At the end of the year, the Knicks played two games against the Pacers.

Danny Manning has officially entered the discussion of superstars this year. So far this season, he has averaged 28 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 36 minutes per game.

As the trumpet Ralph Sampson, he is improving every year, and his current growth further proves that the Pacers' plan to cultivate Ewing and Sampson based on Louis's plan is successful.

Now Manning has become a type of player that Louis has never seen before.

They say he looks like Sampson, but he doesn't.

He plays the 4th position on the defensive end and the 3rd position on the offensive end. This looks a bit like Bird, but the problem is that he is not a full-time small forward like Bird.

He is a full-time power forward, but his offensive method is completely that of a small forward.

This is again different from Sampson.

Sampson's characteristic is that he is 2.2 meters tall and can attack with the ball. This is a characteristic, not his main method. Manning is more than ten centimeters shorter than Sampson, and has better speed, agility and athletic ability.

He is strong, so when he attacks with the ball like a small forward, there are not many power forwards in the league who can stop him.

The two power forwards best suited to guard him are on the Knicks.

Rodman and Kemp.

Now that Rodman is suspended, Kemp will have to face Manning in the next two games.

In the first game at the Pacers' home court, Manning scored 45 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists, leading the team to another defeat for the Knicks.

Kemp was beaten by him and his performance throughout the game was mediocre.

"Is Shawn Kemp worth $5 million?"

After this news spread, Kemp's agent Tony Dutt made a public relations emergency.

His excuse for Kemp was that he was not feeling well that night and therefore did not perform well.

This kind of excuse can only last for a while, and it can only be fulfilled if Kemp fights back head-on on the court.

December 31

On the last day of 1992, Kemp became frustrated.

Limiting Manning to 24 points, he scored 28 points and 14 rebounds.

But the key figures in this game are not Kemp and Manning, but Wilson and Miller.

Wilson had 0 offensive possessions with the ball in the game, and all of his points were catch-and-shoot shots.

With this move alone, there is nothing the Pacers can do.

And then there's Louie's favorite ntr episode.

Miller hit 6 three-pointers in a single game wearing a Knicks uniform and knocked the Pacers down.

The Knicks entered 1993 with a 21-5 record.

At the beginning of the new year, we encountered another defeat.

What caused them to lose was the Clippers, who ranked second in the Western Conference.

It stands to reason that the stronger the opponent, the more focused the Knicks should be.

But in fact, only Kemp and Wilson were able to focus on the game, and the others were in a bit strange condition.

Rodman continues to be suspended, and the Knicks seem to be missing an emotional person on the court.

When Ewing saw Olajuwon, his IQ went to zero and he always wanted to crush him.

Olajuwon was crushed by him because the team was too weak. Now he has Mutombo to protect him inside, Sprewell to help outside, and Drexler on the wing to feed the ball.

With Harper and Horry sitting there, I'm really not afraid of the Knicks.

Kemp continues to work hard, and his contract renewal negotiations have also been carried out for more than ten rounds.

Kemp's agent Tony Dutt believes that based on Kemp's current performance, it is natural to get a contract extension worth 5 million per year.

However, the Knicks have a bottom line.

That means Kemp can't be paid more than Wilson.

Not exceeding Wilson means that at least next season, when Kemp's new contract takes effect, the annual salary shall not exceed US$4.5 million. For Dutt, whose starting salary is US$5 million, it is like a game that will never happen.

There will be a battle with results.

Either the negotiations are declared bankrupt and Kemp enters the market as a restricted free agent this summer to ask for a price.

Either give in and accept the Knicks' price reduction - for them, an annual salary of less than $5 million is a price reduction.

On the night of the loss to the Clippers, Louis locked the players in the locker room and lectured them.

"I found that I was too indulgent to you bastards. There was no curfew, no restrictions, and no coercive measures to force you to play hard. Since some of you don't want to play well, I have to set a rule."

"Starting from today, we will implement a curfew policy for all games we lose in away games!" Louis glared at Ewing coldly, "Go say goodbye to those cousins ​​who are waiting to ride on you and make a fuss!"

