On the 20th, Zhou Quan and Zeng Li got married.
Except for her brother-in-law, Zeng Li only invited one of her classmates, A-Zhen, to be her bridesmaid, and no one else was invited.
Zhou Quan left the country early and had few friends in China. Except for a few close classmates from Changsha High School, he only invited Chen Long, Xu Xiaoming and Wang Zuxian from Hong Kong. These three people had said long ago that they would attend his wedding.
On the other hand, Zhou Jianguo has worked in Changsha for more than ten years, and his friends come the most. Including his comrades in Changsha, there are more than 20 tables.
In addition, some city leaders also came to join in the fun, and a total of more than thirty tables were invited.
However, there were many people watching the fun. After all, Zhou Quan was very famous in Changsha. Fortunately, he was well prepared and had plenty of candy and cigarettes.
On the third day, Zeng Li and I went to Jingzhou again, then went to Wuhan for two days. On the 27th, they arrived in the capital.
Zhou Quan continued to rest in his large courtyard with four entrances, while Zeng Li followed Zhou Jianguo, who had already arrived in the capital, to see the facade.
On the 30th, the NBA draft day, Zhou Quan did not pay attention to this. On this day, he came to the men's basketball team to report and officially joined the team.
But I still rest and focus on recovering my physical fitness. I do activities every day and give advice on the training of my teammates.
With his current strength and qualifications, no one would be dissatisfied with him. Even people with very high status in the domestic basketball community such as Sun Jun and Gong Xiaobing, who are much older than him, are still obedient in front of him.
On the morning of the 13th, he received a transoceanic call from the glider.
"Iron Fist, I'm going to sign with the team."
"OK, Clyde, you are welcome to join us." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
It could be heard that Glider was in a good mood, and he asked again: "How big is the contract?"
"Two years and six million dollars," Glider said.
"Okay, then I wish you a happy stay in Seattle, and we'll see you in the United States." Zhou Quan smiled.
He calculated that both Rodman and Schrempf had an annual salary of 5 million, but they were both veteran contracts. Together, they occupied a space of 7 million U.S. dollars, plus the salary space of more than 5 million U.S. dollars occupied by himself next season. , Glider is 3 million, Hawkins should be 2.6 million, Matt Geiger is 1.5 million, and McMillan is 1.3 million. The seven of them occupy a space close to 21 million.
The salary cap for next season is US$26.5 million, which means that the remaining five people collectively occupy more than 5 million US dollars, with an average annual salary of one million US dollars, and can also introduce one or two good role players.
Moreover, the Sonics should still have a mid-level regulation of US$2.2 million, which can exceed the salary cap and sign people from the free market.
At 10 a.m. on July 14, the men’s and women’s basketball teams and a number of other sports teams boarded the plane.
On the plane, Zhou Quan became a favorite. People kept asking him various questions about the United States, and people came to take photos and sign autographs with him.
The plane arrived in Los Angeles at 11 a.m. Western Time on the 14th, stayed at the airport for two hours, and then transferred to Atlanta.
We arrived in Atlanta at 5 pm and took a bus to the Olympic Village. We entered the Olympic Village at 6:30. We first raised the flag and arranged the rooms. It was already 8 pm, and then everyone went to the restaurant for dinner.
The next day, Zeng Li and the Zhou family arrived in Los Angeles, then transferred to Seattle, planning to stay at home for a few days before going to Atlanta to watch the Olympics.
Also traveling with her was Zeng Yu, who scored 623 points in the college entrance examination. Zhou Quan agreed to arrange for her to study abroad and also arranged for her to study at UCLA.
As long as you have good grades and Zhou Quan's connections at UCLA, UCLA is very welcoming.
On the afternoon of the 15th, in Atlanta, O'Neal made an appointment with Zhou Quan for dinner.
"Iron Fist, Glider announced yesterday that he would join the SuperSonics. Did you find him?" O'Neal said.
"Jordan is already recruiting Da Meng, but I have a problem recruiting gliders?" Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"It's outrageous that you are all hugging each other," O'Neal said angrily.
"The glider is not very good anymore. If I go to the SuperSonics, I might have to play as a substitute." Zhou Quan said and then asked: "Shark, what about you, are you done?"
O'Neal seemed to be in low spirits and said: "It's done, go to the Lakers, and we'll announce the signing in two days."
"Why are the Magic reluctant to give you a billion-dollar contract?"
