And moreover, West had built the Lakers that defeated the Trail Blazers in the 1989 playoffs; he ca to Portland as a victor, not a traitor.
One could foresee that the feud between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers was far from over and would only beco more entangled.
After West officially joined the Trail Blazers, his first task was to go to the airport to welco Divac and Petrović, who had flown directly from Croatia.
These two friends from the Yugoslavia national team, upon learning that they would be playing for the Trail Blazers at the sa ti, excitedly talked on the phone all night and then agreed to arrive in Portland together and report together.
Jerry West arrived at Portland Airport on the day the two had arranged, and to his surprise, a large number of Trail Blazers fans had co to welco them.
Clearly, it was Bill Schonely, the big-mouthed, who had leaked the players’ itinerary to let the fans pick them up.
This was an old tradition of the Trail Blazers. This city had only basketball, only the Trail Blazers; people only paid attention to basketball stars.
The two’s flights landed at nine-thirty and ten-thirty in the morning respectively, and West t these two Croatian basketball prodigies.
Their attire and luggage were very simple; each carried one bag, followed by a translator, and that was all.
Divac’s family had returned to Yugoslavia, and his newlywed wife did not stay; they had married before Divac decided to co to Arica.
West enthusiastically embraced the two and said, "I’m also a newcor to Portland, just a little ahead of you."
Upon understanding West’s words through the translator, Divac said, "No wonder the Lakers didn’t choose ; you had moved to Portland."
The translator felt a bit awkward, wondering if that was really translatable.
Divac, this naive guy, are you suggesting that West sniped us from behind?
Seeing the translator’s expression, West roughly understood Divac’s implication.
He didn’t mind but laughed heartily, saying, "No worries, whether I am with the Lakers, or Divac goes to the Lakers, or I’m in Portland, he cos to Portland."
After hearing this, Divac also smiled, thinking to himself that you brought to Portland to trade , Buckwalter already told .
However, Divac was naturally cheerful and optimistic; he didn’t mind the trading stuff, knowing such things were very common in the NBA.
Although he couldn’t speak English, Divac was very talkative, constantly communicating with West through the translator.
Compared to him, Petrović spoke decent English, but he was reserved. His most frequent question was, "When can I et Ah Gan?"
West replied, "Soon, when you join the rookie camp, Ah Gan will train with you guys. It’s said to be a Portland tradition; Ah Gan will push every rookie."
Hearing West say this, a brilliant glow erged in Petrović’s eyes.
He longed for challenges, for success, for playing basketball.
Upon leaving the airport, Divac and Petrović received a warm welco from the fans.
Among them, Petrović was noticeably more popular since he was selected by the Trail Blazers early, and due to his looks, he was naturally loved by many female fans.
In appearance and temperant, he and Gan Guoyang were two extres; Gan was filled with masculine energy, while Petrović was like a moonlight youth.
Glickman, upon seeing Petrović, said, "It looks like Ah Gan has a rival in popularity now; he can relieve so of his pressure."
On their way into the city, Petrović and Divac saw huge billboards of Gan Guoyang all over, which were advertisents for Avia skyscrapers.
These billboards made it clear to the two that this was Ah Gan’s team and city, his presence felt everywhere.
Looking at the giant billboard featuring Gan Guoyang who seed God-like, Petrović felt a surge of emotion thinking "A great man should be like this."
He said to Divac in the Yugoslavian language, "I hope that one day, I can replace him on these billboards."
Divac exclaid in surprise, "What are you talking about?"
Petrović smiled and said, "I’m talking in my dreams, Vlade."
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