Champion Rules

Chapter 87, Episode 083: Being a Karl Malone Isn't So Bad (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

Miami fans are already celebrating.

They believe Pat Riley made a pretty good deal.

They traded Eddie Jones and a second-round draft pick for last season's second and third leading scorers from the Celtics.

Fans of this era know very little about advanced statistics, so the numbers in the scoreboard shine like gold on their retinas.

Last season, Walker and Davis both averaged 16 points per game and, together with Pierce, dragged the Celtics into the playoffs.

This makes fans believe that their arrival will definitely take the team to the next level.

Eddie Jones, who was sent to the Big Apple, was now seen by Miami residents as a ticking time bomb about to explode.

"Let that idiot who's got $1458 million but only knows how to trash talk to sharks go and corrupt Madison Square Garden with his overpaid contract!" That's how the Miami Herald commented the following day.

New York fans reacted lukewarmly to the trade; Eddie Jones wasn't a big enough threat, but the Knicks didn't give up too much either.

Having an experienced shooting guard is better than doing nothing.

Of course, Sam Presti's reinforcements don't stop there.

After acquiring Eddie Jones in the trade, Presti initially withstood pressure and rejected owner James Dolan's offer to sign former All-Star forward Shareef Abdul-Rahim.

"We can't sign someone who's completely incompatible with the team's style!"

Shareef Abdul-Rahim's basic stats look pretty good; he averaged 16+8 per game for the Trail Blazers last season.

But he couldn't actually make a positive contribution on the court; his defense was terrible.

Lynch didn't know beforehand that James Dolan, that idiot, would interfere with the team's signings, but thankfully, Sam Presti had his own ideas and wasn't easily swayed by the owner.

Afterwards, Lynch called Dolan: "Let's just let Sam do his own thing, OK?"

James Dolan was somewhat dissatisfied with the attitude of Lynch and Sam Presti, yet as the team's owner, he had become the one with the least say.

But it doesn't matter; he only cares about the result.

If Lynch and Presti fail to take the Knicks any further, he will reclaim his rights.

After decisively rejecting the owner's interference, Presti quickly completed another key trade that greatly improved the New York Knicks' team image for the next season.

He traded David Lee, whom he selected in this year's draft, along with Jerome Williams, who had a one-year contract, to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Sam Cassell and a 2009 first-round draft pick.

Stephen A. Smith joked, "A team that has both Lynch and Sam Cassell will give New York female fans the experience of the most intense desire and the greatest physical discomfort in one night. It's an extreme experience of both fire and ice."

The most ingenious part of this trade is that the team not only acquired Cassell, but also a first-round draft pick.

Timberwolves general manager Kevin McHale does not consider Sam Cassell, who was plagued by injuries last season and is already 36 years old, to be a valuable asset. He just wants to get rid of Sam Cassell's contract as soon as possible.

The alien's contract, which runs until 2008 and pays him $600 million a year, is unacceptable to the Timberwolves, who have already begun rebuilding.

Therefore, he believes he needs to include a first-round pick in order to sell Kassel.

Kevin McHale originally wanted to give the 2012 first round, but Presti felt that was too far away.

By then, the Timberwolves might have recovered, and their first-round pick wouldn't be worth much anymore.

After discussions, the Timberwolves ultimately traded their 2009 first-round pick.

Sam Presti explained the trade to Lynch: "Sam is old, but with his style of play, his positive impact on the game can last until he's 40! He's an underrated player, and he'll bring you closer to a championship."

Lynch had no doubt about this. In the original history, Sam Cassell won a championship with the Celtics when he was 39 years old. In Paul Pierce's words, "In that team, I felt that KG, Sam, and I were the Big Three."

This expresses dissatisfaction with Ray Allen on the one hand, and affirmation of Sam Cassell on the other.

His team spirit, his diligent defense, his tactical execution, and his ability to integrate the locker room are all qualities that cannot be reflected in statistics.

Like most great point guards, Sam Cassell cannot create brilliance on his own, but in the right team, he can greatly enhance the team's strength.

