the rest, only noise

Chapter 1288

In early March, the East stole all the headlines.

In the focus match between the Heat and the Knicks, the focus should have been on the performance of the two teams.

As the overlords of the Eastern Conference in the past few years, every matchup between them is called a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals.

But this year, the emergence of the super luxury tax has had a fatal impact on superteams.

As a result, the Heat missed Joe Dumars, who had a great say in the locker room. The urgent pressure to renew the contract made them unable to meet Petrovic's demand for a maximum salary.

This year is Petrovic's contract year. So far this season, he has averaged 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game. He is still the best combo guard in the league.

Regardless of Petrovic's data "only" 24+5+5, he is still a frequent visitor to the best team. Although it is difficult to make it to the first team, he can always be seen in the second and third teams.This means that he has played the league's TOP 15 strength for several consecutive years.

Moreover, he has been in Miami since he entered the NBA. It can be said that he is a player cultivated by the Heat. For such a player with strength, qualifications and honor, he should meet all his needs.

But the Heat just couldn't give Petrovic a satisfactory offer.

The stalemate between the two sides did not result until the end of the trade deadline. Petrovic was extremely disappointed by this, and there was an obvious problem with his mentality.

It was at this time that they met the Knicks.

And New York has been blown through because of similar things.

The internal atmosphere of the Knicks at this time is like the Suns in the summer of 2022. The head coach pretended that they were doing well, but Dunbao's "we haven't talked since the end of last season" showed everything.

The Heat just ruined Petrovic's mentality. The Knicks have a master of movement. He single-handedly broke the mentality of Sam Cassell, Alan Houston, and Scottie Pippen.

More heavyweight is Ewing.

Ewing was the perfect leader in the eyes of fans last season, and he is.

But, because he was a consummate leader last season, are his flaws gone?

At least Ewing's bad jokes are still too cold to make people laugh.

When the team is burdened with a huge luxury tax of [-] million U.S. dollars, the "New York Times", which has always liked to do a lot of work, is not surprising.

They asked Ewing, considering the current rule changes, would they consider a salary cut to ease the team's financial pressure?

"No." Ewing replied, "I don't care about any financial issues. I only know that Mr. Dolan is very rich. As long as we can ensure victory, even if we sign a one-year contract of [-] million US dollars, we should."

The reporter petrified on the spot.

A few seconds later, Ewing's words woke him up: "I'm kidding you!"

The reporter who was frightened into a cold sweat immediately asked: "Then...would you consider a salary cut?"

Ewing, who has always equated salary and team status with the importance of the team, shook his head seriously: "No, I will not cut my salary."

"I earn a lot, I spend a lot, and I deserve every penny in my account."

This time, he wasn't joking.

In addition to Ewing who speaks without thinking, there are also Kemp and Miller's bastards who can't understand the concept of "saving money".

Also asked if he was willing to cut his salary, Miller said angrily: "My salary is at the bottom of the queue, and you still want me to cut my salary⑴? Do you know what it is like for a family to strictly limit their monthly expenses to less than 10 US dollars?"

Everyone really doesn't know.

In fact, 99% of Americans have no idea what it's like to live "frugally" on $10 a month.

Kemp is even worse.

With the Knicks' new round of contract extensions completed, his annual salary is no longer the second in the team, which made him feel a sense of crisis.

"I really feel that this has had a great impact on my life. I no longer dare to sign a check for $5 in a bar casually. I have to work hard for the next contract. The annual salary of $500 million is far from enough for me to support my family."

10 million luxury tax, unsuccessful attempts to cheat, "I earn a lot and spend a lot", "Spend 500 US dollars a month to save money", "[-] million is not enough to support the family"...

This kind of program effect, no one in the North American sports circle can call him big brother.

In terms of defying the sky, the Heat are naturally far inferior.

In this game, the Knicks, who were at odds internally, still won by relying on the overall.

But Scottie Pippen fell during the game, and then slammed the team doctor who was respected by many teammates at the press conference: "They don't respect me at all. Whenever I get injured, they just take a casual look. In their eyes, I am just a failed substitute who is not as good as Benjamin but has to replace Benjamin..."

