his parents will not be able to bear the stimulation, which will be bad.
On the 20th, the league’s official training camp opens.
Thomas is still in the hospital, John Salley's foot injury has not healed yet, and Zhou Quan has not recovered. The three did not participate in the training camp, and all other eleven players participated.
"Iron Fist, you can't train now, your injury hasn't healed yet."
"I know, I'm here to talk to you."
But in the morning, Zhou Quan came to the headquarters, found Joe Dumas, and had some communication with him.
"Joe, do you think the Bad Boys Legion still needs to exist?"
"Bad Boys Legion?"
Joe Dumars was in a state of mixed emotions.
In fact, after the most capable Rick Mahon was taken away, there was no one left who could fight. Isiah Thomas said at the time that the Bad Boys no longer existed, so now, with Laimbeer With his retirement, it may be time to truly end the Bad Boy Legion.
"Zhou, you can't cause trouble for them anymore. They are the heroes of this team. I have fought with them for so many years. They have given everything for this team. I will not support you to cause trouble for them again." Yes, absolutely impossible." He said seriously.
"As long as they don't cause trouble for me, I can promise you." Zhou Quan said.
Joe Dumars nodded and smiled bitterly: "Bill did go too far that day. Fortunately, you beat them one-on-four. Now that Bill has retired, you are the one favored by the management, and I will support you." "
Zhou Quan patted Joe Dumas on the shoulder and said with a smile: "I am still too young, I have no strength, no performance, and no contribution to this team. I can't say how I will develop in the future. Maybe I will just Can be a second-tier player.
So, Joe, this team is yours now, and I support you. "
Is Iron Fist trying to push him to be the opposite of Thomas? Joe Dumars smiled wryly again.
In this way, Joe Dumas became a well-deserved leader, but no one dared to ignore Zhou Quan's existence.
Although Zhou Quan is still recovering from his injury, he comes to the team every day to strengthen his sense of presence and communicate with his teammates.
Mark Aguirre did not dare to provoke Zhou Quan. He was not a member of the Bad Boys to begin with, and of course he did not like Zhou Quan. Fortunately, Joe Dumas said that Iron Fist would not trouble him again, which made him relieved.
Zhou Quan has two personalities. On the outside, he is very gentle, will not embarrass others, and is easy to get along with. This is actually very conducive to his integration into the team.
With the help of Joe Dumars and his natural leadership qualities, he integrated into the team within two days.
In fact, there was no need for him to integrate at all. They were all actively approaching him. Even Rodman, who was stabbing his head, did not dare to confront him.
In particular, Darnell Walker and other four newcomers who had just arrived at the Pistons all rallied tightly around him and relied on him as their support. Joe Dumars didn't even listen to his words.
He took the initiative to chat with every teammate and communicated in detail. He also carefully observed everyone's playing habits during training. This is what a point guard must do.
On the morning of the 25th, Spider John Salley returned to the team.
He was shocked to find that the team had changed. It was no longer the team of Laimbeer and Thomas, and no one was afraid of them anymore.
"John Salley, I promised Joe that I won't cause trouble for you again, so don't cause trouble and don't let me find a reason to deal with you."
Zhou Quan immediately warned.
What else can John Salley do? Laimbeer retires, and Thomas probably won't be able to fight Iron Fist when he comes back. He can only keep his head down and his tail between his legs.
