Champion Creed
Chapter 766 - 766 260 Are you willing to take out all the money from the safe

766: 260: Are you willing to take out all the money from the safe?

(Asking for monthly tickets!) 766: 260: Are you willing to take out all the money from the safe?

(Asking for monthly tickets!) What would happen if Roger played in international games?

This was a topic that delighted fans during the summer of 2000.

The fantasies stemmed from unfulfilled expectations, precisely because fans in Sydney couldn’t witness Roger’s performance in international competitions, which made this topic so explosive.

It must be said that it was a regret, since 1992, NBA’s top stars had dominated international basketball.

It was a true domination, winning was not enough for them, they made everyone else lose hope of victory.

Before that, Americans could proudly say that the best professional players in the world were Americans.

But now the situation was completely different, after Roger lifted his fifth championship trophy at Staples Center, a top international superstar was ruling the NBA.

So, could he continue to dominate American players on the international stage as well?

Fans around the world were all looking forward to this episode, just like gamers were already anticipating “Black Water Margin: Jinlian.”

In fact, Roger had never completely closed the door to playing for the national team.

In 2000, during the preparations for the Sydney Olympics, the Basketball Association still invited Roger.

This was the second time they had come to his door.

But Roger’s demand remained the same—only play in the Olympics, and he wouldn’t join team practice on time, as it was impossible for Roger to go to training right after the playoffs.

So, the two sides didn’t come to an agreement, but considering the domestic need for Roger’s influence and promotional effort in basketball, even though they couldn’t work together, they still gave each other the utmost dignity and respect.

Every year, the Basketball Association would take the blame proactively, saying that the team had already started practicing together and had reported the final roster, which couldn’t be changed.

Plus, the focus of the games this year was to train young players, so they very, very regretfully couldn’t bring Roger.

They were glad that Comrade Roger had a strong wish to serve his country and looked forward to Roger joining the Chinese Team in future international competitions, striving for excellent results.

In the end, both parties agreed to proclaim unanimously: next time, next time for sure!

The Basketball Association was still confident about inviting Roger, as he had always been interested in cooperating.

Moreover, this was only the second time.

If you want Zhuge Liang, you must visit his cottage three times.

Although Roger wasn’t at the Olympics this year, the Chinese Team was still the center of attention.

Wang Zhizhi and Yao Ming had both matured, and the whole world wanted to see if they could truly be considered international superstars.

Roger, reading the newspaper, found it all very magical.

When did Chinese basketball shift from fighting for a place in the top eight to not even being able to participate in the Olympics?

Afterward, he didn’t pay attention to the Olympics or anything related to basketball.

As soon as the championship parade was over, Roger went to Gisele Bundchen’s homeland with her, enjoying the spicy sunshine of South America and the golden coasts.

Plus, the unrestrained passion of Brazilian girls, right after the home advantage.

This was the most lax Roger’s mentality had ever been, screw training, screw getting stronger, he just wanted to stay in Brazil until preseason training camp started.

It was completely normal for Roger to feel this way, considering a very frightening fact: for the past seven seasons since his first year in his career, Roger always rested two months less than everyone else each year.

Over seven years, that added up to an extra 14 months of games.

Probably no other player in the NBA had a more packed schedule than Roger.

By the end of last season, Roger had felt this sense of tiredness, but the frustration of losing in the playoffs had overshadowed the exhaustion.

So, he gritted his teeth and pushed himself hard for another year.

But this year, he had to take a good break, no matter what.

As for the 2000 NBA draft, since the Hawks only had the last pick of the first round, Roger didn’t need to get involved, because the target was only one, and there was no need for much discussion.

The draft that year itself was not of high quality, it was even considered one of the worst drafts, and later “Sports Illustrated” would refer to the 2000 draft as “The Great Depression on the basketball court.”

This draft produced only three All-Star level players: Kenyon Martin, Jamal Magloire, and Michael Redd, with the middle guy being another one labeled as “the worst All-Star in history.”

Only three got individual awards, with Turkoglu being named Most Improved Player in 2008, Mike Miller won Rookie of the Year in 2001 and Sixth Man of the Year in 2006, and Jamal Crawford earned the Sixth Man of the Year award three times.

That was all there was to the 2000 draft.

The other names were hardly worth mentioning.

And among those mentioned, except for Michael Redd, the Hawks couldn’t pick anyone.

So the only target was Redd, without a second option.

Roger thought the issue would be resolved after handing down instructions, just as it had always been.

But two days before the draft, Roger, who didn’t want to be disturbed by basketball, was disturbed nonetheless.

He received a phone call from Pete Babcock, “I’ve been informed that I might be dismissed.”

“They want to use their own guy, Billy Knight, I’m sorry Roger, I really wanted to keep working with you, but now I might have to look for a job with the Toronto Raptors.

My brother Rob Babcock is the general manager there, he should be able to help me.”

“Really?

The new owner’s replacing people right away?” Roger, lying on a beach chair, took off his sunglasses, “But I also want my own people!

Pete, stay put in Atlanta, don’t go anywhere, especially not to Toronto, wait until I make a few phone calls.”