"God, Aix, you actually got the MVP! I thought it would be Malone and Stockton and the others, but I didn't expect it to be you and the magician. I really didn't expect it..."

"Yes, I didn't expect it."

"Your luck is really good. Fortunately, it's the Magician's comeback season. Otherwise, even if you play so well and you scored the final shot, you might be snatched away by the MVP..."

Listening to Pierce's words, how did Zhang Hao feel that it was the magician who was benefiting from him?

An hour ago, he was dizzy again when he just got the All-Star MVP. This cake will be completely unconscious of this year's All-Star weekend, and he almost couldn't find it.

After the game, Zhang Hao simply accepted an interview and left after physical therapy. He was as noble and cold as ever. The media got used to it. Anyway, Zhang Hao would not say too much when he was interviewed. Even if he occasionally looked very high-profile, after analysis, the media also discovered that Zhang Hao just chose to make a high-profile interview, answer questions or reveal them actively, and the answers he wanted to answer.

Now in a quiet environment, no longer noisy, no longer surrounded by cameras, and no longer a group of people asking questions, Zhang Hao remembered David Stern's extremely enthusiastic attitude when he shook hands with him...

No matter this, I will be happy if I get the prize!

and……

"Special signing player Zhang Hao won the Most Valuable Player Award in the 1996 San Antonio All-Star Weekend Tournament. Congratulations to the host for the unexpected reward: the friendship of the special card Lakers.

Friendship of Lakers' legends (*): The host can designate a signing player, designate a retired jersey-level celebrity on the Lakers. If the designated legend has a good impression of the designated signing player, this favorability will be greatly increased."

Good reward!

Zhang Hao was still having a headache, Jabbar was so introverted. When he had time in the future, he couldn't find the contact information when he could practice a center skill. Now, he has it!

The summer plan has taken another step forward, but there is no rush. Now we will try our best to improve our strength in the second half of the season. Combined with training + competition, the improvement obtained is the most effective. Such opportunities cannot be wasted at will.

Listening to Pierce's nagging, Zhang Hao interrupted the other party and asked, "Where is Kobe?"

"Is that annoying guy? He went back to Philadelphia overnight. I guess he was hit by you...OH, NO, I was hit too, I have to work harder next..."

...

...

The rookie won the All-Star MVP! The last time it appeared was in 1961, and the last time it was in 1960, which was Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain in their rookie seasons.

After that, even if it was Jabbar, Bird, and Jordan who could win super rookies in the first or second teams in the NBA, they would not be able to do so.

After the game, major media rushed to report that Zhang Hao and the Magician won the AMVP together, mainly to promote Zhang Hao's award. It was no suspense, which not only brought more attention to Zhang Hao, but also brought him more controversy.

In terms of the controversy, there is a fact that cannot be avoided-Stoketon, Malone, Olajuwon and even Drexler, who performed better than Zhang Hao and the Magician.

Even if the combination adds points, Stockton + Malone, Olajuwon + Drexler will perform better overall.

But it is precisely because of the controversy that we can create topics.

At home, under the leadership of the imperial court and Xinhua News Agency, the public opinion about Zhang Hao is much more positive. Zhang Hao has been making rapid progress in the NBA, making those negative voices unable to emerge for the time being.

The year is approaching, and the leaders of the Blue Association, who have been on holiday for a long time, had to make a statement that afternoon: "This year's national team lineup has been neat and has undergone many training and running-in. It is not suitable for new players to join, but we have put the matter of absorbing Zhang Hao back to the national team on the agenda..."

On the morning of February 12, Zhang Hao took the team boss's private plane with two girls and Pierce's mother and flew back to Los Angeles.

The magician was really impressed when he saw that Zhang Hao was already studying the information of eight opponents in the second half of February.

Too rational!

I just completed my rookie season yesterday and won the All-Star MVP. Today, I will put those things behind me...

"Maybe it's because of this that he can do something that I can't do..."

The Magician recalled that he was selected as the All-Star starter more than ten years ago when he was also a rookie season, but in the game, he was completely unable to be as calm as Zhang Hao, and focused on doing what he should do when his teammates were all All-Star strength. He wanted to show himself, but he didn't know where to start.

Regarding the fact that Zhang Hao received an AMVP with him this time, the magician probably guessed that it was not the media that Zhang Hao was benefiting from him, but that he benefited from him.

Even if Zhang Hao was benefiting from his comeback and finally helped the Western Conference win the game, it was Zhang Hao's assist and final kill at the last moment.

"I didn't expect that I just wanted to come back and feel the feeling of being a professional player. I was so lucky to meet a rookie like Aix..."

On the other hand, Zhang Hao, who quietly studied the next opponent, actually thought it was simple - the very dreamy All-Star weekend has passed, and Zhang Hao is still happy about this All-Star trip, but he should start preparing for the second half of the next season.

This is a very special thing about him. He knows that he cannot be complacent or lose his attention because of what he has obtained in the past.

"The remaining life span is 892 days..."

Seeing that he got a 10-day life span after winning the game last night, and after the rest of his life span was reduced by 3 days due to the review game + natural life span, he knew that he always had something to do and needed to concentrate.

Focusing on the second half of the season will make what you want to do easier.

38 wins and 9 losses, how can you not have any ideas for such a half-time record?

Competing for the regular season championship with the Bulls is definitely not a goal. The Bulls may lose in the second half of the season at most.

However, with 35 games left, is it possible to win 60 wins, or even better? Can you compete for the first place in the Western Conference?

There are two direct competitors - the Spurs and the Supersonics.

