NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 264 The Knicks only need young talent (daily chapter)

On July 2002, 7, NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker once again expressed his position on the loss of NBA broadcast rights:
  "Two years ago we lost football and we were still No. [-] in ratings, and we lost baseball and we were No. [-]."

"Although the loss of basketball games will have some impact on us, we can reprogram our programming in prime time, and NBC will still be NBC."

NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersole also expressed his views:
  "I think the definition of victory has been completely distorted now. If you win broadcast rights and end up losing hundreds of millions of dollars, what exactly have you won?"

"When faced with the prospect of significant financial losses, we will leave because NBC has a responsibility to its shareholders."

"We did the right thing by leaving football, and we left baseball for the same reason. Now the NBA's demands will cost us hundreds of millions of dollars, so the answer is simple, we quit."

All media people naturally know that what the sports president said is the truth.

In the 2000-2001 season, the NBA ultimately cost NBC nearly $1 million. By the 01-02 season, the loss doubled, even reaching $2 million.

The cold data has already illustrated the problem. From the early 90s to 2000, the NBA regular season ratings dropped from 4.3 to 3.0;

The playoffs did not escape this fate, falling from 6.5 to 4.9.

New York's hot ball market and the Knicks' rising market value cannot change the fact that fans don't buy it.

The polarized sports market has caused huge losses to NBC in terms of ratings.

James Dolan and MSG's top management may not understand basketball, but they really know what New York fans like to watch. Post-up play is not as good as fancy dribbling from the outside.

It is better to score 2 points under the basket than to dunk on an alley-oop on a fast break.

The so-called pure basketball is worthless in terms of ratings. New York's success is largely due to sucking the blood of the entire Eastern Conference.

NBC officially said goodbye to its fans not long ago. When looking back on the 12 years of broadcasting, the early part of the short film was naturally the Bulls Dynasty, and Michael Jordan was the well-deserved protagonist;
  From 96 to 2002, the protagonist in the short film naturally became the Knicks dynasty. Lee Yooda won four consecutive championships and became a well-deserved protagonist.

A long time ago, Marv Albert, Steve Jones, and Bill Walton discussed NBC ending its cooperation with the NBA during the broadcast;
  In the last episode of the show, when Bob Costas said his emotional farewell to the fans in the studio, many old fans still felt sad:
  "It was great to witness the Jordan and Lee era, and it was great to see the Lakers break the Knicks' dominance in their final season on NBC."

"Lee is only 24 years old. I don't know how many championships he will win in the future, and whether the Lakers can once again create a dynasty that belongs to them, I can't predict either."

"But at this moment, when we look back on it all, and when we say good night again, all I know for sure is that this is the last time anyone will see the NBA on NBC."

The post-credits montage was shot in an empty arena, showing a basketball bouncing in the background, and ended with "Thank you for the memories."

The day before the freeze period was about to end, the sports media began to discuss the future of the NBA league:
  “How to get ratings back up?”

"How do we get fans to buy in and buy tickets to watch the game in the arena?"

"How to make small ball markets rise? Instead of watching Los Angeles VS New York for three consecutive years!"

At the beginning of this year, the NBA signed a six-year agreement with The Walt Disney Company and Turner Sports;

Renewed the existing agreement with TNT and allowed ABC and ESPN to obtain the rights to broadcast league games. ABC and ESPN will pay an average of $4 million per season.

Also part of the deal is ABC's rights to the NBA Finals, at least five playoff games and 5 regular season games, as well as Saturday morning NBA Inside Stuff.

Compared with NBC, ABC will broadcast fewer games. The former will broadcast 33 regular season games in a season, while the latter will reduce the number of regular season games by half in the new season.

The new broadcast plan will naturally stimulate the small ball market!

Just like Ray Allen's exposure in Milwaukee is not as good as that of Kobe Bryant and Li You, David Stern hopes to increase ratings by reducing the broadcast of games, but the ultimate gain may be that small ball markets are marginalized.

This will affect players' endorsements, and sponsors will also prefer big-market stars. Generally speaking, small-ball markets have become the targets of blood-sucking.

