Champion Creed

"Hoop" gave the Warriors an A+ rating for this trade, but fans in the Bay Area are still somewhat worried.

Because anyone can see that the immediate combat power chips the Warriors received do not match the value of Allan Houston.

Indeed, Nick Van Exel was once an All-Star player, but now he's just a 34-year-old sporadic scorer averaging barely over 10 points as a backup.

Moreover, the Warriors already have Old Cat Mobley, who is very familiar with the team's system, as their sixth man. Nick Van Exel doesn't have much use and probably won't even enter the regular rotation. Spoelstra would only sub him in when Old Cat is in poor form, hoping for a stroke of luck.

As for Derek Anderson, he started for two seasons with the Trail Blazers, averaging 13 points, making him a decent role player.

But his poor stamina often restricts his efficiency to just half a game, and he's easily targeted defensively due to his slow speed, while his size is somewhat small for defending forward positions.

Although the Warriors also traded for a 2006 first-round draft pick from the Trail Blazers, the draft pick is a lottery ticket, and its value cannot yet be measured.

You can't say that buying a lottery ticket with a top prize of 5 million automatically means you have 5 million. In case of a bad selection, even a No. 1 pick might be worthless.

At present, it seems this trade does indeed weaken the Warriors' paper strength.

However, Bay Area fans can only trust the team's decision, as the entire Bay Area knows that the team's decision is Roger's decision.

If Roger hadn't nodded in agreement, this trade definitely wouldn't have happened.

And besides Roger, the god, who else could they trust?

This trade also sparked media debate on "privileged players."

ESPN Cavaliers reporter Dave McMenamin published an article in his column titled "Do Star Players Have Too Much Power?" to criticize Roger.

"The imbalance of NBA power began with Michael Jordan and was intensified by Roger. They can undauntedly control everything within the team, even decide the fate of coaches and teammates. I guarantee that when the trade happened, the Warriors' Russian owner was in some small room enjoying a performance of 'Swan Lake' with no clothes on."

He handed all power to Roger, who is the real controller of the team, and even Bob Bass is just Roger's henchman.

However, this privilege is very unfair to others. Imagine if LeBron, Kobe, or Shaq could choose their teammates, they too would easily achieve success.

Roger can only achieve ultimate victory if the team owner is willing to spend money and takes orders from him.

As we know, every great player has changed the game of basketball. How did Roger change the game? By using privilege, he is the most powerful privileged player in NBA history, and privilege is the ultimate answer of this era.

When your team can squander money freely without worrying about luxury tax, when you can choose teammates at will, what reason do you have not to outperform others?

The essence of competitive sports is striving and surpassing, not taking shortcuts through privilege."

This article is considered Nike's last-ditch effort, as over the years, Roger and Reebok have maintained close relations with most veteran media figures, while Nike's influence has been shrinking. They can only recruit some lesser-known reporters as mouthpieces, then find ways to support them, cultivate them, and gradually expand their influence.

Dave McMenamin is the fastest-growing among all these mouthpieces. He's a Clevelander, a Cavaliers fan, and loves LeBron James. He's willing to speak up for that No. 23. No. 23 also loves him, often giving him exclusive interview opportunities and some insider information, causing Dave McMenamin's status in the industry to skyrocket.

Nike believes that as LBJ's influence grows, Dave McMenamin's status in the media industry will rise as well.

This is the first time that the slightly famous Dave McMenamin has appeared on the front line against Roger.

It has had an effect, with some other media starting to follow suit, questioning the rationale of "privileged players" and discussing whether "privileged players" are destroying NBA competitiveness.

Eric Fleisher asked Roger whether media forces were needed to counterattack, but Roger waved it off: "They're not worth bothering my friends."

Roger doesn't care what these relatively powerless media say, especially since their arguments don't hold water.

Many have chosen their teammates; Michael Jordan had the right to choose Patrick Ewing, Shaq chose Kobe, and now has chosen Dirk.

As for LeBron James, he is even more skilled in this aspect. While others are selecting teammates, he is already choosing his son.

One day, when LeBron James still retains privileges like traveling, turning opponents' good blocks into fouls, and flopping without punishment, then people will truly understand what a privileged player is.

At that time, won't Dave McMenamin really delete this awkward article he wrote now?

Of course, Roger won't be angry because of this. After all, privilege brings Roger not only enjoyment but also pressure.