The next day, October 8, Zhou Quan went to the team to report.

The preseason starts on the 10th, and tomorrow they will set off, and in order to run in, he will also participate in this preseason.

In the locker room at the headquarters, all the players arrived except for Zhou Quan.

"Michael, you've met Iron Fist, isn't he very temperamental, not easy to get along with?" Sam Perkins asked quietly.

He has a very good relationship with Jordan, and Zhou Quan and Jordan are sworn enemies, and he is a little worried that he will not get along with Zhou Quan, a super fierce man who swept the league's villains, and a first-class heavyweight professional boxer.

Michael Cage was stunned and laughed.

"Say it!"

Sam Perkins said angrily.

In addition to Kendall Gill and Schramf, the others also looked over at this time, and it was obvious that they were also very concerned about this issue.

Kendal Gil and Schramf didn't speak, they were both new to supersound, they were newcomers, and they didn't know these old people well.

So they rushed to Los Angeles a few days ago and took the initiative to meet with Zhou Quan, just to establish a good relationship with the team leader first.

Michael Cage smiled: "I originally thought that he was difficult to get along with, he must have a big temper and would beat people when he met, but wrong, Sam, as long as you are not his opponent, he is a very good person." ”

"Really?"

Sam Perkins was a little incredulous.

Iron Fist has even beaten Jordan, Jordan is also an extremely difficult person to get along with, will someone with a character like Iron Fist get along well?

At this time, there was a sound of footsteps outside, and then several people walked in, led by general manager Whithit, followed by Zhou Quan, and two other executives, as well as the coaching staff headed by George Carr.

Ballmer did not change the management in large numbers after taking charge, only a treasurer and an operating president, who also served as the team's chairman but was not very in charge.

Seeing Zhou Quan and the management coming, all the players immediately stood up.

Zhou Quan didn't wait for the introduction of the management, he walked straight out and said with a smile: "Hello everyone, you can call me Zhou Quan, Zhou, or Iron Fist." ”

"Boss."

Kendall Gill shouted with a grin.

"Yes, too." Zhou Quan said with a smile.

"Boss."

A lot of low-senior, fringe and role players shouted.

"Iron Fist."

Some of the most qualified players and key rotations have also shouted.

Zhou Quan nodded and began to shake hands with everyone.

With his memory, he knows everyone's information very well, and after some communication, the players feel very comfortable, and the atmosphere in the dressing room has changed from tense and dull at the beginning to relaxed.

Even some of the unruly guys in it are under pressure from his heavyweight first-class professional fighters, and they don't dare to barre their teeth at all.

Seeing that Zhou Quan easily managed the locker room, Whithitt and other management and coaching staff also breathed a sigh of relief.

……

The next day, the SuperSonics set off for the pre-season break, and the team's season ticket sales and jersey sales for the new season began.

The price of season tickets for the new season has increased by 25% compared with last season, a quarter, which is a large increase, which shows that the management is very optimistic about the ball market and believes that the arrival of Zhou Quan will not hurt the ball market.

And the sales volume on the first day also fully shows that the management is not mistaken, and 33% of the season tickets are sold, which can be described as very hot.

And Zhou Quan's jersey sales are also very good, and the first batch of 20,000 jerseys prepared is sold out.

This makes the management very optimistic and confident about the operation of the new season.

At the same time, the three generations of Zhou Quan's Iron Fist also began to sell, Skechers itself has a flagship store in Seattle, and specially opened Zhou Quan's brand store, and sold more than 6,500 pairs of Iron Fist three generations on the first day.

In the next ten days, Zhou Quan participated in seven preseason games, playing an average of only 25 minutes per game, and the SuperSonics won 5-2 and ended the preseason.

These preseason games have allowed the SuperSonics to complete the initial run-in, but the run-in is far from over.

The original supersonic speed was responsible for the impact of the rain man on the basket, but now the supersonic speed is not so strong on the basket, basically shooting.

Zhou Quan didn't have any offense in the preseason, the main thing was to pass, organize the attack, observe the characteristics and playing style of his teammates, and get familiar with his teammates.

After the preseason, the media's evaluation of this new supersonic team was mixed.

"The supersonic speed of the Rain Man period is full of destructive power, and the supersonic speed of the Iron Fist no longer has this element, and the ornamental value of supersonic speed has been greatly reduced." New york times.

"Obviously, this supersonic team in the Iron Fist era is more efficient than the supersonic in the Rainman era, and the big hand of Iron Fist has enveloped the entire team, and his play alone will determine the fate of this team." Los Angeles Daily News.

Zhou Quan didn't bother to pay attention to these media comments, after the preseason, the official training camp began, and he threw himself into the team's run-in.

In addition to the team's tactical training, this offseason was delayed by other things, and he didn't do any technical training, and now he has to start again.