Another piece of news is that Reebok will become the official sponsor of the NBA.

However, there are 11 teams in the league whose uniforms are provided by Hook. In the past, the Knicks were not among this group. After Li You became the first brother of Hook, the team naturally signed a new contract.
  The current NBA league is not dominated by hooks. Reebok is very strong. If it weren't for Iverson's record and constant off-court turmoil, perhaps their influence would be greater.

On July 7, New York Mayor Bloomberg received the British Prime Minister. Naturally, a large number of New York celebrities and celebrities were invited to the private banquet that night.

Li You once again acted as the "mascot". Blair, who was successfully re-elected last year, is naturally a well-rounded big shot.

Britain's youngest Prime Minister, whose approval rate last year was as high as 75%, was naturally the absolute protagonist of the banquet.

Talk about music with famous singers, and also talk about football and other sports with sports stars like Li You.

The England team ultimately finished sixth in the World Cup but failed to win the championship. The Prime Minister talked endlessly about this topic and even complained like ordinary fans:
  "Sports competitions naturally involve the pursuit of championships. I don't like the excuse of losing to a championship team."

"When I hosted the England team in Downing Street, I told the media that if the results were not good, that was the responsibility of head coach Eriksen."

"I don't like the selection of coaches by the national team in recent years. The last head coach Hoddle actually wanted to take the Wizards with him. God! How did this guy get elected as the head coach?"

Most of the celebrities at the banquet could not get this, because no one cared about football, but Li You remembered the gossip about the last World Cup and acted as a "praise" appropriately:
  "So you finally fired the manager, didn't you? I think that's what everyone wanted to see!"

Blair nodded quite proudly, and toasted to Li You and others:

"Cheers!"

Bloomberg also laughed and drank champagne. Li You noticed that Tom Cruise had been looking this way and smiled inconspicuously before nodding and leaving.

Due to his height, Tom Cruise would never go to Li You's side.

When the two stand together, Li You, who is tall and strong, will make the other person look like a "dwarf". A big star with idol baggage will not look for trouble.

Although there were no Hollywood gossip reporters at the scene, Tom Cruise felt unhappy if he was actually photographed.

There were almost 2 people in the banquet hall on the second floor. Li You could see the big star's little thoughts. Naturally, some of the other female stars also noticed this.

Women don't care about the affairs of big shots. On the contrary, the gossip at the banquet will become the topic of conversation in the coming week.

Mariah Carey has just signed a contract with Universal Records, and there are a lot of things going wrong in the recording industry.

In addition to gossiping about Justin and Britney's bloody love affair, the New York news also did not forget to educate the public about the grudges between the big singer and her ex-husband.
  Mariah Carey, who was wearing a white dress and dressed up brightly, approached Li You and whispered delicately:

"I remember that at the party of the former president and his wife, he didn't like you a little. Li, do you have any intersection?"

Compared with previous years, Miss Kelly has lost some weight. In a few years, she will probably turn into the laughing lady in Li You’s memory.
  "Maybe it's because of Nicole, you know, Jimmy has some calls with her, men have some weird possessive qualities!"

Mariah Carey covered her mouth and laughed, taking the opportunity to clink glasses with Li You, not forgetting to wink a few times.

If he still maintains his figure in the early 90s, Li You may "not want to work hard" tonight, but at the moment he really has no interest in pressing "F", and his charming eyes are left to the blind man.
  Matt Parker, who has become the president of Hook Global Footwear, is expected to become the future CEO, so he will naturally join in the fun of a gathering like this tonight.

Seeing Li You being surrounded by several 30+ actresses making fun of them, he stepped forward to rescue him, and also complained about Li You's aesthetics:

"Miss Kelly is a great beauty!"

"The waist is too thick," Li You complained in his heart, and then naturally changed the subject and asked:
  "I thought Hook would choose to become the league's jersey sponsor, but I didn't expect you didn't take over."

Thinking of Reebok's competition, Matt Parker just smiled:
  "11 teams is enough. Some teams have limited local influence and they are not in our plan."

"If you can join a club like Manchester United in the future, maybe we will have a chance to cooperate."

