NBA: The Basketball Miracle

On September 30, 1997, the Knicks' training camp officially opened.

The stingy Jeff Van Gundy drove his Toyota car happily to the training hall in Upper Oster County.

Just looking at the various luxury cars in the parking lot, the bald young coach grinned subconsciously.

His beloved car was really not good enough.

Even the atmosphere group in the team would buy a decent second-hand car for the sake of face.

Benz's car parked here was the biggest outlier.

Just looking at his neat suit, Jeff Van Gundy is in a good mood again.

With a two-year contract extension, he deserves the league's best coach award.

There haven't been many changes to the coaching staff during the offseason, and Thibodeau is still on the team:

"Jeff, the players are in good shape. We should be able to achieve good results in the new season."

After the training camp started, Thibodeau watched the players complete their physical examinations.

Except for a few veterans who gained a little weight, the physical condition of the new players was very good.

The atmosphere in the training hall gradually became lively, with players chatting with each other and sharing their experiences of life during the off-season.

"Very good. We added big men and forwards during the offseason. They are players with more game experience, which can help us go further in the playoffs!"

Jeff Van Gundy acted as if "the new players are all to my liking", while Don Chaney on the side raised his eyebrows.

In fact, everyone knew that Grunfeld did not consider the opinion of the bald young coach at all.

Normally, the general manager needs to consider the arrangements of the head coach, but on the Knicks side, even if he is the "best coach in the league", Grunfeld did not say hello in advance, but simply strengthened the team according to his own expectations.

The Knicks' salary this season is 53.97 million US dollars, ranking second in the league.

The first place is the defending champion Bulls' 61.33 million US dollars.

With the second highest salary in the league, Jeff Van Gundy would be lying if he said he has no pressure!

Salary represents strength.

The Knicks are the second strongest team in the league, and their goal this season is to win the championship.

There were also some changes in the Knicks' shares during the offseason, with Charles Dolan's Cablevision acquiring all shares and now fully owning the Knicks.

Considering his advanced age, James Dolan will most likely take over in the future.

Jeff Van Gundy is not stupid either.

There will definitely be changes in the management by then.

If he, as the head coach, does not have any outstanding results, he will most likely be fired!

The two-year contract extension is the management giving Jeff Van Gundy time to prove himself.

If he fails to win a championship while leading the league's second-highest-paid team, his dismissal will be the only outcome.

"How's Pat? Please don't tell me there's bad news!"

Jeff Van Gundy immediately asked about Ewing's condition, and Don Chaney shrugged and responded casually:

"It's still the same, but considering that he's one year older, it's inevitable that his physical condition will decline."

The 35-year-old Ewing's salary this season is as high as 20.5 million US dollars, which accounts for almost half of the Knicks' salary.

As one of the four major centers, the Gorilla is indeed prestigious. There are not many players in the league who can get this salary.

"Lee is in very good shape, the boy is stronger again, and he obviously spent a lot of time in the off-season to hone his body."

Don Chaney happily introduced Lee's situation.

Ewing may be in decline, but Lee is in an upward period.

In this way, the strength of the Knicks will not be compromised. It can be regarded as a transition from the old to the new.

Jeff Van Gundy nodded, then followed the coach to the center of the field, clapped his hands and greeted everyone:

"Okay, guys! It's good to see everyone showing up to the training camp in good health."

"There are new faces here, welcome to the Knicks!"

"We have only one goal this season, and that is the championship, so I will be strict with everyone."

"After the training camp starts, don't let me see news about you guys spending money in nightclubs. We have to get nervous at the beginning of the season!"

"."

Lee, wearing a white training suit, shrugged helplessly as he watched the bald young coach talk endlessly.

Starks, who was in a good mood, listened patiently to the chicken soup and whispered,

"The contract was only renewed for two years. It seems that the coach did not win the trust of the management."

As the best sixth man in the league, Starks finally renewed his contract with the Knicks during the offseason, and his salary this season has reached 5.11 million US dollars.

"It's not a trust issue, it may be that the next owner doesn't like coach Van Gundy!"

After hearing what Lee said, Alan Houston on the side added:

"Not only does he not like the head coach, but the future owner also doesn't like the team's current style of play."

"Maybe he took the "Show Time" proposed by the New York media seriously!"

Larry Johnson feels that the opportunity has come. The gorilla is one year older.

"Grandmama" expects Van Gundy to change tactics:

"In order to perform in front of the new boss, it's time to make some adjustments. To be honest, I don't like playing positional offense. It's best to play like the Jazz."

The back injury has caused "Grandmama" to lose a lot of explosive power, and his previous style of attacking the inside line is no longer feasible.

More transition offenses can get better data, and easy scoring is Larry Johnson's biggest pursuit at the moment.

Lee and a few others were having a great time chatting on one side, while Ewing was happily communicating with the coaching staff on the other side.

During this year's offseason, the New York media did not make trouble or exploit the gorilla.

Instead, they kept praising Ewing and almost praised him to the sky!

Personal data and team records have all improved. The media who like to read Excel naturally sang praises.

