Chapter 190 Psychological changes after winning the championship
Seeing the joking look in Colangelo's eyes, David Frank knew that his words were in vain. He couldn't help but laughed and said, "Okay, Jerry, I've already said what I said. It's up to you. Anyway, Charles and I
It’s impossible for us to accept your approach. If it doesn’t work, we will seek a deal.”
Colangelo paused and nodded.
Very simply, the two reached an agreement on this issue. How to deal specifically, this will take time. Barkley is not an ordinary star. Both parties need to be satisfied. It would not be good if they broke up.
Now that the trade window has been opened, free agents can sign, and trade negotiations for players with contracts can also proceed, but they are still in the freeze period, and only after the freeze period ends, the final trade can be carried out.
The so-called freezing period means that after the season ends, it will take some time for the league to settle the wages of all players. It will take about a week. This year's freezing period will end on July 6, and the trading period will officially enter on the 7th.
After sending away David Frank, Colangelo began to have a headache. How to trade Barkley?
"By the way, I haven't talked to Lao K yet?" He suddenly remembered this question.
This is a very serious problem. If Barkley is given up, then Old K must become the new core of the next team. Can Old K take on this responsibility? Does he have the mental preparation? Does he have the leadership ability?
?
If Barkley is traded and leaves the team, his goal for the Suns in the new season is to at least reach the second round of the playoffs, because no defending championship team has ever been eliminated in the first round, so can Old K lead the team to complete it?
"Old K, come over here. I want to talk to you about some things about the new season." He immediately called Wang Tiejun.
"Okay, sir, I'll be right over."
Wang Tiejun appeared in Colangelo's office an hour later.
"Tom, please give me a cup of coffee."
After Colangelo gave his instructions, he asked with a smile: "Old K, when are you going to return to China? I know you want to go back early."
Wang Tiejun smiled and said: "I'm afraid it will take a few days or so. I still have some sponsorship contracts that I haven't signed yet, so it will be soon."
Nodding, Colangelo smiled and said: "It's a good decision for you to sign with CAA. Except for Jordan, no player who is not an All-Star can get so many sponsorship contracts in his rookie season."
"Yes, this is a correct decision." Lao Wang said with a smile. At this time, Tom came in with a cup of coffee. He took it and said thank you.
"Go to Dr. Thomas Carter before you leave and ask him to give you a comprehensive physical examination. This will make you healthier and the team will be responsible for the cost," Colangelo said with a smile.
"Okay, I will go." Lao Wang smiled.
Putting away the smile on his face, Colangelo said seriously: "Old K, there is a problem now. I need to get your attitude."
"What happened?"
Seeing Colangelo's serious expression, Lao Wang couldn't help but become serious.
"The team is ready to make you the next core player in the new season." Colangelo stared at Lao Wang and said.
Wang Tiejun's eyes fluctuated. New core?
It is impossible to say that he has not thought about this problem. A soldier who does not want to be a general is definitely not a good soldier. How could he not want to be a boss?
Colangelo saw Wang Tiejun's expression of no surprise and nodded secretly. At least in the first level, Old K performed well. Calmness is a quality that the core of a team must have. Being surprised is not enough. The boss is in chaos. Next
The people then became confused.
"What about Barkley?" Lao Wang asked tentatively.
"He's probably going to leave."
Colangelo didn't hide it. He couldn't hide it. He wouldn't reveal it here. David Frank might have informed the media by now.
He thought really well. David Frank had indeed contacted some familiar media reporters.
"What?" Lao Wang was shocked.
Colangelo nodded and said: "I wanted him to assist you, but he and his agent disagreed, so we had to trade him and leave."
"What about our team?"
Without Barkley, Wang Tiejun doesn't think the Suns still have the possibility of winning the championship in the new season. Where can he find a power forward who averages 2010 per game?
If it were so easy to find, teams like the Mosaics and Spurs would have taken action long ago, and Damien and David Robinson would have won the championship long ago.
Another example is the Bulls. If there is a center or power forward who averages 2010 per game, how can the Suns beat Jordan this time?
"Are you not sure you can lead the team well?" Colangelo asked.
Lao Wang hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "It's not that I'm not sure I can lead the team well, Kevin and the others are all good, and we are all brothers, but Barkley is gone, and I am left alone in the paint.
I can't stand it alone."
Colangelo smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. If Barkley leaves, we will definitely get some chips. I will trade as many outstanding power forwards as possible. In addition, don't you want to become the new core?"
Lao Wang was startled, could he not want to do this?
He thought for a while, since he wanted to become the new core and Barkley was unwilling to assist him, it seemed that there was no way to get the best of both worlds.
However, he was a little confused about Colangelo choosing him over Barkley. Do you trust him so much?
You must know that his current strength is not as good as Barkley's, especially in defense, which is still his shortcoming. Choosing him is taking a risk.
