Champions Creed

Chapter 292: 291: You must take the initiative and do your best to serve the king in order to receive the reward (ask for monthly tickets)

Jerry Stackhouse is definitely the most embarrassing player this summer.

When the trade rumors first appeared, he was dismissive. Yes, the Connecticut genius is indeed very good. He started for the Wizards for half a year last season and averaged 18 points per game.

But what about me? After all, I am a superstar averaging 29 points per game!

Well, although Jerry Stackhouse is the first player in NBA history to average 29 points per game but not be included in the All-NBA Team. Yes, he didn't even make the third team.

But he just felt that the voters were blind.

Jerry Stackhouse believes that no matter how bad he is, he cannot be swapped with a guy like Richard Hamilton.

So he confidently told reporters: "Hey, no one would trade a general for a soldier!"

Then he was traded the next day.

This incident made Jerry Stackhouse of Prudential a complete joke. No one knew how he went from being Jordan's successor to the league's No. 1 clown.

Fortunately, another embarrassed person appeared to divert people's attention and saved Stackhouse's life.

And this awkward person is still related to the Detroit Pistons.

"There is no problem between Ben Wallace and I. You know, we are both men and it is normal to have some bumps and bruises on the court. Although I may have been a little heavy-handed, I hope Ben won't be angry."

Ron Artest appeared at the press conference with a black eye, while Big Ben next to him was unharmed.

Reporters wondered if Artest had any misunderstanding about the meaning of the phrases "bumps and bruises" and "a little too heavy a hand."

Even Ben's hair wasn't messy!
This is clearly what you call being beaten!

This afternoon, a breaking news came out from the Detroit Pistons - the team's two new players, Ben Wallace and Ron Artest, had a fight during training.

But it all calmed down quickly, and now Ben and Artest are willing to sit together at the press conference, which shows that the team does not have any major problems.

In fact, reporters had already learned what happened from other players. To put it simply: Ron was habitually making mistakes on the court, but Big Ben easily subdued Ron with a tactic of pulling out for a one-on-one game.

So at this press conference, reporters were basically asking questions even though they already knew the answer, wanting to hear what the eyewitnesses had to say about the incident.

As a result, Artest was clearly being beaten throughout the game but tried hard to pretend that he was evenly matched with Big Ben, making people instantly forget about Jerry Stackhouse.

From now on, he is the new fun guy in the league.

Reporters quickly changed their target and asked the Pistons' new head coach Rick Carlisle: "Coach, how did the conflict resolve?"

Rick Carlisle was in a dilemma. How should he tell the reporters? The aggressive Artest was punched by Ben and pushed several meters away, then he lay on the floor and couldn't get up.

Ron Artest has always been considered a ruthless person, because he has been a well-known bully on the court since middle school. When he was 13 years old and playing AAU, he had a quarrel with his teammate Elton Brand during a warm-up layup and ended up fighting.

During his time with the Bulls, he was also known for his ferocity and had conflicts with his teammates on the training ground more than once.

Rick Carlisle was very hesitant about bringing in Artest because medical records showed that this tough guy from Queens suffered from bipolar disorder and would lose control of his emotions at any time.

But today, Carlisle believes that Ron Artest is one of the players with the best emotional control ability in the league!

Carlisle could only smile and answer the reporter: "Ron is a very aggressive player, but he knows how to avoid conflict."

The reporters all laughed and remembered another wolf-like player, Kevin Garnett.

The conflict between Ben Wallace and Artest did not affect the Pistons' locker room, but it did affect Atlanta, 1150 kilometers away.

Scott Pippen, who has started his 15th season in his professional career, stood in front of Roger and Pierce with a smile, "bullying" them as a veteran.

"Hurry up and pay the money, not a penny less!"

A few days ago, when Pippen heard Roger and Pierce betting on "whose ribs would break first, Big Ben or Ron", he decided to join the bet.

But he didn't bet on either Ben or Artest. With the experience of a 15-year veteran, his choice was: rest assured, the Pistons will be safe throughout the training camp.

So he won, and he happily counted the Franklins in his hand, feeling greatly satisfied mentally.

Pierce was very unconvinced: "Why? Big Ben and Ron are not easy to deal with, how do you know they can't fight?"

Pippen looked at Pierce, put the money in his locker, and then glanced at Roger: "Why? Because not everyone is such an asshole like Roger, who really beats up his teammates!"

