Chapter 719: Team Recruitment
After Chen Yan completed his contract extension, the Knicks had laid the cornerstone for their championship aspirations.
All that remained was finding the right complementary pieces.
Battier successfully re signed for 3 years and 10 million dollars.
This was good news for New York. Battier was not only a defensive master, but also a good natured veteran. His presence ensured that the Knicks locker room would remain more harmonious and stable.
Barea's contract extension also went smoothly.
The Knicks front office had seen his value during last year's Playoffs. As soon as the lockout ended, they did not hesitate to offer him a 3 year, 14.5 million dollar mid level contract.
Barea was very satisfied with this deal.
It had to be known that Barea's total salary over the previous 5 seasons had only been 6 million dollars. Now, he would earn nearly 5 million dollars per year, so how could Barea not be satisfied?
It had to be said that among all NBA teams, the Knicks were the most generous when it came to investment.
Otherwise, they would not have had so many bad contracts before.
The Knicks management philosophy was simple.
Throw money at players.
As long as they thought a player was decent, they were willing to pay above market price to sign him, often on long term deals.
As a result, many players quickly declined after arriving in New York.
With money, beautiful women, and fine wine, who would still want to play basketball seriously?
While re signing their veterans, the Knicks also did not forget about bringing in new talent.
Their goal this season was to acquire reliable big men.
Last season, almost anyone could dominate New York's paint. During the Playoffs, they were almost always outrebounded by their opponents.
This summer, they contacted 2 big men in the free agent market, Tyson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan.
Both were functional big men with clear characteristics.
They could run, jump, and defend.
This type of big man was the best fit beside Chen Yan. They could easily convert Chen Yan's assists into easy scores while not taking away his shooting opportunities.
After careful consideration, the Knicks signed DeAndre Jordan.
He was younger and had more potential.
Most importantly, Jordan had been teammates with Chen Yan before, and the 2 already had great chemistry.
Jordan's numbers last season were 8.9 points and 10.6 rebounds, absolutely the production of a super role player, and he still had room to grow.
In an era where quality centers were scarce, such a big man was highly sought after.
Many teams also wanted to acquire Jordan, but none of them could outbid the wealthy Knicks.
New York directly signed Jordan to a 4 year, 45 million dollar contract.
Jordan packed his bags overnight and headed to New York, showing no reluctance at all to leave Phoenix.
Jordan himself was very interested in the Knicks.
He wanted to play alongside Chen Yan, and he also wanted to live in a big city.
Combined with the Knicks generous offer, Jordan felt like the happiest person in the world at the moment he signed.
From a 2nd round pick to a multimillion dollar annual salary.
From Phoenix to New York.
Jordan felt that the person he should thank most was Chen Yan.
After arriving in New York, Jordan immediately visited Chen Yan, pledging loyalty with every sentence and calling him Boss again and again.
Chen Yan also gave him some advice.
New York was a colorful world, and dazzling temptations could easily lead people astray.
He told Jordan not to lose himself there, because a basketball player's greatest value was on the court.
If his on court performance collapsed, he would quickly be forgotten.
Jordan nodded, indicating that he understood.
Then he immediately went out to a nightclub and partied all night.
If he came to New York and did not enjoy himself, was he even a young man?
Of course, Jordan did not completely indulge himself.
He still took Chen Yan's words to heart.
All of a basketball player's value lay on the court.
Although he had already secured a multimillion dollar contract, Jordan still wanted to go further.
Playing alongside Chen Yan, he felt he had a great opportunity.
Chen Yan could elevate his statistics to another level.
After acquiring Jordan, the Knicks recruitment efforts did not stop.
They still had many problems.
Their interior depth was insufficient, and their perimeter rotation was not complete, especially while Curry was injured.
The Knicks contacted All Star power forward David West.
David West had chosen to opt out of his contract this summer and test the free agent market.
He was very interested in New York.
The Knicks had money, championship potential, and most importantly, a good passer.
David West believed Chen Yan's passing ability was no worse than Paul's, and playing here would be very comfortable.
David West could be said to have come specifically for Chen Yan, so his asking price was not excessive.
4 years, 44 million dollars.
Even cheaper than Jordan.
But this was already the highest price offered to David West on the market.
David West could have sought a higher salary, but the timing of his opt out was terrible.
He had torn his ACL in March.
Although he had already gone through a long recovery period, team executives were not optimistic about him, which could be seen from the offers he received.
Chen Yan was naturally happy to hear this news.
In terms of ability, David West was an All Star big man with solid fundamentals.
Even if he only recovered to 70 or 80 percent of his original form, it would definitely be enough.
In terms of personality, he was honest and low profile, definitely easy to get along with.
The Knicks interior reinforcement went smoothly, but their perimeter reinforcement encountered obstacles.
Crawford, whom they had previously targeted, was snatched away by the Atlanta Hawks.
Nick Young, whom they contacted afterward, chose to go to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Their reasons for not choosing New York were all the same.
They were unwilling to live in Chen Yan's shadow.
Chen Yan had a natural appeal to interior players, but most skilled perimeter players were unwilling to be on the same team as him.
Playing alongside Chen Yan meant sacrificing ball possession and playing time.
At present, with Curry injured, the Knicks available guards were only Chen Yan, Barea, Beverley, and veteran Anthony Carter, who had already decided to retire next season.
Meanwhile, other teams were also strengthening their rosters.
The Denver Nuggets withdrew from the race for Randolph, who went to the Memphis Grizzlies to form a twin tower duo with Gasol.
The Sacramento Kings also made big moves, bringing in a group of new players to inject fresh blood into the team, such as Hayes, J.J. Hickson, Outlaw, and Salmons.
However, overall, their strength would not change much.
These were all fringe players, and unless something unexpected happened, Sacramento would still miss the Playoffs next season.
The Los Angeles Lakers re signed their 2 core big men, Camby and Garnett, to high salary extensions.
The Lakers goal for the new season remained unchanged.
Compete for the championship.
As long as Kobe was there, their goal would not change.
The Phoenix Suns also made moves, signing Shannon Brown, letting go of Jordan and White Chocolate Williams, and trading Raja Bell.
The Suns shed most of their championship winning roster, seemingly determined to rebuild.
The Dallas Mavericks acquired Carter, Odom, and Delonte West, while trading away Artest and Ray Allen.
After winning the championship, Dallas roster underwent significant changes, with several key players being traded away.
Miami's reinforcements looked somewhat pitiful.
They only acquired 3 unknown undrafted players.
The Orlando Magic traded away General Arenas and acquired Glen Davis and Weaver, freeing up salary cap space, but they were still unable to attract good players.
Howard had been constantly demanding stronger help, threatening to request a transfer otherwise.
He specifically requested to collaborate with Chen Yan.
The Magic front office was speechless about his behavior.
They felt Howard was not only a giant baby, but also possessed a strange beauty that came from having a missing brain stem.
Finally, Paul, the most attention grabbing player in this summer's transfer window, also found a new home.
He chose to join the Los Angeles Clippers.
Since he could not go to the Knicks or the Lakers, then he might as well go to a big city, right?
The Knicks 12 man roster for the new season had been confirmed, and their debut would be on December 25 against the Boston Celtics.
This opening game arrangement was very interesting.
Ever since the Knicks completed their Black 8 upset last season, they and the Celtics had officially become rivals.
The showdown between Chen Yan and Durant, 2 MVPs, was also one of the biggest highlights.
Fans were already eagerly looking forward to December 25.
.....
https://discord.gg/KvMN2CFsMR
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]