The rest is just noise

After that, Kobe will participate in informal workouts with other teams.

Although Kobe Bryant has the potential to be at the end of the lottery, for NBA teams, using the lottery pick on a high school player who is not an insider in such a big draft year can be regarded as a gamble.

Because of Kobe's status as a high school student, many teams did not believe that his confrontation skills could reach a professional level, so the invitations to him for trial training were informal.

That was until a move by the San Antonio Spurs caught Louis' attention.

The Spurs first gave Kobe an informal workout invitation.

Because the Spurs had this year's No. 1 pick, Kobe, who felt he was no worse than anyone else, happily went to try out. He was very excited.

It was this informal workout that brought Kobe into the sights of Spurs general manager Popovich.

Popovich quickly invited Kobe for a second workout, this time a formal workout.

With Louis' current network of connections, there is nothing in the league that he can't find out if he wants to know about it.

According to the Spurs' internal intelligence, Kobe completed a workout in front of Popovich that he had never seen before.

Popovich has long believed that judging a player's prospects requires reading both his on-court performance and his heart. This requires the observer to find those truly great attributes, which is difficult, even if

Even experienced scouts can make mistakes.

But for Popovich, Kobe's workouts were so impressive, his desire, his competitiveness, his aggression, his blatant ambition and drive to get better.

It's enough to show how wonderful his future is.

"So, is Greg going to draft Kobe with the No. 1 pick?"

"This..." The person who provided information to Louis hesitated, "The possibility is very low."

Louis continued: "If Kobe really completes a trial that makes him excited, for the sake of safety, it is natural to select Kobe with the first pick, right?"

"No, considering that Kobe is only a high school student, even if he completes such a good trial training, Greg is unlikely to use the first pick to select him." The other party said, "Allen Iverson is the one.

The highly anticipated No. 1 pick, Kobe...his expected pick should be around the 10th pick."

The other party's words calmed Louis down a little.

As long as Popovich is not crazy enough to draft Kobe with the first pick, the Lakers will have room to maneuver.

"Coach Lu, you value Kobe so much, is it possible that you have a crush on him?" the other party asked playfully.

"Indeed, I am tired of coaching Benj and am planning to trade him. I think Kobe is good. What do you think of using him to replace Benj?"

The other party knew that Louis was joking as soon as he heard it, so he didn't answer the call, just made a haha, said hello to each other and then hung up.

Then, news came from Jerry West.

He's already in talks with the Seattle SuperSonics.

"Transaction content?"

Louis wants to know whether the LOGO man will live a good life after plastic surgery or a bad life.

"I tried my best and Michael Finlay was the only player they wanted."

"As long as the return is good enough, Michael is not for sale."

"In return, Seattle will give us the 10th pick in this year's first round and the 19th pick in the first round," West said.

"By the way, they also brought along a Chinese player named 'Wuki'."

Wuki?

Oh...is it Wu Qi?

Like Du Shuai, Chu Nan, and Kang Chengbiao, he all came from the third phase of the Luyuan Tour in the United States, and he is a versatile power forward.

"What do you think of this deal?" West was really worried that Louis' opening his mouth would ruin his hard work of staying in the office for several days.

"Well done, Jerry. My advice is to get the deal done quickly before the other party regrets it. Remember to call Michael before the deal is completed."

West let out a sigh of relief.

Louis once again confirmed West's ability to work.

Apart from anything else, West's negotiation and operation skills are much better than those of Baylor. Ainge was at his peak. He felt that he had made a profit by exchanging Finley for Louis with the tenth pick. He actually had the nineteenth pick in the first round.

I asked for one more Wu Qi.

This can only mean two things. The SuperSonics are extremely optimistic about Finley, and at the same time they feel that they cannot select particularly good players with the 10th and 19th picks.

But is the No. 10 pick enough?

If the Spurs don't notice Kobe, Louis will think it's a good plan to select Kobe with the 10th pick.

Now, he can only keep an eye on the Spurs' movements, and he has to be sensitive to all the disturbances before the draft.

Like a deer living on the grassland.

A fawn that lacks vigilance will not survive to adulthood.

Even if you are an adult, if you feel that the hunter cannot catch you, you will be eaten up sooner or later.

Then, this season's NBA Finals ended in an incredible way.

When the Trail Blazers reached the Finals for the fifth consecutive year, no one expected them.

