Chapter 250 Yellow and Black Era

Author: Dong Wangyi

Chapter 250 Yellow and Black Era

Not far away, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were being interviewed by reporters together.

"Erwin, how do you evaluate the performance of Flying Pig and Iron Fist tonight?" the reporter asked.

"They are all very good. They have met the strongest opponent." said the magician.

"Karim, what about you?" the reporter turned around and asked.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said with a smile: "I think Iron Fist performed better. Although the first half was not good, he was more trustworthy than Barkley at critical moments."

Magic Johnson nodded and said: "That's true. The Suns also had a chance to come back in the last few minutes. They were not far behind, but Barkley didn't do it."

"Ervin, if the Detroit Pistons win their third championship, will you send congratulations to the Smiling Assassins?" the reporter asked.

Magic Johnson moved his mouth, wanting to spit on this damn reporter.

His expression froze slightly, then he smiled and said, "Of course."

Seeing the hesitant look on Magic's face, the reporter quickly changed his focus and asked Kareem: "Kareem, what do you think are the conditions for the Suns to make a comeback?"

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was startled and said with a smile: "Iron Fist faced Michael Jordan in the second round of the Eastern Conference and averaged 27 points per game. Now he is averaging 37 points against the Suns. If the Lightning were replaced by Jordan, I think the Suns would have a chance."

"Ha ha……"

The magician and the reporter both laughed.

At this time, the atmosphere in the visiting team's locker room was freezing.

Buckley sat there dejectedly, without saying a word, leaning against the wardrobe, staring blankly at the opposite wardrobe, his mind completely empty.

After being traded to the Suns, he thought he would have a chance to win the championship by teaming up with the top point guard Lightning, and he was very excited.

And the result was just as he expected. The Suns ranked first in the regular season record. Although there were twists and turns in the playoffs, they finally made it to the finals. Everything was so beautiful and worth looking forward to.

However, after entering the finals, he encountered a wolf-like iron fist. Lightning was suppressed from all sides and lost two consecutive games at home. He was hit hard.

After winning the G3 game, it gave him a surprise, making him think that everything would be smooth sailing from now on and lead him to the championship, but the result...

"well!"

When he was at a loss, he sighed deeply from time to time.

The Lightning is similar. This is his sixth season, the first time he has reached the finals, and it is also the closest he is to the championship. After winning the G3 game, he thought the series would be like what Barkley said.

There was a turning point, but reality gave him a blow.

What made him even more disappointed was that his performance in the series was completely suppressed by Iron Fist, and his performance was criticized by Magic. This was a huge blow to his self-confidence.

At this time, Zhou Quan had returned to the locker room with his teammates and was on the phone.

The staff told him that after the game, his mobile phone kept ringing.

They were all congratulatory calls from some friends, including his girlfriend Christina, her agent, etc.

"Tekken, why don't you change your mobile phone? This one can send text messages. It's much more convenient than the big brick. It's very fashionable and it's popular now."

Darnell Walker raised the Lukia mobile phone in his hand.

"Let's talk about it later."

Zhou Quan looked at the mobile phone in his hand. It was indeed not very fashionable anymore. Krina and Phillip kept asking him to change it, but he liked the brick phone very much. This thing has both style and combat effectiveness.

Darnell Walker's mobile phone is a GSM mobile phone released by Nokia last year. It is compact, convenient, and more modern. It also has its advantages. He also plans to buy one and use it as a replacement.

…

The next day, on the 25th, ESPN released the latest championship prediction data.

The Suns are 1%, the Pistons are 99%.

This data did not exceed the expectations of the media and fans. After all, in the history of the NBA, there is no record of a comeback after falling behind 1-3 in the finals.

"This is the correct forecast data. ESPN has finally become professional. I have to congratulate them." Zhou Quan commented in a phone interview.

Detroit fans have begun to celebrate the third championship. Since the morning, people have been taking to the streets and gathering together to celebrate.

The Palace of Auburn Hills has begun to arrange the championship ceremony.

For example, many large colored balls were hung from the ceiling, filled with ribbon scraps, and light shows, fireworks, bands, etc. were also installed.

At noon that day, David Stern arrived in Detroit with the championship trophy.

Pistons owner Bill Davidson and general manager Troy Weaver, as well as a number of management executives, went to the airport to greet him.

After greetings and getting in the car, David Stern asked with a smile: "Bill, how did you think about my proposal last time?"

