"Hakeem, Charles, the boss promised to spend four million dollars to strengthen the company."
"real?"
Dawson came to the bus and immediately announced the good news. Dameng's originally dead heart came back to life.
"We have Iron Fist to thank." Dawson said with a smile.
"We have to thank him by eliminating him." Dameng said through gritted teeth.
"Yes, four million can help us find two good guys, and our substitute lineup will be greatly strengthened." Barkley said excitedly.
"Is there anyone left in the free market now? If we want to strengthen, we can only choose to trade, right?" Marioelli's words made everyone's hearts warm again.
Dawson looked at the bus. They were all fringe players of the same color. Which one has trade value? Do they need to use draft picks? His heart also cooled down.
The next day, the media was all about Mosaic.
“The No. 1 Mosaic team in the Western Conference showed its true colors in front of the Sonics, a typical team that is strong on the outside but ineffective on the inside.” Los Angeles Times.
"Mosaic's total salary is still 2 million US dollars away from the salary cap. The Iron Fist King is right. Alexander only wants to make money and has no interest in the championship." Seattle Post.
"Mosaic relies entirely on the new Big Three to support its record. When a strong team collapses in the third quarter, the future is worrying." The New York Times.
Even if Mosaic announced that it would continue to strengthen its lineup, it would not be able to withstand the media bombardment. From the boss to the management, everyone was overwhelmed.
This naturally also affected the team's performance. Mosaic lost to the Trail Blazers in back-to-back away games on the 15th, losing the first consecutive season for the first time in the new season, giving up the No. 1 position in the Western Conference, and the SuperSonics reached the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference.
The schedule continued, and the Sonics won the next six games. Although they were all bad teams like the Mavericks, Warriors, Spurs, and Grizzlies, their record improved. As of the 28th, they had a total of 25 wins and 6 losses.
The Bulls are 26 wins and 4 losses, and the SuperSonics are 1.5 games behind the Bulls, ranking first in the Western Conference and second in the league.
On the 28th, in his sixth game back, David Robinson fractured his right foot and was declared injured again.
"Let's screw it up. There's no point in fighting anymore. It's more cost-effective to compete for the No. 1 pick, and at the same time, it will allow David to get the most adequate rest." General Manager Popovich made the decision.
He is actually very envious of Tim Duncan, who announced his participation in the 1997 NBA draft. If he could win the No. 1 pick, he would definitely choose Duncan. David Robinson was injured again, which just made him easy to do, and he found an excuse to mess up. .
On the 30th, the SuperSonics challenged Mosaic on the road.
Mosaic has used the top-five protected first-round draft pick in 1997 and three fringe players to trade Kevin Willis, who was abandoned by the Bulls, to find a substitute for Dream.
Willis's contract this season is 1.5 million, and there is only a few hundred thousand left in the salary cap. He can just find two marginal players to fill the number, so Dawson intends to use the mid-level regulations to find a good role player. Even the main players.
It's just that he has been looking for a few days, but there are no candidates at all. There are only some marginal people left in the free market, and there is nothing he can do.
The Sonics have suffered injuries. Schrempf was injured in training and tore his ligament. He will be out for eight weeks, nearly two months, and will not be able to return until the end of February or the beginning of March.
Sam Perkins assumed the starting position of small forward, and the team still led in the first half, but Rodman suffered an old injury and left the field in the third quarter. The two main players were absent, and it was an away game. In the end, the Sonics lost to Mosaic. .
This game gave Mosaic hope. Dameng once again asked Dawson to strengthen the lineup and spend the middle-class regulations.
After playing the December schedule, the SuperSonics have 25 wins and 7 losses, still first in the Western Conference and second in the league.
Time entered 1997. On New Year's Day, the league announced the best player of the month for December. Zhou Quan won this honor for the seventh time.
In addition, he also surpassed Olajuwon and ranked second in the MVP rankings.
This is good news, but there is bad news from Rodman, who will be out for a month.
But that's okay. Rodman is no longer young. Playing less in the regular season will help accumulate physical fitness for the playoffs.
On this day, the league also announced the start of All-Star voting. The All-Stars will be held from February 8th to 10th in Cleveland, the home of the Cavaliers.
In two and a half months, Zhou Quan's tonnage has reached 96.5 kilograms, still 0.5 kilograms away from the weight gain target.
His condition is still the same as the previous two months. Due to the weight gain, his shooting touch is average. Not only that, it also affects his shooting training.
Shooting training counts the goals that are made, and those that are not made are not counted. According to his estimation, after the All-Star Game, his shooting training speed can only be accelerated after the weight gain is completed.
On the 6th, Penny Hardaway returned for the second time this season.
After this comeback, the pain of tendonitis in his left knee began to accompany him. The injury did not leave him, and his performance was not as good as before. This made the people of Orlando regret giving up the Sharks. Many fans went to the headquarters and yelled at him for being stupid. management.
