Don't talk trash to him.

Chapter 134 A Night Talk with Bird and the Man Who Doesn’t Want to Be the Next Kobe

Su Wan was still a little surprised that Larry Bird would take the initiative to talk to him about the Pacers' personnel changes. Although he would not discuss with him in detail, at most he would communicate with him and inform him of the Pacers' next moves.

But considering the pride of "Big Bird", it is already very good to be able to achieve this step.

He could never be a general manager like Danny Ferry.

Even though he won the "General Manager of the Season" award this year thanks to Su Wan.

But the same words...

There is an element of gambling in betting on Su Wan.

Other team general managers didn't dare to bet like him, so they lost and Larry Bird won.

This wasn't a completely risk-free trade. It was just that the payoff was much higher than Larry Bird expected.

"Big Bird" did not expect that Suwan's arrival would directly bring the first championship in team history to this city!

Reggie Miller retired, and Suwan made a promise in front of the fans that he would help the Pacers win at least three championships. With his popularity and ability, as long as there are no injuries, the Pacers will build their lineup around him in the next few years.

The Pacers now have a complete lineup. Without Miller, they still have O'Neal Jr., Artest, Stephen Jackson, Tinsley, Foster and a group of strong players.

Especially Artest!
Even though he hasn't played for a season, his strength has definitely declined compared to his peak period, but he will definitely have no problem filling the vacancy left by Reggie Miller.

He and Suwan also got along well last season.

However, everyone had the same idea at the time, which was to make up for the mistakes they made in the "Auburn Hills Palace Incident."

Now that they have won the championship, the most promising year has become a reality. God knows what they will think.

Larry Bird, who has been in this league for many years, knows very well:
It is easy to share hardships, but difficult to share happiness!

Winning the championship this season is everyone's common goal, but winning the "three consecutive championships" is Su Wan's only ambition.

Even though he is now the "soul" of the Pacers, there is nothing wrong with saying this.

But whether his control over this team is entirely due to his own efforts or with the influence of Reggie Miller beside him, this will take time to test.

The first contradiction:
Artest is back from suspension, and what will happen to Stephen Jackson, the original starter at the power forward position?

Larry Bird knew very well that he could not be content to be a substitute.

Artest and Suwan had no conflicts, but the conflict with O'Neal was deep. The two disliked each other. If Suwan had not come, then in Larry Bird's view, Reggie Miller's retirement would have completely detonated the conflict between the two, and the Pacers would have entered a reconstruction period.

If Bird told Su Wan his guess, Su Wan would definitely give him a thumbs up:

Awesome!
Because this is the original direction of the Pacers' story.

Artest, unwilling to let the media's attention be focused on O'Neal Jr., took the initiative to apply for a trade one month after the start of the new season.

After that, O'Neal Jr. continued to suffer from injuries and the team's performance was not as good as expected.

The impatient management eventually sent Stephen Jackson to the Warriors.

This Pacers team, which once brought fantasy to countless fans, has become a regret in the eyes of the public in the future.

Of course, this was originally the case. Now the Pacers have turned their most promising season into reality. Even if they disband on the spot, they will no longer have such regrets.

But there will be new regrets:
O'Neal, Suwan, Artest, Stephen Jackson, Tinsley, Foster...

Not to mention the "dynasty", there are too many factors that affect the "three consecutive championships". Even a strong team like the "Warriors" only achieved "three championships in four years".

But at least it is a team that can win two consecutive championships.

In short, the "championship night" was wonderful, but after the "championship night", undercurrents were already surging. As the team's general manager, Larry Bird had to prepare early. He had to first know if there was a bag for Suwan among the role players... No, it should be a good friend.

He didn't want to trade Su Wan's good friend without knowing it because of a little bonus in a possible transaction, which would cause him to be unhappy with the management.

That’s true, it’s an unexpected disaster!
Su Wan shook his head.

This is Larry Bird overthinking.

He has hands and feet, so why does he need a "bag-carrying boy"?
You have to know that when he was on the Cavaliers, he directly resisted McGinnis's "military training" for rookies. It is impossible for him to forget how he resisted the oppression of the old bird after he has a "team status".

Do unto others, do not impose on others!
What this means is that you should not impose your own unhappiness on others.

Except for the dog...

