In the 2000~2001 season, the salary cap came to 35.5 million US dollars, and the middle class exception was 2.25 million US dollars.

For two years in a row, Ben Wallace, Rashad Lewis, and Kurt Thomas have also paid some price, and after signing Longley, the hard salary cap has been unable to sign players.

The Knicks' salary came to 71.23 million, and before the start of the preseason, with the Trail Blazers and the Heat, the three teams with a total salary of more than 70 million US dollars have become a hot topic among fans.

Paul Allen doesn't seem to care about how much money is spent, the Trail Blazers' salary has come to 87 million, rich and capricious, and all the players are big contracts.

Compared to the Clippers, the total salary of the Trail Blazers is almost three times that of the other side!

Pat Riley was the owner of the sleepwear overnight, and after the team's big change, the salary also exceeded 73 million.

"Money ability" can indeed do whatever you want, and the American knife sometimes represents strength!

Paul Allen's behavior of "burning" the championship is eye-catching, and the NBA league has officially announced that the new luxury tax policy will be officially implemented in the 02~03 season.

It's just that the luxury tax is not a problem at all for the real big ball market, as long as you burn the championship with money, the deal is still a good deal.

On October 10, the Knicks will host the 76ers at home that night, and New York fans can also see the new signings unveiled.

At the Talitown Training Center, Jeff Van Gundy frowned as he watched the training happen.

There's a reason why Billups was dropped by Piertino head coach at the Celtics, and as a point guard, he can't switch the pace of the game freely.

Parallel traders almost couldn't find a job in the offseason, and the team managers and coaching staff are not stupid.

Billups' salary for the new season is only $2.2 million, which is down from his third year as a rookie.

Of course, there is no shortage of good point guards, but unfortunately, Billups did not live up to Jeff Van Gundy's expectations, and many times, even out of step with the Knicks.

Watching Billups dribble through the half, failing to seize the opportunity of the half-transition, but falling into the position to attack, Jeff Van Gundy didn't hold back and shouted:

"Get moving, fall into the transition attack, and move too!"

In the bench lineup, the interior finishing ability was worrying, and he ran a lap according to the established tactics, and finally Billups assisted Ben Wallace for a layup down the middle.

Assistant coach Thibodeau quickly called off the game and then pulled Billups to explain the issue of offensive options.

Jeff Van Gundy, who has been hanging up for several years, only feels that the current lineup is getting slower and slower, and in order to accommodate the big man, don't think about running

Ben Wallace also scratched his head as he listened to the assistant coach's words, and he still preferred to dunk after the basket.

Near noon, the training session ended, and in the afternoon, everyone had to go to Madison Square Garden to warm up in advance, so most of the training sessions in the morning were mainly tactical routines.

After half a month of training, Li You also failed to achieve the expected goal, mainly because there was no pressure in the team training session.

Billups was just a rookie No. 1 at this time, perhaps because he had experienced several teams, he was hesitant to play, sometimes his offensive options were terrible, and his defensive end failed to reflect his value.

In these days' training sessions, several matchups, Billups was beaten by Li You again, just like in the past regular season, and he had no way to fight back.

Different players have different pursuits, and Cookac and Longley don't care about their performances, and for them, winning a championship and reaching the Finals has been a very fulfilling career.

And for Billups, the priority is to get mixed up in the league, he needs more minutes and a decent stat.

"Sorry, I haven't found my rhythm yet, coaches have always had different requirements in the past, and I have very little autonomy in most games."

Billups, who was not performing well, sighed in a low voice after returning to the locker room, and Li You could only smile and comfort when he heard this:

"Don't worry about the criticism of coach Van Gundy, he's actually very talkative, he likes to give players autonomy in the game, and you'll get used to the Knicks."

Ewing didn't care about the rookie point guard, the two sides have played against each other a few times in the past few years, Billups is playing soy sauce, scoring is not good, and the organization is not good

"I invited a lot of friends for tonight's game, and even though it's a pre-season, everyone has to be serious."

In order to end his career with dignity, Ewing did not indulge himself in the offseason, but maintained a good shape, and even lost a lot of weight.

When the gorilla said this, everyone agreed to it, and it was not difficult to abuse the vegetables!

Grant Hill moved his ankle but had some regrets in his heart, and this year he would probably only be able to watch the game on the sidelines in a suit

On the evening of the 10th, at the Madison Square Garden Arena, New York fans still entered early, although it was only a preseason game, but it was added by the "tour", and many old fans also bought tickets to support it.

Ewing's game is currently one less game, and the old fans who used to stay in front of the TV were not stingy at this time, spending money to buy tickets, going to the scene to support a wave, and by the way recalling their youth.

Having played football in New York for half his life, the gorillas have also accumulated a lot of connections, not to mention other cities, at least in New York, the tour is still reliable.

New York's first African-American mayor, Dinkins, appeared on the sidelines with a smile:

"Negroes have to help Negroes!"

Ewing laughed and hugged the former mayor before the game, and the chanting singers were also indispensable, and this season, the ticket revenue alone made James Dolan close his mouth.

Everyone knows that Ewing will be difficult to play dominantly anymore, but that doesn't stop everyone from buying tickets to watch the game.

At this time, it is no longer the result of the game, a wonderful goal can make many people recall the past time of the Knicks.

On the MSG commentary bench at the scene, the two looked at the socialites in the front row, and suddenly recalled the Knicks who always lost in the past:

"It's unbelievable that we've managed to win three in a row and I can't wait to see the fifth championship flag raised over the arena, which is absolutely wonderful!"

