"I'm on your side."

Eddie Curry picked up a glass full of Romanée Conti from Bruce's apartment in downtown Manhattan and poured it down his throat like a coke, he really didn't know how to taste it, but he knew it was expensive.

He also recently signed with Bill Duffy, hoping to get some commercial sponsorship from China through his connections in China and his close relationship with Li Zhen. Moreover, he has already begun to prepare for his next contract, he does not plan to enter the pension state after taking this 80 million contract, his money has been squandered.

Li Zhen didn't care that he drank the red wine here. Anyway, that's what Zuckerberg brought in a week ago. The otaku engineer apparently hasn't adapted to being the founder of a unicorn internet company yet, and the Wall Street elite have given him a lot of precious red wine. As an otaku who likes to mix Coke with red wine, he sent it to the company's second largest shareholder. Because in his understanding, Bruce needed these wines, and he understood them.

Of course, Li Zhen must know more about these things than Zuckerberg. But he suggested that Zuckerberg could start learning these things, after all, now that the valuation of Facebook has put Zuckerberg firmly in the position of billionaire, if he does not learn some sober common sense, he can easily show his timidity on certain occasions.

Li Zhen stood on the balcony on the 45th floor, overlooking the traffic and lights of New York City.

He felt that the 'crisis' in front of him was really ridiculous.

Frankly speaking, he never took David Lee seriously, and he didn't think that they would be competitors.

But David Lee thought so, and stubbornly took up arms and openly rebelled on the court.

Stephen Marbury told him very frankly on the phone before: "... Don't you notice that you haven't been on the front page of the New York media for the last two days? All of a sudden, they stop reporting on you because the shameless media may be turning. ”

"I know the process all too well."

Marbury said sarcastically.

Then he began to tell how he had gone from being a son of New York who was sought after by thousands to being a street rat that everyone shouted at.

"The New York media is the most ruthless. If the team continues to sink next and does not make the playoffs. Both you and David Lee will be treated as a source of chaos, and they will do everything in their power to discredit you and humiliate you. Until you leave the city in a gloomy way. ”

"So, don't take this crisis lightly. You'd better get David Lee done sooner. It's actually your responsibility as a team leader, and in the NBA, no player can be the core of the team by designation. Everyone has to conquer the dressing room with their strength. ”

Stephen Marbury admonished earnestly on the phone.

He thinks what he's seeing is very clear.

Li Zhen nodded, agreeing with part of Marbury's opinion. But no matter how good he feels, no matter how sophisticated and ruthless the New York media is, he won't be as shouted and beaten by everyone as Marbury did before.

But the calm of the New York media over the past two days does suggest that it has been affected by the fighting in the locker room.

Li Zhen believes that this is the New York media's own way of dealing with the infighting.

It is not a precursor to a complete change of direction.

Although the media outside have begun to swear how unbearable they are, how weak their leadership skills are, how lacking their personal prestige is, and how they cannot convince the public.

Even... Far away in the inconspicuous corner of the United States, the township newspaper "Cleveland Honest People" began to criticize, saying that Li Zhende was unworthy of the position, and that he was the leader who was forcibly propped up by Isaiah Thomas. is not comparable to LeBron James back then, LeBron is a natural leader, and Lee is really a worm in a honeypot... Something like that.

Public opinion arose, and James Dolan was furious.

David Lee and Channingfrye's rebellious behavior during the game made him unbearable, and for this, he even smashed the sika deer sculpture on his desk. And called Isaiah Thomas: "Get those two stinking out of my team right now." ”

Isaiah Thomas could understand the boss's anger.

The whole world knows how much James Dolan admires Li Zhen.

But Isaiah Thomas also has his trade-offs. He hopes the team can maintain its previous momentum and make it to the playoffs. In this way, the previous efforts will not be wasted.

And if it is done according to James Dolan's instructions, the team without Channingflye and David Lee will definitely not be able to make the playoffs.

Once the duck flies away, the New York media is going to go crazy.

