NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 124 The Locker Room Bomb

On January 1999, 1, the second day after Michael Jordan officially announced his retirement from the Bulls at his personal press conference, all the headlines on the front pages of major paper media became this news.

"Michael ended his legendary basketball career!"

"Michael says goodbye and the Bulls say thanks to the fans."

"Michael left basketball, but basketball never left him."

"Michael retired, but his spirit will always be with us."

"Goodbye, Michael!"

The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Sports Illustrated and other print media published articles one after another.

Most articles praise McDuck's impact on basketball and culture, while also analyzing his possible careers after retiring.

Of course, there are also naysayers who swear that McQuack will return to basketball after taking a year off.

Radio and television did not miss this hot spot, and various channels immediately announced the news of Michael's retirement, and then analyzed the reasons for his retirement:
"The salary is too high, the Bulls owner is not playing."

The hot news is not only the retirement of Mikou, but also the compromise of the players union, which has also caused many old stars and agents to complain:

"We were so eager to vote that we didn't even look at the new collective bargaining agreement carefully!"

"Players should understand what their vote means, many players' opinions are not respected!"

"You should read the agreement carefully and read it with a lawyer. For professional issues, you should leave it to professional people to decide whether you should vote."

Most of them were anonymous complaints, and only the hot-tempered Kevin Johnson took the initiative to speak out. 179:5, half of the players passed the approval of the labor agreement.

But in fact, many players don't care about the specific content of the collective bargaining agreement at all. Everyone just has no money and is worried that this season will be cancelled.
Mark Bartelstein yelled at Li You's new home that there was an insider among the players:
"Stupid compromise! You only see the immediate benefits, and you will be restricted after the rookie contract ends. If you are selected by a small ball market, don't expect to leave."

"Shet! This is the most outrageous vote I have ever seen. We lost tens of millions!"

For agents with talented young players, the new collective bargaining agreement is a cash grab.

Moreover, after signing a rookie contract in the future, new players will become restricted free agents after playing for three seasons.

As long as the home team is matched, there is no way out. This situation is also what the agent does not want to see.

Players cannot be circulated and cannot go to big cities to play, which seriously damages the interests of agents.

At this time, Li You also fully understood the new labor-management agreement. He would not become a restricted free agent, but he was restricted by his seniority.

The salary of the top-paid players from 0 to 6 years starts from 900 million, and with the Larry Bird clause, the salary increase is 12.5%.

Coupled with the 6-year contract limit, at most a maximum salary contract of more than 7000 million can be signed.

The loss made Li You feel heartbroken, and what made him even more helpless was that the players association didn't even apply for special terms for talented players!

The management will not take the initiative to propose. The owners are eager to save money, but the players union compromised in a daze.
Kevin Garnett really won. The salary of this cute newcomer is basically the same as that of a superstar who has played for 10 years.

In the 98-99 season, the salary cap was 3000 million US dollars, and Garnett alone accounted for a small half of his salary. This situation really made Li You envious.

As for the team being unable to strengthen, it has nothing to do with the players!

"Fortunately, I have received enough sponsorships. I knew that this would happen in the voting. The president was sure that there would be internal conflicts."

At this time, Li You could only lean on the sofa and sigh, the burning wood in the fireplace was crackling, and Mark Bartelstein was not in a good mood, which was a bit of a loss.
The two discussed the matters needing attention in the endorsement, and Mark Bartelstein left soon.

The Bucks changed their head coach, George Karl took office, Mark Bartelstein worried about Ray Allen, and was going to fly to Milwaukee to observe the situation in the team.

Ivana didn't participate in the topic, and just came out with the prepared snacks and fruit plate, when she saw Li You lying on the sofa alone in the living room.

The six-bedroom villa on Valley Road in Tarrytown was bought by the blond white rabbit for Li You after a lot of effort.

Occupying 1.5 acres, with a built-up area of ​​5200 square feet, the colonial-style villa has a luxurious foyer with vaulted ceilings and a fireplace in the living room, and the master suite also has a fireplace and balcony.

Since her birthday in October, Ivana has started tidying up the house, remodeling the kitchen and adding a home theater.

The underground whiskey cellar has not been moved, and overall, the house still retains a sense of history.

120 million dollars is considered a mansion in Tarrytown. Ivana, who is already a big girl, sat beside Li You and asked in a low voice:
"Did you lose a lot? It feels like Mark is going crazy!"

