In the office of the president of the league, David Stern is reading a letter.

The letter came from Timberwolves owner Glenn Taylor, who detailed the Timberwolves' predicament this summer.

"Garnett's agent asked for a contract of 100 million yuan, and as soon as he opened his mouth, it was 140 million, and I wanted to give him 120 million, but he was still refused. If we sign this big contract, the team will probably lose money in the future, but if we don't sign it, his contract will expire next year, and we will pat the ass and leave, and we will not get anything......"

"What do you think?" David Stern asked.

Ruth Granick, vice president of the league, laughed: "It's good they have the Knicks to take over, otherwise it would have been a dilemma." ”

Adam Silva, assistant to the president, said: "Yes, this time the Knicks did a big deal, but next year there will definitely be no such wrongdoers, Glenn Taylor is worried about Marbury leaving!" ”

David Stern said: "Other teams have called and expressed concern about the current situation. You know, next year Marbury, Iverson, Raheem, Walker, Camby, Giddles, Ray Allen...... I'm afraid these guys' second-year stats are no worse than Garnett's, and it seems that they are going to be stormy! ”

Adam Silva said: "I think the league needs to limit the salaries of the players and not let them make random offers. ”

Luce Granick said: "The first-round rookie has a contract that can only be signed for three years, which is a bit short, and the team has to renew it early in their second season. In two years, I can't see the true potential of a player, and it's too much of a loss to give a big contract. ”

Adam Silva said: "The league could extend the first-round rookie contract a bit to four years. ”

David Stern said: "But if you have a four-year contract, isn't it a bit long for the team? After all, there are some rookies who will be eliminated by the team in the first year. ”

Luce Granik said: "Then add the team option, the first two years are guaranteed wages, and the second two years are chosen by the team to stay or not. ”

Adam Silva said: "We can also stipulate that after the rookie contract ends, the player is a restricted free agent, and the parent team has the right to keep the player first, so that there is no situation that Glenn Taylor fears, and Garnett wants to leave, they don't get anything. ”

David Stern frowned: "Limit the amount of the contract, extend the rookie contract, and become a restricted player when the rookie contract expires......"

As the spokesperson of the bosses, he certainly likes these rules, but these terms infringe on the interests of the players!

Are the players willing to accept the rules?

It looks like everyone will be busy next summer!

NBA training camps usually begin at the end of September, with players reporting to the team on a set date and then a month-long training camp. Of course, there are special cases, such as Da Yao.

In his previous life, after Da Yao was selected by the Rocket team, he did not report to the training camp on time, and he wanted to play in the Asian Games. By the time I came to the Rockets after the Asian Games, it was already October 21, and the new season would start immediately. He didn't even have time to be familiar with the Rockets' tactics, so he had to play, and the result was very miserable. Gui is the champion show, only scored 0 points in the first game, and was sprayed by experts from all walks of life.

The Knicks team doesn't have a special player like Da Yao, and the people are quite uniform. Because the team's goal in the new season is to be bad, the Knicks did not sign some fringe players with short-term contracts, and only gave Bruce Bowen and Stephen Jackson a 1+1 base salary contract.

With the signing of these two guys with a base salary, the team's 15-man lineup for the new season is as follows:

Centre-forwards: Zajunas Ilgoskas, Ben Wallace, Herb Williams.

Power forwards: Charles Oakley, Bo Outlaw, Buck Williams.

Small forwards: Kevin Garnett, Bruce Bowen, Stephen Jackson.

Shooting guards: Alan Houston, Jeff Hornacek.

Playmaking guards: Li Wei, Steve Nash, Charlie Ward, Scott Brooks.

Li Wei is still quite satisfied with the team's squad, the older generation has captains like Herb Williams, locker room bosses, celebrities like Buck Williams, and green leaves like Scott Brooks, and Bo Outlaw, Alan Houston and others in the Mesozoic Era also have a positive attitude to play, and newcomers are easy to grow up in this environment.

Not to mention that there are two elders sitting in the coach's seat, Chuck Daley and Jeff Nick!

Before the start of the training camp, it is the team's media day, and the team needs to be interviewed by various media outlets.

Of all the teams in the NBA, the Knicks' media day is certainly the most lively and the most concerned, and there are only five championships in the league, and the Bulls, who are on their way to a sixth crown, can compete with them. No way, who let us be in the largest metropolis in the United States?

The Knicks have also had a lot of eye-catching concerns this year, such as the league's first female president of basketball operations, Xia Cuirong's poor English skills, Oakley's recovery from gunshot wounds, suspension issues, and Kevin Garnett's sky-high contract......

But the most eye-catching thing has to be the team's head coach and player, the inspirational dwarf Li Wei!

"Mr. Li, do you think you can really hold on in this professional league? I mean, as a player. ”

Li Wei nodded and said, "Of course, although I am a little short, I am convinced that I will be the best player in this league!" ”

"Mr. Lee, can you talk about your problem with Mr. Oakley?"

