On the 27th, the Suns and Lakers appealed to the league early in the morning.
On this day, the US media and many media around the world reported news related to the G5 game of the Western Conference Finals last night.
The news about Wang Tiejun being dunked by O'Neal and his subsequent dunk on O'Neal are of course the focus, but the biggest news is the news about Wang beating O'Neal on the court and beating O'Neal off the court. O'Neal's flagrant foul was ignored again.
Except for the local media in Phoenix who supported Lao Wang and severely criticized O'Neal's flagrant foul, almost all American media collectively condemned Lao K's violent behavior and called on the league to seriously deal with this violent incident.
At 9 o'clock in the morning, the Lakers released O'Neal's injury report to the media in Phoenix. He had a slight concussion, a large area of blunt trauma to the skin, a broken nose, two front teeth knocked out, a one centimeter tear at the corner of his mouth, and a tear on his left eyebrow.
etc.
The Lakers also specially released some photos of O'Neal after his injury. These miserable photos gained sympathy from the media, and the accusations against Wang were escalated to a higher level.
At this time, in New York, David Stern held a special meeting of presidents to discuss how to deal with this incident.
Xiao Hua, special assistant to the president, said seriously: "O'Neal's flagrant foul was indeed excessive, but Old K's violent behavior was even more heinous.
And this is not the first time he has done this. When he first entered the league, according to the information I received, he beat the postman off the court many times. We cannot tolerate it anymore and must be severely punished."
"The Suns also appealed. O'Neal can be suspended, but Old K must increase the scale of the suspension."
"We cannot tolerate Lao K attacking the opponent's core players in this way."
"O'Neal probably won't be able to play in the Western Conference Finals. We can suspend him for two or three games, but K will be suspended for at least ten games."
"Ten games is too few. This is a good opportunity. We have to implement a zero-tolerance rule for violence on and off the field. I think it is best to ban him for a year."
"One year is definitely not enough. After all, he is the number one active player and the number one player in history. He can bring a lot of ratings to the league. We can prevent him from continuing to win the championship, but we should squeeze out his remaining value."
"We still have four major shooting guards. Even if Lao K retires now, the impact will not be great. In the Chinese market, Yao can also support it. Lao K has more of a negative impact on us. If we do this
Punishing him severely will be supported by all media, and I think the punishment should be increased."
"When Sprewell choked coach, we banned him for one year and ended up banning him for 68 games. This time, K's violent incident was no less than a chokehold. If there is no severe punishment, the civilized image that the league has worked hard to create will be undermined.
It has been completely destroyed, and how do you explain it to the entire league? How do you explain it to the fans and the media? I think it must be severely punished, and I support a one-year ban."
"Forty or fifty games, maybe. We need his influence in the playoffs, a game worth tens of millions of dollars."
"I agree, if he can't play for half a season, his condition will definitely decline. We can just lift up the four shooting guards. If the Lakers win the championship next season, Kobe's popularity will definitely skyrocket, and he will take the position of old K.
.”
Under the leadership of Xiao Hua, the executives talked at once, and generally agreed on severe punishment.
David Stern also intended to take the opportunity to suppress Old K. He hopes that Old K will continue to shine for the league, but he does not want to see Old K win the championship again. For the long term, the league needs fresh blood.
At 12 noon, the NBA announced additional penalties for flagrant fouls and violent incidents in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
O'Neal was suspended for an additional three games and fined $10,000.
Wang Tiejun was suspended for an additional 50 games and fined US$100,000.
Phoenix, Suns headquarters, after Colangelo Jr. received the notice, he sighed: "The league really doesn't want to see Old K win the championship."
Later, Lao Wang received a notice from Colangelo Jr. at home. He was silent for a long time and then called Dayao.
"Brother, I just saw the alliance..." The phone went through, and Dayao's voice rang.
