The next day, which was also the last day of 1992, a large number of media began to ridicule his performance. At the same time, a large number of media also ridiculed Colangelo, saying that he signed a waste with an All-Star contract.
Well-known basketball commentator and basketball commentator signed by ABC TV, Will Houston, publicly criticized Colangelo's signing behavior in an interview with New York TV media. He said:
"I know the Suns are lacking a strong center, but this signing by Mr. Colangelo is an absolute fool's errand.
That Chinese coolie is just an idiot with some strength. He is only qualified to carry a bag. He is not worthy to be on the NBA court. Any center with some skills can beat him on both offense and defense.
Yes, I even think it is impossible for Chinese people to play basketball well, they are only qualified to play table tennis."
This afternoon, the Suns returned to Phoenix, ending their road trip.
"Sir, there are several transaction applications here, all about Lao K."
As soon as Colangelo returned to the team headquarters, the staff handed him a stack of documents and flipped through them briefly. There were documents from the Bulls, the Lakers, and even the Spurs. There were seven documents in total.
"Jerry Krause is still staring at old K?"
He specifically took a look at the Bulls' bargaining chip. The Bulls wanted to exchange next year's first-round pick and main center Carter White for veteran K.
How is this possible? The Bulls are a championship-level team. They have won two consecutive championships. Jordan's strength is at its peak. Its first-round pick is worthless at all.
What's more, the Suns are also striving for the championship this season. If they reach the finals, they have a high chance of facing the Bulls. How could he trade Old K to the Bulls?
After looking at the trade applications from other teams, there were no bargaining chips that he was interested in. It was obvious that these transactions were all done with the intention of picking up bargains from him.
He handed it back again and ordered: "Reject them all, Mr. K is not for sale to us."
Then, he began to look through a stack of newspapers prepared by the staff, most of which were sports media, but also influential media such as the New York Times.
Soon, he saw a lot of news attacking him and Wang Tiejun in these newspapers.
These news were filled with undisguised racial discrimination and prejudice. He shook his head and threw the newspapers into the trash can at the corner of the table.
"Not enough chips."
After receiving a rejection call from the Suns, Jerry Krause shook his head in frustration.
He can't give him any more chips. The great cause of the dynasty is at stake, and the Suns' lineup cannot be significantly changed. It seems that they can't get the Chinese guy.
The other rejected teams did not apply to the Suns again, which shows that they had the same idea as Colangelo, they just wanted to get a bargain and did not value Wang Tiejun very much.
After returning to Phoenix, Wang Tiejun began to make arrangements to move out of the training base.
The team's training base generally does not provide accommodation for players and staff. Many NBA players travel to multiple teams and do not know how to buy a house. Most of them rent. Those who are particularly financially challenged live in rented houses. Teammate's home.
He used to live here and Colangelo took care of his financial situation. Now that he has signed a big contract, naturally he can no longer live here.
In addition, the team has helped him select several houses. He needs to find time to check them out and rent them if they suit him. The rent will be paid by the team.
If an NBA team is very optimistic about a certain player, it will give preferential treatment in certain aspects, such as renting a house. It doesn't cost much, and it can also collect the player's ownership of the team, which is very cost-effective.
He wants to rent a house with a yard and a training room to facilitate martial arts training and other training.
In addition, he had to buy various Chinese medicinal materials and boil some medicinal oil for Tieshangua. There was no Chinatown in Phoenix, so he had to go to New York or Los Angeles to buy it.
Renting a house was arranged by the team, and buying the money was more troublesome. If he hadn't been reluctant to give up money, he would have wanted to find an agent.
Time entered 1993. On New Year's Day, the Suns did not have a game, but the team arranged training.
At 6 o'clock in the morning, Wang Tiejun got up at the Suns training base and started training on the system function card.
I practiced until 8 o'clock and after resting for half an hour, I went to the restaurant at the base to have breakfast.
At this time, some fringe players had arrived and everyone had breakfast together.
