Compared to last season, the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1999-2000 season have undergone many changes.
The biggest change, which outside fans might not easily notice, is that team owner Tang Jianguo sold a portion of the Trail Blazers’ shares.
With the 2000 election approaching, Tang Jianguo, who has been stirring the waters in the business field, is gradually shifting his attention to the political arena.
On October 7, 1999, Tang Jianguo announced live on CNN that he would form a presidential exploration committee to start his campaign journey.
The campaign needs a large amount of funding, and thanks to his investment in the Trail Blazers and the West Coast Region, Old Tang had long overcome the financial crisis of 1990 and owned vast assets.
Considering the massive cash infusion, he still decided to sell a portion of his shares in the Trail Blazers.
However, outsiders speculate that Tang Jianguo’s main reason for doing so is still to distance himself from the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang.
This summer, the Gan Guoyang espionage case caused a stir; if Old Tang wants to venture into politics, certain aspects must be decided.
Thus, people also foresee that the Tang Jianguo era of the Trail Blazers, which began in 1988, is nearing its end.
seasons, 6 championships, for Tang Jianguo, it’s been an overwhelmingly successful investment, and now it’s time to cash in.
The one who purchased a portion of Tang Jianguo’s shares is no other than the sports goods giant in the Portland Region, the Nike Group.
The Avia Group also inquired about a purchase, but because they were too closely tied to Gan Guoyang, they were rejected.
Unable to surpass Avia and Gan Guoyang on the court, Nike is trying various ways to achieve some victories through other means.
Of course, the new equity structure won’t affect the management and coaching staff’s work, and short-term impacts on player performance on the court are limited.
Tang Jianguo still retains control over the team; he continues to establish a firewall between capital, coaching, and players, keeping basketball about basketball.
Perhaps this is the last bit of sentiment Tang Jianguo has left for Gan Guoyang, for the third three-peat.
In terms of player roster, the Trail Blazers have aged another year, with the addition of Charles Barkley and the return of Dell Curry, they’ve become even older.
Barkley is 36, Curry is 35, Porter is 36, Sabonis is 35, AC Green is 36, Chris Mullin is 36, Brellock is 31, the Trail Blazers have become the oldest team in the league.
Terry Porter once again attempted to retire, but was vetoed by Gan Guoyang, who wouldn’t allow him to retire, urging him to play at least one more season.
Under Gan Guoyang’s persuasion and the rising salary temptation within the league, Porter decided to continue playing in Portland.
Riddle was traded away to bring in 27-year-old Alan Henderson, providing the Trail Blazers with scarce fresh blood.
For the Trail Blazers, how to choose their playing style given an abundance of veterans will be a big test for the coaching staff.
In the coaching team, Larry Bird didn’t cling to power; after three years as head coach, he was satisfied and also exhausted.
In three years, he got everything he wanted, promptly retiring from the head coach position and handing it over to the young Rick Carlisle.
Bird then took over from the retired Buckwalter, becoming the Trail Blazers’ general manager, leading the team’s series of summer operations.
Born in 1959, Carlisle, who just turned forty this year, became one of the youngest head coaches in the league.
In the same year as the draft, both Gan Guoyang and Barkley are still playing in the league, while he has become a head coach.
After Carlisle was promoted to head coach, the assistant coach position became vacant, and the Trail Blazers, adhering to the principle of keeping wealth within the family, promoted the team’s video editor, chief scout, Little Spoelstra to the assistant coach position, while he continued as a scout.
Little Spoelstra was helping the coaching staff during high school, responsible for editing and analyzing tapes.
After studying for four years at Porter University, he rejected recruitment from his father in faraway Miami, insisting on staying to work with the Portland Trail Blazers.
He has a good relationship with Gan Guoyang, who also trusts his expertise and diligence, continuously supporting his work on the team.
After years of experience, at only 29 this year, he is already eligible to be an assistant coach, also one of the youngest assistants in the league.
The average age of the Trail Blazers’ coaching staff suddenly decreases a lot, but luckily there’s Dick Hart holding it together; otherwise, the coaches being younger than the players would be quite odd.
Carlisle faced a severe challenge on the first day of training camp: how to bring together this group of highly seasoned veterans whose ages are not much younger than his, and who are covered in honors.
Even with Gan Guoyang’s presence, as head coach Rick Carlisle must establish his authority, because he cannot always rely on Gan Guoyang to manage the team.
This season, Gan Guoyang is bound to be at his wit’s end; managing the court well is good enough, but asking him to control the locker room may be too much to expect.
Before the training camp started, Gan Guoyang said to Carlisle, "Rick, this season will be one losing control, so it’s more on you."
Even the control-obsessed Gan Guoyang feels "everything is losing control," the pressure on Carlisle can be imagined.
Thus, Larry Bird accompanied Carlisle on the first day of training camp at Willamette University gym, overseeing from the side to offer support for Carlisle.
While doing shuttle run training, Bird kept reminding Charles Barkley, "Charles, your pizza dropped! Charles, your fried chicken dropped."