The five Chinese players currently in the NBA, He Xi Meng, need no introduction, already sporting a hand full of championship rings.
Yao Ming has also collected three championship rings, Da Ba has two, and Liu Yu Dong, who just joined the Spurs last year, has one championship ring to his name. Only Hu Wei Dong is currently empty-handed.
Seeing that the Celtics still had salary cap space, He Xi Meng signed Hu Wei Dong as a free agent from the Wizards.
Ever since the Jordan legend left the Wizards last season, Hu Wei Dong was gradually sidelined by the team.
As one dynasty falls, another rises; the NBA also follows this historical pattern.
Old Hu's contract was not large, 3 years for 6 million, and it did not affect the Celtics' overall salary cap.
Jordan, who had a good impression of Hu Wei Dong, naturally supported this move.
However, Angie opposed it!
It wasn't that Angie looked down on Old Hu, but he purely wanted to exercise his authority as general manager and be responsible for every player contract...
As a result, Jordan, not wanting Angie to be responsible, directly announced, "Opposition invalid! Arrange the signing..."
Meanwhile, Payton, who had just transferred from the Lakers, was unhappy upon hearing that He Xi Meng was joining the Celtics and loudly demanded to leave!
Over the years, Payton had suffered quite a bit at He Xi Meng's hands.
Jordan initially wanted to win Payton over with his charm, as Payton was roughly their contemporary and they had some interactions during Jordan's second three-peat.
However, Payton had a bad temper and a foul mouth! Within a few sentences, he managed to infuriate Jordan, who was so angry that he immediately wanted to trade Payton away for cheap!
He Xi Meng felt that although Payton was aging, his footwork had slowed, and his competitive form was far from his peak, he was more than enough to be his backup. He could perfectly compensate for the Celtics' bench having too many rookies and lacking experience.
Thus, He Xi Meng appeased Jordan, got Payton's phone number, and vowed to help Jordan regain his footing!
"Hey, Gary, it's Simon! If you promise to stay with the Greens, I promise you'll get a championship ring within three years!"
"How can you be so sure?" Payton's tone on the other end of the line was still as aggressive.
"How can I be sure? It's because of my name, He Xi Meng! In the last six years, I've helped the Lakers and the Spurs win five championships! Isn't that enough?"
Payton was momentarily speechless. He recalled the past six seasons, where the entire league was dominated by the Lakers and the Spurs!
And He Xi Meng, moving between these two teams, became the biggest winner in the league!
Indeed, as He Xi Meng said, he himself was the greatest guarantee of a championship!
If he were second, no one in the league would be qualified to be first!
Payton silently hung up the phone. After thinking for a day, he feigned defiance and replied to He Xi Meng, "I hope you'll keep your promise!"
"I will! Gary, welcome to my team!"
"I have a friend who was planning to retire! But I know he still can't let go of championship rings... His condition is good, more than enough to start..."
"What's your friend's name?"
"Karl! Karl Malone!"
He Xi Meng was taken aback, and immediately realized that Payton and Malone had taken pay cuts to join the Lakers last season in pursuit of a championship, sharing a similar fate.
Payton felt that the new season's Celtics had potential and wanted to recommend Malone for one last gamble!
"No problem! Veteran minimum salary, no guaranteed starting position. If Malone is willing to accept, he's welcome to join! I think Michael will be very happy to see Karl..."
Malone, who was at home considering retirement, received Payton's call. After a week of contemplation, he ultimately chose to join!
Another player involved in the Payton trade, veteran Fox, immediately decided to retire upon learning that he was being traded to the Celtics and would have to leave Los Angeles for Boston! In recent seasons, his mind had long been off basketball; he wanted to capitalize on his handsome looks and develop a full-time career in Hollywood!
The Lakers' trade spurred his decision: "It's time to embark on a new life journey..."
As soon as Fox made his decision, before he could announce his retirement, news of He Xi Meng joining the Celtics arrived from Boston!
"Hmm! It seems this journey hasn't ended yet..."
Fox immediately tore up his retirement statement and bought a plane ticket to Boston, ready to fight for He Xi Meng!
As long as He Xi Meng told him to play a few more seasons, he would play a few more seasons. As long as He Xi Meng helped him find a few more acting roles, anything could be discussed...
Thus, under He Xi Meng's behind-the-scenes manipulation and Jordan's strong suppression, the Celtics' roster for the new season became unrecognizable!
Of last season's starting lineup, only Pierce and the blue-collar center Mark Blount remained!
With Yao Ming's addition, Mark Blount would likely not be a starter anymore.
This meant that compared to last season, only Pierce remained from the Celtics' starting lineup for the new season!
This couldn't even be called a renovation; it was a complete rebuild!
For the new season, the Celtics' center position would be Yao Ming and Mark Blount.
At power forward, the Celtics had rookie Josh Smith and veteran Karl Malone!
At small forward, they had Pierce, Ariza, and Fox.
At shooting guard, they had Tony Allen and Kevin Martin.
At point guard, they had He Xi Meng and Payton!
The starting lineup could be Yao Ming + Josh Smith + Pierce + Tony Allen + He Xi Meng!
The reserve lineup could be Mark Blount + Malone + Ariza + Kevin Martin + Payton!
The third unit also had Hu Wei Dong, Fox, Kendrick Perkins, and Will Shek as reserves.
"Hmm, without realizing it, I seem to have built another quasi-championship team! I just don't know how effective it will be in practice..."
After finalizing the Celtics' roster for the new season, He Xi Meng was eager to see the team's practical ability. Unfortunately, he still had national team duties to attend to!
2004 was the year of the Athens Olympics!
The overall roster of the Chinese men's basketball team was largely the same as in the World Championships two years prior!
The biggest change was likely the head coach, from Zhang Bing to Zhang Yi De!
After the Chinese men's basketball team successfully defended their title at the Indianapolis World Championships two years ago, Zhang Bing's coaching performance was highly praised by the higher-ups, and he successfully moved into a senior position within the Basketball Association.
And the vacant position of head coach for the men's basketball team, at Zhang Bing's earnest recommendation, was succeeded by his junior disciple, Zhang Yi De!
"Believe me! As long as Zhang Yi De is coaching, the peak of the Chinese men's basketball team will continue! If you change coaches, let alone anything else, first think about how you'll convince He Xi Meng! I'm not joking, two years ago, He Xi Meng wanted to withdraw from the national team, citing fatigue..."
"This kid lacks a sense of the bigger picture! The country needs him..."