Champion, please stay!

Chapter 228, Section 226: Season Goals Changed
Madison Square Garden, CEO's Office.

Walsh looked at the trade announcement that had just been posted on his computer screen and laughed, "Looks like the Wizards have already found a new home. They're in such a hurry to sell their players."

D'Antoni responded, "They're probably waiting for us. If we're willing to trade, they'll send Butler to us; if not, they'll give him to the Mavericks."

Mark Jackson: "Of course they want to trade with us. Larry (Hughes) has an expiring contract. They can effectively reduce their salary by trading him back and also get rid of Oberto (Fabricio)'s contract, which doesn't expire until next year."

However, Oberto would be a good fit for your tactics, Mike. He has good athleticism, an aggressive playing style, good cutting awareness, and can pass the ball; Butler is also one of the best shooters in the league, it's a pity..."

D'Antoni: "It's not such a pity. Oberto is a good fit for us, but Butler might not be."

As Brooks said, Butler can't play shooting guard, and his defense is too poor at small forward, plus he takes up playing time from Matt (Barnes) and Martell (Webster).

Butler's playing style is still soft, and his shooting consistency will drop significantly in the playoffs. As a pure shooter, his three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs is less than 30%. If he comes to us, he may score more points than Martell, but his impact may not be as strong as Martell's.

Moreover, giving up Larry in order to acquire Butler would have been too much of a blow to us. Larry and Chris (Duhon) are the engines of our fast break.

However, I didn't expect the Wizards to trade Butler for Howard. That was a huge loss for the Wizards.

The Wizards completed a trade with the Mavericks in New York, and before they even returned to Washington, it was indeed related to the Knicks. Hughes was indeed the Wizards' first trade option.

As D'Antoni said, under normal circumstances, there is absolutely no possibility of Josh Howard being traded one-for-one for Caron Butler.

The two players have similar salaries and their contracts expire in 11, but this season Josh Howard has been hampered by injuries and his performance has been far worse than Caron Butler's.

This trade will inevitably affect the Wizards' sale process, turning the team's second most valuable asset into a near-junk contract.

Trading Caron Butler for Hughes would be different. Hughes is in the final year of his contract, earning over $1300 million. The Wizards could also offer him another $300 million or more in a trade, reducing the total salary by over $1300 million this summer, which would be beneficial for the team to sell.

However, the Knicks' potential trade of Hughes for Caron Butler is also related to the Rockets.

The trading market is a fascinating place.

Garnett's improved form boosted McGrady's value, allowing the Rockets to sell him for a good price.

The trade involving McGrady has made 'large expiring contracts' highly sought after.

Walsh recalled the late Wizards' former owner, Abby Pollin, and replied, "Because the Pollin family genuinely loved basketball, they were forced to sell the team. With Arenas out for the season for the past two years, their record was poor, attendance was low, and broadcasting fees were low, resulting in losses of tens of millions of dollars every year. They couldn't hold on any longer."

When I was negotiating with them, I could sense that they felt very sorry for Butler and Jamison. Back then, both of them chose to take pay cuts to renew their contracts so that the Wizards could make good signings, and they always worked very hard.

The Pollin family may want to send the two players to a championship contender before selling the team. The teams they've been asking for their players are all top-four teams in the East and West. After the Wizards are sold, they'll definitely have to tank, and Stern will probably offer the new owners in the league a top-three draft pick, just like he always has, because they're afraid of holding the two players back.

If Arenas hadn't run into trouble, and the basketball market had rebounded this year, they might have persisted for a few more years. It's a pity that the Pollin family withdrew; we've lost another owner who truly loves basketball..."

Upon hearing this, D'Antoni, Mark Jackson, Cheeks, Clark, and others were all moved.

The Knicks coaching staff has very different personalities, but they have one thing in common—a deep love for basketball and a passionate spirit.

After briefly reminiscing about Abby Pollin, Walsh shook his head and said, "Brook's idea was right. Trading Larry for Butler might not necessarily be beneficial for our championship aspirations."

It's a real shame we didn't get Butler, such a valuable asset, but the Wizards have already traded him to the Mavericks, so let's move on from this.

