Old Colangelo really had no other way. He didn't have the money to sell all the shares, so he had to delay first.

After the shareholders calmed down a little, he coughed twice before saying: "In principle, I am not against redemption, but the league's playoff income has not come out yet, even if the dividend is to be distributed, it must be calculated by the league. , only after the funds are transferred to the account.

   Well, before the draft at the end of June, the official will announce these data. In early July, we can find out how much money we have made this season. At that time, we will hold another shareholders meeting and decide on dividends. What do you think? "

   "Jerry, you won't drag us, will you? Yesterday you can assure the fans that you won't trade old K's." A shareholder said.

   "Idiot!"

   Old Colangelo scolded secretly.

   By trading the old king, it can save the remaining five years and 150 million US dollars of the old king's contract, but without the old king, will he still be able to reach the finals in the future? Can you make it to the Western Conference Finals?

  The Western Conference Finals and the Finals are the bulk of the playoff income. If these two incomes are gone, even if the football market can be maintained for a few years, how much money can you make?

   After a few years have passed, there will be no championship bonus, and the market will shrink. I am afraid that it will lose again, and I am afraid that without the old K, the market value of the team will shrink significantly.

   Faced with this shareholder's question, he could only fool himself: "How is it possible, I also want to make money. I assured the fans yesterday, just to stabilize them."

   "Jerry, how much did we make this season?"

   "There should be 20 million. This is my estimate, which is not very accurate."

   "That's all? We've played a four-round series, and that's all the regular season plus playoffs earn?"

"It's already very good. How many of the 29 teams in the league can earn 20 million yuan in a season? Don't forget, our operating costs are very high, and the team's annual salary is as high as 50 million yuan. US dollars, the total operating cost of this season is as high as more than one hundred million US dollars.”

"Old K's salary is too high, next season is close to 25 million US dollars, he has a five-year contract of 150 million US dollars, save his contract, we can share this 500 million US dollars, we can share every year Thirty million. Jerry, what are you going to do with his contract?" a shareholder said excitedly.

   "Idiot!"

  Old Colangelo secretly scolded, without the old K, the team's income will be reduced, where is there 30 million US dollars to share with you every year?

   I was scolding in my heart, but said in my mouth: "Since you want to share dividends, do you think we can keep him? But if he leaves, the team's market value will definitely drop sharply. You must know this."

   "The return of two All-Stars should be able to stabilize the market. Although the fans will be noisy for a while, but after a long time, they can't do anything about it. We are the shareholders, and we are the ones who decide everything."

   It took a long time to pacify the shareholders and promised to hold the shareholders meeting again in early July.

   And during this time, he has to find a suitable major shareholder to take over the Suns.

  …

   Just when the Suns management team was in turmoil, Jordan and David Frank came to the NBA headquarters in New York and met with Stern.

After the    greeting, Stern asked, "Michael, do you want to stay in the east, or go to the west?"

  Jordan has discussed with David Frank and said: "I hope to stay in the East, only in this way can I meet old K in the finals again."

  Stern nodded, which was exactly what he wanted. Jordan lost three times to Old K in the finals and wanted to regain his face. Indeed, it was only possible to defeat Old K in the finals.

   "Mr. Stern, I discussed it with Michael. He is a little older now and wants to go to a team with a top center." David Frank said.

When   Jordan heard this sentence, although he knew what David Frank meant, he felt a little embarrassed. He didn't accept the old man at all.

Stern nodded and said: "Michael, I've talked to the Bulls, the team that receives you only counts your virtual space within the salary cap, but I hope you go to a big market, at least the same as Chicago. In the second-tier market, even if the small market can make room, it simply cannot afford your big contract.”

   "Thank you, Mr. Stern." Jordan laughed.

  Without Stern's permission, the Bulls can't trade him, and he can only leave in a self-buyout way, which would be too embarrassing.

   At this time, David Frank analyzed again: "There are O'Neal's Knicks in the East, Ewing's Pacers, Mourning's Heat, and Mutombo's Eagles. Only these four teams have the possibility to win the old K.

  The Pacers' market is too small, they already have Ewing and Reggie Miller, and they can't afford Michael's contract. We haven't decided yet on the other three teams, but their management has contacted me, hoping to bring in Michael. "

   "Michael, why didn't you decide?" Stern asked.

Jordan said: "Although Mourning is good, he is too short. He has no height, no tonnage and no strength. He has absolutely no advantage in the face of the old king. Both offense and defense can't help the old king. the Suns.

