Chapter 756: Chapter 7 Generosity_4
Decreasing fast breaks and increasing three-pointers are thoroughly implemented.
Once the Trail Blazers adopt the Princeton System, the strategy of "reducing passing" will become history. Gan Guoyang and Sabonis, who are both excellent in handling the ball, will dominate the Trail Blazers’ positional offense.
Sabonis has officially stepped up from a supporting role to become a core player of the team—however, real matches’ grind and test are still needed.
Two days later, in the second match between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers, Gan Guoyang easily dished out 13 assists, helping the Trail Blazers to triumph over the Lakers with a score of 107:87, a lead of 20 points.
Win or lose is not important, what’s important is that the Trail Blazers gradually found something new during the training camp, which everyone found quite interesting.
New team members like Reggie Lewis and Ed Pinkney were quickly influenced by the pure and harmonious atmosphere of the Trail Blazers, fully committing themselves to the game soon after.
Reggie Lewis brought long-missed perimeter mobility to the Trail Blazers; since Drexler left, the Trail Blazers lacked someone who could fly around on the court.
Besides training, Reggie Lewis also cared about his contract renewal, his agent had been discussing with Jerry West, hoping to renew the contract earlier to let Reggie play in Portland at ease.
West and Klaus are different, Tang Jianguo and Reinsdorf too are quite different.
Tang Jianguo, also a businessman, care much about profits yet he values face even more.
Because a significant part of Tang Jianguo’s benefits come from his reputation, which is different from Reinsdorf.
As other ventures deeply mired in bankruptcy, the Portland Trail Blazers have become Tang Jianguo’s most solid foundation, a lifeline.
Although Tang Jianguo has been continually losing ground in traditional real estate and gambling sectors, his nationwide popularity is rising, and so is his personal brand value.
The Trail Blazers winning the 1990 championship not only gave Tang Jianguo a good opportunity to show his face but also helped him make a lot of money; he is now fully supporting the team, sparing no expense.
Hence, during the preseason training camp, the Trail Blazers quickly agreed on a renewal contract with Reggie Lewis, offering him a 4-year contract worth 13 million US Dollars.
This means that starting from the 1991-1992 season, Reggie Lewis’ annual salary will be higher than Michael Jordan’s, making him the second highest-paid player on the Trail Blazers.
By then, the Trail Blazers’ total salary will surge to the top of the League, the 1991 newly released salary cap being 11.87 million US Dollars, an increase of 4.64 million US Dollars from the 1990 season.
It’s no wonder this offseason that players like Pippen and Lewis hope to renew their contracts early; they can smell the substantial increase in the salary cap, perceiving the opportunity for large contracts.
The Trail Blazers’ generosity has made people question whether Reggie Lewis deserves such a huge contract. Can he really compete against Michael Jordan?
After Lewis’s contract was signed, reporters asked Gan Guoyang in the locker room post-game how he felt about Lewis’s contract being bigger than Jordan’s.
Gan Guoyang shrugged his shoulders, saying, "So what, it’s still not as big as mine."
Reporters then asked, people say Reggie Lewis is prepared for Jordan, can he hold Jordan back?
Gan Guoyang responded, "Holding Michael back is my job; Reggie just needs to do his part. Of course, at times, I will help him, making it easier for him to deal with Michael."
This game is the Trail Blazers’ last preseason game. After this, the 1990-1991 regular season is set to begin.