On July 7, after the freeze period ended, various teams began to take action.

The Pistons, who did well in the Eastern Conference last season, signed Chauncey Billups in the free market;

Although his starting performance in the Hawks was average, there were indeed some highlight moments throughout the season. When playoff teams like the Pistons offered an olive branch, Billups naturally chose to join.

The Spurs finally waited for Manu Ginobili. Although he was selected by the Spurs as early as 1999, the Argentine Flyer finally landed in the NBA three years late.

This deal is destined to be profitable. Although the World Championships have not yet started, Argentina is destined to surprise the US team in this competition, and Ginobili will also become famous.

In the summer league, the Knicks' newbies performed well, and D'Antoni also feels that the current team's talent seems to be enough.

Stoudemire stood out from the crowd when he participated in the McDonald's High School League. Most of the game was dominated by talent.

In the summer league, Stoudemire did not receive too many beatings. Relying on his excellent talent, he once again performed "abusive" performance.

Everyone knows that the team has changed its head coach. If they can leave a good impression, they may get more opportunities in the new season. Therefore, they also won a championship in the summer league.
  The Knicks also made moves after the freeze period ended, renewing the contract of the team's main power forward Kurt Thomas for 4 million in four years.

Kurt, who is about to turn 30, still made some compromises, with a three-year guaranteed contract and a player option in the final year.

Although the Knicks' inside line couldn't stand up to O'Neal, they seemed to be able to face the Eastern Conference with ease.

Kurt Thomas was selected by the Heat with the 95th overall pick in 10. At the age of 30, he was in his prime. The Knicks hoped that he could support the team's interior defense.

The first signing of the off-season can be regarded as the team's expression of its importance to him.

After completing the contract extension, Kurt Thomas also took the initiative to express his position in an interview:
  "Although we lost the finals last season, we will win it back!"

"I love playing in New York and Lee will lead us to continue winning championships. We are ready!"

The New York Post is very satisfied with this signing. It is too difficult to sign an All-Star big man.

However, the crowd was not attracted by this news. Instead, Artest and Stephen Jackson entertained everyone by "punching Rucker Park".

This news even made it to the NBC news channel. NBA players and street ball players got into a fight, and all their dignity was lost.
  While Li You has been busy attending events and parties in the past two months, Artest and his good brother Stephen Jackson have been working hard on basketball practice.

As a kid from Queens, Artest loves to show off in front of friends and family.

In order to show his influence, Artest took Stephen Jackson to eat, drink and have fun since the beginning of this offseason.

Training is naturally boring. Not long ago, Artest had a brain attack and wanted to go to Rucker Park to show off.

As a championship forward, Artest is still very impressive. When he arrived at the scene, "Wild DJ" took a microphone and yelled, and the onlookers cheered.

The first two days were quite enjoyable, but the black brothers always played with confrontation, and their inadvertent trash talk allowed Artest to break through the defense.

After a tall and thin black player successfully passed Artest and succeeded in a three-point jumper with a step-back from the right wing, the black street baller shouted with enthusiasm:
  "Nigga! Look at my shot! If I were on the Knicks this year, the championship would still be ours."

This kind of rubbish talk of "I can fuck me" suddenly got to Artest's head. He was indeed almost interested in playing sex, but he has "fists as big as sandbags"!
  Faced with this kind of provocation, Artest finally chose to use force to solve the problem. In addition, Stephen Jackson was also crazy, and it eventually developed into a big melee.

"Knicks player Artest was involved in a fight at Rucker Park, resulting in multiple injuries."

When NBC suddenly broadcast this news, New York fans were immediately entertained.

On TNT programs, the gossip about the champion Lakers has been the most discussed recently. After Artest grabbed the headlines, the topic changed again.

In last week's show, the trio talked more about offense, and while Artest was in the headlines, the show naturally talked about defense.

Every time at this time, Kenny Smith will present facts and reason, and use Excel to strengthen his arguments:

"Last season in the regular season, a total of 26 players averaged more than 20 points per game."

"Obviously, defense has a greater impact on the game, which is also in line with the team building ideas of championship teams."

