The rest is just noise

Louis didn't call Reed directly. It was inappropriate. For this kind of thing, Old Nick had to be invited to appear.

Louis first called Phil Jackson, who was planning to backstab Doug Collins with the Bulls, and asked him to help test out Reid's recent plan.

There was still a sense of collegiality between Jackson and Louis.

Although when he was an assistant coach with the Knicks, he did more dispensable tasks such as psychological counseling, Louis never disliked him for this.

Louis gave Jackson a chance to prove himself in this world.

He still went to the Bulls, but there was no Jordan there, only Barkley. Can he still become a championship coach? If not, it would affect the ownership of the next 11 championships.

Afterwards, Louis called Dave DeBusschere and asked him to be a go-between and ask Reed out for dinner.

Jackson brought back information for Louis. Reed has been busy with various speeches recently. NBA celebrities like them can only earn about 1,000-1,500 US dollars per speech. Although it is much more than ordinary people, if they can

Working in the professional basketball circle, even as an assistant coach, will earn more.

Therefore, Louis believed that Reed would accept his invitation.

At that dinner party, which was both an interview and a small talk, Louis elaborated on his thoughts about Reed and expressed his desire to invite him to join the coaching staff.

"Me? Join the Knicks' coaching staff?" Reid said in disbelief. "They say New York has the most professional coaching staff. Do they really need a rough guy like me?"

Old teammate DeBusschere laughed and scolded: "You are so damn modest. Even Truk Robinson can be an assistant coach. Why can't you? Haven't you been an assistant coach before?"

Reed smiled sheepishly: "It's just because I don't know much about tactics, so I won't be able to do this for a long time. Coach Lu, I'm not the person you need."

"No, Willis, what I need is not your tactics, but your skills." Louis explained, "We do have many assistant coaches internally, but their responsibilities are different. Some are in charge of training, and some are in charge.

Some drafts are mainly about developing players' potential. Like Dave said, Truk Robinson is a very solid inside player. In the past few years, he has been our team's inside development coach. Now he has gone to Los Angeles to find another job.

That's it, we need a reliable person to take over his position."

"Truk Robinson?" Reed said in surprise, "That kind of person can teach technology?"

Louis was so troubled by his words that he didn't know how to reply.

Ewing trained diligently under him for four years!

"I think I'm qualified." Reed was moved, "What about this salary?"

DeBusschere smiled at Louis: "President Lu, the rest is your job."

"Like several other assistant coaches who specialize in developing player skills, the base salary of 100,000 does not include bonuses. We have many bonuses, such as winning bonuses, playoff bonuses, championship bonuses, and business bonuses."

Even though Reid is an old man who came from New York, he was shocked by the Knicks' wealth.

An annual salary of 100,000 for an assistant coach who is like a physical fitness teacher does not include bonuses?

In Reid's era, the Knicks already had a reputation for being stupid and spending too much money. They liked to spend money on players who were full of negative energy, but they were not generous to those secondary players.

Now

"Coach Lu, don't say anything!" Reed said boldly, "I will report to your place tomorrow!"

DeBusschere joked, "You guys are really greedy for money. Also, Louis came to see you today as the president. You should call him President Lu!"

"Yes, yes, I'm confused, President Lu!"

Things went so smoothly, beyond Louis' expectation.

He didn't expect Old Nick to have such a good relationship. He really appreciated the brotherly friendship between DeBusschere and Reed.

When Reed showed up at the Blue Palace the next day, the scene was completely different from when Truk Robinson was there.

Robinson looks like a villain, but his heart is as soft as cotton and he is not ruthless enough to his players.

Reed is different. He was a bodyguard when he was a player, the most feared enforcer in the league. Since he wants to help players practice basic skills and improve their inside skills, he has to be ruthless. Otherwise, how can he remember it?

Louis took him to say hello to the other insiders on the team.

Finally, he pointed at Kemp and said, "This is the very talented high school student I told you about."

"Look, this body is a good material for playing inside." Reed patted Kemp, "From today on, I will be in charge of your training."

"Well"

Kemp was so frightened by Reed's mafia boss aura that he dared not speak.

"That's it, I wish you a happy relationship." Louis said and walked away.

Kemp's good days are over, and Reid is not a gentle man.

Phil Jackson once said to Louis that Reed was the toughest person he had ever met.

And DeBusschere had his own opinions on Reed's harshness.

He thinks this is Reid's only way of supervision. He will not give up on any of his teammates. As long as you are still on the team, he will let you keep up.

