Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 274: If we lose, scoring more points is meaningless.

In the stands, countless New York fans let out painful sighs of regret.

Dolan also came to the scene and sat with Leiden.

Now that the Knicks have regained their strength, Layden is even willing to make public appearances.

"Fuck, why did we lose!"

Dolan scratched his head in frustration.

Only 2 points!

When Yao Ming scored 7 consecutive points, he really thought they could win.

They still lost.

"Did the referee cheat? Why did he give the Magic the final call?!" Dolan shouted, pointing at the referee.

Leiden quickly reassured him, saying that Chandler's final foul was not a problem.

Dolan gave a light snort and turned his attention to Houston.

"And Alan, how come he missed the last shot?"

With 1.4 seconds left, the Knicks had one last shot, a chance to win the game.

Houston took the final shot, but it went wide under Sather's defense and hit the backboard.

Leiden opened his mouth, but psychologically, he felt that Houston should take the blame.

But he said, "James, this was a game-winning shot, it was very difficult."

"I know."

Dolan kept saying he knew, but his gaze toward Leiden began to turn hostile again.

Who gave Houston that big contract?
Now, we have a star player with a top salary of 15 million. We can use him, but we're not happy using him.

Look at McGrady on the other side, a ten million annual salary, how does that feel?

Leiden chose to ignore it, thinking to himself, "Brother, not to mention the second brother, you also approved this contract with Houston."

Dolan understood, muttered a few curses, and whispered, "Can you send him away? I'll give him away for free."

I'm not short of money, I just want you to leave.

Look at Yao Ming's form, he's averaging over 40 points per game, yet he still can't win the game.

Where did we lose? It all comes down to you, Allan Houston, who only averages 20 points per game.

Scoring 20 points per game is a lot, but compared to the other team, it's far from enough.

Even if you average 30 points per game, that's fine!

Dolan felt that if Houston had the ability to average 30 points per game, they would have won the game long ago.

Sending him away to free up salary cap space to buy a superstar would be better than what we have now, wouldn't it?

Leiden rolled his eyes furiously where Dolan wasn't looking.

They secretly cursed Dolan for acting on a whim.

Houston still has a four-year, $4 million contract left; even if they were given away for free, no team would necessarily want it.

And if it were truly given away for free, Leiden wouldn't be willing to part with it.

Seeing that Leiden remained silent, Dolan got up and left, grumbling.

Tonight, he felt no interest in playing with women.

The Knicks were devastated.

The Magic, however, were jubilant, with many players on the bench jumping and bouncing around.

Only Ewing had a complicated expression.

This is Madison, the place where he has worked for fifteen years, and he knows every corner of it well.

The New York fans in the stands, who had once cheered for him, now looked on with regret, and Ewing felt a pang of sadness.

"Alright Patrick, don't feel sorry for the Knicks. They've done a great job this year," Grant said, coming over to comfort him.

What a mess the Knicks were last season.

They underwent an unprecedented rebuild in the summer, and as a result, they went from being at the bottom of the Eastern Conference to making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in just one season.

Carlisle's status as the best head coach is the best proof of the Knicks' rise.

“Their hope lies in the future; look at Yao Duoqiang,” Grant added.

Averaging 40 points per game, that's simply monstrous.

Not to mention there are a bunch of excellent young players waiting to develop.

The future of the Knicks is limitless.

Ewing nodded, glanced at Madison one last time, and followed the others back to the players' tunnel.

Rivers looked excited, but when he returned to the locker room, he immediately told Brown and McGrady to lie down and give them a massage.

"Huang, Xie Yi, they both went through a lot today, thank you for your help."

Rivers gave the two of them some instructions.

One is named Huang Xun'en, and the other is named Shea Wheeler.

Townsend is gone, but Rivers still enjoys Townsend's legacy.

The team's training plans were summarized and compiled from the experiences of players like Brown, McGrady, and Sather, who had trained with Townsend.

Strive to follow the established practices of Xiao He and Cao Shen.

Although I don't know why, it wasn't as effective as when Tang Sen was personally in charge, but it still came from the hands of Tang Sen, a training master.

Then, it's not just the training program; methods like surfing, practicing shooting in the dark, breathing exercises, boxing to train the core, and practicing low-post footwork in the swimming pool are all being modeled after Tang Sen's approach.

There is also physical therapy massage.

Rivers places particular emphasis on this aspect.

Shay Wheeler is a top physician in the National Association of Physical Therapists, and he poached him for a hefty sum.

Huang Xunen, on the other hand, followed Guo Yonglin's example and went to Miami's Chinatown to find a massage expert.

Judging from the feedback from Brown and McGrady, although the effect was only 60-70% of Guo Yonglin's, it was still usable.

Throughout the entire season, McGrady and Brown didn't suffer many injuries, which Rivers felt was related to their work.

At the post-game press conference, facing a group of frustrated New York reporters, Rivers started by praising Yao Ming.

"He's too strong. He has the ability to change the game. I was really scared in the last few minutes."

Rivers chuckled self-deprecatingly.

But none of the reporters in the audience laughed.

The New York reporters, in particular, all looked displeased.

The New York reporters were unhappy, but Rivers was starting to feel good.

Midway through the season, he predicted that the Knicks would become a major rival for the Magic in the East.

Looking back now, I realize I was incredibly prescient.

The Knicks really gave Rivers a fright.

Rivers knows best how difficult those three games were to win.

But they won anyway, and took the lead. 2-1, then win one more game, 3-1, then return to Orlando, take advantage of home court, win one more game, and smoothly advance to the Finals.

They might have to fight tooth and nail in the west.

