Bishop of the Devil

Under normal circumstances, after the implementation of the dress order, many players still openly resisted, but Stern was determined to implement the dress order, which made both parties very unhappy.

However, despite the public boycott, no one dared to violate the dress code...

The reason is simple, because the punishment is too scary.

The maximum fine is $500,000. Who would have so much money that they have no place to spend it...

You know, some players' annual salary is less than half a million dollars.

…

"Richard strikes deal with league, implements dress code"

"The Terrible Richard, Extraordinary Influence"

"The real behind-the-scenes boss of the NBA - Richard"

The day after the press conference ended, various media outlets published articles and began to speculate on why the dress code could be implemented so easily.

Without the West Lafayette player's leaked trade, Richard, Stern and others would not talk about it, but after all, this matter is quite obvious, and smart people can see it at a glance.

Stern sat in his office, his face flushed. He felt that the news that broke out one after another made him very embarrassed.

I represent the NBA official, and now I have made a deal with Richard, a single individual. Now all parties are spreading rumors that Richard can influence my decision.

"Adam, find a way to make this matter calm. I don't want to hear anymore that I am Richard's puppet." Stern was obviously angry.

Xiao Hua felt a pain in his balls. He had not expected that these media outlets would be so bold as to directly report something without any trace or evidence.

"Okay, Mr. President, let me think of a way..." Xiao Hua sighed.

This matter is very difficult to handle. How can we get these media to shut up?

The first time Xiao Hua thought of Richard.

Richard is the person responsible for this matter. It seems that if you want to shut up the media, you still have to let Richard come forward to solve the problem.

…

"Okay, but you owe me a favor. Try to give me as few Richard's rules as possible in the future." Richard agreed to Xiao Hua without saying a word and helped them settle this matter.

There are pros and cons to having too much influence. As the saying goes, a big tree attracts wind, and Richard doesn't want to be too pushy.

With reports from various media, Richard has now been promoted as the NBA's behind-the-scenes boss. The owners of other teams will definitely not be too happy...

So Richard decided to take action to settle the matter as much as possible and minimize the impact.

"What can you do now? Why don't you tell us and let's discuss it..." Xiao Hua asked curiously. Richard agreed so simply, which really surprised him.

"There must be a way, but let's talk about it first. You should be fined and fined, but I won't give you a dime."

…

The next evening, during the Pistons' home game, the entire Auburn Hills Palace Arena was as lively as the Chinese New Year.

Everyone's eyes on the court were focused on Richard, and even the opponent players looked dumbfounded.

I saw Richard wearing large green pants with flowers, a colorful V-neck vest on his upper body, a West Lafayette gold medal hanging around his neck, and a toad mirror covering half of his face...

Anyway, Richard violated all the prohibitions in the dress code.

Speaking of which, in fact, during the previous voting meeting of the new army, Stern said that Richard passed on his own pants to coach the game, which was purely to ruin Richard's reputation.

But tonight Richard really did just that. Not only was he wearing underpants, but his whole outfit was extremely coquettish.

It's completely the old American version of Nicholas Zhao Si.

…

There were wild cheers at the scene. The dress code had just been issued, and Richard dressed up like this. What does this mean?

It represents that Richard is not afraid of power!

It means that Richard didn't take the ban seriously at all...

…

"A hero who is not afraid of power!"

"This outfit is so sexy..."

"Richard, you should go to work at the White Horse Club!"

The fans at the scene cheered one after another, and Richard was startled, is it the White Horse Club...

Isn't this grandma's a well-known duck club in Detroit? !

Almost no one at the scene cared about the game on the field, and everyone was paying attention to Richard, who was pacing back and forth on the sidelines.

Before the game was over, the NBA official website immediately updated a piece of major news.

Because Richard violated the dress code, the league decided to fine Richard $500,000!

This is the upper limit of the fine for the dress code. Richard has violated all the provisions of the dress code that can be violated, and there is no way to avoid the maximum penalty.

…

Many reporters have already received the news and are waiting for the press conference to start later.

"Here it comes, here it comes, good guy, he changed his clothes again, even more slutty than the last one!"

