At this time, Jefferson glanced in their direction, and the old and spicy James Dolan immediately understood what the reason was.

James Dolan walked up to Van Gundy and Morey, pointed at Al Jefferson and said, "This little guy seems to have a bit of a poor mental quality!"

"What? How could there be such a thing? What about the next game?"

"I think that's a headache right now!" Van Gundy said, clutching his forehead in pain.

"If only Lamar were here now! Or would we have chosen Iguodala? We would have taken a big risk if we insisted on him! Kwame Brown is an example, no one can question his talent, it's just that God forgot to give him a strong heart while giving him outstanding physical fitness and basketball talent. ”

"Darrell is right! Maybe this Al Jefferson will be the second Kwame Brown. Jeff, are you still sure you want to choose him?" At the mention of Kwame Brown, even James Dolan couldn't calm down.

Van Gundy did not answer immediately, but fell into deep thought. That's right! It was because of his poor psychological quality that Kwame Brown became the top parallel commodity that everyone scrambles at for laughing at. Could it be that Jefferson really did the same?

Van Gundy was a little puzzled by this, and couldn't make up his mind for a while: "Why don't you call and ask Lamar what that guy means?"

Van Gundy said and turned his gaze back to Morey: "Darrell! what do you think?"

Morey hesitated for a moment, but finally seemed to make up his mind: "I think we can take a gamble! Since I opposed Lamar's decision with you in the first place, there is no room for backing down now." I don't want to face the cynicism of that Lamar guy then!"

"Boom!"

Just when a few people were having a headache for the rookie candidates, a loud bang suddenly came from the court.

The three of them followed the sound and saw Jefferson grabbing the hoop with both arms and falling into the air, looking domineering.

With the team's goals for the draft once in mind, Morey has something else to prepare. And the matter is imminent, and the league's announcement notice is already on the desk of all NBA team general managers.

This matter is also in front of the eyes of all NBA team head coaches.

For most teams in the NBA, this is a crisis that will determine the ultimate fate of the team in the upcoming new season. And it was the NBA's new team, Charlotte Bobcats, who brought about this crisis.

After the Hornets moved to New Orleans, Charlotte began to actively apply to the league to form a new team, a team that belonged to the city of Charlotte.

After a long period of discussion and research, the NBA Expansion Committee finally reached a consensus and agreed to the expansion plan. This brings the total number of teams in the league to 30.

After nearly 2 years of preparation, one of the youngest teams in the NBA is about to make its debut in the new season. This means that the small city of Charlotte will have its own professional basketball team for the first time since 2002, and the total number of teams in the league will increase to 30.

Robert Johnson became the largest shareholder, and even the famous American rapper Shaki was involved.

Time Warner Arena, the home of the Bobcats, was built in just over a year, along with all other facilities and equipment, and the team's mascot was named Rufus.

In addition, the new Bobcats have formed a cheerleading team of their own, and coach Beckstaff has been appointed general manager and head coach of the team.

And to keep the new Bobcats competitive, the league issued a rule for the other 29 teams after the draft draw was over, with each team limited to eight protected players.

That means the Bobcats can pick any player from any other than eight players on each team, and the Bobcats can enter this summer's draft with the second pick.

Now Van Gundy's biggest headache is how to circle the eight-man roster. Maybe he usually thinks that this player is doing badly, that player is disappointed in him.

But when it really came to this time, Van Gundy realized that he was really difficult to decide. Because now there are at least ten players in this team who are in his plans for next season. Even if it's not in his plans, it's a good trading chip.

But luckily, the league rules that the Bobcats must make a decision before the draft, otherwise he will have more headaches.

After a dull day in the office and scratching the few remaining hairs on his head, Van Gundy still couldn't decide which players to exclude from protection. And tomorrow is the deadline set by the league, and he must make a choice today, or the league has the right to think that the Knicks are a generous nouveau riche. At that time, the Bobcats will be able to choose any one of their favorite objects in the Knicks' camp, including Lamar.

What would happen then? The answer is clear!

