Chapter 248 Eliminating the Bull

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"One to three, the Bulls are about to be eliminated from the Eastern Conference Finals."

"The Dragons performed brutally, and Jordan is about to be eliminated from the Eastern Conference Finals."

"The bulls are fighting among themselves and the collapse is certain!"

“The Bulls are in internal strife and reconstruction is imperative.”

"Jerry Krause, the founder of the Bulls dynasty, deeply regretted expelling the Dragons. He accused Jordan of being involved in the incident."

"The coach of the dynasty wants to give the founder of the dynasty a book. The book is called A Fool Can Be a Manager."

The next day, the national media frantically hyped the Bulls' imminent elimination and the Bulls' internal strife.

When Jordan came back the year before last, America's No. 1 publicly stated that Jordan's comeback would provide 20 million jobs in the United States. Regardless of whether this was an exaggeration or not, it can be seen that Jordan's influence in the United States is absolutely super.

This time the Bulls led by Jordan are likely to be eliminated by the Knicks again, and the Bulls are likely to collapse. Their influence is unprecedented.

There is a Chinese basketball commentator named John Li who published an article in Chicago Sports News. He said in the article:

"Now the entire alliance should unite and regard Feilong as a public enemy of the alliance, otherwise a Chinese will be superior to Americans."

This article was reprinted by most media and recognized by many people.

But this was the most powerful era in the United States. The deep-rooted conservatism had not yet appeared, and free and open ideas were still advocated. Therefore, this article was opposed by many people, and most mainstream media did not follow it.

Especially the New York media did not reprint this article. Without the participation of the New York media, this thing would not have made a big splash.

At the hotel, Zhao Dong was staying in Lindsay's room. When he saw this thing, he felt disgusted by John Li and felt like vomiting.

"Find someone to check this piece of shit. If it's not clean, then kill him." Zhao Dong said unhappily.

"Husband, don't be angry for this kind of person, I'll make a call later." Lindsay advised.

This is very simple for the two of them now. If it is a matter of one sentence, someone will naturally handle it.

The Bull Headquarters at this time,

Already a mess.

Ewing and Rodman have determined that their injuries have recurred and will not be able to participate in the G5 game. Tracy McGrady is not mature yet, and there is only Cole on the bench. With Jordan and Kidd alone, the Bulls' chance of winning is slightly equal to zero.

The team was about to be eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals again, coupled with Jerry Krause's public attack and the ridicule of the media, Jordan's mood also collapsed.

"Fake oil, you fat pig, you can go fishing now and use your big ass to make fish. Let me tell you, this team is with you and without me!"

The entire headquarters and all the staff were trembling under his roar, and no one dared to show their head.

"boom!"

The door to Jerry Krause's office was flung open, and Jordan rushed out like a tyrant.

Ten minutes later, the boss, Jerry Reinsdorf, walked into the office.

Jerry Krause looked at his boss blankly, rubbed his face, and said with a wry smile: "Jerry, are you here to fire me?"

Reinsdorf also gave a wry smile, dragged the chair over and sat on the opposite side.

The two fell into silence.

"Being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals is a foregone conclusion, you know that. So, you and I must make plans in advance." After a minute of silence, Reinsdorf suddenly said.

"It seems..."

Reinsdorf opened his mouth hesitantly and said, "I'm afraid the plan you mentioned won't work."

Klaus nodded. With things like this happening now, with Jordan's personality, how could he still serve as a training ground and contribute to the team's reconstruction?

After giving a wry smile, he said to Reinsdorf: "Jerry, Kidd and Tracy McGrady are all the future I left for the team. If you train them well, the Bulls can quickly complete the rebuilding."

Reinsdorf stood up, wanted to say something but then closed his mouth, and walked out of the office silently.

Klaus smiled bitterly again. The boss probably didn't have much choice, and he was probably going to be fired.

Because Jordan's influence in Chicago is too great, if he takes the initiative to let Jordan go without giving him a contract, he may be scolded by the fans.

"Michael, tell me, tell me your plans, this team is yours, what do you want this team to do?"

"Jerry, I can't be with him anymore. I said it, either me or him, you make the decision."

In the evening, Reinsdorf specially invited Jordan to his home. He tried to make some efforts, but the results were not good. Jordan was very stubborn.

