Steve Nash and Jeff Hornacek came a little later than Big Z.

A five-time assist champion, four-time 180 Club member, and two-time MVP, Nash, the Son of the Wind, has just finished his rookie season.

He hasn't played much this season, but he's learned a lot from star point guard Kevin Johnson and another potential star, Jason Kidd.

Coming to the Knicks, who have changed the team, Nash does not have too high expectations, and just wants to be the first substitute option for the team's playmaking guard position. He feels that he is willing to work hard and can definitely become the best backup point guard on the team!

Unexpectedly, the short president and head coach said to him as soon as they met: "Steve, you have to practice hard this summer, and in the new season, I hope you can become the core of the backcourt!" ”

"The organizational core of the backfield?" Nash's eyes widened.

If you really become the organizational core of the backcourt, doesn't it mean that you can start?

However, Nash soon realized that the coach might have said this as a simple encouragement and had no other meaning. He stood up straight and said loudly: "Coach, don't worry, I will definitely be the hardest training person in the team!" ”

Li Wei smiled: "You have to work hard, and you must also pay attention to the combination of work and rest." By the way, you practice more three-point arc top three-point arc, and then dribble the ball over half the court, no one will defend you for the first time, just shoot immediately, don't give them a chance! ”

"Huh? Shoot with the ball over half court? Nash's eyes widened in surprise again.

The responsibility of the defender is to organize the whole team to attack, how can you shoot with the ball over half the court?

If you really throw it like this, can the coach accept it? Can your teammates accept it?

I'm afraid I'll be replaced as soon as possible, right?

Li Wei saw Nash's face change, and chuckled: "Don't doubt it, just shoot with the ball to the three-point line, you must practice more, don't forget." ”

Nash blinked, only nodding.

He is a newcomer with a humble personality and will definitely listen to the coach's arrangement. Anyway, the three-point at the top of the arc is one of the subjects he wants to practice, and the coach tells him so, so he can add more practice.

In addition, it is a good thing that the coach is willing to give the right to fire, and many people can't dream of it. The only thing he has to do is not to be dumb when the time comes!

"I have to train hard and not let the coach down!"

Nash ran to practice three-pointers with Big Z, and Li Wei met with Jeff Hornacek again.

This "father-in-law", who was popular on the Internet in his previous life, is a veteran who has been fighting in the alliance for ten years, so he is naturally not as young and restrained as Nash. When talking to Li Wei, he was enthusiastic and distant, which gave people a very good feeling.

"Haha, it's another Jeff, there are really a lot of people named Jeff!" Li Wei said with a smile.

Jeff Hornacek said: "If there is someone named Jeff on the team, you can call me Old Jeff, I don't mind." ”

Jeff Nick said: "Yo, in front of me, you can't be called old, let's call little Jeff!" ”

Jeff Hornacek was stunned: "Huh? The other Jeff is your old man? ”

"Exactly!" Jeff Nick nodded.

Li Weidao: "Jeff Nick is our assistant coach and has made a lot of contributions to our team. Little Jeff, come here, let's talk! ”

Jeff Hornacek's eyebrows twisted: "You still call me Big Jeff, or old John or something, my middle name is John." At such an age, I'm really not used to being called Little Jeff! ”

Li Wei said: "The name John is too common, or I will call you Lao Huo." Lao Huo, come here, let's talk! ”

Hornacek shrugged, accepted the somewhat Chinese salutation, and walked over to Li Wei's desk.

Li Wei motioned to Hirobodu to make him a cup of coffee, and then said: "Old Huo, the Knicks are a rebuilding team, we need to develop young people, and you may not have much playing time in the new season." ”

Hornacek nodded and said, "Coach, you don't need to say it, I am mentally prepared, I will not compete with young people for positions." ”

Li Wei said: "That's good, you are very polite." Speaking of which, you're not too young, have you ever thought about what to do after retiring? ”

"I want to play for two more years, and then retire when I can't play. After retiring, I think it's better to do some basketball-related work, play all my life, and nothing else, and it would be better to stay in the NBA. ”

Li Weidao: "If you want to stay in the team after retiring, it's best to start acting now and give more guidance to the young people." Personally, I really appreciate your style of play and hope you stay with the Knicks when you retire. ”

Hornacek blinked and nodded: "Coach, don't worry, I will give those newcomers the help I can, and try to make them less detours." ”

"Thank you very much." Li Wei smiled lightly.

Lao Huo really deserves to be a famous coach in his previous life, and now he is still a player, and his consciousness is very high. Coming out of the president's office, he went to the sidelines of the training court to point out Nash and Big Z, who practiced three-point shooting. All three are white, and the more they talk, the more speculative they become.