"I have no objection to the curfew when we lose, but you must respect my woman."

Ewing seems to have the intention of irritating the beauty.

"Respect your woman? Which one are you referring to?" Louis mocked, "The Detroit Roses, the Chicago Thorns, or the face of every gold club in the United States? I respect *****!"

"If you still look like this shit in the next fucking game, I will push your head under the skirts of those cousins!"

Louis scolded Ewing's face, which turned blue and white for a while.

Every time Louis yelled at him, he was worried that he would really get beaten.

But as soon as Louis disappeared from his front, he started to get angry. He was angry about why he was so weak and didn't dare to argue his case. He just stood there like an idiot and let Louis scold him.

Damn it, why are you scolding me like that? Is it my fault alone for losing?

Of course he would think so, of course.

Ewing would never have imagined that after years of getting along with Louis, he would have developed several habits subtly.

Be obedient, don't talk back, and follow orders without discounts.

Louis is both the person he hates the most and the person he respects the most.

Ewing didn't think about why Louis fired at him, and he would go back and sulk.

But the players who watched Louis put his foot on Ewing's face and cursed wildly knew that this was to scare the monkeys. If even Ewing was scolded like this, others should be aware of themselves.

After Louis walked out of the locker room, Kemp tried to comfort Ewing with a joke.

"Uncle Ewing, although you got scolded for everyone, Kelly will heal your wounds. The coach said there is a curfew tonight, but the curfew shouldn't prohibit women from coming to the door themselves, right?"

Everyone was about to make fun of Ewing's love affair, but Ewing said with a stern face: "You, a guy who hasn't agreed on consecutive dates, still have time to take care of me?"

Reggie Williams took advantage of the situation and said: "That's right, Sean, don't be too greedy. It depends on the situation and the matter will be settled."

Kemp looked at Williams, who was also from Georgetown, and said, "This is not a matter of greed."

"Indeed, I heard that there is a $1 million gap between Sean's psychological expectations and the team's offer. That's $1 million!" John Salley returned the question to Williams, "Ruth (nickname)

, your annual salary is 1 million US dollars? Haha~~"

Selly's joke touched on another subject that is so sensitive within the team that no one wants to reveal it.

The growing wage gap.

When Reggie Williams joined the Knicks, he was a sought-after player. However, because he was too glassy, ​​he could not guarantee attendance and had no room for improvement. He was very useful as a role player, but he must be cultivated as a core player.

It's just a lot different.

Therefore, everyone's offer for him was not high, and Williams defected to his senior brother Ewing among the offers.

The Knicks were not the team with the highest bid, but they were the team Williams most wanted to join. After realizing his championship dream, Williams signed a long-term contract extension with the Knicks that was not considered a minimum salary at the time.

The contract - signed in 1989 for six years and US$3.4 million - however, the rise of the Celtics, Lakers, Knicks, Trail Blazers and other teams has caused the league's commercial value to rise repeatedly, and television broadcast contracts have become larger and larger.

, the salary cap has also skyrocketed.

Six years and US$3.4 million was considered middle-class at the time, but now, in a word, it is close to the minimum salary level.

Selley had no idea how big Williams' contract was, but his joke hurt Williams.

"Do you have an annual salary of US$1 million?" What made Williams angry was that his annual salary was not even US$1 million.

"You think this is funny?" Williams' face darkened.

Seeley didn't mean to embarrass Williams. He sensed the other's displeasure and said, "That's not what I meant, Ruth."

"I really fucking hate you bastards!" Williams said angrily, "Part of the money in your contract belongs to me, but some of you are not satisfied! qtmd, I've had enough!"

That night, Williams informed his agent that he would propose to the team to re-sign his contract.

But he was told by his agent that under the existing labor agreement system, teams are not allowed to arbitrarily jump out of existing contracts and sign new contracts with players.

Unless the Knicks have enough cap space, they can't do that.

However, the Knicks' salary cap has long been full, and it is impossible to re-sign Reggie Williams.

You can think of this as one of many cracks within the Knicks organization.

It's inconspicuous, but it's there.
To be continued...