"Richard is really ruthless. Where did he find these clothes..."

"Hmm, these pants look familiar. Are they Clark's mother's pants? I remember seeing them before..."

Richard took the team players to participate in tonight's post-match press conference.

In tonight's game, the Pistons played the Nets at home and beat the Nets by 27 points. It stands to reason that this game is quite interesting.

However, no reporters paid attention to this matter. They just wanted to ask Richard what he thought.

…

"Mr. Richard, the league just announced that you were fined half a million dollars. Do you know about this?" A reporter stood up and asked.

Richard nodded. He had just heard about this from the team staff in the locker room.

Just fine him. Anyway, he was doing the league a favor in this matter, and he wouldn't give a dime to the league.

Half a million US dollars is not a lot for Richard, but he doesn't want to be taken advantage of.

"Coach Richard, you should be very aware of the punishment of the dress code. Why did you violate the dress code tonight?" The same reporter continued to ask.

Richard frowned, thought for a moment, and gave an answer that made many reporters faint.

"rich."

“You can do whatever you want with money.”

"Anything that can be solved with money is not a problem."

Richard smacked his lips and said with a smile.

Before the reporter could ask more questions, Richard said again: "In my opinion, this ban is just a decoration."

"As long as I want, I can wear whatever I want for 82 games a year, including about 20 games in the playoffs. I can afford this amount of money."

Pfft, the reporters in the audience are about to vomit blood. If we play 100 games a year, Richard will be fined 500,000 US dollars per game, which is 50 million US dollars in one year...

How rich is Richard?

Seeing the dumbfounded expressions of the reporters in the audience, Richard felt happy in his heart. What he said just now was naturally a boast. If he was really fined 50 million US dollars, he would definitely be anxious...

"Of course, I suggest young players not to follow my example. It is not easy for everyone to make some money. After all, they have to support their families."

"If you really have too much money, it doesn't mean you can't learn from me and just spend half a million dollars to support the construction of the alliance..."

The reporters were about to vomit blood. It was half a million dollars, and in Richard's words, it was even worse than toilet paper.

They didn't dare to continue asking. If they continued to ask, they would be provoked to death by Richard.

I am a bunch of reporters who are exhausted all year round. It would be great if they can earn two to three hundred thousand US dollars in the end.

But this guy Richard just threw away half a million yuan casually, which is really annoying.

Hearing Richard mention the word breadwinner, the reporters immediately thought of Richard and Tiana from Paul Allen's family. This is also a good news material.

"Coach Richard, you mentioned raising a family, do you and Tiana Allen have any plans to get married?"

Hearing this question, Richard looked troubled. This is a very difficult question.

He and Tiana have really never discussed this topic...

If I say that I have no plans to get married now, I don't know what kind of news these reporters will compile.

I guess Paul Allen's phone call will come the next day...

"Ahem, Tiana still has to make the decision on this matter..."

"Try not to ask such personal questions in the future. I'm not an entertainment star. Why are you staring at my private life?"

"Okay, that's the end of today's press conference."

After that, Richard led the players and began to leave the field.

…

The press conference had just ended, and after Richard returned to the locker room, Xiao Hua made a phone call. He was still awake at such a late hour, and was obviously paying attention to tonight's game.

"Li, you did a great job!" Xiao Hua praised sincerely.

After doing this, the rumors outside were basically self-defeating. Xiao Hua felt that what Richard did this time was really neat and beautiful.

"Okay, we are all old acquaintances, there is no need to be so polite."

"I still said what I said, you punish me, but I won't give you a cent anyway." Richard said in a low voice.

"Don't worry, it's just a formality. You won't be fined half a million dollars." Xiao Hua said with a wry smile.

Judging from Richard's performance at the press conference, he is simply a super tycoon who can afford half a million dollars without blinking an eye.

But now I keep saying that I won’t give you a dime, and there are still big tycoons there.

…

With Richard making such a fuss, the rumors from the outside world were self-defeating.

Stern finally breathed a sigh of relief and his dignity was saved, but what happened next made him sulky and unable to express his anger.

