NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 167 Champions are merciless (daily chapter)
On February 2000, 2, the New York Times published a group photo of Li You, Alan Houston, Larry Johnson, Oakley, Ewing, and Starks all dressed in black formal suits:

"Champions - the Knicks!"

Although Starks is currently struggling with the Warriors, the New York media still regards this veteran who has played for the Knicks for many years as one of their own.

During the All-Star Weekend in Oakland, the home court of "Big Brother" Starks, although his salary has been surpassed by Li You, he can't lose face.

The photo was taken at The Endup, a long-established nightclub in San Francisco. Starks showed off his beauty and entertained Li You and others who had completed the all-star makeup photo shoot.

New York fans love this kind of coverage, after all, everyone loves a story.

MSG's documentary allows fans to know the inside story of the team. It can be expected that the 98 championship will be talked about by fans for a long time.

Most of the media went to Oakland these days to join in the fun. Li You and the others moved to San Francisco, where there were fewer people disturbing them, which was a great feeling.

As the All-Star Game approaches, the team's transactions have also aroused the interest of many football commentators.

After living in Los Angeles, Rodman was eventually waived. I thought he would bid farewell to the NBA completely, but in early February, the Mavericks signed Rodman again.

The Nuggets sent Billou Pus to the Magic, and the "parallel second place" was traded miserably again.

The Knicks gave up another member of the inside atmosphere team. With Ewing's recovery, Jeff Van Gundy has completely accepted the current strength of the team.

When the makeup photos were taken, O'Neal, who ranked fifth in the fans' votes, finally got respect.

In the Western Conference, O'Neal naturally has to stand in the C position, and Phil Jackson also has to stand in the middle. Although he does not get many votes, Shark is the top star in the Western Conference.

In the Eastern Conference, Li You and Larry Bird naturally stand in the middle. Compared to the Western Conference, this side is much lower. However, in terms of popularity, of course the Eastern Conference is higher.

These days, there is no emphasis on trust in mutual exchanges. The petty O'Neal is still planning to break out in the All-Stars. He has not forgotten the Player of the Month that he lost this year.

The Rookie Challenge and Individual Challenge on Saturday the 12th will be broadcast by TNT, and the All-Star Game on Sunday the 13th will be broadcast by NBC.

The revamped Rookie Challenge pits first- and second-year players against each other.

Warriors legend Al Attles serves as the first-year head coach, and another Warriors legend and the NBA's first quadruple-double player, Nate Thurmond, serves as the assistant coach.

Celtics legend Bill Russell became the head coach of the second-year team, and another famous coach KC Jones served as the assistant coach.

The four legends arrived, and even if most players were not interested in the Rookie Challenge, they still had to sit in the front row.

In order to show respect, Li You wore a light gray formal suit and arrived at the Oakland Arena early.

After exchanging business blowings with four legendary celebrities, he returned to the front row and sat down to prepare for tonight's atmosphere group.

There were quite a few fans who bought tickets to watch the game tonight, and there was second-year player Jason Williams in the Rookie Challenge.

The second-year rookie of the Kings is very popular. Although he is far behind the top point guards, his flashy style of play is still deeply loved by fans.

In addition, the host nation's Antoine Jamison was also present. In order to show support for the home team, many Warriors fans also came.

Most of the spectators who bought tickets at the scene came to watch Carter's dunks. This season, Vince Carter's popularity exploded, and he often contributed wonderful dunks in the regular season.

O'Neal, wearing a woolen hat and dressed casually, was taking a selfie with a small video recorder.

When he moved to Li You, Alan Houston, and Ray Allen, he pointed the camera at himself and the three people behind him. O'Neal curled his lips and said loudly:

"Look at these three guys, people who didn't know it thought they were going to attend the Oscars ceremony!"

"I don't want to see Lee win the three-point contest again. Whoever can beat him, I will treat him to the best nightclub in Auckland tonight!"

Li You watched O'Neal keep complaining as if no one was watching, and couldn't help but lean over and joke to the camera:
"This is a promise that is destined to be unfulfilled! No one can defeat me!"

O'Neal turned his head, fist bumped with Li You, and then tilted his mouth towards the camera and said:
"This guy stole my MVP! But this year I will get my revenge!"

