Based on Zhang Hao's understanding of Gerald Glass's strength and other aspects, the last year of Gerald Glass's contract was not guaranteed. Butch Baird's decision basically announced the end of Gerald Glass's NBA career.
After Butch Baird announced the news, he left the restaurant, causing an uproar in the restaurant.
"Gerrard's contract for the new season is 480,000, right? Too miserable! He won't get a penny at all." Charles felt sympathetic.
"It was only a matter of time before Gerrard was fired. When he played against the Hornets, he slept until 2 p.m. and arrived at the stadium almost after the warm-up."
"That's true, but it was too sudden. I thought he would be cut in the middle of the season. He can get a few thousand dollars per game, and he earns money every time he plays."
For Zhang Hao and Kenny Anderson, a salary of $480,000 a year is nothing, but it is different for Charles.
But he didn't have any negative thoughts about Butch Baird, who was indeed good at this.
Zhang Hao listened to the conversation between the two silently and felt that Butch Baird was really amazing.
The most suitable person to perform the operation was hired!
"Do they have a curfew policy to notify Glass? Or have they already prepared to lay off Glass before the start of the season to save salary?" Zhang Hao did not say this.
However, Zhang Hao feels that this operation may have an immediate effect in terms of discipline.
Very direct, simple and rough.
There is no room for negotiation. Apart from the regulations required by the league, the team does not have many other regulations, and they are not strict.
It’s just that it wasn’t strict in the past and many people violated the regulations.
Butch Baird simply made a decision - to enforce the rules.
The new regulations are just an introduction.
Zhang Hao looked at his teammates. Some of them were feeling uneasy, but a number of players were excited about this.
The team has really changed!
"Amazing! He's not good at coaching, but he's good at these!"
Zhang Hao was going to get some food to calm his nerves. This nerve was a surprise.
He originally thought that the team would be like a puddle of mud and he could only struggle in it and take care of himself, but now it seems that they have a chance to try to win!
After this period of time, he felt that they had some hope. As for Glass who was laid off... someone would always be laid off, and it was good that it wasn't him, Zhang.
Just when Zhang Hao was feeling excited, he saw the scene played on the TV in the restaurant. At first, he thought it was interesting, but at the end, a curse sounded throughout the restaurant...
…
Yesterday, Michael Jordan accepted an exclusive interview with TNT and was asked about this year's rookies.
This happens every year, with the league's top stars evaluating the rookies.
They will not wait until the regular season has been played for a while to conduct this interview, or even wait until the preseason is over, but will conduct this interview as soon as the rookies have just shown some performance.
The reason… just because a superstar is a great player doesn’t necessarily mean he has a good vision.
Topics need to be created.
Jordan returned after more than a season of retirement, so it’s natural to find him this season.
Jordan had been cheated before. When he evaluated rookies in the past, he would honestly evaluate based on his own feelings. He would praise whoever he thought was good. Usually, there was one lottery rookie he liked, and then, that rookie was awful.
Once upon a time, whenever Jordan was going to participate in such an interview, the rookies who had just entered the NBA were extremely terrified, fearing that their names would come out of Jordan's mouth.
Fortunately, Jordan learned his lesson later. Whenever he praised someone individually, he would only praise a dud. So he would praise all the rookies in the lottery zone.
After that, the "hand-picked parallel imports" program that fans looked forward to and rookies despaired of every season ended, and its influence gradually dissipated.
After retiring for more than a year, Jordan, who has made a comeback, has become more calm in dealing with the media. His praise of rookies is more cultured, his words and narratives are more professional, and his praises are also full of room for improvement.
He praised every lottery rookie, even those who didn't play well in the first two preseason games. He also expressed his expectations and vowed not to be slapped in the face again.
Perhaps, it was because the Bulls were about to have a preseason game against the Nets. After Jordan praised the lottery picks, he specifically mentioned Zhang Hao: "Axelroy's mid-range shooting is amazing. He must be one of the best players in the league. He just graduated from high school. He's amazing. I want to compete with him to see who has a better mid-range shooting..."
