Kevin Garnett was born in a black neighborhood in Greenville, South Carolina, to parents who never married and broke up when he was very young.

Garnett's stepfather was not good to him and his sister, in order to feed himself and his sister, Garnett worked 12 jobs when he was a child, from moving luggage to repairing the lawn, from washing dishes to wiping cars, he often had to work 13-14 hours a day, and at the busiest time, he used to work 20 hours a day.

The hardships of life have made Garnett develop a tenacious and unyielding character. At the same time, he also has the unique nature of the black people at the bottom, that is, it is more realistic, to put it mildly, it is a bit of a bully and afraid of the hard.

In his previous life, Charles Oakley once sprayed on a TV show, saying that Garnett was never a real tough guy. Indeed, Garnett will not be as brainless as him, no matter what identity the other party is, no matter what the situation is, he will not be cowardly, just do it.

Garnett is wise and knows how to judge the situation, and there are many videos circulating on the Internet of him fighting and retreating, because Garnett knows that if he fights indiscriminately, he will definitely not reap the benefits!

His toughness, just to make the team win, not to fight on the pitch!

When he came to see Li Wei, Garnett was a little apprehensive. Because the president's beating of Oakley is already known to the whole United States!

This man is definitely a tyrant, if you want to mix in the Knicks, you have to listen to him!

He doesn't want to be the next Oakley!

In fact, Garnett's personality is a bit thorny, and he had a scandal of beating up his teammates in his previous life. But when he encountered such a "violent" boss as Li Wei, he had to put on a more respectful attitude. This is also a common trait of black players from the bottom: whoever has the big fist, they listen to whomever they want. Don't talk about ethics and morality, they just believe in the black (harmonious) society.

Li Wei didn't expect to become famous in one fight, which had a deterrent effect on all the thorny players, but he was also very happy to see Garnett put on a good attitude.

"Kevin, I told your agent, if you want to renew your contract early, money is not a problem, we are not bad in New York, the key is whether you can work hard and become the core of our New York future!"

Kevin Garnett said: "Coach, rest assured, I will work harder than anyone else and obey your instructions!" ”

Garnett's agent, Frescher, said: "Mr. Lee, you can put a hundred hearts at ease in terms of attitude, how diligent Kevin was when he was with the Timberwolves, everyone can see it, you can understand it by asking casually." ”

Li Wei nodded. Garnett, like Kobe Bryant in his previous life, belonged to the kind of person who squeezed his talent to the limit, and his hardworking level was definitely one of the best in the league. But New York is not an ordinary city, this is a fallen city, just in case, he still has to advise.

"Kevin, I also believe that you will obey my arrangement and train hard at the same time. Next, we have to talk about your positioning in the team. You played small forward at the Timberwolves, right? ”

"Yes." Cannett nodded.

From joining the league until now, he has been playing small forward because he is too thin to stand up to the confrontation.

After the departure of Gugliotta, the Timberwolves' big man and All-Star power forward, Garnett did not immediately become a full-time power forward, because the team signed another power forward, Joe Smith, the top pick in '95.

Li Weidao: "With your height, you can actually try to play inside, I think you can play power forward, or center." ”

"Oh! I will never play center! Garnett screamed.

Frescher hurriedly said: "Mr. Li, Kevin can't play center, and his weight can't play at all!" ”

"Don't you play center?" Li Wei smiled.

Later generations of fans always say that Garnett is the most suitable center in the small-ball era, in fact, Garnett's most hated thing in his life is to play center!

At the end of his career, when he was old and weak, and his legs and feet were slow, Garnett played as a center, and reporters asked him: "Kevin, you play well as a center, why do you hate to play center?" ”

Garnett burst into foul language at the time: "I just hate it, I hate it when I play well, if I have a choice, I will never play center in my life!" ”

Of course, Li Wei knows Garnett's preferences, and in fact, he also thinks that it is a waste to let this kind of person fight on the inside.

Garnett is an epoch-making player, before him, there has never been a monster like him in the league, who combines speed, agility, flexibility, dribbling, ball protection, and ball control like a guard, but he has a geek with interior height!

How to use Garnett, this is a big problem in front of the Timberwolves coaching staff!

What choice the Timberwolves made later, Li Wei knew very well. McHale and Sanders teamed up to develop him into another McHale, and Garnett lived up to expectations and achieved more than McHale himself!

Li Wei understands the choice of McHale and Sanders, because this is an era when the inside line is king, and every team thinks that the one who wins the inside line wins the world!

Garnett is seven feet tall and has excellent jumping, and they think it's a terrible thing for a guy who doesn't play inside and doesn't grab a board under the basket.

The team that controls the rebounds controls the game, and the Timberwolves really don't have a better rebounding player than Garnett.

But for Garnett himself, is the power forward really the most suitable position for him?

Li Wei doesn't think so!

Garnett's characteristic is that all abilities other than his height are defender-level. You let a tall, lanky, flexible, guard-like tall man fight for muscles with those strong, tank-like big men on the inside, it's really your own strengths and your shortcomings!

