Champion Creed

After signing the Frenchman Boris Diaw, the Golden State Warriors have filled their 12-man roster for the new season.

After everything was settled, the Golden State Warriors renewed Amar'e Stoudemire with a max contract before the third year of his rookie contract.

The new contract will take effect in 2006 and will last five years, with the fourth year being a player option.

This means that at least until 2010, Amar'e Stoudemire will belong to the Golden State Warriors, and this vanguard of the dynasty will steadfastly stay by Roger's side, fighting alongside him.

Renewing Stoudemire in advance is Mikhail Prokhorov's way of giving Roger peace of mind, as Roger no longer has to worry about foolish incidents like Atlanta's "DPOY not worth the max contract".

Mikhail Prokhorov's indifference to the cost of running the team is not just talk. From Bob Bass suggesting the early renewal for Stoudemire to Prokhorov's decision to pay, it took only 30 seconds.

Bob Bass only knows that his Russian boss is generous with spending money on women, as long as he likes them, even if it lasts only ten minutes when he's not feeling well, he feels it's worth it.

But unexpectedly, he was just as lavish spending money on men.

Securing a renewal contract two years early, Stoudemire was naturally thrilled, because just three years ago, his brother was trying to sustain their family by selling Roger's signed jerseys. Now, he is about to become a star player with an annual salary of tens of millions, and his siblings no longer have to worry about survival.

Amar'e Stoudemire is now eager to deliver a better performance in the new season to prove he's worthy of this trust.

For this, he even paid to attend the Dream Camp, hoping to develop his post-up game.

Out of respect for Roger, the Dream gave Stoudemire a 30% discount.

Besides, with the retirement of Teacher Hubie formally announced, the Warriors also offered Erik Spoelstra an official head coach contract.

From an unknown personal video editor for Roger to a championship coach with a ring, Erik Spoelstra is writing an epic, with even greater chapters awaiting him.

Thus, the Golden State Warriors are fully prepared to embrace the title-defending season. And before the new season's training camp began, Roger still had one thing to do.

A week before the new season's training camp, Roger and Mikhail Prokhorov jointly participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Oracle Arena. (Although called Oracle Arena in the novel, this corresponds to the real Warriors' new arena, the Chase Center.)

As expected by the Russian, besides a large number of reporters, numerous San Francisco fans gathered outside Oracle Arena on the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Originally filled with a fishy smell and surrounded by dilapidated warehouses, Mission Bay has now transformed into the most popular place in all of San Francisco.

This is exactly what the Russian wanted to see, and the Golden State Warriors have helped him achieve 30% of his goal.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Roger thought it was over, but Mikhail Prokhorov picked up the microphone: "Today, we also have a special ceremony—a statue unveiling ceremony for Roger!"

This was a surprise from the Russian to Roger, as even Roger himself only learned three days before the ribbon-cutting ceremony that there was a statue of him in the square outside Oracle Arena.

On the day he received the news, Roger had a strange feeling. Having a statue as an active player seemed too untraditional, almost like having a retired jersey while still playing.

"I haven't retired yet, and now they've put up a statue, it feels like they're seeing me off early, like hanging a black-and-white portrait in my room."

But Mikhail Prokhorov didn't see this as a problem: "When Michael Jordan played in Chicago, there was a statue outside United Center. Great players are like this, only ordinary players get statues after they retire."

"First, Michael got his statue after he retired, and just unexpectedly returned. Secondly, the story of his return ended quite embarrassingly. You know, the night Michael left Chicago, someone threw a pile of crap on his statue. So, erecting a statue prematurely is a highly risky thing."

"This embarrassment will never happen to you because no one can drive you away from the Bay Area. You are inherently unconventional; on your first day in the Bay Area, you took down the already retired No. 14 jersey, yet everyone supported you. Traditions are nothing to you; you are the one setting new standards." The Russian confidently replied.

Mikhail Prokhorov made Roger accept this fact, but just as the statue was about to be unveiled, Roger was still a bit nervous.

Because sometimes, you never know what might be under the curtain of a statue.

Before unveiling the statue, Prokhorov told everyone: "For this great moment, I have invited a mysterious guest to the unveiling ceremony."

After the Russian spoke, Roger leaned over to whisper in his ear: "Boki, what damn thing don't I know about today? I hate surprises!"

"Hahaha, I promise," Prokhorov laughed proudly. He was probably the first person in the world to see a surprised expression on the basketball god's face, "There's nothing left you don't know now."