In the locker room, Kevin Willis's eyes turned red when he heard Jordan's words.
As Jordan's draft pick in the same year, the 11th pick in the first round of 1984, he is also a veteran, an All-Star, and was selected to the All-NBA Third Team. How could Jordan say that about him?
Pippen is having trouble with the Bulls this season, and his relationship with Phil Jackson, who also serves as general manager, has become sour.
The seven-year long-term contract he signed was pretty good at the time, otherwise he wouldn't have stubbornly signed it when Jordan persuaded him not to sign it. But after Larry Johnson signed the billion-dollar contract in 1991, It made him regret it.
In 1992 and 1993, he had several quarrels with former general manager Jerry Krause. In the end, Krause compromised twice and chose to raise his salary. This season he had two quarrels with Phil Jackson. , once again asked for a salary increase, but Phil Jackson did not agree.
Phil Jackson believes that the Bulls have no room to raise Pippen's salary, and since they have chosen a long-term contract, they should implement it. Otherwise, what is the purpose of the contract?
This angered Pippen. Although he did not explode, the relationship between Pippen and Phil Jackson had deteriorated. Pippen rarely took the initiative to talk to Phil Jackson.
At this time, after hearing Jordan's words, he said nonchalantly: "If Jerry was still here, he would not trade Weir out."
Wilperdo was his good friend, but Phil Jackson traded Perdo in order to get Kevin Willis. This was one of the reasons why he was dissatisfied with Phil Jackson.
Kevin Willis glanced at Pippen and felt even colder.
Phil Jackson glanced at Jordan and Pippen and felt a lot of pressure. It was no less than when he just lost. Some beads of sweat soon appeared on his forehead.
He pretended to be calm, pushed up the frame, ignored Pippen, and said to Jordan: "Michael, control your emotions, those reporters outside should still be there."
Jordan glanced at the door of the locker room, strode over and pulled it sharply. There was a crash. Several reporters squeezed each other, and they became a mess. Two of them fell at Jordan's feet.
"damn it!"
Jordan gritted his teeth to control his temper, then turned around and rushed into the bathroom.
Several reporters were asked out by staff and forced to leave.
"Hey, Binger, I'm outside the Bulls locker room. I have news about the internal strife in the Bulls locker room. It's related to Jordan, Pippen, Kevin Willis, and Phil Jackson. Do you want two thousand dollars?"
"Is there a recording?"
"have."
"OK, $200."
"800."
"200, this is the final offer."
"OK, $400."
"Wait for me, I'll be right over."
Soon, internal strife broke out in the Bulls locker room. Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson had a verbal conflict. News that Jordan publicly questioned the head coach in the locker room began to spread after several transactions.
An hour later, a press conference was held.
The New York Times reporter who was the first to ask the question asked: "Coach Phil Jackson, did I get the news that Michael Jordan just assaulted you in the locker room?"
Phil Jackson's temples jumped and he immediately denied it and said seriously: "NO, we are just communicating normally."
"In other words, you had a verbal conflict?" the reporter asked.
"No, we are just communicating normally." Phil Jackson denied again.
"I have a recording here."
The reporter held up a cassette tape in his hand.
"Damn reporters!"
Phil Jackson, Jordan, and Pippen suddenly cursed secretly.
"Can you talk about the specific situation?" The reporter said proudly.
Phil Jackson said without hesitation: "There's nothing to say, we're just communicating. I'm sure there's nothing in your box of tapes."
The reporter sneered and said: "Michael Jordan questioned your tactics in the locker room. He thought it was your command that led to two consecutive losses.
At the same time he also questioned your trade for Kevin Willis, he thought Wilperdo was better, and he thought you made a poor trade.
Also, Pippen also questioned the transaction between Kevin Willis and Wildor. He said that you are not as good as Mr. Jerry Krause. Am I right? "
Phil Jackson's face turned black. He didn't expect that the reporters actually recorded their conversation in the locker room.
"I emphasize again that we did not have a verbal conflict, we were just communicating." He could only insist.
At this time, the host appeared, confiscated the New York Times reporter's microphone, and handed it to the Chicago Sports reporter.
Unexpectedly, after this reporter took the microphone, he continued the reporter's topic and asked: "Michael, Scotty, do you think the consecutive defeats were caused by the head coach's command issues? You don't agree with the question about Kevin?" Willis deal?”