When the time comes.

“… Can you bear the infamy that Bruce has to bear like Stephen Marbury? The media will definitely bite in. Thomas told James Dolan on the phone: "We're still going to make the playoffs our main goal right now. ”

"Do you have a way to get those two stupid pigs back on track?" James Dolan asked rhetorically.

Isaiah Thomas said he would try.

……

Then the next day, when the Knicks crossed the Hudson River to New Jersey, New York TV suddenly exposed the news that Knicks management was pressuring David Lee's agent.

When Isaiah Thomas saw the news, he trembled with anger.

The content of the news broadcast was that Bruce Lee, unable to get a consensus of the team, went so far as to put pressure on David Lee, saying that he could introduce Chinese sponsors to him, hoping to get support.

An interview with David Lee's agent described Li Zhen as a villain who coerced and seduced, and a team executive became an accomplice.

Thomas realized that he was being tricked, and he did find agents for David Lee and Channingfry, and he hoped that they would focus on the big picture and make the playoffs first. And it did say why can't we make money together? Eddie Curry knows that when it comes to Chinese brands, so many role players on the Rockets make a lot of money from China, why do you have to be so stubborn?

It's a kind of persuasion.

It's definitely not coercion.

But it's clear that Isaiah Thomas underestimated the cunning of human nature and the ambitions of David Lee's agent, and he wasn't looking for petty Chinese brand sponsorship, he wanted to propel his players to the king of New York.

Why did Li Zhen, who averaged 9.8 points and 10.8 assists per game, become the core of the team that was loved by thousands of people? And David Lee can't.

He believes that David Lee, who has averaged rebounds per game this season, can become the master of New York's ZTE.

So, he poked out about Isaiah Thomas looking for him, he claimed that he had the tape, and he also played it up as a deliberate suppression by the team.

This is an extreme operation.

It's about David Lee's future performance and whether the New York Knicks top management wants face.

If the Knicks brass are disgraced, David Lee may never get a chance to play again, but he will win the sympathy of public opinion.

And if the Knicks management wants face, David Lee will at least get about the same playing time as Li Zhen, and he believes that David Lee can seize this opportunity to prove himself.

……

Isaiah Thomas was clearly shameless, and as soon as the team bus arrived in New Jersey and the players entered the visiting locker room, he announced that David Lee would not be playing tonight.

But at this time, David Lee suddenly shouted.

He claimed unfairness: "I didn't receive justice, I'm no worse than anyone else. I deserve a fair chance to play. ”

When there was a commotion in the locker room, Li Zhen suddenly stood up calmly and walked to David Li's side: "What do you think is fair?" ”

"We'll play half tonight to see who performs better and who helps the team more." David Lee suddenly brought this up.

Li Zhen did not hesitate, he even smiled and agreed to David Lee's request, and also helped him convince the angry Smiling Assassin.

Isaiah Thomas was really.

He never thought he would be stabbed by David Lee's agent, and he thought he was doing it fairly enough. If it had been dealt with according to the boss's wishes, David Lee would have been thrown into the inactive list long ago.

Oh yes!

Am I wrong to want to make the playoffs?

The more Thomas thought about it, the more depressed he became.

But now, he has to follow the logic of David Lee's team. He hated the feeling of being manipulated, and he now had a sense of remorse at the gutter capsizing.

"I didn't handle this well. If I had gone straight to James Dolan's handle, it wouldn't have caused you so much trouble. Before the start of the game, he told Li Zhen apologetically.

Li Zhen shrugged his shoulders, and he replied, "Don't you think this is a good solution?" I do need this to justify me. Otherwise, the whole world will think that my centrality has come too easily. ”

"Bryant told me that if you want to be a leader, willpower is the weapon, and David Lee is empty-handed and unarmed, and he can't succeed."

Li Zhen told Isaiah Thomas very calmly. "It's going to be clear tonight."

……

-

[One shift in the morning, one shift in the evening.] 】