Mark Bartelstein, who was born in Morgan Stanley, and the blond white rabbit can also chat. Li You pillowed on Ivana's lap and sighed depressedly:
"Maybe I lost a few houses, but I've lost a lot this year."

Thinking that the stocks Li You bought had not increased much, Ivana suddenly laughed out loud, and was soon hugged in her arms.

The blond white rabbit, who already knew its essence, just blushed slightly, leaned against his arms, and then leaned into Li You's ear and whispered:

"How about we open a hotel in the future? It will definitely make money!"

Merry Papa is planning to divorce the vixen recently, and Ivana is in a good mood, and starts to think about the future, planning to follow the route of her own mother.

Li You didn't think about it that much, and he didn't stop his actions despite being considerate:

"It's really a good suggestion, um, it seems to be a little fatter!"

"."

The players union formally compromised, which also heralded the opening of the free market at this moment.

The enthusiasm for Michael's retirement also began to decline. Without the sixth championship, without The Last Shot, and a three-peat championship, the legend has been reduced a lot.

The 1999 Philadelphia All-Star Game was also canceled, and the regular season officially started in early February.

Many players began to complain that the schedule was too dense, but Li You felt that this was all self-inflicted. If you surrender too early, you will be squeezed
The Knicks training camp has started, and the new training center is Tarrytown. Li You has been living here recently, so he doesn't have to worry about traffic jams every day.

No matter how the labor agreement changes, the Knicks actually don't care at all. As long as they have the bird rights, they can renew the contract.

On January 1th, the new training center made everyone in the Knicks team feel comfortable. This facility is the only one in the league!

In the locker room, everyone greeted each other. When Larry Johnson saw Li You, he couldn't help but exclaimed:
"Oh! Schett! Don't tell me you really went to boxing during the offseason!"

Visible to the naked eye, Li You showed off his muscles, put on his training clothes, and responded indifferently:

"It's been half a year, and this is the result of the high-dollar training class, Bro, how is the offseason going?" Larry Johnson was a little proud, and also showed off his muscles:

"Not bad, at least after winning the championship, Converse arranged a lot of activities for me!"

Both of them had sponsorships, so they didn't lose money at all. Li You had a salary of 102 million dollars this season, and the old Charles was not stingy. The Knicks still chose to pay the full salary.

Since the weather in New York was cold, Oakley flew to Miami to enjoy life. He hasn't seen each other for more than two months.

"There must be ghosts! Half of the players didn't vote, so we shouldn't compromise!"

Oakley was still complaining loudly about the voting, but the old guy wasn't worried about the contract. He was just upset that the black brother had no bones and surrendered too early.

Alan Houston is the most Buddhist. He accompanied his wife and children to play around during the offseason, and did not spend the winter in New York, but there are traces of training on his body:
"Future rookies will be miserable. After the first contract, they will still be restricted. Although they are guaranteed, I don't think this is a good thing."

With the new terms, Alan Houston would never want to leave Detroit. He particularly disagrees with this provision.

Ewing is still dealing with the players' union matters and did not come to report today. Everyone also knows about the gorilla becoming a fat ball. It's hard to say anything as the big brother enjoys life early:
"Played all my life in New York, what's wrong with winning a championship and enjoying life?"

After the start of the new season, there is a high probability that Ewing will use games to replace training
A few people came to the training ground, Oakley patrolled around, but didn't see Starks, and couldn't help muttering in a low voice:
"Why hasn't John come yet, don't tell me he's lost!"

The banners of division champions and championships were hung around the arena, and the jerseys of Li You and Ewing were hung on the sidelines like the famous players.

The brand-new venue also made the atmosphere group cheer up, chattering and discussing non-stop.

Assistant coach Thibodeau began to arrange simple physical tests for the players. Jeff Van Gundy on the side couldn't help nodding. Generally speaking, the players are in good condition!

Especially seeing that Li You's speed and agility didn't seem to drop after gaining weight, Van Gundy was completely relieved.

On the first day of registration, everyone mainly took physical tests and visited the new training center.

Since the free market had just started, many people felt uneasy. Van Gundy encouraged everyone to end the training session early on the first day.

Assistant coach Don Chaney was very satisfied with the state of the players. With a simple physical test data, he said with a smile:
"I knew Li would not relax his demands on himself, he will definitely become a superstar!"

