One Year Left to Play

Chapter 621: Chapter 191: Blooming in Both Sports and Entertainment (Part 3)

Despite Jordan making only 17 of his 37 shots, he led his teammates to defend Payton and Kemp even worse. Payton went 4-for-17, scoring only 12 points and 9 assists; after shooting over 70% in the first five games, he went 7-for-16 for 16 points and 12 rebounds in the sixth game. When Kemp couldn’t keep defenses guessing with his high shooting percentage and the SuperSonics’ players failed to score effectively, the SuperSonics scored only 69 points all game!

As for the Bulls, Jordan shot often and missed often, but he also scored often. Of his 17 successful shots, 7 were made in the final quarter, during which the score gap widened. The first three quarters ended with the Bulls trailing 56-58. In the final quarter, Jordan alone scored 18 points, helping the Bulls outscore the SuperSonics 24-11 in the quarter, making a strong comeback to win 80-69 and take the finals 4-2.

Jordan scored 41 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, made 3 assists, stole 1 ball, and blocked 3 shots in this game. Throughout the six games of the finals, he averaged 28.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks. Despite having a shooting percentage of just 41%, and less than 40% in four games, he was still the best performer of the entire series, securing his 4th career championship and 4th Finals MVP trophy. Moreover, he completed his career’s second MVP+FMVP season, tying the historical record held by Jabbar and Larry Bird.

Finally, this time, Jordan has something to be proud of. The next day, he was not just in the sports section, but also the top headline in the social news section.

But this made him feel even sadder, as it seemed these were the only times he could reliably be the top headline.

It’s all because of that second-year player!

On the other hand, after Zhang Hao entered a training and filming mode, his popularity indeed decreased, but he didn’t mind. Sometimes, he felt appearing in the headlines was just natural for him. He never intended to grab headlines, but what could he do? Even a casual joke overheard by a waiter while having a meal could make the headlines. How could he stop it?

Life as a popular basketball star in Los Angeles is just that unpretentious.

After the Bulls won the championship, the NBA draft trade window before the free market opened, brought various trade rumors to heat up.

The hottest topic was definitely Jordan’s double-MVP season.

The Lakers and Suns’ trade details were exposed early. It’s in the news now, but not as hot anymore because there’s no contention. One side wants to leave, the other accepts. Over time, people get used to it.

The Suns need to find a third party, not just to obtain 96 and 97 draft picks, which is indeed their goal, but primarily they need to find someone willing to offer a draft pick usable on draft night ten days later to finalize this transaction.

The rule is that to complete a trade in this window, it must involve this year’s draft pick since it’s the draft trade window.

Although Duncan is not entering the draft this year, and Kobe, who is more notable than in the original timeline due to Zhang Hao and Garnett’s relationship, is also not entering the draft, the 96 class still has multiple core players that teams yearn for. Many teams want this year’s draft picks.

In mid-May’s lottery, the 76ers, Raptors, and Grizzlies won the top three picks, and their draft rights aren’t for sale. However, the 4th to 10th pick rights remain hot commodities teams looking for young cores are bidding for.

Without Duncan, this year’s draft is still expected to be the best since 1988.

Day by day, it came to June 20th, and Zhang Hao, who was back from vacation, welcomed Magician and James Worthy and began continuing his defensive training.

This time, Magician and James Worthy returned together, and Zhang Hao didn’t specifically ask for an answer he wanted because with Magician back, as they trained together, everything was understood.

Also, there’s learning passing with Magician, combining with what he learned about facilitation skills from center Alvan Adams, trying to craft his own facilitation skills. It’s a bit difficult as learning and training need implementation and modification through matches. But learning offers a chance to improve genuinely.

Patience is crucial.

On June 27th, the morning of the draft, Zhang Hao and Magician trained on high-post passing. George Lynch and Doug Christie, returning to join the training, served as intercept and response points, while James Worthy guided. During training, suddenly both Zhang Hao and the Magician’s cell phones rang. The former’s was picked up by Pierce, who was there as a sparring partner for Zhang Hao, and the latter’s was by the Magician’s secretary. Three remaining Lakers players with contracts and the team’s first person preparing to renew the contract rushed home for a quick change into formal wear. Zhang Hao took a half-day leave from the crew. The team was holding a press conference at noon to welcome the new arrivals!

...

At 1:00 PM on June 27, 1996, the NBA officially announced a three-way trade completed by the Lakers, Suns, and Mavericks.

The Lakers traded Nick Van Exel, Anthony Peeler, Donyell Marshall, and Raptors’ 1997 pick with lottery protection to the Suns to acquire Charles Barkley.

The Suns traded Charles Barkley, AC Green, Michael Finley, and the 15th pick of the 1996 second-round draft to the Mavericks to acquire Jason Kidd, Tony Dumas, Lauren Meyer, and from the Lakers gained Anthony Peeler.

The Mavericks traded Jason Kidd, Tony Dumas, Lauren Meyer to the Lakers and received Nick Van Exel, Donyell Marshall, and got AC Green, Michael Finley, and the 15th pick of the 1996 second-round draft from the Suns.

At the same time, the Lakers held a press conference at the Great Western Forum where Charles Barkley officially joined the team!

Simultaneously, in Orlando, the basketball scene unfolded into a farce. The Orlando Sentinel initiated a poll, asking: "Do you think O’Neal is worth one billion?" at fast food joints, streets, sporting goods stores... even adult shops.