the rest, only noise

Chapter 501 Unchangeable Determination

Don Nelson waited for Louis' call back, but things didn't go as he expected.

Louie called back to let him know the deal was off and they decided to keep Dale Ellis.

"Lu, this is no joke!" Nelson thought about Louis' treachery and dumped Ellis to the higher bidder.

If Louis really did this, there was nothing he could do.The one with the highest price is the eternal iron law of the trading market.

He never imagined that Louis' final decision was not to sell Ellis to a third party with a higher bid, but to keep it for himself.

Is this a joke?
The Knicks have been preparing to trade Ellis since December, and have been putting off until now, after his wild January performance.The time is ripe for a trade, and Ellis, who is worth his money, can bring the maximum return.

However, Louis suddenly didn't want to trade?

How can people be soothed?How can Ellis make it through, will he still play for the Knicks with all his heart?
"Lu, let me just say it. This will do more harm than good to the Knicks!" Nelson didn't want to watch the cooked duck fly away. "Dale Ellis must not want to play for you anymore. I know you don't want him, but the arrow is on the line. Send him away and you still have Reggie Miller and Jeff Hornacek."

Nelson asked himself that this wave of speeches was absolutely impartial, and considered the issue from the perspective of Ellis and the Knicks.

According to common sense, it is impossible for both parties to accommodate each other when the rumors about the transaction have reached such a level.

However, there is such a strange relationship between Ellis and Nix.

Louie created a unique bond in the middle, so Ellis would rather be on the bench than leave the team.

"Nellie, after all, I have also served as the general manager for several years. Can I not understand what you said?"

Louis didn't mind letting Nelson know the truth.

He understands the annoyance of seeing a GIF on the Internet that makes his second brother stand up but can't get a license plate.

"Dell told me in front of me that as long as he can stay, he is willing to be everyone's substitute."

"What else can I do? Trade him? I can't, Nelly."

What a good player, why is he so troublesome off the court?
Nelson believes that Louis has no reason to deceive himself, and the Knicks definitely want to trade Ellis.

"Well, good luck to you."

Nelson didn't forget to remind Louie what it meant to keep Ellis.

"Even if what he said is true, he wants to play for you, but after the end of this season, two new teams will join the league. At that time, we will hold an expansion draft. According to previous regulations, each team can only set up protection for eight players. I don't think Dell Ellis will enter your protection list."

Ewing, Oakley, McHale, Wilson, Stockton, Miller, Hornacek... These seven people are definitely on the protection list.

In the unprotected list, there will be Cooper, Rodman, Sely, Song Tao, Ellis, Stevens, Rohaus and others competing for the eighth spot.

That is to say, only one of Rodman, Cooper, Sely, and Ellis, who have made many teams envious, will enter the protection list, while the other three are almost certain that two will be selected by the new team.

This was Nelson's last effort.

He wants Louis to understand that if he does not make a deal now, he may get nothing by the end of the season.

From the moment Louie decided to keep Ellis, he had thought about these things.

"Goodbye, Nelly," said Louie.

Nelson never imagined that when he talked to Louis on the phone, Ellis was in front of Louis.

Louis asked, "Can you rest assured now?"

"Um…"

"The deal won't happen, but your future is still uncertain."

"I understand, Coach."

"Go ahead and ask Reggie to come to my office by the way."

Ellis asked strangely: "Do you want me to inform him?"

Lu Yi smiled kindly and asked, "Otherwise I'll go, why don't you rest here for a while?"

"I'm going, I'm going!"

Looking at the back of this kid leaving, Louis murmured, "Louis, you are worthy of being the most loyal person in the alliance. This is really your shortcoming. You have a kind heart, and your heart is too kind. This is not good."

Louie decided to keep Ellis until the end of the season.

At that time, he will definitely be taken away, which is tantamount to giving to the expansion team for nothing.

Louie was ready for this.Letting Ellis stay can increase the Knicks' hopes of winning the championship. Miller needs time to grow, and a spot-up shooter like Hornacek is easy to get confused in high-intensity games.

If you don't believe me, ask the Nets fans what they think of Joe Harris, or ask the Warriors fans what they think of Barnes in the 2016 Finals.