In this era, it is not the era of small balls twenty years later, the center and the big forward pay attention to strength, and if you drop ten times with one force, the basket is a meat grinder!

Although Garnett relied on extraordinary agility and bounce in his previous life to play a great game on the inside, and was one of the best power forwards in history, he was really uncomfortable!

As for those who say that Garnett should gain weight and strength, they are even more brainless. Garnett's advantage is that he is fast, flexible, can control the ball like a defender, can run all over the court, you make him gain weight, the speed decreases, and the flexibility is gone, that's really to pick up sesame seeds, deliberately lose the watermelon!

Li Wei feels that Garnett's most suitable position is actually a small forward. He could have relied on his height advantage and eaten all opponents like Kevin Durant in his previous life!

Those who are faster than him are not as tall as him, and those who are higher than him are not as fast as him, this kind of person standing outside can't be guarded at all!

It's really useless to go to the inside line to fight those tanks for muscles!

Of course, with Garnett's talent, it is impossible to be as accurate as Durant, but Li Wei thinks that it is no problem for him to crush Brother Alphabet.

Brother Alphabet's projection ability is so terrible, he can kill all sides at the small forward position, what is Garnett afraid of?

Of course, Li Wei also recognizes that controlling rebounding is the only way to control the game.

Garnett has unmatched bounce and flexibility, and can take advantage of the inside to grab the board and cover the defense. Let him keep playing in front of the small is to liberate him, but it may not be beneficial to the team!

The team needs people to grab the board, and it needs people to make up for the defense!

In the previous life, the Timberwolves asked Garnett to play in front of the team, also because the team did not have a better interior player, and only Garnett went to support the interior of the whole team!

Garnett must sacrifice for the team!

But does the Knicks need Garnett to make that sacrifice?

Obviously no, another historical-level former Dirk Nowitzki is still waiting for Li Wei to pick it!

With Dirk, why bother to aggrieved Garnett to abandon his advantages and stick to the inside?

What's even more terrifying is that Nowitzki can actually play small forwards. When the team needs to strengthen the defense and Garnett needs to sit inside and put pressure on the enemy, the two can temporarily switch positions. Whoever makes a cameo appearance, that's not a big deal!

You say Garnett is our big front?

Sorry, guessed wrong, this round is Nowitzki!

You say Nowitzki is our big front?

Sorry, you're wrong again, it's Garnett this round!

Both are the same height as the center, but their abilities and skills are as comprehensive as small forwards. Li Wei seems to have seen the embarrassment of the coaches of the entire league when this combination appeared!

It's not terrible to guess our tactics, it's scary that you know how we're going to fight, but you're helpless!

What, not convinced?

There's a kind of genius who you also engage in two such weird geniuses!

Thinking of this, Li Wei smiled and said: "Kevin, it's right that you don't play center, and I also think you're not suitable to play center." Sticking to playing small forward and making a cameo when the team needs it is the best style of play for you. ”

"Whew!" Garnett and Freschel breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Wei continued: "Kevin, I've watched some of your games, and your training with the Timberwolves is actually in charge of McHale, right?" ”

Garnett laughed. Although McHale is the team's general manager and not a member of the coaching staff, he often points him out.

You know, McHale is known as the best white man of all time, and his flashy inside footsteps are the object of emulation by all players.

Duncan once said, "Before I learned McHale's inside skills, I didn't play basketball at all."

Fans often say: On the back technique of the inside line, Big Dream and McHale are in one gear, one in empty gear, and one in other people's gear.

With McHale's guidance, Garnett's style of play is becoming more and more like a big forward!

Li Wei said: "McHale probably wants to train you to be him. But I don't think you should be the next him. You're a small forward and should be Larry Bird! ”

"Larry Bird?" Kevin Garnett's eyes widened.

Of course he knows Larry Bird, who is the current No. 1 small forward in history!

Who wouldn't want to be Larry Bird at the small forward position?

Li Wei said: "Personally, I don't think you will be worse than Larry Bird. Kevin, do you think you're worse than him? ”

Garnett modestly said, "Coach, Bird is very great, I can't compare to him right now. But I'm going to play hard and try to be like him! ”

Li Wei said: "Alas, you are really unambitious. Actually, before I was the head coach, I hired Larry Bird and wanted him to develop you. I said to him at the time, you will be the next him, guess what he said? ”

"What did he say?" Garnett asked.

Li Weidao: "He said that it was impossible, he won 20+10 in his first year of playing, and he was also the undisputed No. 1 team in the league. In the eight years since, he has never fallen out of the top three MVP votes, and three consecutive MVPs, you only average 17 points per game, and you don't deserve to be compared to him at all! ”

"What?" Garnett clenched his fists.

This kind of person who had a difficult childhood life has a relatively strong self-esteem, and he can't see others looking down on him!

Li Wei saw Garnett's fighting spirit ignited, smiled slightly, and said loudly: "Kevin, Bird thinks you won't be the next him, so our talks collapsed, and now the entire New York media also thinks that it is a stupid transaction for me to exchange Ewing for you."