Walter Fraser subconsciously looked up at the sky above the arena, and was in a happy mood for a while, and Mike Brin on the side also seemed to recall the past, and sighed in a low voice:

"My biggest dream as a kid was to play a Knicks game."

"The presence of the Bulls made me doubt that the Knicks would always miss the championship, but Pat's persistence worked, and in the end we waited for Lee."

"It's almost a miracle, you know, we won the championship by beating the Bulls in '98!"

"History is really amazing, Michael Jordan beat Magic Johnson for the first title, and Lee beat Mick."

The two recalled the past on the commentary seat, and Li You also greeted Bloomberg and others on the sidelines.

If the Knicks are rookies, then no one will come to the scene to support, after all, everyone buys tickets to watch the game, but they are not here to be angry!

Years of success have created a new fan base, and Lee Woo has also followed Ewing's old path, with the difference that he started with three consecutive championships

The atmosphere was lively, but the 76ers who had the final warm-up were listless.

The team didn't make a trade throughout the offseason, and how to build the team around Iverson has become a difficult problem for management.

is also a "four guarantees and one" tactic, Li You's efficiency is higher and he can easily support the Knicks.

Iverson, who is even shorter, can support offensive production but can't guarantee efficiency.

Larry Brown looked at Jeff Van Gundy, who was talking and laughing on the other side, and he had a lemon in his heart, and he also wanted to coach a big ball city team

In the first preseason game, Iverson sat on the bench in a black casual suit with a gold chain.

Most of the players have some minor injuries, and the new season has begun, and it is time to enter the stage of recuperation.

In the preseason, Iverson was not interested in being a background board anymore, so he simply rested to avoid repeating the situation of being injured at the beginning of last year.

Despite the absence of Larry Johnson and Oakley, New York fans felt that the game seemed to be more fluid in terms of the look and feel of the game.

In the first round, a simple high block at the top of the arc, watching Li You push the ball and change direction to go straight to the inside, cheers immediately rang out.

Eric Snow's defense was just a show, the 76ers instantly shrunk, and Lewis in the bottom right corner received the ball with no one in front of him, and the open three-pointer hit a solid shot.

The 76ers' frontcourt combination is still George Lynch, Chloe Hill, and Theo Latrive, and the three have already lost

Aaron McGee, who started the game, wanted to put on a good show, but in the first round, he broke through to the paint with the ball on the left wing and was directly blocked by Ewing!

Looking at the gorilla holding the ball, Madison Square Garden was boiling all at once!

Waiting for the offensive round, Li You assisted Ewing to eat cake in the air, and the cheers became louder and louder.

After the Knicks easily played a wave of 8-0, Larry Brown on the sidelines did not ask for a timeout, which is already the best lineup of the team.

On the commentary bench, Walter Fraser also stopped paying attention to the score and began to talk about the future:

'Grant Hill is unavailable at the moment, Ron is the starting number three and Lashad has a starting position tonight, so at the moment, we could have some problems defensively.

"But judging from the current staffing, general manager Grunfield has done an excellent job of replacing the old and the new in the team."

Mike Brin was still thinking about the Bulls' first-round pick, and noticed that the 76ers were still scoring zero eggs, and at this time he also laughed and gossiped:

"Actually, I'm more focused on the performance of the Bulls this season, 2001 was a big year for the draft, and if we can sign a young big man, we can just replace the retired Pat."

"What kind of interior player is Lee better suited?"

Noticing that Rashad Lewis received a breakthrough shot from the middle of Lee You in the bottom left corner and hit a three-pointer again, Walter Fred subconsciously said:

"Like Pat, a big man who can shoot and protect the rim is a better fit for Lee."

After 8 minutes and 56 seconds into the game, Lee Woo went off the court, and soon Ewing was also substituted, and the Knicks began to rotate personnel.

Jeff Van Gundy was smiling on the surface, but in his heart he was secretly complaining about the intensity of the game, the 76ers seemed to be disheartened, and Larry Hughes, who came off the bench, was throwing chickens around.

In the end, the game became Ewing's exhibition game, playing 32 minutes, 6 of 8, and cutting 12 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 1 turnover.

There are not many shots, most of the goals are dunks and cakes, Ewing is very satisfied with his performance, and the New York fans on the scene are also comfortable to watch, when it comes to abuse, the Knicks are indeed professional!

86:106, the Knicks beat the 76ers.

Everyone was happy, only Billups felt unwell, and in the bench lineup, he didn't perform as well as Cookc, completely humanized

At the end of the game, Ewing was on the sidelines and the celebrities present greeted one by one, and Li You, who was not sweating, accepted an interview with MSG with a smile.

In the Madison Square Garden arena, the old fans were still chanting Ewing's name, and Walter Fraser was relaxed when he saw this:

"Lee, the team has completed the replacement of the old and the new, let's talk about our goals this season!"

Realizing that this legendary legend seemed to have no pursuit of results, Li You didn't care, and responded confidently:

"We still have to fight for the championship! In the process, I believe that the young players will also grow. ”

Mike Brin didn't take Lee's words to heart, and he could tell in one game that many people on the Knicks were out of motivation.

The ensuing business blew each other, and the two no longer mentioned the topic of the championship.

When Li You walked to the players' tunnel, he smiled again and waved to the fans on both sides, a low-intensity preseason game, but he had some small gains:

[Shaquille O'Neal's extraordinary power] just came to the bronze color.

James Dolan high-fived the players one by one at the door of the locker room, and when he saw Li You, he immediately stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, encouraging him:

"Lee, this season, we just need to play a good offense!"

“.”

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(End of chapter)