Without giving Li You a chance to fight back, O'Neal turned around and ran away with the camera in his hand, slapping Garnett in the face while filming him.
Compared with the All-Star Game in previous years, this year is completely the era of new generation players.

O'Neal ran around the court with a camera in his hand, seemingly wanting to record himself becoming the first All-Star in the Western Conference.

The Bucks had already played against the Lakers. Ray Allen looked at O'Neal and whispered:
"After adding the reasonable collision zone rule, the bonus to O'Neal is too great."

My friend's point of view is not completely correct, but after adding a reasonable collision zone, O'Neal is indeed unstoppable. As long as he positions too deep under the basket, what awaits the defender is a violent dunk.

Alan Houston doesn't care about this. Since winning the championship, he has become particularly confident:
"Physical fitness will limit him. I don't believe he can play a full 48 minutes with high intensity."

Li You did not participate in the discussion between the two. In the past two days, the sports media gave a big thumbs up to the Western Conference All-Star frontcourt:

"The strongest frontcourt combination in history!"

The frontcourt composed of three big men over 2 meters tall is indeed very scary.

The most important thing is that Garnett and Duncan are also very agile and can also run. Although Oriel is a big guy, his athletic ability is equally good.

This title given by the football commentator does make some sense.

The new players in the Rookie Challenge will come over to say hello to Li You before the game starts.

In this year's All-Star Game, only Li You has won the championship among the participating players. In the past few years, he was the younger brother, but this year he enjoys the treatment of the boss.

Ray Allen and Alan Houston don't mind being the backdrop, but other All-Star players won't take the initiative to join Li You.

After all, sitting here is like a follower. After finally being selected for an All-Star game, everyone wants to be the protagonist.

In the TNT live commentary booth, Ernie Johnson had just shared with the fans in front of the TV the glorious experiences of the coaching staffs of the two teams in the Rookie Challenge.

Noticing that Meng Xin was greeting Li You, Ernie Johnson also sighed:
"At 22 years old, Lee is too young. Many people think that he has a chance to surpass Michael Jordan's achievements. I support this view!"

Kenny Smith has been paying attention to the Knicks' situation and added with a smile:
"Lee does have an age advantage, but the most important thing for the Knicks right now is to find the next Ewing."

"David Falk revealed some news that Ewing plans to officially retire when the contract ends."

"Considering the current situation of the Knicks' front line, maybe next season will be the last dance for these veterans."

Ernie Johnson was very optimistic and joked about the Bulls:
"If the Bulls have no improvement in their record in the past two years, then the Knicks have a chance to get a top-five pick in the first round."

"This is a great opportunity for them!"

Kenny Smith shook his head. He naturally paid attention to potential rookies in the past two years: "Even if it is a high pick, I don't think there will be the next Ewing."

Sprewell seemingly became the Knicks' undercover agent, leading the Bulls' crisp dive to the top pick.

This makes the Bulls pick in the hands of the Knicks also more delicate.

There may not be a chance in the 2000 draft, but the Knicks have a chance to get a high first-round pick in 2001.

The time is just right, when Ewing retires, if the Knicks draft another big man, the reconstruction will be completed almost immediately.

After the two gossiped about the Knicks, they quickly got into commentating on the Rookie Challenge.

The game was exciting, at least the scene was not ugly. Francis and Jason Williams both liked to express themselves, and Nowitzki completed the offense meticulously.

After the two sides played overtime, at 92:83, the first-year rookies completed a counterattack, and Bullton's Elton Brand won the Rookie Challenge MVP.

After the atmosphere was stirred up, before the three-point shooting competition, Li You also changed into training clothes and sat on the bench, waiting to appear.

Players participating in this year’s Three-Point Contest still have some old rivals:
Hornacek of the Jazz, Nowitzki of the Mavericks, Ray Allen of the Bucks, Mike Bibby of the Grizzlies;

Veteran Terry Porter of the Spurs, Allen Iverson of the 76ers, Bob Sura of the Cavaliers, and Li You of the Knicks.

The on-site DJ introduced the players participating in the game one by one. Li You, who was the last to read his name, did not take off his training clothes, smiled and waved towards the audience.

