The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 596 - 9 Group of 3_3

"And then what? Hurry up and tell me, Sabonis!" Petrović rarely showed such excitement. He was eager to know what Sabonis felt after the real confrontation with Ah Gan.

The three of them were top players in Europe, basically at the peak, especially Sabonis and Petrović.

This year, they were about to enter the NBA, sharing common concerns: whether they could adapt to the game rules, intensity, and the long season here.

Petrović had no choice but to watch from the sidelines due to a sudden injury, which made him increasingly anxious as he hadn’t seen Ah Gan for a while.

Because Gan Guoyang wasn’t in Portland, he had returned to Spokane a while ago to participate in the local "Gan Guoyang Day."

Since 1982, this tradition had continued and was set to go on.

Then Gan Guoyang stayed in Gonzaga, training with Stockton and exchanging some parenting tips.

Next, Gan Guoyang planned to spend time in Los Angeles, where he could attend Newell’s training camp for big men while being with his wife and children who were staying in Los Angeles.

Gan Guoyang wouldn’t return to Portland till October, before the season started, to begin the in-team training for the new season.

Gan Guoyang was now the top player in the NBA, and Petrović was eager to see how big the gap was between him and the top player.

Sabonis thought for a moment and continued, "He was like a monster, with astonishing strength, enough to easily knock me down."

"Stoudemire! No way, Sabonis. Someone can knock you down easily? I don’t believe it."

Divac had played many games against Sabonis and knew how terrifying the strength of this 7-foot-3 giant was.

In the Three Second Zone, he was like a colossal warrior, with upper limbs as sturdy and wide as a bear’s. Many athletes from the Soviet wrestling and track teams couldn’t match Sabonis in strength.

Divac had seen some of Ah Gan’s game tapes and knew about his amazing strength, but his 6-foot-10 stature and yellow skin somewhat made those who hadn’t faced him underestimate him.

Even though, in terms of honors and performance, he was the current top player in the NBA.

Sabonis said, "I never speak without thinking, Vlade. Use this time to really boost your confrontation abilities. Rick was right; you’ll get knocked dead."

"And me?" Petrović asked.

"Ah Gan probably wouldn’t bully a kid."

After saying that, Sabonis and Divac burst out laughing.

Petrović gave Sabonis a glare, and the trio’s bond grew stronger.

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In August, Sabonis and Divac stayed in Portland for special training to heal injuries and enhance their confrontational strength.

Meanwhile, Petrović returned to Spain to deal with his contract issues with Real Madrid—he still had a three-year contract with Real Madrid.

Originally, Larry Flesher had resolved these issues in April. Through negotiation, they reached a buyout agreement which would have made Petrović a free agent eligible to come to Portland.

However, Flesher’s sudden death complicated things as Real Madrid filed a lawsuit claiming the previous buyout agreement was invalid.

Petrović had to return to renegotiate, and Jerry West also got involved in the dispute.

The good news was, the court decision regarding the agreement was to take place in Portland, America, determined by the Portland District Circuit Court.

The jurisdiction was given to Portland because Petrović’s lawyer had managed to find a representative of Real Madrid in America, and during this representative’s business trip to Portland, he served him with the lawsuit at Portland Airport.

This action meant that the litigation was to be conducted in Portland, which was a major advantage for the Trail Blazers.

The bad news was, Petrović was under immense media pressure in Spain; once dubbed the Prince of Madrid, he had become an object of hatred among the local fans.

At the time, George Karl was hosting the new season’s training camp in Madrid, where Petrović had always made appearances and received a warm welcome from the media.

But this time, he didn’t show up and instead appeared in the cartoon section of a Madrid newspaper: the normally handsome man was depicted as very ugly, with protruding ears, an open mouth, and buck teeth.

These depicted the hatred of Madrid’s basketball fans towards him, which put him under great pressure.

Returning to Madrid during this period, Petrović scarcely left his home because if he encountered Real Madrid fans, he would surely be stopped and questioned about why he was betraying Real Madrid.

In this anxious wait, Petrović received a phone call from Ah Gan from Los Angeles.

The call was meant for Greenport, the personnel manager of the Trail Blazers, who was arranged to accompany Petrović and alleviate his stress.

Gan Guoyang first spoke with Greenport for a few moments, and Greenport explained the situation in Madrid.

He said that Petrović was very popular here, a real basketball star known by everyone.

But precisely because of this, Petrović was also under immense pressure because he was leaving.

"It would be like if you were leaving Portland, we would... we would stop you."

"I won’t leave Portland unless a stronger basketball league exists in this world, probably on Mars. Hand the phone to Drazan, I want to talk to him."

Petrović and Gan Guoyang were the same age, Gan Guoyang being a month older, but Petrović’s heart pounded nervously when he received the call from Gan Guoyang.

On the phone, they briefly exchanged words, with Gan Guoyang wishing Petrović a swift recovery and expressing his eagerness for the upcoming rookie training camp in October.

Gan Guoyang also said, "I heard you are good at three-pointers, and I am the NBA’s three-point king, we should definitely have a match."

Petrović immediately agreed, saying he definitely wanted to have a competition with Ah Gan.

This call gave Petrović a great boost of inspiration; he was confident he would prevail in the dispute.

His heart was set on challenging stronger players in higher leagues; not for money, not for fame, but to become the best basketball player in the world.

By mid-August, Petrović’s lumbar injury had improved a lot, and he returned to Portland for the court session.

The Portland court affirmed the validity of Petrović’s buyout agreement with Real Madrid, and Real Madrid’s lawsuit was dismissed.

After this ordeal, Petrović finally officially became a member of the Portland Trail Blazers and began his NBA dream.

However, this dream wasn’t entirely a sweet dream. In early October, he eagerly faced his first nightmare on his NBA journey.

Portland Trail Blazers’ rookie training camp: the Socialist Trio was about to become the worst batch of rookies in Portland’s history so far.