Champion Creed

After chatting briefly with Stern, Roger noticed Penny Hardaway as he walked in.

He passed by Roger without greeting him, yet he was exceptionally warm towards Webber.

It seemed that Roger's recent interview comment "With my current value, I could exchange for countless Pennys" had angered Hardaway.

Roger didn't mind Hardaway not greeting him. He was entering the NBA, not a dating show. He wasn't here to successfully hold hands with anyone.

Besides, you're allowed to mock me, but I'm not allowed to mock you? There's no such law in the United States.

David Stern watched the two not speaking to each other and gently smiled.

Roger, at 198 cm, a shooting guard, blessed with extraordinary talent and a strong desire to win, could fly and had just joined the Chicago Bulls.

Anfernee Hardaway, brimming with talent, famous for his elegant style of play, lean and graceful, and dearly loved by fans.

Conveniently, these two youngsters couldn't stand each other.

Perfect, absolutely perfect, it was time to hype up the topic of "the next MJ" using these two kids.

The worst plan was to quickly launch the next MJ!

Stern would definitely promote Roger and Hardaway well, creating a new era of competition for the title of Michael Jordan's successor!

As for who would win this war, well, that would be up to their own abilities.

After all the rookies had gathered in the green room, the photographer arranged their positions, then David Stern, holding a Spalding basketball with the logo facing outward, stood in the middle and took a group photo with the players.

Next, each player was to go back and meet with the management of their teams in the private rooms of the gym.

When Roger entered the room designated for the Bulls, Krause was very excited. Having followed Roger for nearly a year, this was the first time Krause had seen the young man up close.

He wiped the sweat from his palms with a handkerchief and then shook hands enthusiastically with Roger: "Welcome aboard, a player who understands victory like you should join the team that understands victory best in the 90s!"

While shaking hands, Krause patted Roger's arm.

Um, very sturdy.

Although still slightly lean, Roger had visibly bulked up a lot since the McDonald's All-American Game.

Krause's face lit up with a smile: "I heard that before the draft started, you had been paying out of pocket to hire a trainer for special training? Before this, I had only heard of Michael doing such a thing."

Roger began to understand why Jordan detested Krause so much. This guy's squinted smile was both sleazy and cunning, giving a strong sense of distrust.

The nickname "Spy" couldn't be more fitting for him.

Even though Krause's smile was as unsettling as a classic sinister turn from "Resident Evil," Roger still politely responded: "Yes, I have been training, wanting to be fully prepared before entering the NBA."

Jerry Krause smiled even more happily: "See? This kid is just like another Michael!"

Roger waved his hand: "I'd rather just be myself, sir."

Then, Eric also greeted Krause and discussed the details of the rookie contract.

After several rounds of negotiations, the Bulls accepted Roger's offer of a 7-year, $42 million contract.

By contrast, the contract the Bulls had previously offered Pippen was 7 years for $20 million.

One Roger equals two Pippens.

But that's just how this era was; contracts for high draft picks were generally staggering.

There would also be Kidd's 9-year, $60 million, and "Big Dog" Robinson's 10-year, $68 million contracts in the following years.

Those were the years when player salaries were most chaotic, both owners and players confused about what was an appropriate amount to be paid.

It was because rookie contracts were getting out of control that in 1995 the league was forced to start standardizing rookie contracts, setting a uniform standard.

At the time in 1993, a 7-year $42 million rookie contract was undoubtedly a terrifying price tag.

However, Krause was generally generous to those he valued highly, just like Toni Kukoc, who as a second-round pick, became the 30th highest-paid player in the league in his second year of his career, earning only $600,000 less than Jordan.

For comparison, Reggie Miller was ranked 33rd, Olajuwon 37th, and Pippen didn't even make it into the top 50.

Roger asking for a 7-year $42 million deal as the fourth pick was not particularly hard for Krause to accept.

Choosing players is like that; picking is only the first step, after that, one naturally has to pay a price to take the desired person away.

Of course, the experienced Eric had added a player option before the start of the third year of the contract.

This summer, CBS had just renewed their contract with the NBA for 4 years for $890 million, and in 1995, there was another labor negotiation.

Thus, Eric judged that the league's salary cap would experience a one-time substantial increase in the summer of 1995. By then, players' values were destined to inflate wildly.

Consider that currently, David Robinson has an annual salary of over $5 million, Jordan earns $4 million per year, and MVP Barkley earns $2.42 million. But after 1995, annual salaries in the tens of millions would become the norm!

Therefore, Eric was not in a hurry to arrange a lifelong deal between Roger and the Bulls.

He wanted Roger to test the waters in the free agent market in 1995 to see if he could sign a super contract with an annual salary over $10 million.

Another consideration was that if Jordan didn't retire, or if he came out of retirement and hindered Roger's development, Roger could also opt out of the contract early.

If Roger hadn't made a breakthrough after two seasons in the league, the player option would also allow Roger to continue with the 7-year $42 million contract. This amount of money was sufficient for Roger to live a carefree life.

After roughly agreeing, they were expected to officially sign the contract within a few days.

Krause shook hands with Roger again, "I believe you will be an important part of the new dynasty!"

Meanwhile, at home, Scottie Pippen was dialing Jordan's phone, extremely agitated, "Krause has gone mad! He's talking about creating some new Bulls Dynasty!"

As Pippen spoke, he punched a door in anger, feeling very insecure, "This time it was Horace who got traded, what about next time? I don't know if it will be me!"

Pippen's worry was not just about that; previously the team had dragged out negotiations on his new contract in order to save salary cap space for Toni Kukoc.

Now with another top talent picked fourth, Pippen thought, wouldn't this just put even more pressure on me later?

In the past, Jordan would definitely have stood by Pippen's side, initially cursing Krause with unprecedented words for 10 minutes.

But this time, Jordan was very cold, "I don't care about the draft right now, Scott. As for you, as long as Krause's brain isn't broken, you won't be traded."

Jordan's consolation sounded very dismissive.

Pippen was desperate. If even Jordan wasn't on his side, then who else could support him?

"And..." Jordan spoke again.

"Even if I truly don't come back next season, you should be able to handle that damn rookie yourself, instead of calling me to complain. Please act like a damn man, I've never seen a veteran be bullied by a rookie!"

Pippen was stunned for a moment, act like a man?

He knew what he had to do.

The next day, the cover of "Sports Illustrated" magazine was very peculiarly neither the top pick Webber nor the giant Bradley, but Roger and Hardaway, the two guards.

The title was also very simple: "Who is the next MJ?"

Under Stern's stewardship, a new era was quietly arriving.

However, even Stern, the chief director, couldn't fully predict where this era was headed or its conclusion.