Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 182 The Wealthy and Powerful New York

"In the 2002 NBA draft, the New York Knicks selected Yao Ming with the first overall pick!"

There was no suspense, no surprise.

The Knicks kept their promise and directly selected Yao Ming.

This marked the first time in NBA history that a foreign player had been drafted number one.

The crowd erupted in applause, and the Knicks fans who entered the arena cheered excitedly.

Townsend was sitting on the outer edge with Connors.

Watching Yao Ming get up, hug his parents, and then put on a Knicks baseball cap.

With a smile on his face, Stern took the initiative to lean in and gently hug Yao Ming while shaking hands.

The old man must be extremely happy to have Yao Ming brought to New York.

"Tang, are you really going to charge a million for training your players during the offseason?" Amid the applause, Connors suddenly turned and asked in a low voice.

Tang Sen thought to himself, "Wow, he's a reporter after all. The effect of this widespread publicity is amazing."

He knew I hadn't seen Connors for a little while?
"A lot?" Tang Sen asked back.

Connors instinctively wanted to nod.

If you're an NBA player, no one will say anything if you earn millions or tens of millions, since everyone's used to it.

Trainers have never charged such high fees before.

However, Connors quickly stopped.

He calmed himself down and thought about it carefully; Tang Sen's record was verifiable.

Let's not even talk about Brown.

He also trained half of the Magic's squad, helping them win the championship.

Sather alone has become a household name in the NBA, much to everyone's surprise.

With such impressive results, what's wrong with asking for a million?

“Not high.” Connors shook his head and said, “Tang, with your skills, any higher income would be worth it.”

"The only problem."

He lowered his voice and said cautiously, "You're not going to raise the price to a million for Amaré too, are you? Even if you are, don't raise it now. Wait until he signs the contract before raising it."

Stoudemire is now paying for all his own expenses.

If Tang Sen's income reaches a million, he will go bankrupt on the spot.

I knew Connors would say that.

"Don't worry, we're friends, I won't cheat you." Tang Sen's words reassured him.

Second in line.

After a moment's hesitation, the Bulls made their choice: Jay Williams.

After making his selection, Klaus looked regretful and turned to Bill Cartwright beside him, saying, "Bill, do you really think our choice was correct?"

Krause regretted not getting Brown last year for a whole season.

He kept thinking that if he had offered a little more and impressed the Wizards, the Bulls might have been the ones to lift the championship trophy this month.

The great Bulls dynasty will once again be revived.

The result was two clowns, whose performances were worlds apart from Brown's.

And then there's Tim Floyd, and the revival is nowhere in sight; their record is definitely the worst.

Cartwright understood what Klaus meant.

Yao Ming and Krause wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

But before the draft, Krause was torn between Jay Williams and Stoudemire.

Rationally, he knew that the Bulls were currently lacking a talented guard like Williams.

But Stoudemire trained with Townsend.

What if he becomes the next Kwame Brown?

Then Chicago fans will complain again: "We already missed out on Kwame Brown, and now you've made us miss out on Stoudemire too!"

I will become a laughing stock in Chicago.

“Jerry, the decision has already been made, there’s no use regretting it now. Besides, we really need a guard, our frontcourt is too crowded,” Cartwright said.

Now that you've made your choice, what's there to hesitate about?

Moreover, it is an undeniable fact that the Bulls' interior defense is crowded.

In the Jalen Rose trade, they also acquired Brad Miller, further strengthening their frontcourt.

“At worst, we can send Jay to Tang’s place for some proper training,” Cartwright added.

If you're worried about making a mistake and choosing the wrong person, then why not just send Jay Williams to train under Townsend as well?

Klaus rolled his eyes at Cartwright: "He's asking for a million now!"

The news spread too fast; Klaus already knew that Tangsen was going to open a million-dollar club.

He's not stupid; he considered this approach when he was struggling with the decision.

One of the reasons we ultimately decided to choose Jay Williams was because we considered doing just that.

Who knew that Tangsen would suddenly raise prices!
If it were the previous price, $5 a month would be a piece of cake, and the team would have been willing to cover it.

But now it's a million!

The team's money doesn't belong to them, nor does it come from thin air.

Moreover, even if Williams had to pay that price himself, he wouldn't be willing to do it.

"Why did he raise the price?"

Klaus was extremely annoyed.

Klaus either felt that Tangsen wasn't worth the money, or that the price increase was too sudden.

