Verizon Center has been a training center for the Washington Wizards for some time and is one of the best in the NBA, and every player and staff who plays for the Wizards loves it.

Of course, this is one of the few strengths of the Wizards.

But with one exception, Susan O'Malley, a 40-year-old vice president, hates this place, even if it's where she works, and it's where she achieves the pinnacle of her life and fulfills her personal worth.

Because here is a dictator named Michael Jordan.

To this day, it is inconceivable that Jordan came to D.C. and took all the power away from the old man of the original management without resistance, and became the master of the Wizards.

However, O'Marie understands this very well.

They haven't come close to a championship since 1979, and the Wizards haven't made it deep into the playoffs since Jim Carter became president. The media caricatured it, the ball market gradually withered, and groups of players kept changing, but whether it was the Bullets or the Wizards, the poor performance was consistent.

So when Jordan was swept out of the game by the Bulls in 1999, the disgraced Flyers were desperate to prove his mettle, and he chose the latter between Charlotte, a financially struggling team, and the Wizards, who had a pariah's status in the professional basketball world.

Because Wizards owner Abe Pollin promised that he could control everything on the team.

Pauline is in desperate need of rekindling fan interest in his terrible team.

Jordan, however, is convinced that he deserves unprecedented privileges among NBA team executives. Jordan's requirements included working only part-time in Washington to ensure he had enough time to devote to business endorsements, TV commercials, golf, and gambling. He made it clear that he won't spend a lot of time working on the player's draft and that his main place of work will be from his home in Chicago. He plans to attend only a handful of Wizards games and has only the most basic marketing and publicity responsibilities. From his rhetoric, it was clear that he was not in a job interview, because he was convinced that as a superstar, the owners of the team would and had to give in to him, because he believed that this team in ruins could not do without his magic.

Forget that Jordan said to Pauline during the shutdown that they almost got into a fight on the spot (1), the Flyers are coming to D.C.

Jordan did have magic, and on the day the news leaked, the Wizards sold 500 season tickets. Therefore, O'Marie is perfectly acceptable to Jordan in the position she has, and this is the standard of behavior of her boss. Whoever can bring him profit is the person who speaks for the team. That's why after O'Marie sold her home title rights for 50 million a decade ago, Pauline immediately promoted her as the first female president in NBA history. That's why when Jordan came to the Wizards, she was instantly demoted from a full-time job to a deputy position.

Omarie, who climbed up with this rule of the game, accepted that someone kicked her down in the same way, and what she couldn't accept was, why did Jordan have such terrible privileges?

The main motivation for fans to buy season tickets is to be there to see Jordan in the luxury box. However, Jordan adopted a Howard Hughes-like image during his tenure as president of the Washington Club (2). He is usually rarely seen at home, even when he is in Washington. He was alone in his office, closely following the game through the flat-screen TV.

It turns out that even if he is a god, as long as he doesn't play, the attraction to fans is short-lived. The Wizards continue to lose, and nothing has changed from before, and the hidden Jordan vows to bring a 50% win rate through various channels seems like a joke.

Well, the Wizards suck, that's an unchangeable fact. Because they suck, they need a lot of energy from the team's top leaders, but Jordan has already agreed with the owner that he is only part-time, and in addition to the work of the Wizards, he has a lot of business to worry about, and basketball is such a simple game, it is not worth putting all the energy into it, right? If it were that simple, then His Majesty the Flying Man would never have let his entourage humiliate the old men in management, calling Pollin a "dwarf who gets in the way".

The ending of Chicago still did not make Jordan understand a truth, there is a price to pay for blatantly offending the owner of ownership!

Susan O'Marie believes that Jordan will have a day of retribution.

Today is a big day for the Wizards as they will officially try out legendary No. 1 favorite Kwame Brown.

In addition, they also invited another top pick, Tyson Chandler, to participate in a tryout for the second time.

Tyson had a good last time, but Jordan didn't believe his skinny body could survive in the NBA, and he wanted to see how Brown performed.

