Don't talk trash to him.

Chapter 237 The Biggest Loser in the Finals

Shaquille O'Neal's words were heartbreaking, but he knew very well that this was what he should do.

It would be beneath Suwan's status to haggle with LeBron James after he has won four championships.

Because everyone knows that LeBron is not as good as him.

But there are some things that need to be reminded before they can be known to the outside world.

For example, two years ago, Shaquille O'Neal teamed up with LeBron and eventually fell in the Eastern Conference Finals. But two years later, Suwan led the older Shaquille O'Neal to defeat the "new show time" Lakers led by peak Kobe in the Finals and won the championship of this season.

This comparison is the most intuitive!
Shaquille O'Neal knew that Suwan would definitely want this incident to be the headline tomorrow.

But he couldn't say this himself...

How to do it?

Shaquille O'Neal naturally became the "black glove".

Of course, the reason why Shaquille O'Neal was so willing was not only because he knew that Suwan wanted him to do so, but mainly because he himself wanted to do so.

The hatred between him and LeBron is no less than that between Su Wan!

Do not……

To be precise, it's much bigger!
The year he left the Heat was Shaquille O'Neal's last peak period.

He wanted to "slap" Suwan in the face and win the championship before Kobe, but he only had that one chance.

result……

LeBron James ruined it all!
So much so that the media ridiculed him for being nothing without Kobe, and he had no choice but to bow to Suwan, hold on to Suwan's thigh, and save his career.

Blame it all on LeBron James!
Now the revenge is taken!

But in front of the media, he will always be inferior to Su Wan.

gtmd LeBron!
Now you know why he said LeBron is not as good as Kwame Brown, right?
He was just venting his anger!

On the other side, Suwan attended the Pacers' final press conference of the season. Next to him were the O'Brien Cup and the championship MVP trophy.

He looked at the Finals MVP trophy and suddenly thought of something, so he gestured to Irene off the court. Irene understood and asked him, "Su, I noticed that you were staring at the Finals MVP trophy for a long time. What I want to know is, what are you thinking about!"

Su Wan said: "Nothing, I just suddenly thought that the Finals MVP trophy was not there from the beginning. In the early 70s, or even earlier, those championship teams did not have a Finals MVP. Some great stars must have felt regretful!"

"So what you mean?" Irene asked.

"I think since the championship trophy can be called the O'Brien Cup, then the Finals MVP trophy can be called... the Bill Russell Trophy. I think this can be regarded as an alternative compensation for the Lord of the Rings!"

The reason why Suwan said this is because he suddenly remembered that the league will change the Finals MVP trophy to the Bill Russell Cup starting next season.

This is like a favor. If that's the case...

Su Wan felt that he needed to make an appeal.

Show off your influence!
It's impossible that David Stern would cancel the original plan and not rename the Finals MVP trophy because of his words, right?

Silver still has a chance, but David Stern is unlikely to do such a thing.

Then, the interview officially began.

A reporter formally asked Suwan: "Su, do you think you can have a more successful career than Michael Jordan?"

If Suwan's three consecutive championships in the first three years of his career made it possible for him to surpass Michael Jordan, then now, with his fourth championship and 4 days before he turns 22, this possibility is becoming greater and greater.

Su Wan had already figured out how to answer this question: "Let's catch up first!"

Catching up with Jordan actually involves two stages.

Suwan needs to catch up with Jordan first before he can surpass Jordan.

For example, after this round of finals, no media can put Kobe's name ahead of Su Wan again. Of course, if Su Wan wants to completely surpass Kobe, he has to achieve all-round encirclement.

Otherwise, until Kobe reached his peak, he could only be "one of the best" at the No. 2 position.

Kobe can't suppress him, and he can't completely suppress Kobe.

It's even harder to surpass Michael Jordan.

It doesn't mean that I have surpassed him by achieving two "three consecutive championships".

It can even be said that only by winning two "three consecutive championships" can he be qualified to be compared with Michael Jordan.

至于那些拿着“4＋4加4”去碰瓷“6加6加5”的……

This is to forcibly prove that 8 yuan is more than 10 yuan!
Just tell me, how many angles does he have to find to prove something that cannot be proved at all!
So Su Wan expressed his thoughts very pragmatically:
It’s too early to talk about surpassing Michael Jordan!
Catch up with him first, then talk about surpassing him!
Another reporter stood up and asked a very interesting question: "Anthony Parker's contract will expire this summer. Will he continue to play in the Pacers' jersey next season?"

Su Wan gave the reporter a look that said "Are you okay?" and replied, "You should ask Larry about this question. He is the general manager of this team!"