"Sports Illustrated" wrote in its final preview: "Michael Jordan is still, and perhaps will always be, the best uncrowned king in NBA history."

In terms of lineup, the Knicks have a clear advantage.

Patrick Ewing is the best defensive anchor in the NBA since Bill Russell, but he can also score 20-30 points for the team if necessary.

Shawn Kemp achieved transformation after the nightmare 1994-95 season, and completed his revenge on Danny Manning, proving that he is one of the strongest power forwards currently active, and Clifford Robinson and his like are not him at all.

opponent.

Reggie Miller just had the best series of his career, surpassing Dale Ellis in 1988 in every way.

Also featuring Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Sam Cassell, Alan Houston, Doug Christie, Alex Stevens, James Worthy and Brad

Lowhouse.

The only problem for the Knicks is the wave of injuries in the past period, but although there are injuries, they are not the kind of serious injuries that can limit a player's ability to play.

For example, Pippen's back injury. If he had a 93 rating in 2K, the current injury will have an impact on his rating of -3. However, he still has a competitive level of more than 90%, for a player who desperately wants to win the championship.

For them, minor injuries and illnesses are not enough to affect their progress.

After all, most athletes live with long-term injuries.

After Alonso Mourning was injured, the only position the Trail Blazers have a clear advantage is at the second position.

Other positions, such as Yinthiah Thomas, Rex Chapman, Clifford Robinson, etc. after serious injuries, are good but not enough to match New York.

Pat Riley also knew this, so before the finals started, he did two things.

One is to brainwash Dameng and tell him these things all day long: "Do you want to be unable to hold your head high in front of Patrick?", "I don't think you are worse than him.", "Patrick has so many championships just because he has one.

A better team, it would be the same if it were you.", "Go and prove yourself." words.

In terms of mental state, Da Meng is full and high-spirited.

Another thing Laili did was to reactivate Dennis Rodman.

Laili knows why Rodman left New York, and also knows that Rodman and Ewing are at odds. Now that he is facing the Knicks in the Finals, Rodman definitely has a reason to go all out.

Unexpectedly, Rodman actually said: "Beat Patrick? I have proven this in Miami."

Laili didn't want to offend Rodman, so he said tactfully: "That Heat team is the strongest in history..."

"Then why can't they beat New York without me?" Rodman asked rhetorically.

Laili said forcefully: "So this is your ultimate challenge. If you can beat New York in Portland, you can completely prove your worth."

Rodman rolled his eyes on the spot: "What else do I need to prove?"

In this way, although Laili did not convince Rodman, he obtained the other party's agreement that he would reuse the latter in the finals.

Game1

This was a very typical Trail Blazers loss.

Jordan scored 45 points, and Damian also had 26 points and 13 rebounds, but apart from the two of them, only Chapman scored in double figures among the remaining Trail Blazers players, and everyone else was restricted by the Knicks.

Ewing didn't score as many points as Dream, but his defensive role clearly exceeded Dream's offensive advantage. He scored 18 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 blocks. Kemp also showed that he faced his big brother Rodman.

In order to improve himself, he scored a team-high 24 points and 9 rebounds.

Except for Ewing and Kemp, the Knicks did not have any players with outstanding statistics and easily won the first game through the depth of the lineup.

Game2

Jordan looked livid and asked Laili not to substitute him unless he wanted to rest.

Then, Jordan didn't ask for permission to take a rest all night.

He played for 48 minutes, blasting Miller and Houston inside and out, scoring 55 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, leading the Trail Blazers to attack Yidian Garden and tie the score 1-1.

"We can no longer let Jordan do whatever he wants!"

The defeat in the second game made Tomjanovich furious. They must not be dragged into the seventh game by the Trail Blazers, because the biggest flaw of this Knicks is that they lack someone like Jordan who can hold the ball and break the game when the situation is stalemate.

player of.

Tomjanovich activated the "Jordan Rules."

Jordan's treatment of "laws" is no longer as naive as it was back then, but for a strong defensive team like the Knicks, they will definitely be able to restrict Jordan by using "laws". It's just a matter of how much.

When Jordan can't quickly find the feeling of the game, the Blazers need others to step up.

Da Meng is the one who must step forward.

Tonight, Dameng kept asking for the ball, trying to break through Ewing's defense.

In fact, on a one-to-one level, he did it.