Of course, they are just confused and not considered to be ill. After all, it is a matter of ability.If it is like JR in 2018 or Ben Simmons in the 2021 semifinals who empty the basket and don't deduct points for his teammates, resulting in being blocked and missing a key goal, that is the fault that can leave a psychological shadow on the head star and make fans want to evaporate him from the world.

The Knicks need a starter who is willing to make sacrifices.

In Louis' impression, there are always people who selflessly sacrifice and dedicate to the team that dominates the league.

In the first dynasty of the Bulls, Jordan gave up the ball, allowing Pippen to complete the leap from starter to All-Star in the 1990-91 season.If Jordan is unwilling to give up the ball, or is impatient to wait for Pippen to grow up, and let the management trade Pippen for immediate combat power, that is another story, and the ending of the story must not satisfy Jordan;
Kukoc of the second dynasty of the Bulls can start most teams, but he is willing to play the sixth man for three years;
Wade in the Big Three period of the Heat, Iguodala in the 15th Warriors period, Curry in the Cosmic Warriors period... For a winning team, there can only be one person who takes the limelight, and one of the remaining people must take the lead in making sacrifices and setting an example for others.

Alice was willing to be this role model, and Louis was naturally very happy.But he also knows that this kind of selfless dedication can last at most one season, and it cannot last.

Ellis is a young man himself, not the kind of veteran who has gone through the glitz and recognized the world.He just felt grateful to Louie and wanted to play for him, even as a substitute.

His feelings for Louis must be sincere and simple, and Louis has no doubts.

However, in the salary cap era, everyone's salary is based on their status in the team and performance on the court.For a player like Ellis who can compete for a sub-maximum contract in the future, if he plays as a substitute for a long time, his statistics and performance will decline. How can he fight for a big contract for himself?

At that time, will he still be willing to be a substitute?
This is the reality. The salary cap era makes it difficult for strong teams to maintain their lineups.If there is no salary cap, you only need to increase the winning bonus to retain these substitutes, which is exactly what Auerbach was good at.

Taking a step back, even if Ellis had the determination to serve as a substitute for the Knicks until his old age, Louis would not let him do so.

The other party is sincere, leading him to win this season's championship, and then sending him away is the best result.

This season will be Ellis' last shift in New York.

As long as he can finish this post, no matter what his future is, Louis will recognize him as his own.

After winning this championship, even if he gave Ellis to the expansion team for nothing, he would have no complaints.

After Miller arrived, Louie informed him that the team would start with him for most of the next regular season.

Only when he is not in good shape will Ellis be started.

Miller was shocked. He originally thought that Ellis had been traded. Later, Louis said that Ellis would start if he was not in good condition, so he understood what happened.

"Coach, I will try my best to play every game well!"

he said seriously.

Louie didn't doubt Miller's attitude. This guy was always full of energy and desire.

In February, the Knicks had a record of 2 wins and 30 losses.

Compared with last season, the record in the same period has dropped a lot.

But the Knicks have become more stable, and Louis doesn't care about the Celtics' luxurious record. They were defeated by the Celtics in the Eastern Conference last year.

The record in the regular season is just a step up.

A top-eight team can get over that rung and make the playoffs, but once it's in the playoffs, everything is different.

In early February, the Knicks had two games to play before the holiday.

One of the opponents was the Washington Bullets, and the game became completely an exhibition game for the Knicks.

Over the past few seasons, the Bullets have had a tendency to become the Knicks' nemesis.However, they have not won against the Knicks this season, and they have been beaten badly every time. It is obvious that the Knicks are not in the same state as last season.

Another horrific massacre tonight.

146 is better than 99
Throughout the game, Louie didn't call a timeout. The Knicks' touch was overwhelming, no matter how they shot, the Bullets called all their timeouts to no avail.

You said that Louis didn't call a timeout, so what did he do?
He keeps counting.

At the end of the count, he was surprised that he only won 47 points after scoring this virtue.

Grandpa Sao Paulo, how do you always lose 58 points in the playoffs?

If Coach Crumb is free, there will be many Mavericks fans telling him the story of the 81-point loss to the Celtics at home.

(End of this chapter)