The rest is just noise

"Come on, Patrick, there are still 10 laps to go."

On the second day of training camp, the Giant Shoulders came back with a win.

This time, it was the Jamaican team's turn to run the lap.

The Jamaican team also has some guys who rely on their old skills and sell off their old skills.

Danny Ainge also complained that he was tired, but no one was willing to run circles for him. This made Ainge furious, clamoring for a trade, and threatening Ewing that if he was not traded to the Big Shoulders, he would be fooled on the court.

The Sixth Man of the Year for the Big Shoulders.

Seeing this, Wilson opened up to Ange and said that as long as Ange resolutely carried out his undercover behavior, he would not be punished every time the Jamaican team lost.

This forced Ewing to spend a meal to "buy out" Ainge and let him join the Big Shoulders as a free agent.

Why a buyout rather than a trade? Because the Big Shoulders think it is more beneficial for them to keep Angie in the Jamaican team, so they do not want to trade. Since the other party does not trade, Ewing can only give up Angie and then select Lionel Simmons.

Join the team.

Ainge joining the Big Shoulders also gives the team a serious guard. Although he is not a pure point guard, it is still more comfortable than having Wilson and Reggie Williams act as point forwards all day long.

The competition is the highlight of the training camp.

Every day, the two teams play with sparks.

Player growth can also be seen through high-intensity competition.

Wilson's improvement lies in confrontation, Ewing's improvement in offensive ability, and Rodman's improvement in rebounding and defense have made his playing style close to the standard of the fourth position. It is difficult to see whether Miller's three-pointer has improved or not, and he

His body shape has not changed, but he will usher in a contract year in the new season. Even for next year's new contract, he has to work hard to play.

In addition to these few, there are two other players who have made significant progress.

That is Shawn Kemp and Doug West, who are about to enter their second season.

The most striking feature of star players is that their progress rate is much faster than that of players of the same age.

For example, Karl Malone averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds per game in his rookie season. He averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds per game in his sophomore year. After that, he averaged a superstar level of 27 points and 11 rebounds per game in his third year. He has remained at this level for more than ten years.

In Kemp, there is a similar improvement.

Kemp sometimes didn't even get a chance to play last season.

He seized the few opportunities he had and averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds per game.

This summer, Ewing took him to train. In addition to strengthening his body and losing excess fat, he also refined his techniques. After several months of training with Ewing and Mutombo, he became accustomed to facing high intensity.

Attack under defense.

This is why Ewing asked him to join the Jamaican team. He definitely saw Kemp's potential in those months of training, so he would take the initiative to win over Kemp.

In the training camp, Kemp's burst of energy and his sudden increase in combat effectiveness brought about by his improved game experience and increased confrontation ability shocked everyone.

He has developed a jump shot within the paint area. When attacking with the ball in the low post, he can turn over like Ewing. But what is even more powerful is that he turns around to face the basket and holds the ball to the line to attack. If the defender guards his line, he can turn over like Ewing.

Siakam flexibly uses devastating turns and layups to force points; if the defense is blocked off the line, his explosive power will directly destroy the opponent's defense; if the defender is guarding both up and down the line and uses his body to support his defense, he

He also stole the bunny jump shot from Ewing.

Willis Reed's training on him in his rookie season also began to have an effect.

Kemp has mastered everything a power forward should master. His positioning and screening are full of details, and he dares to fight hard. He helps defend, switches defenses, supplements defense, rotates, and protects the basket. He is also extremely threatening.

He still has many problems, such as lack of anticipation when grabbing rebounds, over-reliance on physical talent, although he can block people, but his skills are not enough, and his defense is fierce. He is modeled after Ewing, so he often controls him like Ewing.

Don't keep track of your own foul count.

As you can see, he has many problems, but they can all be fixed.

What happens once he corrects these problems, overcomes his inner demons, and transforms the accumulation of the first few years of his career into a controllable force?

Couldn't he be like Ralph Sampson in 1984, hiding for four years and then shaking the world when he broke out?

Just like what Louis saw with Kemp in his rookie season.

He has all the assets a perfect power forward should have.

As for whether Kemp could destroy himself in this life due to laziness and dissolute private life as he did in his previous life, Louis was not sure.

Kemp's progress was within the expectations of the coaching staff, while Doug West's progress was unexpected.

Kemp is the team's long-term plan, West is not.

So last season, like Brad Rohaus, he bought a house in the DNP position.