The whole locker room laughed, and Roger also remembered what happened eight summers ago, and waved his hand: "Okay Scott, don't mention it."

"Damn it, I was the one who got beaten up, Roger, why are you still embarrassed?"

Amidst the laughter, Olajuwon lamented the speed of time.

In 1993, Michael Jordan had just retired, and Chicago had a No. pick with a special skin color. He had just dominated the talented high school basketball world in the past year and kicked off the wave of high school draft picks.

Then this high school rookie made big news just a few days into the preseason training camp by beating up Scott Pippen.

No one knew at that time that this would be the beginning of a great era.

Maybe because he is really old, Daming often reminisces about the past this year.

He often recalls things that happened many years ago, and then looks at the present, always feeling that he has fallen behind the times.

Nowadays, mobile phones can do a lot of things.

Computers became more popular and computer games became a new form of entertainment, but Dameng knew nothing about it.

Even basketball, which he was most familiar with, began to become unfamiliar.

On the Hawks, Olajuwon's basketball philosophy encountered a huge challenge.

In fact, this year's preseason training camp is a challenge for everyone. All Eagles players have to get used to running forward immediately when the opponent misses a shot or scores a goal.

If you are one second late, the guy with the mustache will be very excited and banging on the tactical board on the sidelines: "Damn it! Why are you slowing down? Remember our goal, seven seconds or less!"

Of course, you can't just run forward mindlessly, because D'Antoni has requirements for positioning during fast breaks.

When should the shooter pull to the corner and when should he cut to the basket?

When should the inside player set a high pick-and-roll and when should he cut to the basket?

All of this requires everyone to adapt.

Scott Pippen often complained after training: "Even Larsa wouldn't ask for such a fast speed and frequency!"

Lenny Wilkens revealed that the Hawks will play fast next season, so reporters are very curious about the Hawks' strategy.

But because they couldn't watch the training, they could only ask the players indirectly during interviews about the Eagles' strategic changes.

Today, countless reporters asked the players about the Eagles' tactics.

Michael Reid scratched his head and said, "I can't really say, but we just kept running."

Tyronn Lue was also confused: "I don't know whether it's a tactic or not. Anyway, my job is to move the ball across half court as quickly as possible and then give the ball to the person who scores the most points."

The one who found it most difficult to adapt was Da Meng, because he was doing things he had never done before in his life.

His job now is to grab the rebound and pass it to Roger, but often the offense is over by the time he has just run across half court.

He just kept running back and forth, defending, rebounding, passing, and running back and forth.

Only occasionally can he touch the ball in positional offense.

Anyone who has played a low-ability center in a 2K game knows that this is really a bad gaming experience.

What's more, Olajuwon was not born a blue-collar worker. As a player who has enjoyed a very high tactical position and a person who is used to eating fine grains, it would be difficult for him to swallow if you suddenly asked him to eat coarse grains.

Fortunately, Dameng has become gentler in character since he converted to Christianity, so he didn't complain much.

And because of the 9.11/ incident, Muslims like Dameng also know that they'd better keep a low profile and not make any big news, otherwise they might die tragically on the streets.

So Da Meng always does a lot and says very little.

This made Wilkens feel much more at ease, as he thought Dream would act like a big shot.

You have to know that Dream is different from most veterans who join championship-contending teams for the sake of the championship.

Most of those veterans are willing to compromise because they have nothing.

But Olajuwon has a ring in his hand. Throughout the 90s, only he and Duncan could break the dominance of Roger and Jordan.

But even so, Dream still worked diligently, and Wilkens respected him even more.

Roger also respected Da Meng more. He was also worried that there would be problems getting along with Da Meng at the beginning. Roger had worked with such a former superstar before.

Even though Roger and Dominic Wilkins are now half-brothers with different skin colors, they did not get along well when they first met.

Roger thought Wilkins had no ability to make fun of others but had a bad temper, while Wilkins didn't like Roger, a young man, pointing fingers at him and scolding him.

It took them a long time to get along with each other before they finally let go of their grudges.

But a similar conflict never happened to Da Meng.

With Hakeem Olajuwon playing peacefully, the atmosphere in the team was quite harmonious, and there was basically no player in the team that made Lenny Wilkens worry.

Oh, except for Stephen Jackson, who was late for the first time just half a month after the preseason training camp started.

Stephen Jackson was very nervous after being late today. As a person who grew up listening to Roger's stories, he has always been very careful in getting along with Roger.