On January 8, the league announced the first week of All-Star voting.
The voting data is of great concern, because last year Zhou Quan set a record for All-Star voting, with 2.81 million votes and 850,000 votes in the first week. This season, many media are targeting Zhou Quan, so Zhou Quan’s number of votes is crucial and symbolizes Whether his popularity declines.
At 9 o'clock, the league announced the data through NBC TV. Zhou Quan received 1.01 million votes in the first week and Jordan received 270,000 votes.
These two statistics shocked countless people, made those who targeted Zhou Quan break their defenses, and made those who supported Zhou Quan extremely happy.
These two data prove that Zhou Quan's popularity in the United States has further improved, and also prove that since this season, some forces' plans to smear and suppress Zhou Quan have completely failed.
"3.74 times, this is the current popularity gap between Iron Fist King Zhou Quan and Michael Jordan in the United States." Seattle Times.
"There is no fairness. At least 90% of the votes for the Iron Fist King come from his boxing fans. This is the greatest injustice to Jordan." Chicago Daily News.
On this day, when U.S. stocks opened, Skechers’ stock price gapped higher and opened 17% higher, while Nike’s stock price gapped lower and opened 8% lower.
On the morning of the 10th, Skechers announced in Los Angeles that it would invest US$500 million to formally establish the Iron Fist brand company and operate it independently.
Zhou Quan used 5% of Skechers shares to exchange for 66.7% of Iron Fist Brand shares while retaining 2% of Skechers shares.
On the 11th, Roger Philippe, Bob Arum, and Don King announced in New York that they will jointly promote the WBC and WBA world boxing championship unification fight between Zhou Quan and Michael Tyson to be held next year. The promotion funds will break the historical record and will be as high as At US$170 million, both Zhou Quan and Tyson’s appearance fees will break historical records.
This news added fuel to Zhou Quan's popularity, burning to the sky, and countless boxing fans began to vote for Zhou Quan.
From the All-Star voting results in the first week, to Skechers' actions, to the boxing match news, the continuous attacks directly shattered all the slander and suppression against Zhou Quan. If there is any news of this kind, Zhou Quan's Fans will immediately start calling the media.
On the 15th, the second week of voting ended. Zhou Quan once again received 1.32 million votes, 2.33 million votes in two weeks, which shocked countless eyeballs.
Jordan received 250,000 votes in the second week and 520,000 votes in the second week, which is not less than before, but it loses comparison with Zhou Quan.
No one compares the votes of the two anymore, because that is unfair to Jordan.
"That's the impact of the professional heavyweight world champion. The Iron Fist was the greatest professional sports crossover and one of the greatest professional athletes on the planet, and Michael Jordan is not now, and that's their Comparative results of impact.”
In the interview, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar exclaimed.
On the 17th, Zhou Jianguo arrived in Los Angeles with Lin Yufen, Zhou Ye, Zhou Jun, and Zeng Yu.
Zhou Jun and Zeng Yu returned to China after the winter vacation. Now that the winter vacation is over, Zhou Ye is on winter vacation and his family comes to the United States to celebrate the New Year.
Zeng Li's parents were originally invited, but Zeng Li called several times, but neither of them came. Probably because they had been divorced for many years and it was awkward to spend the New Year together.
After dinner, Lin Yufen pulled Zhou Quan aside and asked, "Xiao Quan, don't you want a child? It's been more than half a year, why is there no news?"
"Oh, Mom, don't worry, Xiaoli is quite busy now. Her coffee shop has opened more than ten directly-operated branches and eight celebrity franchise stores. It is developing well. We plan to have another child next year. " Zhou Quan explained with a smile.
"Next year, 1998?"
"Yes, development this year is very important. I plan to raise the first round of financing and expand, so I don't have time."
"98 years?"
Lin Yufen counted on her fingers: "Little Ye Zi will be in her senior year of high school in the second half of the year. If you arrange for her to study abroad for the college entrance examination next year, that will be just right."
"Yes, I think so too. When Xiao Yezi graduates from high school next year, you and my dad will come over too." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Brother, should I also study at UCLA?" Zhou Ye ran over and hugged Zhou Jun's arm and asked.
Zhou Quan said with a smile: "It's easy to study at UCLA. If your grades are good, you can also study at other better private schools.
In fact, it depends on which major you like to study. Different schools specialize in different majors. Some public universities are also very good. Many public universities have some majors that are better than private universities. "
Zhou Ye thought for a moment and said, "I'm a science major, and I want to major in physics. By the way, which school is best for nuclear physics?"
"Nuclear physics?"
Zhou Quan muttered for a while and said: "MIT, University of Michigan, University of Washington, Stony Brook, California Institute of Technology, these are all good.