After Pippen criticized the team so fiercely, he announced without authorization that he would be absent indefinitely, and left without saying goodbye, and went to Mingzhou to see a doctor without saying hello.

A day later, Pippen's agent announced that her employer was out for the season.

"Scottie suffers from a rare back condition requiring prolonged rest..."

The weirdest thing about this incident is that the Knicks, who should have known about Pippen's situation, had their eyes darkened the whole time and became blind.

They didn't know about Pippen's situation, didn't contact Pippen's agent, didn't seek to repair the relationship, and acted as if nothing had happened.

"Sir, what do you think of this matter in New York?" Little Buss looked gloating.

It's no wonder that Dolan Jr. and Bass Jr. gambled on the prospects of their respective teams at the GM summit. Now that the Knicks have won the championship, if the Lakers can't catch up as soon as possible, the other side will win the bet.

Not to mention the situation of the Lakers now, the Knicks obviously exploded in place.

Louis looked at the report submitted by Bass Jr.

The whole story of Pippen's break with the Knicks is clearly written.

It can be said that Pippen's mentality problems were caused by Dolan Jr.

At this point, the Knicks' reaction can be said to be very strange.

They ignored Pippen and allowed each other to behave as if they were guilty.

Regardless of the facts, even if the Knicks are sorry for Pippen, there is no need to feel guilty.Things turned out like this, but it was Pippen's side that had the problem.

Leaving the team without permission, unilaterally severing contact, refusing to share the injury with the team, announcing season reimbursement without a doctor's confirmation... one by one, one by one, are all reasonable and unreasonable things.

"According to the provisions of the labor agreement, Scottie's doing so is obviously a serious violation, and the Knicks have the right to suspend him without pay." Louis said, "This part of the salary is not included in the salary cap."

Buss Jr. opened his eyes wide: "In other words, the Knicks are using this to reduce their total salary, thereby saving part of the luxury tax?"

Louis smiled lightly: "Very likely."

"Is this too cruel?"

"It's also stupid to a certain extent." Louis said softly, "However, after experiencing so many things, New York is already rotten. I don't believe that this team can do anything in the short term. Therefore, it is understandable to do so for the sake of saving money."

"Is Scottie going to let New York garnish his salary?" Buss Jr. asked.

"Of course not, they're going to have a lawsuit, and I think Scotty will eventually get his salary back, but at that point, he's going to be a salary cap sucker. Either way, New York can 'get what it wants' and definitely cut some of the luxury tax with this."

There's only one question left for Bath Jr. - is this really what New York wanted in the first place?
If Bass hadn't taken the initiative to collect information to ask, Louis would really be too lazy to ask about the New York stall.

Originally, it had nothing to do with him. What the Dolan family wanted to do was their own business.

It's just that after a closer look at this matter, Louis really couldn't escape the responsibility.

The source of the super team explosion is the luxury tax. This idea was proposed by Louie, and then everything is today.

What Louis didn't expect at the beginning was that the negative impact of the luxury tax on super teams would come so quickly.

In less than a season, both the Knicks and the Heat are rotten.

Louis believes that the championship is the primary goal of the Lakers this year.

With the current state of the Heat and the Knicks, can they really break out of the East?

The lineup is weaker, but the Celtics, who have good chemistry and morale, are obviously the dark horse with the most potential in the East.

In the West, the biggest opponent of the Lakers is the Portland Trail Blazers.

After the All-Star break, the Blazers got better and better, with the 34-year-old Jordan playing what Dean Smith called "the best game of his career."

The Blazers also lost Mourning because of the luxury tax, but the team was stabilized by Riley.

After the All-Star weekend, Riley called a team meeting.

In this meeting, Riley shared bits and pieces of his career and called this season "the last dance".

"Regardless of our results this season, my body and mind cannot take the pressure of another season. This is our last dance. Let's dance it out gracefully."

Since then, the Blazers have taken on a whole new look.

The Lakers are still immature, and the Knicks and the Heat, the two major sufferers, all blew themselves up. Suddenly, the Blazers opened a once-in-a-lifetime window to win the championship.

Louie circled the Blazers.

This is definitely a big test for the Lakers in the playoffs. If they don't climb this mountain, there will be no championship.

(End of this chapter)