On days when NBA teams have training at home, training meals are provided. Of course, many players with good economic conditions will not have breakfast at the base. Only players with poor economic conditions will arrive at the base in advance to eat free breakfast.
Breakfast is a so-called nutritious meal. It tastes terrible, worse than a hamburger. After more than a month, he has adapted to it.
After breakfast, it was almost 9 o'clock, and several players slowly came to the locker room, chatting, eating, and changing equipment.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Wang Tiejun was about to ask for leave to look at the house, when the doorman informed him that a Chinese named Zhang Lili wanted to see him.
"Zhang Lili?"
After some recollection, it seems that I have no memory of this person, which makes me a little confused.
"Hello, I am Wang Tiejun, who are you?"
A few minutes later, he saw Zhang Lili at the gate of the base.
Zhang Lili looked at Wang Tiejun curiously, and replied with a smile: "Hello, Xiao Wang, don't you know me? It's no wonder, when I retired from the national team in 1980, you were not very old."
"Are you from the national team before?" Wang Tiejun was surprised.
"Yes, my position is the second center." Zhang Li said with a smile.
Wang Tiejun nodded. Zhang Lili always had a smile on his face, which made him feel very friendly. He asked with a smile: "Then you are the senior. Who are you looking for me today?"
"Nothing else. You are the first player from our country to enter the NBA. I am curious and want to get to know you." Zhang Lili explained.
Wang Tiejun nodded, saw a car next to Zhang Lili, and asked, "Is this your car?"
"This is the car I borrowed." Zhang Li said with a smile.
"That's just right. I have something to do. Let's take a ride in your car and we'll chat on the way." Wang Tiejun said with a smile.
Zhang Lili was taken aback, good guy, did you think I was the driver who came to your door?
"Okay, let's go then."
He was a kind-hearted person, and he happily agreed immediately.
By six o'clock in the evening, Wang Tiejun identified a house with a yard in front and back, ready-made furniture, a landline phone and a TV. He notified the team to sign the contract, and then with the help of Zhang Liangli, he bought some
Necessary daily necessities.
The two of them can barely be considered fellow villagers. Zhang Lili is from BJ. Qingxian County is only 80 kilometers away from Tianjin and only more than 170 kilometers away from BJ, which is not far away. When fellow fellows saw fellow fellows, they both burst into tears and chatted for several hours.
The two of them are already very close friends.
However, he didn't talk too much about his domestic experience. He only talked about his experience in the United States, especially his experience in prison. He didn't want anyone to know.
After he finished, he invited me to dinner.
"You're going to Los Angeles for an interview? That's just right. Brother Zhang, can you help me buy some Chinese medicinal materials in Chinatown? It will be useful when I practice martial arts."
When he heard Zhang Lili said he was going to Los Angeles, he shouted quickly.
Zhang Lili, who was squatting on the edge of the curb eating burgers with Wang Tiejun, rolled his eyes when he heard this. I've been working with you for a few hours, and you just bought me a hamburger. You couldn't bear to have a bottle of Coke.
Are you the one who orders people around like this? Are you treating me as your donkey?
"Okay, let's get the prescription. It won't take much effort anyway." He said helplessly.
"Don't get ripped off by bargaining when you take the medicine. Also, don't buy fake medicine. My prescription has requirements for brewing, so you have to ask carefully. Don't buy medicine that's not brewed correctly."
Wang Tiejun warned.
Zhang Lijia asked with his head down: "Tie Jun, I'm not familiar with medicinal materials. What should I do if the medicine is too expensive or I buy something I don't like?"
"Then I won't admit it." Wang Tiejun blurted out.
"Damn it!"
Zhang Lili endured it for a while, otherwise the burger in his hand would have been pressed into Wang Tiejun's face.
After eating the burger, Wang Tiejun moved out of the training base overnight using Zhang Lili's car, saving money on a taxi.
He had nothing to carry, just a bag, which was very convenient.
The house he chose was a nearby two-story detached building, five kilometers away from the training base. It only took a few minutes to drive and it was also very fast to ride a bicycle.
In the evening, Zhang Lili stayed here, and the two continued to chat.