At least next season, the Knicks won't have to rely solely on Jamal Crawford's isolation plays during transition periods.

Finally, Sam Presti signed second-round pick Amir Johnson, whose addition bolstered the Knicks' interior depth.

With this, the Knicks have temporarily completed their summer roster improvements by acquiring three players and a draft pick.

With his salary cap completely locked up, Presti made three precise signings and secured a first-round pick in 2009, a move hailed by the New York Post as "a decent waltz despite being in shackles."

However, the doubts have never disappeared from Madison Square Garden.

David McMenamin joked, "Eddie Jones and Sam Cassell are already 68 years old combined. Compared to the Cavaliers signing Larry Hughes, who is in his prime, the Knicks are more like assembling a championship engine with parts from an old car. They might just blow up halfway through the season."

Charles Barkley also discussed this topic on TNT.

"Some veterans can perform well in the right team, while some stars in their prime may perform poorly in the wrong team. The composition of a team's fighting power is complex, and it is closely related to the team's leader, the team's style, and the locker room culture. Let's wait and see."
-
The summer sun in Salt Lake City scorched the dome of the training facility. Lynch tilted his head back and gulped down the last mouthful of electrolyte drink, letting sweat drip down his sharply defined jawline.

The New York Knicks are temporarily stagnant in the transfer market, while Lynch continues to refine his never-traveling back-to-the-basket offense.

The problem that Lynch exposed in last season's playoffs is the same embarrassing one that KG, Anthony Davis, and others have: they don't have a way to break through the defense on the offensive end.

The best way to solve this problem right now is to improve low-post one-on-one skills.

So he found a dream and honed his low-post footwork relentlessly.

He practices diligently every day, hoping to fully unlock the shark's hook hand talent.

In addition, Lynch worked so hard because of the new tasks he received during the offseason.

Last season you were just one step away from the championship. Although you're already a 33-year-old veteran, you can't afford to be complacent when it comes to honors!

[Goal: To embark on a personal training camp lasting at least one and a half months during the off-season, with no less than 25 hours of training per week, and to strive to hone my skills!]

[Reward: 200 talent points.]

If you train five days a week, you need to train five hours a day and persist for a month and a half to meet the mission requirements.

This is extremely difficult for any veteran in their 30s.

You can't expect everyone to be like MJ and Kobe.

But Lynch has the steely build of AC Green, and he's actually still quite young, so completing this training program isn't particularly difficult.

So, Lynch came here.

His choice of this Mormon holy city as the location for the training camp was no accident—the city, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, acts as a natural barrier, isolating the glitz and glamour of Manhattan from the east of the Rocky Mountains.

He trains five days a week and spends the other two days flying to attend various business events.

He also brought Trevor Ariza and Teodosic along – the latter needs proper rehabilitation training to prepare for his comeback after suffering a serious injury.

One day after training, as Lynch approached with the refreshing scent of a shower, Teodosic stood on the ground like a statue, his gray-blue pupils reflecting the empty basketball hoop.

Lynch tossed the basketball to his feet, the dull thud of leather against wood grain breaking the stillness of time.

Teodosic seemed startled, and his body trembled.

"You should have listened to me and not fucking played with an injury." Lin Qi walked up and handed him a bottle of drink.

The gruesome scar on Teodosic's left knee not only tore his cruciate ligament but also shattered his former glory as the "European Magician."

A serious injury destroyed his draft prospects, and the countless times the two had imagined continuing to work together in the NBA became increasingly shattered.

Theo's knee injury didn't appear suddenly; he had been feeling discomfort in his knee before last season's playoffs.

Lynch told him on the phone to rest and recover from his injury, but he clearly didn't listen.

"No one can predict the future, Lynch."

"Don't renew your contract with any team after your three-year contract with Olympiacos ends. Come to the NBA. I know you've earned a lot in Europe, but the NBA has the greatest commercial value. The endorsement fees for NBA players and European league players are on completely different levels. You clearly have the ability, be confident."

Theo didn't speak; he didn't know when he had become so timid.

