865: 287: A suspense ends, but leaves the basketball world with another bigger suspense (Vote for the monthly ticket!)_2 865: 287: A suspense ends, but leaves the basketball world with another bigger suspense (Vote for the monthly ticket!)_2 After Roger lost the Eastern Conference Finals in 1999, the Hawks’ revenue not only didn’t drop in the following 99-00 season but actually increased.
This data convinced Bruce Levenson that the championship wasn’t essential.
So offering Big Ben a three-year max contract was the biggest concession the Hawks were willing to make.
Even though he knew this contract was no match for what the Pistons could offer, he refused to extend the contract length.
Where DPOY would go beca the the this sumr, and even Jerry Buss was imnsely concerned about Big Ben’s movents.
If Big Ben left, he’d consider keeping the current roster and giving it another shot for a year.
If Big Ben stayed, he might initiate a trade.
Those who truly understand basketball won’t ignore the impact of that wild hair on the ga; with him and without him, the Hawks are two completely different teams on defense.
The departure of Big Ben would have the sa impact on the Hawks as sending a warrior to battle without a shield, or sending a man to explore a cave without protective gear.
At three in the morning on the second day of the free agency market, Big Ben sat by the swimming pool at Roger’s mansion.
Roger, holding a glass of wine, reclined on a chair, glanced at the still-lit light in his room, and sighed, “I didn’t expect you could defend here, damn.”
When Big Ben called Roger to tell him he was at the door, Roger was in the final sprint with Bundchen.
Roger’s ga-winning mont was unforgivably interrupted by the best defensive player.
This was the most morable defense Roger had ever faced in his life.
“I didn’t expect you haven’t been complained by neighbors for disturbing the peace all these years; that sound, I heard it from the door.”
“Hey, my whole house is fitted with double-layer laminated soundproof glass.”
“But Gisele’s voice still pierced through the night,” Big Ben laughed.
“Alright, no jokes,” Roger put down his glass, “we can’t just sit here all night doing nothing.”
“I don’t know, Roger, I don’t know if I should accept that contract.”
“What are you expecting to say?
I can’t decide your future for you.
A 6-year contract is safer than a 3-year one, that’s it.
Of course, I want you to stay, but if I have you sign a 3-year contract and you don’t get a second max contract after 3 years, I’ll regret it for a lifeti.”
Roger was very aware that Big Ben still had the ability for a max contract three years later, but that was under the condition of nothing unexpected happening.
Many things in this tiline had already changed, those experiences in mory didn’t necessarily fully apply; how could Roger ensure Big Ben wouldn’t face injury issues in these three years?
“But if we miss a three-peat because of this, I’ll also regret it for a lifeti.” This was what troubled Big Ben the most.
Roger didn’t want to say anything like “we can win the championship without you,” words denying Big Ben’s importance were absurd.
But everyone has their path to walk, Roger couldn’t harm his friend’s interests for his own benefit, anyone would consider doing that unthinkable.
So the King of Atlanta could only tell his minister, “Follow your heart; no matter what decision you make, I won’t bla you.”
Then there was ten minutes of silence, and under the moonlight, Big Ben took a deep breath: “Forget it, let’s talk about sothing light.”
“Sure, I recently learned a magic trick, want to see it?”
“Uh-huh.”
“All I need to do is snap my fingers, and you’ll forget you were ever gay,” Roger said and snapped his fingers.
“Co on Roger, I wasn’t to begin with.”
“See, isn’t it amazing?”
“This …
wait, I’m not!”
“Ah right, right, I know you’ve forgotten.”
“No, stop it, Roger!”
“Sure.”
“This damn …
geez, I must use this trick on others too, hahahaha.” Big Ben, who was initially annoyed, laughed, and the tense atmosphere eased a lot.
But he knew this wasn’t a way to escape the problem; he couldn’t spend the night with Roger relying on cold jokes.
So Big Ben stood up and stretched, it was ti to make a decision.
“Roger, I want you to know, I really enjoyed these years in Atlanta.”
“I also enjoyed fighting alongside you.”
“Then, next ti we et, we’ll be wearing different jerseys.”
“I’ll make sure you struggle on the free-throw line, I promise.”
Big Ben finally left, and Roger returned to his room.
Although the lights in the room were still on, Gisele Bundchen had already fallen asleep, and Roger had lost interest.
He looked out the window and quietly complained, “Truly the best defensive player.”
The following afternoon, Ben Wallace announced through the dia a farewell letter to Atlanta fans, while simultaneously declaring he would accept a six-year max deal with the Detroit Pistons.
It’s almost certain that this would be the biggest transfer news of this off-season.
Big Ben was willing to leave via a sign-and-trade to leave the Hawks with so assets, but the Pistons were only willing to offer Jerry Stackhouse in a sign-and-trade.
Bruce Levenson thought Jerry Starks was an even more wasteful choice, and Roger thought Jerry Stackhouse was a complete trash player, the guy who averaged 29.8 points per ga but was rejected by everyone, fully illustrating why basketball gas couldn’t be judged by statistics alone.
In conclusion, if the bargaining chip was Jerry Stackhouse, the Hawks would rather pass.
On this point, Levenson and Roger perhaps shared a consensus for the first and last ti.
Thus, the team simply allowed Big Ben to sign freely.
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