That's what Omarie was going to report to Abbey Pauline.

When Omarie walked into her boss's office, and before she could speak, Pauline asked, "Is he still determined to choose a high school student?" ”

"Michael has tried out almost all potential lotto players, but so far no one has been able to make up his mind," Omarie said. ”

"I attended a luncheon in Dole, China last week." Pauline said calmly, "Reed thinks the Spaniards are the best option. ”

O'Marie doesn't like the old man who eats lunch every week in Dole, China, he likes to point fingers, but he can't even figure out the salary cap, and if he hadn't drafted a toxic player more than a decade ago, maybe the Celtics wouldn't have had such a long slump.

Pick the Spaniard who can't guarantee to be in the NBA next season? O'Marie's face remained the same, "Michael said he wouldn't pick a European player he had never seen in person. ”

"He could have seen it himself, didn't he?" Pauline said in a cold tone.

Omarie playfully chose not to answer.

Pauline didn't go any further.

The room fell silent.

After a while, Omarie walks out, and she meets her old partner, Wes Unseld, outside.

"Is Mr. Pauline in a good mood today?" Unselde's tone and flattering look when he spoke of Pauline were not at all worthy of his rugged face.

Who would have thought that one of the toughest players in NBA history would become a servant of the boss after retiring?

"He's in a good mood, are you going to say hello to him?" Omarie asked with a smile.

As soon as he heard that the boss was in a good mood, Unselde couldn't stop the desire to flatter the boss, "Yes, yes, I haven't seen Mr. Pauline for a while." ”

Ever since Unseld entered the management of the Wizards in the early '80s, he has been known for his mediocrity and incompetence.

The reason why he is still in a high position to this day is simply because he is deferential to Pauline like a servant.

Omarie had a good relationship with Unselde, and he liked to tease the old man who was struggling in professional basketball, and if she didn't, she was sure that she would one day be suffocated at work by the pressure of her boss and a bastard who thought she was more important than her boss.

Today, the Wizards will try out four players, including three high school students from Georgia Kwame Brown, Chicago Tyson Chandler and Washington State Frye Yu, with the only college player being Brandon Haywood from the University of North Carolina.

Needless to say, the North Carolina junior and Yu Fei are both Jordan's favorite people, but even if the Wizards want, they can only get one of them at most, so Yu Fei and Haywood will definitely have a showdown today.

And the real highlight is Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, and whoever can stand out today will most likely be the top pick in the 2001 draft.

Jordan was there, new head coach Doug Collins was there, assistant coaches, scouts... Everyone on the Wizards' coaching staff was on hand to follow the moves of the four rookies.

Brown and Yu Fei worked in pairs, while Chandler and Heywood trained alone.

"Fry, pass me a few blank catches, I'm going to put on a show before I start!"

Yu Fei reluctantly sent three empty passes to Brown, but the latter didn't show butter hands, and caught them all and completed the violent dunk.

"I have to say, your pass is the most comfortable I've ever received!" Brown sighed, "I really want to play with you." ”

Yu Feipi let out two hehes without smiling.

Playing together? As long as Yu Fei thought of what was about to happen to Brown, he felt sorry for this big brother who was a big brother.

This is probably his last happy hour before he retires, so enjoy it.

(1) During the 1998 shutdown, in order to support the players, Jordan faced Poleyn who complained that "I am so difficult, I can't make ends meet every year" in labor negotiations: "I can't afford to play and sell the team." Pauline responded: "Neither you, Michael, nor anyone else, can tell me when to sell my team." ”

(2) Howard Hughes, a well-known businessman, pilot, filmmaker, and inventor in 20th-century America. He is known for his unusual personality, unique lifestyle, and propensity to seclusion. He is the prototype of Tony Stark's creation.

PS: D.C is the last trial that Dafei will describe in detail, which means that the trial content is almost finished. I can guarantee that it will be in the NBA before it hits, and I've got a climax in place before it hits.