Lao Wang interrupted Dayao and said: "Okay, listen to me, Dayao, if the Lakers reach the finals, O'Neal may not be able to come back. Even if he comes back, he may not be in good condition. You can use fouls
To deal with him tactically, you can drag him out and kill the Lakers. I believe you and Kidd can do it. This is your best chance to win the championship."
"I know, brother, I won't let you down." Dayao said in a deep voice.
As soon as he put down the phone, his agent Hawksman called. Without waiting for him to say anything, Lao Wang said: "Lance, help me arrange a pool party, championship level. I want to hold it after the Western Conference Finals."
Let’s have a party and thank my teammates for their support.”
"no problem."
Hoxman agreed directly, and then asked: "Old K, I am suspended for 50 games. There are two games left in the Western Conference Finals. I will be suspended for 48 games next season. I am almost an All-Star. This period of time is very long. What do you have?"
Plan?"
"I haven't considered it yet, I'll talk about it later," Lao Wang said.
The two chatted for a while and then ended the call.
Some more calls came in, from Lao Zhang, Buckley, Lei Gong, and Dameng. Then the news came to China, and my wife Fei Ge also called.
"Husband, you shouldn't come back. Come back soon. I miss you every week."
"Come on, if I don't want to be a dynasty anymore, you don't have to persuade me. As for Zhou Zhou, let her talk to me."
"dad……"
"Good baby..."
After talking on the phone with Zhou Zhou for a long time, he just hung up when another call came in, which surprised him. It was Shani O'Neal. Could it be that she was calling to scold him?
"Old K, I'm sorry, Shaq did too much on the court."
"Oh, no, no, no, I'm a little too much off the court too."
But no, Shani O'Neal actually apologized.
The two chatted for a while, but somehow they got involved in music. Shanni O'Neill said that she recently went to Hong Kong and was interested in Cantonese songs. She thought they were very interesting. She asked him if he had any good recommendations, and he recommended them.
A song, Andy Lau's "I Go Alone to Have Love", Shani O'Neal said she would try it.
…
That night, the Nets eliminated the Pistons with a score of four to two and advanced to the Finals first.
This is also the second consecutive year that Dayao and the Nets have reached the finals.
On the 28th, Lao Wang watched the Western Conference Finals G6 game between the Suns and the Lakers at home.
The Suns were playing away from home, and Kobe Bryant personally defended Nash. Nash was guarded to death, Hardaway was in bad shape, and no one else had the ability to attack with the ball. Especially without Lao Wang on the defensive end, the defense simply collapsed and he lost again.
, tied with the Lakers three to three.
In this Western Conference Finals, the ratings plummeted. There were still 32 million viewers in the G5 game. In this G6 game, the ratings were cut in half to just 16 million.
This cut in half immediately chilled the league executives, who knew they might be in trouble.
On the 29th, the league convened the 14 teams that did not make the playoffs to conduct a draft lottery at the Disney Times Square broadcast room in New York.
This year is a big year for the draft, and many teams are vying for good picks, so this draw has attracted a lot of attention, and I don’t know who has better luck.
The Spurs have the worst record in the league. The Spurs are already shameless and have only won 12 games this season. The second place is the Cavaliers with 17 wins, and the third place is the Nuggets.
Popovich has been the head coach and general manager of the Spurs in recent years and has great power, but the team has not even completed its reconstruction. The reason why he can still sit firmly in these two positions is that he has a good vision in drafting.
.
Even in the second round, he was able to dig out good prospects and then cultivate them. If they were suitable, he would keep them, and if they were not, he would trade them out. The team's operation was barely manageable, and the boss was not asked to spend money to subsidize the team's operations.
This time, with his hard work and hard work, he finally got the last record and was the first to draw lots, so he had great hope of getting a good draw.
His first target is James, his second is Milicic, his third is Wade, and his fourth, damn league, if the Spurs can't even get the first three picks, there must be something wrong.
Old God David Stern was sitting on the ground, smiling and watching the lottery ceremony.
