Champion Creed

The trade involving Marcus Camby has finally made some progress. The Seattle SuperSonics are willing to trade Ukrainian center Vitali Potapenko and Serbian forward Vladimir Radmanovic for Camby.

Vladimir Radmanovic's role is too similar to that of Rashard Lewis, as both are rare stretch-fours of this era, which the SuperSonics no longer need.

As for Vitali Potapenko, although his stats are average, he's at least a tough inside player that the Warriors can make some use of. At worst, he can be used to commit a few fouls against Shaq and Duncan.

Bob Bass is still debating whether to make this trade; to be honest, he feels that neither of these pieces is all that good.

But at least it's more sincere than some fringe elements and second-round draft picks.

The huge obstacle in the trade made Marcus Camby take the initiative to break the impasse. On the day of the game with the Pacers, at noon, Camby approached Roger: "I hope you can put me back in the main roster, let me show some performance so that teams would be willing to trade for me. I promise I won't cause you any trouble, I only need to play ten or so minutes per game. All of this is just to make my trade go through more smoothly."

After listening, Roger's look at Marcus Camby could already be described as disdainful: "Playing just to get traded faster? Get lost, Marcus, don't talk to me."

"Roger, I don't have any issues with you. Even when you kicked me, I never caused you any trouble, nor did I talk nonsense to the media. I just don't want to play in the Bay Area anymore, that's all. There's no need for you to mess with me on purpose."

"On purpose? You dare use that word in front of me? When we were fighting a tough battle with the San Antonio Spurs, who was the one who deliberately wasted our efforts?"

"You're quite something, blaming a role player when you lose the game."

"We blame whoever wasted everyone's efforts."

The two parted on bad terms, with Roger not wanting to see Marcus Camby on the court making a scene, and Marcus Camby not wanting to humble himself in front of Roger anymore.

The matter was left unresolved, and Marcus Camby decided to go with the flow; the trade was bound to happen eventually.

In the afternoon, Reggie Miller and his Indiana Pacers arrived on time at the Oakland Arena.

Reggie Miller didn't have any particular impression of this place; in previous games here, he didn't feel anything special, as the Golden State Warriors had a weak presence throughout the 90s and had few intersections with the Pacers.

But after that man came, everything changed.

Standing in the Oakland Arena, Reggie Miller always felt a strong sense of mission.

And his mission was: to send those cheering fans home in tears!

This season, Reggie Miller has already beaten the defending champions and the Western champions. But when he won those games, the Indianapolis legend didn't feel particularly thrilled.

Because, in his mind, winning against those opponents didn't matter.

To truly win a season, you couldn't bypass Roger.

For Reggie Miller, defeating Roger was more meaningful than defeating anyone else.

He hoped to completely vanquish both Indianapolis's nightmare and his own, and then return home with a ring.

This year, the Pacers have a good chance, but if they can't beat Roger, it's all just talk.

Seeing Reggie Miller standing in the middle of the court lost in thought, Little O'Neal intentionally tossed a ball at him: "Old man, what are you thinking about?"

"When will you and Paul learn not to interrupt others' thoughts?"

"What could you be thinking about? Don't think I don't know those dirty thoughts in your head."

Reggie Miller chuckled. Yes, his mind was indeed filled with cunning plans, and finding ways to make the home fans suffer was indeed quite sneaky.

"You're 38 years old, leave it to me and Paul. This year, we won't have any surprises. You'll secure that ring, enjoying the fans' cheers." Jermaine O'Neal said as he warmed up and chatted with Reggie Miller.

Reggie Miller looked down at the wooden floor, scuffing it with the sole of his shoe.

Damn, am I really 38 already? Hmm, these floorboards do seem much more worn.

"Shut up. So what if I'm 38? Time is just an illusion; in fact, every moment of you exists simultaneously, it's just that your consciousness connects them in sequence."

"Look, you're so old you're starting to speak nonsense."

"I mean to tell you that time doesn't matter. What's important is that the throats of the fans in Indianapolis are parched, and we're going to make sure all our opponents' blood flows into the fans' wine glasses! You, like Paul, just want to be heroes. Today, be a villain as much as you want. Don't say stupid things like leaving it to you guys; I'll be the first to pick up the dagger and make No. 14 bleed!"

Little O'Neal chuckled; this was why he was willing to follow Reggie Miller.

Over the years, while Roger had been consistently making history, the Pacers had been much more turbulent, having gone through numerous ups and downs. Yet Reggie Miller's spirit had never faltered; no matter how many setbacks he endured, once the team got back on track, once he got back on his feet, he would challenge that god who had battered him again.

No one disliked teaming up with Reggie Miller, even Paul Pierce believed that in their passion for victory, both Reggie Miller and Roger were on the same level.

Both teams' starters took their positions. Paul Pierce embraced Roger; he was the only Pacers player to hug a Warriors player.