Bishop of the Devil

After the championship award ceremony and jersey retirement ceremony, Richard led all the players to the largest nightclub in Detroit. They would not return unless they were drunk tonight.

The Pistons generals have completed the feat of defending their title, and may even win the championship next season and create a dynasty. At this moment, everyone is full of longing for the future.

"Coach, I am a free agent now. How about I join the Pirates as a free agent this coming season?"

"To tell you the truth, I am a die-hard Pirates of the Caribbean fan. This movie is so charming. I want to be the captain of the Pirates team!" Clark approached Richard and asked in a low voice.

At the end of this season, Clark's previously signed contract will expire. He can join the Pirates as a free agent to help Richard's team strengthen their inside strength.

Of course, given Clark's current status in the league, it would definitely be unjustifiable if he was not given a maximum salary.

If he were to be offered a maximum salary, Clark would probably get a six-year, $96 million contract.

In Richard's opinion, this is really not cost-effective...

You must know that now that Richard is the boss, he naturally has to carefully consider the cost of the team. Although Clark is indeed worth such a large contract, Richard can use less money to get a contract with less strength. A weaker player than Clark.

In addition to considering the cost, Richard just went to Charlotte and directly abducted the Pistons' main insider. Pistons fans will definitely not be able to accept it.

After all considerations, Richard definitely cannot agree to Clark.

"Just stay with the Pistons and strive to win another championship this year and help the Pistons build a dynasty. In that case, you will become one of the most amazing figures in the history of the Pistons."

"I heard that old Davidson is ready to give you a maximum salary contract." Richard waved and said with a smile.

After Clark was rejected, he didn't show any distress.

The reason why he asked Richard was actually not because he really wanted to go to the Pirates.

Rather than going to the Pirates, he prefers to stay with the Pistons and help the Pistons build a dynasty. This temptation is quite huge for any player.

Asking this now, he just wanted to repay the favor and repay Richard for helping him.

"Okay, coach, I wish your Pirates team can make a lot of money!"

…

"Coach, do you know who is on our Pistons' protection list?" Nash asked Richard with some curiosity.

The expansion draft is about to start in less than half a month.

Now players from each team are very curious whether their home team has put them on the protection list.

Richard shook his head. He really didn't know about this matter. Logically speaking, this matter should be decided by the team president and head coach...

However, since he was the protagonist of the expansion draft, he naturally couldn't get involved in this matter, so he left this job to Dumas.

"Coach, who do you think you are most likely to choose from among us?" Nash asked curiously.

He is the oldest player on the Pistons, and his vision is naturally much better than that of other newcomers.

The strength of the Pistons players was completely beyond his imagination...

The protected list can only protect eight players, and Nash is curious about who Richard will select in the expansion draft next.

Richard laughed, "According to my estimation, I might choose Darko..."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attention to Darko Milicic.

At this time, Milicic was sitting in the corner with no sense of presence. Hearing Richard's words, he was also shocked.

He originally thought that Richard was disappointed with him and would never have anything to do with him again.

Who would have thought that Richard would choose him in the expansion draft? !

He knows very well that the Pistons in the expansion draft are the top priority, because only eight players can be protected, and many high-quality newcomers will be exposed outside the list, such as Josh Howard, David Lee and David West. One of the brothers...

"Don't be surprised, Darko's potential is far beyond your imagination." Richard looked at everyone's stunned look and couldn't help but smile.

"Darko, your problem is your self-confidence. I hope you can think about this issue carefully in the next period of time."

"Players without confidence on the court will never develop well."

"In the next new army, I will leave you a starting inside position. I hope you will not disappoint me!"

After hearing what Richard said, Milicic, who was sitting in the corner, nodded solemnly and looked at Richard with firm eyes.

It turns out that Richard has not given up on himself, and it turns out that he still has hope of rising.

"When the championship parade comes, remember to bring the West Lafayette gold medal. Our West Lafayette players are so miserable. We will rarely have the opportunity to wear gold medals in public in the future." Yao Ming said with a smile.

