The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 271 - 13 Prohibition

As Walton officially returned to sign with the team, the key players of the Trail Blazers ended their vacations and returned to Portland by the end of September.

On October 1, the preseason training camp was set to begin, and the night before Gan Guoyang couldn’t sleep at all, even after going several rounds with Wang Fuxi, he still felt very energetic.

Excited by Walton’s return, the new season’s start, his own improved skills, and increased agility after losing weight, Gan Guoyang felt fantastic and was itching to throw another elbow at Rambis.

He was eager to join the training camp and the new team to complete the integration and together with the coaching staff, develop the tactics and plans for the new season.

Wang Fuxi was already sound asleep beside him, so Gan Guoyang went to the living room sofa, picked up the phone, and after a moment’s thought dialed Jordan’s new Chicago residence.

The person who answered wasn’t Jordan himself, but his personal bodyguard George Keller, whom Gan Guoyang knew.

"George, it’s Ah Gan. Get Michael on the phone."

"Oh Sonny, um... it’s not a good time right now, it’s so late..."

"Tell Michael to finish up quickly! Call me back when he’s done, I have important things to tell him."

Five minutes later, Jordan called Gan Guoyang back: "George told me you had something important to discuss with me, what is it?"

Gan Guoyang said, "It’s very important. That is, this season we will win the championship!"

"..."

"’We’, which ’we’?"

"Nonsense, of course, the Portland Trail Blazers, you think it’s you and me?"

Jordan didn’t know what to say, remained silent for a long while then said: "Sonny, are you sleepwalking?"

"No, I’m not, I’m sharing my joy with you."

At that point, Jordan felt like flying to Portland to strangle Gan Guoyang, who had woke him up in the middle of the night to babble such nonsense!

Jordan knew that last season the Trail Blazers had reached the Western Conference Finals and battled the Lakers, only a step shy from the Finals.

However, despite the off-season return of Walton sparking an emotional revival among Portland people, outsiders were not optimistic about the Trail Blazers’ tactical strength and roster enhancements.

After all, Walton had been an MVP, but injuries had ravaged him so severely that over the last six seasons he played only 169 games, averaging 28 games per season.

His stats had declined from the peak of an all-around superstar center who averaged 18 points, 14 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, and 5 assists, to a more modest 10+9+2+2 for an ordinary interior player.

That he was still able to play in the NBA at all was a miracle; whether he could play an entire season without injury was a major question.

"You guys try to get through a season healthy first," Jordan reminded Gan Guoyang of the health issues they faced.

Of course, Jordan didn’t know that early into the new season he would be sidelined with a broken foot after playing only three regular-season games.

Gan Guoyang didn’t elaborate further; he had confidence in the Trail Blazers’ new medical team and healthcare system, all resources introduced by Larry Fleisher.

Although Walton’s physical examination results were not optimistic, his body had achieved a delicate balance in his bones, muscles, and joints.

Last season, Walton had played in 67 games, the most in his career, even more than during the championship year of 1977.

That is also why the Boston Celtics were very interested in acquiring Walton, whose persistence was the fundamental reason he garnered attention.

He kept falling and getting back up just to prove he could still battle on the basketball court he loved.

That determination supported him to this point, and now that he was back in Portland, Gan Guoyang did not want to let him down.

"Michael, you just follow behind and eat my dust!" After saying that, Gan Guoyang hung up the phone.

Jordan was so annoyed he didn’t know what to say, and despite trying to sleep, he stayed awake until past three in the morning, fuming. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

After the call, Gan Guoyang finally felt relieved and managed to fall asleep. The next day, as usual, he got up early for a run.

It was barely dawn when he saw a brand-new Porsche parked outside neighbor Jerome Kossie’s house, glinting with a silvery shine in the early morning light.

"This guy has bought a new car again, looks like he’s back," he thought.

Running past Thompson’s house, the newspapers that had been piling up were gone, a sure sign he too had ended his vacation and returned to Portland.

Signs of life were evident outside the rented homes of Drexler, Vandeweghe, and others; everyone had come back.

As for the young players and fringe players who attended the rookie camp in September, they were staying at motels near Portland Community College.

Portland really wasn’t a city suited for spending long summers; too much and too sticky rain was not conducive to training and recovery.

Everyone either went back to their hometowns, or to dry, cool places, or to the hot and sunny beaches. When Gan Guoyang participated in the tour of China, Larry Weinberg organized the whole team to take a cruise trip to the Caribbean Sea.