"God bless!"
When the lottery started, Popovich stood up, glanced at David Stern, who was like a Bodhisattva, and quickly crossed himself on his chest.
"Damn it!"
A minute later, Popovich walked back frustrated, he missed the draw.
Next was the Cavaliers drawing, and the person who went up to draw the lot was owner Dan Gilbert.
"yeah!"
A minute later, cheers from Gilbert and frustrated sighs from other teams erupted.
"Shit luck!"
Popovich muttered dissatisfiedly.
Next, he has to go up again, this time to draw the second lottery.
Three minutes later, Popovich roared excitedly, and he successfully won the second lottery.
"Shit luck!"
At this time, other team owners or general managers started to complain.
Then it was time to draw the No. 1 pick, and the Nuggets were the first to go. A minute later, the Nuggets boss cheered and the other team bosses sighed.
"I'm sorry, I haven't decided who to choose yet, yes."
After the lottery ceremony, Gilbert accepted an interview with ESPN TV. He said: "We hope to be more cautious and the management can make careful decisions. We have to select the most suitable and best one."
"Mr. Gilbert, Milicic is a good young man. The inside line is always the most precious. I believe he is a godsend."
After Gilbert was interviewed, Popovich went up to chat with him and praised Milicic without hesitation.
Gilbert was confused. It seems that you and I are not familiar with each other. Who are you so enthusiastic about me choosing?
On May 30, the Western Conference Finals tiebreaker was held in Phoenix.
Lao Wang did not go to the scene. He estimated that the Suns could not beat him and did not want to watch the Lakers eliminate his team.
In the end, Kobe scored 42 points, led his team to defeat the Suns, won the tiebreaker, and completed the comeback after 1-30.
But even though it was the tiebreaker of the Western Conference Finals, the ratings of this game were actually not as good as those of the G6 game, with only 15 million, which was a drop of another million.
This data makes the league's top brass not have much hope for the upcoming finals. They know that trouble may really happen.
Before the tiebreaker was over, the president of TNT called David Stern and directly expressed to him his disappointment with the league's decision to severely punish K.
David Stern regrets a little. The punishment for Old K should not be so severe. Now it is the league that suffers the most. If the ratings of the finals are not satisfactory, not only the 29 team owners will be dissatisfied, but also the ratings of the finals.
The live broadcast provider abc television station will not be satisfied either.
On May 31, Lao Wang held a pool party at a very private private hotel in Phoenix.
"Patrick, I'm sorry!" Lao Wang said to Ewing.
"Forget it, this is my life."
Ewing shook his head helplessly, and couldn't wait to walk to the hotel with two hot bikini models in his arms.
"Do you want to try again next season?" Lao Wang shouted from behind.
Ewing paused for a moment and looked at the two girls next to him. These were beautiful white girls that he had not been able to enjoy before. The escorts he called before were too low-end. This is the real high-end product. He couldn't help but nodded and said:
"For the party, not for the championship, I will stay."
"What the hell, you should retire, I won't keep you anymore." Lao Wang cursed.
"Old K, you can't do this." Ewing was anxious.
Lao Wang waved his hand to drive people away, but did not agree to Ewing's request.
After this incident, he could see that Ewing no longer had any ambition for the championship. He would definitely not train during the offseason. He would probably be completely out of shape next season and he didn't want to keep anyone else.
The league's current attitude towards him and the Suns has become clear from this suspension. It will definitely be very difficult for the Suns to strengthen. The only way is the free market. If Ewing stays in the Suns, he can only occupy an inside position in vain.
What's more troublesome is that he is suspended and there is no one available inside.
"Old K, you are not trustworthy." Ewing said urgently.
"It's not that I'm not trustworthy. I can also let you stay, but you must maintain moderate training during the offseason. I won't be here in the first half of next season, and you need to carry the inside. Can you agree?" Lao Wang
asked.
"This? Let's forget it, my body is no longer good."