Li Wei looked at the three of them upstairs and nodded secretly. If Lao Huo can bring these two guys up, the team's future work must be very good.

The diminutive president actually wanted to practice shooting, but he didn't have time because another guest arrived.

Li Wei made a total of four transactions, three of which came to report, and only Garnett did not come.

The guests who came this time were Garnett's agent Eric Frescher, and Frescher's assistant Andy Miller. According to them, Garnett is now selling shoes for Nike in Europe and will not be able to report to the team for a while.

Domestic fans are most impressed by the shoes endorsed by Garnett, probably Adidas, and later Anta. However, when he first entered the NBA, he signed a five-year contract with Nike, endorsed the Flyer Jordan series, and later endorsed And1.

Frescher said: "Mr. Lee, Mr. Johnson, I'm here to negotiate a contract extension for Kevin Garnett. Garnett's rookie contract expires next year, and if you want to keep him, you'll have to renew it early this summer. ”

Dennis Johnson said: "Early contract extension? What kind of contract do you want us to provide? ”

Frescher said: "Kevin likes the city of New York very much, so we will give you some discounts, just 130 million for six years!" ”

Dennis Johnson rolled his eyes: "130 million for six years is also a discount?" This annual salary is higher than O'Neal's, and the NBA has never had such a big contract! ”

KC Jones on the side said: "That's right, the amount of this contract is too terrifying, I'm afraid we can't agree!" ”

Frescher raised his head and said with a smile: "This contract may have been sky-high in the past, but now, it can't be considered high at all." Times have changed, and we've made as good deals as possible. When I was in the Timberwolves, the amount I proposed was 140 million, but McHale grinded his mouth and it dropped to 135 million! ”

Dennis Johnson heard about it from his friend McHale after the two teams traded, and he knew he wasn't lying. However, a young man who averages 17 points per game still makes it a little unacceptable for him to ask the team for such a big contract!

It's okay if you hit the worth, the key is that you don't, just a potential star!

Li Wei glanced at Frescher, then at Andy Miller beside him, and smiled slightly.

At this time, Freischer was in high spirits, and I was afraid that two years later, Andy Miller would pull his major clients (including Garnett) to set up another door, right?

Li Wei is not interested in caring about their grievances, and he will not be kind enough to remind them, and at the same time, he also knows that Garnett's contract cannot be small.

In the previous life, the biggest news this summer was a rookie who averaged 17 points per game and rejected a 6-year, 120 million contract!

The Timberwolves bid 120 million for 6 years, but they were still denied!

Later, the Timberwolves kept Garnett, but the contract amount was a record 128 million!

It's fair to say that Garnett's contract scares all the NBA bosses out of the blue.

Garnett, a rookie in '95, averaged only 17 points per game, and still had to spend 128 million to stay, so the 96-year-old golden generation Iverson, Walker, Raheem and others performed better, how to talk about it when renewing the contract?

There are definitely no hundreds of millions!

If you continue like this, you will have to lose all your pants if you run a team!

So the biggest stoppage in history happened in the 97-98 season, and neither the labor nor the management would budge, and the game had to be played!

"In this life, let me be the boss of this wrong. As soon as this contract was signed, the alliance was scared to shut down, and then a series of rules such as salary cap and luxury tax were established, and everyone could save money in the future! Li Wei thought secretly.

The young president also knows that this big contract takes up too much salary space, and in the previous life, the Timberwolves were completely unable to strengthen because of the lack of salary space, so they only made a playoff first-round tour every year.

However, the Knicks' goal is to dig out talent from rookies, and they only need to use bird power to keep Nash + Nowitzki in the future, and they don't need to use salary space to poach stars from other teams, and they are not afraid of anything. Bird rights renewals can be more than the salary cap.

Of course, Li Wei can also not renew his contract in advance and see the situation next summer. If the league had shut down as scheduled and had put in place a series of rules, including a salary cap, the contract wouldn't have been so big.

But if the contract is not renewed early, Garnett, whose contract expires, will definitely be robbed. It's true that New York is a big city, but after a year of rotten, how can it not be attractive, what if Garnett wants a championship, pat his ass and leave?

Li Wei didn't dare to take risks!

Anyway, the Knicks are not short of money, and they don't need to go to the free agent market at a high price to find puzzles, just sign it!

The young president said: "Mr. Frescher, the amount of the contract is not a problem, and I believe you know that the Knicks are not short of money." However, I need players who work hard, players who can obey the coach's arrangement, and I can't sign a contract worth more than 100 million without a good negotiation with your client. ”

Frescher nodded: "This is easy to do, he will be back from Europe in a few days, you can have a good chat." I assure you that he trains absolutely hard and will follow his coach's instructions both on and off the pitch. ”

Li Wei said: "That's good, I'm looking forward to meeting him." ”