Kossie took his grandmother with him, and there was Bill Schonely’s family, team staff, and so on, using the sunshine and the warm breeze of the Caribbean Sea to dispel the cold and dampness of Portland.

Drexler spent the whole summer in Houston, training with Olajuwon and Moses Malone at the University of Houston, and his body was even more robust than last season.

This summer, he signed a new contract with the Trail Blazers with an annual salary of 420,000 US dollars. However, this contract only lasted until 1988. Like Gan Guoyang, Drexler hoped to sign a bigger contract when the salary cap went up, instead of being tied down by a long-term contract.

Vandeweghe, Thompson, and others were active in the basketball camps in Los Angeles, where they participated in Newell’s "Big man" camp to further hone their skills.

Most of the old players of the Trail Blazers lived in villas or apartments in Oswego Lake Park, but Bill Walton, upon returning to Portland, did not. He moved into a big log cabin located in Northwest Portland—this large house was specially built for him by Portland people in 1974 when Walton was selected by the Trail Blazers, to accommodate his particularly tall stature.

The house was famous also because its address was on Nixon Road in Portland, due to the Vietnam War, Walton had always been a strong opponent of Nixon.

During college, he was arrested for participating in anti-war activities, later even wrote a letter to Nixon to express his protest, and even wanted to get John Wooden to co-sign the letter with him.

After Walton left Portland, the place was vacated and became a public community building. When Walton decided to come back, the community immediately cleaned and spruced it up, turning it back into the giant’s cave.

In the morning, just as Walton woke from his sleep, it felt like he was dreaming, as if he had returned to the past.

Portland had changed a lot, but there were also many places that had not. Those friends, those streets, those buildings.

Especially this big house, which held many of Walton’s memories. Standing on the second-floor terrace, he could gaze upon the flowing Willamette River.

Then he saw, in the dawn light, along the banks of the Willamette River, a tall figure running—it was Ah Gan.

"Is this guy Rocky? He’s a crazy kid. Ramsay said he runs every morning, and it turns out to be true."

In one season, the sight of Gan Guoyang running had almost covered the entire Portland, becoming a unique scene in the city in the early morning.

Walton got up early, washed up, had breakfast, got everything ready, and then set off in his Toyota Land Cruiser—this car was the one the Trail Blazers bought for him when he first arrived in Portland, and the dealer had given him another one upon his return.

When he arrived at the training court at Portland Community Center, Gan Guoyang was already there training in shooting. The gym also had Jerome Kossie, Jim Paxson, Terry Porter, and others.

When they saw Walton, they all greeted him loudly, but Walton felt nervous. Apart from responding to Gan Guoyang, he did not engage with anyone else.

Walton had a severe stutter when he was young and had a language expression disorder, so he initially had communication difficulties with the Trail Blazers medical team because he couldn’t articulate certain feelings.

Now his condition had improved a lot, but once he got into a state of nervousness, he would instantly become speechless. Not wanting to stutter, he chose temporary silence.

After a while, Walton, who had come out of the locker room in his changed clothes, explained his issue to his teammates one by one, and everybody understood that the giant wasn’t arrogant, just nervous.

Subsequently, Drexler, Vandeweghe, and others also arrived. When the coaching staff, Jack Ramsay, and Adelman arrived, the Trail Blazers’ training camp for the new season officially started.

Ramsay, seeing Walton warming up on the court, approached and said, "Seeing you train here feels like I’m dreaming."

Walton smiled with a sheepish grin and whispered, "Jack, later... later, don’t make me... give a talk to the... teammates, okay? Let’s just train, no talking."

Walton was worried Dr. Jack would ask him to give some kind of speech. He feared situations where he faced many people and needed to adapt.

Ramsay nodded and said, "I understand, you’ll have opportunities to speak later. But you have to promise me one thing."

"What’s that?"

"You’re not allowed to take Ah Gan hiking."

"Oh, I know, no hiking. I returned to Portland to play basketball."

"And also no going on long walks, or cycling."

"Alright, understood."

"You’re not allowed to chop wood in the mountains."

"Oh, I quit logging a long time ago."

"Don’t take him backpacking in Central Oregon either."

"That’s the same as hiking!"

"Don’t take him to the Philippines, or Egypt or the Galapagos either."

"It’s the middle of the season, how could I possibly go there! Don’t worry, Jack, I came back to play basketball in Portland."

Ramsay looked at Walton deeply and said, "Welcome back to playing basketball in Portland."