Magic Johnson nodded and said: "There are many reasons for the loss. The lineup problem is the main one. Both the inside and rebounds need to be strengthened, and then internal conflicts must be resolved."
Larry Bird said: "The reason why the SuperSonics lost to the Bulls in the 1994 Finals was because of the poor configuration of the center position. Then they reinforced Gilliam and Geiger, two practical second-rate centers, and then they had two consecutive games. crown.
So I hope that the Bulls will first solve their internal problems, and then, like the Sonics, get one or two practical centers who can defend, rebound, and have certain offensive abilities in the low post and at the basket.
Any second-rate player will do, don’t just focus on those All-Star centers. Which team is willing to trade away All-Star centers? Unless they're physically failing, like Kevin Willis.
"Okay, now Mr. Stern is going to present the trophy to the championship SuperSonics team. Let us congratulate the Seattle SuperSonics." The Magic said at this time.
At the scene, the smiling SuperSonics boss Ballmer took the trophy handed over by Stern and held it high.
"Oh ho!"
Two thousand SuperSonics fans burst into home-like cheers, cheers and applause.
Zhou Quan received the trophy, and the cheers on the scene became even louder.
"Envy, Charles?"
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, standing next to Barkley in the crowd outside, asked.
The jealousy in Barkley's eyes couldn't be concealed at all. When he thought that he was getting old and didn't even have a championship, while Iron Fist had already won three championships in just five seasons of his career, he was filled with anger. I felt sour. Now that I heard Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's words, I became even more determined to leave Houston.
Reggie Miller heard what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said, and on a whim, he also said to Dameng in front of him: "Dameng, are you envious?"
"Do you believe I'll beat you to death?"
Olajuwon looked at the championship trophy in Zhou Quan's hand, his eyes glowing green. When he heard Miller's words, he turned back and stared at Miller fiercely.
"The Iron Fist King is here, I don't believe it." Reggie Miller shook his head.
"Hmph!"
Dameng could only snort a few times.
"Pfft..." O'Neill became happy.
Next, the voting results for the Most Valuable Player of the Finals were announced. David Stern took the envelope, took it out, looked at it, and smiled: "Ladies and gentlemen, there are nine votes in total. Congratulations to Zhou Quan, unanimous vote again." Elected as the Most Valuable Player of this Finals.”
"Oh ho!"
The cheers of more than 2,000 people also created an overwhelming momentum, and the United Center was filled with joy.
In the CCTV commentary box, Zhang Lili said excitedly: "Congratulations to Zhou Quan, now he has three championships, three FMVPs, two MVPs, and two All-Star AMVPs, a total of seven MVPs.
By the way, Zhou Quan also has four assists kings, four steals kings, and one scoring king, for a total of nine individual data kings.
As a point guard, he also has two DPOYs, four double teams, one defensive second team, six times of the month, and fourteen times of the week.
These honors are enough to fill an honor room. "
Xu Jicheng said excitedly: "Zhou Quan has more and more hard honors. He is catching up with Jordan in terms of honors."
Zhang Lijia smiled and said: "If the title defense is successful, then next season will be a very, very critical season. The SuperSonics' goal, Zhou Quan's goal, should be only one, and that is to defend the title again and become a three-peat dynasty."
Xu Jicheng said excitedly: "Once it is completed, I believe Zhou Quan's honor and status in the NBA will surpass Michael Jordan."
Zhang Lili said with some concern: "After two consecutive championships, the SuperSonics will definitely become the public enemy of the league, and it will be difficult to trade the right players. My opinion is that it is best to keep the lineup stable and make some reinforcements.
Think about it after the Bulls won two consecutive championships, even Jordan seemed to have become a public enemy of the league. All media were looking for dirt on him and hyping up negative news about him.
Zhou Quan is not an American yet, and the American media are absolutely unwilling to see him complete three consecutive championships, as are other teams in the league. "
Nodding, Xu Jicheng said: "After winning the championship last year, the media was slandering Zhou Quan. If Zhou Quan hadn't won the world heavyweight boxing championship later, and his global reputation had greatly increased, he would not have any black spots, and the American media would not be able to smear him anymore. , will definitely continue to criticize him."
