Chapter 432: The New Knicks
Stockton's departure had become a habit for Yang Mo. From the first day, Stockton had never practiced with him for a whole morning, so whether he was there or not, it was the same for Yang Mo. There was no need to speculate on the reason for his departure.
Yang Mo practiced for nearly half the morning, making very little progress, but now he could consistently hit three every time, occasionally even four. He had also managed to hit five, but Yang Mo felt that the only time he did so was sheer luck.
Just as he was preparing for steady progress, head coach Stein and general manager Thomas arrived with several new players. In fact, on the very day Yang Mo and Girls' Generation's relationship unfolded, New York City swiftly executed two trades. Combined with the previous trade with the Rockets, this drastically changed the team's roster by more than half. Thomas 's tactics were swift, precise, and ruthless.
In addition to McGrady, the Warriors also traded Turiaf and Anthony Randolph, and the traded players were David Lee and a draft pick. In addition, the Celtics also sent bench bandits Tony Allen and Bill Walker, and the Knicks only paid for the new dunk champion Nate Robinson and a draft pick. Poor Nate Robinson, before he could boast of the glory of the three-time dunk champion, the news came from behind: "Please pack up and go to Boston directly."
"Yang, come here and meet your new teammates." Isaiah Thomas hooked his finger at Yang Mo and enthusiastically called him over.
As the team leader, Yang Mo felt compelled to greet the new members, so he immediately put down his tennis ball and walked over. He enthusiastically high-fived the new teammate. Although Anthony Randolph looked a little awkward when high-fiving Yang Mo, Yang Mo didn't seem unnatural at all.
Although Anthony Randolph had provoked Yang Mo before, Yang Mo had dealt with him then, so for him, there was no such thing as an overnight grudge. Anthony Randolph, however, was somewhat resentful, believing that Yang Mo might give him a hard time because of this. But the truth was, at Yang Mo's current level, why would he bother to argue with him?
After the high-fives, Yang Mo praised them one by one: "I know your name is Tony Allen. You always leave a deep impression on me every time I play against you. You are like a mad dog on the court, very tough. I like your style of play, and I like your defense even more. Your arrival will definitely inject a strong spirit into us. Welcome to join us. I am very happy to be your teammate."
Yang Mo's words of praise were sincere and touching. Tony Allen was delighted when he heard them. He quickly said, "I am also very happy to be Super Yang's teammate. I will do my best to be your good assistant."
"Thank you." Yang Mo shook his hand warmly. Then he turned to Turiaf next to him and said, "You're also a tough player. I admire every jump and every physical contact you make in the penalty area. Your muscles will fill our entire penalty area with strength. Man, welcome to join us."
"Thank you, I am very happy to be Super Yang's assistant." Turiaf also immediately expressed his desire to follow in Yang Mo's footsteps.
After shaking hands with him, Yang Mo said to Bill Walker, "Come on, rookie. You will get more playing opportunities here. I hope you can use these opportunities to play unforgettable games. Welcome aboard."
"I will definitely work hard."
"And you, Anthony. Your talent amazes me. I hope you can fully unleash your talent here. In our penalty area, you will have a sky to fly. Come on, I am optimistic about you." Yang Mo patted Anthony Randolph on the shoulder and encouraged him.
Yang Mo encouraged himself like a boss, and Anthony Randolph actually accepted it humbly. He didn't know why he suddenly "degraded himself". Obviously, this guy was his opponent before, how come he became his little brother in the blink of an eye?
It couldn't be helped. His progress was so slow. For the first month or two of his rookie season, he might have been comparable to Yang Mo, but as time went on, he was left so far behind that Yang Mo couldn't even see his taillights. Now, after being traded to the Knicks, who else would be? It was his fault for not being proactive.
After encouraging Anthony Randolph, Yang Mo looked at McGrady with a smile on his face and said, "Tracy, welcome to the Knicks to coach us young players. I grew up watching you play basketball. So, how can I be qualified to comment on you?"
Tracy McGrady was deeply touched by Yang Mo's respectful words. He nodded repeatedly and then said with a bit of a smile, "I'm here to lead you all to the playoffs and even the finals. I hope everyone can unite closely. Come on!"
