After beating the Jazz, the SuperSonics continue their road trip.
There are still four away games in this round, and the next four games are all Eastern Conference teams.
At nearly five o'clock in the afternoon on February 24, the SuperSonics settled into a hotel in Cleveland.
"Hey, Iron Fist, our listing process is complete."
After dinner, when Zhou Quan returned to the room, he received a call from Jeff Bezos.
"What?"
He was shocked. It usually takes at least six weeks to complete all the procedures for listing in the United States. It has only been ten days, twelve or three days at most. How come it is so fast?
"Haha, you were really scared."
Bezos laughed happily, and then explained: "This is all our lawyer Mr. Ben Hollen's fault. His actions are too fast and too efficient."
"Then you have to give him a raise."
"You don't need to tell me, I have already increased his salary. By the way, the listing date is May 15th. Iron Fist, I hope our IPO is successful."
"Hope everything goes well. So Jeff, I want to wish you a billionaire in advance."
"I also wish in advance... Oh, no, you are already a billionaire. Then I wish our company smooth development in advance and we will all become billionaires or tens of billions in the future."
"Haha, I hope you become the next Bill Gates and Mr. Ballmer."
After ending the phone call, Zhou Quan felt a little emotional, investing in Bezos was really a good idea.
He and Bezos met while playing golf. At that time, Bezos had just come to Seattle for development and was still planning to build a company. He was not well-known. Unexpectedly, the company would be listed in two years.
Now Amazon has been developing for almost two years. It started with books and is expanding into other areas. It is not just an online bookstore. It has begun to transform into a comprehensive online store. Its business scope has become much larger, and its operating income is growing rapidly. , although it is still losing money, its development prospects are getting better and better.
However, he feels that the Internet in the United States has become too popular in the past two years. A large amount of money has poured into this industry. Internet companies are opening and closing every day, and a bubble has begun to form.
He is optimistic about Bezos because of his steady style. Those who withdraw capital from the company are exactly the opposite of him.
From the Internet industry in the United States, he then thought of the domestic Internet industry.
China began to develop the Internet in 1994, because it began to access international networks in 1994. It is now in the initial stage of burning money, and no company has yet truly established a firm foothold.
He does not plan to invest in the domestic Internet industry because he is completely unfamiliar with the domestic situation and has no chance to contact the founders of those companies.
The birth and development of a company mainly depends on the ability of the founder. Otherwise, there is a high probability of bankruptcy. If it can barely survive, there will not be much room for development.
He is not a professional venture capital investor. The first basis for investment is that the founder must be worthy of investment, otherwise he will not easily participate in the money-burning stage of domestic Internet companies.
On the 25th, the SuperSonics challenged the Cavaliers away from home.
After the departure of multi-time All-Star point guard Mark Price, the Cavaliers have lost their strength. They were a strong team in the Eastern Conference before and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season. This season they are temporarily ranked tenth in the Eastern Conference.
On this day, Schrempf officially returned after the team doctor approved it, ending a two-month truce.
His return has made the SuperSonics' rotation a little better. With Scheffler and David Wingate as two fringe players, they can still maintain a ten-man rotation.
But in the final quarter, injuries struck again. When the 36-year-old veteran Cummings grabbed an offensive rebound under the basket, he was accidentally injured and fell to the ground.
Although they finally won against the Cavaliers, Cummings fractured his right ankle and was reimbursed for the season. Once again, the Sonics lost one rotation, leaving only nine rotations and only seven important rotations.
General manager Whitsitt, who had returned to Seattle with McMillan and Rodman, learned that Cummings was injured and knew that the problem was somewhat serious. There were still 28 regular season games left. He didn't need to be first in the Western Conference, but You must not fall into the lower half.
He is already looking for someone, and has contacted several free agents who are okay, but none of them are suitable. They are either injured and have not recovered, or they are not in the United States and have gone to play in other countries.
But there was no time to delay, so he picked two.
A forward named Larry Stewart is an undrafted 28-year-old who played four seasons with the Washington Bullets. He was unemployed last season and continues to be unemployed this season. He is now playing in a minor league with only a few teams.
The second one is Greg Graham, guard, 26 years old, the 17th pick in the first round of 1993. He was seriously injured with the Nets last season and only played 45 games before being waived. Now he is recovering from the injury and waiting. In employment.
Stewart was given a base salary of $200,000, and Graham was offered a little more, $350,000.
Then Whitsitt began to apply for an injury exception from the league, preparing to find a better swingman, and a guard could also be used.
Injury exceptions can only be applied for after the player is reimbursed for the season. The league will examine the player's injuries before approving them. The mid-level contract and the player's annual salary can be taken away or not added up. Use this annual salary to sign the contract. A player.