The season's almost halfway through, do you guys have any targets you'd like to acquire? By the way, when making suggestions, you need to consider our actual situation. Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Al Horford—you couldn't get them back even if you traded me.”

The people in the office burst out laughing upon hearing this.

After the game last night, they called Yi Shui over to discuss a trade for Caron Butler. Yi Shui directly rejected the idea, and when asked who he would most like to team up with, he mentioned these three names.

They certainly knew that these three were a perfect fit for them.

Ray Allen is simply perfect as a receiving pitcher alongside Curry and Yi Shui, and his defense is also solid;

The current Garnett is the ultimate deluxe version of Ben Wallace, capable of receiving shots and facilitating plays, resulting in a qualitative improvement on both offense and defense;
Although Horford is less famous than the previous two, if they could actually acquire him, they would be direct contenders for the championship.

But they don't have the means to get those three back; even if they offered Curry as a bargaining chip, no one would trade him.

The Celtics are definitely not going to develop young players right now.

For the Hawks, Horford, a center who is expected to be selected as an All-Star in his third year, has a much higher trade value than Curry, a combo guard of similar age.

Yes, that's right! The Knicks' coaching staff and management are currently aiming for the championship!

Before the season started, the Knicks didn't think about contending for the championship this season. Last season they did have 55 wins and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, but after the season ended, basketball experts, the Knicks' management and coaching staff all felt that the team's record in the new season was likely to be worse than last season.

Last season's situation is too difficult to replicate. They started with a 5-game winning streak, then went on a 9-1 run from the end of the first month to the beginning of the second month, followed by a 9-2 run before the All-Star break, and then another 6-2 run after the All-Star break. Last season's record was 55 wins and 27 losses. In just these four high points, they achieved 29 wins, and only lost 5 games during this period.

也就是说，赛程最艰难的11月中下旬、1月、3月、4月，他们48场比赛只打出了26胜22负的普通季后赛级别球队的表现。

Before the All-Star Weekend last season, many strong teams underestimated them when they faced them, but after those few high-performing streaks, by March and April, other strong teams no longer underestimated them, and they will definitely pay more attention to them in the new season.

Without any substantial reinforcements during the offseason, Walsh and D'Antoni's goal for the new season is to strive for 50 wins, not to let the record decline too much... and to pray that they can meet the Cavaliers again in the second round.

Who would have thought that they would start the season with a 16-game winning streak, and now it's mid-January, and they're still number one in the league!

They can only, and must, shift their goal for this season to competing for the championship!
Whether they can win the championship is secondary, but they must have the attitude of fighting for the championship when facing the Yi River and the fans.

Of course, they must participate in this summer's hot free agency market, at least to retain a maximum salary cap and remain competitive.

However, Walsh is no longer fixated on having over 3000 million in salary cap space and is willing to accept a shorter, longer contract in order to attract new players.

After teasing Yi Shui behind his back, the coaches flipped through the materials they had prepared for the meeting.

When they were thinking individually, each of them thought of many names.

But when we got to the meeting, the feeling was different. It seemed that each name was unsuitable in its own way. Some couldn't be changed back, some were too risky, some might come at a high price, and some were simply not suitable in the first place.

The hope of winning the championship came too suddenly. If this topic had been discussed this summer, they could have pursued anyone. They would have dared to offer Kobe, James, and Wade. Now, they have nothing.

D'Antoni closed the documents, ready to abandon the proposal, but then something suddenly occurred to him.

He said, "When I was chatting with Brooke last month, he mentioned a name that I think we might be able to get, but I'm not sure if it's the right fit..."

...

While the coaches were struggling with issues like trade assets and salaries for new signings, Yi Shui continued to train and strengthen his team. Regarding refusing to trade Hughes for Caron Butler, he didn't hesitate and stated his position directly.

Whether someone is suitable for the playoffs and how consistently they perform in the playoffs are actually secondary considerations.

Theoretically speaking, a wing pitcher like Caron Butler, who doesn't rely on running and jumping, should have a very long peak period.