"They said they were afraid that Hardaway and the fans would be unhappy and couldn't give me a big contract worth 100 million yuan. What a bunch of idiots!" O'Neal said angrily.
Zhou Quan was stunned and laughed.
"Yes, Shark, you're right, they are just a bunch of stupid birds."
O'Neal looked like he was eating someone, so Zhou Quan stopped laughing. After scolding the Magic management, O'Neal looked better.
"Dream's deal has been delayed. I think he has to stay in Houston." O'Neal said.
"It's possible that as long as the Mosaic management is not a fool, they won't agree." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
O'Neal said: "In this draft, the Lakers used their main center Divac to trade a high school student named Kobe. Iron Fist, do you think that kid has a future?"
"Kobe?"
Zhou Quan thought for a while, got a bit impressed, and said: "I don't know, I haven't seen him play. But he shouldn't be better than Jordan."
…
The Olympic Games went on as scheduled, with the opening ceremony held on the 19th.
But this morning, the Lakers and O'Neal announced a signing ceremony. O'Neal received a seven-year, $120 million super contract with the Lakers.
Zhou Quan sent congratulations to O'Neal, and then devoted himself to the Olympics.
The men's basketball team was in a group with Angola, Croatia, Argentina, the United States, and Lithuania. In the end, it defeated Angola, Argentina, Croatia, and Lithuania in the group stage, with four wins and one loss, and successfully entered the quarterfinals with second place in the group.
Zhou Quan performed well in the group stage, averaging 31 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 6.4 steals, 2.4 blocks, 1.2 turnovers and 2 fouls per game. He was the best player in the entire Olympic men's basketball team.
In the end, the Chinese team made it all the way to the finals, but still lost to the Dream Team 3. The inside line was too weak and they couldn't beat the pair of super centers O'Neal and Olajuwon, and won the silver medal in the Atlanta Olympics.
After the Olympics, Zhou Quan separated from the delegation and returned to Seattle with his family.
On August 8th, a grand wedding was held in Seattle.
It’s not how big the wedding is, but the people who come really make the wedding look starry.
In addition to the mayor of Seattle and several congressmen, there were no less than 30 Hollywood stars and 30 or 40 retired NBA stars present to congratulate him. David Stern came to congratulate him in person.
Tyson, several world boxing champions, the presidents of the four major boxing organizations, and several famous American boxing promoters were present one by one.
More than 100 rich people and executives from various companies in Seattle came, many of them world-class rich people. This was the most eye-catching thing.
After the wedding, their parents and sister Zhou Ye returned to China, while Zhou Jun and Zeng Yu went to Los Angeles.
Zeng Li's coffee shop in the capital is being renovated. Zhou Jianguo wants to go back and watch it. It will open in a while, and Zeng Li will go back to China.
After investigation, it was found that domestic coffee shops are positioned as mid- to low-end, which is different from fine coffee shops that focus on the mid-to-high-end market. This is due to the current domestic consumer market.
The reason why in the United States we focus on mid- to high-end products is because the market for mid- to low-end products no longer exists.
Moreover, there are currently no domestic competitors in the mid- to low-end market, so we can seize this market first.
This is the style I learned from Starbucks. Starbucks is also headquartered in Seattle and was established in 1971. It has not yet come to China for development.
The company in the United States has only two shareholders, Zhou Quan and Zeng Li, each holding half. The domestic company has one additional shareholder, Zhou Jianguo and Zhou Quan each holding 30%, and Zeng Li 40%.
Then Zhou Quan and Zeng Li came to Las Vegas and entered boxing training.
From the finals to now, that is, two months ago, we also experienced the Olympics in the middle, and are about to have another title defense battle. This is a huge test for Zhou Quan's physical fitness.
Fortunately, Zhou Quan has a magic weapon, and he practices the Sleeping Pill skill diligently and day by day. It has an excellent effect on the recovery of his mind and body. This great method of cultivating immortals that his grandfather forced on him has really helped him a lot. , turning him into an iron man.
On the 14th, Jerry Krause held trade negotiations with Dawson for the last time.
He gave the biggest bargaining chip, Kevin Willis + Ron Harper + Luke Longley + Toni Kukoc + 1997 first-round unprotected pick + 1999 first-round unprotected pick.
Mosaic only paid Olajuwon.
He calculated very clearly that trading these four players to Mosaic would free up nearly $14 million in space for the Bulls.