Tomjanovich's training of the wings is amazing. The strong competition within the Knicks team indirectly promoted West's improvement. In addition, with a group of defensive elites as teammates, West was influenced by it and improved quickly.

He is a physically strong man with rough skills. If he is placed on a weak team, he can be a main rotation player. During the counterattack, his impact is astonishingly destructive.

The Knicks have rich experience in developing players of this type.

After West's rookie season, he has made rapid progress on the defensive end.

Judging from the performance in the training camp, there is hope for the new season to leave the DNP local household registration.

Although the competition between Ewing and Wilson split the Knicks into two factions, the competition within the team they brought was better than before.

The penalties for the losing side in a match are also varied.

It used to be just running laps, but later it turned into additional training, sparring, and serving tea and water to treat guests to dinner.

Especially the latter one, Louis admired their creativity in thinking of punishment plans.

Ewing talks about Wilson's salary every day.

Wilson always avoided talking about it because Ewing wasn't the only one jealous of his salary.

Except for Wilson, Ainge and the two new rookies, everyone else still has their old contract.

Moreover, the two rookies were also treated extremely harshly.

The reason is very simple, it is a matter of contract.

Lionel Simmons signed a four-year, $4 million rookie contract, while Elton Campbell signed a four-year, $3 million contract.

You can see it by comparing it with the veteran players.

Stockton signed a four-year, $4 million contract in 1988, Reggie Miller signed a four-year, $4 million rookie contract in 1987, and Rodman signed a five-year, $8 million contract in 1989.

contract

Except for an outlier like Ewing, the other veteran players were stunned when they saw the rookie's contract.

This is the contradiction that will arise after the salary cap skyrockets.

The salary cap has increased, and the salary of rookies has also increased. If Louis had not proposed in previous years to include the income from cable broadcast contracts in the salary cap, prompting the players union to agree to launch a standardized rookie contract, the contracts of Simmons and Campbell may have

higher.

But even now, their contracts are almost the same as those of the meritorious players who won the championship with the team.

Old teammates understand that this is a change brought about by the increase in the salary cap, but can they not feel uncomfortable every day when they see a kid who just entered the league earning about the same money as themselves? Therefore, the unwillingness in their hearts will naturally show up.

Wilson is the first person in the Knicks to take advantage of the situation. He never shows off his contract. He knows that this is the elephant in the room. Everyone wants it, but it has to wait until the old contract ends.

Only Ewing dared to express his dissatisfaction openly.

The day before the media day, Louis convened a special training session with the entire team.

"In recent times, I have seen your enthusiasm. I like the confrontation and competitive desire you have shown in the training camp. However, I hope you can understand that some things can be said in the Blue Palace and face to face.

, but when the media’s microphone is pointed at us, you have to estimate how much impact your words will have.”

"Especially some Pepsi spokespersons who like to joke, open their mouths without closing the door, and have minds smaller than a fucking toothpick. Do you hear me clearly?"

Ewing said dissatisfied: "You can just call me by my name!"

"Did I make it so obvious? Why did you admit it to yourself?" Louis can always play dumb.

The next day, there was a media meeting.

Since 1988, the Knicks have been the only professional sports team in New York City that can guarantee victory.

Their popularity is growing day by day, and the media paying attention to them has also greatly increased.

The New York media should be the primary contributor to the Ewing and Wilson matter making such a big splash.

Because of the great Yankees, the New York media always has a perverted mentality toward amplifying the discord within the local sports team and turning it into a legend.

The craze for this phenomenon started during the Bronx Zoo era, when the Yankees had two representatives, namely "Mr. October" Reggie Jackson and the Yankees captain Thurman Munson who died young.

But Jackson and Ewing had the same speaking style, which offended Monson. However, this phenomenon was amplified by the media. Not only did Jackson have a bad relationship with Monson, he also had a bad relationship with everyone. From teammates, to fans, to

The general manager and boss, no one likes him.

The Bronx Zoo era ended with Monson's death in a plane landing accident in 1978.

New Yorkers remember that era, and Jackson became "Mr. October", while the New York media, led by The Times, shamelessly felt that they had contributed to that gorgeous era.

They saw similar entry points in Ewing and Wilson.

So when a Times reporter asked Louie what Wilson's big contract brought with him.

Louis said sarcastically: "He brought a pack of wild dogs that followed him smelling the smell of copper."

With Louis' warning in front of him, no one in the Knicks dared to talk nonsense.

Although Ewing said nothing, if a reporter wanted him to comment on Wilson's new contract, he would always smile enigmatically: "I have nothing to say."