At the scene, Zhou Quan held two trophies and accepted photos and interviews with the media along with Zeng Li and Zhou Jun.
"Iron Fist, congratulations! Now I want to know, what is your goal for next season?" a New York Times reporter asked.
"To defend the title, of course, we will continue to defend the title. We will strive to win three consecutive championships. There is no player who does not desire this achievement, and I am no exception." Zhou Quan said bluntly.
The reporter asked again: "As a team that has won two consecutive championships, I think other teams don't want to see you complete three consecutive championships, so it should be very difficult for you to reinforce.
The contracts of many players in your team have expired, and they will become the targets of other teams. What do you think about this? "The reporter asked.
"Our lineup is indeed likely to change. The contracts of many teammates have expired. I hope the management can handle the lineup issue carefully. A stable lineup is very critical." Zhou Quan said seriously.
"Tekken King, can you announce the news about the world boxing champion's defense now?" A Los Angeles Times reporter asked impatiently at this time.
When other reporters heard this question, their eyes glowed green, and they all focused on Zhou Quan.
Zhou Quan laughed, handed the championship trophy to Rodman and asked him to take photos with him, then handed the FMVP trophy to Zeng Li, and then said: "Then I will reveal a little bit, the specifics The promotion company for this title defense fight will announce the news soon."
"Iron Fist, is Tyson the challenger?" a reporter asked anxiously.
"Do you want me to fight Michael?" Zhou Quan asked with a smile.
"I hope your playing style is modeled after his. You have admitted that you and he both have top-notch dodge ability and powerful offense. The whole world wants to see you fight." Another reporter said excitedly.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "Actually, I also hope to fight him, but unfortunately, his boxing matches this year are already fully booked. I heard that Mr. Tang Jin has arranged a boxing match worth 200 million for him, and even next year. There’s no time, so my opponent this time is Holyfield.”
"Oh! Isn't it with Tyson?"
"It's not bad to fight a fox!"
"Although Holyfield is in a trough period, he is still a top world boxing champion. Under normal circumstances, he is much stronger than McCall."
"The fox's weight is only a few kilograms heavier than the Iron Fist King, and his strength is not much greater, but the fox's physical fitness is not good, so he should not be as good as the Iron Fist King."
"I bet that the Iron Fist King will successfully defend his title. His dodge is amazing. I think his dodge has even surpassed Ali and Iron Michael."
The reporters around him started talking excitedly.
Zhou Quan did not disclose any other information, and then answered some questions about the NBA. He ended the interview and went to celebrate with his friends.
Back in the locker room, bang bang bang, a series of bottle opening sounds, the entire locker room became a world of champagne. Everyone was sprayed all over, even Ballmer was not spared when he came in.
After celebrating for half an hour, Zhou Quan and others took off their equipment and went to take a shower. By the time they were done with it, it was already past twelve o'clock.
Whitshit arranged for one of Chicago's top nightclubs, booked the venue, arranged the best dancers, and the Sonics would party all night long.
The wives and girlfriends will not participate in this celebration. This is a celebration time for the players.
The team arranged a bus to send away a group of family members. The players got on their own buses, and Zhou Quan sat directly next to Whitchet in the front row.
"Iron Fist, what's wrong?" Whithit asked softly.
Zhou Quan nodded slightly, turned his head and whispered: "Bob, the management must have discussed contract renewal with Dennis' agent, right?"
"Yes."
Whithit nodded and said: "He wants a long-term contract, five years, and the total contract must reach at least 25 million US dollars."
"The average annual salary is US$5 million. He is worth this price." Zhou Quan said very directly.
Bob Whitsitt clearly knew what Zhou Quan meant from these words. He hesitated for a moment and then said:
"Iron Fist, he is already 35 years old and will be 36 next season, and he also has a lot of injuries. If he signs a long-term contract, once he is no longer good, he will take up a lot of space for us."
Zhou Quan said with a smile: "At least he is doing well now, averaging 14.7 rebounds per game in the finals. Apart from him, you will never find anyone like him again.