Ewing shook his head helplessly, dropped these words, and couldn't wait to walk into the hotel with the two beauties in his arms. It seemed that his mood was not affected at all.
At 9 a.m. on the 1st, the NBA announced its best lineup.
Wang Tiejun was selected for the double first team, and the league must give him these two honors. With his data, if he is not given, the league is not worthy of talking about fairness.
At noon that day, Lao Wang arrived in Los Angeles and took a direct flight to the capital in the afternoon.
After getting off the plane, he received a message from Shuangjie. He checked the system and found that there was not a single point reward.
In other words, after playing for a season, he didn't earn a single point, and because he was dunked by O'Neal, 200 points were deducted, leaving only 300 points on hand.
Just when Lao Wang arrived in Los Angeles, at the Los Angeles Lakers headquarters, O'Neal was undergoing a concussion return to the game examination.
If he wants to return to the game, he must accept this process. This process has many procedures and takes several days, or even as long as a week.
The finals will start tonight. In other words, the first game of the finals will continue to be suspended. The second game is on the 4th. He will also not be able to participate. The G3 game on the 6th will depend on whether the process can be completed and whether he can be allowed to return to the game by the league.
, otherwise he still cannot return to the game.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Lao Wang boarded the passenger plane back to China.
On the afternoon of June 2, the passenger plane landed at Capital International Airport.
Brother Fei came to pick him up with a group of people. They were all security guards from Fengshen Street. They were all experienced and experienced.
In this day and age, the domestic public opinion environment is a bit strange. This time, the domestic media criticized him even more harshly than the American media.
When he came back this time, he did not avoid the media because he couldn't avoid it. His home was on Fengshen Street. It was impossible to avoid such a big target. He couldn't hide at home all day long without seeing anyone.
As soon as I left the security check, I was surrounded by a large number of media.
Various questions were asked, most of which were unfriendly. He answered two more friendly questions and left under the protection of security guards.
After getting in the car, Fei Ge said: "Hubby, Dayao won the G1 game of the finals."
"Won? Okay, good to win." Lao Wang nodded.
"But the ratings are very low, only 17 million." Feige said with a smile.
"..."
Lao Wang was shocked. The finals were so low?
The top ten NBA single-game ratings records were all created by him and Jordan in the Finals, especially during his three consecutive championships with the Lakers. With his and Jordan's influence, the ratings often reached 50 million.
However, he retired due to injury in 2001, and Jordan also retired, and the NBA's ratings dropped back to their original form. Last year's finals were only about 20 million.
After he came back last season, the popularity of the NBA began to rise. The ratings of the Suns' games were very good. When they met good opponents in the regular season, they often exceeded 20 million. Even when they encountered opponents like the Lakers, they could reach 30 million.
.
With a viewership of 17 million, will ABC TV, the live broadcast provider of the finals, cry?
"You deserve it, who asked them to ban you?" Fei Ge said with a gloating smile.
"That's what you asked for. If you look at it this way, the ratings next season won't be that good." Lao Wang said with a smile.
"You said it's okay that O'Neal doesn't have a jovial relationship with you off the court, but why does he always attack you on the court?" Fei Ge asked.
"I don't know what the bastard is thinking," Lao Wang said.
Brother Fei burst out laughing and said: "In the G1 game, you just cut off his ball, and he can pull you down from behind without any protective actions. It's so abominable!"
At this point, she made a suggestion and said: "Why don't we let the club suspend his membership? We don't want to earn his small money."
"Hey, this is good. The bastard really can't make money. I'll talk to the second sister later." Lao Wang said with a smile.
When I got home, before the car stopped, Zhou Zhou ran out of the living room, and her father ran over screaming.
"Oh, we haven't seen each other for a few months. Come on, Zhou Zhou, give me a hug from dad." Lao Wang hurriedly got out of the car and stretched out his arms to his precious daughter with a smile on his face.