But the reporter persisted: "Do you want Anthony to stay with the Pacers?"

Su Wan replied: "Do you want your salary to double?"

This is all asking questions even though you already know the answer!
What defending champion wouldn't want to keep all of their players?

The next morning, the Pacers won the championship, and the news that the "City of Redemption" had completed its collective redemption spread throughout the league.

Last night's "Battle of the Century" caused a huge discussion.

The news that Suwan broke the single-game scoring record in the finals and scored 63 points in a single game made all the fans who missed that game regret it.

When they learned that Kobe also scored 55 points in that game, they immediately went to major websites to check out the replay of last night's game. The dazzling highlights made them excited and they regretted not staying in front of the TV last night.

Suwan won the fourth championship in his career. There have been discussions about whether he can catch up with Jordan. Some people think that it is too early to discuss this issue, while others think that it is only a matter of time for Suwan to catch up with Michael Jordan, but it is more difficult to surpass Jordan.

The New York Times said: "If Suwan wants to do this in Indiana, he may have to lead the team to ten consecutive championships!"

The Miami Times nodded in agreement: "Suwan needs a bigger platform to do this!"

The Los Angeles Times has never found these newspapers so pleasing to the eye, but they have a new insight: "Suwan needs not only a bigger platform, he also needs to go to a team with enough championship background, rather than a team that has never won a championship or whose last championship flag has been covered in dust!"

It’s just a matter of saying directly that Su Wan should come to Los Angeles!
The New York media was so angry that they laughed: "What happened to Shaquille O'Neal has made everyone know that superstars who go to Los Angeles don't have a good ending!"

The Los Angeles media retorted: "There is only one reason why the New York media is so confident, they have forgotten Patrick Ewing!"

New York media: "If Patrick won three consecutive championships for the Knicks, he could have been the mayor of this city! But Shaq, who won three consecutive championships for Los Angeles, couldn't even get 2 million a year, so retribution came, Los Angeles lost the championship this season! Everything is the best arrangement!"

They argued for a long time over a potential opportunity to get Suwan, and then they remembered that if Suwan did not actively request a trade, he would not be able to opt out of his contract and become a free agent until at least next year.

It seems that it is of no use for them to pull the strings here now.

In addition, Shaquille O'Neal's remarks about LeBron James have also become a hot topic across the United States.

First of all, Suwan won the championship again, making Cleveland's original choice a joke again.

No matter how you look at it, Cleveland had no reason to give up Suwan in the first place.

To know……

Su Wan was not in an "unopened" state at that time.

At the end of the first month, he became the "third best player in history". At that time, he was already on par with "Big O" and Michael Jordan. At that time, most media had already determined that Suwan would be the "best rookie" of the "04 generation"!
It stands to reason that for a rookie of this level, even if he had a conflict with LeBron James, he should have tried his best to appease him. Why was he so anxious to trade Su Wan?

When Danny Ferry saw the heated discussions in the media, he had the urge to beat up those reporters.

no……

How many days have passed?

Just put it in this "history book of time", right?

He did not deny that Su Wan had potential at that time.

But when Larry Bird took out two first-round picks and a second-round pick, no one said that the Cavaliers were losing money. Instead, they said that Larry Bird was taking a big gamble.

What's going on now?
Just because Su Wan won the "three consecutive championships" and then won the fourth championship of his career a year later, his tone has completely changed, right?

Of course, Danny Ferry also felt extremely regretful in his heart.

He knew that Su Wan was awesome, but he didn't expect Su Wan to be so awesome!
If we talk about the first "three consecutive championships", you can also say that the Pacers had a good foundation. O'Neal Jr. and Artest, one inside and one outside, were two players who had entered their absolute peak period, and they just happened to be met by Suwan.

This fourth crown...

But Su Wan was brought up by himself.

O'Neal, the core player during the "three consecutive championships", is just the team's "sixth man" this season.

Other players, from Zach Randolph to Shaquille O'Neal to Chauncey Billups, are at the lowest point in their careers and are surrounded by doubts.

Being able to lead them to win the championship is not only a testament to Su Wan's on-court abilities, but also a testament to his off-court abilities.

Compare that to LeBron’s ability to handle the locker room…

If he had known earlier, he should have traded LeBron and kept Suwan.

Danny Ferry believes that if this operation is successful, it will definitely become a "god-level operation" in NBA history.

It is possible that the people of Cleveland built a temple for him!
what?
You ask why a temple was built for him?

Because if he traded LeBron, he would not survive that year, and there would definitely be some extreme Cleveland people who would shoot him.