"In this year's finals, both teams shot less than [-]% from beyond the three-point line. Such a result was naturally affected by defense." Kenny Smith gave his opinion in front of the camera, and the director did not Forgot to show some relevant data:
  There are only 25 players who average more than 7 points per game, and Li You's average of 32.1 points per game is almost the lead!

Although Iverson, who is ranked second, averages 2 points per game, no one will discuss it too much.

The shooting percentage is less than 48.9%, the true shooting percentage is 21.9%, and the PER is [-]. With such performance, Iverson will naturally not attract attention.

Charles Barkley always likes to favor the past over the present, and now he starts to brag again:
  "The fact is that the league's defense has not changed much over the years. The reason for low scores has to do with the number of rounds, and more to do with the players' personal abilities."

"If my peak period occurs in this era, I can also average 30+ per game. No big man in the league can limit me. Maybe averaging a triple-double per game will not be a problem for me!"

"Look at Kenyon Martin's performance in the Eastern Conference Finals. In addition to being reliable in finishing within 0 to 3 feet, this guy can't attack outside this area."

"Today's players are too soft, and they are unwilling to work hard to polish their skills. The decline in players' abilities is the real reason why they score fewer and fewer points."

Ernie Johnson noticed that Jeff Van Gundy, who had been invited, had not yet spoken, so he took the initiative to ask:

"Jeff, what do you think is more important for a championship team, offense or defense."

Jeff Van Gundis, who put on the air of a famous coach and wore a black formal suit and red scarf, said slowly:

"Without a doubt, defense of course!"

"Whether it is a decisive game or a seven-game series, defense is the most important. Excellent defense can change the trend of the game."

“Defense can also help you win games when you have a bad night on promotion night.”

"Perhaps the fans like offense, but for the head coach and players, they both prefer defense, because defense can bring championships!"

With four championship rings in his hands, Jeff Van Gundy’s words were indeed convincing. Kenny Smith smiled, nodded, and followed the topic and said:

"It seems that Jeff supports the Spurs next season. In terms of limiting opponents' points per [-] possessions, the Spurs ranked first last season. They did rely on defense to get the second place in the Western Conference."

Jeff Van Gundy nodded quite proudly. Of course, he also had some thoughts of his own:
  "Tim Duncan is underrated. Whether it's basic statistics or advanced statistics, he performed at an MVP level last season."

"If it weren't for Lee, I think Tim Duncan would have won the MVP last season!"

"It's a pity that the Spurs ultimately lost the Western Conference semifinals. The most important thing for them in the offseason is to replenish outside players."

"As long as the tactics are right and the lineup is reasonable, I think the Spurs can complete their revenge next season!"

"."

After this episode was broadcast, San Antonio fans were excited to watch it, and the calls for "Popovich dismissed" became even louder.

Spurs fans have completely lost their patience with this coach who only "knocks on Duncan". It just so happens that the championship coach has not yet signed a contract, so everyone began to call on the management to fire Popovich.

Originally, the Spurs were keeping a low profile during the offseason, and Popovich, who signed Ginobili, was quietly making a fortune.

As a result, after watching the show, Popovich secretly exclaimed that something was wrong. Even a fool could tell that this person wanted to replace him!
  Jeff Van Gundy seemed to want to join the Spurs, but the management did not respond. Popovich sensed something was wrong and hurriedly brought a bottle of red wine to appease Duncan.

On the weekend of July 7, when Duncan participated in a local program in San Antonio, he talked about the loss this season and took the initiative to say good things to Popovich:

"This season has been a success for the Spurs as we added new talent and improved our defense on the wings."

"The team is still on the rise. I want to bring David a championship before he retires. Coach Popovich is our support. I believe the Spurs will be successful next season."

"."

After saying these words, Jeff Van Gundy knew that he was out of the Spurs team, and his thigh was bound by Popovich. In this case, if he was forced to take over, Tim Duncan would probably have objections.

The bald young coach really wanted to prove himself again, and his best partner Thibodeau returned to him, as well as assistant coach Don Chaney and Ewing.

The coaching team is full of talents, and Jeff Van Gundy just wants to find another big guy to continue his legendary coaching career.