He has completed four shooting drills before, and now he has chosen two shooting drills again, as long as he completes these two trainings, in addition to his own technical improvement, shooting basic skills and offense can also be improved by one level each.

It's two levels higher, but after completing three items last time, it's been upgraded by one level, and this can't be stacked, so if you complete two more items, you can only upgrade by one level.

He opted for a level 80 shot with a turnaround jumper, the former with 13 rounds of training, and the latter with 16 rounds at the level of 76.

Add up to 87,000 training sessions, only when you throw in, only when you reach the technical action standard, when someone helps you pick up the ball and pass the ball, it takes three months to throw an average of 1,000 goals for three hours a day.

In addition, Philip has hired seven people for him, a housekeeper, three security guards, a gardener, a cook, and a cleaner, and the salary of six people is about $200,000 a year.

The housekeeper is an Anglo-American woman, in her forties, said to be one-eighth Chinese, majored in housekeeping in college, named Melan Wellington, single, knows some Chinese, but is not proficient.

Two of the three security guards were white and the other was Chinese, both men, and the gardeners and cooks were all women, of which the gardeners were black and the other two were Chinese.

The villa was up and running, and after the pre-season, he moved in from the hotel.

I also had a congratulatory party that day and invited all my teammates over.

……

After the pre-season, the line-ups of the teams were basically decided, and the media began to analyze the situation of the new season.

TNT classifies all teams into four brackets: Pot 1 for championship teams, Pot 2 for playoff powerhouses, Pot 3 for regular playoff teams, and Pot 4 for teams outside the playoffs.

In first gear, the Bulls, Knicks, and Pistons in the east, and the SuperSonics, Suns, in the west.

"The new season may still be a situation where the East is strong and the West is weak, but it has become more balanced, but the competition in the East will be more fierce."

"Detroit's economy continues to decline, the Pistons chose to trade Iron Fist because of operating costs, the team owner is selling the team, and has lost the will to chase the championship, but the Iron Fist trade brought Gary Payton and Sean Kemp to the team, plus Joe Dumas, Secali, Ulrich, it's ironic, a team that doesn't want to chase a championship, but still has the strength of a championship, it can only be said that the 'legacy' left by Iron Fist is too rich."

"The Knicks, an iron-blooded team created by God Operator, this is the third season, it has fully matured, it was eliminated by the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals last season, and the strongest opponent of this team this season is likely to still be the Pistons, and Jordan's Bulls."

"The Bulls, as long as Michael Jordan is here, this team is still the most competitive team in the league. It is said that he has been training all offseason, and even when he travels around the world with his family, he takes his trainer with him without interrupting his training. In the new season, he will start again with the Bulls. ”

"The Suns, lost to the Pistons in the Finals, Charles Barkley sharpened his sword for ten years, but was broken by an iron fist, and he will have the most brutal competition with the iron fist in the West in the new season."

"SuperSonic, stopped in the Western Finals last season, and then Iron Fist came into charge, almost rebuilt, and they don't have championship-level strength in themselves, and the reason for being selected is only because of Iron Fist."

TNT also evaluated five teams in Pot 1 with no obvious bias, which was widely recognized by the media and industry insiders.

In addition, there are four teams in the second pot, the Hawks and Magic in the East, and the Mosaics and Spurs in the West.

Among the four teams in Pot 2, including O'Neal, there are three super centers, plus the Knicks, and the teams with four super centers are all selected for the top two teams.

There are a lot of media outlets that have seen this, chanting that the new season will be a competition between traditional center forwards and defenders.

But there are also many media who believe that among the five teams in Pot 1, only Ewing has a super center, and the teams of the other three super centers are all in Pot 2, so the league is still the world of defenders.

In addition, ESPN has also divided the teams, and there are five teams in the first gear, the East is the same as TNT, but the West is the Suns and Mosaic, but the SuperSonics are classified in the second gear.

The explanation given by ESPN is that the supersonic has no low position, no height, no rebounding, and no one has the ability to attack except Zhou Quan, and once the fast break cannot be played, it will be very passive in the positional battle.

"Iron Fist is really powerful, but he's just a guy, he has limited energy, he can't make up for the height of the inside, he can't make up for the lack of rebounding, he can't carry this supersonic."

"Last season the Pistons had Rodman, they had Secali, they had height, they had interior defense, they had rebounding, but now this supersonic, there's nothing."

ESPN's evaluation of hypersonic speed has also received a lot of recognition.

Zhou Quan's evaluation of ESPN can only be said to be speechless, are you blind, you can't see such a big rebounding machine as Rodman?

Interior defense, supersonic low post has no height, it is true that no player can carry the four super centers in a single defense, and there is not even a first-class basket protection ability, but supersonic has a strong pinch defense, and it is normal to have weaknesses, and it is impossible to be strong in all aspects.

The low-post offense is indeed the weakness of the SuperSonics, the main center Perkins often pulls to the three-point line, and Rodman can only play a second offense, so the low-post offense has to rely on him and Kendall Gill's breakthrough layups.

