Chapter 149 Forcibly Docking with the Emperor of Maple?

For Stackhouse, who was once an ambitious lottery pick from North Carolina, ready to showcase his skills in the NBA, the past two years have given him a clear understanding of the league's essence.

In terms of competitive form, Stackhouse admits that he has indeed declined compared to his peak.

However, in games, especially when playing for so-called "teams with a bright future," Stackhouse knew that most of the time, the reason he couldn't get more playing time was simply because he was blocking these teams' path to a bright future.

However, as the saying goes, today you ignore me, tomorrow I'll make you unable to reach me.

In the NBA...

It's well known that when these capable veteran players enter their contract years, teams aiming to contend for a championship often pounce on them like hungry wolves.

And Stackhouse is no exception.

In the 05/06 season, the then 32-year-old Stackhouse averaged 12.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 24 minutes per game.

Although his overall shooting percentage was still less than 40% as always...

But because most of Stackhouse's shots came from beyond the three-point line, his true shooting percentage on the court was higher than some perimeter players who didn't like to shoot threes.

Therefore, these days, when Stackhouse learned from his agent that many teams were interested in him...

For a moment, Stackhouse, recalling his experiences over the past two years, simply started acting up.

Hey~

Didn't you all think I was a salary burden before, kicking me around like a ball?

Heh...

Meaning, it hasn't been long, and I've become a hot commodity in your eyes again?

Alright!

In that case, listen up!

I, today, would rather starve to death and die poor than accept your offers!

You know, I'm a noble lottery pick from North Carolina!

Haven't you all heard the saying, "North Carolina people, North Carolina souls, North Carolina are all superstar material"?

"Hey, Jerry, what have you been up to lately?"

On the morning of July 1st, before Pierce announced his move to the Trail Blazers, Su Feng, who was preparing to go to the training ground to beat up Kobe, did not forget his other important task this summer.

And on the other end of the phone, when Stackhouse saw that it was actually Su Feng calling...

The arrogant attitude he had in front of his agent a second ago instantly vanished...

"Oh, my dear old pal, what made you think of calling me?" Stackhouse said excitedly on the phone.

Hearing this, Su Feng smiled and said straightforwardly, "Jerry, I'm not calling you today for anything special. I just wanted to ask if you're interested in joining the Heat next season."

Stackhouse: "!!!"

"What's wrong? Are you already committed to someone else, Jerry?" In Las Vegas, noticing the long silence on the other end of the phone, Su Feng asked.

"No, no, no! Listen to me, Su, how could I have any other choice besides the Miami Heat?" Hearing Su Feng's question, Stackhouse hurriedly explained.

And now, in Stackhouse's house, Stackhouse's agent was completely dumbfounded by this guy.

"Alright, then I'll be waiting to fight alongside you again next season!" In Las Vegas, Su Feng said to Stackhouse before hanging up.

"To be honest, Su, I might be even more excited about fighting alongside you again than you are!" On the other side, Stackhouse, who couldn't wait to assist Emperor Feng again, also expressed his loyalty to Su Feng before hanging up.

It's just...

In Stackhouse's agent's opinion, this script was completely different from what he had imagined!

Because this summer, didn't you say that you wanted to use this opportunity to put on airs, even if you couldn't increase other teams' offers, you still wanted them to know your temper, Stackhouse?

What...

Su Feng only made one phone call, and you suddenly became so enthusiastic?

Jerry, what happened to your integrity?

"Jerry, I'll tell you in advance, I've already studied the Heat's salary structure. If you're sure you want to join the Heat, then I can't guarantee that you'll get a contract that satisfies both of us."

In Stackhouse's house, seeing Stackhouse excitedly dancing around, his agent hurriedly reminded him.

Hearing this, Stackhouse's expression immediately became serious.

"Look at what you're saying, buddy!

Am I, Jerry Stackhouse, the kind of player who would starve to death if he's short one or two million dollars like Scottie Pippen?

Besides, do you know that Su personally called me!

Do you know what that means?" Stackhouse questioned, looking at his agent.

"What does it mean?" Stackhouse's agent retorted.

"It means Su has me in his heart!"

After pushing his agent away, Stackhouse immediately picked up two basketballs from the living room floor, preparing to go to the training ground.

"Wait... what are you doing now?" Seeing this, Stackhouse's agent asked in confusion.

"Of course, I'm immediately starting my summer training!

Are you kidding me!

I'm going to Miami to assist Su!

No cap, do Shaq O'Neal and those guys deserve to be Su's second-in-command?

Do they deserve it?"

Turning to look at his agent, Stackhouse questioned again.

And at this moment, watching Stackhouse's mysterious operations since receiving Su Feng's call...

Now...

Stackhouse's agent, Jeff Shwartz, finally understood...

Why the rumors in the martial world said that players from North Carolina were all difficult to serve.

Because in terms of personality...

Whether it's Jordan, Carter, or Stackhouse...

These players from North Carolina are all cut from the same cloth.

...

On July 2nd, under the pressure of Stackhouse demanding that he must finalize the signing with the Heat as soon as possible, without even a haggling process, Schwartz accepted an offer from Riley for two years, with a player option for the second year, totaling $10 million.