As for the future, I mean, he has played for the team for three years and helped the team win two consecutive championships. He is a meritorious player for the Sonics and deserves a veteran contract. "
Having said this, he explained: "Bob, I don't want to interfere with your work and rights and responsibilities, but I do hope that the team will treat these meritorious players well.
I myself also hope to complete my entire career in Seattle, so I very much hope that this team is a humane team rather than a purely commercial company. "
Whithit said quickly: "Of course, Iron Fist, you believe me, I am not rejecting his request, I am just considering it.
Also, I will convey what you just said to other management and Mr. Ballmer. I believe that the entire management and Mr. Ballmer will not treat the team’s meritorious players badly. Of course, I also hope that you can stay here forever. this city. "
"That's what I hope to see." Zhou Quan smiled.
The conversation between the two naturally attracted the attention of others. Rodman stood up with a smile and came over from behind. He bent down and said to Zhou Quan: "Iron Fist, Jerry Krause contacted my agent Manley yesterday."
"What?" Whithit heard it too.
Zhou Quan was startled and said, "Do the Bulls want Krause to resume his position as general manager?"
"Probably so."
Rodman straightened up, shrugged and said.
Whitsitt's mind was spinning a few times at this moment. He waved to Rodman and motioned for him to come over. After Rodman bent down, he whispered in his ear:
"Dennis, Iron Fist and I have just talked. There is basically no problem with the contract your agent requires."
Rodman smiled widely, nodded, stood up straight again, and said with a smile: "I like girls from Seattle very much."
"Ha ha……"
Zhou Quan and others laughed.
Schrempf and Gilliam felt a little uneasy. Like Rodman, their contracts had expired. From the looks of it, Iron Fist should help Rodman get a contract extension, but what about them?
Both of them have won two championships and are both main players, so they both want a big contract and want to stay in the team.
Because of Iron Fist, the SuperSonics are the most popular team in the NBA. Their popularity has surpassed that of the Bulls by a large margin. If they stay on the team, they can continue to get attention. In the past two years, they have also received a lot of business benefits.
But the team's salary space is limited, and the salary cap is pressing on it, unless the owner is willing to give them a veteran contract.
Moreover, their relationship with Iron Fist is not as deep as Rodman's, and it is impossible for Iron Fist to come forward to negotiate with the management for them.
"Oh ho!"
"Ha ha……"
"Beauties, here I come!"
When everyone came to the nightclub and saw the enchanting dances of the dancers, everyone was so excited that they howled like wild beasts.
Zhou Quan went to the bar and asked the bartender for a glass of the so-called "Red Lip Flame". After drinking it, he felt like he was on fire, and his whole body suddenly became energetic.
After sitting down, he turned on the system while enjoying the strip dance.
"Congratulations to the host for completing the defense and winning the regular season MVP, as well as the titles of scoring, assists and steals.
The mission reward is that under the premise of weight + 5 kilograms, the three sports qualities of speed, jumping and agility remain unchanged.
Tip: Gaining weight cannot increase the body fat rate of the current host. "
He understands the meaning of the system, which is to gain muscle, not gain weight. He will definitely have no chance to gain muscle this offseason. Building muscle consumes a lot of physical energy and can only be done during the regular season next season. Fortunately, it is only 5 kilograms, so it is not very difficult and can be done in two or three months.
In addition, he also considered whether the increase in weight to 97 kilograms would affect his health.
This tonnage is still considered light in the heavyweight category. A normal heavyweight with a height of 188 centimeters must weigh more than 100 kilograms. Tyson is only 178 centimeters tall and weighs 100 kilograms.
But his main sport is basketball. The tonnage is 97 kilograms. Compared to a point guard, it is not heavy, but ridiculously heavy.
A point guard needs to run very fast, change directions repeatedly, and run long distances. With such a heavy weight, can he persist?
He decided to talk to his personal trainer, Hughes Swelton, about the issue.
After playing in the nightclub until morning, and returning to the hotel to sleep for a few hours, Supersonic boarded the plane back to Seattle at noon and arrived at the Seattle Airport in the evening.
Seattle will continue to celebrate for three days, with many activities arranged. The city government and a large number of fans will participate. Fans from the entire Seattle metropolitan area will also rush to the city to participate in the celebrations.
(End of chapter)