However, he didn't want to ask anymore questions about why the team chose him. Since he wanted to become the new core and Mr. Colangelo had made a decision, it would be hypocritical for him to ask again. It would be cheap and good.
"Sir, don't worry, I promise I won't let you down." He said solemnly.
"I hope so." Colangelo nodded and smiled.
After leaving the headquarters, Wang Tiejun immediately contacted his agent Lance Hoxman and informed him of the news.
"That's great! Old K, as you become the core of a team, it will be easier for you to produce beautiful statistics." Hawksman said excitedly.
Lao Wang's face is dark, what are you talking about? I don't want to be a big scammer. I have never done that. I just want to make a lot of money.
Leading a team carries a heavy responsibility, and the pressure on him is actually very high because he takes over a defending team.
After ending the phone call, he drove to Buckley's house and called to make an appointment on the way.
"Old K is coming. He's almost there. Maureen, I'll pick him up at the door." Buckley said after hanging up the phone.
"It's almost five o'clock. Do you want to invite me to have dinner at home? I'll have someone prepare it." Mo Lin said quickly.
"Of course." Buckley smiled.
Within a few minutes, Wang Tiejun's car drove into Buckley's villa.
"Charles, Mr. Colangelo met me just now, and I know the news about you. Do you really not want to stay with the Suns?"
After getting out of the car, he said straight to the point.
Barkley was a little embarrassed because his brother helped him win the championship, but he was unwilling to stay and help his brother, so he hesitated: "Old K, go in and sit down first. Let's talk slowly and have dinner here.
Maureen is already preparing."
"Okay." He nodded.
At this time, ESPN TV's five o'clock NBA channel news suddenly broke a big news. The female host looked shocked and said: "Dear NBA fans, I just received the exact news from the reporter in front of this station that the Suns will compete with the reporter.
The team's freshly minted FMVP winner, this season's regular season MVP winner, and historical superstar Charles Barkley parted ways.
This news was provided personally by Mr. David Frank, Barkley’s agent. We will provide details below, please see the frontline interview.”
What follows is a clip from an ESPN TV interview with David Falk.
Frank faced the camera and said: "Yes, the Suns will rebuild the team with old K as the core. We are sorry that they gave up on Charles. I think this is an absolute humiliation for Charles and an unacceptable thing. We
It's sad for Charles to have to leave Phoenix in tears. He just brought a championship to the city and was immediately abandoned..."
The news immediately swept across the United States like a whirlwind through ESPN's television signal.
"It's unbelievable. Are the Suns trying to kill the donkey? But Barkley is still in his prime and at his peak. Isn't it too early to kill the donkey?"
"Are the Suns crazy to give up a superstar in his prime and rebuild with a rookie?"
"Did the Suns give up on defending their title early?"
"Damn Suns, if you want to screw up, you should do it earlier. Why did you screw up after robbing our Bulls of three consecutive championships and smashing our dynasty?"
All kinds of comments were widely spread through various channels in a very short period of time, which can be said to be a hubbub.
Soon, the Suns' external hotline was also overwhelmed by fans.
"I'm sorry, although I like Old K very much and I am his fan, I am not optimistic about the reconstruction with Old K as the core. Old K's defense cannot support our penalty area at all. Without Barkley, he cannot do it at all. Management
The higher-ups are causing chaos, and I’m going to the headquarters to protest.”
"Keep Barkley and trade Old K."
"I'm canceling my plans to buy season tickets. This is my way of protesting."
"What we need is to defend the title, not to rebuild. Is the management's brain confused? Why not keep both Old K and Barkley?"
"I don't understand why you chose to rebuild at this time? Can't you keep the original championship-winning lineup?"
"It's so funny. The Bulls lost the Finals but didn't collapse. Instead, we collapsed first."
The staff has been answering the phone all the time, there is no time for dinner, and few Suns fans understand the management's approach.
In fact, not to mention the fans, even some of the Suns' management don't understand the owner Colangelo's thinking.
Among them is little Colangelo.
Brian Colangelo is 27 years old. He has been in the Suns management team for three years and now serves as the team's vice president. According to Colangelo's plan, he will take over the positions of general manager and president in two years.
At dinner, he discussed the matter with his father at the dinner table, and did not even bother to eat dinner.
"I don't understand, father, why you choose to adjust the core of the team at this time. You must know that Barkley cannot accept the loss of the core position. He will definitely choose to leave. Can you give me a reason?
?" he said.
After thinking about it for a moment, Colangelo put down his knife and fork and said with a smile: "Bryan, do you know why the Bulls can't win three consecutive championships?"
"Because they can't do it inside." Colangelo shrugged.
Colangelo nodded, then shook his head and said: "In the second game after I gave Old K that short contract, he knocked over O'Neal and completed a dunk. Mr. Krause, the Bulls' general manager, watched the game.
, he immediately decided to give up their championship member, main center Carter White, and gave Old K a contract worth tens of millions.