…
…
After the start of the preseason, Zhang Hao gained some attention, but his status was limited to the category of "rookie".
If he wasn't a rookie, it wouldn't be surprising if he performed like that in the preseason.
But Jordan's words directly put Zhang Hao at the center of discussion among fans!
After breakfast, Zhang Hao boarded the team bus and went with the team to the Chicago United Center, the new home of the Bulls, which was put into use in the second half of last season. He and his teammates conducted team training under the guidance of the coaching staff.
The training content was simple and not targeted, but Zhang Hao clearly felt that the training was very different from before.
This is different from previous tactical training sessions, which were all about practicing more tactics together. But this time, the tactics that were commonly used on the court in the previous games were adjusted.
Adjustments based on actual combat basis and changes in details.
If he hadn't looked carefully, Zhang Hao would have thought it was a tactical review, but after careful observation, Zhang Hao discovered that there were indeed changes.
The overall change is not big, but his change in this aspect is very obvious.
His degree of freedom has increased!
Someone else might feel that there is no change, and his running route map has hardly changed. If he doesn't understand the running positions of players without the ball so well, he might not be able to see it.
But he understood! He found that after modifying the tactics he had learned before, he could find more possibilities in them.
Zhang Hao’s feeling, to put it more directly, was that the coaching staff seemed to be treating them as guinea pigs for tactical experiments.
Now, we are really creating tactics for them!
A 40-minute tactical training course, Zhang Hao is still not satisfied...
He put away his excitement first and made good preparations. Zhang Hao really wanted to play well in tonight's match.
First time playing against Jordan!
This... is the God of Basketball!
After the interview video of Jordan was broadcast, Kenny Anderson kept observing Zhang Hao and found that Zhang Hao's expression seemed calm, but there was an indescribable feeling.
Very inappropriate!
Kenny Anderson patted Zhang Hao on the shoulder and said, "Aix, don't even think about fighting that guy. He... is not a human!"
He was targeted by Jordan when he was in the second grade. Not only Jordan, but his talent was also targeted by many veteran superstars during that period when he was in the second and third grades.
Payton, Stockton and others were all hateful in Kenny Anderson's mind, but there was one person who could not be described as hateful. That guy was a villain in Kenny Anderson's mind! An out-and-out villain!
At that time, he felt that the guy wanted to destroy him every time he met him, but he never messed with the guy, that is, there was no reason.
Zhang Hao smiled and responded, "Thank you, Boss, but I want to give it a try."
Here we go again! They say they are low-key, but they never act low-key!
Kenny Anderson was a little mad.
Even though Jordan will be 33 years old next season, many people are now speculating whether Jordan's performance will collapse next season. Many people question whether Jordan can continue to be the strongest player after his comeback this time. Some media even assert that Jordan's comeback this time will become a stain on his career, but Kenny Anderson still thinks Jordan is the strongest.
He has personally played against Jordan, and he believes that anyone who has personally played against Jordan would not have such a stupid idea.
But I admire you so much!
He didn't have the courage to come up with the same idea as Zhang Hao back then. He could see that Zhang Hao didn't think about how Jordan was getting old. Zhang Hao didn't use various arguments to explain anything, he just said he wanted to give it a try.
Instead of immediately agreeing or encouraging him, Kenny Anderson said, "Axel, you have to think clearly. Even if you don't respond to his words and just try with actions in the game, he will become a demon. I don't think you have a chance to beat him."
"I see."
After spending a long time together, Kenny Anderson became more and more worried. He talked more than before and even had a tendency to be a chatterbox. Now, he started again: "Since you want to do this, I have to help you. Otherwise, how can I be the boss? I don't think we have much chance of winning tonight's game, but if we have a chance of winning..."
"If I have a chance to win, I'll give up this fight and we'll talk next time."
"That's right, but we still have to discuss it, the Bulls and the Hornets are different, completely different!
