For this, some Spurs fans, especially Chinese Spurs fans, began to express dissatisfaction! They felt that Popovich's actions were equivalent to driving He Xi Meng away...
But what they didn't know was that Popovich's actions were all based on He Xi Meng's own arrangements...
The Spurs' new twin towers were officially formed!
Parker began to partner more with the starting lineup, completing the handover with He Xi Meng.
...
Although it was obvious to everyone that a slow power transfer was happening within the Spurs!
This did not prevent the Spurs from winning game after game in the regular season!
The only team that could stop the Spurs, the Lakers, were unable to form a cohesive unit due to injuries, leading the Spurs to surge ahead and ultimately achieve an epic record: 73 wins!
Even with He Xi Meng consciously holding back, the Spurs still achieved the best record in league history!
This shows how dominant the Spurs were this season?
Duncan was once again named the regular season MVP, after the 2001-2002 season!
Ginobili won Best Sixth Man for the second year in a row!
He Xi Meng's overall statistics declined across the board, but he maintained his dominance in assists, securing the assist title for the second consecutive year!
Tracy McGrady won the scoring title again!
Kevin Garnett replaced Ben Wallace as the leading rebounder!
Theo Ratliff replaced Tim Duncan as the leading shot blocker!
Baron Davis replaced Allen Iverson as the league leader in steals!
In the All-NBA selections, He Xi Meng and Tim Duncan were once again selected to the First Team, and Yao Ming was selected to the Third Team!
In the All-Defensive teams, Duncan was selected to the First Team, and Bowen and Prince were both selected to the Second Team!
In the first round of the playoffs, the Spurs swept the Grizzlies 4:0!
In the Western Conference Semifinals, they defeated the Lakers, who were considered the strongest team in the league before the season, with an "F4" lineup, 4:2!
In the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs faced the Timberwolves led by the formidable Kevin Garnett and swept them aside 4:0!
In the NBA Finals, the Nets no longer had to face the despair-inducing Spurs!
This year, the king of the East had become the Detroit Pistons!
The "Fab Five" Pistons tried to wear down the Spurs with their defense, but unexpectedly, He Xi Meng + Ginobili + Parker tore apart the Pistons' proud iron-clad defense with relentless drives!
And the Pistons' offensive prowess, which was not that strong to begin with, was severely hampered by the combined efforts of Tim Duncan + Bruce Bowen + Tayshaun Prince, all members of the All-Defensive team, making their offense miserable!
The Pistons, who were best known for their defense, failed to defend the Spurs and were instead defended by the Spurs. Where were the Detroit fans supposed to complain?
In the end, the Spurs easily defeated the Pistons 4:1, achieving their first-ever three-peat in team history!
For the Finals MVP award, both Popovich and Duncan wanted to give it to He Xi Meng, who was about to leave.
He Xi Meng declined, instead suggesting that the honor be awarded to Yao Ming, who also performed exceptionally well in the Finals!
The Spurs had won four championships in five years! They had become so dominant that the entire league was filled with resentment!
If the team didn't break up, it wouldn't appease the public anger!
All the teams in the league picked up their shovels and started digging at the Spurs' foundation!
All Popovich could do was to try his best to preserve the B-plan He Xi Meng had devised for him two years ago: to keep the GDP core + Yao Ming!
He Xi Meng opted out of the final year of his contract, becoming a free agent once again!
On the day He Xi Meng announced his decision to opt out, Kobe Bryant called him and invited him: "The Lakers will be my team, come back and help me? We brothers will build a dynasty together..."
Five years ago, when He Xi Meng left the Lakers, Kobe had made a promise: "When I become the master of the Lakers, I will let you return to Los Angeles with glory..."
It was just that Kobe's success came a little too late.
In late 2003, the Eastern powerhouse Celtics completed an ownership change!
At that time, there were three teams waiting to be sold in the league: the Celtics, the Suns, and the Cavaliers!
However, the owners of the Cavaliers and Suns were not in a hurry for money, so they were in a state of waiting for offers. It was difficult to reach an agreement without a significant premium.
The Celtics were valued at $200 million, and the owner was asking for $400 million! But they were willing to sell with sincerity and room for negotiation.
More importantly, the Celtics possessed a team heritage that the Suns and Cavaliers could not match. Moreover, Boston was one of the largest cities in the East, a rare major market among the league's teams!
After comprehensive comparison and repeated consultations!
Michael Jordan ultimately set his sights on the Celtics!
In addition to the aforementioned reasons, Larry Bird also became an important reason for Michael Jordan's choice of the Celtics!
Ultimately, Michael Jordan persuaded Larry Bird, and together they became the new owners of the Green team!
Of course, they were only the nominal new owners.
To acquire the Celtics, Michael Jordan raised a total of $360 million.
Of this, Michael Jordan invested $144 million, owning 40% of the Celtics' shares.
Larry Bird invested $36 million, owning 10% of the Celtics' shares.
The remaining 50% of the shares belonged to a private fund registered in the Caribbean Islands called "Basketball Family"...
Danny Ainge remained the general manager of the Celtics, responsible for daily operations.
However, matters concerning draft picks and roster construction all required obedience to Michael Jordan!
Michael Jordan, in turn, transferred this power to He Xi Meng as one of the conditions for He Xi Meng joining the Celtics!
Michael Jordan had fired his shot!
However, the summer trade window had not yet opened, so He Xi Meng could not yet publicly appear for the Green team.
Therefore, these public-facing tasks still needed to be handled by Michael Jordan himself!
Fortunately, Michael Jordan never shied away from such public appearances!
The 2004 Celtics held four draft picks!
They were the 15th pick in the first round, the 24th pick in the first round, the 25th pick in the first round, and the 11th pick in the second round!
With Danny Ainge, a trade master, the Celtics always seemed to have draft picks!
However, such a tough person like Ainge also had a strong subjective will!
If it weren't for Michael Jordan's presence as the nominal majority owner, He Xi Meng, as a player, would have had a 100% chance of being ignored by Ainge if he tried to offer advice!
Even with the draft list provided by Michael Jordan, Ainge still persistently tried to persuade Michael Jordan to accept his suggestions with his professional judgment!
"Michael, based on our team feedback reports and my years of player selection experience, choosing Al Jefferson with the 15th pick in the first round is better than choosing Josh Smith! Al Jefferson's excellent post footwork is exactly what our team needs! What does Josh Smith have besides his explosive physique?"
"Danny!" Michael Jordan interrupted Ainge's incessant professional analysis impatiently, "Trust me! I'm professional too! I never read those scouts' nonsense! I only trust this!"
Michael Jordan pointed to his chest: "Listen to your inner guidance, trust my intuition..."
When it came to putting on a show, Michael Jordan was definitely a professional!
In fact, the rookie list in Michael Jordan's hands was all provided by He Xi Meng!
According to Michael Jordan's inner guidance, he didn't like either He Xi Meng's list or Ainge's list...