[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1518":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1445035,1896,"Chapter 1518 - 14: Sincere and Genuine","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1518",1518,"\u003Cp>In December 1997, there were two events in the sports and cultural world that people were most concerned about:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, the film \"Titanic\" was released. Its box office was not good in the first week, but afterwards, the film broke the norm, rising weekly on word-of-mouth, gradually creating a movie-going frenzy across America.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This film is likely to break box office records and create a box office miracle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the film will also be released in China, unedited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The few nudity and passion scenes in the movie will leave a deep impression on many teenagers who go to the cinema with their families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Secondly, from the start of the 1997 season in November, the Portland Trail Blazers went on a winning streak all the way up to Christmas, achieving an astonishing 27-game winning streak, just six games short of the Lakers’ historical record of 33 consecutive wins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they can defeat the Chicago Bulls in the Christmas Day game on December 25th, the record of 33 consecutive wins will beckon to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because besides the Chicago Bulls, the league doesn’t see anyone who can stop the Trail Blazers and Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, on December 25th, in the Christmas Day game, the home-playing Chicago Bulls were not in particularly good form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were going through a difficult season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After winning the two-time championship in 1997, the Bulls were aiming for a three-peat to establish their dynasty status, but since summer, the Bulls were rife with internal conflicts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, Jerry Krause explicitly renewed Phil Jackson’s contract for only one year, making the 1997-1998 season Jackson’s last with the Bulls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Krause could not wait to prove that the Bulls’ success was mainly due to the management’s operations, not the efforts of the coaches and players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an interview with reporters, Krause bluntly stated: \"The credit for the championship mainly goes to the management’s operations; without my drafts and signings, the Bulls could not have built such a strong team.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Krause’s remarks greatly exacerbated the conflicts between the coaches, players, and management.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, owner Reinsdorf beautifully hid, staying behind the scenes as the good guy, while secretly fueling the escalation of conflicts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most obvious example being the refusal to offer Scottie Pippen a big contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since signing that cheap long-term contract in 1991, Pippen had truly been working like a horse for the Bulls these years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earning only one-third of the salary of stars at the same level, he was doing the most work on the court, handling both offense and defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the 1991 season to 1997, over 7 seasons, Pippen missed only 17 games; one might call him an iron man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The 1997-1998 season marked the end of Pippen’s horse-and-cow contract, and he was only 30 years old, at his peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pippen had contributed so much to the Bulls, winning three championships, yet earning so little money; of course, he wanted a big contract with a yearly salary in the millions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Krause remained silent about the renewal, responding to Pippen’s urging with \"Let’s talk when the contract expires.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In September, Krause sent a message to Pippen, asking him to participate in a commercial game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Pippen didn’t play, the Bulls would fine him, a move that completely angered Pippen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, Pippen chose to have surgery on his left foot in October when the training camp was about to start, treating the injury from last season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The successful surgery meant Pippen would miss November and December games after the season started, angering the Bulls management.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jerry Krause believed Pippen did it on purpose; Pippen could have had surgery right after the finals in July, using the summer to recuperate, so he could be on the court at the start of the season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, Pippen insisted on delaying the surgery until October, deliberately missing two months of games, causing the team a considerable inconvenience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the day of the Christmas Day game against the Trail Blazers, Pippen still could only watch from the sidelines, significantly weakening the Bulls’ power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the conflict between Pippen and the Bulls management had become public; the situation between him and Jerry Krause had become irreconcilable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On November 1st, at the Bulls’ season-opening home game, a championship ring ceremony was held, and Pippen made a speech after receiving the ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He choked up and said: \"Thank you to the city’s fans for all the passion and support shown to me and my teammates over the long ten seasons; I enjoyed a wonderful career here, and before I ever lose the chance to say this, I must say thank you to you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pippen’s words clearly indicated that this would be his last season with the Chicago Bulls, determined to leave after the play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the later game against the Clippers, Pippen gave an interview to the Daily Pioneer, telling a reporter: \"I will not play for the Chicago Bulls anymore; I want to go to a place where I can get enough reward.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Initially, the reporter didn’t believe this, so he omitted these words when publishing the newspaper the next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking it was Pippen’s joke, the reporter didn’t want to set himself on fire, that since the Chicago Bulls had a revered status.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If such content was published, the team and fans might question, and if Pippen said \"I never said that,\" things could get troublesome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, Pippen was serious; a few days later, Pippen met the same accompanying reporter in Sacramento and said the same words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, the reporter knew Pippen wasn’t joking; the conflicts between him and the Bulls couldn’t be hidden anymore, he was using the media to apply pressure to the Bulls management.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, rumors of Pippen’s departure from the Bulls in the next season spread throughout the league.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rumors began to circulate that the Bulls would be trading with the San Antonio Spurs, sending out Pippen and receiving future draft rights and young players from the Spurs.\u003C\u002Fp>",990,"2026-06-06T01:42:01.245Z",1,"novelbin.me","43aa92987f1ea9361b0c7f8077823fbbcc27561c8ce0ebb7fa85fb029a61f77a","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1519","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1517",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]