Following that, the Wizards had no more hesitation and directly selected Stoudemire.

The arrival of his mother filled Stoudemire with both excitement and helplessness.

But what could he say now that things had come to this? He got up, hugged his mother, and proudly walked onto the stage.

Inside the Wizards' office.

Unseld and Jordan high-fived in celebration, then Unseld immediately said, "Michael, will Don raise his price for Amare's upcoming training sessions too?"

If the price goes up to one million, Stoudemire can't afford that.

Jordan pursed his lips, guessing that Townsend's training fee would increase after the Magic won the championship.

But I didn't expect it to rise so much in one go.

Teams can afford to spend small amounts, but millions can be enough to sign a player.

I don't mind, but Paulin is stingy.

Unfortunately, Stoudemire is still penniless.

"And what about Grant?" Jordan added.

Is Hill going to raise prices too?
Of course, Hill is rich, so he probably doesn't care.

After thinking for a moment, Jordan said, "Wes, you need to have a good talk with Abby. This is not a small amount of money, but in my opinion it is absolutely worth it."

"If Amare can develop, then next season we can contend for the championship!"

Unseld thought to himself, "You really dare to dream."

However, he agrees with Jordan's assessment; as things stand now, Townsend is definitely worth the price.

With the top three picks determined, the Warriors' dream of having a top-tier center was shattered, and they selected small forward Mike Dunleavy.

The Grizzlies, even more unlucky, got nothing and, after some deliberation, chose Drew Gooden.

For Tang Sen, the draft was over at this point.

Following Connors, Townsend went backstage and waited for Stoudemire to finish his interview with reporters before preparing to leave.

At that moment, someone called his name.

Turning my head, I saw it was Leiden.

"Don."

Leiden, beaming, came over and asked Tang Sen if they could find a place to chat for a few minutes.

Tang Sen nodded.

Leiden led Tang Sen from the small theater to the team's second-floor office area.

Along the way, Leiden kept talking about Yao Ming's talent and said that they already had a great plan.

But he didn't say exactly what it was.

It wasn't until he entered a conference room that Tang Sen realized this so-called grand plan was actually related to him.

The talent show selection over there didn't affect our business discussions at all.

Knicks owner James Dolan, the New York playboy, was present. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he's so rich that it would be a shame if he didn't act like a spoiled brat.

However, he went to a drug rehabilitation center a few years ago, and after he came out, he became more restrained and even claimed that he wanted to turn over a new leaf.

He also started doing charity work. After that major incident last year, he organized several large-scale charity concerts in New York and also established a charitable foundation.

Of course, his most important role now is CEO of CA, which owns MSG, the parent company of the Knicks.

New York fans are harsh; when Dolan traded away Ewing, a New York icon, he was already labeled as heartless and ungrateful.

Then everyone started criticizing him, saying he was stupid and rich, and the worst owner in the Knicks history.

Tang Sen personally felt it was alright.

Dolan clearly loves the Knicks.

After he took over the Knicks, he almost never missed a single Knicks home game and was always sitting on the sidelines.

Moreover, his father's words can corroborate this point.

Charles Dolan once said in a media interview, "Of all his children, only Dolan is interested in the Knicks. He's the only one who wants to run the Knicks."

As for the claim that he's foolish and rich, it only proves that Dolan truly loves the Knicks.

It's just that the money wasn't spent in the right place, and they lacked a bit of luck.

But today, James Dolan feels his luck has turned.

They got the top draft pick and selected Yao Ming, a talented big man.

And then there's Layden, the General Manager of the Year in the 94-95 season, who ambitiously presented him with a great idea.

That means inviting Tang Sen over.

"Tang, we need you!"

James Dolan stared intently at Tang Sen.

Leiden nodded in agreement, staring intently at him.

Tang Sen didn't quite understand.

You're talking about your great rejuvenation, how come you're getting involved with yourselves?

Leiden said, "Tang, under your training, Kwame has become one of the league's top centers, and I think Yao has even more talent than him. With you by his side, he can also reach Kwame's level."

"And Jeryl Suther, my God, you trained a Kobe killer for the Magic in just four months, so why can't we?"

"Oh, and Chauncey. With your help, he shed his bust label and became the best point guard in the league. With you here, Mark can become even better."

"No, we can trade Changxi directly."

Mark Jackson is getting old; Chauncey Billups is the future of the Knicks.