At 11 o'clock, the Jazz defeated the Lakers, leading by a big score of 3 to 2, and got the match point.

On the evening of the 28th, at the United Center Arena, as the whistle ended, two thousand away fans and the Knicks all cheered heartily.

Four to one, the Knicks eliminated the Bulls and took the lead in reaching the finals of the 1997/98 season.

Zhao Dong clocked in the third quarter of the game and scored 33 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists in 36 minutes. This was also his first triple-double after the playoffs this season.

In the five-game series of the Eastern Conference Finals, he scored 52 points, 41 points, 53 points, 51 points, and 33 points respectively. He averaged 46 points per game and shot 70% from the field. He showed his terrifying scoring ability, and Super high offensive efficiency.

At the same time, in the five-game series, he scored 13, 9, 17, 17, and 7 free throws respectively, averaging 12.6 free throws per game. This terrifying killing ability has also made the league disgraced and is the only one. There are big sharks to compare it to.

After this game, not to mention the revelry of the Knicks, the Bulls completely collapsed.

The atmosphere at the Bulls' post-game media conference was extremely heavy, but all the main players participated.

A reporter from Chicago Business News asked: "Michael, your contract is over and we want to see you stay. Can you give us a definite answer?"

Jordan glanced at the crowd of reporters in the audience and said something that made everyone blush: "I'm sorry, I will refuse the Bulls' contract extension."

"oh!"

Everyone exclaimed.

To be honest, Jordan's words gave many local reporters a feeling of panic.

But the Bulls' collapse didn't end there. Jordan wasn't the only one whose contract ended. Phil Jackson and Rodman's contracts also ended.

Facing questions from the media, Phil Jackson said: "Like Michael, I have already thought about it. I need to take a break and I will leave here."

"It seems that there is no point in staying here. I choose to leave." Rodman, who has a unique personality, seemed to have no feeling about the elimination and said with some indifference.

"Ewing, what about you?" a reporter asked.

"I still have two years of contract." Ewing said with a dull expression.

"The Bulls really collapsed." Many reporters sighed on the spot.

"Feilong is really strong. He stopped the bull and did what he said. Now he even defeated the bull. So strong!" Yang Yi in the crowd praised.

On the other side, in the Knicks press conference hall, the atmosphere was completely different.

"Feilong, the Knicks are leading the Bulls by a huge score even though no one is optimistic about it. What do you think is the reason?" a reporter asked.

"That's because you underestimated us and overestimated the Bulls."

Zhao Dong smiled and said: "I said at the beginning of the season that our lineup is very strong and is by no means weaker than last season's lineup. The Bulls' lineup is just fake. Ewing is no longer good, and Rodman is in the playoffs. The performance of the game has always been like that, Jordan's condition has declined, and I can't think of a chance for them to beat us."

"But in this game, after you injured two guards in a row, you abandoned Fordson and Billups, and Ben Wallace did not play. This means that the lineup you built this season has completely given up. Does this mean that you have given up? This lineup?" a reporter asked.

"Fortson and Ben didn't play. This is for tactical reasons. We need people with long-range shots to open up the Bulls' defense. As for Billups, the rookie, he still needs to hone." Zhao Dongdao.

"Feilong, who do you prefer as your opponent in the finals?" a reporter asked.

"It doesn't matter, I don't pick my opponent, I'll hit whoever I touch." Zhao Dong spread his hands and said with a smile.

"What do you have to say about the Knicks' lineup?" a reporter asked.

Zhao Dong pondered for a while and then said: "In fact, it is still difficult for us to defeat the Bulls, especially after injuries to Larry Johnson, Alan Houston, and Hu Weidong, we are short of manpower, and each of us has to play for a long time. Now we are tired.

Fortunately, we won the Eastern Conference Finals 4-1, which gave us some time to recover and allowed our injured teammates to catch up with the finals. "

"Tang, are their injuries enough to make it to the finals?" a reporter asked.

Old Nelson smiled and said: "It should be possible, all three of them can do it. Their recovery progress is pretty good at the moment."

"Mr. Grant, will the team trade Danny Fordson and Billups?" a reporter asked.

Neil Grant on the other side smiled and said: "Sorry, they are not for sale."

"Feilong, news has come out from the league that the MVP will be announced before the finals. What are your expectations for this?" a reporter asked.