But I always felt like I wasn't wrong, you have the potential to surpass Bird. Kevin, you have the ambition to tell me out loud, can you surpass Larry Bird? ”

Garnett gritted his teeth, stood up and pounded his chest and roared, "Yes! ”

"Yes, that's it, you have to get ahead of him!" Li Wei also clenched his fists, "Your physical condition is much better than Bird's, do you know where the biggest gap between you and Bird is?" ”

Garnett said: "I'm not as versatile as Bird, I'll train hard in the summer!" ”

Li Weidao: "Your skills are indeed inferior to Bird, but your biggest gap is three points." Bird's three-pointer, a hundred steps through Yang, as soon as he gets the ball, all the enemies will tremble. And you? Your three-point ability is really poor, this summer, you have to practice it well! ”

"Practice three points?" Garnett's eyes widened.

Timberwolves head coach Saunders is a very traditional head coach who believes that the closer you are to the basket, the more accurate your shot will be. So in his team, regardless of the inside or outside, he must try to rush to the basket, and if he can't break through, he will shoot. Three points, that's the most helpless choice!

In the 96-97 season, the Timberwolves' three-point shots were the fifth-lowest in the league, and this was because the team's main point guard Marbury was disobedient to discipline, so he liked to wave outside, forcibly pulling up the team's three-point shots!

After Marbury's departure in the previous life, the Timberwolves' three-point shooting fell off a cliff, and in the 98-99 and 99-00 seasons, the team averaged just over eight three-point shots per game. There is only one team in the entire league that has taken fewer shots than them, and that is the 76ers led by the more stubborn Larry Brown!

In the 00-01 season, Szczebiak, a famous shooter with accurate three-point accuracy, played 82 regular season games with the Timberwolves, playing an average of 35 minutes per game, and only made a total of 77 three-pointers, an average of less than one out of three shots per game!

What is the concept of a talented shooter who plays the whole game and can't even shoot a three-pointer?

That said, only 24 seconds were up, and there was really no way out for him to shoot a three-pointer. However, in this way, the coach still has to scold: "What kind of waves, you can't take a step in and then throw?" ”

Even a sharpshooter can't shoot a three-pointer, and there's no one left!

Maybe years from now, Sanders will understand the importance of threes, but now, he hates them!

There is a head coach who resolutely refuses to shoot three-pointers, Garnett has never practiced three-pointers, and three-pointers are the original sin in his eyes!

Can Garnett practice threes?

Absolutely!

Veteran fans will remember that Garnett often took a step away from the three-point line, opened his hand and shot, and shot it!

Why can't he go a little further and shoot a three-pointer?

It's very simple, the coach doesn't let it!

Can go to the basket, never shoot, can shoot, never three-point!

Szczebiak can't shoot three-pointers, so how can Garnett waste it?

Garnett, who never does three-point training, can't go any further!

In fact, it is really sad that an all-round player like Garnett fell into the hands of a conservative coach like Sanders. Imagine if old Nelson coached him, the picture must be too beautiful to watch!

Then again, if Nelson Sr. had become Garnett's mentor, he might not have become an inside gatekeeper, rebounding king, or best defensive player, because that old coach didn't pay attention to defense at all!

Li Wei feels that Sanders is the one who made Garnett and the one who delayed Garnett. Now that this genius is in his hands, of course he has to develop his offensive talent to the fullest!

"Don't doubt it, it's three points, you have to practice a good three. Even if it's not up to Bird's level, it's definitely not worse than an average shooter, you know what I mean? ”

Garnett said: "But coach, no matter how accurate the three-point shot is, it is not easy to score." Philip (Saunders) is always reminding me that kind of inefficient way to score, don't choose! ”

"Philip Saunders is a big fool!" Li Wei scolded directly, "The three-point shot can open up offensive space for the team, if you have a good three-point hand, the defender must follow you outside the three-point line." With that space, it's easier for our defenders to break through and score more easily, which is strategic!

Kevin, don't you want a big contract of over 100 million? Then listen to me and work three points this summer. I'll look at your performance and decide if you can get the contract. With three points, you have a contract, and without three, you don't have a contract, understand? ”

Garnett grimaced, but agreed with a smile. But in his heart, he felt that Li Wei was deliberately embarrassing him.

Knowing that he hadn't practiced three points, he deliberately took three points to get a card, this is because he doesn't want to give him a contract of 100 million yuan!

But when he came to the team's training gym, Garnett was stunned. Because he saw a big center of two meters and two and one shooting three points there!

Whew!

Big Z is not only shooting three points, but also shooting one into one!

"You're such a tall man, and you practice three points?" Garnett asked.

Big Z nodded and said, "That's right, this is the coach's request!" ”

Garnett patted his head and suddenly understood. Li Wei is not embarrassed for him, but this goods belong to Rick Pitino's disciples!

Anyway, the three-point shot is not necessarily useless as Philip said, and it is still useful to shoot accurately. Since the coach asked me to practice, I will practice too. I don't believe I can't even compare to other centers!

Thinking of this, Garnett was equally crazy about practicing three-pointers.

Born in poverty, he really wants to get that big contract, and he wants to prove that he can be as accurate as Larry Bird, and he deserves a big contract from Li Wei!