When the rookies of the 1996 class who signed big contracts in August 1999 began to spend money, Lee was ready to buy stocks.
Advance salary is also a hassle.
Although it can be used to buy a house or invest in taxes, it still doesn't save much money in general.
Qualcomm closed at $4.06 in early January 1999, and it is currently soaring as if there is no end.
The same is true for Cisco's stock.
As the world's largest network equipment company, it is also taking off
with the Internet trend at this time!
Microsoft, Intel, Yahoo and other companies' stocks are currently profitable.
Although they are not as huge as Qualcomm's stock, they are also high-quality investment targets.
Lee wanted to sell all his houses at this time, and Ivan, who was watching the stocks every day in Chicago, was so excited that he couldn't sleep recently.
Such a market may never appear again in the future.
While the two were happy, they also had a sense of crisis in their hearts.
They always felt that the current stock market was like a game of passing the parcel.
If they were really cut, they would not have time to cry.
On August 11, the Knicks showed their rich side again, renewing the contract of Ben Wallace, who had a good performance in the finals, for 6 years and 33.9 million US dollars.
"Little Ben" will also have a salary of 4 million US dollars in the new season, which can be regarded as a firm foothold in the NBA.
However, in addition to the New York fans who were satisfied with this signing, most ball critics believed that the Knicks had too much money to burn.
Chris Dudley on the bench hardly got much playing time, but he will also have 7.1 million US dollars next season!
Failed to get rid of this high-paid player at the end of the bench, but instead offered a big contract to the undrafted short inside player.
Many ball critics said that they couldn't understand why Jeff Van Gundy's favorite Charlie Ward had not yet received a contract.
Seeing the treatment of "Little Ben", they also felt jealous for a while.
Without much playing time, the Knicks do not plan to renew the contract with this small guard.
Charlie Ward was very disappointed when he received the notice, and the bald young coach was powerless at this time.
It seems that he felt that he was treated unfairly.
Charlie Ward complained twice in an interview:
"I joined the Knicks in 1994 and I have contributed to the team!"
New York fans did not care about Charlie Ward's voice at all. In the substitute lineup, Chris Childs performed well and his salary for the new season is 4.16 million US dollars.
There is really no need to add a guard.
Of course, there are also media reporters who gossip that the Knicks are undergoing a major purge and Charlie Ward is on the wrong team.
In contrast, Rashard Lewis, who had a brilliant performance in the finals, is likely to get more playing time next season.
Although Jeff Van Gundy does not like Lewis' defense, there are not many big men who can shoot three-pointers in the league.
Lewis' special tactical position finally allowed him to enter the rotation.
He spent every day in the training hall during the offseason.
The New York media also gave high praise to this newcomer during the interview:
"Second-round pick? The underestimated Lewis will prove himself again in the new season!"
Rashard Lewis' salary in the second year is only 390,000 US dollars.
If he can make a name for himself in the new season, the Knicks will not be stingy.
No encouragement is needed, the data is US dollars, and Lewis has almost become the hardest-working player in the offseason.
Kurt Thomas, who also performed well in the finals, will have a salary of 1.93 million US dollars in the new season;
This year's second-round pick rookie big man Todd MacCulloch will also have a salary of 300,000 US dollars as a new member of the atmosphere group.
At present, the total salary of the 13 players in the team has reached the first place in the league:
74.92 million US dollars.
If two more atmosphere groups are added later, the salary will exceed 75 million US dollars!
Considering that the league's salary cap was $34 million in the 1999-2000 season, sports reporters dug out the Knicks' salary, which immediately sparked heated discussions.
The chain reaction that followed was that many small-market teams complained to the league.
The middle-class exception for the new season is $2 million.
Even if the bird rights and this part of the salary are removed, some teams think that the Knicks are a bit too much.
"Spending US dollars to win the championship is not conducive to the development of the league, and it is not in line with the spirit of competitive sports!"
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Many small-market newspapers have expressed their views in recent days, believing that the league should conduct third-party escrow in advance and impose restrictions on large markets.
The Knicks are not the only team in the league that has money.
There have been rumors of trades, and the Trail Blazers are also planning to spend a lot of money to trade Pippen in the new season.
Microsoft's Paul Allen is also not short of money.
For the championship, it is not difficult for him to throw more US dollars.
The Knicks and Trail Blazers took the lead in the charge, and the cost of the championship seems to have been raised.
From August 9 to 13, Lee held a training camp at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York.
The ticket price of $259 is not expensive.
As one of the organizers, Nike will provide a full set of equipment for the boys and girls participating in the training camp.
At the same time, each child participating in the training camp can also get a Spalding basketball signed by Lee.
If you complete a specific training project, you will also get a small certificate.
During the training camp, children can also take photos with Lee at any time.
Children aged 7 to 16 can participate.
In the end, due to the large number of applicants, only first come first served.
The incident in early May caused the Chinese in New York to protest in an orderly manner.
During this offseason, Lee turned down all interviews unrelated to basketball.
He is not interested in expressing the so-called political correctness to cater to some mainstream views.
Sports media that want to interview Lee usually go to Hotham University to chat for a few words.
As for weekly magazines such as Sports Illustrated, they only need to take pictures and professional editors will help Lee speak well.
