Unfortunately.

Although Davis was completely attracted by Su Feng's plan, and Davis even brought Gruwald into the pit...

However, Su Feng's "Chicago Strategy" died before it even took its first step.

As the saying goes, plans can never keep up with changes.

January 24th.

Su Feng and others, who were originally planning to go to Chicago to meet with Jordan on this day...

Temporarily cancelled the trip due to a sudden situation.

I have to say, reality is too "real."

So real that when Jordan told Su Feng that he wanted to come to Toronto to relax, Su Feng once thought that Jordan's soul had also been transmigrated by someone...

Look, now why do Su Feng and others need to go to Chicago?

Jordan has already delivered himself to their doorstep.

Helpless.

If there were other choices, why would Jordan be in this situation?

Not long ago, after breaking with Reinsdorf, Jordan, who only had option C left, had already given up on the Raptors option.

However, on the 20th, after the Raptors renewed their contract with Ben Wallace, and with other negotiations failing, Jordan and his agent Falk discovered an amazing fact...

That is:

For Jordan, who has many requirements for choosing a team, the only correct answer left...

Is the Toronto Raptors.

So now the question arises.

Why did Jordan and Falk make such a judgment?

In fact, this judgment by Jordan and Falk is not difficult to understand.

Because as long as you know that in the 98/99 season, after the lockout ended, without renewing with the Bulls, Jordan's demand for a maximum salary was impossible for other teams to meet, you can understand.

Taking the salary Jordan could get for signing a one-year contract under the 98/99 season's salary cap and the maximum salary system as an example.

For Jordan's one-year contract of 12 million, there were hardly any teams that could afford it.

In addition, the salary cap for the 98/99 season was just over 30 million.

Therefore, teams like the Knicks and Trail Blazers, which Jordan had previously considered, not to mention not having the space to sign him...

Even if they wanted to free up space, with only 14 days left before the start of the new season, how much would they have to pay to clear their salary space?

So, it's still that question.

Jordan is unwilling to take a pay cut, unwilling to be labeled as joining a super team, and he also requires the team he joins to have a certain ability to compete for the championship...

And as a result, his choices are directly locked.

Therefore, after Ben Wallace signed with the Raptors, Jordan, feeling that he, Su Feng, and Ben Wallace were a knockoff version of the Bulls, believed that signing a one-year short contract with the Raptors first, and then trying to compete for a championship while patiently waiting for other teams to free up salary space for him, was also a wise choice.

Anyway, this shortened season is played in a hurry and ends quickly.

Although Jordan believes that he, Su Feng, and Ben Wallace have at most a 50% chance of winning the championship, compared to those teams that have space but don't have Su Feng and Ben Wallace, does Jordan even need to choose?

So, after communicating with Falk, Jordan didn't want to wait any longer.

But...

Just as Jordan was about to call Su Feng, Falk reminded him, "Michael, although I don't want to pour cold water on you, I still have to remind you..."

As Jordan's right-hand man, although Falk also believed that the Raptors were Jordan's only choice at the moment, considering Jordan's personality, Falk still pointed out several difficulties for Jordan in joining the Raptors.

And the biggest difficulty is:

Based on Falk's understanding of Su Feng, even when facing Jordan, Su Feng is not the kind of player who would easily give up the leadership position.

And if it were a regular player, Jordan could just tell them to give way.

But for Su Feng, who once led the 76ers to upset the Bulls eight times, if Su Feng doesn't give way, and Jordan forces him to give way, then the Honey and Jordan haters will riot.

Huh, you were just beaten by Su Feng at the Chicago Hero Conference, and now you want him to be your assistant?

Why?

Obviously, Su Feng's appearance has already disrupted the history of this timeline.

Completely tied to Jordan, in Falk's view, he is undoubtedly the most difficult point for Jordan to deal with next.

Because besides pretending to be haters and mindless trolls, hating on Su Feng is equal to hating on Jordan.

