Chapter 366 New Season Lineup

At 11 pm on the th, the Knicks and the Lakers arrived in Yanjing on a special plane.

The Knicks are led by Ewing, and Rick Carlisle did not come this time.

But Phil Jackson came this time specifically for Yao Ming.

Lin Xue went to the airport to pick them up, He Zhongqiu didn't go, but Dayao did.

When Loshua Daley saw Lin Xue at the hotel on the Knicks' special plane, he smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Lin, you guys made a lot of money this time. Next year, we will take at least 4% of the profits."

Lin Xue said with a smile: "Mr. Daley, the sales of your peripheral products in China will definitely increase dramatically. This is your main source of income."

Daly shrugged helplessly, and David Stern told him that this is how he should conduct the competition in China. It was a little benefit for Wolverine, and he would probably have to continue doing so in the future.

Besides, even if the league could take half of the profits, it would only be a few million dollars, which would be nothing to Wolverine.

"Mr. Lin, where is Wolverine? I want to see him and communicate with him about the regular season." he asked.

"The boss is still in training and will go to the hotel at dinner time." Lin Xue said with a smile.

"OK." Daley nodded.

On the other side, Dayao joined the Lakers.

"Coach Jackson, welcome to Yanjing." Yao Ming greeted Phil Jackson first.

"I'm very happy to come to Yanjing, and welcome you to join the Lakers." Phil Jackson said with a smile.

"Yao, welcome to the Lakers."

"Kobe, I hope I can help you in the Lakers."

Kobe seemed very excited. The two had talked on the phone before. Yao Min would definitely not compete with him for the position of boss. He really liked such a capable partner.

Yao Min has successfully lost weight and currently weighs 135 kilograms. His playing style has also changed, with his position biased towards the outside, which is why he had a falling out with the Rockets.

But in the Lakers, in Phil Jackson's triangle offense, it didn't matter much.

Although Yao Ming cannot replace the original Shaq in the low post, Yao Ming's low post skills are very good. His current position is outside, which does not mean that he cannot play in the low post, but just reduces some of his low post shots.

Phil Jackson has designed some tactics for Yao Ming under the triangle offense system, which are enough to bring out his technical strengths.

"Yao, is Wolverine really practicing track and field?" Kobe asked curiously.

When he asked this question, a group of Knicks players came over.

Yao Ming nodded and said, "He has been practicing track and field during this offseason. He must be training at this time."

"This guy is incredible." Kobe muttered.

"Who said it wasn't?" Dayao said.

Mourning in the crowd was a little worried. He rejected Pat Riley and the Heat's attempts to retain him and chose to join the arch-rival Knicks with only one goal: to win the championship.

Joining the Knicks with a minimum salary was actually a bit of a loss of character, and was ridiculed by some fans. Now that the Wolverines are distracted by track and field, there will be no problem defending the title in the new season, right?
Moreover, this is the fourth consecutive championship. In the history of the league, including the ancient times, only the Celtics in The Lord of the Rings have accomplished it. How difficult is it? Do the Knicks have any hope?
In the evening, He Zhongqiu arrived at the hotel where the Knicks and Lakers were staying.

He first met with Loshua Daley, and the two talked about the China regular season.

Daley said, "Wolverine, what time do you think is best? The president's suggestion is to arrange the Knicks and Lakers to play two games, each of which counts as a home game.

With Yao, the Lakers' strength must be greatly increased. They have the ability to challenge for the championship. With the gimmick of the China Derby, the game will definitely be very attractive.

As for income, Mr. Stern has explained that your company has the final say, and this is a token of the league's sincerity to you."

"Thank you!"

He Zhongqiu felt that it was indeed a bit of sincerity. It was just two regular season games. How much benefit could it generate?
But sincerity is sincerity, and he was still very happy. After thinking for a while, he said, "I hope to schedule the competition in March."

"March 07? OK." Loshua Daley nodded.

He Zhongqiu explained: "My girlfriend Yang Xue's due date is March 3th, and I hope to be with her during those days."

"Oh, God, this is great news, congratulations, Wolverine." Loshua Daley said happily.

"Thank you!" He Zhongqiu said with a smile.

"Then arrange the schedule well, arrange the first half of the schedule more tightly, and leave you a few more days during that period," said Daley.

"That's great." He Zhongqiu nodded.

Loshua Daley reminded again: "Wolverine, you are facing four consecutive championships in the new season. The league will certainly not create difficulties, but you must also be mentally prepared. The team's aggressiveness is a big problem."

