"Xu?"

"Xu."

"Huh?"

Xu Yong and Ross had a big mood swing after the phone call, and they lost their minds for a while, until Schwartz called him a few times before he came back to his senses.

"Are you alright?" Schwartz noticed that something wasn't quite right about Xu Yong's state.

Xu Yong shook his head.

Seeing this, Schwartz didn't ask, but talked about the next arrangement.

"We're going to Hollywood in half an hour to participate in the announcement of "Space Jam 2", and after that, we will transfer to Beverly Hills to participate in the ......"

"Jeff, I'm going back to Chicago." Xu Yong interrupted him.

"You're going to ...... Back to Chicago? Right now? Schwartz was stunned, this came too suddenly, if he went back to Chicago now, not only today, but tomorrow's event would be canceled, and the loss would be huge.

"Yes, you help me arrange the next trip, I'll make a call." After speaking, Xu Yong went out with his mobile phone.

Schwartz came back to his senses, confused, but took out his phone and began to arrange.

When he arrived in a corner where there were no people, Xu Yong called Foreman's mobile phone directly.

It was busy over there, and then it picked up.

"Xu, I'm a little busy right now, why don't I call you back later?" Foreman was obviously asking someone else to call and hold and then transfer him.

"Gal, Derek's trade is suspended first." Xu Yong said calmly.

Foreman was silent for a while, and after a long while, he said: "Xu, you know that this is not my decision alone, it is the ...... of management."

"I know, I'll be back in Chicago today, you can arrange it for me, I'll meet with Raunsdorf." Xu Yong's tone was still calm.

"Well, I'll say hello to Raunsdorf first." However, Foreman heard the indisputability of Xu Yong's words.

"Gal, if Derek is traded before I get to Chicago, then I'm going to be king of the country."

"I see." Foreman quickly hung up the phone, and should have contacted Rauensdorf immediately.

When he put down the phone, Xu Yong's mind came to mind when they went to Ross's house for dinner on the second day of winning the championship, and the two of them imagined the scene of the dynasty on the balcony.

Thinking back to the state of complete emotional collapse in Rose's previous phone call, Rose really didn't think about leaving.

Schwartz's arrangement was still very fast, and he was on the plane an hour later.

After getting on the plane, Xu Yong rested on the soft chair in the first class cabin.

Raunsdorf didn't have much contact with him, and he didn't know what the next meeting would be.

When he thought about it, he thought about the feud between Jordan and the Bulls management.

Jordan's second retirement was ostensibly because he was older, his strength had declined, and he retired bravely.

But in fact, Jordan was only 35 years old at the time, and he had no major injuries and was still averaging 33.5 points per game in the Finals.

Looking at his second comeback later, at the age of 38 in the Wizards, if he doesn't retire at that time, maintain the intensity of training, and play until the age of 40 is no problem.

The root cause of his retirement was a conflict between him and managing director Klaus, or more directly, his boss Raunsdorf.

The owner wanted to sell Pippen for rebuilding, but neither Phil Jackson nor Jordan agreed, so that in the end, Klaus stepped forward and said that if Pippen was not traded, Phil Jackson would not be renewed, and the result was that the Bulls fell apart, and Jordan either compromised or retired, and he chose the latter.

Now, the reasons are different, but the situation is somewhat similar to back then.

If he didn't say no when Rose was going to be traded, what if Butler was going to be traded later?

Especially since he had already passed the word through Battier before, and Raunsdorf still chose to do so, which was obviously using the same treatment of Jordan on him.

When he arrived in Chicago, Foreman waited for him at the airport and then went with him to Lauinsdorf's estate.

"Mr. Lawnsdorf had planned to go on vacation to Hawaii, but when he found out about the situation, he stayed on purpose." Foreman explained in the car.

Xu Yong just smiled and didn't say anything.

How can there be such a coincidence, it's just to find a step.

However, Raunsdorf's attitude shows that the other party is still afraid of him.

After all, he's 26 now, not 35.

In the living room of the manor, Xu Yong soon met Raunsdorf.

There weren't too many pleasantries, just a simple hello, and Xu Yong showed his intention.

"I want the team to keep Derek." He didn't foreshadow him too much, because Battier had come to look for him before, so his attitude should have been very clear in Raunsdorf's heart.

Rauersdorf smiled when he heard this, and then glanced at Foreman.

Foreman is now his microphone, and it would be too much for him to talk to Xu Yong in person about this.

"Xu, we all want to keep Derek, but if we keep Derek, we're going to lose Jimmy, and five teams have already made him a cap offer." Foreman spoke immediately.

"Is there something big going on between Derek and Jimmy? I haven't heard of it. Xu Yong looked directly at Raunsdorf and said.

Raunsdorf looked at Forman, Foreman looked at Xu Yong, and Xu Yong skipped Fuhrman and looked directly at Raunsdorf, this triangular scene looked very embarrassing.