In the entire game, Dameng had 14 options to challenge Ewing one-on-one, and succeeded in 9 of them.

Ewing's one-on-one defense can be penetrated. Not only Damn can do it, but so can Sampson, O'Neal, and sometimes even David Robinson can do it.

But Ewing may be the only super insider besides Sampson who understands that individual wins and losses are not enough to change the outcome of the game.

Ewing's defense was broken by Dameng at a single point, but his defensive influence did not decrease, and he never lost his mind and fell into a foul crisis because he was continuously scored on himself.

Ewing showed 90 points of defensive pressure at the beginning, and he could maintain this defense at the end of the game. Da Meng could break Ewing's defense, but others could not.

Ewing's assist defense, penalty area sweeps, pick-and-rolls, screens, and offensive finishing skills after pick-and-rolls are all at the top level in the league. He does not need to compete with Big Dream one-on-one.

Dameng scored 35 points and 12 rebounds to win the individual duel, while Ewing led the team to victory with 16 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 blocks.

2 to 1

In this campaign, Jordan "only scored" 32 points, and the Trail Blazers lost by 14 points in the end.

"Patrick, some people say that you won by chance because of the active performance of Reggie Miller and Scottie Pippen. What do you think of this?"

the Portland media asked very unkindly.

Ewing said heartily: "Isn't this an honor for me? You can ask Michael if he would like to have such a teammate."

It was so clear that when Jordan scored less than 40 points, the Trail Blazers would lose to the Knicks by double digits.

Sure enough, Jordan publicly attacked his teammates after G3.

He felt that the team was not tough enough, the defense was not strong enough, the offense was not decisive enough, and some veterans had ideological problems, and he pointed the finger at Yinsaiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman.

Thomas had nothing to say. He was originally the Blazers' advantage, but a serious injury took away this advantage. He found that he could no longer do what he could do easily in the past.

But Rodman didn't have the corresponding awareness.

He humiliated Jordan in the locker room: "The biggest difference between you and Benj is that you never know how to be a good boss. You are not even as good as that idiot Ewing. At least he knows how to hold Benj's thigh tightly at critical moments, while you never know how to be a good boss."

I just feel like others are holding you back, I don’t give a damn about you, how can a pig like you win the championship!"

The Blazers' locker room was out of control. In order to stabilize Jordan, Rodman's playing time was greatly reduced in the fourth game.

As a result, Shawn Kemp went straight to the top, smashing Clifford Robinson's defense face to face, scoring a series-high 39 points, leading the Knicks to an away victory, and taking a big 3-1 lead in the Rose Garden.

Hold 3 match points.

At this point, the Knicks are confident of victory.

Lai Li, who is not a human being inside and outside, knew very well that if Rodman was not put in his original position, the Knicks would easily win the championship in Game 5. Therefore, he went to Jordan to discuss the matter and what the latter thought about Lai Li.

No objection.

Rodman then returned to his original position and began the "performance" of the enemy's best sixth man.

First of all, he made Kemp uncomfortable on the defensive end. Under Rodman's guard, Kemp's shooting percentage was less than 40%.

This is Rodman's only positive contribution.

Rodman grabbed rebounds greedily and would get angry at anyone who took his rebounds. When Lee asked him to provide more help to Olajuwon and Jordan, Rodman retorted: "Let them handle it themselves."

I said!"

How could the arrogant Jordan bow to Rodman?

But Olajuwon still wanted to win the championship, so in the fifth game of the series, he asked Rodman for help.

However, Rodman's response made Olajuwon completely disappointed: "Isn't it right? You can't even beat Patrick and you still want to win the championship?"

Rodman's cancerous performance and negative influence completely angered Dameng.

However, even though Rodman was such a bastard, the Trail Blazers still dragged the series to Game 6.

Tonight, Jordan scored his second 50 points in the series. Dameng was angered by his teammates and completely defeated Ewing. The game was 40+10. Both inside and outside scored 90+ points. The Trail Blazers narrowly defeated the Knicks.

Taking the series back to Madison Garden.

On the eve of Game 6 of the Finals, Louis, who was nervously preparing for the draft in Los Angeles, received an invitation from New York.

Even though he's been away from New York for two years, he still has front-row seats at Madison Garden.

The Knicks hope to invite him to watch the game.