You have to be mentally prepared for this.
Don’t think I’m exaggerating. If you don’t plan well, I think it will be hard for you to find a chance to shoot…Chris, Jason, Almon, come on, let’s discuss something…”
Kenny Anderson, who had been advising Zhang Hao not to have unrealistic ideas before, suddenly became the team's military advisor and called the core members of the team to discuss the matter. He was much more proactive than Zhang Hao, the person involved.
The changes did not start with Butch Baird's previous example of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. I don't know when it started, but perhaps from the very beginning of the team training game in the training camp, changes have begun to take place within the Nets team.
The people who were called together were all very serious. If their seriousness were to reach the ears of tonight's opponents, they would just smile at most. It was just a preseason game, but the Nets players made it so grand.
Didn't they know it was just a preseason game? Of course they did.
However, at this moment, what they are pursuing may be the simplest and purest thing - the joy of playing basketball.
…
…
After the morning preparations, Zhang Hao accepted an interview after lunch.
Interviews with Chaoting TV are always so boring. Fortunately, my old friend Xu Jicheng accepted the transfer and went to Chaoting TV to serve as a reporter accompanying Zhang Hao in away games during the pre-season.
After finishing this boring interview, Zhang Hao and Xu Jicheng went to the lounge to chat.
"Aix, there will be no live broadcast of tonight's game. I think you know the reason, so don't feel pressured when you play against the Bulls...you should try to perform well. If you don't perform well, don't be discouraged..."
Xu Jicheng's words were very tactful, but Zhang Hao could hear them. The meaning was very clear: they were too weak.
Zhang Hao does not feel that he is being underestimated. Judging from current public opinion, although the Bulls are not the number one favorite to win the championship, they are also one of the favorites.
The Nets are also a favorite, but they are the favorite for the No. 1 pick.
Two teams at two extremes.
This is just the public's opinion. Zhang Hao knows that the Bulls are invincible this year!
Even though he was a bit nagging, Zhang Hao felt that Xu Jicheng was a pretty good person... Zhang Hao didn't know why everyone felt that he needed care, but this feeling was pretty good.
Xu Jicheng was already used to Zhang Hao's listening style of communication. He knew that there was nothing to say to what he had just said. After a pause, he continued, "Aix, you should find an agent in China to help you deal with domestic news and endorsement matters. You don't pay enough attention to these aspects."
"I talked to my father and he said it would be better not to look for it for now."
"Not looking?"
From wanting to build as good relationships with other people as possible and establish a so-called network at the beginning, to later realizing that in the world of athletes, only those with strength are qualified to talk about connections, Zhang Hao became less talkative.
Later on, his life span became shorter day by day. After it fell below 300 days, Zhang Hao began to cherish time more, so he spoke less and focused on doing what he wanted to do.
This doesn’t mean he talks less, but rather that he will end unimportant or uninteresting conversations as quickly as possible.
However, since he had something important to discuss, he had better explain it. After thinking for a while, Zhang Hao said, "It will be very troublesome. The social etiquette in China is very troublesome. If I didn't have an agent, my father would say that he has no control over my affairs. But with an agent, it's different. He doesn't want to affect me."
Xu Jicheng nodded, with a look of regret on his face: "I heard that many domestic brands want to invite you to be their spokesperson. Many people here asked me to tell them..."
Thinking of the endorsement fees of tens of thousands, Xu Jichong felt sorry for Zhang Hao. It's all about money!
Zhang Hao felt that Xu Jicheng seemed to be feeling sorry for him. He scratched his head and blurted out, "Actually, I don't need that little money."
"..."Xu Jicheng felt as if his heart was stabbed!
Zhang Hao received endorsement invitations in China, but he rejected them all.
Those brands are just trying to take advantage of the current popularity and don’t think how well he will play in foreign basketball leagues in the future. The fact that no domestic brands have invested in the Nets is a good illustration of this point.
