The Windy City's Chicago Bulls were about to rebuild!

Malone had been in Chicago for three years. Whatever else had happened, he had won a championship in his first year there, fulfilling his dream of a title.

In the NBA's dog-eat-dog world, so many Hall of Fame-caliber superstars finished their careers empty-handed.

Having even one championship ring was enough to make a lifetime's work worthwhile.

He did not regret leaving the Utah Jazz to join forces with the Bulls.

His contract would expire at the end of this season.

As for whether he would remain in this old capital, now being overthrown by a new king, he had yet to decide.

Patrick Ewing, sitting in the corner, was the most miserable man in the locker room.

He was different from Malone. Malone had already achieved fame and success, and had come seeking to put the finishing touches on his résumé.

Ewing had come carrying the heartbreak of his entire career, hoping for one last shot.

Ewing, "The Gorilla," the former New York King and symbol of the Knicks, had swallowed all his pride for the dream of a championship and joined his bitter rivals, the Chicago Bulls, as a reserve.

He had thought he could do what Malone had done—catch Jordan's last ride and taste championship glory.

Instead, fate had played a cruel joke on him.

In both years since he arrived, the Chicago Bulls had been denied a place in the NBA Finals by his former team—the new Knicks, now led by Li Fei.

Not only had he gained nothing, but he had also watched the young man who inherited his mantle, yet was infinitely stronger than him, drag his lifelong rival Jordan down from his pedestal, step by step.

Two years on the bench had bought him two years of humiliation. Ewing stared at his heavily