Ok……

That's what Cleveland people are like!
Therefore, this is actually a "dead end". No matter how Suwan beats LeBron now, from Danny Ferry's perspective at the time, he could only trade Suwan and keep LeBron.

In fact, Jesus can prove that he thought Suwan was stronger than LeBron at that time!
damn it!
Danny Ferry became more and more angry as he thought about it. He really wanted to open a small account to expose LeBron and let him share the fire that he was bearing.

Then he discovered...

LeBron James' life doesn't seem to be any easier than his!

Shaquille O'Neal's tongue is really poisonous!
These media outlets really just want to watch the fun and enjoy the excitement!
There are actually media outlets that have seriously discussed what Kwame Brown would be like now if he had been given the same growth environment as LeBron!
It is well known that Kwame Brown's biggest problem is his poor mental quality.

But past experience has proven that LeBron James' psychological quality is just that.

When he met Suwan in the early days and was beaten up in various ways, and when there was a bullying incident in the team, he was scared to tears when facing the questioning of reporters at the press conference. All these proved that LeBron James' mentality is as fragile as that of a baby.

This is where Kwame Brown comes into play.

Then there is talent...

There is no doubt about LeBron James' talent, but when Kwame Brown was trying out at the United Arena at the age of 18, his overall score exceeded 100 points, reaching 106.

Even if we include last year, the only person who scored higher than Kwame Brown in the combine in the entire 00s was "The Great" Greg Oden.

As for LeBron James...

His workout results, like his injury report, are confidential.

There are a few copies circulating on the Internet, but they have not been authoritatively certified yet!

Even if his talent is outstanding enough, I think he will be close to Oden, and the gap between them will not be too big.

In fact, in Suwan's opinion, according to the nature of LeBron James' team, if LeBron's total score in all items of the joint tryout is high enough, their team will definitely not announce it.

They even dare to treat the commercials they shoot as real ones for promotional purposes.

For example, there is the very famous video of jumping directly from the swimming pool to the shore.

If it wasn't revealed at the end that this was a special effect, I'm afraid many LeBron fans would have taken it as real to show off LeBron's core strength.

Well, even though the media later clarified that the video was fake, there were still LeBron fans saying, "Do you think LeBron can't do it?"

He didn't even think about it, if LeBron can do it, then why bother to fake it and use special effects?
If a team like this had a draft physical test report with a comprehensive score that reached a historical level, would he not reveal it?
The more the media analyzed, the more they found that Kwame Brown was simply another LeBron in the world.

It's just that he is an inside player, and there is no Sports Illustrated to call him the "chosen one", nor does he have a group of loyal "idiots" like Cleveland who pay for his failures year after year.

If he were to enjoy the same treatment as LeBron, it wouldn't be as exaggerated as Shaquille O'Neal said, but... it would definitely not be more miserable than it is now.

Not much worse than LeBron.

Because...LeBron hasn't achieved much with the Cavaliers over the years.

You have to know that even after partnering with Shaquille O'Neal and Vince Carter, he only made it to the Eastern Conference Finals once, and the media attributed that achievement to Shaquille O'Neal.

His best result as a solo leader so far is the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Eh?
Isn't this Pippen?
Barkley added a buzzer beater at this time: "The stupidest thing the Cavaliers management did was to mistake Pippen for Jordan and send Jordan away!"

LeBron woke up and the sky fell!
no……

Are you sick?

The winner was Suwan, the loser was Kobe, and the one who took revenge was Shaquille O'Neal. Why don't you report on Suwan's fourth championship or add fuel to the "OK" civil war? Instead of mocking me, why are you guys here?
Yesterday he had a feeling that Su Wan had a good chance of winning the championship, so he deliberately didn't watch the last game.

The results proved that his choice was correct.

Su Wan scored 63 points, breaking the single-game scoring record in the Finals. This explosive performance...

How could he sleep after watching this!
But he never expected that he would become the biggest loser in this round of finals.

His reputation finally improved, and after this round of finals, he actually sat at the same table with Kwame Brown, the "biggest bust No. 1 draft pick in history."

There are still some brainless media analyzing it seriously...

Fuck you!

LeBron was very angry, but he really had no other choice but to put pressure on Danny Ferry to strengthen his team.

What, let me improve my shooting?
Uh……

Is such that!

My playing style is team-oriented. I can do a lot of things for the team, such as breakthroughs, passing, and rebounding. Basketball is a five-person sport. I do so many things, so of course others have to take on the responsibilities that I can't do.

Just something as simple as shooting a basketball!