However, during the two years Arenas was sidelined, Caron Butler, as the only star player on the perimeter, played an average of 39 minutes per game. Although he achieved an average of 20+ minutes per game for two years, his body was already under immense strain.

Yi Shui knew that Caron Butler had played for the Mavericks for less than a year before suffering a stress fracture in his knee, ending his season. After returning, his performance plummeted, and he collapsed at the age of thirty.

It looks like a high-quality asset now, but if we acquire it and play a run-and-gun style with them, it's hard to say whether we can even finish the season. In that case, it will become a liability.

Yi Shui understood that the team's season plan had been changed, and he was certainly happy that the team was actively involved in player recruitment, but he was also aware of the team's predicament in this regard.

So when asked who he wanted to bring in, he gave some outrageous answers, not wanting to put pressure on management.

Even though those answers might again raise questions about his intelligence...

After a day of rest, the Knicks continue their brutal January schedule.

On the 13th, the Knicks will face the Spurs, the last opponent in their four-game home run.

During the preparation phase, when Yi Shui learned about the Spurs' recent situation, he discovered that the Spurs had undergone significant changes this season!

This season, the Spurs continue to play a slow-paced offense and defense, with an overall pace that ranks second to last in the league. Only the Celtics are slower than the Spurs, and even the Bobcats have a faster pace than the Spurs.

But the Spurs' offensive performance doesn't resemble that of a team with the second-slowest pace—37 games, averaging 102.3 points per game! This is the first time in 13 seasons that they've averaged over 100 points per game!
The last time the Spurs averaged over 100 points per game was in the 1995-96 season. From the 1996-97 season, when David Robinson was sidelined with a serious injury and the team tanked to acquire Duncan, until last season, the Spurs' average points per game remained below 100, with the highest being just 99.5 points, which was just above the league average.

The Spurs' 48% field goal percentage so far this season is a new high in 14 seasons! Even higher was in the 94-95 season when the era of toughness had just begun.

In his memory, the Spurs suddenly switched to offensive basketball in the 10-11 season.

He now realizes that it was because he didn't know enough about the Spurs in his 'previous life' before the Spurs system came into being.

Looking back, the Spurs had already entered a transformation preparation phase after being crushed by Kobe in the 08 Western Conference Finals. Their decision to let go of Bruce Bowen, who was selected for the All-Defensive First Team the season before last, was a precursor to this.

The game between the Knicks and the Spurs at 5 p.m. will begin.

In this game, the Knicks players felt like they were facing a Celtics team with a better offense!
Perhaps seeing the Celtics' effective defense, the Spurs slowed down the pace even more than usual tonight! The Knicks' shot attempts were reduced to just 19 in the first quarter!
This is quite a challenge for the Knicks, especially since the Spurs' offense is even better than the Celtics'. With their core roster unchanged, they have many more tactics that the Knicks players didn't see when they faced the Celtics last season.

首节22比24、第二节21比23，尼克斯队半场以43比47落后马刺队4分。

Fortunately, the situation reversed in the third quarter!
David Lee had an outstanding mid-range shooting performance in this quarter, making 3 out of 4 mid-range attempts, plus a putback, for a total of 8 points.

这一点，马刺队那边邓肯顶上了，5投3中、加上4中3的罚球，单节拿到9分3板1助攻。

库里命中的1次三分、一次反击借韦伯斯特跟进牵制的切入抛投命中，拿到5分2助攻；马刺队也靠着帕克的6分1助攻抵消。

But Ginobili and Richard Jefferson, who faced off against Yi Shuigang, both messed up!

Richard Jefferson was the Spurs' biggest offseason acquisition.

No one expected that Richard Jefferson, who was flying all over the court and averaging 19.6 points per game last season, would suddenly have his athleticism collapse after joining the Spurs and signing a four-year, $40 million contract extension!

The Spurs were originally hoping that Richard Jefferson would improve the athleticism of their forwards, but now it's become a game of 'old men's entertainment' for everyone.