The Jazz are unlikely to win 60 wins. The Jazz's regular season strong team actually loses more than they win, mainly because of the fact that they are slandering and stable. Zhang Hao felt it when he was with the Nets.

The Spurs and the Supersonics play against the strong team... David Robinson has always performed well in the regular season play against the strong team.

As for the Supersonics, Zhang Hao has the impression that he is the finals team of this season in the original time and space.

"Look, next time, the Spurs and Supersonics will have to fight twice, and the Rockets will have to play two more games, and the Magic will have to play two games... and the hard-to-knock bones such as the Cavaliers and the Suns... and the games against less-than-strong opponents, they will have to win, otherwise it will be difficult to win 60 wins..."

...

During the All-Star Weekend, most players were on holiday, but the management of each team reached the busiest stage of the season.

At the end of the All-Star Weekend event, the last two to three days of rest, each team began to make decisions, and many transactions were completed or failed at once.

For the Lakers, there has been no movement since the previous exposure of Mo Ning, who is interested in getting the Heat.

Judging from the rumors about Mo Ning's trade, Zhang Hao knew that the team was most likely to want to maintain stability and rebuild a winning culture, and focus on the offseason.

Zhang Hao likes this state very much, and he needs a stable environment very much.

No matter how bad it is, Doug Christie and Donyere Marshall need to join, and the magician returns to this operation that makes the environment more favorable for him.

If he makes drastic changes, if he is after an offseason, he is willing to accept it. After a summer, many things will change. Young teammates may improve, old teammates may deteriorate, teammates whose contract expires, and new teammates... This must be accepted.

After returning to Los Angeles, Zhang Hao saw a lot of news.

Alan Houston once again rejected the Pistons' five-year, 25 million contract renewal contract. Zhang Hao was not surprised. Henry Thomas mentioned that without a five-year, more than 30 million contract, Alan Houston would not renew the contract. Alan Houston has the strength to fight for a five-year, 30 million contract.

The Toronto Raptors reached a deal with the 76ers, and exchanged Tony Massenberg for center Zane Tabak.

The Vancouver Grizzlies reached a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks and got the veteran Bennet Benjamin.

The Heat gave a second round pick and gave Tony Smith's $1.69 million contract to the Suns...

One deal after another was constantly exposed on the first day after the All-Star Weekend event.

They are all small-scale fights. In Zhang Hao's opinion, the attractiveness of these transactions is not as interesting as that of Alan Houston and the Pistons at a $5 million quarrel.

Finally, at night, a big deal and a message asked Pelinka to call Zhang Hao!

...

At 7:30 p.m. on February 12, 1996, the Heat and the Warriors reached a deal. The Heat sent Kevin Willis and Beambo Coles, two first-round picks protected by lotto in 1996 and 1998, and got the Warriors' Tim Hardaway and Chris Gatling.

Complete robbery transaction!

Although Tim Hardaway's data has been average this season, last season, Tim Hardaway averaged 20.1 points and 9.3 assists per game, and averaged 2.7 three-pointers per game. He is a strong contender for the league's first point guard. His decline this season is only because Adelman doesn't like him. Some people have long criticized Adelman's coaching strategy because of him.

The chips given by the Heat doubled and turned into 4 first-round picks + 4 main rotation players, so that they could switch to Tim Hardaway.

This is purely a robbery.

When Zhang Hao heard Pelinka say this deal, he thought it was a robbery.

However, he had the impression that Tim Hardaway did go to the Heat, and later beat Payton and got it for a while... and experienced the tragedy of being Black Eight.

The deal attracted widespread attention in the media and fans, and the TV stations were discussing the deal that night.

There is no doubt that this is a huge reinforcement for the Heat. The point guard's shotgun was replaced with cannons and directly upgraded to the top level of the league.

The duo of Tim Hardaway and Mourning gave the Heat a real capital to build a championship lineup.

But Zhang Hao is more concerned about the overlooked news and the transaction that happened after this transaction.

The Sixers used former All-Star guard Jeff Malone to maintain the record of Scott Skeles' two players on the verge of retirement from the Hornets trade to get Kenny Anderson, who was not reused by the Hornets.

"Has Boss Kenny started his wandering journey? He finally got rid of Coleman and now he is going to be a teammate with Coleman again. Are the 76ers worried that they won't be able to choose Iverson? Have a guaranteed option?"

Zhang Hao probably guessed now that Kenny Anderson was selected as the All-Star starter at the age of 23, ranked among the top three in assists, and led the team to the playoffs, why did he become a popular person after he was 24 years old?

Luck is also very important for a player.

After signing a 7-year rookie contract, Kenny Anderson could not decide where he was going before 1998.

Judging from the current situation, in 1998, although Kenny Anderson was only 27 years old, according to this trend, there were probably not many choices to make.

Zhang Hao is willing but powerless to do this...

The world of the NBA is always so cruel.

I don’t think about so much for now. At this time, I want to do something but can’t do it. It’s better not to think about it and do things that I can’t do now when I have the ability.

Zhang Hao focused on another thing, the thing that didn't cause much noise, Knicks boss James Dolan made a very interesting suggestion in the boss meeting after the All-Star Weekend - each team can get a place, ignore the salary cap, ignore the maximum salary limit, and provide a player with any amount of salary.

"This clause seems to be passed in the end, right? But it seems to have become a one-time additional clause for Bird Lord... This is not important, what is important is why Dolan wants to do this?"

Zhang Hao was very curious about what Dolan had in his head. It would be understandable that Dolan would create the "Houston Terms" in the future, but what was the operation this time?
To be continued...