Louis thought that after more than a week, Kemp's tear duct had been physically removed by his teammates.

As a result, Reed scolded him and cried on the first day he came.

The person who came to report to Louis was McHale. He thought that Reed was too cruel to Kemp: "Actually, it was just a distraction, no big deal, but Willis really scolded him to death, it was too much.

It’s so loud that Patrick can’t even listen to it.”

Louis asked: "Did he stop Reed?"

"No, he didn't want to hear the high school students cry, so he went to the weight room."

Louis looked at McHale's body and said, "I think you should go to the weight room to spread your unnecessary compassion."

McHale said coldly: "Coach, are you asking a vegetarian to lift weights? Isn't that cruel?"

"Don't you think it would be crueler for him to have you come to the office to report to Pinxiao instead of him?" Louis said lightly, "If he can't stand it anymore, he will come and tell me himself, and you don't need to meddle in his own business, captain."

It's not serious, you either stop Reed on the spot, or you find something to distract yourself like Patrick did."

"Then can I end the training session early?"

"You stupid bastard, how dare you?"

McHale slipped away, and no one else came to intercede on Kemp's behalf. Apparently they all knew who Reid was there for.

After Reed came, Kemp was scolded and cried every day.

He was not ready to accept a mentor of this level. Gradually, he stopped crying on the court. He kept his grievances in his heart and cried at home at night.

But every day he walks into the Blue Palace with a stronger attitude.

His performance met Louis' expectations.

Camp's self-control and self-discipline are indeed a problem, but this problem will not surface until he has fully established himself in New York.

Moreover, in such a crazy involution environment like the Knicks, it's hard to say whether he will have enough energy to spend time off the court by then.

Maybe he will grow into a new version of Rain Man who is completely unknown to Louis around a group of extremely professional teammates.

So, what is his ultimate significance to the Knicks?

Louis' answer is that his arrival has transformed the Knicks into a "90s" team from beginning to end.

Because of the appropriate tactics and lineup, coupled with Louis' utilization of the team's potential and good chemical reactions, the Knicks, who should have reached their peak in the 1990s, became champions in the late 1980s.

But that's not their upper limit.

They haven't reached their best yet. Judging from their age, the early to mid-1990s were the Knicks' peak.

There are many teams in history that have not reached their peak. The Knicks' gluttony was suppressed by Ewing, Wilson and Lewy.

But it will happen sooner or later. In a highly commercialized league, having a completely selfless team is a pipe dream.

And this is the meaning of Kemp. If he can reach a height that even Louis has never seen, if he doesn't have those bad habits, if he successfully succeeds McHale, maybe the entire 1990s will be dominated by the Knicks.

The Knicks' intense intra-team competition doesn't come without a price.

This intensity cannot last long.

But everyone has become accustomed to this kind of competition, and it is almost impossible for them to stop.

The day before media day, Patrick Ewing injured his foot during a scrimmage game.

After examination, it was found that there were two main problems, knee soreness and thigh sprain.

The latter is not a big problem, the former is worrying.

Ewing is out indefinitely because of this. He will not be absent for a long time, but as for when he will return, it depends on when the soreness in his knee subsides.

Regarding Ewing's injury, Reid complained: "Just look at the Knicks' intra-squad games and you will know. To be honest, with this intensity, injuries will occur sooner or later, but it is this intensity of confrontation that makes the Knicks

Full of advantages against other teams, they are not afraid to increase the intensity of the game because many high-intensity games are not as intense as their intra-squad games."

Camp also received a lot of attention.

The Knicks selected him with the 14th overall pick in the first round this year. If this decision was not made by Louis, he would have been spit out by the mean New York media.

Because of Louis, no one dared to ask questions.

In New York, when it comes to professional basketball, Louis is the first to be mentioned, followed by Ewing and Wilson.

Everyone knows the Knicks wouldn't be where they are today without Louis.

His draft shooting percentage was 100%. Even if there was a big problem with this selection, no one dared to say anything.

Even if Kemp is really in trouble, no one will criticize him.

Louis has become something that can only be praised in New York.

However, his attitude towards the New York media is another story.

"Stop asking Patrick and Pinxiao, I'm tired of hearing that." Louis said impatiently, "Can you try something new?"

"Can you, can you?" New York reporters asked like a dog, "Coach Lu, you can talk to anyone you want!"

⑴McHale was a vegetarian before he entered the league. I seem to have forgotten to mention this before.