Falk is very clear that, considering Jordan's reputation, if Jordan only plays for one year in Toronto and has a falling out with Su Feng, then Jordan's future reputation will definitely be affected.

As for why Jordan doesn't just confront Su Feng head-on?

Wake up, where does all this mindless confrontation come from in reality?

In short, in the NBA, human relationships and social interactions account for a large proportion.

In Su Feng's previous life, after Jordan returned his IQ to God in Washington, who knows how much Jordan lowered his future status in the eyes of young players?

And in this life, before returning his IQ to God, Jordan quickly reacted after Falk pointed it out.

See, Jordan is greedy for Su Feng as a helper, but if he can't find a way to solve Su Feng's personality, which even allows him to tear apart Brown, then next, won't Su Feng be the one tearing him apart?

And once he has a lose-lose situation with Su Feng, then Su Feng will definitely not get any good results, but who says Jordan will definitely be able to benefit?

"If I take a step back first, do you think Su will have a tacit understanding with me?" Jordan frowned, looking at Falk.

As expected...

Jordan is still Jordan.

Still not satisfied with only five championships in this life, he is still willing to borrow IQ from God for his dream.

And God...

Anyway, this is a high-interest loan that will have to be repaid in the future.

"How are you planning to step back?" Falk asked curiously.

"Like this, if I join the Raptors, then I will take the initiative to tell reporters and fans in front of the media that the Raptors' number 23 belongs to Su, not me," Jordan said, touching his chin.

"That's a good idea. Although the jersey number is a symbol, in the eyes of fans and reporters, the kind of inheritance between you and Su at the All-Star Game will return," Falk nodded in agreement.

"In addition, I will privately find Su to discuss that after I join the Raptors, we don't need to make the team's leader public.

We will cooperate in a way to achieve mutual benefit and win-win.

As for who can get what kind of honor, it all depends on their own ability," Jordan said to Falk.

"That's great!

Because of the inheritance between you and Su before, if you can really cooperate to win the championship this time, then believe me, this will definitely become a legend in the future!" Falk laughed.

To be honest, in the NBA, blurring the lines of leadership is definitely not a good thing.

But if it's Su Feng and Jordan, then it's a different story.

Although he didn't say it to Jordan, Falk knew that as long as the public opinion is handled well in the future, no matter whether Su Feng surpasses Jordan or not...

Anyway, the more awesome Su Feng is, the more awesome Jordan will be.

Because they not only fought each other, but also fought side by side.

In terms of commercial operations, this is called bundled marketing.

But...

Falk never expected that Jordan would be willing to make so many concessions this time.

Okay...

Obviously, Falk still underestimated the impact of the Chicago Hero Conference on Jordan.

At the Chicago Hero Conference not long ago, Jordan, who had fought Su Feng for three hundred rounds, knew very well that although Su Feng was still not as good as Pippen at his peak in terms of overall ability...

His terrifying stamina, tenacious fighting spirit, and clutch gene made Jordan feel that even a hundred Pippens couldn't compare to Su Feng.

Um...

Um!

Don't think that Su Feng hasn't become Jordan's new favorite yet, but for Jordan, is there a problem with stepping on Pippen, his old flame, three thousand times for the sake of Su Feng, his new flame?

For an old scoundrel like Jordan, his bottom line was thrown to the clouds when he was being abused by the Pistons.

Moreover, the more powerless he felt at the Chicago Hero Conference, the more Jordan knew that he needed teammates like Su Feng now.

In short, Jordan's choice this time was also the most rational choice he made under various coincidences.

Therefore, in Jordan's view, as long as Su Feng isn't too clueless and can have some tacit understanding with him, then it wouldn't be a bad story to hand over the crown to Su Feng when he retires.

Thus, just as Su Feng and others had booked their tickets to fly to Chicago, Jordan suddenly called Su Feng on the evening of the 23rd.

It is worth mentioning that in order to cover his tracks, Jordan also released news in advance, saying that he would spend a week traveling around and then use the last of his time to decide whether to stay or leave.

So, his visit to Toronto this time wasn't because he was going to join the Raptors.