And based on Stackhouse's current value, this contract was clearly less than what other teams had offered him.

"That's strange! These agents don't even bargain during negotiations?"

And this day, in the Heat's general manager's office, Riley, who was busy with various contract renewals this summer, was also confused.

You see, the reason why Riley made such an offer in the initial bid...

Was only because, as a general manager, he knew very well that these NBA agents liked to inflate prices.

So, Riley simply wanted to make the first move, first offering a price slightly below the market price, and then waiting for the other party to bargain.

But...

How could Riley have imagined...

That Jeff Shwartz and Jerry Stackhouse would accept this offer so straightforwardly?

In Riley's opinion, if he had known this, he would have offered Stackhouse a few more years, instead of providing him with a "1+1" contract.

Because the 32-year-old Stackhouse, in Riley's eyes, was far from needing to sign a one-year contract.

It's just that in the NBA, after lowering the other party's proposed offer, correspondingly giving the other party more operating space in the contract period is a tacit rule when both parties are negotiating a deal.

In the future, many 2K players who like to play dynasty mode should have experienced this tacit rule in 2K.

And in Las Vegas, after knowing that Stackhouse had accepted the Heat's offer so decisively, Su Feng was also very moved.

"Jerry, why didn't you let your agent haggle a little more?"

This day, Su Feng, who had already decided to send Stackhouse a top-notch supercar at the beginning of the new season, asked Stackhouse on the phone.

Hearing this, Stackhouse immediately became anxious!

Because in Stackhouse's opinion, Brother Feng was doubting his quality as a "Feng Guard"!

"Su, you also know that I once mocked Scottie Pippen's salary on the court.

But...

In your opinion, can't I, Jerry Stackhouse, fight alongside you once for my dream?" Stackhouse retorted on the phone.

"Maybe... Su, I mean maybe.

Maybe one day, people will forget the famous moments Jerry Stackhouse has made in this league.

But they will never forget that block I made on Steve Kerr in the summer of 1997.

And I...

I will never forget that you pulled me, telling me with certainty that Steve Kerr would definitely receive Michael Jordan's pass there." After a pause, Stackhouse added on the phone.

In 1997.

In the final moments of the fourth game of the first round of the playoffs against the Chicago Bulls.

In Stackhouse's opinion, if it weren't for Su Feng's reminder this time...

Then he would never have been able to complete this block, which was later called the "Block of the Century" by the world.

And in this life...

Because of this block, whether you want to admit it or not, Stackhouse knows that his name will definitely be recorded in history.

Therefore...

A mere one or two bucks of salary...

How could it stop him from fighting alongside Su Feng again?

"If I am the Stackhouse of 1997.

Then...

Are you willing to be my, the Su Feng of 1997?"

And many years later, when 2K players log into the 2K17 interface...

They will also see this famous quote said by Stackhouse.

On July 2nd, after signing Stackhouse, the Heat naturally had no worries about letting Caron Butler go.

On the 3rd, the Washington Wizards officially announced that they had offered restricted free agent Caron Butler a five-year, $54 million offer.

Subsequently, because the Heat did not match this offer, amidst the cheers of the people of Washington, the Wizards' Big Three in Su Feng's memory also ushered in their reunion.

On the 4th, the free agent market this summer was still bustling.

In order to strengthen the team's inside strength, Paul Allen and his Trail Blazers, who were frantically throwing money around, signed former Sixers meritorious inside player Theo Ratliff from the free agent market.

In this life, although he had not experienced a major injury, under the erosion of time, Ratliff was no longer in the Sixers' future plans.

And so far, the Sixers who joined forces to win the championship for Philadelphia that year only had Yao Ming, Mutombo, Iverson, and Snow left in the new season.

Friends come and go.

Only the banner of the championship flutters in the wind.

On the 5th, the Cleveland Cavaliers officially announced that Mike Brown, who had previously served as an assistant to legendary coach John Davis, would take charge of the team in the new season.

In this life, because Brown had studied under Davis for two years, Su Feng was also very curious whether this chubby little bald man could find the correct way to use James.

And on the 6th, the newly formed galactic warship Portland Trail Blazers exchanged Sean Battier by sending the team's future draft picks and three role players to Memphis.

Just like in Su Feng's memory, because when they came to Memphis, the Grizzlies felt the enthusiasm from the local Memphis fans that they had never felt in Vancouver, so unlike other teams...

After coming to Memphis, the Grizzlies had only one goal.

That is to go as far as possible in the playoffs, and try to find a way to make the Grizzlies fans' season tickets worth the price.

In Su Feng's previous life, if you carefully observed the history of the Grizzlies, you would find...

Even if they were tanking, the Grizzlies would strive to complete the rebuild as quickly as possible.

And infected by this kind of team culture...

The aura of the Grizzlies rookies was obviously different from that of the neighboring Minnesota.

This summer, the Grizzlies were already preparing to start rebuilding.

Because being stuck in the first round for many years made the Grizzlies, from the management to the team owner, feel that they were very sorry for the Grizzlies fans.