"I don't think there is any suspense about this. If you don't give it to me, who else can you give it to?" Zhao Dong said with a smile.

"Feilong, do you think the Bulls will really collapse?" a reporter asked.

"possible."

"So do you think Jordan will choose to leave the Bulls?"

"You should ask Jordan that question."

"As a player, what is your attitude toward the upcoming labor negotiations? As a successful businessman and a sponsor owner of many players, what is your status?"

Zhao Dong hesitated and then said: "The labor negotiations are uncontrollable. No one knows how long the talks will last. I hope they can be resolved as soon as possible. This is my attitude as a player.

As for the other identity, I'm sorry, that is not my identity in the league, and I will not participate in league affairs in that capacity. "

He knew that this negotiation was very long, lasting more than half a year. The new season will not start until February next year. The shortened season will only have 50 regular season games. Even the All-Star Game has been cancelled. Jordan will retire for the second time because of the negotiations.

It has been eight months since the start of the new season. He now has some thoughts. Should he retire for a season like Jordan and play football?

He likes football very much. He temporarily goes to play for the New York Jets for one season and comes back next season? Or play a few games before coming back for a shortened season?

"Feilong, I just received news from the Bulls. Jordan refused to renew his contract. Phil Jackson and Rodman announced their departure from the Bulls. The Bulls collapsed."

At this time, a reporter said loudly.

"If so, that wouldn't be surprising."

Zhao Dong smiled and said: "The end of an era will inevitably be accompanied by the disintegration of the team that dominated an era."

"Feilong, I heard that the Knicks also have some players whose contracts have ended and will leave after the end of the season?" a reporter asked.

"It's possible. Everyone has their choice, which needs to be respected." Zhao Dong said with a smile.

After eliminating the Bulls and preventing Jordan's comeback, Zhao Dong completed the super team sniping mission issued at the beginning of the season and received a reward, a chance to recover from a serious injury.

Although this reward does not allow him to get any benefits now, it is extremely precious. It is like giving him a backup of his body and giving him a chance to start over.

"The bull crash is a symbolic event that marks the end of an era and the rise of a new era."

"Even if he loses, Jordan is still the best basketball player in the world."

"Who's going to be the next team to have Michael Jordan?"

The Bulls officially collapsed. Before dawn, it spread all over the world that night, and many media in Europe and Asia reported it.

The next day, North American media began to report wildly.

From print media to television and radio media, the message is delivered to everyone without interruption.

At noon, the Knicks arrived in New York.

Countless Knicks fans went to the airport to greet them, so long lines of cars caused a huge jam, and traffic from the airport to the city center was paralyzed for a time.

At the league headquarters at this time, Stern had just finished talking with the Bulls boss.

If Jordan does not renew his contract with the Bulls, it is likely that something he does not want to see will happen, such as retirement. Jordan is very likely to be able to do it, especially after being eliminated by the Dragons for two consecutive seasons.

Of course, after losing to Feilong consecutively, Jordan will probably not retire due to his unwillingness to admit defeat. From this point of view, the emergence of Feilong is actually a good thing.

He hopes the Bulls can keep Jordan and build a competitive lineup.

He also believes that Nike will do its best for this.

In fact, Nike management at this time was frantically calling Jordan's phone, but Jordan's phone was always turned off.

"Get out and keep fighting."

Facing the beautiful assistant who came in to report, Nike President Philip Knight shouted sharply, completely losing his soft words in the past.

Now he is worried that if Jordan retires again due to disappointment, then Nike will really be doomed.

The last time he retired, the impact on Nike was not small. This time, Feilong Sports is fiercely competing for Nike's market share. Once Jordan really retires for the second time, Nike will lose its biggest brand. Feilong will be the only player in the league, and Nike will be very A sliding-iron rout could result.

Of course, because Feilong is Chinese, he is not worried that Jordan's influence will be greatly suppressed by Feilong, but the performance of the Silver Devils generation really exceeds that of Nike shoes, and Nike will definitely be cut off from a large share.

The most important thing now is to find Jordan, convince him to stay in the league, and then create a new championship lineup for him.

Jordan had already proposed last time that he wanted to share the profits from Jordan's sneakers, but if that doesn't work, let's use this as a bargaining chip.