It was just that he was in a bad mood recently and wanted to relax.

And Jordan, whose "twilight years were desolate," naturally aroused the sympathy of Chicago fans and many stars in the league.

Reinsdorf is miserable in this life.

Because in Su Feng's previous life, this guy had already attracted a lot of ridicule during this period.

Alright...

Reinsdorf and Krause, this combination of eternal sinners, can basically be booked in advance.

...

Toronto. To be honest, Su Feng really didn't expect that he and Jordan would meet again in this way not long after the Chicago Hero Conference.

What's even more unexpected for Su Feng is that before he even made a move, Jordan had already moved first.

Jordan went straight to the point and said to Su Feng, "If I join forces with you, what are the chances that we will win the championship?"

It has to be said that Jordan, who took the initiative to extend an olive branch to Su Feng, asked a very philosophical question.

Because this question seems like Jordan is asking about a hypothetical.

But in reality, Jordan is using this question to trick Su Feng.

'Don't hesitate, kid, let's join forces to conquer this league, doesn't that sound great?'

However, Jordan, who thought that Su Feng would have to think for a while, was completely shocked when he heard Su Feng's answer.

"Then we have a ninety-nine percent chance of being the champions next season."

The reason why Su Feng, who has always been steady, gave one percent less is:

In case some uncontrollable factors suddenly appear in this space-time, such as the Trisolaran attacking the Earth in advance, or Thanos snapping his fingers...

Cough...

It's not that Su Feng is too confident, but that he is very confident in Jordan and the Raptors' lineup.

If Su Feng still had a little bit of psychological burden when he took the initiative to invite Jordan before, then now, this bit of psychological burden has been flushed down the toilet by him.

Look, anyway, the Raptors' salary is now below the poverty line, so even if they don't use this money to sign Jordan, the Raptors will definitely have to use an overvalued contract to sign a veteran, right?

You know, in Su Feng's previous life, in order to make up the salary, the Raptors at that time used Camby, who had already clearly told the team management that he would not renew his contract with the team, in exchange for Oakley, whose annual salary was as high as 10 million US dollars...

In short, since the Raptors have to spend this money anyway, why can't they spend it on Jordan?

Is there a better championship tool than Jordan in this league?

Moreover, with the Raptors' style of play in the new season, plus Jordan, the traffic and topic of this Raptors team, even in the era of social networks, may not necessarily be comparable.

In Su Feng's view, if he rejects Jordan's kindness because he is worried that Jordan will get his sixth championship, plus the three consecutive MVPs he got before, and he will not be able to surpass him in the future, isn't that poisoning himself?

To be honest, in this era of ups and downs in the future, rejecting the championship is definitely not because Su Feng has courage, but because Su Feng's head has been caught in the door.

In addition, embracing thighs?

It depends on who is the thigh.

With Su Feng's experience of beating Jordan, it is impossible for fans to forcibly and mindlessly pile all the honors on Jordan's head.

Wake up, the space-time where Su Feng is in this life is completely different from his previous life.

This Jordan was interrupted by Su Feng for one championship.

Although the three consecutive MVPs are very powerful, in terms of legend, how stable is the godhood of this god when facing Su Feng?

Therefore, after Jordan and Su Feng went straight to the point, although neither of them knew how many follow-up moves and routines the other's straightforwardness had left, these two people quickly reached a consensus.

Jordan doesn't want to retire.

The Raptors are currently the best choice.

Su Feng wants to level up and win championships at the same time.

And as long as Jordan joins, the Raptors will be the biggest favorite to win the championship next season.

"Michael, I have to say, if it weren't for your teachings back then, I would never have been able to improve so quickly." Looking at Jordan, Su Feng said with a "sincere" face.

"No, Su, believe me, in my opinion, if there is anyone in this league who can achieve a higher level than me in the future, that person must be you." Listening to Su Feng's flattery, Jordan said with a "sincere" counter-flattery.

Alright...

As expected of the big boss of A Cone.

