"The Rockets renew short-term contract players at 'sky-high prices', Alexander's crazy decision"
"Morey is crazy, 8 million to renew short-term contract players"
"Crazy Rockets executives, crazy decisions"
…
Naturally, after the Rockets' press conference, headlines like this were dazzling on major newspapers, television and websites. Almost everyone thought that the Rockets' top management was crazy and would spend $8 million to sign a short-term player.
Contract players. Even Houston's own media - the "Houston Chronicle" - commented sarcastically:
Morey, who is good at calculations, calculated his entire career achievements based on the data of less than ten games in Chinese literature, and even calculated that he could help the Rockets win three consecutive championships. So he suggested to Alexander to renew his contract with US$8 million.
This player, who only had a short contract a few days ago, felt happy that they had gotten a big bargain. Oh my God, is Morey crazy or Alexander crazy, or is the entire Rockets crazy?
Some media even made a "ranking of the stupidest decisions of the year", which ranked the Rockets' renewal of Wen Hao at the top, calling it "the stupidest decision of the year."
In short, the entire United States is ridiculing the Rockets for using 8 million to renew a player on a short-term contract. One of the reasons is that two years ago, the Heat renewed the contract with Anderson, the hero of the championship, until the end of the season, and only spent 1.52 million U.S. dollars. Now Although Wen Hao's statistics are worse than Anderson's, he is far less important to the Rockets than Anderson is to the Heat. Isn't it crazy that the Rockets extended Wen Hao's contract with a contract that is five times more than Anderson's?
"Let us just look forward to the birth of the superstar Morey calls."
"Morey's numbers have always been good. I hope he can do what he wants this time."
"The crazy game of Alexander the Jew must be very exciting, let's wait and see..."
Almost all the media ended with such ironic words. What they were looking forward to was seeing the expressions of the Rockets general manager and owner after they miscalculated.
Even more media are so sarcastic: Maybe in the next game between the Rockets and the Jazz, Morey will prove how smart his choice is, Alexander will prove how wise his decision is, and the Rockets have finally found a treasure...
In short, the media paid more attention to this "stupid" decision than to Wen Hao. There are even many people who only know about the Rockets' decision, but don't know who is the protagonist of this decision.
What makes Morey and Alexander even more uncomfortable is that not only from the outside world, but also from within the Rockets, there are many voices expressing doubts about this decision, especially those bench players who were short of Wen Hao, whose status was far inferior to theirs before.
They were full of jealousy after receiving a big contract within a short period of time, and some players even asked the Rockets to trade them.
Alexander was sitting in his office at the Toyota Center, looking at the sky outside through the huge glass window, and said: "Other people think I am crazy, or a stupid ass, what do you think?"
Morey took a sip of coffee and chuckled twice: "You once said that you should take a longer view. In 1993, you bought the Rockets with 85 million US dollars of your entire net worth. Others thought you were crazy, but in fact
Prove you are right. Same thing this time."
"Hahahaha..." Alexander couldn't help laughing when he heard Morey mention what happened back then, "So you guessed it?"
"Of course, after buying the Rockets, you immediately became the poorest owner in the NBA. But after you were selected as the No. 11 pick in China, within a few years, you became one of the richest owners in the NBA. You
What we valued at the beginning was not only his strength, but also the commercial value behind him. So the same is true for signing Wen Hao now. Not to mention that his potential is definitely worth the price. Even if he is not worth the price, as long as he can play at the mid-level
level, its commercial value far exceeds 8 million times."
"You know me best, hahaha," Alexander laughed again, "but there is another thing you don't know. I can be said to have started from scratch. The process has gone through ups and downs, and I have been looked down upon by countless people. And this Chinese humanistic
Hao, his situation is almost exactly the same as mine, which reminds me of my own struggle. So I also want to help him."
"I see, I didn't expect that. But the words of those media are really unbearable. I really hope that he can fully unleash his potential in the next game against the Jazz and slap those people in the face." Mo.
Ray said.
"This won't happen overnight, let's take it slow," Alexander said with a smile. "Actually, if possible, I also look forward to him having a big explosion against the Jazz to let everyone understand who is more stupid."
At this point, the two looked at each other and laughed.
…
The next day, the Rockets gathered at the Toyota Center, boarded the bus, and drove to the airport. After playing against the Mavericks at home, they had three consecutive away games. The first away game of the three consecutive away games was against the Jazz.
The old grievances between the Rockets and the Jazz can be said to be countless. In the two seasons after Jordan retired, the Jazz led by Malone and Stockton had the best chance to compete for the championship, but they lost in the Western Conference finals to the Jazz led by Dream.
The Rockets missed the championship. Entering the 21st century, the Rockets led by Yao Mai were always blocked by the Jazz in the playoffs and found it difficult to break through the first round. Under such circumstances, the Rockets went to the home court of the Jazz.
, is undoubtedly a wolf entering a tiger's den. What's more, the Jazz's home stadium, Energy Solutions Arena, is on a plateau more than 2,000 feet above sea level. Other teams will inevitably be uncomfortable coming here. In addition, the Jazz's home fans are the largest in the entire NBA.
There are noisy fans, so this is recognized as the devil's home court. Although the team's record has been poor in the past two seasons, their winning rate at home is as high as 70%. This shows how difficult this battle is for the Rockets.
On the plane, other teammates have fallen asleep, but Wen Hao and No. 11 are still awake. Wen Hao is studying the Jazz game video. This is his essential homework before every game. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle.
, he must have a clear understanding of the opponent's point guard's habits and playing style, so that the game will be easier.
After watching for more than 20 minutes, Wen Hao raised his head and wanted to take a rest, and saw that the game No. 11 next to him was watching was not a video of this season, but the playoffs between the Rockets and Jazz in the Yao and Mai era.
At that time, for two consecutive seasons, the Rockets were blocked in the first round by the Jazz...
Wen Hao moved his eyes from the computer to No. 11's face, and saw that No. 11, who had always been very calm, had a hint of unspeakable emotion on his face. Wen Hao thought about it and understood No. 11's mood.
After watching for a while, he said to No. 11: "Tomorrow night, we will definitely kill the Jazz with our hands."
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[Today’s fourth update, thank you both for your generous rewards and your recommendations.]