This approach can be explained in many ways. The worst explanation is that the Knicks want to prove that they can still win the championship without Lui. The best explanation is that they hope that Leader Lu, who single-handedly built the Knicks dynasty, will come back to witness their eighth championship.

.

However, Louis is now the president of the Lakers, and this year's draft is very important to them. It is impossible for him to find time to watch the Knicks game live.

So he declined the invitation and gave a serious explanation.

That night, Ewing received a rare phone call.

He was very direct and asked Louis: "You really can't come to watch the game?"

"It's really not possible." Louis laughed, "Anyway, you can win the championship regardless of whether I go or not."

"It would make more sense if you were there," Ewing said.

"Huh, stop being so pretentious, Patrick." Louis said on the phone, "Go and prove to everyone that you are the number one center in the world."

Game6 is a complete game.

Why do we say perfect? ​​Because this game is filled with all kinds of on-the-spot plots needed for drama.

First of all, Ewing is full of intensity when he comes up, and his shooting touch is like a miracle, and he is in a state of never missing any shot.

Therefore, Laili hopes that Rodman will help Dameng share the defensive pressure.

As a result, Rodman retorted: "I'm too lazy to help that bitch!"

Laili was furious, but he did not dare to replace Rodman. However, Rodman did not need to be replaced. Within a few minutes, he started causing trouble on the court and was ejected by the referee.

Dameng's role on the defensive end is far less than that of Ewing, but tonight, Ewing seemed to be better than him on offense.

This made Dameng desperately look for offensive opportunities.

Jordan is still the same Jordan, and he desperately wants to drag the series to the seventh game. He takes the ball, jumps, posts, breaks, fast breaks, counterattacks, blocks, steals... He does everything and shows

There was a terrible desire, as if those things were as important as breathing oxygen.

The Knicks don't have a second position that can compete with him.

But Miller has three-pointers and Houston can make mid-range shots. They both have their own skills. Although they were beaten by Jordan, they could both seize the opportunity to bite the opponent back.

Stockton played his best performance in history against the Trail Blazers, constantly providing assists, allowing Ewing, Miller, Kemp, and Houston to all have easy scoring opportunities.

But the protagonist tonight is still Ewing.

He still did the same things he usually did, but he did them more and better than usual.

Those unshakable blocks, those rock-solid pick-and-rolls and screens, those just-right pick-and-roll catch-and-shoots, those Georgetown-style low-post offensive combinations, those defenses, those energy, those desires, those things that Louis has high hopes for

, the most brilliant light burst out on this night.

Jordan tried his best to attack, but no matter what he did, the point difference was only 5 points away.

Until the end of the game, 116 to 110.

4 to 2

The Knicks defeated the Trail Blazers and won their eighth championship in nine years.

Ewing scored 42 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 blocks. He averaged 23 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists and 5.5 blocks in the series. He was undisputedly elected the Finals MVP.

At the awards ceremony, Ewing told NBC reporters: "From now on, I have one more ring than Benj."

Dolan and his son were extremely excited at the scene. This was their second year taking over the team. Such a championship gave them the illusion that success in the NBA would be easy.

Tomjanovich, who was full of emotion, said the classic words on the championship stage: "There are many people who want to see us fail, because the success of the New York team is always more likely to attract hatred. When we fail

, everyone spurned us, those people said, without Louis, we will achieve nothing. However, this is the most precious wealth Louis left for us, no matter when and where, you can believe that we can complete the Jedi counterattack

, to those haters who are hostile to us, look down upon us, and are surprised by this result, I have only one thing to say - never underestimate the heart of a champion!"

The Knicks are celebrating heartily, but Portland is feeling emotional.

Jordan, who lost his mind, completely broke the defense when asked by reporters what aspects he still needs to improve to help the team win the championship.

"I'm averaging 40 fucking points per game!" Jordan yelled crazily. "Why the hell do you always want me to do better? Why can't my teammates do better? Why can't I do the same for once?

Feel like you have teammates to help? Why? Why do I have to go through this? Why do I have to go through it all alone? Why me? Why? Why can't I win despite everything I do? Why? Why? Why? I can't

Don't bear this kind of failure again!

!”

Jordan left the press conference with red eyes.

This is undoubtedly a terrible news incident.

It was also Jordan's version of "We're actually talking about training?", which was something that stayed with Iverson his whole life.

It is foreseeable that these three words "why" will accompany Jordan to the end of his career.