the great gatsby

Chapter 29 The beast is waking up!
James Dolan watched the conversation between Gatsby and Donnie Walsh thoughtfully. In his opinion, the conflict between Gatsby and Eddie Curry was actually nothing. He who controlled the team and the media I have seen too much, he actually has the intention of selling the team, and since he took over the Knicks, he has never satisfied the fans, and he doesn't care about this now.

James Dolan has a bad reputation among fans, but if we look at it from another angle, this guy is quite interesting:

——In 2001, Dolan gave Alan Houston a 6-year contract worth 1 million U.S. dollars. Regardless of whether the healthy Houston is worth so much money, the problem is that Houston is a restricted free agent. No other team offered him more than $7500 million.

In the 2003-04 season, Houston suffered a serious knee injury and refused surgery, and has since become synonymous with high salary and low ability.

In 2005, the league allowed each team to amnesty one player, giving Dolan a chance to correct his mistake. However, due to the close personal relationship between Dolan and Houston, the Knicks refused to amnesty Houston.

In 2005, Houston retired due to a knee injury, but he would still receive $4000 million in salary from the Knicks over the next two years.

——Many people attribute the "Nicks black hole" to Isaiah Thomas, but it is precisely because of Dolan's unprincipled trust and support for the smiling assassin that Knicks can't extricate himself from the black hole for a long time.

In 2003, Thomas was appointed by Dolan to serve as the president and general manager of the Knicks. In addition to giving various player junk contracts, Thomas also gave Larry Brown a five-year, $2004 million coaching contract in 5.

But just one season later, the conflict between Thomas and Brown broke out, and the Knicks could only buy out the rest of the old Brown's contract for $1800 million. That is to say, Brown took away $2800 million after only one year of coaching with the Knicks.

Aside from a couple of decent draft picks, the Smiling Assassin's time in New York has been nothing short of wrathful.

In addition to poor basketball decisions, he was also accused of sexually assaulting Saunders, a female staffer, but Dolan stubbornly sided with Thomas on this one as well, and fired Saunders.

In the end, the court ruled in favor of Sanders, and Dolan and his MSG Group paid $1100 million in compensation. NBA commissioner David Stern commented on the matter: "The Knicks are not a model of a smart management team."

Well, if you look at it from the perspective of a team owner, James Dolan is really not a shrewd boss, but from the perspective of a friend, James Dolan is really the friend that everyone wants, as long as he trusts you , he will not doubt you, he will do his best to support you and help you, such a friend is really rare.

Gatsby's impression of James Dolan is not that bad. In the NBA, a business-only league, James Dolan is simply a clean stream. He just lacks a friend who can really help him rise.

"Boss, may I ask, what do you hope to achieve in the team?" Gatsby looked at James Dolan.

James Dolan glanced at Gatsby: "Records and money!"

Gatsby smiled: "It's actually one thing. New York is a big football market. As long as the record is a little bit better, it can attract the attention of many fans. So the key now is actually the record. It is not easy to play out the current personnel of the Knicks..."

"What you're actually trying to say is that it can't be typed, right?" James Dolan said.

"Well, that's not the case. If you look at the strength of the players, the Knicks are not bad. Although Larry Hughes is a little older, he is still at the tail end of his peak. Al Harrington is in his prime. Wilson Chandler is a very good player, Chris Duhon is a decent opener, David Lee's attack at the basket can support a certain period of time, they all look good, right, but they lack a leader..."Gai Cibi said.

"Wow, you don't want to say it's you, do you?" James Dolan took a deep breath of the cigar, feeling the impact of the smoke on his taste buds with his tongue.

Gatsby nodded without hesitation: "Exactly!"

James Dolan looked at Gatsby in surprise. Americans are not humble, but they also despise arrogance. Where does this young man feel confident that he can be the leader of the team.

"Boss, do you find it incredible? In fact, my main problem now is my body. I haven't exercised for too long, and my body needs time to wake up. You can ask Coach D'Antoni. How about it." Gatsby pointed to D'Antoni who had been silent.

James Dolan looked at coach D'Antoni, and D'Antoni nodded: "Gatsby is indeed a very remarkable rookie when he is physically strong."

"Then how do you guarantee your physical strength?" James Dolan asked.

"In fact, my physical strength has gradually recovered. I feel that my body has gradually been awakened. As the schedule progresses, my physical strength will get better and better, and my playing time will also become longer and longer. Once my If you can play 30 minutes, your team's record will improve significantly." Gatsby said confidently.

James Dolan looked at D'Antoni and received a positive answer from Coach D'Antoni. He thought for a moment and nodded: "OK, Gatsby, I understand, you go back first, we will consider the next thing. "

Gatsby smiled and nodded, turned and left. The stone in his heart had been dropped. James Dolan's attitude basically indicated that he had no problem staying in the team. What he had to worry about now was the rumors outside. The league is a business after all. In the competitive league, the player's reputation is very important. If you don't have a good reputation, even if you play well, it will be difficult to achieve a certain level of popularity.

Therefore, Gatsby first decides whether he will stay or stay, and then resolves the rumors. As for Eddie Curry, even without him, Eddie Curry has been in the Knicks for a long time. The basics of the NBA have not been maintained, so there is no qualification to stay in the NBA.

Gatsby didn't lie. He did feel that his body was waking up, as if a beast was waking up from a deep sleep. He could feel that the beast in his body would be very scary once it woke up. This also gave Gates Than a lot of confidence.

(End of this chapter)