   Mutombo is not good offensively. Under the defense of the old K, he cannot provide a high-quality low-post attack on the offensive end. "

   Having said that, he stopped talking.

  What kind of person Stern is, he immediately understood what Jordan meant.

  The Knicks, O'Neal and Jordan, combined with the existing lineup, can probably beat the old K's Suns, right?

   That's not going to work either, what he wants is balance, not one-sided.

The Suns defeated the Bulls three times in the finals. Although they were also one-sided, their lineup was actually no better than the Bulls. Except for Old K, there were no other big names who could play one-sided games. .

  If Jordan joins hands with O'Neal, the advantage of old K will definitely not be that big, and the two super giants in their peak period will not have a good impact, and the league will also be questioned.

And in the end, he didn’t want to suppress Old K too much. After all, Jordan is old. If his state drops a lot next year, it’s entirely possible, so he can’t suppress another signature star of the league, which is not in line with the league. Interests.

   However, the only one who seems to be able to cope with the old K is O’Neal, another giant beast, which is also the situation he hopes to see things compete for hegemony.

   So for a while, he also fell silent.

   Jordan and David Frank looked at each other and didn't speak, waiting for Stern's attitude.

   Without Stern's permission, he would never go to the Knicks, but apart from the Knicks, he couldn't find a second team in the East that had a chance to beat the old K.

   But if he can't go to the Knicks, he decides to join forces with Mutombo. This top defensive center can reduce the offensive efficiency of Old K. There is still a chance to win the Suns, but the chance of winning is not big.

   At this time, Stern said: "This year's situation is more complicated, not only you, but also the old K may be caught in the transaction."

   "Old K?"

   Jordan and David Frank were shocked, the former quickly asked: "Mr. Stern, the Suns really want to trade old K?"

   shook his head, Stern said: "The Colangelo and his son do not want to trade, but the shareholders hope to clear his contract and reduce expenses by trading the old K, and this issue is still being dealt with."

   "That is to say, the Suns are likely to no longer compete for the championship?" David Frank lost his voice.

   "No, that doesn't matter, what matters is old K."

Jordan shook his head and said: "If the Suns trade Old K, Old K's next team will definitely be a favorite for the championship. His team is completely dominated by him, and the configuration of other players is not that important. , it's easy to build a championship-level team, and I'm likely to face his team in the finals.

   And if he stays with the Suns, it means that the Suns will continue to compete for the championship next season, there is no doubt. "

   "That's the case with the Suns."

Stern nodded and said: "Michael, if you really want to come to the Knicks, I can promise you, but I will not give the Knicks any other help, the Knicks must face the pressure of the salary cap, you know I mean."

   Hearing this sentence, the expressions of Jordan and David Frank also froze, and they were not in a happy mood.

They know what Stern means. If he goes to the Knicks, the Knicks will have him and O'Neal's two bird rights contracts. Although they only count the virtual space within the salary cap, the virtual space of him and O'Neal combined is not small. , so the Knicks' existing lineup must clear out a lot of people.

   His virtual space is 6 million, O'Neal is 8.5 million US dollars, two people will occupy 14.5 million US dollars, and the salary cap next season is about 27 million US dollars.

In other words, the Knicks only have room for about 13 million US dollars, and this space needs to accommodate the contracts of ten to thirteen players. The average annual salary of these people is one million US dollars. The current average salary in the league is just It's a million dollars, what kind of strength can such a player have?

   In other words, if the Knicks want to trade him, they must first clear a large number of contracts, even the main players and important backups. Otherwise, the contracts of a few marginal players will be cleaned up. The contracts are too small and useless.

   Or directly use these main players to trade him with the Bulls. At his trade value, it even takes an entire team to trade. After the trade, find some marginal and not-so-quality role players to fill the lineup.

   This means that after he joined the Knicks, what awaited him was not the Knicks that had just entered the Eastern Conference Finals, but an incomplete team composed of marginal and role players.

   Even if he and O'Neal lead a team like this, how powerful can they be? Can the Suns beat the old K? Even if he and O'Neal averaged 60+ or ​​even 70+ per game, who would get the rest of the points?

  Stern said again: "But this news must not be disclosed, because the owner of the Knicks is negotiating with the buyer to sell the team."

   Hearing this sentence, Jordan and Jordan immediately understood that Stern wanted the Knicks to change hands, so they nodded again and again.

They also know that James Dolan, the owner of Madison Square Garden, wants to buy the Knicks. This is a money owner who is willing to spend a lot of money. The family owns such high-quality assets as American cable TV stations. If Dolan takes over the Knicks, It's pretty good for the league.