To deal with these people, you have to "hear the truth in the morning, and be ready to die in the evening"! - This means that if you know where their home is in the morning, you have to kill them in the evening. Revenge should not be delayed overnight!

"Is there anyone in the league you want to partner with?" Larry Bird asked again.

"Anyone can do it?" Su Wan really thought of a figure.

"..." Larry Bird said after a silence, "If you want to partner with Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and others, then I have to send you out..."

Don't talk about O'Neal Jr. or Artest.

The former is not as good as the two of them, and the latter's personality causes his marketability to be far inferior to his actual combat ability.

Su Wanyi laughed when he heard this.

He knew Larry Bird had misunderstood: "He's not some big shot, his name is Jose Calderon!"

Suwan, the "butterfly", felt bad for leading Calderon into the quagmire of the Cavaliers and making him sit on the bench without much chance to play.

Larry Bird was silent again, and after a while he said, "He is definitely not a big shot!"

Who the hell is this?
Is there such a person in the alliance?
His expression became much more relaxed.

There are many ways to deal with an unknown little person.

"You don't want to work with those superstars?" Larry Bird was a little surprised. He originally thought that Su Wan would at least mention an All-Star level player.

Su Wan shook his head: "Beating them is much more interesting than being teammates with them!"

“You’re more interesting than I thought!”

There was a little more light in Larry Bird's eyes.

As soon as Su Wan saw his expression, he knew that "Big Bird" was going to start "reminiscence mode" again, and he immediately prepared to grease his feet and yo-yo. He stood up and sat down again: "By the way, Larry, can you persuade Jermaine to lose a little weight? And if possible, pick up the three-point shots from the past two seasons."

Larry Bird was a little surprised.

The current trend in the league is to encourage inside players to gain weight and become the "next Shaquille O'Neal"!

Let’s not talk about anything else, just take Su Wan’s fellow countryman Yao Ming as an example. His weight gain trend has been very obvious in the past two years.

Su Wan actually asked him to persuade O'Neal Jr. to lose weight?
Without weight, how can you compete in a low position?
Suwan was well aware of Larry Bird's doubts because he was standing at the "high ground" of the future, looking down at the NBA 20 years ago.

He asked a question: "Larry, what do you think the probability is that the next Shaquille O'Neal will appear in the league?"

Big Bird smiled and shook his head: "Not likely!"

Not only is the next "Shaquille O'Neal" unlikely, the next "Bird", the next "Magic", and the next "Jordan" are all unlikely.

Are you kidding? Fifty or sixty years have passed in the NBA, and there are only a few people standing on Mount Rushmore. How can it be so easy for the next one to appear?

If it were that easy, they would not have been able to reach historic heights.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with training rookies in the direction of these people. Everything is a matter of probability.

If it succeeds, wouldn’t it be a ton of money?
Even if it fails, "weakened version", "bankrupt version" and "enhanced version in some aspects" can also be considered gains.

But O'Neal Jr. is 26 years old and he can go his own way.

Especially now that the "Great Shark" is on the decline.

Other teams in the league no longer need to stockpile a large number of inside players to deal with him.

Most importantly, even if O'Neal puts on weight and squats in the low post, he will never be able to compete with Shaquille O'Neal. Not to mention Shaquille O'Neal, he can't compete with Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and others.

He needs to find another way!
On the offensive end, he can develop his shooting range, and on the defensive end, even if O'Neal is plagued by injuries in the future, he can contribute 11 blocks in the 12-1.7 season. He has a keen sense of blocking.

What do these add up to?
The tough Chris Bosh who has outstanding awareness of cutting and the ability to fight under the basket without the ball?

A weakened version of Taylor Swift but with better physical explosiveness, faster speed and footwork under the basket?
Call him whatever you want, there’s no problem in becoming the league’s top “space-type power forward”.

Even if he really transforms according to Su Wan's ideas, it is not impossible for him to become a template for "Big Brow".

There is another point that Su Wan didn’t say.

O'Neal Jr. is also a "glass man". If he continues to maintain his current weight, it will only lead to him getting injured and being out for the season.

This is something that will really affect Su Wan.

He had to plan ahead.

But if he had just said, "Jermaine will get hurt if he continues to fight in the low post at this weight," that would have been stupid.