The reason... After thinking for a while, Zhang Hao said, "Unless they add money."
His time is valuable, and the money offered by the other party cannot impress him.
If he had that much free time, he would rather lie on the sofa and play Bully.
…
At 4:45 p.m., the game was about to begin. After warming up, Zhang Hao walked out of the player tunnel with his teammates excitedly and came to the stadium of the United Center.
What Zhang Hao saw seemed to be a sea of ​​red...
The Bulls announced that the number of seats for tonight was 21,358, and it was full! Moreover, looking around, almost all the audience members were wearing red T-shirts provided by the Bulls!
The frenzied voices at the scene made Zhang Hao truly understand what passion is. What is the Nets home court and the Hornets home court called...
Looking across, Zhang Hao finally saw the legendary player with his own eyes - Michael Jordan!
Zhang Hao had thought about visiting Jordan in advance, but he didn't have the chance. The Bulls' training was much more active and more intense than that of the Nets.
When it comes to game days, people are still preparing for the regular season.
From this point, Zhang Hao clearly saw that the other party did not regard them as opponents at all.
"Jordan, Pippen, Kukoc, Longley, Kerr, Harper, Rodman... except for their age, Jordan is still six months old at 33, and Rodman is still six months old at 35. This lineup is impeccable!"
Zhang Hao looked at this group of players and didn't know how to describe his current mood.
Just seeing the players on the opposite side, he felt like he could hardly breathe !
They are teams from two completely different worlds!
At this time, the prompt came.
"Specially signed player Zhang Hao will represent the Nets in the game against the Bulls. The player detection system has been activated. The host can analyze the opponent's ability evaluation and provide assistance to Zhang Hao."
"look!"
"Michael Jordan, 32 years old, height 198 cm, wingspan 212 cm, ability rating 105..."
“I don’t want to watch it anymore!”
Zhang Hao only watched the beginning and decisively turned off the subtitles.
This is so depressing!
“What is the highest ability rating?”
"The highest rating for general ability is 99. Michael Jordan is ahead of his time."
A superstar who transcends the times! When thinking of this, Zhang Hao inexplicably thought of someone.
"What was that paranoid thinking? How dare he aim to surpass such a guy?"
Zhang Hao stopped looking at the ability evaluation of the opposing players. He felt that he would be hit if he continued to look at it!
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Hao calmed down the feeling of cursing caused by the difference in strength.
At this time, Kenny Anderson came up to Zhang Hao and said, "How is it? You must be excited to see that man."
Without answering this question, Zhang Hao asked: "If someone told you that his goal is to become stronger than Jordan and want to get more honors than Jordan, what do you think?"
"are you crazy?"
"Not me."
"…Fortunately, you are not crazy."
Zhang Hao knew he was not crazy, but he felt that a certain player No. 24 in the future who did not want to be named was a lunatic.
If a player now says he wants to surpass Jordan, he will be considered crazy. Jordan is already being compared to Magic Johnson, let alone surpassing Jordan after he won his second three consecutive championships?
"Where does that guy get the courage?"
Don't worry about these things. Many things are still far away from him. At this moment, he really wants to get on the court as soon as possible.
Unlike the excitement when he first stepped into the stadium, Zhang Hao initially thought that he would run over to talk to Jordan, but now he really has no impulse to do such a thing.
His impulse now is to go up and have a match with that man!
the other side.
"Michael, are you interested in that high school student?" Pippen was curious.
Jordan shook his head: "No, I'm not interested in him. I'm interested in his mid-range shots. He made 20 or so mid-range shots in the first two games? Twice as many as me..."
Pippen thought for a moment and said, "That rookie must be very talented in mid-range shooting. I heard that he got into the first round with just one dunk contest and one high school game. He must have a lot of talent. What do you think?"
Jordan didn't answer, but instead asked, "How many mid-range shots do you think he can make tonight?"
Pippen then asked, "How many shots do you want him to make?"
"Ha ha ha ha……"