His season at Real Madrid marked the beginning of a brilliant chapter in his career, but it also made him realize the gap between himself and truly top players.

He didn't want to go to the NBA as a substitute with less than 10 minutes of playing time per game, and then slink back home in disgrace.

“Theo, are you listening?” Seeing that Theo Dosic didn’t speak, Lynch waved his hand in front of his empty eyes. “We’ll see,” Theo shrugged. “I’m not like you, you wouldn’t understand.”

"What if my team needs you?"

Theo didn't speak again, and the conversation fell silent.

The two, who had been inseparable in Serbia and Spain, fell into an awkward silence.

Time may heal hatred, but won't it also erode friendship?

Lynch didn't know.

Because neither of them has ever experienced the true weight of time.
-
The training camp proceeded smoothly, with Hakeem Olajuwon giving Lynch no secrets.

He knew that this exceptionally talented giant would make his training camp famous.

Hakeem Olajuwon vowed that although Lynch was already a top superstar in the league last season, he was still a gold mine waiting to be tapped.

His understanding of low footwork is unparalleled; the coordination of his steps is as if divinely orchestrated. Many people, when first practicing low footwork, may not even be able to distinguish their pivot foot, leading to clumsy walking or awkward movements.

But Lynch has absolutely no problem with that.

His potential is enormous.

However, Lynch is not perfect either. The biggest limitation to his low-post offense is his turnaround jump shot.

Low-post offense is a set of techniques that form a one-on-one style. Without a turnaround jump shot, back-to-the-basket moves are like a knife without a sharp edge; no matter how exquisite your footwork is, you can't shake off your opponent.

Lynch currently only has a back-turn drive and a hook shot, but this is far from enough for him to develop a top-tier back-to-the-basket offense.

Korver's shooting talent gave Lynch an excellent spot-up jump shot percentage, but his fadeaway jump shot in motion always fell just short. In this aspect, Korver's talent clearly couldn't help him.

Lynch is aware of his current weaknesses, so he works very hard every day.

Hakeem Olajuwon also comforted Lin Qi: "A top-level turnaround jump shot is not a technique that can be easily mastered. Do you think MJ's fadeaway jump shot was innate? No, even he spent many years figuring it out. A sharp blade needs to be tempered by failure. If you can master this move to the top level within three years, you'll be considered exceptionally talented."

Lin Qi was not in a hurry; he knew that becoming stronger was a long process.

However, it seems that fate is chasing after him to make him stronger.

At the end of July, Lynch got the chance to refresh the talent shop.

This will determine what items he can buy with the 200 talent points he receives after completing the mission.

After refreshing, Lin Qi scanned the area from top to bottom.

Then he stared at the second item and swallowed hard.

[Raise the turnaround jump shot ceiling to Shawn Livingston level. Price: 200 Talent Points.]

For the first time, Lin Qi experienced what it felt like to be fed by God.

When people mention Sean Livingston, they think of the genius who suffered a horrific leg amputation. His injury was just as terrifying as Paul George's, who had his bones exposed.

But its severity is even more terrifying than George's.

His kneecap was completely dislocated, three of the four main ligaments in his knee were torn, the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and the medial collateral ligament were all torn, and both menisci were also twisted and deformed.

At the time, he even faced the risk of amputation.

So, even though he didn't become a star player, it was already a miracle that he was able to return to the NBA and play in the rotation on a championship team.

肖恩.利文斯顿在勇士时期练出了极其高效的翻身跳投，13-14赛季他背身单打每回合可得1.18分，比联盟98%的球员的要好。15-16赛季背身单打每回合1.0分，比联盟88%的球员要好。

His back-to-the-basket moves are few and far between; it's almost always a simple back-to-the-basket pull-up jumper after a confrontation. It's straightforward, direct, and extremely efficient.

If his turnaround jump shot is combined with Lynch's footwork, he should be able to achieve even better results.

Lynch has almost secured this product, and it will be his main skill to practice this season.

