239: 109: Coach, I really want to pass the ball!
(Asking for monthly tickets!)_2 239: 109: Coach, I really want to pass the ball!
(Asking for monthly tickets!)_2 Ever since Roger entered the league as an 18-year-old high school student, Ted Turner had been very curious about him.
He wanted to see what this kid could really accomplish.
This summer, the Hawks were also one of the teams that made an offer to Roger.
Although Ted Turner didn’t rely on the Hawks to make money, as a sports fan, he still very much wanted to manage the team well.
He had achieved this with the Atlanta Braves (baseball), and this year the Braves had won the championship, giving Turner a great sense of accomplishment.
He enjoyed the feeling of watching his team succeed step by step.
Turner knew that when it came to basketball, the Hawks were in dire need of high-level stars.
He had made a bid through Fleisher, and although the hope was slim, he really did want to own a superstar prospect like Roger.
After all, which sports gamer could resist the temptation of a superstar prospect?
Unfortunately, the Magic, who had the rights to Roger, ultimately won the bidding war.
However, Ted Turner would continue to pay attention to Roger.
Who could say for certain what would happen in a few years?
Anyway, this offseason, news about basketball and the NBA was no longer exclusively about Michael Jordan.
Roger was beginning to receive more and more attention in the basketball world.
His dinner with a well-known model in France sparked discussions.
His upcoming new sneakers were hotly debated.
And all of this pained Michael Jordan, who had once dominated the media.
However, it also gave him a greater motivation.
Time flew by, and when O’Neal returned to Orlando from his vacation, he found that the entire city had changed.
Almost every giant billboard in Orlando was adorned with Roger’s advertisements.
There were Reebok’s, Disney’s, and various other brands.
In short, Orlando was all about Roger!
Shaq’s advertisements were not absent, but in quantity, they simply couldn’t compare to Roger’s, and they could not even compare to his own from a few years ago.
That afternoon, O’Neal attended his own sneaker launch event.
This pair of sneakers was a very successful example in the history of center sneakers, both in O’Neal’s career and overall—the Reebok Shaq Attaq series.
These were some of the few, or even perhaps the only, center sneakers that could become a hit under the shadow of AJ.
Roger and O’Neal both attended the event, and the media interview at the end was quite lively.
In the past, O’Neal loved such moments when he could be the center of attention.
But today’s interview made him quite distressed.
“Shaq, how do you feel about Roger’s hundred-million-dollar contract?”
“Can Roger become the scoring champion next season?”
“Hey Shaq, do you know any insider info about the yet-to-be-released Truth III?
Can you share something with us?”
All the billboards, all the questions, all the people, were talking about Roger.
It annoyed Shaq a bit.
So, faced with a series of inquiries, Shaq replied irritably, “Hey, this is my sneaker launch.
If you have questions, why not ask him directly?
He’s just over there!”
But soon, it seemed Shaq realized something and immediately added, “Stop asking those stupid questions.
My brother is the best player in the world, so his hundred-million-dollar contract is well deserved, and he’s absolutely qualified to be the scoring champion.
As for the Truth III, do I even need to say it?
It’ll be as outstanding as my Shaq Attaq!”
O’Neal didn’t know why he had just gotten so angry.
No, no—that’s impossible.
Shaq couldn’t quite explain it himself; he only knew that for a moment, he had felt very irritated.
He didn’t dislike Roger, but he disliked that these media seemed only to have eyes for Roger.
The whole world acted as if… as if he were Scottie Pippen!
O’Neal didn’t like that feeling, not one bit.
But that night, neither Roger nor Shaq were the center of attention.
The spotlight turned to Pat Riley.
That evening, just as the new season’s training camp was about to start, Pat Riley finally played his ace.
Taking advantage of the discord between Mourning and the team, the Miami Heat traded Matt Geiger, Khalid Reeves, Glenn Rice, and another first-round pick from ’96 to the Hornets, in exchange for Pete Myers, Aaron Elie, and All-Star center Alonzo Mourning!
Another center from Georgetown University was taken under the command of Pat Riley, this vampire who was set to dominate in Florida, initiated the first step of building his team.
This last-minute trade before the season start surprised the whole league with Riley’s efficiency.
He had just joined the Heat not long ago and had already secured a strong player.
People were curious about what Riley could achieve with the Heat.
Because it was clear that this was just the first step for Riley in changing the Heat.
The day before training camp started, “Sports Illustrated” also conducted an interview with Pat Riley.
“Pat, moving from New York to Miami, what’s the difference for you?”
“The scenery here is nicer, and I have a board of directors willing to fully support me.
Here, no one interferes with me.”
“After acquiring Alonzo Mourning, what is your next plan?”
“I won’t reveal my plans, but the Miami Heat will become a real man’s team, I guarantee it.
This season, we will definitely make it back to the playoffs.”
“A man’s team, can you explain that?”
“There’s nothing to say, you’ll see the changes in this team during the preseason games.”
Riley was right, a month later in the preseason, the Miami Heat displayed a toughness reminiscent of the New York Knicks.
Under Mourning’s leadership and Riley’s influence, the Heat played the preseason games with immense determination.
Finally, in the third game of the preseason, the Heat met the Magic.
Without a doubt, this game was a blockbuster in the preseason.
Riley and Roger’s grudges, Shaq and Mourning’s grudges, the Florida Derby grudge.
All of this made the game particularly unique.
The contest was fierce, and both sides were aggressively confrontational.
In the cheers of the Miami fans, the Heat players were as excited as if they were in the playoffs.
“Riley is a madman!” screamed Brian Hill from the bench.
He didn’t understand why Pat Riley had his players going all out in a preseason game, making him hesitant to let his main players take the court.
Brian Hill had decided to only let Roger and Shaq play half the game that day.
In fact, Riley ran his practices as if they were real battles, let alone the preseason games.
In the second quarter, as O’Neal caught the ball under the basket and prepared to power through Mourning, Kurt Thomas, a rookie with the Heat, joined in for the double team.
He fiercely tugged at O’Neal’s arm, knocking Shaq to the ground.
This was the defensive attitude that Pat Riley had instilled in the whole team, to be ferocious no matter what.
O’Neal quickly got up, but instead of yelling at his opponents, he walked to the sideline holding his hand in pain.
After the game, the Orlando Magic confirmed that Shaquille O’Neal had fractured his thumb and was expected to miss two months.
I don’t blame Kurt; he’s just a rookie, a blank slate, so this is all Pat Riley’s fault!
I don’t know why he turned the team into this style, I don’t know why he had the team play like it was a war in the preseason!
That bastard, he’s like John Gotti, a mobster!
He should be arrested!
— O’Neal angrily spoke of the Heat’s defense.
If Coach Pat Riley thinks this will pull us down, then he’s sorely mistaken!
We will not fall because of this, not at all!
— Brian Hill formally declared war on Riley.
Anyway, this is the basketball we’re playing; this is what Pat Riley has brought to this team, and we’ll keep it up.
— Heat’s new leader Alonzo Mourning commented on the level of the game.
— Roger left the press conference after these words.
Brian Hill never expected such an accident in the preseason, luckily Shaq should be able to return at the end of December or the beginning of January.
But before then, the team’s record couldn’t afford to drop too much, or it would be a significant blow to morale and their championship determination.
So, after the game, Brian Hill went to find Roger.
“You can do what you love now, starting today, you have the green light to shoot at will.
I have only one request, let those bastards in the league know who the defending champions are!”
This summer, Roger specifically improved his passing ability.
Yet, before the new season even started, the coach had given him carte blanche to shoot.
Sigh, I really wanted to pass the ball.
But, I really had no control over it!