The bald young marshal took over the basic data and looked at it. He nodded without smiling:

Barefoot height: 6 feet 4 inches (1 meter 93)

Arm span: 201cm
Weight: 95.2 kg
His weight has increased a lot compared to the previous year. Considering that in the simple test, there is still a little bit of improvement in the baseline run and 3/4 sprint, the bald young coach is naturally very satisfied.

For more than half a year, Li You's weight has continued to increase, and his body fat rate has reached 9.8%. Therefore, the whole person is indeed much stronger.

If Pat Riley was coaching, the body fat rate would most likely be at the mid-lower level of the team, but Jeff Van Gundy didn't care about it. He just thought of Ewing suddenly and couldn't help asking:

"How is Pat's physical condition?"

Several assistant coaches looked at each other, but in the end they said nothing and gave the bald young coach a look:
"Let's practice with competition"

When Li You returned home in Tarrytown, he received a text message from Starks during dinner time:
"I may be leaving the team, Lee, good luck!"

Perhaps it was because of the deadlock with the general manager Grunfeld, Starks didn't come to report at all, Li You simply replied to the message, but he didn't have too many surprises in his heart.

If it weren't for the old Charles' request, except for Ewing, several old guys would have been traded, and Oakley would not have signed a two-year 1500 million contract.

After all, Li You didn't speak well for these veterans at the time, and his reaction was very flat.

The general manager Grunfeld knew that he couldn't move the starting lineup, so he sent away Starks, who had fallen from the bench.

Although there is some nostalgia for the past, Li You has no burden in his heart.

The locker room culture of the Knicks is mainly composed of Starks, Oakley and Ewing.

If you want to take full control of the team, the old guys have to leave. It’s just that Ewing is the team’s meritorious service, and Oakley took the defense. Unless the two are extremely stretched, there is a high probability that they will retire from the team.
Li You looked at the scenery outside the window, glanced at the news on the phone, called out the simple talent panel, and reconfirmed his physical condition:
The three new talents obtained last season are still silver, which means that the current body is still growing.

[Allen Iverson's excellent sense of the ball] and [Allen Iverson's excellent physical fitness] The two golden talents have disappeared and have been completely digested.

After converting to the property panel, there are a lot of changes:
Speed: 87, Defensive Agility: 93,

The improvement of the two attributes brought [Motion] to 90;

Breakthrough layups: 92, Breakthrough dunks: 85, Speed ​​with the ball: 86, Fouls drawn: 87,

The four attributes raised [Breakthrough] to 88;

Ball Handling: 95, Passing Vision: 94, Passing IQ: 95, Passing Accuracy: 94,

As competition experience increases, [Organization] also rises to 95;

[Mid-range shot]: 92, [Three-point shot]: 95,

The two open shooting attributes have only increased a little bit.

The four attributes of [Internal Defense], [External Defense], [Steals], and [Rebounds] have not changed at all. After two seasons, the defensive end is still the average level of the No. 1 position.
When Li You saw that [Physical Strength] was still at 97, he also realized that this was the limit of the golden talent.

After replying to Starks' message, he sent another text message to Ewing, briefly introducing the situation of the team, and then Li You threw the phone aside.

The situation of the Knicks is a bit embarrassing. The newcomers are on the rise, and the veterans may decline significantly. Just thinking of the fat gorilla makes Li You a little worried about this season's record:

"Sure enough, good big men are still extremely rare"

After the Knicks training camp opened, Jeff Van Gundy took everyone to train step by step.

Ewing officially returned to the team on the 21st, which also means that the players union is about to formally sign a contract with the league, and the new labor agreement has been completely finalized.

On the morning of the 21st, Starks still did not come to the training center. The Knicks players realized something, and by noon, everyone knew the news.

The Warriors sent Latrell Sprewell, a choke master;
The Knicks sent John Starks, Chris Mills, and Terry Cummings, three for one, and successfully got an All-Star guard.

During lunch, everyone was also preparing meals in the training center, and the coaching staff was a little surprised when they got the news.

Jeff Van Gundy, who was having a meal, suddenly felt his throat tighten when he heard the discussion from the crowd. Thinking that Sprewell seemed to have the attribute of a locker room bomb, he couldn't help muttering in his heart:

"There are only more than two months of the regular season, this deal is nothing short of nonsense!"

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　　Some attributes refer to 2K23's 91 Jordan, 06 Wade and Ray Allen in the Bucks~
　　Complete attributes will be added later, and the number of words will not be changed if there is no change. -
　　
　
(End of this chapter)