Although every team owner, manager, and coach doesn't like Lamar and thinks he's a cancer that destroys the team's tactics, when they can get Lamar, each of those guys must be lying on the ground like a dog and begging Lamar.

After thinking about it for a long time and not coming up with a reason, Van Gundy decided to summon Morey to have a video conference with Lamar to discuss it. He also wanted to hear the opinions of these two guys, after all, who made the three of them the iron triangle recognized by New York fans.

"What do you think?" Van Gundy was a little angry and handed over the trouble to him without hesitation. After all, Lamar is now the most important core of this team, and his opinion will play a decisive role.

Lamar only recalled the incident of the Bobcats joining the NBA at this time, and suddenly hit a spirit. After that, Lamar swept away the previous difficulties and gave a quick glance at the list.

In fact, you don't need to look at Lamar to know who is in the Knicks lineup, they play together every day, and they are very familiar with each other.

When the Knicks won the championship last season, there were 15 players on the roster. In addition to the starting five tigers who couldn't beat and Wang Zhizhi, who returned to play after the end of the season, and Mark Jackson, who became an assistant coach after the start of the new season, Gilbert Arenas, who caused big trouble during the finals, is destined to roll up and leave, and Bobby Simmons' contract has expired and is bound to pursue a big contract close to 10 million.

Even so, the remaining players are important for the Knicks right now. These guys are all part of the team's tactical makeup, and it was a very difficult decision to give up any of them.

Lamar also has a bit of a headache about this. The shortest time these people have played with him has been together for a year. Lamar likes these teammates now and doesn't want any of them to leave.

Lamar rubbed his head, trying to make himself more sober: "Coach, is it so difficult that you don't even have a preliminary range?"

"Of course!" Van Gundy said, showing Lamar another piece of paper, "Here are the few people I've identified." ”

Lamar also leaned over to take a look, and there were seven names written on it: Lamar, Billups, Anderson, Hilario, Battier, Dampoter, and Wade.

Lamar thought for a moment and said, "Add John to it! It's hard to find a cheap outside firepower like him!"

"What do you think? Darrell!"

Morey nodded in agreement: "John is important to us, he should be within the scope of protection. ”

Van Gundy didn't say anything and wrote Salmons' name directly on the paper: "Now there are three left Lindro, Barbossa, Grant Hill, and Antonio Davis who are not on the protection list." Looks like we're not going to be able to keep them all in the Knicks!"

Lamar was also frustrated: "It's a shame to do that, but obviously we don't have a choice! At least Grant has a lot of hope of staying, he has three years left on his big contract, and his injury has been a concern, the Bobcats won't pick him." ”

"It's just a pity for Lindro!" Morey is also very optimistic about Barbossa, although the Brazilian kid does not play much, but he has the strength and courage to fight, and his performance on the field is very positive, and the most important thing is that his salary is only 1.03 million US dollars.

"As for Antonio?" Van Gundy also picked up the topic: "I talked to him! After winning the championship, he showed his desire to leave, he wanted to seek a big contract in the final stage of his career! ”

His agent has rejected the team's offer to renew his contract and has requested a trade. Morey is clearly aware of Davies' intentions and shares the same opinion as Van Gundy: "Of course, we will also respect Antonio's opinion when trading, after all, he has also contributed a lot to the team. ”

Lamar was surprised that Morey would say such emotional things. He knew very well that Morey was a man who took his interests very seriously. In his previous life, when Morey was the general manager of the Houston Rockets, his careful calculations have always been criticized by fans.

"Darrell! I always felt that we were a little unkind to Lindello. ”

Morey smiled bitterly and said: "It may be very unkind to do this, but for the sake of the team, BA is a commercial league, and sometimes this kind of thing cannot be avoided." ”

"In that case, it's decided!" Lamar made the final decision at the meeting, which can be regarded as the Knicks' main roster for next season.

Van Gundy looked at Lamar and began to get a little troubled: "Lamar, are you sure you want to put Lindello and Grant out of the protection list? ”