To compare specifically, perhaps public universities in Michigan and Washington are stronger than MIT in nuclear physics majors. As far as I know, these two universities have invested heavily in nuclear physics in recent years. "
"Brother, then I want to study in these two universities." Zhou Ye shook Zhou Quan's arm.
Zhou Quan smiled and said, "Okay, I'll look for connections and see if I can get a letter of recommendation."
"Second brother didn't take the TOEFL the year before last, so I don't need to take it, right?" Zhou Ye asked.
Zhou Quan asked: "How is your English? Those two schools are not as good as UCLA. At UCLA, your English is not that good. You can pass the interview because of my relationship. But in those two schools, even if I get the recommendation letter, your English is not that good. No, it may not pass.”
Lin Yufen smiled and said: "Don't be afraid. In the past two years, my family has hired an English tutor for your sister. Now she speaks English very well. During the holidays, she even follows your father around and speaks English to some foreigners."
Zhou Quan nodded and said: "Then take this time and use the English environment here to practice hard."
"Okay!" Zhou Ye smiled happily.
On the 22nd, the third week of voting ended. Zhou Quan once again received 1.07 million votes and Jordan 200,000 votes.
On the 29th, the All-Star voting ended. Zhou Quan received 1.01 million votes in the fourth week and Jordan received 170,000 votes.
Jordan received a total of 890,000 votes, not exceeding one million, while Zhou Quan received a total of 4.41 million votes in four weeks.
4.41 million votes, which means that at least more than 4 million people in the United States are his die-hard fans, otherwise no one would spend the energy to vote for him.
This number of votes has already broken the all-star voting history of the four major American professional sports leagues, instead of just breaking Zhou Quan’s own record of 2.81 million last year. It has given the NBA some limelight in the United States, and even suppressed it for a while. Major League Rugby news.
The next day, major media outlets across the United States rushed to report the news.
At noon on the 30th, Skechers announced that the establishment of the Iron Fist brand company has been completed, and the company will begin official operations from that day forward.
Zhou Quan has also completed his weight gain plan and currently weighs 97 kilograms.
His weight was measured at 7 o'clock in the evening, which is also his usual weight during competitions, which is most consistent with the actual situation.
His power increased one level again, reaching an astonishing level 90.
In the NBA, many insiders don't have this power.
After the regular season in January, with two main players absent, the SuperSonics relied on their deep lineup advantage to still achieve a record of 10 wins and 3 losses this month, with a total of 35 wins and 10 losses, ranking first in the Western Conference. Second in the league.
The Bulls are 40 wins and 5 losses, still first in the league.
On February 1st, the league announced the best of the month and the latest MVP rankings, and Jordan won the first place in the best of the month and MVP at the same time.
Zhou Quan is still second in MVP, and Mourning is third.
That afternoon, the Sonics arrived in Chicago.
After arriving at the hotel, the Sonics held a press conference.
Taking the opportunity of the press conference, George Karl announced Rodman's return, which is good news for the SuperSonics.
After the press conference and dinner, the team rented a business conference room in the hotel and held a tactical meeting.
George Karl said: "Gentlemen, I have thought about it. Dretev has not come back yet, and Dennis has just come back. We are not strong enough. We are not going to compete head-on with the Bulls in this game. We are just touching their base and trying their tactics." , what do you think? Iron Fist?"
Zhou Quan said: "Yes, they have an extra defensive gate under the basket. Our breakthrough is a problem. At the same time, we need to practice the tactics of pulling him out.
What I mean is that tactical issues need to be tested clearly in the two games of the regular season, otherwise it will be a big trouble for them to meet in the finals. "
Jose Hawkins said: "I also think it should be like this. If we can't pull Mutombo out and let him stay in the penalty area, it will be a huge obstacle to our breakthrough.
Think about the fact that he averaged 6.2 blocks per game in the first round of 1993, and 5.4 blocks per game in the second round of the series. It was as terrifying as the boss's steals. He was under the basket, and no one wanted to rush in and take a shot. "
George Karl nodded and said: "If Mutombo cannot be pulled out from the basket, then when Iron Fist breaks through with the ball, there is a high probability that the Bulls' perimeter will not double-team.
Jordan + Pippen + Ron Harper, such a perimeter defensive force, if they do not double-team, it will be difficult for our perimeter to get open space. It is difficult to use Iron Fist's breakthrough and distribution tactics, and we can only attack Muttom. The basket guarded by Bo was a tactical loss we could not afford. "
People who know a little bit about tactics nodded. Zhou Quan's breakthrough tactics are the most important tactics for the Sonics. There is no one that can combine his breakthrough ability with the ball, offensive ability with the ball, finishing ability, strong attack ability, and ability to attract double teams. , ball distribution ability, direct assist ability, etc., are comprehensively displayed.
Among them, distribution is one of the most important tactical choices. Most of Zhou Quan's assists come from distribution after breakthrough. If this tactic is restricted and only strong attacks are left, it would be a bit bad.
(End of chapter)