Things in the locker room were exposed, and Jordan looked very bad.
He now knows very well that he must not publicly accuse Phil Jackson at this time, otherwise there will be no need to play in the finals.
But now that the reporter had the recording in his hands, he couldn't simply deny it, so after thinking about it for a while, he shook his head and said:
"What I said in the locker room was because I was in a bad mood after losing the game. I didn't think much about it. In fact, losing has many aspects of problems, and it is not just a matter of tactical command.
As for Kevin's trade, as you know, I never pick on my teammates, and what I said in the locker room was impulsive. "
Hearing Jordan's words, Phil Jackson immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Pippen continued: "I was also impulsive, but I didn't expect that the reporters outside had not left yet."
The press conference hall fell silent, and many reporters burst into laughter.
Jordan glared at Pippen, you idiot!
Pippen turned his head and curled his lips. He has now reached the status of a superstar, and Jordan has also been suppressed by the iron fist. He is not as prosperous as before. He is not afraid of Jordan now. His relationship is average. Except for training games, he is not How to contact Jordan.
In another press hall, the SuperSonics press conference is also going on.
"Iron Fist, I heard that the Bulls are in internal strife. Jordan and Pippen blamed Phil Jackson's tactical command for their second consecutive defeat. At the same time, they blamed the Kevin Willis trade. How do you evaluate their internal problems?" A reporter said asked.
"oh!"
Some reporters didn't know it yet, which immediately triggered a burst of exclamations.
"Why is there internal strife again?" Zhou Quan blurted out.
"Haha..." Many reporters laughed.
Zhou Quan was also a little helpless. The Bulls had internal strife during last year's finals, and it was like this again this year. Can't they continue to fight after the finals?
He thought for a moment and shook his head and said, "I don't have anything to say about the Bulls' problem."
"Iron Fist, do you think the bull will disintegrate?" the reporter asked.
"Didn't the team disintegrate after the internal strife last year? Jordan just signed a big contract last year, so it shouldn't happen, right?" Zhou Quan analyzed.
The reporter said: "Last year, the conflict was resolved because of Jerry Krause's resignation."
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "So you mean that the resignation of coach Phil Jackson can save the Bulls from disintegration?"
"Haha, Iron Fist, that's what you said, not me." The reporter laughed.
"You are very cunning."
Zhou Quan said with a smile and stopped talking about this topic.
On the 5th, the issue of internal strife in the Bulls locker room became a hot topic, and a lot of topics were derived from it.
For example, will the Bulls dismantle and rebuild? Will Phil Jackson voluntarily resign like his predecessor Jerry Krause?
For example, will Jordan leave the Bulls? Which team will Jordan's next club be? If Jordan stays with the Bulls, will he recruit stronger inside helpers, such as Barkley or Damn?
For example, Iron Fist said that as long as Phil Jackson resigns, the Bulls can solve the internal strife problem.
These news even dampened the popularity of the Sonics' two-game winning streak.
At 10 a.m., the Bulls announced that Ron Harper would be out for three days due to a sprained right ankle.
At noon, Zhou Quan drove to the headquarters.
Zeng Li is not going to take the team's special plane this time, but will travel with his wife's group of relatives and friends, including Zhou Jun.
"Iron Fist, do you think the Bulls' internal problems will be solved if Phil Jackson resigns?"
"That's not what I said. The Bulls' issues have nothing to do with me and I won't provide any input."
"Did you sleep well last night?"
"No comment."
"Iron Fist, has your opponent been decided for the title defense?"
"It will be announced after the finals."
There were many media outside the headquarters. Zhou Quan simply answered three questions and then entered the headquarters with the help of security.
As soon as they met, George Karl asked: "Iron Fist, how did you sleep last night?"
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "Okay, George, don't ask me this question again, it will interfere with your work and preparations for war.
My state has always been very stable. Whether I sleep well or not depends only on whether I can explode. But even if I sleep well, I may not be able to play in an explosive state.
So George, just do things according to your work procedures, and don't expect winning based on the possibility of whether I can break out. "
George Karl smiled bitterly and said: "That's what you said."
At three o'clock that afternoon, the SuperSonics arrived in Chicago.
"Iron Fist, please pay attention. The news about the Bulls' internal strife is a bit troublesome now. Some media are directing the topic towards you." Philip called Zhou Quan to remind him.
