Chapter Thirty-Nine: Decision

  "Zhuang, this result is really too good for us," said Mark Allen with a smile in Zhuang Fei's office at Victoria University. Bill Rambow, sitting on the other side, also smiled and nodded in agreement. There was no better news than this for them - the breakdown of negotiations between Nicks and Zhuang Fei was a huge boon for Victoria.

  Although Zhuang Fei announced that he would not renew his contract with the Vicksburg Forest, the owners of the Vicksburg Forest, including the principal, did not give up. As long as Zhuang Fei had not formally signed a contract with an NBA team, they would not give up on him.

  Zhuang Fei didn't have any intention of gloating over their misfortune, picked up the cup of coffee in front of him and took a small sip, then smiled and said.

  "They don't want me, it doesn't mean nobody wants me." Zhuang Fei still has some resentment towards the Knicks. After all, after receiving the Knicks' invitation, Zhuang Fei had been politely declining and delaying other teams' invitations, the Knicks were his first choice, now it's just blown like this, it's still a bit unbearable.

  "This is normal, New York is the largest basketball market in the United States, it's a big NBA team, your requirements are a bit too harsh, and especially since he's their leader, you're not even on the job yet and you're already preparing to cut him loose, if I were them, I would also refuse, with the Knicks' appeal, they won't lack for famous coaches, missing out on one person isn't anything, but they will definitely regret this choice later." Bill Lamb heard some dissatisfaction from Zhuang Fei and comforted him with a smile.

  "Hmph, a management team that lacks momentum and determination is doomed to fail. I'd rather not go, otherwise I'll regret it later." Zhuang Fei retorted coldly. The indecisiveness of the Nikes boss and the internal entanglements within Nikes also made him somewhat apprehensive. If he really joined Nikes, he estimated that he would get stuck in a quagmire and be unable to extricate himself, ultimately ruining his own reputation.

  "Coach, I don't think you need to go to the NBA for excitement. With your current reputation and fame in the NCAA, you have everything you need. If it's about money, the school president has already prepared a 5-year contract worth $300 million for you, which is right now on his desk. Even Phil Jackson and Pat Riley don't make more than you, do they? If it's about seeking fame, you're already the number one coach in the NCAA, with three consecutive championships and an undefeated season at Duke. Who doesn't know you in America? You're also going to be inducted into the North Carolina Basketball Hall of Fame soon. If you stay with the team for another year or two, you'll definitely become the youngest head coach in the American Basketball Hall of Fame. Why can't you learn from Coach K and stay in the NCAA? What's wrong with that?" Mark Allen couldn't understand why Coach Zhuang was so fixated on the NBA, which made him think that the NCAA was inferior to the NBA, but that wasn't true at all - the NCAA was the purest form of basketball.

  This is the difference in thinking between Zhuang Fei, a Chinese man who traveled from the future, and native-born Americans. In America, saying that the NBA is the holy land of basketball would make people laugh out loud.

  But Zhang Fei couldn't say these things clearly, having different values is something that can't be agreed upon, and explaining wouldn't work either, he could only change the subject.

  "By the way, Bill, what's up with Al Harrington?" asked Zhu Fei to Bill Lamb, Harrington is a high school student that Vickson Forest is going to recruit this year. Actually, after Duncan graduated in 1997, Zhu Fei has been looking for his successor, but unfortunately didn't find one last year. Just in the first season after Duncan left, although Zhu Fei led Carter, Zbigniew Bialek, Lagabrielle and James Posey to keep winning, their dominance had decreased a lot, many games were won with difficulty. But afterwards, Vickson Forest's affairs wouldn't be his concern anymore.