Li Wei said: "There is nothing wrong with Charles, that conflict was a misunderstanding. We were still fighting bulls together yesterday and he capped me five times in a row, and then I ended the fight wittily. ”

"Hahaha!" Journalists laughed.

Another reporter asked: "Mr. Li, the league banned him for 20 games because of your conflict with Oakley, what do you think of this decision?" ”

Li Weidao: "Yes, Charles was banned, and I also paid a high fine, I have no objection to the league's penalty, otherwise I will pay another fine." ”

"Hahaha!" The journalists chuckled.

Another reporter asked: "Coach Li, what is your outlook for the future of the Knicks in the new season?" ”

Li Weidao: "As you know, the Knicks have undergone a lot of changes this summer, but our future is bright. We've signed Kevin Garnett to a new contract, and we've got great youngsters like Big Z and Nash, and I'm sure we'll be back in contention for a championship in just a season or two at most. ”

"Mr. Li, do you think Garnett deserves a 128 million contract?"

"Frankly, I was also surprised by the final amount of the contract. The NBA has entered a crazy period at the moment, and it's not something we can control. Kevin is a very good player, and for the sake of the team's future, President Xia and Dennis had to sign this contract, and I have no objection to that. ”

"Coach Li, some people say that you are leading the team this year just to make a mess, like last year's M· Is it true that L. Karl is the same as Popovich? ”

Li Wei blinked.

You can do this kind of thing, but you can't say it. It's like discriminating against black people, you can do it, but you can't say it in public, or you'll be criticized.

"The Knicks roster has changed a lot this season, we have lost a lot of quality players, such as Ewing, Big Mom, Starks, Childs, in addition to my good brother Charles Oakley, who was also suspended by the league for 20 games because of our previous unhappiness, and only Allan can stay on the court as a starter last season.

The coaching staff believes that the team needs to run in the new season, and in the process of running in the squad, it is difficult to avoid failure, and our young people also need time to develop. Maybe we won't be doing well in the new season, but the Knicks will give it their all and give the fans the best game. ”

A tricky reporter said: "Coach Li, do you also think that the Knicks are not strong?" Larry Bird said that the current Knicks don't deserve to be the Pacers' arch-enemy anymore, what do you think? ”

Li Wei frowned, it's Larry Bird again, this big mouth is so annoying!

He will definitely not admit that the Knicks are inferior to the Pacers, that is to grow the morale of others and destroy his own prestige!

So the young coach said: "The Pacers have never been the Knicks' arch-enemies, ours are the Lakers. The Knicks have reached the Finals seven times in their history, and five times against the Lakers. What team are the Pacers? Is there a championship? They didn't even seem to make it to the finals, and they were still playing with mud when we won the championship! ”

"Hahahaha!" Journalists are excited, they love this kind of-for-tat speech!

An ESPN reporter kindly reminded: "Mr. Lee, the Pacers have championships, they won the ABA championship three times in 1970, 1972, 1973. ”

Li Weidao: "This is the NBA, not the ABA, thank you!" I also think Larry Bird should lead the team back to play in the ABA. ”

"Hahaha!" The journalists laughed again.

A New York Post reporter asked: "Coach Lee, you said that the Knicks' arch-enemy is the Lakers, how do I remember that the Lakers' arch-enemy is the Celtics?" The Lakers have reached the Finals 24 times in history, and nearly half of them have been against the Celtics! Are you sure people would think of the Knicks as an archenemy? ”

Li Weidao: "The Celtics, the Lakers, our three teams are rivals to each other. The feud between New York and Boston is not a day or two, and those who follow baseball know it.

It's sad that the team has not been doing well over the years, and we've left the Lakers and Kai behind our two old rivals, but we're going to catch up, so please don't demote us to the Pacers, Larry Bird is right, we're really not rivals.

The Pacers need to set a big goal first, and that is to make it to the Finals. If one day they win the championship, then I might admit that it deserves to be the Knicks' arch-enemy! ”

Some reporters began to applaud.

The Knicks' coach is short but thick-skinned. Knowing that the team is not as good as the Pacers now, he used the historical background to talk about things, and he was shameless and forcibly climbed a rival with Hu Kai!

Sure enough, when the water is clear, there are no fish, and if people are cheap, they are invincible!

A reporter from Turner TV asked, "Coach Lee, can you comment on Larry Bird?" He said on the show that you are not fit to be a manager. Also a new coach, what kind of coach do you think Larry Bird is? ”

Li Weidao: "Bird said that I am not suitable to be a manager, this is his opinion. I'm not a guy with a small belly and I think he's a good manager and he's going to be a very good manager. As for how good it is...... He can definitely be ranked in the top 30 among head coaches in the entire league. ”

"Hahaha!" Journalists burst into laughter.

Now there are a total of 29 teams in the NBA league, and Li Wei said that Larry Bird can be ranked in the top 30, which is equivalent to nothing!

This sarcasm is too strong!

A reporter from the New York Daily News said: "Mr. Lee, your preseason game is going to play the Pacers, Bird said the Pacers will win, what do you think?" ”

"What, we're going to play the Pacers in the preseason?" Li Wei was slightly stunned.