As the saying goes, there are policies from above and countermeasures from below.

As soon as the NBA dress code came out, those players who like to wear personalized clothes immediately found strategies to deal with the dress code.

For example, Iverson directly contacted well-known hip-hop brands and ordered several outfits that did not violate the dress code.

Although the dress code is relatively strict, it is not without flaws. For example, it does not regulate the colors or patterns on players' clothing. This is a loophole that can be exploited.

With Iverson taking the lead, many players followed suit and went to manufacturers to customize their own exclusive clothing.

In this regard, Stern had no choice but to turn a blind eye, which was regarded as acquiescing to this behavior.

…

After the turbulent dress order incident passed, in the blink of an eye, it was already the end of December.

The annual NBA All-Star voting has begun. This year's All-Star voting is naturally very different from previous years due to restructuring.

However, the impact is not huge, because there are still strong centers in the league today, such as O'Neal in the West and Yao Ming in the East. Regardless of whether they have a dedicated center position, these two people can definitely enter the All-Star starting lineup...

As for the All-Star coach, the time has not yet come. The candidate for the coach will be decided based on the division record one week before the All-Star game starts.

The Timberwolves currently top the Western Conference record list. If nothing else, their head coach Flip Saunders will be the head coach of the Western Conference All-Stars.

As for the Eastern side, although the Pistons have the best record in the Eastern Conference, after all, Richard already coached the All-Stars last season, so he has no chance this season.

Unless the head coach in the Eastern Conference gives up his qualification to lead the team and transfers this qualification to Richard...

In the East, the two teams behind the Pistons are the Nets and the 76ers.

Coincidentally, the two teams currently have similar records. When the time comes, whether the new Nets head coach Lawrence Frank will lead the team or Rick Carlisle will lead the team, Richard is not sure at the moment.

The Nets fired their head coach Byron Scott a few days ago and replaced them with new coach Lawrence Frank.

This Frank should be familiar to domestic fans. He has coached Yi Jianlian, and Richard has some impressions of this young coach.

Quite young, even three years younger than Richard...

If it weren't for Richard, this Frank would actually be qualified to rival Stevens, the young coach of Green Kai in later generations.

Many rookie coaches' records were broken by Frank, the rookie coach.

For example, a new coach has the longest record of fourteen consecutive wins, the youngest coach has reached 100 wins, and after coaching the Nets for only four years, he became the coach with the most wins in the history of the Nets (only the most wins at the time, not Including later Nets)

All in all, this is a very capable young head coach. If he had not left the team to take care of his wife due to illness and was therefore fired by the team, I am afraid his achievements would have been quite good.

…

Speaking of Frank, we naturally have to talk about the development of Stevens.

This season Stevens officially joined the Clippers, took over the Clippers' coaching staff and became the head coach of the first team.

Speaking of which, this matter has something to do with Richard...

For example, the head coaching position of a team must be very competitive. Even if it is the head coaching position of a weak team like the Clippers, many people are watching.

The head coach of the Clippers starting last season was Alvin Gentry, a well-known head coach in later generations who coached the Pelicans.

Halfway through the season, he was fired by the Clippers and replaced by Dennis Johnson.

As a result, Johnson was also a short-lived coach. After the season, he was fired by the Clippers...

For the vacant head coaching position, many people came to interview and compete.

Among them was old Dunleavy.

After the old Dunleavy was fired by the Bucks, he would definitely not be idle at home, and he would eye the position of head coach of the Clippers.

Based on his qualifications, this position was basically guaranteed.

In the end, Cheng Yaojin, Stevens, was killed halfway.

In the end, Old Dunleavy was so angry that he vomited blood. The Clippers did not choose him as a veteran coach, but chose Stevens, who had no head coaching resume.

It's normal to think about it. How could the Clippers management not be aware of the conflict between old Dunleavy and Richard...

If you really get old Dunleavy, wouldn't it mean that you are causing trouble for yourself.

What if Richard goes crazy and attacks their Clippers?

This matter is not afraid of ten thousand, but just in case, no one dares to take this risk.