This villain from the oil refining town of Port Arthur is not afraid of anyone, but he knows that Roger can lose his job with just one word.

Because Stephen Jackson's game and training attitude was very bad last season, the Hawks did not sign a fully guaranteed contract with him.

To get the full amount in his contract, Stephen Jackson must play the entire season. If he is cut midway, he will only get a portion of the contract.

Therefore, Stephen Jackson can no longer be so willful this season. Roger only needs one phone call to get the team to cut him.

Last night, Stephen Jackson told himself to go to bed early, but several brothers from Port Arthur came to Atlanta to visit him, so he accidentally had a hangover all night.

Stephen Jackson couldn't refuse them. He came from a small town with only 40,000 people, where buying a gun was easier than buying candy. Without these brothers, he might not have survived.

It is very common for the black community to stick together for support because they are all children from poor families and if they do not help each other in the chaotic community, they can easily end up dead on the streets.

This is why AI will always have a lot of people to support, because when he was in prison, it was his group of good brothers who helped take care of his family.

So he made a promise after entering the NBA: "From now on, wherever I go, everyone will follow me. Whatever I eat, everyone will eat."

This promise has begun to make AI feel pressured, and will continue to drag him down in the future, but he is still fulfilling it.

Stephen Jackson is such a person too. When he became famous in high school, his friends would drive him to games every day, protect him and his family, and keep him away from crime and trouble.

After all, when his close friends came to Atlanta for a night of partying, Stephen Jackson couldn't say no.

After arriving at Emory Health today, Stephen Jackson quickly changed his clothes and ran to the basketball court, trying to blend in with the crowd without anyone noticing.

As a result, as soon as he ran onto the court, he had an awkward eye contact with Roger.

Stephen Jackson covered his head and forced a smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that, but yesterday it was all my damn good friend George Floyd's fault. He got drunk and insisted on seeing if the Atlanta police would kneel on his neck until he suffocated because he was black. He was drunk and I had to take him home, so... I promise there won't be a next time!"

Stephen Jackson tried his best to justify his lateness. He thought Roger would give him a severe lesson.

In the end, Roger just nodded: "Oh."

Then he walked away and continued training.

The only thing that really interested Roger in Stephen Jackson's words was the name George Floyd. He'd better not think too highly of the Atlanta police, because they would really do that.

Stephen Jackson was a little confused. Why was Roger different from what was rumored?
Stephen Jackson was very, very cautious throughout the entire day. He tried his best in training. He was the one who worked the hardest in the team's shuttle runs. Even in the training game, he defended Paul Pierce with all his strength.

He tried hard to make up for his lateness, fearing that he might annoy Roger.

But Roger, just like before, completely ignored him.

They didn't say a word the whole day.

Stephen Jackson felt very strange. What happened? Roger was possessed by Tim Duncan?

In the next few days, Stephen Jackson began to realize that something was wrong.

Even a guy like Tyronn Lue, who is not cool at all and can do nothing but pass the ball to Roger during training, has become very close to Roger.

However, there is still a strong sense of distance between Stephen Jackson and Roger.

Apart from being late that day, Stephen Jackson believes he did not make any mistakes.

He hated this feeling, hated this feeling of being excluded.

In a group, no one wants to be ignored by the leader of the group.

So after today's training, Stephen Jackson took the initiative to move to Roger's locker: "Roger."

"Stephen."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been late the other day."

"Oh, you've already said that." Roger still looked like he didn't want to pay attention to him.

"Hey, if you want to beat me up, then beat me up. If you think I'm wrong, then scold me harshly. I would rather you use violence than experience this kind of cold violence again! You can't isolate me in the locker room!"

Stephen Jackson's roar made the entire locker room quiet. Andre Patterson, who was taking a shower, rushed out of the shower room and pushed Jackson away with a baton.

Before this, everyone knew that Stephen Jackson was a thorn in the side, so Andre Patterson was always wary of him.

If anyone wants to challenge Roger in this locker room, he must first challenge Patterson's fist.

Roger handed Andre Patterson a towel and said, "It's okay, man. Just block it. The reporters are coming in soon."

Stephen Jackson still stared at Roger, but Roger began to change his clothes, still looking arrogant.

In fact, Stephen Jackson is a person who is willing to work hard, and no fool would squander the hard-earned opportunity to play.

He played for 17 teams in overseas leagues and found that those countries were freer than the beacon of freedom.