It is really interesting to train kids.
Chris Paul, who was beaten up last year, came to New York again this year accompanied by his grandfather.
His height has not changed much, but his skills have improved significantly.
"You need to dribble hard. Only by increasing the strength can you speed up the ball. Only when the rebound height of the basketball exceeds your height can it be considered a qualified dribble!"
Lee, wearing a training suit, controlled the ball with both hands while instructing the children on the scene to do basic training.
Tim Grover was also on the scene.
Starting from mid-August, Lee will also devote himself to special training.
After the training camp, Lee will return to Hartford, and Tim Grover and the training team will follow and collect physical data.
Near noon, Lee once again beat the kid who challenged him.
Chris Paul was so depressed that his eyes turned red after failing to score a goal.
He almost cried and ran to his grandfather's arms for comfort.
"Oh!!"
A bunch of kids surrounded Lee and shouted happily.
Everyone never got tired of watching this segment.
At lunch, Tim Grover saw Lee's physical condition and nodded secretly, and then whispered a suggestion:
"Lee, you should consider hiring a professional chef. This will not only help you save time, but also better control your nutritional intake."
Lee, whose bank card is almost empty, now carefully considers every expense.
As long as he can successfully get ashore with the Internet dividend this time, Lee will not treat himself badly:
"I will seriously consider this suggestion. To be honest, I really have high requirements for food."
Compared with other NBA stars, Lee's life is a bit shabby.
His house is not big enough and his cars are all given by manufacturers.
There are no large number of followers behind him, and there are no full-time servants at home.
After Tim Grover gave his advice, he didn't say anything more.
He respected everyone's lifestyle.
In the next two months, he just wanted Lee to achieve his training goals and then continue to reap the benefits.
In mid-August, the Magic kept making moves.
Perhaps they referred to the opinions of the new head coach Doug Rivers.
The team basically had no big-name players to trade with.
The Knicks also wanted to find an opportunity to send Chris Dudley away.
The ideal result was to trade him back for a big man who could enter the rotation lineup.
However, the high salary became an obstacle to the transaction.
After trying for half a month, Grunfeld still didn't make much progress.
Lee had returned to Hartford at this time.
In addition to daily training, he also had to prepare for the LSAT exam.
On the evening of the 27th, Melinda entertained Kim who came to Hartford.
At the table, looking at Kim, who was two years older than her, Melinda blinked her big eyes and kept looking at her.
In addition, the husky Happy also tilted his head to look at him, and Kim couldn't resist these curious eyes for a while:
"Uh, am I dressed strangely today?"
Kim, who was still wearing a professional suit, couldn't help but look at her clothes, and touched his face by the way.
The eyes of the beautiful girl in front of her were too aggressive.
Melinda, who was only wearing loose home clothes, looked at Kim's hair color, and then glanced at her figure, and suddenly asked curiously:
"Kim, are you Clay's first love?"
Upon hearing this, Kim was almost choked directly, and hurriedly drank a sip of juice, and then whispered:
"We knew each other a long time ago, when he was less than 18 years old!"
Smiling and touching the dog's head, Kim rubbed the husky's smiling face, easing the awkward atmosphere just now.
Lee raised his eyebrows helplessly to Melinda, and the big-breasted girl just smiled and snorted, and then began to get close to Kim again, as if she wanted to dig out some of Lee's past in Albuquerque.
On August 30, a major three-party transaction occurred again.
The Houston Rockets sent four players and the 2003 first-round draft pick to the Grizzlies;
The Magic sent McLean and the 2001 first-round draft pick to the Rockets, and traded the 2001 second-round draft pick to the Grizzlies;
The Grizzlies sent Francis and Tony Massenberg to the Rockets, and sent four rotation players to the Magic.
The three teams each got what they needed.
The Rockets also seemed to be planning to rebuild, and the management no longer had too many expectations for the aging Olajuwon and Barkley.
Jeff Van Gundy felt a lot of pressure after returning to New York.
Even if there was a major trade, the commentators talked most about the Knicks' salary issue.
The US dollar represents strength to a certain extent.
Everyone knows how difficult it is to win three consecutive championships.
The Knicks chose to spend money at this juncture, which is the best way.
The management did not skimp, but the coaching staff could not stand it.
On the last day of August, at the Tarrytown Training Center, Jeff Van Gundy looked at the gloomy coaching staff in front of him and knew that the worst had happened.
"How is Pat doing? I remember that in July, he was recovering from an injury and losing weight at the same time."
Upon hearing Van Gundy's question, assistant coach Thibodeau simply handed the newspaper to the bald young coach:
"Indulgence after winning the championship - Ewing's carnival"
This article in the Los Angeles Times introduced the indulgence of the gorilla and his friends in July, and also introduced that after returning to New York, Ewing kept appearing in nightclubs.
The photos were also very targeted, allowing readers to visibly observe Ewing's fat face.
Jeff Van Gundy finished reading the article with a frown on his face.
He was speechless for a moment.
Thinking about the upcoming training camp and the opponents in the new season, he could only whisper to the coaching staff again:
"Let's practice with the game. Remember to check the recovery of Pat's Achilles tendon."
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