Can't I find four guys in this league who can shoot to be my teammates?
If Danny Ferry can't find it, then he's a waste!
Ferry is actually quite annoying.

Originally he thought that forming a team should be a very simple thing.

Especially when there is already a "superstar" on the team. At least from the data point of view, this is the case.

But the reality is…

In this era, the players with some ability are all old-school players, and they can't get along with LeBron.

Most of those who have no temper have not yet become stars. Although they can ensure stability in the locker room, LeBron cannot lead them to achieve greater breakthroughs in the playoffs!
What the hell...

Blocked at both ends!
Which general manager can find the perfect solution?

However, things that upset LeBron are still happening. Pippen refuted some reporters' remarks in front of the media: "LeBron is an outstanding kid. He has his own way to go. We are different players. I don't want to see any media call him the next Pippen!"

Looks like it's Kwale Brown.

In fact, it is a "polite rejection" of LeBron!

This made "Ah King" mad.

no……

He even pulled it up!
Who do you think wants to be the next Pippen?

gtmd's Pippen!
At the same time, Suwan received a call from Larry Bird: "Unfortunately, Su, we may not be able to keep Anthony Parker!"

Last season, Anthony Parker averaged 11.3 points per game for the Pacers and shot over 45% from three-point range, a career high.

Plus he has pretty good defensive skills.

His contract is destined to expire and he can get a contract of about 8 million.

The Pacers could afford such a contract last season.

However, the new season's contracts for Suwan and O'Neal will reach 4 million, plus Zach Randolph's 3 million, which will directly explode the entire salary space.

How can the Pacers afford Anthony Parker's contract?

and……

800 million is the normal price for renewing Anthony Parker's contract. If there is a team competing for him, then around 900 million is the most ideal price to get Anthony Parker...

The Pacers really can't afford this money.

In fact, Larry Bird had already made preparations for both situations, so he acquired Afflalo in last year's trade.

This player, who has a similar position to Anthony Parker, can completely replace Afflalo next season after a season of experience. And he only needs about 2 million.

Larry Bird could use the freed-up money to do something else, like renew Shaquille O'Neal's contract with a regular mid-level salary...

Suwan was not surprised by Larry Bird's careful budgeting.

At this time, the players and the management are not actually on the same front.

Even when they encounter some stingy bosses, they are still on the opposite side.

Although the Simon family's stinginess was not their original intention, the fact was that they were now facing financial problems and could not fully support the team's reinforcement. Herbert could only look for opportunities to cooperate with Su Wan outside the court and compensate Su Wan with money.

but……

Many times, it is useless to just satisfy Su Wan.

When he shows enough potential and the Simon family is unable to give Su Wan the best arrangements in all aspects, people with ulterior motives will begin to act.

The news that Larry Bird was not going to renew Anthony Parker's contract quickly spread.

It wasn't that someone inside the Pacers informed on the matter, nor was it that Su Wan leaked the news.

Suwan is a person with strong professional ethics. He will not put pressure on the team in this way.

The person who released the news was Anthony Parker's agent.

After the breakdown of negotiations with Larry Bird, he actively helped Parker find a new home in the free market.

As time went by, the media naturally knew about this.

The rhythm comes naturally...

"How long will Su Wan stay in this unstable team? He must know that he can't always keep the team stable. There will always be some uncontrollable variables that affect the entire season!"

"Honestly, Suwan should leave the Pacers. He should know that he can't become the 'God of Basketball' in Indiana. He will leave there sooner or later. Now he has brought 4 championships to the Pacers, but the Pacers can't even leave him a 'championship lineup'!"

"The Pacers management really has no sincerity. If they can't even do something as simple as signing Anthony Parker, I can't imagine how they will cope with the summer of next season!"

Next summer, Suwan has the option to opt out of his contract. Zach Randolph's contract has reached a maximum of 1700 million per year. At the same time, O'Neal's contract expires. If the luxury tax is not paid, it would be a "pipe dream" to keep all three of them.

Many media outlets have also realized this and started to follow suit.

Many media believe that the Pacers will definitely not renew the contract with O'Neal next year in order to keep Suwan and reserve salary for Zach Randolph, and will even look for an opportunity to send O'Neal away in the new season.

Larry Bird was so scared that he quickly called Suwan.

He didn't want Su Wan to think that the Pacers were a ruthless and ungrateful team.

But O'Neal Jr.'s mood obviously became impatient because of this.

However, after going through so many things, he is no longer so brainless. At the same time, under the persuasion of his agent, he took a step of "retreat to advance": "Polis is my second home. I became an All-Star here and won four championship trophies here. I believe everything will fall into place. I am not worried about my new contract at all!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Pacers management was immediately put under pressure.