At the Adidas headquarters, President Herbert Hainer is considering a question: Should he give Nike a try or kick him? Or sit on a mountain and watch a tiger fight?

This involves one of the most important issues, who is Adidas’ biggest competitor.

"Nike is a local brand, Feilong Sports is a Chinese brand..."

"The last time Jordan retired, there was an impact on Nike, but Nike has matured and established a firm foothold, so the impact is limited. So this time even if Jordan retires for the second time, even if Jordan loses to Feilong, it will definitely have an impact on Nike. It’s also limited.”

"But Feilong Sports has not yet completely established a foothold. Now is the last chance to block it. Once Feilong wins the championship for the second time and even establishes a dynasty, Feilong Sports will definitely take the opportunity to take root in North America. By then, there will be no chance."

"Silver Demon's technology?"

After repeated consideration, he decided to join forces with Nike to build several strong teams in the league to compete with the Knicks.

Suppressing Feilong, and thereby suppressing Feilong Sports, would be the best if Feilong Sports could fall into a business crisis. If we take the opportunity to acquire it, we can have Silver Devil's technology.

However, there is a bottom line, that is, joining forces with Nike is just to suppress Feilong and Feilong Sports, but it must not be cheap for Jordan and Nike.

Therefore, Adidas has two enemies, Nike and Feilong Sports.

Being hypocritical is his basic idea for joining forces with Nike for the second time.

When Zhao Dong returned home, Lindsay had already arrived home first.

"Husband, Chen Jian called and said that there is a voice among the senior management at the headquarters that they hope the company will be listed. Some senior executives hope to own certain shares of the company."

"What do you think?" Zhao Dong was startled and asked.

"Executives own dividend shares, which is a popular practice among large companies internationally. It can strengthen the relationship between the senior management and the company, allowing them to be truly tied to the company's interests," Lindsay said.

"Do you support it?"

"I support executives owning dividend equity. However, we have sufficient operating funds. If they just want to own the company's dividend equity, there seems to be no need to go public. We can now give them a certain amount of dividend equity." Lindsay analyzed road.

"you mean?"

“The intentions of some executives deserve closer scrutiny.”

There was a trace of doubt in Lindsay's eyes, and he analyzed: "They should know that even if the company goes public, they will not be given tradable equity, but will only be given dividend equity. Once they leave the company, the company will take back these equity. So, what are they advocating for the company to go public? The approach is worthy of questioning.”

"Let's do this, tell Chen Jian that we will consider listing, but where to list, domestically, Hong Kong, Singapore, or the United States. I hope senior executives, including him, can give a suggestion." Zhao Dong said coldly. .

He thought about the result of many domestic companies going public in North America, which was that their equity was controlled by foreign capital and a large amount of domestic interests flowed out. So this time, what are the intentions of these executives need to be found out.

"Do you doubt Chen Jian?" Lindsay smiled.

"It doesn't matter whether you have doubts or not. I only care about the results. Feilong Sports, what do you rely on? Is it the senior management? Ridiculous! If you piss me off, they will all be fired." Zhao Dong said coldly.

"Okay, I'll inform him." Lindsay smiled.

Zhao Dong then called his elder brother Zhao Dacheng's mobile phone.

In the middle of the night in Beijing, Zhao Dacheng was awakened by his mobile phone.

"Who is it? You're not allowed to sleep in the middle of the night?" He answered the phone in confusion.

"Brother, it's me."

"Oh, it's brother. Hey, brother, did you forget the time difference or something?"

"It's business, brother."

"What do you say."

Zhao Dacheng rubbed his face and quickly got up.

"Recently, the senior management of Feilong Sports is advocating to go public. Do you have any news?" Zhao Dong asked.

"I know about this. There is a vice president of the sales department who keeps telling me that a company's profits can be maximized only if it is listed in the United States. He also asked me to advise you." Zhao Dacheng said.

"You won't tell me either?"

"I don't understand even if I think about it. You can make up your own mind, and I won't mess with it."

"Brother, please pay attention and see which company executives are most enthusiastic about this matter. I am talking about advocating listing in the United States."

"Isn't this a good thing? I thought it was a good thing. Damn it, are these bastards eating the inside out? Okay, then I know, I'll keep an eye on you."

In anger, Zhao Dacheng patted his chest and promised.