In Su Feng's view, Jordan is really a complete "scoundrel".

"Okay, Michael, since we've already said that, if possible, I hope you can listen to my next suggestion."

With Jordan deciding to make concessions, Su Feng also decided to help him.

Anyway, after this cooperation, Su Feng is definitely tied to Jordan, so in Su Feng's view, the more awesome Jordan is, the higher the gold content will be when he surpasses Jordan in the future.

"First of all, can you choose number 24?" Su Feng asked.

"Why number 24?" Jordan asked curiously.

"Because although number 9 and number 45 are also very memorable, if I remember correctly, Nick Anderson once said that Michael Jordan with number 45 is not as good as Michael Jordan with number 23, right?" Su Feng added.

"Humph!"

"Listen to me, Michael.

The reason why I want you to choose number 24 is that there are 24 hours in a day, and number 24 can mean that you devote yourself wholeheartedly to the basketball court every day.

In addition, 24 is one bigger than 23.

Because we want to take the inheritance route, I naturally have to express my respect and admiration for you in front of the public," Su Feng continued.

As the saying goes, you have to do a full set when acting. In Su Feng's view, since Jordan doesn't plan to divide himself from him, then he doesn't need to compete with Jordan for the so-called boss position.

Of course, there is a deeper consideration in Su Feng's giving Jordan this suggestion.

That is, after Jordan expressed his attitude of not taking number 23, Su Feng is also using this method to make an agreement with Jordan.

Let's not take the position of the boss, let's just play "inheritance basketball" and "torch basketball" with peace of mind this time. As for how the honors will be divided in the future, let's talk about it when the honors are in hand.

After all, if we can't even win the championship, then what are we talking about FMVP here?

In short, Su Feng's step back is also to avoid conflicts between him and Jordan in the future due to personal interests.

Solving potential hidden dangers in advance is the consideration for Su Feng's suggestion.

As for the controversy about this championship in the future?

Heh...

You might not believe it if I told you.

Even for mindless trolls, Su Feng has already thought of a solution.

Su Feng has long made up his mind that before Jordan finds his form, he will be his best sparring partner.

And in order to allow Jordan to find the problems he currently has through bullfighting competitions, Su Feng is also preparing to record the scenes of him defeating Jordan.

Anyway, whoever dares to hate him in the future, he will release this video of unilaterally beating Jordan, which is countless Gs long.

As the saying goes, words are not proof. In Su Feng's view, the trolls will have the ability to continue picking on him in the face of these videos at that time.

If the trolls dare to confront him with evidence, then Su Feng will definitely let them know how his eight thousand alt accounts spray people at that time.

"Is it just expressing respect and admiration for me in front of the public?" After listening to Su Feng's suggestion, Jordan, feeling that number 24 was indeed a good number, asked back in a joking tone.

Hearing that Jordan was joking, Su Feng spread his hands and said, "Then what else? Michael, if you want to restore your idol status in my heart, you have to defeat me in the bullfighting competition first, right?

I remember, in our bullfighting competition in Chicago, I was..."

Okay, shut up!

To be honest, in Jordan's view, Su Feng is good in everything, but this mouth...

Can't you just not talk?

However, Jordan, who was angered by Su Feng just a second ago, suddenly fell in love with it after listening to another suggestion from Su Feng.

"This is a good idea."

Jordan was completely conquered by Su Feng's creativity.

Especially in terms of shamelessness, Jordan felt that this guy was definitely comparable to him.

Thus, after chatting happily with Su Feng for a few hours, Jordan officially made the decision to sign a one-year contract with the Raptors.

And I don't know why...

At the end of this conversation, Su Feng, who had been joking and spraying with Jordan throughout the whole process...

Vaguely felt that the Raptors' team culture in the next season was going to go astray.

"Could this be the legendary NBA FPX?"

Su Feng thought silently.

...

PS: Thank you Fu Hei for crowning this book with the title of Grand Alliance Leader! Thank you again Fu Hei for rewarding the Grand Alliance Leader!