Fortunately, Richard Jefferson was quite diligent and actively adjusted his playing style, transitioning towards a 3D style of play in half-court offense. Averaging 12 points per game for a salary of $14.2 million, which is higher than Parker's, is a bad deal. The next four years' $10 million annual salary is also a particularly bad deal, but at least he didn't just retire after getting a retirement contract.

Ginobili was the real liability in this quarter; when he unleashed his attack, he misjudged the direction and ended up stabbing the Spurs in the back.

In 9 minutes, Ginobili made only 1 of 5 shots, missed both of his three-point attempts, did not get any free throws, scored only 2 points, and did not have a single assist!

Manu Ginobili made two incredibly imaginative passes in this quarter, but after they were made, even Tim Duncan, who had maintained a poker face throughout the first half, showed an expression of disbelief...

Relying on Ginobili and Richard Jefferson's combined 2-for-9 shooting in the quarter, and with Hughes and Duhon taking turns driving the offense, Yi Shui led the team to a surge in this quarter, outscoring the Spurs 29-19.

After three quarters, the Knicks led the Spurs 72-66 by 6 points!
In the final quarter, the Spurs, whose fortunes had been reversed, failed to mount an effective comeback.

Although a year and a half has passed and the playing style has changed significantly compared to the 07-08 season, the Spurs' characteristic of "kingly basketball" remains. They still follow the path of "overwhelming strength," and if they can't beat them, they really can't beat them.

The score in the final quarter was 26-27, and the Knicks ultimately defeated the Spurs 98-93!
21投8中，其中三分球3中1，加上8中7的罚球，易水拿到24分5板10助攻2抢断1盖帽。

Yi Shui's low score tonight doesn't bother him much. He only got 5 rebounds, a season low, which is still okay. But to only get 5 rebounds and still get double-digit assists for the second time this season... it's heartbreaking!

Normally, he would get double-digit assists and could even get a triple-double!

There are two reasons for the low rebounding tonight. One is that the Spurs did an excellent job of protecting the boards, perhaps because they were wary of his aggressive play. Every time he tried to get a rebound, Duncan would prioritize blocking him.

Another reason is the adjustment of his playing style. In the second half, he made more aggressive fast breaks, successfully leading the team to break through the Spurs' forced slowdown of the pace, but he also had fewer opportunities to grab defensive rebounds.

...

They started 2010 with a 4-2 record, defeating the Lakers, Suns, Celtics, Pacers, Wizards, and Spurs. This achievement earned them praise from many media outlets and experts.

In particular, Yi Shui's performance was remarkable. Although he only scored 30.5 points in these 6 games, he had a total of 35 assists, averaging 5.8 assists per game.

If you only look at the numbers 5.8 and 4.75, it doesn't seem like much. However, Yi Shui's ball possession rate is not high to begin with, only slightly over 20%. If the ball possession rate doesn't increase, but the assists increase by more than one, then that makes a big difference.

However, the pressure on the Knicks hasn't lessened at all. They've only played less than half of their brutal January schedule! There are still nine games to go in the next two weeks, and the real challenges are just beginning!
At noon on the 14th, Yi Shui and the team arrived in the central region. After four consecutive main games, they had four consecutive away games, the first stop being Cleveland!
The enthusiastic Cavaliers fans held a grand welcome ceremony for the visiting Knicks at the airport, a spectacle resembling a French strike.

Even with police escorts prepared by Cleveland City Hall and the airport, the Knicks were still stuck in traffic for over an hour from the airport to getting onto the highway.

The boos and jeers finally stopped, and Curry leaned back in his chair and complained, "I almost thought we were here to play in the playoffs. They're even crazier than last year."

Yi Shui is also numb. The Cavaliers fans are becoming more and more like those fan groups, even more outrageous than Mayo's mom fans last year.

He muttered, "I hope the Cavaliers fans will be this enthusiastic this offseason..."

The Knicks' arrival in Cleveland attracted widespread attention from the media and fans, with the Cavaliers fans' 'airport parade' becoming a hot topic.

By evening, the hype had intensified again! This time, however, it had nothing to do with the fans or the Knicks.

In a surprising trade, the Cavaliers sent out Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the Wizards in exchange for Antawn Jamison!
(End of this chapter)