Champion Creed
Chapter 866 - 866 287 One suspense ends yet leaves another bigger suspense for the basketball world Request for monthly tickets!_3

866: 287: One suspense ends, yet leaves another bigger suspense for the basketball world (Request for monthly tickets!)_3 866: 287: One suspense ends, yet leaves another bigger suspense for the basketball world (Request for monthly tickets!)_3 The departure of Big Ben has some Atlanta fans worried.

Last season, the Hawks lost Eric Snow and Clifford Robinson, but ultimately, one was just a backup and the other had already dropped out of the main rotation early on.

Moreover, Eric Snow wasn’t very irreplaceable.

But this year, the Hawks lost a starting center, and not just any starting center—a DPOY-level starting center.

Last summer, Pete Babcock almost passed away from sudden illness, but he managed to get Jeff Hornacek for Roger, which proved to be a highly successful signing.

Yet, this summer, even if Pete Babcock stayed up all night until he died, he couldn’t find a replacement for Big Ben.

In other words, the Hawks failing to keep Big Ben means the team’s competitiveness for next season is bound to decline.

In this situation, Roger’s spokesperson certainly didn’t let it go; “Sports Illustrated” was the first to come forward to question the Hawks’ management’s determination to compete for the championship.

Through Andre Sharp, a columnist for “Sports Illustrated,” Roger said: “Once the team experiences fissure, it will absolutely be a blow, and if the rift occurs among the higher-ups, it could go all the way to the end.

Roger once said, the third step leads to destruction.

And this destruction, it’s best not to be the Hawks themselves.”

Roger agrees with Big Ben’s departure but doesn’t mean he approves of the management’s approach.

Big Ben’s leaving seems like his personal choice, but ultimately, it’s because the shareholders want to save money.

Given Big Ben’s value, a three-year max contract indeed shows no sincerity.

So the message in the “Sports Illustrated” article is clear: the so-called destruction means that if cooperation becomes difficult, Roger doesn’t rule out the possibility of opting out next season.

This is precisely the outcome Michael Gillen fears.

During the award ceremony that night, when he heard the word “destruction,” his mind instantly envisioned the worst-case scenario.

Thus, this year’s championship parade had the Hawks inviting many fans to speak on stage.

Michael Gillen wanted to do everything he could to create for Roger a feeling that “Atlanta is your home, and the fans here love you,” trying to dissuade Roger from leaving.

The Hawks’ shareholders would not blatantly turn against Roger either.

After some arguments regarding Big Ben’s departure, they gave Roger the right to pick free agents during the offseason.

But Roger is not a three-year-old child; he won’t be easily amused by such petty benefits.

Based on the Hawks’ salary structure, the team can sign at most a mid-level exception contract during the offseason and cannot bring in star players.

The so-called “right to pick free agents” is actually quite negligible, more like a gimmick.

In terms of selection freedom, Roger’s freedom is nowhere near that of a true GOAT.

Fans are equally unhappy with Big Ben’s departure, blaming not him for choosing the six-year contract, but the Hawks for being too stingy.

The Hawks’ management is unpopular.

The incident continues to ferment, with more and more media criticizing the Hawks’ shareholders.

ESPN’s Bill Simmons is not Roger’s spokesperson, but he still expressed dissatisfaction with the Hawks’ shareholders.

“Damn internet bubble burst, Atlanta fans definitely didn’t expect such a thing to affect basketball games.

Has Ted Turner not recovered yet?

Come on, man, you only lost $7 billion, you should be recovered by now!?

Well, $7 billion is indeed a lot.

Whoever owns the Hawks, hurry up and buy the team; I don’t want to see a great team ruined by stupid management.

How stupid have they become?

Even if you let some Hawks shareholders execute the shooting scene at the toll booth from ‘The Godfather’ movie with a machine gun, they’d probably mess it up so much that Sonny wouldn’t get a scratch!

Yes, that’s how stupid they are!

At the moment closest to brightness in Hawks’ history, their shareholders are burying themselves with an extremely foolish manner.

Listen, I advise all teams in the league to prepare cap space; next summer, Roger very well might test the free agent market.

Hey, have you all forgotten next summer Roger has a player option to execute?

Roger shouldn’t have to endure the crap from this dumb shareholder team because he can be the best player anywhere.

If my prediction turns out to be right, I’m willing to take a ten-million-year salary to be some team’s general manager, I’m not joking.”

Bill Simmons’s words have reason, the impact caused by Big Ben’s departure is interconnected.

If the Hawks’ new management team can’t provide service to the king, then why wouldn’t the king expand his territory elsewhere?

The only question is, would Roger leave Atlanta, a city that’s viewed him as a savior?

His bond with this city is far deeper than with Orlando.

Moreover, can he fulfill his promise of a three-peat?

Big Ben’s departure ends one suspense, yet leaves the basketball world with another greater suspense.

Right now, Roger isn’t thinking much about all of that; he’s not the kind who thinks about where to go next season before this season even ends.

He’s indeed dissatisfied with the Hawks’ management, but he doesn’t want such matters to affect their pursuit of the three-peat.

The current dilemma has already emerged, so the best way is to resolve it first.

At present, there’s no player on the free agent market who can replace Big Ben, but the Hawks can’t go on without a rim-protecting center.

Thus, two days after Big Ben’s departure, the Hawks officially announced that the team had reached a 3-year mid-level exception contract with Hakeem Olajuwon!