Davidson sighed and said: "David, the team continues to lose money. In fact, I have been considering selling the team for a long time and am currently looking for a buyer."

David Stern was startled. This news was true. As far as he knew, Davidson had always wanted to sell the team after the locker room violence in 1991, but what was he trying to express by saying this now?

He said tentatively: "Bill, with the income from four rounds of playoffs this time, do the Pistons still have losses?"

Davidson smiled bitterly and said: "You also know how low our finals tickets are. But counting the finals and the money allocated to us by the league, we should just be able to make up for the loss."

David Stern stopped talking. Of course he knew that the highest viewership of the G4 game reached 26.5 million, but the average ticket price in Detroit was only 105 US dollars, which was already 7 times that of the regular season. The Pistons' regular season this season

The average ticket price is only $15.

He calculated that after one finals game, excluding the league's 45% share, the Pistons could get about one million U.S. dollars. If the Pistons won the championship 4-1 this time, with three home games, they could get three million U.S. dollars.

of ticket revenue.

"The four-round series, including the series with the Bulls, and sponsorship advertising revenue, the total revenue is at least tens of millions of dollars, right?" he asked again.

He has to be concerned about this issue, because most teams in the league are losing money. If even a team like Detroit that reaches the finals cannot make money, it will be very detrimental to the management of the league.

But the situation of the Pistons is in line with his plan and operations are difficult, so it will be even more difficult for the Pistons to provide Zhou Quan with a big contract.

And if Davidson really sells the team, then the plan to trade Weekly to the Western Conference will be easier to implement.

Davidson said: "The second round was good. Our three home games earned close to $3 million, which is similar to the finals. However, in the first round and the Eastern Conference Finals, we only made a total of $2 million. Including the finals and other income,

Almost nine million."

"Nine million?"

Stern feels that the Pistons are actually in good shape, and teams that fail to make the playoffs are in even worse shape. The average team loses more than $10 million every year.

Fortunately, a new broadcast contract will be signed in a few years, and the league's operating income will increase a lot, which can help more small teams survive.

"Bill, how do you think about my suggestion? You know what my suggestion is for. The better the league develops, the more your team will appreciate. Our interests are completely consistent." Then he said very clearly.

Asked bluntly.

Davidson said: "I hope to think about it after the finals."

"OK."

David Stern nodded. This is as it should be. The Pistons are basically guaranteed to win the championship. If they win the iron fist of the championship and FMVP, their transaction value will definitely be higher.

He wanted Zhou Quan to go to the west, not only for the purpose of balance, but also because he was optimistic about Zhou Quan's influence outside the circle.

This kind of influence is what the NBA needs now, but this kind of influence can only be maximized by going to big cities.

A city like Detroit with a declining economy is simply not suitable for Zhou Quan's development.

Detroit's current population is decreasing every day, from its peak of two million to one million. Those leaving are basically white and middle-class people. The proportion of black people in the population is increasing day by day. The attractiveness of this city is like running out of lamp oil.

Like a lamp, it's about to go out.

…

The Pistons did not arrange training. At three o'clock in the afternoon, Zhou Quan went to the airport to pick up people.

Christina Yerry specifically asked for leave and didn't want to miss the moment when he won his first championship.

In addition to Christina Yeri, there was also Roger Philippe, both of whom came from Los Angeles on the same flight.

At four o'clock, the three of them left the airport, first found a coffee shop to sit for a while, and then went to a restaurant to have dinner.

Philip has been discussing Zhou Quan's future excitedly, and Christina can't get a word in.

Her relationship with Zhou Quan is relatively stable now, but there is a problem. She is not very career-minded. She wants to get married now and have her own family and love. But Zhou Quan is only 21 years old and 6 years younger than her, so he doesn’t want to do that.

Get married early.

"Krina, what's wrong? Why don't you say anything?" Zhou Quan realized that his girlfriend's expression was a little distracted, so he asked.

"It's nothing, the coffee here is good." Christina smiled and said.

Zhou Quan had some doubts. His girlfriend's smile had always been bright, like sunshine, but today her smile was very forced, like the sky in Detroit, gray.

But now that Phillip was here, it was hard to say anything. He kept it in mind and would communicate again when he had the opportunity.

…

June 26, 1993, G5 game of the finals.

Detroit, Palace of Auburn Hills.
To be continued...