In the Dominican Republic, he saw patrons openly displaying guns while dining in restaurants. In Venezuela, a man jumped to his death in front of him as he stepped out of a taxi.

In comparison, the public security in the United States is relatively good.

So he doesn't want to wander around anymore, and of course he wants to gain a foothold in the NBA.

The reason why Stephen Jackson was considered not to cherish the opportunity last season was because the first big brother he met led him astray.

For a young small town youth, New Jersey was simply a big melting pot, full of sensual pleasures that made him dazzled. Most importantly, the team boss Stephen Marbury would take the initiative to call Jackson every night to ask him to go out and play, and he would pay for the whole trip.

How many young people in small towns can resist such temptation?

The slackness of the team leader and the overall atmosphere of the Nets made Stephen Jackson relax as well.

When he knew the Nets would not renew his contract, he wanted to go back and strangle himself.

Before the start of this season, Stephen Jackson told himself that he must never make that mistake again and must work hard.

He did try hard, but was rewarded with such arrogance.

Stephen Jackson felt that Roger was a little too much. He was only late once, and only for fifteen minutes.

Is it necessary to isolate me like this for just this tiny mistake?

After changing his clothes, Roger stood up and glanced at Stephen Jackson:
"You don't need to apologize, Steph, and I'm not isolating you. Because you're just a guy who could be cut the next day, so there's no need for me to waste my breath on you. You can find a hundred excuses for being late, it doesn't matter, you don't have to tell me those. If you don't care about the opportunity to play in the NBA, why should I care?"

"Of course I care. I've been trying hard. Why can't you see that? You can't just focus on my tardiness!"

"Work hard?" Roger laughed. "You are qualified to talk about working hard in this locker room?"

"Paul didn't take a single day off or be late for work during the season when he was stabbed 13 times. Michael wasn't late last season. He didn't even arrive an hour early. Jeff, 37, comes early every day to warm up, massage, and drain the fluid.

And an idiot who can't even overcome being late actually has the nerve to say he's trying hard?

Don't make me laugh, Stephen, do whatever you want, fight if you can, and get out if you can't. I'm very busy and don't have time to listen to the nonsense of a self-indulgent idiot like you.

When you are really qualified one day, I will really care about you."

Roger put on his sunglasses and patted Pierce on the shoulder: "I'll leave today's reporters to you. I have to leave early because I have a date."

"Dating? You and Giselle got back together?"

"Of course not, I have a new girlfriend."

"What? You bastard!"

With that, Roger slipped out of the locker room through the back door.

At that moment, Stephen Jackson realized that it was not necessary for the king to whip you all the time to keep you moving forward.

But you have to take the initiative and do your best to serve the king in order to get the reward!
Before, Roger was willing to help Pierce and Michael Reed, and even willing to stay and practice with them because their attitude was serious enough.

Stephen Jackson lowered his head. He overestimated himself and thought the word "hard work" was too cheap.

He is not worthy of Roger's attention now.

A few seconds later, Stephen Jackson looked up at Pierce and said, "Tell Roger I'm not going to give up! I'm going to stay here and play!"

Wonderful, Olajuwon finally understood why Roger could lead one invincible team after another.

That bastard is a master of psychology. He knows how to prescribe the right medicine for different people.

Everyone knows Roger's dominance on the court, but Dream realized today that Roger's dominance in the locker room was underestimated.

After today, Stephen Jackson never came late again, and even came early to practice shooting with Michael Reed.

The team's running-in became better and better, and the seven-second offense began to become part of the Eagles players' blood.

In the preseason, the media and fans hadn't noticed anything. They just felt that the Eagles' defensive counterattacks were sharper and their positional offense was smoother.

Of course, the defense is also weaker.

Without Ben Wallace, a defensive machine capable of covering the entire half court, the Hawks' defense is no longer as solid as it was last season.

On the other hand, the Detroit Pistons won consecutive games in the preseason after building the team with Ben Wallace.

This fully demonstrates the irreplaceable role of Daben.

Kidd's Nets also played very well in the preseason, winning all five games, and the entire team was completely transformed.

Kidd himself is also confident about the opening game.

Because of the spat during the offseason and because people were tired of the Hawks vs. Lakers match, David Stern arranged the Hawks vs. Nets for the opening game this year.

Let Roger and Kidd, who have been arguing all summer, directly resolve their problems.

Jason Kidd boasted about the Nets' quick comeback this season after the final preseason game.

He has no idea what true speed feels like.

(End of this chapter)