The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 571 - 1 1988-1989_3

The Trail Blazers pinned their hopes on Sabonis and Petrović, whom they had drafted in the 1987 NBA Draft.

Larry Fleisher personally went to Europe to negotiate with the clubs of both players, but due to economic and political reasons, they still couldn’t come to America to play for the Trail Blazers in the 1988-1989 season.

In the trade market, no team was willing to make a deal with the Trail Blazers, as everyone was afraid of the emergence of a new Boston Celtics.

Buckwalter wanted to get Charles Oakley from the Bulls, but Jerry Krause traded him to New York for Cartwright instead.

The Trail Blazers tried to acquire Vernon Maxwell from the Denver Nuggets using their draft pick, but the Nuggets preferred to send him to the Spurs, settling for a second-round pick.

The Trail Blazers used their own draft pick to select Mark Bryant, and they had previously given their second-round pick to the Spurs—to sign Gilmore.

Next, the Trail Blazers turned their attention to the free-agent market, with Tom Chambers, Walter Davis, and Orlando Woolridge being the big-name players closest to signing with Portland. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

However, Chambers eventually went to the Phoenix Suns, as he harbored a grudge about being embarrassingly blocked by Gan Guoyang and didn’t want to play in Portland.

Moreover, with his position as a forward, it was unlikely for him to find his place in the Trail Blazers, whereas Phoenix could offer him better opportunities to shine.

Walter Davis, as a shooting guard, was in demand by the Trail Blazers, but his history of drug abuse made teams hesitant.

In the end, Walter Davis was snatched up by the Nuggets, who received two draft picks from the Suns, then completed a three-way trade with the Celtics and the Kings, acquiring Danny Ainge.

The Suns quickly dealt with the player involved in drug cases and swiftly built a new lineup centered around Chambers, Kevin Johnson, Danny Ainge, Dan Majerle, and Mark West, rising again in the Western Conference.

Woolridge was picked up by the Los Angeles Lakers, who, along with other Western powerhouses, were very active in seizing resources from the Trail Blazers.

The Lakers, in particular, did not want to see the Trail Blazers continue to dominate the West.

All the other NBA teams were united in their cause: they did not want to see another dominant team descend.

Furthermore, Tang Jianguo’s reckless and arrogant style further alienated the Trail Blazers, making them an obvious target.

For Portland Management, they were not yet prepared to play the role of a public enemy.

How to deftly navigate between teams, how to use draft picks, drive hard bargains, deceive, threaten, and maintain the rule of an evil empire—all these were beyond Buckwalter’s experience and capabilities.

He was well aware that the Trail Blazers’ three-peat success was built entirely on the second overall pick they luckily secured in 1984, that fortunate roll of the dice that landed them an unprecedentedly talented player.

Along with the existing team and the precise choices made in subsequent drafts, the miracle of the Trail Blazers was forged.

All those talks of success in interviews, programs, and books are hindsight; they are but glosses over the victor.

In the end, the Trail Blazers gained almost nothing on the free-agent market during the offseason; they were targeted and could only sign a few minor players.

Their main rookie replenishments came from the draft, where they selected Brazilian center Rolando Ferreira in the third round.

The Trail Blazers were enamored with overseas drafting, hoping to unearth a second Gan Guoyang from the pool of international talent, or even someone half as good.

From the start of the offseason, the Trail Blazers were under the immense pressure of a dynasty team.

A new owner who only promoted himself, had no knowledge of basketball, nor any NBA connections.

A complacent management adept at drafting but unable to use cunning to create an advantage.

The team was falling apart: the coach retired, the second-in-command left, veterans retired, and there was no infusion of new blood.

The only hope people had now was for Gan Guoyang, who had created many miracles, to continue making them happen.

Even though the team was decaying, fortunately, their core was still intact, and very healthy and strong.

Hornacek, Curry, Kossie, and Porter were preserved—valuable assets still in their growth phase.

Gan Guoyang had the most tumultuous and complicated summer of his life.

He didn’t stop for a moment during the offseason, with countless event invitations and travel arrangements.

Many of these were with the outspoken owner Tang Jianguo, such as attending the fight of the century between Mike Tyson and Spinks.

Also in attendance were celebrities like Jack-Nicholson, Paul Simon, and Tang Jin.

Gan Guoyang didn’t mind attending such events, as he was well aware of the many benefits of media exposure for a public figure.

He knew how to use the spotlight and make it work for him.

Though he didn’t like Tang Jianguo emotionally—the man was too boastful and extremely narcissistic, with a typical performer’s personality—he understood rationally that Tang Jianguo was a sharp businessman, a natural standout in the cunning and dangerous American business world.

Tang Jianguo wasn’t particularly clever, but he possessed numerous skills that allowed him to thrive, such as lying smoothly, having a thick face, being duplicitous, and cutting ties with no qualms.

He was a very typical profit-first American businessman, his narcissism and performer’s personality shaped by a lack of parental affection in his childhood.