With this approach, Lynch's post-up game combined with Mark Jackson's passing creates a multi-dimensional offensive threat that is the ultimate answer to breaking down the Pistons' defensive wall in the playoffs next season.

Lynch continued training without slacking off.

His mind kept replaying Carmelo Anthony's declaration.

"Detroit, prepare to establish a dynasty!"

No, you are not ready.
-
Inside the Gulfstream G200 cabin in the sweltering summer of 2005, even the cool air conditioning couldn't dispel the brooding tension etched on LeBron James's face.

He decided to change his agent this summer in an attempt to reverse his initial high-flying but subsequent decline in business performance.

The harsh reality is that even though Lynch didn't participate in many business activities this summer, his business achievements have already far surpassed his previous ones.

The chosen one who signed a record-breaking contract with Nike in 2003 can't help but feel anxious about this high start followed by a decline.

Fortunately, the Cavaliers are back on track.

After new owner Daniel Gilbert took over the team, he finally made some constructive changes.

He brought in Danny Ferry as general manager, and the new general manager then signed coach Mike Brown and Larry Hughes, who was considered a potential "Pippen".

For James, the probability of making the playoffs next season has greatly increased.

However, the latest Sports Illustrated interview has caused James to panic.

This issue of Sports Illustrated features Lynch and Hakeem Olajuwon on the cover, with the headline: When Classic Techniques Are Infused into Modern Beasts.

The text states that Lynch has been secretly training at Hakeem Olajuwon's training camp for a month and a half.

In Hakeem Olajuwon's words, "Linche's low-post game is on a completely different level compared to last season."

If Lynch had a consistent post-up threat, the outcome of this year's Eastern Conference Finals might have been very different.

Carmelo Anthony's success has already stung LeBron James, and if Lynch really does it next season...
His close friend Rich Paul promptly offered him a chilled lemonade, easing his anxiety: "LeBron, why don't you go to this training camp too? Should we contact Hakeem Olajuwon?"

As a partner who had followed him since Akron, he knew all too well the undercurrents beneath the calm exterior of the boy before him.

The jealousy ignited by Anthony and the sense of crisis triggered by Lynch's continuous evolution are gnawing at the proud soul of this self-proclaimed chosen one.

"Do you think this is useful? I never believe that talent is something that can be taught; some things are gifts that God puts in the cradle," James replied.

“What if it works? Hakim charges so much, there must be a reason for it.”

"We'll see how Lynch performs next season and see if he's any good. If he can learn from this, why can't I?"

LeBron James said confidently as he threw the magazine away.
-
Lynch trained intensively all summer, and I don't think he did it just to beat the Pistons. Listen, the Knicks' goal next season is the championship! —The New York Times

I'm ready. I'm ready to help Lynch achieve greatness. In Miami, I followed a spoiled brat who only knew how to blame his teammates for failure. Now, I'm following a true general! — Eddie Jones in an interview with ESPN.

"Lynch is fantastic. I see endless potential in him. Hey, we're talking about a monster who's already a two-time All-NBA First Team selection. Just watch, his low-post offense will destroy every team's half-court defense." —Hakeem Olajuwon on Lynch.

Sam Cassell has decided to wear number 28 for the new season, and I bet it will be the Knicks' worst-selling number next season. —Stephen A. Smith

"Cameron, was the summer of two consecutive championships wonderful?"

"It's amazing! It feels wonderful to be pampered by the world. But we all know that this is not the best summer yet."

"If you establish a dynasty in the NBA within the first three years of your career, would you retire? Because your achievements will surpass 99% of the players."

"No, my goal is to surpass Michael Jordan. My journey has only just begun. I wear Air Jordans, I'm following in MJ's footsteps, and that makes perfect sense."

"Who is your biggest threat next season?"

"There is no biggest threat; we are confident."

"Isn't Lynch a huge threat?"

“I like Lynch, I like hanging out with him, and I know he’s been torturing himself all summer. But man, don’t waste your energy, being a Karl Malone isn’t so bad.”

— Carmelo Anthony in an exclusive interview with TNT.

(End of this chapter)