"I understand." Zhou Quan said.
At half past five, the team held a press conference in the hotel.
"Iron Fist, the media said it was you who said that as long as Phil Jackson resigns, the Bulls' internal problems will be solved. Do you hope that the Bulls will disintegrate and reduce the Sonics' most powerful opponent? Can you respond to my question head-on? ?" asked a Chicago Daily News reporter.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "The Bulls' internal problems have nothing to do with me. It's boring. I have no interest in whether it disintegrates. So if the Bulls lose the finals, it will only be due to strength. Don't take it seriously." Put the responsibility on me, okay?"
"But what the media said?" the reporter said again.
Zhou Quan interrupted the reporter and said: "The media also said that Jordan and Pippen accused Phil Jackson of tactical guidance and transactions. It seems true?"
"Of course it's not true." The reporter said angrily.
"Well?"
Zhou Quan smiled and asked in a sarcastic tone: "So are you using me to open up the topic for them? It seems that the news about Jordan and Pippen mentioned by the media is true, otherwise you, a Chicago reporter, would be needed. Do I create topics and public opinions about me?"
"you?"
Zhou Quan's words were too straightforward, and the reporter was speechless.
In the evening, Whitsitt arranged for several staff members to guard outside the elevators and fire exits to prevent some extreme fans from disturbing the players' rest.
This is a common practice, because many times in the league, fans have entered hotels and harassed stars. Now that it is the finals, he is particularly cautious, and he even reserved this floor.
In addition, he also asked the players to unplug the phone lines in the room to avoid being harassed by phone calls.
But this still couldn't stop the plan of some extreme fans. They sent groups after groups of people to attack the floors where the Sonics were staying, and were driven away group after group. It can be said that they came one after another.
They also included a group of Japanese and Korean beauties they recruited at a large price to specifically attack the room where Zhou Quan lived.
The room number was obtained from the hotel waiter, and even the room numbers of Zhou Jun and Zeng Li were obtained. Even the two of them did not escape harassment.
In the end, the players' sleep was not very good. They were woken up multiple times throughout the night. Then the tactical meeting in the morning was canceled and they made arrangements to catch up on sleep. After breakfast, they went to bed again.
At 10 a.m. on the 6th, a tactical meeting was held at the Bulls' headquarters. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf and other management also attended.
Ron Harper also attended the meeting and seemed fine.
Jerry Reinsdorf knows that the Bulls' internal problems are serious now. The main reason is that two consecutive losses and a poor record against Iron Fist's team in the past have led to Jordan's less trust in Phil Jackson. The accumulated conflicts broke out.
This made him very angry. Last year, Jerry Krause, the great hero, was fired because Jordan supported Phil Jackson. Now, in the blink of an eye, the situation has changed. What should he do?
With the Bulls' situation now, he didn't have any good solution at the moment. He could only appease Jordan and finish the finals first.
Phil Jackson stayed up all night, thinking about how to play the SuperSonics and how to win.
Jordan accused him of two things, but in fact he only recognized one point. Kevin Willis did not achieve the role he expected. He declined too much after injuries last season and lost his strong confrontation at the basket.
But tactically, he doesn't think it's a big problem.
He thought there was a chance in the G2 game, but Ron Harper's sudden injury in the first quarter weakened the outside defense, increased Jordan's physical exertion, and ultimately led to a collapse in the last few minutes of the final quarter.
After the meeting began, the boss said a few words to the general effect of calming the players' emotions, and then Phil Jackson arranged tonight's tactics.
Jordan looked serious, staring at Phil Jackson.
Two consecutive away defeats have reduced his patience a lot, and his trust in Phil Jackson has also declined again.
Phil Jackson said: "Tonight we still use the tactics of the G2 game, but we need to be more flexible. The double-teaming tactics against Iron Fist must be adjusted in time according to his playing style.
I once said that when his touch is good, he mainly relies on jump shots, and when his touch is average, he mainly relies on breakthroughs to score.
But in the last game, he had a good touch, but he changed his style of play and focused on both jump shots and breakthroughs. This did cause some confusion for us.
Our players did not do well on the court, so in this game we have to pay attention to double-teaming him near the three-point line and at the edge of the penalty area when he makes a jump shot from the outside or breaks through. "
(End of chapter)