"I know."

This issue, Scott Layden talked to him about, is indeed important.

Including Nash, the team's important lineup has not changed much, but they have won three consecutive championships. Can his teammates still maintain their desire for the championship?
In fact, after three consecutive championships, in order to maintain the team's aggressiveness, the management should have introduced a large number of new players, but Scott Layden did not do so this time.

The main consideration is that the current lineup is very stable and the important players have not yet reached their contract years, so it would be a pity to trade them away.

Moreover, with large-scale trades, it is difficult to rebuild a new championship-level team in one offseason. It is too difficult and we can only take it slowly.

It’s actually not a bad thing that Varejao left this time. The safest way is to slowly replace the old players with new ones.

In addition, Scott Layden had agreed with him that if any players were found to be slacking off before the All-Star Game, there would be a chance to trade them.

Chatted with Daly for a while and went to have dinner together.

When we arrived at the hotel restaurant, the Knicks and Lakers players and staff were already there. There were four large tables for 24 people, two tables for each team.

Yao Ming was also on the Lakers side and stood up when he saw him.

"Hey, hello, welcome to Yanjing." He Zhongqiu greeted them after entering the restaurant.

"Hey, King He."

"Hey, Super Wolverine."

"Hey, boss."

Players from both teams stood up and greeted each other.

He Zhongqiu noticed that several people called him by the nickname He Tianwang, which shows that the influence of comics is indeed great.

He first went to the Lakers to say hello, and specifically said to Phil Jackson: "Coach Philson, Yao Ming said he has practiced three-point shooting, you must make good use of it."

"Really?" Phil Jackson was stunned. He had just settled in the hotel and hadn't had a good chat with Yao Ming yet. He didn't know that Yao Ming had developed the three-point shot.

If it is true, then the tactics that can be played will be richer, low post, high post, three-point tactics, the Lakers' tactics will be more flexible.

"Dayao?" He Zhongqiu looked at Yao Min.

Yao Min hurriedly said, "Coach, I'm still practicing three-pointers. I used to be able to shoot them, but I stopped practicing after I gained weight. It will take time to get back to it now."

"I trust your shooting touch."

Phil Jackson may doubt Yao Min's ability to compete after losing weight, but he will never doubt his shooting touch, because Yao Min and He Zhongqiu's free throws are among the best in the league.

When He Zhongqiu came to the Knicks again, he shook hands with Mourning and said, "Alonzo, welcome to the Knicks."

"Thank you! I am honored to join a dynasty team." Mourning said very politely.

"The Knicks will not let you down. I hope you are still that iron man," said He Zhongqiu.

"Sure." Mo Ning nodded heavily.

There are not many new players, one is Paul Millsap, a late first-round pick, and the other is Ariza, a swingman found in the free market.

He shook hands with the two and gave them a few words of encouragement. The two were so excited and nervous that they couldn't even utter a complete sentence.

Some waiters who were serving the dishes became very excited when He Zhongqiu came in. They had a strange feeling when they saw that all the foreigners were very respectful to He Zhongqiu.

The foreigners who usually dine in the hotel are always condescending to the Chinese and are very arrogant to them.

But now, all these foreigners lowered their heads in front of He Zhongqiu and didn’t even dare to talk to him, as if they were being received by a big leader.

He Zhongqiu greeted other teammates one by one and sat next to Ewing.

Ewing is living a very happy life now. He didn’t win any championship when he was a player, but he won three consecutive championships as an assistant coach.

He handed He Zhongqiu a list of players. Although everyone was here, it would be more intuitive to write it on paper.

Starting lineup: He Zhongqiu (4, 5), David Lee (4), Shane Battier (3), Josh Howard (3, 2), Nash (1)

Center substitutes: Alonzo Mourning (4, 5), Paul Millsap (4), Michael Ruffin (4, 5)

Outside substitutes: Raja Bell (3, 2), Ariza (3, 2), Jamal Crawford (1, 2), Tyronn Lue (1)

While He Zhongqiu was watching, Ewing introduced: “David Lee is the main power forward for the time being, and Scott can’t find anyone better.

Paul Millsap is good at rebounding and defense, and his offense is mainly under the basket and on second offense, similar to Varejao.

Ariza has very good physical fitness, good explosive power, good arm length, and is good at breaking through to score, but his shooting is very unstable and his ability to score from the outside is not strong at present.