Iverson pouted on the sidelines. In fact, he didn't want to participate in the 3-point contest, but the league needed a gimmick, and fans were happy to see popular players appear in individual challenges.

The sports media all know what Li You said before the game. Kenny Smith said expectantly at this time:
"Lee set a record for the Three-Point Shootout last year. If you want to challenge him, you need to score at least 20 points!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hornacek, who came on the stage, had a mediocre touch. He only scored 17 points after finding his touch in the second half.

The veteran couldn't help but shake his head as he walked to the bench, seemingly disappointed with his performance.

It's just that Hornacek overestimated his opponent. Except for Nowitzki who shot 18 points and Ray Allen who shot 16 points, everyone else scored 15 points.
After Iverson came on the court, there was a burst of cheers, and then the fans witnessed the birth of 10 points.
A dark-faced Iverson returned to the bench and was no longer in the mood to pretend. Fortunately, Bob Sura threw another 9 points, which saved Iverson's performance.

When the camera focused on Li You, who was slowly walking towards the left corner, fans could see the obvious smile on his face.

Wearing training clothes, Li You took the initiative to speed up his shooting rhythm. Amid the cheers of the fans, he easily scored 22 points.

Ernie Johnson was speechless. After looking at each other with his partner, he could only sigh:

"It seems that no one is Li's opponent!"

When it came to the finals, Li You almost laughed out loud.

Hornacek scored 13 points, and Nowitzki, who came on second, seemed a little nervous and threw 2 points.

"Shh!"

With such a hip-stretching performance, the fans at the scene also booed and booed, and the championship was given away for free!

Li You, who was the last to appear, just shot casually. When he reached the top of the arc, there was basically no suspense.

As the last flower ball in the right corner went hollow into the net, Li You smiled and shook his head. He didn't look at the people on the bench who were in the three-point shooting contest and walked slowly towards the center of the field.

Seeing Li You lift the golden spherical trophy, Alan Houston applauded and cheered in the front row.

It seemed that winning the championship was too easy this time. Kenny Smith clapped along and could only smile and say:

"It seems that Li is right, the others are indeed here to compete for second place."

The much-anticipated slam dunk contest did not disappoint the fans. Vince Carter's first dunk - a 360-degree windmill turned the scene to a climax:

"Wow!"

"10 points!"

Li You on the sidelines also shouted loudly, indicating that such a dunk must be a perfect score!

Francis, McGrady, Larry Hughes, Stackhouse, and Ricky Davis dunked equally beautifully, but in the end they all became backdrops.

On the third dunk, when Carter, assisted by McGrady, completed a crotch-hand windmill dunk, he raised his hands to the sky and shouted "It's over", everyone cheered loudly.

After winning the dunk contest trophy, Vince Carter became famous across the United States that night. Even viewers who don't watch the NBA will be amazed after seeing such a dunk.

When Li You returned to the hotel, he was still sorting out gifts from fans and videos of the slam dunk contest when his phone rang.

He thought it was a call from "Good Brother" Starks asking him to go out and have fun, but General Manager Glenfield's voice came from the phone:

"I hope I didn't bother you, Lee, we wanted to hear your opinion sooner!"

"The Warriors want to bring John back to the team, and they're willing to pay this year's first-round pick."

"This is a three-party deal, and the 76ers hope to get Kukic."

Li You was stunned for a moment, and then thinking about the hospitality received by "Good Brother" these days, he immediately knew that Starks wanted to return to New York.

Injuries arose this season, Starks' status was up and down, and his physical function declined further.

The Warriors' first-round pick is likely to be in the top 10. Obviously someone within the Knicks is already considering rebuilding in advance.

"We're going to get a championship, and the draft pick is useless against the Knicks."

Without much hesitation, Li You gave his answer.

After the two briefly communicated on the phone, General Manager Grayfield hung up the phone.

Grunfield called for consultation as soon as he got the news, which was an expression of respect for Li You.

If the New York media broke the news in advance about this deal, the old fans would most likely raise their hands to welcome Starks home.
Coincidentally, Starks' call came in again at this time. Li You thought of the reception from "good brother" and could only sigh secretly in his heart:

"The Knicks will not become a pension team. All I need is a championship."

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(End of this chapter)