The next day, he sent McMillan to a league-designated medical institution for examination.
Soon, the inspection passed and the league approved an injury exception based on McMillan's annual salary. In other words, the Sonics received an injury exception of $1.3 million.
As for Cummings, it is only a basic salary. The veteran is here specifically for the championship, so there is no need to apply for an injury exception. If you apply, you can sign a marginal person with a basic salary, which is meaningless.
That night, the SuperSonics challenged the Pacers back-to-back on the road and lost.
George Karl deliberately controlled the playing time of the main players and let the two marginal players play more time. He did not want to win at all. The away game in the Eastern Conference is not important.
With 42 wins and 13 losses, Mosaic finally surpassed them and ranked second in the Western Conference.
February passed, and on March 1, Grahams and Stewart rushed to Orlando to join the team. After the team doctor arranged a physical examination, they officially joined the SuperSonics, and the team's rotation returned to eleven players.
On this day, the league announced the Player of the Month for February and the MVP rankings.
Glen Rice won the Best of the Month last month, Michael Jordan, the core of the Bulls with the best record in the league, is still ranked first in the MVP, Olajuwon, the core of the Mosaic team with the second record in the league, is second, and Zhou Quan has the best personal data. Dropped to third.
On the 2nd, the SuperSonics defeated the Magic on the road, ending this round of road trip.
Returned to Seattle on the 3rd, and faced the Magic at home on the 4th.
When the game reached the 7th minute of the second quarter, an accident happened again. Drexler fell down after a fast break layup. His foot slipped and his waist hit the basket. He was unable to stand up again. Carry out of the field.
Zhou Quan has long been mentally prepared for the successive injuries, especially to several veterans. After all, competing for three consecutive championships can be regarded as a long journey, as long as they are not seriously injured.
When the glider was carried away, he was very sad. He went up and comforted him: "Clyde, take this opportunity to rest, conserve your energy, and save your strength for the playoffs."
Glider smiled bitterly and nodded: "It happens to be an old injury on my waist. I hope I can come back."
"You can try Chinese medicine. Acupuncture and cupping are both good and should be effective." Zhou Quan suggested.
"OK."
Glider nodded. Acupuncture and cupping were not uncommon in the United States. He knew this, but he had never tried it before.
After that, Zhou Quan went on a killing spree, scoring 54 points in a single game against the Magic, scoring his second 50+ point of the season. And led the team to defeat the Magic.
The next day, Glider's injury status came out. He had a lumbar muscle strain and inflammation. He would be sidelined for at least six weeks. It would be good to come back in the playoffs.
"We need a defender now, and it's best to leave the forward and defender."
Whitsitt came to Seattle TV with an injury exception of 1.3 million and began to search for defenders all over the world.
The temptation of US$1.3 million is still very strong, and the regular season is almost over. If you join the SuperSonics at this time, you might be able to get a championship ring, and although there is no salary for playing in the playoffs, There are bonuses, so many players who are unemployed at home have taken the initiative to call SuperSonics to apply for jobs.
Whithit looked through some of the player information provided to him by the scouts. The information was very sparse, and most of them had never played in the NBA. He felt that there were not many available players, and they were not worth the $1.3 million injury. He was a little disappointed.
"Hubert Davis?"
When he saw the player's information, he stopped and did not scroll down any further.
Davis was the 20th pick in the first round of 1992. He is a 1.98cm guard who played as a substitute for the Knicks for four years. This season he was traded to the Raptors, but after playing 30 games, he was seriously injured in January and ended the season. , because he only had this season's contract left, worth 1.28 million US dollars, and was bought out by the Raptors. He is now recuperating at home and is recovering well from his injury.
Having no better goal, he contacted his agent, asked about the current situation, and said he was ready to play.
He asked Davis to come to Seattle first. If he could pass the team's physical examination, he could be given a one-year contract to play first, and the team agreed.
On the 7th, Hubert Davis and his agent came to Seattle, and after passing the physical examination, they received a one-year contract.
Davis was bought out. According to regulations, the league needs to reduce the original buyout fee based on the new contract. Generally, the amount he gets is similar to the basic salary, so Whitsitt discussed it with his agent and set the contract. At $500,000.
Davis also agreed. He wouldn't be able to get it anyway if he was given too much. It was just helping the Raptors save money, not as cheap as the Sonics.
…
The SuperSonics suffered consecutive injuries, which stimulated the Jazz and Mosaic. These two teams saw the opportunity to break out of the Western Conference.