……

The new season starts on November 5th, and the 2nd is the media day of the supersonics.

Although Seattle is not an international supercity like New York and Los Angeles, it is definitely an emerging international city, and the city's sports atmosphere is very strong, otherwise the four major sports leagues would not all flock here, so there are many media reporters in attendance.

"Click, click, click......"

Zhou Quan stood in the C position and accepted photos from the media with his teammates.

"Iron Fist, what do you think of this team after the pre-season and the official training camp? TNT thinks it's a Pot 1 championship team, and ESPN doesn't, what do you think? The New York Times reporter asked.

Zhou Quan smiled: "It doesn't matter if the first gear is the second gear, the media can't determine our height, what ultimately determines our height is our own efforts and strength."

I've been clear about the team's positioning, and our goal this season is to go to the Western Conference finals and then try to reach the finals.

This seems to be in line with the positioning of these two media outlets for us, either the first or the second gear. Personally, I'd rather agree with second gear because it puts relatively little pressure on us. ”

"Iron Fist, do you like Seattle?" The Seattle Times reporter asked.

"I like it very much, I've already bought a house here." Zhou Quan nodded and smiled.

"Can you give me a specific address?" The reporter immediately asked.

"No, I don't want my private life to be disturbed." Zhou Quan smiled and refused.

"Iron Fist, what do you think the Pistons will play this season? Both TNT and ESPN agree that the piston belongs to first gear, what do you think? A reporter from the Los Angeles Journal asked.

"The Pistons' lineup is really still capable of challenging for a championship, and they're the first team." Zhou Quan said.

"If the Pistons win a championship this season, will you regret leaving?" The reporter asked.

Zhou Quan smiled: "The reason why I left the Pistons is well known, except for the fans there, everyone wants me to leave, so it's not my turn to regret it." ”

"So what do you think are the chances of a winning Pistons if you stay with the Pistons?" The reporter asked again.

Zhou Quan pondered for a while and said: "If Rodman also stays, we still have a great chance of winning the championship, at least more than fifty percent, I think the chance is greater than that of the Bulls." ”

"That Pistons are better than the current supersonics, who has a better chance of winning the championship?" The reporter asked again.

"The piston." Zhou Quan said without hesitation.

"That is, you think this supersonic is not as good as that piston, why?"

"Because of the defense, that's one of them." Zhou Quan said.

The media agrees with this reason, two defensive formations and three defensive formations are absolutely different defensive thicknesses.

Zhou Quan said: "But the superSonics defense is also very strong, last season was the team that conceded the second fewest points per game in the West, only higher than Mosaic, although this season is missing Sean Kemp and Gary Payton, but the addition of me and Rodman will not reduce the defensive intensity, so this reason is not the main one."

The main reason is that we basically belong to the rebuild, the main squad is all newcomers, there is no old man, we need to run in time, create a new offensive and defensive system, we need time to grow. ”

Far east, the Detroit Pistons are also holding their media conference.

The leader of the Pistons is Joe Dumas, Gary Payton is just an ordinary player, not an All-Star, and Sean Kemp is not the material to be a leader, so he can only let Joe Dumas, the old leader, continue to lead the locker room.

Joe Dumas is Secali to the left, Sean Kemp to the right, and then Gary Payton, who has been dubbed the Big Four of the new season by the Detroit media.

"Rain Man, Gloves, I heard you weren't happy with coming to Detroit, right?" The first to ask a question was a New York Times reporter.

Sean Kemp twisted his neck, an unruly fierce light flashed in his eyes, and like a beast, he roared in a deep voice: "No, I'm satisfied, the trade took me from a garbage team to a championship team in Pot 1. ”

Gary Payton snorted coldly and said, "This is the media talking nonsense, we love it here, we are full of gratitude to the city, it is here that took us in, otherwise we are just abandoned garbage." ”

The answers of the two can't deceive the media, at least the local media have scoffed, these two guys are full of complaints after being traded, how can they like Detroit? It's hard for them to believe that these two guys are going to stay here when their contracts expire.

"Do you hate hypersound?" The next reporter to ask a question asked.

Gary Payton was unusually adamant: "They abandoned us, and after we reached the Western Conference finals, it was a kind of betrayal. Yes, we hate the supersonics, and after we made it to the Western Finals, they traded us, and I curse them that they will never be favored by superstars in the future. ”

"Do you hate Iron Fist because of that?" The reporter asked again.

"Shet, we don't have a crush on him, he made our parent team trade us, it's all shit! He betrayed the Pistons, and we were traded by the team, which was all his fault. Gary Payton scolded without saying a word.

"Gary, Shaun, if you make it to the finals in the new season, who do you like to bump into the most?" Another reporter asked.

"Supersonic." The two said in unison.

……

(End of chapter)