McGrady was praised by Yang Mo, and subconsciously entered the super core mode, acting like a master. This made Yang Mo a little surprised, and Isaiah Thomas next to him frowned. He almost wanted to remind Tracy McGrady: Man, if your expiring contract could not save 20 million US dollars in salary space next year, you really wouldn't be of much use to the Knicks. After all, we already have Super Yang at the small forward position.
At this time, Stein said very sinisterly: "Tracy said it very well. Next, I will emphasize our tactics for all the new players. Our tactics are based on defense. This is why we invited you defensive players to the Knicks. So next, I will focus on your defense. If your defense is not active enough and it drags down the team, I will definitely not let you play. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" Several people answered at the same time. The others were full of confidence, except for McGrady who seemed a little lacking in confidence.
Although he started out as a defender, playing as a super core for so many years has made him forget what defense is. He has become accustomed to others covering up for him and cleaning up his mistakes. But now, he has to be the one cleaning up others' mistakes. This gap is obviously too big.
At this time, Stein began to explain other tactics: "As for offense, our first choice is Yang, everyone must cooperate carefully. I have sent the specific tactics to your email, I hope everyone will read it. This is directly linked to your playing time."
After Stein finished speaking, Isaiah Thomas added two more points: "You are all Knicks players now. I hope that with everyone's efforts this year, we can get the Knicks back to the playoffs. Come on!"
Isaiah Thomas added and walked towards the office.
At this time, Stan immediately called the players together, and then divided them into groups to compete and practice tactics.
While all the players were practicing tactics, Yang Mo was still throwing his tennis balls. For him, team practice was obviously not as important as passing tennis balls. After all, he had memorized his team's tactics by heart, and with his tactical literacy, it wouldn't necessarily be worse if he created his own tactics on the court. Besides, as the core, his tactical settings were always the simplest ones, because all the players were revolving around him, and he only needed to manage his own rhythm.
Yang Mo did not practice tactics, so McGrady naturally became Yang Mo's role. In the joint practice, his performance was quite eye-catching, which surprised Stein. He originally thought that McGrady would become very bad after the minimally invasive surgery. But the result is that, except for the decline in physical fitness, his offensive awareness and passing awareness have greatly improved. Although the hard power is still a distance away from the peak period, at least he can temporarily withstand some firepower during the time when Yang Mo is no longer there.
In other words, Yang Mo will no longer be brutally beaten throughout the entire venue.
So, just like that, in Stan's mind, McGrady was directly equated with the sixth man.
Yang Mo occasionally watched the matchup on the court after practice. He was not surprised by McGrady's eye-catching performance. After all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. McGrady was one of the best superstars in the past, so he couldn't be worse. What surprised him was that the team's interior defense ability was a level stronger, and the problem of point guard was greatly alleviated by the arrival of Tony Allen. In general, this lineup has improved a lot compared to the previous one. After all, the people who were traded away by Isaiah Thomas were all unnecessary people.
Now, although there are still some players with overlapping positions in the team and Chris Duhon has not been traded, there are indeed more people who can play.
During the lunch break, Yang Mo went to Isaiah Thomas' office. As soon as he entered, he praised Isaiah Thomas: "Man, these three trades are really good deals. They've continuously cleaned up some of the junk contracts and cleared out all the useless players."
"This is what I should do." Isaiah Thomas said proudly.
"Yeah." Yang Mo nodded, then changed the subject and continued, "Then when will you trade Larry Hughes, Chris Duhon, Wilt Chandler, Gallinari and other players who overlap in position? Although this trade has enriched our inside line, the offensive power of the inside line has been weakened, and the point guard is still weak. So, let's talk about our follow-up plan."
"This..." Isaiah Thomas hesitated and said awkwardly: "The trading window has just closed, let's wait until the summer."
"You should also prepare well, after all, we are heading for the finals. Now you should look for inside offensive players and point guards. The trading market this summer will definitely be a mess. We must make plans in advance, otherwise it will be a waste of time if we don't catch any big fish."
"Okay, I understand. I'll start planning it now." Isaiah Thomas nodded repeatedly. Unconsciously, he had regarded Yang Mo as his boss. He was no more pious than this in front of James Dolan.