The Magic are well-rested and ready to win. They were able to beat the Lakers last year, so why can't they beat them this year?
At that time, I can also win two consecutive championships and build a Magic dynasty.

Thinking of this, Rivers spoke faster and faster.

Every sentence praises the Knicks, but upon closer examination, it just doesn't quite feel right.

If the Knicks have huge future potential, does that mean they're not good now?
It's said that the Knicks caused the Magic a lot of trouble, but the Magic managed to handle it all.

The subtext is that the Knicks are good and strong, but experience matters, and the Magic will be the one to have the last laugh in this series.

The New York reporter was so angry that he almost stormed off, not wanting to hear this guy brag anymore.

When it was Carlisle's turn, he was much calmer, apologizing to the New York fans for letting them down.

Then he only said that he would continue to work hard and keep trying to find a solution.

He answered a few questions briefly and then left the scene in a hurry.

Yao Ming didn't answer many questions.

"If we lose, then it's meaningless for me to score more points."

Yao Ming's words made the New York reporters present feel sorry for him, and even reminded them of Ewing back then.

Ewing, back then, also suffered countless defeats in the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, and after each defeat, he took the blame upon himself.

But everyone knows that it's not his fault.

Tonight in New York, many people are destined to be disappointed.

Using this as an excuse, Tang Sen didn't talk to Jordan much.

After arranging the post-game work and sending Yao Ming and others who wanted to practice more home to rest, Tang Sen was about to leave when he discovered that Carlisle was still there.

He was holed up in Madison's cramped head coach's office, watching video footage again.

When I saw him this morning, his voice was a little hoarse.

It's probably because they're anxious and stressed.

This year's Knicks are acting strangely. Logically speaking, they struggled to win a single game at the beginning of the season, and the New York media were even suggesting that they should just go for the Akland Boys.

New York fans have started tanking; nobody has any illusions about this season.

But the Knicks took off and soared to the top, now making it to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they can compete with the defending champions.

A documentary about the Road to Glory was filmed, and the slogan "New York champions" was shouted on the big screen in Times Square.

New York fans' expectations were suddenly raised to their highest point.

If you were to ask Layden at this point, he would probably have forgotten the three-step plan he devised at the beginning of the season: the first year of hard training, the second year of adjusting the roster, and the third year of aiming for the championship.

High expectations and unity are good things, but if expectations are too high, Tang Sen is afraid of a hard fall.

When Tang Ling got home, she was still awake.

She pinned Tang Sen down on the sofa and then had a serious talk with him about Jordan.

"Tang Sen, Charlotte is not a good place to go."

Tang Ling's first point was that Charlotte was no good.

Tang Sen had also thought of this.

Charlotte has a population of just over 700,000, which is not small, ranking 19th in the United States, but New York is on a completely different level.

With a small population, the football market is naturally not good.

The Hornets moved to New Orleans because of a mess left by owner George Sheehan, but more importantly, Charlotte didn't provide enough support for the team and they couldn't make money there.

Unlike Paul Allen, who doesn't care about such a small loss, George Sheehan, as one of the poorest owners in the league, buys teams to make money.

This is precisely the pain point for small-market teams.

The market is too small, the influence is limited, and star players are unwilling to come.

Like the Grizzlies, which are located far away in Canada, no star players are willing to go there.

In the end, they obediently paid up and moved to Memphis.

Tang Ling said, "If we were to invest in a team, our goal should be to make money, not to satisfy our hobby or treat it as a hobby. This should be the basic principle guiding our decision."

Tang Sen nodded in agreement.

If you can't make money and are even losing money, why bother with that stuff?

Do you just enjoy being the boss and having the feeling of bossing around star players?
Shit.

Even superstar players might not care about the team owner.

But if you tried it yourself, they would show far more respect for themselves than their bosses.

Tang Ling continued, "We have money and opportunities to invest in the team, because as a trainer, your returns are ultimately limited."

"Now that you have a high income, you also need to invest to increase its value. Investing in NBA teams is a good choice. In recent years, the market value of NBA teams has been rising continuously."

Robert Johnson spent $300 million to buy the rights to build a team, which is about the same as the market value of an NBA team.

Tang Ling also brought out her computer and showed Tang Sen some NBA industry analysis and market outlook reports.

"The NBA's overall profitability is on the rise, and its market value will only continue to increase. However, the risks in small-market leagues are too great, and it may take a long time to turn a profit."

The team invests real money every year.

In today's league, it's really hard to win a championship without top-tier stars.

Without winning the championship, it will be difficult to develop the football market.

Then it becomes a vicious cycle.

Tang Ling continued, "Brother, the NBA is also a business. Every owner invests in a team for different reasons. Some do it to reduce taxes."

Bill Vick, a baseball Hall of Famer, started it.

He creatively argued that since players and farm animals, as well as office printers and other consumables, are essentially the same, they also have depreciation that can be used to offset taxes.

Even now, many team owners are using this to exempt their main businesses from taxes.

"You don't have this need at the moment."

"Or it's to advertise their main business, like the Spurs' owner."

The Spurs are a championship team, but they still don't make money.

Holt can be all smiles if the team doesn't lose money every year.

He mainly made money by advertising the Spurs and selling tractors.

"You don't need it either."

"So you don't have such a strong need to buy a stake in a team."

"But it's a good business. The NBA is like those companies in Silicon Valley; they need to tell a good story, then inflate the valuation, and then cash out and leave."

“In the current NBA, although Jordan has retired, Stern wants to create a one-city-one-star team to tell a story, so I think their market value will definitely rise in the future.”

"So from a purely long-term investment perspective, this is a good business opportunity, and you should seize it if you have the chance."

Tang Ling held her water glass and took a sip to calm herself down.

(End of this chapter)