'It's not that there's a problem between them, it's a problem with the team's salary space next season.' Foreman was clever, got up as he spoke, and by the time he finished speaking, he had already sat down next to Raunsdorf, which meant that he was face to face with Xu Yong again.

"Can't you keep both of them at the same time?" Xu Yong continued to ask, he didn't care about Foreman's small actions, although he had a good relationship with Foreman, he knew very well that the general manager and the boss were really subordinate and subordinate relationships.

Rauinsdorf smiled at this time, took out a box of cigars from under the table, and Xu Yong asked knowingly.

"If we keep them at the same time, even if we don't strengthen the new season, even if we just fill the squad, we will need to pay close to 60 million luxury tax, so our current trade plan is to send him to Houston in exchange for Jeremy Lin and trade exceptions, your national team teammates." Foreman explained.

"So...... Is it because of money? Xu Yong didn't have the opportunity to say what Foreman said later, but looked directly at Raunsdorf.

"Running a team is a management thing, it involves a lot of rules, luxury tax or anything, we don't really understand it, just leave it to someone who understands." Rauhensdorf smiled and took out a cigar from the box and handed it to Xu Yong.

Xu Yong didn't reach out to pick it up.

The atmosphere was a little awkward.

"Xu, Mr. Lauersdorf also likes Derek, but we need to think about the future of the team." Foreman hurriedly spoke to ease the atmosphere.

Rausdorf took back his cigar, and the smile on his face disappeared, and he didn't plan to go down the stairs Xu Yong.

"Okay, then I'll talk about the future." Xu Yong looked at Forman.

"Although I'm not a manager, everyone now knows that the salary cap will be 24 million more next summer, which means that we will not exceed the salary cap next year with Derrick, so the team wants to sign another player at that time? Or do you think Derek's contribution in 6 years is not as good as the 60 million luxury tax? ”

Xu Yong's eyes looked straight at Foreman, who was speechless, he couldn't answer this question.

Generally speaking, it is understandable to throw money at the championship, but it is the Laurnsdorf who sits next to him who has the final say.

"Derrick made sacrifices for the team last season, and if he was traded immediately after winning the championship, the rest of the team would feel that there was no point in sacrificing in Chicago, and who can guarantee that we will continue to win when everyone is playing for themselves and not for the team? Gal you? ”

Foreman bowed his head.

Rausdorf stopped as he prepared to light his cigar.

"In the last three seasons, Rose has only been healthy, so who can guarantee that he will be healthy for the next season?" He looked at Xu Yong and asked.

"I need the team to keep Derek." Xu Yong did not answer the words, but turned his gaze to Rausdorf, once again expressed his desire to keep Rose, and changed his attitude from "hope" to "need".

"Without Derek, I can't guarantee that the team will defend the title." He went on to add.

Rauhensdorf's face instantly became ugly, no one had ever spoken to him like this, when the management wanted to trade Pippen, all he heard from Jordan was "I don't want to", but Xu Yong was a threat from Chi Guoguo.

"What if we keep Rose and the team can't defend the title?" Rausdorf asked.

"Then I won't interfere with Derek's affairs anymore."

"That's it." Hearing this, Rauersdorf put down his cigar and said yes.

Xu Yong's condition, no matter what the result, is beneficial to him.

Of course, more importantly, Xu Yong's resoluteness exceeded his expectations, if he blindly insisted, he really fell out with Xu Yong because of Ross, and some of the gains outweighed the losses.

After all, what Xu Yong can bring him is much more than sixty million.

Coming out of Lauinsdorf's estate, Foreman and Xu Yong sat in the car again, but unlike when they came, this time Foreman drove the car himself, and Xu Yong sat in the co-pilot's seat.

"Xu, you scared me." When the car drove down the avenue, Foreman said with some surprise.

Xu Yong turned his head to look at him suspiciously.

"You know that even Michael would never dare to speak to Mr. Raunsdorf like that." Foreman explained.

Xu Yong smiled, didn't Jordan dare? He thinks it may not be, but the contradictions between the players and the management in that era were mostly reflected between the general manager and the players, and the boss was only behind the scenes.

His words can be regarded as absorbing some of Jordan's experience in the struggle that year, and came directly to Laurinsdorf behind the scenes.

And......

"Garr, times have changed." He continued.

Foreman was stunned for a moment, then laughed as well.

As the NBA continues to grow and develop, the voice of players is indeed increasing, which is the biggest difference from the Jordan era.

The car drove to a traffic light intersection, and Foreman turned his head: "Xu, can I say a few words as a friend, not as a general manager?" ”

Xu Yong nodded and gestured to him.