Pippen's contract for next season is only $2.25 million, which is lower than any of the four players who were traded.
Jordan is on a veteran's contract, which will cost US$9.66 million next season. But like Jordan, he is on a veteran's contract, which saves a lot of space, so it does not affect the Bulls' continued introduction of players.
He carefully calculated that after Dameng came in, there was still room for five million US dollars. If he introduced four players, the quality would not be high. Stars could not be introduced, but he could get one or two good role players. Two fringe people are enough.
It's a pity that he calculated very well, but Dawson was not a vegetarian. In fact, he didn't want to trade at all. He just wanted to deal with Big Dream and killed Pippen. In the end, the deal could not be reached.
Klaus doesn't think Big Dream is inferior to Pippen, but considering that without Pippen, the point guard can only control the ball and organize the offense, which will face an iron fist defense, so he cannot trade Pippen.
News of the failed deal was subsequently revealed, and the entire league breathed a sigh of relief, especially Eastern Conference teams such as the Knicks and Heat.
After Dameng got the notice, he was very angry.
Dawson knew that Dameng had already decided to leave, so he didn't actually force Dameng to stay. It was because the Bulls' bargaining chips were insufficient.
He does not intend to seek a trade anymore. The big dream is just for the championship. So what he wants to do is not to trade the big dream, but to strengthen it so that the big dream can see the hope of the championship. Presumably the big dream will Can stay.
Glider's annual salary last season was 9.81 million. Now that he is gone, this space has become available, and he can definitely recruit a superstar.
He has taken a liking to Postman Karl Malone. Although there is no news in the media that Postman is going to be traded, according to his news, Postman has already proposed the idea of leaving the team with Jerry Sloan.
"The deal between Tekken, Mosaic and the Bulls regarding Big Dream failed. Do you want to say something?" A reporter called to interview.
Zhou Quan accepted a telephone interview and said: "The transaction failed and the Bulls robbery failed. This should be very good news.
The Bulls are trying to build a lineup of three peak superstars. This is more terrible than the mosaic Big Three lineup and more unfair to other teams. I think this phenomenon of peak superstars grouping together should not occur. It is not conducive to the development of the league. "
"Iron Fist, does the SuperSonics have any plans to trade an All-Star center?" the reporter asked.
"It's difficult. We are the defending team. Who wants to see our SuperSonics complete three consecutive championships? No." Zhou Quan said.
Not long after he said these words, Mutombo announced on his doorstep in Denver that he would enter the free market.
The Nuggets didn't give him the big contract he wanted, and he decided to leave.
His announcement immediately attracted many team general managers, and Whitsitt was one of them.
The Sonics are now just short of an inside man, preferably a main center, and let Matt Geiger continue to play as a substitute.
It's just that the contract Mutombo wanted was too big, with an annual salary of tens of millions and a contract of more than five years, which immediately made Whitsitt give up the idea of introducing him.
It's not that there's no money, it's that there's absolutely no space. Mutombo entered the free market on his own, and he doesn't meet the veteran's terms. The SuperSonics themselves have no salary space, let alone tens of millions of annual salaries, even six or seven million annual salaries can't sign him. .
He considered trading Matt Geiger, but Geiger's contract was only $1.5 million, which was far from enough space. If he wanted to force a signing, he would have to clear a large number of contracts first.
It includes at least one main player with a value of 5 million, and two or three important rotation players, but then the lineup will become shallow, which in his opinion is not cost-effective at all.
The SuperSonics' strongest opponent in the Western Conference is Mosaic. Mosaic has the most powerful combination of Dameng and Barkley on the inside. Therefore, the Sonics cannot weaken the inside line. The introduction of Mutombo can only weaken the outside line.
But the Sonics' real strongest opponent is the Bulls. The Bulls are strong on the outside, so the Sonics' outside line cannot be weakened.
Neither the outside nor the inside can be weakened, so we can only rely on the depth advantage of the lineup to face the Bulls and SuperSonics, instead of weakening it in order to introduce Mutombo.
Another thing is that Mutombo can only play a defensive role in positional battles. He cannot play fast breaks and cannot prevent the opponent's fast breaks. The SuperSonics' style is fast-paced offense and defense. Mutombo is actually not suitable for it. Supersonic tactical style.
In the end, he chose to give up Mutombo.
(End of chapter)