In addition, his gambling-style steals easily lead to him losing his position, and his defensive efficiency is average, but his defensive awareness is still good, and he needs to hone it.”

He Zhongqiu considered, "Then let them focus on defense and rebounding."

Mo Ning felt a little pressured when he heard this.

According to his understanding of the team, David Lee is also good at rebounding in the interior. Now that the rookie Millsap is good at rebounding and defense, his importance will be reduced, which will affect his playing time.

Ewing nodded and said, "Rick thinks so too. Do the dirty work. That's what Varejao does on the team."

He Zhongqiu smiled. He was very happy that Varejao could get a big contract with the Cavaliers, and he was not angry because Varejao did not stay.

For blue-collar players, making money is the biggest goal. Honor is not very important to them. The best thing is to get some honors in addition to making money.

He said to Ariza and Millsap: "Your position is defense and rebounding, which are dirty and tiring work, but look at Varejao, so don't underestimate these jobs, you can still get big contracts in the future."

"Yes, Boss." The two of them were cheered up and replied quickly.

Battier said enviously: "Anderson is really lucky. The Cavaliers are eager to strengthen their inside strength, and he actually got an annual salary of tens of millions."

As a top 3D blue-collar player, his current annual salary is only four or five million, but Varejao is an inside player, so it is normal for his contract to be bigger than his.

Josh Howard also said with envy: "Because of the existence of the boss, now even if he is a meat shield in the interior, he can get a contract with an annual salary of several million."

Ewing nodded and said, "The inside players now are more valuable than they were during the peak years of the Sharks, so it is difficult for us to strengthen our inside players."

Nash said: "The most valuable ones are those who have strength, speed, and defensive rebounding. They can defend Wolverine in positional battles and defend him in fast breaks. They can easily earn tens of millions of dollars a year."

He Zhongqiu waved his hand and said, "Guys, let me say this: my goal for the new season is still to win consecutive championships, which is also the goal of the team."

At this point, he looked at all the Knicks players and said in front of the Lakers:
"Except for Alonzo and the other two, everyone else is an old friend. They have all won championships, some even two or three. Now they may not have much desire for championships."

When he said this, Mourning couldn't help but smile bitterly. It was a pity that he had played for more than ten years and didn't win a single championship, while these players who followed the Wolverines could easily win two or three championships. This was their fate!
"So I'm going to say this up front. If anyone wants to slack off in the new season and not work hard, they can apply for a trade now."

At this point, he swept his eyes around with great sharpness, then stopped at Nash's face and asked, "Steve, what's your attitude?"

"It starts with me again. In your Chinese language, this is called killing the chicken to scare the monkey, right?"

Nash muttered to himself, then immediately stood up and said loudly: "Don't worry, Wolverine, I promise I will do my best."

"Well, Steve is good." He Zhongqiu praised.

Next, the same routine as last year followed, with old players standing up one after another and making public statements.

No one dares not to express their opinion. Those who do not express their opinion, or those who are not active in expressing their opinion, will have only one outcome: they will be immediately traded by the management.

Everyone's contract has not been completed yet, and they won't get a big contract if they are traded now. It will be even worse if they are not traded, and they may even be thrown to a second-tier team.

If they stayed with the Knicks and won one or two more championships, their value would be even higher, so under the high pressure from He Zhongqiu, they all stood up and expressed their opinions.

Mourning also followed suit. He was the one who most wanted the Knicks to win consecutive championships, so his attitude was the most positive, even more positive than Nash.

Millsap and Ariza also have a very positive attitude. Varejao is their role model. After playing for the Knicks for two years, he got a big contract with an annual salary of tens of millions as a blue-collar player. They also want such a future in the future.

The Lakers team watched from top to bottom and was shocked.

Kobe was even more shocked. Compared with the iron-clad Knicks, the Lakers during his and O'Neal's era were just scum. People's hearts were broken into pieces and could not be put back together.

When Phil Jackson saw all this, he couldn't help but compare the differences between He Zhongqiu and Jordan.

Both of them possess strong leadership, but it seems that He Zhongqiu's leadership is stronger because the Bulls locker room at that time was very divided even with Jordan's pressure.

Moreover, the Wolverines and the management are also united. Back then, Jordan and the Bulls general manager were sworn enemies and publicly called the other a fat pig.

"A team like this, with a strong guy like Wolverine, is really hard to beat!" He couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

(End of this chapter)