"You say Derrick sacrificed for the team last season, but what about the sacrifices the team has made for him in the last two years? If you were to play with other stars, I believe that with your ability and that of others, you might have led the team to win the championship last year. ”

"If Derek had trade value for the last two years, would he still stay in Chicago?" Xu Yong did not answer, but asked rhetorically.

Foreman was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

Yes, his assumptions don't really exist.

The Bulls can handle Rose now also because Rose had a good season and regained some trade value.

"But is it worth it?" Foreman put away his smile and looked at Xu Yong very seriously.

For a Rose who is no longer at his peak and is now on a standard premium contract, it is not cost-effective to clash with the boss.

"It's worth it." Xu Yong did not hesitate, nor did he explain too much to Foreman.

After talking to Ross on the phone, he rethought his question of principle.

He's still not going to be like James, saying to management who I need, but if he can't even protect his important teammates, then how can he lead the team?

Jordan protected Pippen back then, and it should be the same.

……

After sending Xu Yong back to the airport, Foreman returned to the team's office, where he first dealt with trade negotiations.

They had only made a verbal deal with the Rockets, but they hadn't officially submitted the deal to the league, so it could be reversed, but it would have worsened the relationship between the two managers.

In fact, when he called, he could hear that Mo Gou on the other side was already a little bit of a scolding street.

After dealing with the transaction, he then made another call, this time not to Ross's agent, but directly to Rose.

"Derek, we didn't get that deal out in the end, and you're going to stay in Chicago."

"Really?" He could hear the excitement on that head of Rose, who wasn't angry that he was on the verge of a trade, he just wanted to stay in Chicago.

"Really, the other side asked us for more chips, and we felt it would be better to keep you." Foreman explained.

"Thank you, Gal." Rose's voice became a little choked again.

This thank you made Foreman blush a little.

"Derek, it's a lucky thing to have a teammate like Xu."

He couldn't have told Rose what had happened at the manor, but he had already told Rose why things had really turned.

……

After finishing his meeting with Rauhendorf, Xu Yong flew back to Los Angeles overnight.

When he got off the plane, he saw that there was a missed call from Rose, because it was late at night and he didn't reply.

It wasn't until the next morning that he called Rose back.

Rose's mood was much calmer at this point, although he could still hear that he was still excited.

The two chatted for a long time, and at the end of the conversation, Xu Yong also mentioned the promise between him and Raunsdorf.

"We have no way back except to defend our title."

If the title defense fails, not only will he have to fulfill his promise, but Rose will most likely be traded.

"We'll be able to do it." Rose said in a firm tone.

The dust has settled on Rose, which also means that it is difficult for the Bulls to make a big move in free agency this year.

And the team still has some losses.

The biggest loss was James Johnson, who switched to the Celtics on a one-year, $4 million contract after jumping out of the player option.

The championship is in hand, and Johnson is going to get a big contract for himself, which is not available to the Bulls.

To fill Johnson's departure, the Bulls signed veteran Tyshawn Prince.

Prince is 35 years old this year, the former "old prince" has become the "old prince", and after the speed decline in age, he can only play power forward, but his 2.06 meters tall and 2.18 meters arm span still have a certain deterrent on the defensive end.

Then, immediately after that, the Bulls split their mid-range exception and signed Matthew Dellavedova on a two-year, $4 million contract.

Dellavedova performed well with the Cavaliers last season, especially against Rose's defense, but the Cavaliers were only willing to offer him a one-year salary this summer, and the Bulls decided to throw an olive branch.

One of the reasons for this is that Hinrich declined seriously last season due to age and injury, and the new season is likely to be his last year, so he needs others to share the pressure of substitutions rather than signing veterans in the huddle.

On the other hand, this signing of the Cavaliers' players is to dig into the wall and change direction to weaken the strength of the Cavaliers, so why not.

The Cavaliers didn't follow up on the offer either, as they had already targeted a new backup point guard in free agency, none other than James' former knife-carrying guard and Jammy's considered former weakest All-Star Mo Williams.

As for Dellavedova, he could have chosen to stay in Cleveland, after all, as an undrafted player, it was the beginning of his career, and he didn't have a good reputation for joining opponents who beat him.

But for role players like them, the starting point is actually the same, Johnson gets a big contract for more opportunities, Dellavedova wants a bigger stage, and for him, if he can show himself on the stage of the Finals and get a big contract, nothing else matters.

Then, the Bulls re-signed Artest with a one-year salary extension and Justin Holiday with a one-year salary, and the reinforcement work was over.

As for Osman, who was selected in their draft, he was free-range in Europe like Jokic last year.

Oh yes, Jokic has arrived in Chicago and started training at the United Center with the help of Malone, and Xu Yong was in a hurry to go back before he had time to take a picture.

As for the other teams, the few championship teams have not changed much in the past few years, and this environment is still very good for the Bulls.

Well, just when Xu Yong was thinking so, the big one came.