The Jazz, in particular, began to work hard in the next period, hoping to catch up with the SuperSonics' record so that they could occupy a better position in the playoffs.
The media began to accuse and ridicule the Sonics' management, believing that the management should not renew Rodman and Schrempf's contracts, nor should they introduce gliders. The three veterans increased the average age of the Sonics by at least three years, so It’s only now that there are so many injuries.
At the same time, the media also believes that the Sonics can give up their goal of winning three consecutive championships. It will be difficult for the Sonics to break out of the Western Conference this season.
These news had little impact on Zhou Quan, but now that many media have begun to target him, he is very tired.
Many American media brought up old stories again and believed that his crossover resulted in a significant reduction in his playing time. He did not try his best at all and was even building up his fitness for the offseason boxing match with Tyson. This was an extremely selfish behavior. It is the main reason that ultimately leads to consecutive injuries to teammates.
This is nonsense. His reduced playing time is determined by the team's rotation this season. Not only him, but also the main players have less playing time than last season.
After Schrempf was injured, that is, after entering 1997, his playing time began to increase. Later, Rodman was injured again, and his playing time has increased to forty minutes. In these games, it has increased to Averaged 43 minutes per game.
News like this became abundant in a few days. With his influence, almost all American media reprinted and reported it, and a public opinion against him soon formed.
On the 9th, the SuperSonics lost to the Trail Blazers on the road and returned to Seattle the next day.
Philip was waiting at home. As soon as Zhou Quan arrived home, he discussed with him the public opinion issues that were quite unfavorable to him in the past few days.
Philip said: "Zhou, no one wants to see you and the SuperSonics complete three consecutive championships. You are not an American yet and are more likely to be targeted by the media.
Remember, the media in the United States is controlled by white people, and at least seven out of ten white people are racist. "
"Haha..." Zhou Quan laughed.
"I'm not kidding, my grandfather was like that, to be honest."
Philip also laughed, and then said: "But even if you are an American, it is actually the same, so I think it is normal for these public opinions to appear before the playoffs are approaching. What you need to do now is to maintain a good attitude and don't Just pay attention to them.”
The two chatted for a while, and Philip suddenly asked: "If, Zhou, if you complete three consecutive championships this season, would you consider quitting the NBA?"
"What? Of course not."
Zhou Quan was stunned. He had never considered quitting the alliance. Why would he quit? Is it because of the media? If he quits, wouldn't he just follow the wishes of them and the capital behind them?
Philip nodded, but said: "I have talked with Mr. Arum and Mr. Duva many times. They suggested that if you complete three consecutive championships, you can actually consider temporarily quitting the NBA. It just so happens that these media are targeting you. Just use them as an excuse for one season.”
"Keep talking," Zhou Quan said.
Philip said: "Once you complete a three-peat dynasty, you will be the true king of the NBA."
Zhou Quan nodded and said: “The NBA only had two dynasties with George McCann’s Minneapolis in the 1950s and Russell’s Green Team in the 1960s. Those were ancient times.
If I achieve a dynasty, I can indeed lead all the stars in the past thirty years in terms of hard honors, and I should be able to become the king. "
This is also the honor he most hopes to achieve, a three-peat dynasty in basketball, and then unifying the heavyweights of the four major professional boxing organizations in the world, a true double championship.
Philip smiled and said: "In this case, after you become the king of the NBA, why don't you retire temporarily and concentrate on playing professional boxing for two or three years?"
"You mean?" Zhou Quan was shocked.
Philip said excitedly: "Arum and Mr. Dua have said that if you concentrate on boxing, they can fully support you and strive to unify the heavyweights of the four major organizations within two to three years."
"Unification war?"
Zhou Quan also became excited, this was another goal of his, but he immediately frowned and asked: "I will fight Tyson in a few months, which can be regarded as a unification fight. What if I lose?"
"They are optimistic that you will win, because Tyson is indeed no longer in his prime." Philip said excitedly.
Zhou Quan hesitated, thought for half a minute and then said: "It's too early to say this now. Let's wait until after this season. If I can't complete three consecutive championships, I won't be able to retire from the NBA."
"Of course, the NBA is your foundation." Philip said.
Having said this, he continued: "Another point is that the SuperSonics have a serious injury problem this season. No matter what, the team's lineup is actually aging, with several veterans in their thirties.
If you can't win the championship this season, the management will definitely dismantle the team next season. If you leave for two or three years, it will give the team a chance to rebuild. "
"Let's talk about it later. There is no need to discuss this issue now, so as not to mess up my mentality." Zhou Quan shook his head and took the initiative to end the topic.
"OK." Philip said hurriedly.
…
(End of chapter)