  "He has given up his plans for the draft and agreed to join Wake Forest," said Bill Lambeer proudly, now few people would refuse an invitation from Wake Forest. This is also because Zhuang Fly's performance over the past few years has been too brilliant, and Wake Forest now has the momentum of a number one school. Zhuang Fly's team won the championship in 1997 and 1998, defeating Kentucky University in the final for two consecutive years, and in 1996, Zhuang Fly led his team to victory over Kentucky for the third time, becoming the second team in NCAA history to achieve three consecutive championships. The first team to achieve three consecutive championships was UCLA, who won seven times from 1967 to 1973, but that era is known as the ancient wilderness of basketball. Entering modern times, Wake Forest is the only team with three consecutive championships.

  "Mark, Bill, the future of Vick's Forest is in your hands now. This year is a crucial one, Vince and Wally are both leaving, although the team still has Raja and James, but the task is still too heavy. Mark, I've already recommended you to take over my position to the principal, so Mark, you can't stand behind me anymore, you need to bravely step forward."

  "You don't need to persuade me anymore, I've made up my mind. Handing over the management of Weikselin to you makes me feel at ease. Your tactical abilities are flawless, it's just that you lack a bit of calmness, but that will improve with time. I believe that even if I'm not here, you two can still manage Weikselin well." For these two assistants who had followed him for three whole years, Zhuang Fei was very familiar with and trusted them deeply. Originally, he had planned to bring the two of them along to his coaching staff, but they were too emotionally attached to Weikselin and didn't want to follow Zhuang Fei into the NBA. This also left Zhuang Fei with a hint of regret.

  After Mark Allen and Bill Lumbos left Zhu Fei's office in disappointment, Zhu Fei picked up the phone, having already made his decision.

  "Hello, is Mr. Glenn? I'm willing to accept your invitation to join Minnesota, yeah, that's right, yeah, okay, next week I'll show up in Minnesota and discuss the specific details of the contract with you, yeah, that's it, okay." He hung up the phone, Zhuang Fei fell into deep thought once again.

  The Timberwolves are his backup plan, the Knicks in New York didn't work out so he could only agree to the Timberwolves. Originally, there were no less than 10 teams that invited Zhuang Fei, but after he made those requests, only 3 teams remained. Even though Zhuang Fei has a very high status in college basketball, he is still a rookie who hasn't experienced the NBA baptism. College basketball and professional basketball are quite different, so it's understandable that they retreated. The Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, and Minnesota Timberwolves... the Raptors were definitely rejected by him, he still remembers what happened with Bitou last time, the Knicks also gave up, now he can only agree to join the Timberwolves.

  The Timberwolves' conditions are not bad either. Among the three teams, the Toronto Raptors have shown the most sincerity, agreeing to all of Zhu Fang's conditions and even willing to let him serve as the team's general manager. The Knicks offered the highest annual salary, although they did not fully agree to Zhu Fang's signing rights and trading rights, but there was still room for negotiation. In comparison, the Timberwolves are somewhere in between, with less authority than the Raptors and lower annual salary than the Knicks. 3 years, $15 million, is a moderate offer, considering Zhu Fang's current market value. However, the Knicks' initial offer was directly 3 years, $24 million, with an annual salary of $8 million, which is already one of the highest salaries that can be obtained by top coaches in the NBA. Nevertheless, all three teams have one thing in common - they require results. The Knicks hope Zhu Fang will win a championship within three years, the Raptors hope to become a regular playoff contender within three years, and the Timberwolves hope to become a Western powerhouse.

  However, considering the current situation of the Forest Wolves, Zhuang Fei still has a lot to do. It is said that one of the team's main players, Ma Buri, has already started preparing to leave the team and does not want to be under Ganete. Another one of the three musketeers, Guglielmo, has also reached his contract period and will inevitably need a high salary to stay or be released directly.

  Is it rebuilding or chaos? This is the choice for Zhuang Fei's Forest Wolf. Although this team has entered the playoffs for the first time in history, there are undercurrents beneath the surface.

  Just as Zhuang Fei was thinking about how to transform the Forest Wolf, the office door was knocked again.

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