"Jeff, where's the little guy? I want to invite him over for dinner."
Early in the morning, Patrick Ewing, the core of the Knicks team, who lived near Flushing, Queens, called the head coach, Van Gundy's office, and pulled the latter back from the bad news of the team's trade.
"I heard that he's been training in seclusion in the dojo. We're not sure.”Van Gundy pushed the trade list aside and focused on the phone.
"Wow, our little guy is so hardworking.”You Yin praised sincerely.
"Yes, he started training when he came back from the summer league. uh... He's probably the most hardworking rookie I've ever seen.”When Van Gundy thought of Yang Ming, who had scored 101 points in a single game in the summer league, a smile appeared on his face.
Van Gundy had nothing to say about Yang Ming's talent and offensive ability, but he had to pick a fault, and that was his defense.
In the four games of the summer league, although Yang Ming scored high points in the second half, his opponents also got a lot of points from him. Four matches, four opponents, an average of 20 points.
If he had not been overshadowed by his shocking high score performance, he might not have been faced with one-sided praise.
Van Gundy, who was taught by pat Riley, liked to study defense. He lacked offensive tactics. Compared to offensive players, he preferred tough defensive blue-collar players.
For example, they were about to make an offer to the Charlotte Hornets for their aunt, Larry John.
Last season, she could average 20.5 points, 8.4 rebounding, and 4.4 assists per game. Although the data was not as good as the second season, Van Gundy still liked defense.
The only thing that gave him a headache was that the auntie wasn't tall. She was only 198cm tall, the same height as his favorite rookie, Yang Ming.
However, he was tough defensively, good at hand-to-hand combat in the paint, and a good rebounder. Last season, he even grabbed an average of 3.1 offensive rebound per game.
Van Gundy naturally wanted to trade such a tough and excellent offensive forward.
Especially after missing Jordan and the best period of free agency, the auntie was the best supplement for the Knicks.
As for Yang Ming's weak defense, he believed that as long as he was taught, he would become a convincing defensive ability in the future.
"That's a pity. I wanted to get to know this interesting little guy face to face immediately.”
As the leader of the team, it was necessary to build a good relationship with the newcomers at the first opportunity.
After Ewing knew that the team had signed the amazing kid who could score 101 points in a single game in the summer league, he wanted to meet him in person.
"Maybe I can pull him out of the training center.”
Van Gundy was very supportive of Ewing's approach. If Yang Ming wanted to quickly gain a foothold in the New York Knicks, it was best to make friends with Ewing.
Ever since Ewing joined the New York Knicks as the top draft pick in the 1985 season, he had been a mainstay of the team and a defensive powerhouse in the paint. When Jordan established his dynasty, he had always been the most advantageous challenger to the Bulls.
However, the team's overall strength was not good enough, and they had not been able to get an advantage over the Bulls.
"Forget it, Jeff. Let's wait until he comes out of seclusion. I don't want to disturb his fun.”
Ewing refused. After chatting with Van Gundy for a while, he hung up the phone.
How could it possibly disturb the mood?
Van Gundy smiled silently.
The pillar of their team didn't live far away. It was at the junction of Queens and Brooks, facing Long Island Sound, which was known as the Gold Coast. Driving on the highway, it took less than half an hour to reach Manhattan. It took less than 45 minutes to reach the Garden.
It was not far from Manhattan and was a tourist resort. He believed that Yang Ming would like it there.
At noon the next day, the New York Knicks announced that the management would swap the 2.01-meter forward, Anthony Mason Jr., with Larry John.
Mason was a rookie selected by the Blazers in the summer of 1988. He was the core of the Knicks 'defense in the 93/94 season. Last season, he was able to average 14.6 points, 9.3 rebounding, and 4.4 assists per game. His field goal percentage was 42.2%.
After handing over this chip, the middle-aged woman in exchange had a better accuracy rate of 46.7%, but she had a certain three-point shooting ability.
Their defensive abilities were actually similar, but compared to Mason, Aunty's technical characteristics were more delicate and she was better at attacking.
Starting from the time of pat Riley, after several consecutive seasons of failure, the management had no choice but to consider breaking up the original finals lineup. And this trade was a painful experience, especially when they signed the super rookie Yang Ming. They needed to break up the original formation structure and re-adapt.
Since they were all new players, he might as well add more points.
As for the new star of the detroit-based pistons, Alan Houston, the Knicks chose to give up on pursuing him in order to cultivate Yang Ming and avoid a conflict between the two positions.
Houston was a free agent this summer. He had made significant progress in the past three seasons since he was selected by the Raptors in 1993 as the No. 11 draft pick in the first round. He had become a star player that could not be underestimated.
Last season, he scored an average of 19.7 points, 3.7 rebounding, and 3.0 assists per game. He could also make 2.3 three-pointers per game, and his field goal percentage was 45% 42%. His statistics were quite impressive.
If Yang Ming hadn't appeared, he would have been a good candidate to replace Jordan.
Unfortunately, because of Yang Ming, he missed the match with the Knicks. This was quite hurtful for the defectors who shouted last season that they would not marry anyone but the Knicks and did not hesitate to break with the management.
Just as the Knicks completed the deal between Mason and the middle-aged woman, a figure appeared at the entrance of the Knicks training center. This person wanted to enter the training hall but was unable to do so. He had an argument with the security guard guarding the door.
"Leave this place. Even if you're this year's top scorer, we can't just let you in.”The security guard scolded Iverson.
"Hey, brother, I just want to go in and talk to your player, Young, can't I?”Iverson was very unhappy. However, the two security guards were both big and burly. He felt that he couldn't beat them, so he could only shout unhappily.
The security guard hesitated and said,"But Young has already said that apart from our Knicks, no one can enter. It's not easy for me to do it.”
Iverson was speechless. He didn't expect to be played with after driving for a few hours to find Yang Ming.
He had always been the only one who acted like a big shot. Who else could it be?
But today, he encountered a ghost.
"How about this? You guys go in and inform him. I'll look for him.”Although Iverson was unhappy, he still chose to take a step back.
The security guard sized up Iverson from head to toe. He looked at the rookie who was dressed avant-garde and had a big gold chain around his neck. He did not understand why he had come to Yang Ming before the new season had even started.
Could it be that these two were good brothers?
He hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he asked Iverson to wait for a moment before he turned around and walked into the training hall.
Thank you to the brothers who have already supported us!）
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]