Towards the end of the freeze period in free agency, the Lakers struck.

The Lakers sent Howard and DJ Augustin and Gasol and Reggie Jackson from the Thunder.

Previously, the Lakers' move to pick Okafor in the draft meant that there was a high probability that Howard would be sent away, and now this has been verified.

Although the Lakers are a bit of a loss in terms of trade results, that's what Howard is worth now.

In the past two years with the Lakers, his trade value has plummeted again and again, and the early contract extension he signed with the Pacers is only one year away.

In fact, the Lakers had a lot of ideas at the trade deadline last season, but they never had a suitable partner, and now the Thunder have jumped out.

The Thunder's roster fell short after four years of running-in, and something had to change to beat the Bulls.

In the end, the management also chose to take a chance, after all, there is a sensitive event at this time, and Durant's contract is about to expire next summer.

The two sides did not reach an early contract extension before, which can be understood as a bigger contract in the summer, but it is also a lot of pressure on the management.

After the trade, the Thunder's starting lineup for the new season will be: Harden, Robertson, Durant, Ibaka, Howard.

This lineup is still quite shocking, especially the interior defensive intensity is instantly full.

Of course, there are lessons from the Cavaliers last season, and fans are cautiously optimistic about this super lineup, and they will know if they can play this season.

And the lineup after the Lakers trade: Reggie Jackson, Kobe, Ariza, Gasol, Okafor.

This lineup, Ye Qing returned.

And when Xu Yong saw this deal, his mood was more complicated than others.

Although Kobe Bryant has not yet announced it, he knows that the new season will be Kobe's [retirement tour season].

And the Lakers made this deal, except for Reggie Jackson, a potential point guard who played well in the Finals last season, the rest should be to give Kobe Bryant a perfect curtain season, so what is more perfect to trade Gasol back?

After Xu Yong saw the news of this transaction, he called Kobe Bryant on the same day, and then went directly to him.

When two people meet, it's a heads-up full of physical confrontation.

Although Kobe Bryant is still not Xu Yong's opponent like last time, Xu Yong can feel that his physical condition is much better than in the past two years.

"I feel like I can stop you in the new season." After sitting down, Kobe Bryant was in high spirits.

Xu Yong laughed when he heard this, the Bulls are in the East, the Lakers are in the West, Kobe Bryant's words are beyond his words, and he thinks he can still lead the Lakers to the Finals again.

This is nothing short of a fantasy.

But that's really what Kobe Bryant would say, after all, his Gasol is back.

"I'll wait for you." Xu Yong said with a smile, he was still thinking about asking about retirement, but he also dispelled that idea, and even had some expectations.

When the time came to mid-July, the reinforcements and transactions of each team were coming to an end, and it was at this time that Xu Yong began to swipe the screen.

On the night of July 18, he and Theron's son Xu Hao/Michael Xu quacked to the ground.

Hao means heaven, and it is the same as his Yong, which belongs to the homonym of half the word, Theron hopes that the little guy will be safe, but he hopes that the little guy can cross the limit of the sky.

And this little guy weighed 8 pounds when he was born, and at first glance he was a character who wanted to do big things.

After the child, Xu Yong and Theron finally took photos on social media and announced their children's names.

Social media has gone straight to the fry.

"I said that Saihuang must be pregnant, but I didn't expect it to be Xu Yong's child, I was so shocked."

"My dad is the first person in basketball, and my mom is a South African diamond, will I walk with the wind in the future?"

"Why is it called Michael Hsu and not James Hsu?"

"Because he's 'real.baby.'"

"Theron is tall and beautiful, Xu Yong is handsome and strong, the genes of these two are combined, and I really look forward to what Michael Xu will look like when he grows up."

"Perhaps...... The yellow-skinned David Beckham? ”

"All the hope for the future of the league is here, he must love basketball!"

……

Before the fans here recovered from Xu Yong's social media messages, the premiere of "Space Slam Dunk 2" began.

On the first day, it got 24 million at the North American box office, topping the box office chart of the day.

As a fan-oriented, and it is a niche movie like basketball, this box office can be described as quite outstanding.

You must know that the last box office of "Air Slam Dunk" in North America was only 80 million.

And in the case of Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, the reviews after watching the movie on social media are also good.

Many people find that compared to 1, his plot is obviously fuller, and it belongs to the kind of rare sequel that is better than the original movie.

This also attracted more fans with a wait-and-see attitude to watch the movie.

Moreover, "Space Slam Dunk 2" was released on Friday, and the box office will continue to rise over the weekend, and if word of mouth is accumulated, the box office estimate of the movie is very optimistic.

Even if it has not been released in China, it will be seen to the naked eye that there will be a wave of box office harvesting.

Winning the championship, having a child, and a box office hit, Xu Yong seems to be the most enviable human on the planet this summer.

(End of chapter)