Larry Bird listened to Suwan's idea and thought it made more and more sense. He could see that the change in the "hand touch" rule would have a significant and profound impact. But what kind of impact it would have to be observed.

But he found that Su Wan might be much more profound than him in this regard.

"Then why don't you tell Jermaine yourself?" After listening to this, Larry Bird felt that these suggestions would be beneficial to O'Neal Jr.

Su Wan said: "I am the soul of the team, not the team tyrant. Can I ask my teammates to become something?"

His "team concept" is for everyone to work together and give full play to their respective strengths.

Of course this is an ideal situation.

There are always players in the system who need him to do things he is not so good at and hide his strengths.

At that time, we will compare to see whose strengths have a greater impact on the situation.

Two words:
fair!

Larry Bird nodded and reluctantly accepted Su Wan's statement, but he felt that Su Wan had other concerns.

Su Wan...

There really is:
He was really a little afraid of the black man's brain stem.

He was clearly just giving good advice.

Once O'Neal's "good brothers" and "family members" analyze the situation for him, he might become an unforgivable bad guy.

The “family and friends group” around NBA stars has the same lethality as the “girlfriend group” of their girlfriends.

Many of the ridiculous things done by basketball stars are instigated by their "relatives and friends" around them.

It would be better to let the management negotiate directly with O'Neal Jr. and let him regard it as "the master's order" to make it less likely to cause unexpected troubles.

It was already past 1 a.m. when we came out of Conseco Arena, but the streets were bustling with people from Indiana groups parading to celebrate. In some alleys, different noises could be heard from time to time. From the shouting, it was not difficult to judge that it was most likely the "zero-dollar shopping" that Americans love to see.

This is what free America is like.

As you enter areas with greater security, the level of excitement reaches a new level.

Some fans recognized Su Wan's car and cheered for him.

How could Su Wan be a shy person?

He immediately got out of the car, raised the Finals MVP trophy in his hand towards them, and shouted, "Miga!"

The atmosphere is hot.

A father holding a child wanted to approach him, and the security guard in the car behind him stepped forward vigilantly. Su Wan saw the timid look of the child, holding the autograph pen tightly in his hand, and wearing his No. 99 jersey. He knew that the child wanted his autograph, so he stopped the bodyguards to prevent the little fan from being scared.

Well, he was shouting "stop" at the bodyguard, not the little fan.
Su Wan’s friendliness made the little fans feel less nervous.

"Su, I want to be a player like you in the future and bring a championship to Indiana!"

The little fan, no longer nervous, stated his goal.

I have to say, this goal is great.

Su Wan knew that he would become an idol and a goal for some children, but it was the first time he saw such a child standing in front of him. He was really touched and smiled gently:
"Nice goal, kid."

The affirmative encouragement made the little fan smile even more happily.

But Su Wan continued:
"But it's too hard to be the next me. You definitely can't do it. You can try to be the next Kobe."

After all, the guy standing in front of you won the Finals MVP in his rookie season!

On the other hand, the snake in Los Angeles spent most of his rookie season playing in the mud on the bench.

The difficulty suddenly became much smaller.

Unexpectedly, the little fan started crying:
"I don't like Kobe. I want to be the next you. I don't want to be the next Kobe!"

Listening to him crying and speaking incoherently.

Su Wan was very emotional.

It would be great if the pixels of mobile phones in this era were higher so that he could record this scene!

Suwan felt sorry, but he no longer regretted it the next day because he was followed by some media last night. They not only captured him getting out of the car and shouting "miga", but also captured a video of a little fan crying and shouting "I don't want to be Kobe, I want to be the next you".

The next morning, the news spread across the United States along with the news that the Pacers won the championship.

cleveland.

LeBron woke up early and couldn't fall asleep again.

He went to bed early last night and did not watch Game 5 of the Finals between the Pacers and the Spurs.

Because he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to bear it after seeing the shot of Su Wan holding up the O'Brien Cup!

But the more you avoid this kind of thing, the more you will think about it.

And he always had a lucky mentality in his heart, what if?
What if the Spurs’ “water cooler” player explodes?
The Pacers were without Suwan and O'Neal Jr. last night, so the possibility of an upset is not ruled out!

Then turn on the TV?

Today's second update


(End of this chapter)