Do you understand why he wanted to destroy the original championship lineup? The old K at that time was far from comparable to the old K now.
In that game, I only scored three points or two points. I can't remember clearly. His scoring ability was very weak, his rebounding ability was not very good, and his defense was even worse.
But now in the just-concluded finals, Old K averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds per game. In the most critical h6 game, he even averaged a near-triple-double of 33 points, 15 rebounds and 9 assists. If not
If the g4 team gives up, his data will be better."
Little Colangelo thought for a while, shook his head and said, "I don't quite understand, father, why?"
Colangelo shook his head and smiled: "Because Krause knows that Old K is more likely to be the Bulls' low post support than Cartwright.
This is just like me giving up on Barkley, because Barkley cannot be our pillar in the low post, his height is too low, and Old K can."
"But dad, Barkley is 10,000 times better than Cartwright." Colangelo still couldn't accept his father's actions.
Colangelo smiled and said: "So what? Since I want to build a team with Old K as the core, Barkley can just be used as a bargaining chip to help us complete the reconstruction.
Last year we used most of the starting lineup to trade for him, and this year he has to help us get some good bargaining chips."
Colangelo thought about it for a while, then shook his head and said, "But I still don't understand why you chose this time instead of one year or two years later?"
Colangelo explained: "Because Barkley has been injured this year, you know what that means?"
"The transaction value has dropped?" Colangelo Jr. said in surprise.
Nodding, Colangelo said solemnly: "Although he is still in his prime, with his height of 198 centimeters, he has to fight with those big men all year round. The physical load must be very heavy. After these seasons, he must have accumulated a lot of injuries.
sick.
I have received the relevant report from Dr. Carter. Barkley does have many potential injuries. Once these injuries occur, how much do you think his trade value will be maintained? We spent most of the team to trade for him.
, can't let him smash it in his hand.
And with his strength, to be honest, if we hadn’t gotten Old K, do you think we would have won the championship this year?”
Only then did little Colangelo understand his father's thoughts, but he still asked with some confusion: "Dr. Carter is so skilled, why doesn't he try to help Barkley recover?"
Shaking his head, Colangelo said: "Dr. Carter is only good at treating some injuries, such as knee joints. He is not good at treating others.
You forgot that last time Kevin Johnson dislocated his shoulder joint and he needed surgery, but it only took Old K. a second to solve the problem, and until now Kevin Johnson has not had any problems with his shoulder joint."
Nodding, Colangelo smiled and said, "Old K is indeed amazing."
Colangelo added: "In addition, the reason why I chose to adjust the core now is because Old K is growing too fast.
In fact, his performance in the finals is no less than that of Barkley, so in the new season, there are likely to be some problems between him and Barkley, such as tactical status, shooting, and dominance and leadership of the team.
I don’t want to see the team split, so I can only choose to take the initiative to solve this problem. Reform will always cause pain, and we need to bear it all.”
Colangelo Jr. couldn't help but nodded, this was indeed a very likely problem.
He has also been working for three years and has some experience. He knows that the problem between Barkley and Old K is that one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers. When two 2010 superstars appear in the low post, there will inevitably be a squeeze on the opponent's living space.
Problems inevitably require one party to give in.
Either Barkley assists and Old K takes the lead, or vice versa.
If Barkley is not an inside man, there will be no problems between them, just like Tom Chambers and Kevin Johnson before, and like Barkley and Kevin Johnson this season, it is enough to establish two cores, inside and outside.
, neither will affect the other's tactical position.
However, it is impossible to have two cores in the low post at the same time. Even the two-tower tactic is one main and one auxiliary, and there will not really be two cores in the low post.
Colangelo smiled and said: "This season, the reason why Barkley indulges Old K's growth is because he wants to win the championship and he urgently needs Old K to grow up faster. However, everything is developmental.
Now that he has won the championship, the situation has changed.
Brian, as a general manager, you must understand all of this, including the players' thoughts, so as to make arrangements in advance to solve troubles that may arise in the future."
When the two fathers were discussing this matter at the dining table, Buckley and Wang Tiejun were also sitting at the dining table. They had already talked about it.
Both of them are straightforward people. Barkley made it clear that he still hopes to become the core of a team, so Lao Wang stopped asking any more questions.
He didn't pretend to let Barkley stay and serve as a support. Both of them are in the low position and cannot be the core at the same time. There must be one person whose tactical position is more important.
In fact, in the second half of this season, when his offensive ability improved, the Suns often played traditional center tactics. The ball came to him first. At that time, he was the core of the low post, and Barkley assisted him on the weak side.
, if he is really asked to play support throughout the new season, which is worse than his current tactical status, he will definitely not be able to accept it.
Well, there is no room for two guys from 2010 in one paint area. The two of them want to get together and part ways together to avoid conflicts in the future. Now that they are separated like this, they are still good brothers when they meet.