   After leaving the NBA headquarters and getting into the car, David Frank said: "Michael, Stern is only willing to give such support. I'm afraid you go to the Knicks, and the Knicks can't do old K!"

   Jordan was silent for a long time before saying: "It's not impossible, recruit a few veterans who want to win the championship."

David Frank nodded again and again: "Yes, just like Wilkins and Chapman, the combined annual salary is less than 500,000 yuan. If old K did not have these two basic salary veterans to help, the Suns would not have a decent substitute at all. The lineup, just relying on the main lineup, may not be able to win the Bulls."

  Jordan snorted coldly: "That time in 1995, if Drexler wasn't in the Suns, could Old K beat me? That season the glider's salary was only $1.58 million, how different is it from the basic salary?"

   He was very annoyed at the thought of the finals in 1995, and was swept by Old K, and let Old K average 50 points per game in the finals, which was a great shame for him.

   "Yes, without gliders, the Suns even had a hard time getting through the Mosaic level that year." David Frank couldn't help nodding.

   "By the way, David, are Patrick and the Pacers going to sign a new contract?" Jordan asked suddenly.

   "Yes, I'll be there tomorrow. What, what do you think?" David Frank asked.

   "No, just ask."

  …

On June 13, just as the Suns started the second day of the championship celebration, a piece of news suddenly broke out. The Spurs' star, Admiral David Robinson, who just signed a six-year, 66 million contract with the Spurs last year. , made a trade application to the team voluntarily.

   This news, provided by David Robinson's agent Jeff Austin, immediately blasted Spurs fans and immediately attracted the attention of other teams in the league.

David Robinson, but the youngest of the three super centers, is also the one with the most outstanding physical talent. The physique of the center and the athletic ability of the small forward are at their peak, and they are not the end, they are the real peak, at least not yet. There are three or four years of peak period, such a super center, in addition to the Suns and the Knicks, Pacers, Lakers and other teams, which other team does not drool?

Within half an hour of the news of   , Popovich continued to receive contact calls from other teams, and some even sent quotations directly.

Just an hour ago, Jeff Austin informed him that David Robinson wanted to leave the Spurs. For him, the news was a blast, and he didn't respond for a long time. When he did, he received a message from another team. Contact numbers and transaction quotes.

   "Contact me again, or if you dare to contact David Robinson, I will report it to the league."

  Popovich is so angry that he has long been confused by David Robinson and his agent, directly threatening these teams that contact him.

  His threat really worked. At this time, the trading window has not yet opened. If the alliance finds out, he will be fined.

   Turning around, Popovich started to call David Robinson, but the caller was off, and he nearly smashed the phone.

  I wanted to go to David Robinson's house to interview him, but just got up and sat down in frustration. The Spurs were rotten and couldn't make the playoffs. David Robinson had already left San Antonio, and he forgot.

   In this way, he can only contact David Robinson's agent.

   At this time, David Robinson and his agent Austin were lying on the beach in Miami.

   Austin was born in a tennis family. In the 1970s, he was also a famous tennis player. The Austin family has also written legends from generation to generation in tennis.

After he retired, he changed jobs to become a tennis agent. Downers, who had eight Grand Slam titles, was under his banner. By coincidence, he signed David Robinson, and his agent's career happened again. Transform and become an NBA agent.

   At present, he also has Stackhouse under his banner. He has already established a firm foothold in the NBA and has his own connections.

   Now his most important job is to help David Robinson go to a team that can win to help him complete his dream of a championship.

Originally, David Robinson was hesitant to leave the Spurs. He helped David Robinson make up his mind to leave the Spurs. The economy of San Antonio is too bad. The average ticket price for the regular season is only a few dollars. Very low, how can such a market build a championship lineup?

  “ding ding…”

   Austin's phone rang, and at first glance, Popovich's.

   "Hello, Mr. Popovich, you..."

   He was connected, and before he finished speaking, Popovich yelled angrily on the opposite side: "Mr. Austin, what do you want to do? Where do you want to take David? You are doing too much! You..."

Austin took the phone away from his ear, took out his ear, and after the other end was quiet, he said to him, "Mr. Popovich, I'm so disappointed in the Spurs, and I'm so disappointed in your operation, we There's no hope in the Spurs, so you better prepare to trade..."

   "Shut up and call David, I want to talk to him."

   He didn't finish his sentence, when Popovich interrupted rudely.

"Feel sorry!"

   He didn't answer, just cut off the phone.

   "Fark Oil!"

   At the Spurs headquarters, Popovich scolded angrily, bang, and slammed the microphone directly on the desk.