Now everyone outside is waiting to see what the Pacers management will do.

Even though it is just a contract extension for a player, if they hesitate on such a matter, then they will definitely face a catastrophic disaster:

If a small market like Polis is still cold-blooded and ruthless, then no player will be willing to be loyal to it.

The more critical point is:
Now the outside world is waiting to see what the Pacers will do. Once the Pacers are unable to properly handle O'Neal's sincerity, there will definitely be media leading the rhythm, saying that the Pacers management is cold-blooded and ruthless. If Suwan buries his entire peak period in the Pacers, he will end up like O'Neal.

One can imagine what consequences these remarks will have.

Not to mention other people, no one can guarantee whether Su Wan will have any ideas.

In fact, some media in Polis have expressed disappointment with the Pacers management: "Suwan finally saved the team and got everything back on track. Can't the management be more decisive?"

"If I were Su Wan, seeing how unstable the team's structure is every year, I would definitely leave a way out for myself!"

"In fact, Su Wan has already done that. He only signed a 2+1 contract!"

"Of course, everything now proves that Suwan's worries are not wrong. The Pacers cannot have a long-term stable lineup. Any core player staying in such a team will have anxious thoughts!"

"for example……"

"When I am no longer in my prime, will the team be so decisive in trading me in order to avoid paying the luxury tax?"

This report caused quite a stir in Indiana, with many fans rushing to the fan plaza at Conseco Fieldhouse, demanding that the team renew the contracts of Anthony Parker and O'Neal Jr. so that the team can maintain its defending lineup in the new season.

Unfortunately, even if they did so, they didn't hear any news of contract renewal from the Pacers.

Larry Bird was waiting for Herbert to make the final decision.

And Herbert had a meal with Su Wan.

"Sue, will you leave the Pacers?" he asked.

Su Wan said: "This is not something I am considering now. I still have one year on my contract before I can decide whether to stay or go!"

Herbert shook his head. "No, Sue, you should know that if you want to leave, even if you are still under contract, we can only send you away. You have such influence. If you leak such news, the media will directly overwhelm Indiana."

Su Wan looked at Herbert seriously and said, "Do you think that the rumors outside are all instigated by me?"

"No, no, no," Herbert continued to shake his head, with a gentle smile on his face, "You misunderstood Su... I just want to say that now the media in the entire league hopes that you will leave Indiana. Your influence is no longer something Indiana can bear!"

Now Su Wan understood what Herbert wanted to say.

"It is a crime to possess a treasure!"
Having Suwan was the fault of this small city.

Normally, every team has players who don't renew their contracts when they expire in the summer, and players who wait another year before deciding whether to renew their contracts. But because the Pacers have Suwan, these things have been magnified by the media.

If Polis had the media power of New York or Los Angeles, these might not cause so much discussion... Well, the media in Los Angeles and New York are the source of the current turmoil.

If they hadn't added fuel to the fire, the Pacers would have had plenty of opportunities to slowly resolve their current problems.

"Su, I can tell you my true thoughts..." Herbert stopped probing, "The Pacers cannot become a ruthless and ungrateful team. This is the foundation of the Pacers' foothold in Polis and the league. But if this team doesn't have you, then I don't have any expectations for the future of this Pacers team. But..."

He didn't say anything else, but Su Wan understood.

If this team wants to be loyal and want to have Suwan, then... they have to pay the luxury tax!
This is a luxury tax that the Pacers cannot recoup, especially since Herbert cannot afford it now.

"I might have to sell the Pacers!"

When Su Wan heard this, surprise flashed in his eyes.

This was something he didn't expect.

But if you think about it carefully, this is Herbert's best option now.

It not only threw away the "hot potato", but also gave the Simon family enough funds to adjust and reorganize, and truly get out of this "subprime mortgage crisis".

"I have to thank you, Su. We won the championship again this year, which increased the market value of the team." Herbert said, "A consortium is in contact with us. The price of 3.5 million is not bad, enough for the Simon family to survive this difficult time... We only spent tens of millions to buy the Pacers. This is really a good investment. What do you think, Su?"

Su Wan said: "I think the future of the NBA may be beyond your imagination!"

After saying this, he got up and left.

Herbert looked at his back, his eyes flashing with a thoughtful look, then he took out his phone and called his assistant: "Tell Steve that I can sell them 50% of the team's shares, so that they can obtain the management rights of the team. The team nominally belongs to them. If they are not satisfied... then I can only apologize!"

Second update. Please vote for me.

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(End of this chapter)