"Tang, do you understand? With you, we have any player we want. We can transform our team like the Magic and win the championship!"

The Magic's championship win has been analyzed by so many media outlets that I've lost count of how many times they've done it.

People say Brown is excellent, McGrady is outstanding, and the Magic started targeting the Lakers half a season in advance.

But in Leiden's view, there is one reason that cannot be ignored, and that is Tang Sen.

Without Tang Sen, there would be no such outstanding Brown.

How did McGrady evolve?

And then there's Sasser, who trained him?

Rivers made a wish to Townsend, and that solved Kobe's big problem.

So getting Yao Ming wasn't enough. In Layden's view, the Knicks needed to get Tangsen if they wanted to revive.

"Scott."

Dolan was clearly more direct, waving his hand to stop Leiden's endless chatter.

You can't poach talent like that. You have to learn from me and spend money.

He pushed the folder in front of him toward Tang Sen and said, "Tang, we are very sincere."

Tang Sen paused for a moment, then opened the folder and glanced at it.

It's just a contract.

Upon seeing the number, Tang Sen's eyelids twitched rapidly.

4 million in 2000 years!
Furthermore, there is an additional clause that if the Knicks win the championship during Townsend's tenure, Townsend will receive a separate bonus of $200 million.

Annual salary of 500 million.

If Tang Sen remembers correctly, the highest-paid player in the league's uniformed staff right now is George Karl, who just renewed his contract last year for two years at $14 million.

He is the highest-paid head coach in the league.

Rivers' annual salary is only 200 million.

His price is typical for NBA head coaches.

This is the management team; they can't be compared to the players.

For a trainer like myself to be offered such a salary by the Knicks shows, as Dolan said, a truly sincere offer.

Tederski, the Bulls' chief trainer, only earns $30 a month.

I am more than ten times his size.

Moreover, this is only the salary for the season; after the season ends, he can continue to earn money during the off-season.

Tang Sen already thought the Lakers' offer of a 5-year, $1000 million contract was quite generous.

The Knicks are even more outrageous now.

This is the Knicks for you; they're really loaded.

Seeing Tang Sen remain silent, Dolan assumed Tang Sen was dissatisfied and said, "Tang, I know that this offseason, many teams will definitely extend offers to you."

The Magic's championship win was the kind that completely surprised all the teams.

Especially Sasser.

That really made all the teams feel like they were going crazy.

Everyone knows that trainers are very important; they can help players improve their skills.

But who would have thought that the trainer could be this powerful?

Who wouldn't want a trainer like that? Who wouldn't want to replicate the miracle of magic?

Anyway, Townsend hasn't signed with the Magic, so anyone can poach him.

"But Tang, we're in New York, and we're definitely going to increase our investment this season to build a championship-caliber roster. If you can help us, you'll only become more successful."

"And Yao is here too. You are all from China, and he needs your help."

Dolan also started to learn from Rhoden and play the emotional card.

Of course, the necessary boldness must still be present.

"Tang, if you're not satisfied with the salary, then name your price."

Tang Sen held the contract in his hand, genuinely tempted.

Let's not even talk about the off-season; he was just out doing side jobs anyway.

But what about after the offseason?

Still staying in Orlando?

Tang Sen was also torn, as Orlando was more familiar with him.

He has family in Los Angeles.

Townsend initially rejected the Lakers' offer not because he looked down on their 5-year, $1000 million offer, but because he wanted to wait until the Magic won the championship to increase his value before going to Los Angeles.

Therefore, Tang Sen is not refusing to become a team's head trainer.

New York doesn't seem like a bad option either.

I glanced at Dolan.

The man has already said what he wanted to say; it would be disrespectful for Tang Sen not to counter with a price.

After a moment's thought, Tang Sen said, "Six million, six million a year, the incentive terms will remain."

Six million a year—that's already Phil Jackson's salary level.

Even if you reach a higher level, you're likely to attract jealousy.

Moreover, they said they signed a four-year contract, and if the market price goes up, they can resign at any time.

Leiden immediately looked at Dolan.

Without saying a word, Dolan immediately called on the legal department to revise the contract.

Just fifteen minutes later, Dolan excitedly embraced Tangsen.

"Tang, help us achieve our revival!"

Tang Sen nodded slightly, his mood somewhat strange.

I feel like I acted a little impulsively.

(End of this chapter)