Everyone nodded. Because of the introduction of the dress code, players like them who had just won gold medals would have a hard time wearing gold medals unless they took them shopping with them during the offseason.

But in the next championship parade, it can be used to show off...

…

Richard participated in the championship parade after winning the championship.

But as soon as the parade ended, Richard rushed to Charlotte without stopping.

There are still many things that Richard needs to make up his mind about the wedding.

Tiana and her daughter are currently decorating the wedding scene in Charlotte.

"Jody, I haven't seen you for a long time. You are still so young and beautiful." Richard saw his mother-in-law and praised him with a smile.

If we stay in China, Richard will have to call him mom now. He is about to get married. It would be a bit inappropriate not to call him mom...

Not to mention that Richard, who directly calls his mother-in-law by her name, would probably not get married in China.

But this is not the case in the United States. If Richard calls Jody "Mom", the scene will probably be quite embarrassing.

That's okay, Jody is actually a few years older than Richard. If Richard were to call her mom, he probably wouldn't be able to.

Jody was so praised that she smiled from ear to ear. She was already over forty now, but she had taken good care of herself. Her smile was so trembling that it had a certain charm.

…

Because this wedding really attracted too much attention, Paul Allen specially warned that it must be more luxurious, and he covered all the money spent on the wedding.

Richard thought for a moment, and it seemed like he had to call Paul Allen uncle now.

Having such a generous uncle is not a bad thing...

In May, Paul Allen directly bought a manor villa in Charlotte and gave it to Tiana as a wedding gift.

The area of ​​​​this manor is exaggerated. According to Richard's estimate, the guaranteed value will cost tens of millions of dollars...

The wedding venue has naturally been set at this manor, and the decoration has already begun.

It took a whole afternoon, and Richard's hand was numb when writing the invitation...

There were hundreds of invitations, and Richard didn't know most of the invited guests, but their names were all familiar to him.

The guests Richard invited were all NBA insiders, as well as some alumni of Purdue University who he knew before.

As for the guests at Allen's house, they are really diverse, including some NBA executives and some top stars from other sports leagues...

You must know that Paul Allen's sports industry is not just the Trail Blazers. He is also the owner of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. Many professional football stars are on the invitation list.

Naturally, all the reputable people in the entertainment industry were invited...

Paul Allen is the chairman of the American cable TV operator and a shareholder of DreamWorks Film Company. A star with no weight really cannot catch the eye of Paul Allen.

Political and business people, some big-shot figures, are also on the invitation list.

After the invitations were distributed, although the wedding had not yet begun, the old American media had already concluded that this might be the most grand and high-end wedding in the entire history of the United States.

Tiana is the only precious daughter in the entire family. For such an important matter, Paul Allen can be said to have spent a lot of money. In order to give Tiana an unforgettable memory, he even invited the vice president.

…

On June 20, Richard left Charlotte and went to the NBA's New York headquarters.

The 22nd is the day when the expansion draft begins, and the location is set at the New York headquarters. Richard and Jordan have agreed to meet in New York tonight.

This year's draft will be held on June 25, also in New York, at Madison Square Garden.

In the next week, Richard estimated that he would have to stay in New York.

…

"Man, I heard that even the vice president is planning to attend your wedding?" Jordan asked in disbelief.

Richard nodded. Paul Allen told him about this, so he was probably not joking.

Jordan blinked, "It's great to have money!"

It is indeed good to have money. Although Jordan is also very famous in the United States, if he gets married, he will definitely not be able to invite a nuclear bomb-level figure like the Vice President.

There are still several levels between him and Paul Allen.

"I heard that Michael Jackson was a guest at your wedding?" Jordan asked again in disbelief.

Richard nodded again. This was something Jodi took care of. He also told Richard...

"God, you are really prosperous. If you marry into such a wealthy family, you must take good care of me in the future." Jordan joked.

"Go to hell..." Richard said with a bitter look on his face, speechless.

Marry into a wealthy family? This sounds really awkward.

But maybe in the eyes of some people, that’s really all.

Richard will definitely not be able to accept this statement, because in the future, with his own ability, wealth and connections, he will definitely not be worse than Paul Allen.