Li You doesn't have to attend any more parties this weekend. He's been busy for more than half a month, so he naturally has to practice more during his rare rest time.

Naturally, I declined the invitation from "Sister Niu" because there was a better choice.

When he woke up on Saturday, Li Youchi was naked and looked at the blond girl in the apartment busying around the dining table. He scratched his head and said subconsciously:
  "Don't tell me you got up so early to make breakfast?"

Catherine, who was making scrambled eggs, rolled her eyes at Li You, turned her head and responded:
  "I'm only good at making this! Everything else is bought. Don't you feel hungry? And it's almost 16 o'clock, it's dinner!"

Just last year, he played a role in the hit NBC drama Law Order: Criminal Intent.

Li You is a loyal viewer of Law and Order, and he met Katherine Winnick at a party of the crew.

The two are the same age and have similar birthdays, but this girl has two older brothers and is very independent. They were able to get together because she frequently ran into trouble in Hollywood.

Only then did Li You notice the time. The two of them had been tossing around for most of the night last night. After several overtime games, they finally fell asleep until the afternoon.

When she came to the table with scrambled eggs, she wanted to push Li You to the bathroom, but the two of them laughed and twisted together again. Sensing Li You's plan, Catherine half pushed her away, and after being hugged, she simply laughed and cursed:

"You are such a bastard!!"

By the time the two of them returned to the table, the pizza they ordered was already cold, and after reheating it, the taste was only passable.

"Why not go to a restaurant for dinner? Even if it's the weekend, you don't have to worry about making a reservation."

Hearing Li You's words, Catherine rolled her eyes at him again, and while eating pizza, she complained:

"Your life will corrode me. I don't like to go to those famous restaurants. I need makeup, suitable clothes, and most importantly, one dinner is my meal expenses for a month."

The 24-year-old blond girl was considered her most beautiful, but Catherine was curvy, liked sports, had muscles on her body, and had excellent physical fitness.

Looking at the girl eating heavily, Li You suddenly thought of Hope Doracik of the Nets. The two girls had completely different personalities. The latter was a master of fish farming, and his apparent brother Kidd was fascinated by him.
  Li You also ate the pizza and noticed that the other party was in a good mood, so he asked again:
  "In fact, you can have a better life, at least you don't have to look at other people's faces for a role like you do now."

Catherine, who was running into obstacles everywhere, could naturally hear what Li You meant. As long as she often read New York newspapers and magazines, she would know that Li You was very generous to beautiful girls.

Catherine, who got up to get the water, just smiled, returned to the dining table, and sat in Li You's arms. Although she had very few clothes on her body, she hugged her generously and said:

"I like myself to appear on the screen. It's that simple. I'm only 24 years old. If I were 30 years old, maybe I would choose another life."

Although Li You thought that another life would be to find a successor and marry him, he still did not ruin the situation at this time and changed the subject and said:

"Where do you want to go on the weekend? How about I take you around the city!"

Touching the strong muscles on Li You's body, Catherine smiled in her eyes and suddenly leaned into her ear and whispered:
  "It seems like the little man is dying?"

Under such provocation, the two quickly got into trouble, and finally had sex again while laughing.

On July 7, when Li You drove to the Tarrytown Training Center, he parked the car and rubbed his waist. He noticed himself in the rearview mirror and secretly complained in his heart:

"I was hurt by alcohol and sex again, and I'm so haggard! From today on, I must stop drinking!"

This was the first time that Li You encountered a girl with such abundant physical energy. Even the fancy ball-handling offense in overtime could not solve the problem, which really tired him out.

When the Knicks staff saw Li You, they all stepped forward to say hello. When they arrived at General Manager Glenfield's office, Artest was also there.

"God! You're an NBA player! Going to Rucker Park to fight with amateur golfers?"

"Ron, you have to learn to control your temper. When we go to an away game and the audience yells and curses, do you go up and punch the audience?"

"Lee just arrived. The trouble you caused made the Knicks a joke. Now, we all want to hear your guarantee!"