However, because Milicic played well for the Lakers in this life, and Logo Man did not serve as the Grizzlies' technical advisor, Su Feng knew that Pau Gasol would definitely become an existence that would make this era, which was already more chaotic than Jinxi, even more chaotic in the near future.

Because, as long as Gasol goes to a team with championship-contending strength...

Then at that time...

"Who knows why someone would say that my championship has no gold content.

Damn it, Feng haters!

If my championship has no gold content, then what championship has gold content?"

This day, after educating Little Zhan Zhan at the training ground, Su Feng, who had not been optimistic about the Trail Blazers a few days ago, suddenly felt the determination of this Trail Blazers team.

Facts have proved.

Paul Allen.

Compared to burning money.

This time he was serious.

Of course...

Compared to being retarded.

Boss Joe was also serious.

Because on July 8th, the Charlotte Bobcats officially announced that Larry Brown, who was unemployed at home, would become the team's head coach in the new season.

On the other side, another tycoon, James Dolan, who was frantically burning money, invited Phil Jackson, the "bootleg Zen Master" who had led the Bulls to five championships and later led the Lakers to one championship, to come out of the mountains on the same day.

In this life, because he broke up with the Buss family unhappily, and Jenny Buss cleared her relationship with him in order to be able to take power in the future, Jackson, knowing that he would likely be forgotten by the fans if he didn't do something, had to accept the Knicks' sky-high contract.

There was no way...

Although Jackson had never coached a team without a superstar...

But this time, the Knicks gave too much.

Besides, what if Jackson could bring the Knicks to a decent level in the new season, wouldn't that slap the Lakers in the face?

It's just...

The new leadership team of the Knicks, composed of Jackson and "Smiling Assassin" Thomas...

Su Feng always felt that this Knicks team would definitely have a palace drama to watch next season.

And in July, while the NBA welcomed back some old friends...

Some old friends also encountered trouble in their contract renewal matters.

Because they could not reach an agreement on contract renewal with the Kings, on the 9th, NBA All-Star power forward Chris Webber officially announced that he would no longer consider the offer made by the Kings.

In the 05/06 season, Webber, who averaged "20+9" for the Kings, was still a T1-level power forward in terms of data.

But because he would be 34 years old next year, unless the Kings' management was mentally ill, they would not accept the four-year, $80 million contract renewal proposed by Webber's agent.

In this life, because the Kings lacked Bibby and Christie, Webber, who did not have the experience of fighting with the Lakers in Game 7, naturally did not have the capital to act old with the Kings.

And TNT TV, after noticing Webber's speech, Barkley did not forget to complain about it: "Hey, Chris, if I were you, then I would definitely choose to join the Miami Heat with a minimum salary.

Because based on your current age and state, there shouldn't be any team willing to offer you a contract with a $20 million annual salary, right?"

And Sacramento...

Webber, who had originally seriously considered going to hold Su Feng's thigh to win a championship, also said angrily in a subsequent interview: "Not everyone in this league is Charles Barkley!

I am an All-Star player, so even if I want to win a championship, I will only win it with my own ability!"

Alright...

In order to win this championship ring with his own ability, after careful consideration, on the 12th, Webber officially joined the Philadelphia Sixers with a two-year minimum salary.

Because most of the teams willing to offer him a million-dollar salary were not competitive, in order to slap Barkley's pig face, Webber chose the Sixers, which he thought was the most suitable for him and also the most likely to defeat the Heat, based on his understanding of the current league.

"Charles misled me!"

And this day, when Su Feng learned that the Heat had lost to the Sixers in this battle for Webber, Su Feng did not know what to say to Barkley for a while.

However, thinking of the Heat's iron-blooded front line that even Garnett feared at the moment...

Su Feng found...

It seemed that Webber was indeed a dispensable chicken rib.

Therefore, this day, when Barkley called, Su Feng said to him without thinking: "Are you kidding me, Charles, you don't really think that I can't win a championship without a Chris Webber, do you?

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with your previous comments on Chris Webber."

Hearing this, Barkley immediately felt the unparalleled aura of Emperor Feng!

Look, what is the number one player in basketball?

Look at that Webber again...

He clearly said that he would win the championship with his own ability, but in the end, didn't he choose to hold the thighs of Iverson and Yao Ming?

In July, let's put aside the matter of Chris Webber angrily joining the Sixers for the time being.

Miami.

O'Neal, who was originally preparing to continue losing weight, was continuously hit in the matter of renewing his contract with the Heat...

Therefore, for a time, this fathead fish lost all motivation to continue losing weight.

"What did you say? Not only are they unwilling to offer me a long-term contract...

But they are even only willing to offer me a one-year contract worth only $10 million?"

This day, when O'Neal, who thought his agent would handle his signing matters very smoothly, learned about the offer Riley had sent back...

O'Neal...

Was really a little anxious this time!

...

ps: Can Fathead Fish successfully complete the contract renewal with the Heat? And what will Su Feng's Decision 2 do? What kind of changes will the NBA's landscape usher in next season? (Place your bets, everyone!)