Oakley's contract is in its final year. The veteran planned to sign a big contract with the Knicks in advance during the offseason, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

Grunfeld refused to offer a big contract to the short center who is about to turn 34.

As the general manager of the team, he had to save money for the boss.

The current salary cap space is almost catching up with the Bulls, who have won two championships recently, while the Knicks only won the Atlantic Division championship once last season.

As the general manager of the team, he built the entire lineup himself.

If he fails to win the championship again, the result that awaits Grunfeld will be dismissal.

"Charles, don't worry about the contract. As long as our performance is ood enough, the team will offer you a big contract. I will help you with this matter!"

Ewing gave his old partner a reassurance. The gorilla still takes good care of his old teammates, and he also contributed to Starks' contract.

"I really don't want to leave New York, but I really want to get a bigger contract. At our age, it's time to think about life after retirement."

Oakley looked at the new players showing off their physical condition with great energy, and felt a little depressed for a moment.

The Knicks didn't include him in their plan, and signing an inside player was just to show their displeasure to the old guy:

"No one is irreplaceable!"

"."

In the afternoon training session, Lee once again demonstrated his excellent physical condition and never missed a shot during routine practice.

Jeff Van Gundy nodded repeatedly as he watched, the situation was good enough to be taken over again.

The first day of training camp was mostly spent stretching the body, playing a few simple scrimmage games, and then running tactics.

Ben Wallace has now become Oakley's follower and is particularly active in training, but the coaching staff doesn't pay much attention to him.

New signing Chris Dudley will become the backup center in the new season.

Feeling that he was being ignored, Ben Wallace, who entered the team through the back door, was depressed after the training session and sat alone on the bench.

Choosing the Knicks to earn an extra $200,000 doesn't seem to be the right choice.

"Let's go, Ben! Do you want to stay and mop the floor? Don't worry, as long as you can grab more rebounds, I guarantee you'll get playing time."

After changing his clothes, Lee patted Ben Wallace and encouraged the newbie.

In the team, the old guys may still take care of Ben Wallace, but everyone else intends to isolate this backdoor player.

Several new players looked at Ben Wallace with disdain:

"An undrafted player wants to play in the NBA?"

Ben Wallace smiled gratefully at Lee, then stood up and whispered,

"Thanks, Lee! I'll treat you next time, so you don't have to pay for me."

Although his salary is not much, Ben Wallace spends money happily. Black players cannot lose face!

Lee shook his head. Most players spend money lavishly. Seeing that he was in low spirits, he joked,

"In fact, our salaries are similar. This season, I can only get 900,000 US dollars. Don't underestimate yourself."

"."

As October approaches, the Knicks have to prepare for the upcoming preseason in addition to daily training.

There are no overseas training camps these days, and the preseason games are based on the principle of proximity, with the Knicks' opponents mostly being Atlantic Division teams.

After the training session on the 3rd, assistant coach Don Chaney looked at the latest physical test data in his hand and said with a smile:

"Lee has grown one centimeter taller, and his arm span is almost 2 meters, 199.5cm. It's great to be young!"

Jeff Van Gundy also noticed the changes in Lee, but what he saw was the confrontation and shooting stability:

"It's really a good thing, Pat is in good shape, and compared to last season, we may have a chance to go further this year!"

Hearing the bald young coach's words, the coaching staff all laughed out loud.

Pippen had just undergone foot surgery, which meant that he would miss several regular season games.

Seeing such news, everyone knows that the internal strife within the Bulls has become more serious.

It is very likely that Pippen turned his back on the management because the salary increase was fruitless.

The championship no longer seemed out of reach, the Bulls were divided, and teams around the league saw their chance.

After the training session, Lee didn't go anywhere and returned to the apartment quickly.

The atmosphere in the team was a little strange.

Oakley was in a bad mood because he didn't get a big contract, and Ewing was also unhappy.

This means that after the training session every day, everyone goes home early.

Lee will not get involved in the contract matter.

After playing for another two years, his rookie contract will expire. If he wants a big contract, he will inevitably reduce the salaries of other players.

General Manager Grunfeld naturally took this into consideration.

The Knicks' lineup is gradually getting younger, and Lee benefits the most.

After working hard for an entire offseason, Lee felt quite happy when he saw the golden "Allen Iverson's Excellent Physical Fitness" on the simple talent panel.

With a thought, the value of [Physical Strength] appeared on the panel: 97.

Other attribute values also appeared one by one, and Lee soon noticed his changes:

[Movement] increased from 84 to 88,

[Breakthrough] rose from 80 to 86,

[CIC] rose from 90 to 91.

Touching his chin, Lee felt that his speed had not changed, but his [Movement] value had increased, which should be due to his agility.

The three abilities of breakthrough layup, breakthrough dunk and foul drawing have been improved, which increases the [Breakthrough] value; the final shot is a natural result.

The large number of games last season and the physical training during the offseason ultimately yielded positive feedback.

"Scottie Pippen will be traded before the All-Star Game!"

The voice of the ESPN commentator came from the TV. Lee leaned back on the sofa and happily watched the show.

"The Michael Jordan era is over, and the Bulls will rebuild this season."

...

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