When he saw Li You, who was wearing a gray T-shirt and his face was pale, Artest quickly made a serious assurance:

"I will never go to Rucker Park again. I guarantee that my three-point shooting percentage will reach 35% in the new season!"

This season he has performed so well and has a team option. If the head coach does not give him a chance in the new season, Artest knows that he will definitely be in the cold.

He hasn't made a lot of money yet, so he won't get into trouble with the United States. More importantly, after calming down, Artest also felt that he had lost his temper. The champion forward actually got into a fight with an amateur golfer.
  Looking at the frowning Artest, Li You couldn't laugh or cry, handed him a club membership card, and then whispered:

"If you want to practice basketball, don't go looking for street ball players. This club has an indoor basketball hall with good facilities. Call Tim Grover. He can help you find many professional sparring partners."

After hearing Li You's instructions, Artest, who took the membership card, took the initiative to hug and greet him, and finally said with some embarrassment:
  "I will never fight an amateur again, Lee, thank you for your support."

When Artest left, Grunfield shook his head helplessly. This incident was indeed a bit embarrassing. The champion forward was shown off by the amateur golfer and had a fight. It was an advertisement for the amateur golfer.
  Thinking of things at work, Grenfield handed Li You a piece of information and briefly introduced:

"The Bucks are going to trade Glenn Robinson, and we only need to pay two wings and a 2003 first-round pick to bring him to New York."

"Trading for an All-Star forward, Lee, what do you think of Robinson?"

Upon hearing the news, Li You knew that Ray Allen had achieved a stage victory. No wonder the opponent returned to Milwaukee early and probably had unified the locker room by this time.

"Forget it! I know this guy. Ray has a bad opinion of him. We already have enough attackers. There is no need to destroy the existing lineup structure."

After looking through Glenn Robinson's information, Li You quickly responded. Glenn Field nodded, and he didn't care.

Boss Curly hopes that the team will have another All-Star player, but Grunfield hopes to replace him with a big man. The "big dog" with poor reputation is almost out of date, and he doesn't like him in his heart.

Handing over a document again, Grunfield introduced it with a smile:
  "The 76ers plan to send Mutombo, and we also have a chance to get him. With the same chips, the 76ers should agree to this deal."

These two All-Star players should be the big fish this offseason. Li You is a little disappointed. He is also not optimistic about Mutombo:

"What we need more is young talent. We can play and see in the new season. Coach D'Antoni may also make some requests."

"As for this deal, forget it, we need wings more."

Grenfield nodded again. Mutombo may be an excellent center in the Eastern Conference, but when he meets O'Neal, he doesn't expect him to have much effect.
  Li You, the two big fish in the offseason, was not interested. General Manager Glenfield also knew that Li You had a tight schedule, so he simply asked directly:
  "Lee, what type of players do you think the team should add? The Knicks still have salary space."

Li You pondered for a moment, thinking of his existing talents, and quickly said:
  "Perhaps we need some heavyweights who are good at defending big men. Pau is too young and Wright's defensive effect is not ideal."

"That's all I can think of. In fact, the team doesn't have to worry about the regular season record. As long as we don't encounter injuries, we have a high probability of winning 60 games in the Eastern Conference."

Hearing this answer, Grunfield smiled and rubbed his belly. He believed that Li You could guarantee the team's lower limit:

"It seems that I need to talk to Mike again. Don't worry, Li! As long as there is a suitable star player, we will notify you as soon as possible!"

The two stopped talking about work and bragging. Li You was going to visit the equipment manager, Old Mike, and have lunch to replenish his energy.

After leaving the office, Li Youcai saw the text message on his phone. His good brother Ray Allen seemed very happy:
  "Lee, I succeeded, the Bucks have completely become my team!"

Apparently the front office also informed Ray Allen that they were going to trade "Lazy Dog."

There are changes in the broadcasters in the new season. A small ball market like Milwaukee lacks a star player, and Ray Allen's exposure will also be reduced.

Li You had no intention of reminding his good brother of these things. He simply blessed the other person, and some memories emerged in his mind:
  "Sure enough, I still have to take a beating before I can realize brother basketball!"

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  (End of this chapter)