Champion Creed
Chapter 390 - 390 155 The Consequences of Luxury Tax Rules

390: 155: The Consequences of Luxury Tax Rules?

Diversity of Personality (Request for Monthly Tickets!)_3 390: 155: The Consequences of Luxury Tax Rules?

Diversity of Personality (Request for Monthly Tickets!)_3 Of course, you can’t blame Garnett for this.

Would you expect Garnett to tell his boss, “Hey guy, I don’t want $120 million, just give me $40 million as a token.

Why are you giving me so much money?

Couldn’t you save it to wipe your ass?

Later on, you could draft Ginobili, Parker, then hit the free market and pick up low-salary guys like Bowen, Jackson, and we could win the championship.

Oh, and don’t mess with fishy contracts; we could get fined our draft picks.”

Look, it’s just unreasonable to criticize Garnett’s massive contract in hindsight.

There’s nothing wrong with players earning high salaries, and there are ways to make room in the salary cap.

The real issue is, KG needed the type of player who could handle the ball and take over the offense at crucial moments, a top-tier isolation player.

And there are only a few of those in the entire league; it’s even less likely for the Timberwolves, with little to trade, to get one.

Plainly put, Garnett heavily relied on his teammates.

So, his success with the Timberwolves was doomed to be limited, which was inevitable.

How should Roger break this cruel truth to him?

“Kevin, do you have a girlfriend?”

“Huh?

Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”

“Just wondering if your taste is as bad as Shaq’s.”

“Actually, I’ve recently been dating a cheerleader from college…”

“Nice, never went to college but still managed to score a college girl, ambitious.”

“Damn, dude, you’re so blunt.”

Hmm, Roger decides to change the subject.

Some cruel truths are better off not known.

In the next game, Garnett continued to inspire the whole team with his rage and passion.

Under his leadership, the Timberwolves nearly caused an upset against the Magic, ultimately losing by only 22 points.

Any loss by fewer than 58 points is considered a close defeat!

Although the Timberwolves lost, KG’s personal performance was decent: 20 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks—he was truly redefining the power forward position.

Most importantly, he took Roger’s advice to “be himself,” and he was leading the team.

After the game, the defeated Garnett greatly praised his opponent that day:

“Roger is like my big brother.

He’s the only one I don’t get mad at for losing to.

Friends?

No, it’s not that simple, he’s the one who guides me when I’m lost.

Really, Roger is the best person I’ve ever met in the world.”

Because of Garnett’s words, the media once again started to promote what a good guy Roger was, what a great leader he was.

Wilkins nearly laughed out loud, you all don’t understand Roger at all, be his teammate and you’ll see!

But oddly enough, even though Horace Grant was once Roger’s teammate, why did he too speak of Roger as a good guy?

Wilkins didn’t understand.

After dispatching the Timberwolves, Magic continued their Western road trip, this time to Los Angeles.

Roger has another engagement tonight, this time with Kobe.

But Kobe wasn’t asking Roger out to dinner; he wanted a one-on-one challenge.

“Sorry,” Roger, wrapped up in a thick down jacket, looked at Kobe wearing just a tank top, “I dressed too lightly yesterday in Minneapolis, caught a bit of a cold, and I don’t feel like playing right now.”

“You promised you’d play me in the NBA,” Kobe’s gaze was sharp, unwilling to let Roger off the hook.

Friends come to his turf, and he doesn’t suggest a meal or anything, calling them late at night for a one-on-one.

And if they don’t agree, he gets upset.

Even after finding out Roger was sick, not so much as a single insincere wish for a speedy recovery came from him.

The emotional intelligence of Kobe at this time was, truly, rather hard to compliment.

No wonder on his first day reporting to the Lakers he offended people.

On that first day at training camp, Kobe told a bald coach, “Coach, you really don’t look 50 years old.”

But in reality, that “baldy” was Derek Fisher, his contemporary and teammate.

Fisher didn’t speak to Kobe for a week – not because Kobe said he looked old, but because that jackass didn’t even recognize his own teammate and was so full of himself.

During training, Kobe often told Coach Del Harris, “Coach, why bother with such complicated tactics?

Just give me the ball and have everyone else spread out.

Just give me a chance, and I can go one-on-one with anyone in the league.”

Look at that nonsense, the only two in the Lakers who could say they like Kobe are Logo and Jerry Buss.

In other words, he didn’t have a single friend in the locker room.

Off the court, he was quiet and aloof, on the court, too sharp-edged.

Who wouldn’t keep their distance from such a person?

Forget the Lakers teammates, the Kobe now could even manage to annoy Mr.

Nice Guy Grant Hill: “That guy always wants people to be his foils; I’m not here to indulge him.”

Such low emotional intelligence is rare in the NBA indeed.

Roger didn’t bother arguing with the kid: “Let’s talk about the one-on-one next time, we’ll have another chance this season.

Let’s go, I haven’t eaten yet, I was thinking you’d at least invite me to dinner.”

Roger had a pretty bad cold, along with a mild fever.

According to the team doctor, he’d probably continue feeling groggy for a day or two.

So, Coach Brian Hill didn’t plan to let Roger play in tomorrow’s game.

After all, it was just a regular-season game against the Lakers, and an away game at that.

Roger agreed, as if it were the playoffs, he’d push through even with a fever of 40°C, and he’d insist on playing if it was a regular-season game against a key opponent.

But for an away game in the regular season against a not-so-important opponent, Roger didn’t want to torture himself.

Nor did he want to waste his energy in these kinds of private challenges.

Kobe stared at Roger for a few seconds, then turned away: “I’m not done with training yet.

If you want to eat, wait for me for a while.”