LRAB Chapter 519 I'm the best director in America, number one, and I'll give you...
Chapter 519 I'm the best director in America, number one, and I'll give you...
The bench lineup on the Western Conference side is equally impressive, consisting of Nowitzki, Nash, Marion, Ray Allen, Lewis, LeBron James, and Jermaine O'Neal!
Among these players, James, Wade, and Anthony from the East are all second-year players, and they are also the first players from the 03 draft class to make the All-Star team.
The true quality of the 03 generation is slowly beginning to show.
In particular, besides these three players who have already been selected for the All-Star team, the 03 draft class also includes Chris Bosh, who averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds per game this year and has become the Spurs' second-in-command.
Milicic is averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds per game and is working hard to lead the Nuggets out of their slump.
Kirk Hinrich, who almost hit it off with Pat Riley on the Heat, is averaging 15 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists per game, and Josh Howard, who has now replaced Ron Artest as the starting small forward for Indiana!
These players have performed quite well this year, and many people think they are just one step away from becoming All-Stars. If they put in a little more effort next year, they could easily squeeze out some veterans and officially become All-Stars!
After the All-Star roster was fully announced, it was naturally time for the Rookie Challenge for the first and second year students!
Because of the strength of the 03 draft class, this year's Rising Stars Challenge is naturally full of highlights. At the very least, we can see three full-time All-Star players, Anthony, James, and Wade, as well as several potential All-Stars who have the potential to enter the All-Star game in the next few years!
That year, ten players from the 03 draft class—Anthony, James, Milicic, Wade, Bosh, Hinrich, David Lee, Kaman, TJ Ford, and Josh Howard—were selected together!
As for the first-year team, it is led by the inside duo of Okafor and Howard, plus Ben Gordon, Livingston, Devin Harris, Josh Childress, Josh Howard, Andre Iguodala, JR Smith, and Jameer Nelson, a total of ten players selected!
Compared to the second-year team, the first-year team is indeed somewhat lacking in star power. The quality of this year's rookies is clearly inferior to that of the previous year.
The general consensus is that the second-year team will win easily!
After the announcement of the 12 All-Star starters for each conference and the roster for the Rising Stars Challenge, it naturally sparked a lively discussion among fans.
Amidst the debate about who is a good fit and who is not, everyone is extremely curious about the roster for the All-Star individual competitions!
Of course, what I'm most curious about are the dunk contest participants!
Barkley's suggestion to have the Knicks have an internal battle has left a deep impression on many fans.
In particular, after Barkley made the appeal, Stern stepped forward to say that the idea was fantastic! He would fully support the idea and work hard to put it into action to bring about the much-anticipated 'New York Civil War'.
With Barkley and Stern expressing their expectations and making statements, all the fans were incredibly excited! They couldn't wait to see the Knicks field four players in a dunk contest!
In particular, after careful consideration, the fans discovered something.
That means the Knicks currently have four players with Slam Dunk Contest-level athleticism who can dunk like crazy on the court!
Stoudemire, Smith, and Wallace!
As for the last person?
Of course, this doesn't refer to Anthony, who is somewhat chubby and has baby fat, and who gets blocked by the rim from time to time.
Lin Tian!
Lin Tian, a two-time dunk champion nicknamed "Slam Dunk Contest Savior," is the Knicks' strongest dunker and the player fans most look forward to participating in the dunk contest!
Even during several games in February, fans at Madison Square Garden started displaying banners and chanting slogans!
"The Slam Dunk Contest needs you!"
"Lin! Go win another damn dunk contest title!"
"Go! All four of you go! Let's turn the dunk contest into our New York civil war!"
"Sweep the league! We're the best dunking team in the league!"
"New York is the best! Knicks are the best! Win the Slam Dunk Contest!"
The fans' shouts and yells really annoyed Anthony.
Who isn't a superhuman with incredible athleticism, capable of flying and leaping through the air? Why shouldn't you support me participating in the dunk contest? I'm pretty good at dunking too, okay?
An unhappy Anthony, upon hearing the fans' shouts, immediately executed his signature jab step followed by a drive to the basket, where he unleashed a powerful two-handed dunk!
It's a pity that I used a little too much force; the basketball didn't go into the basket and bounced high up instead.
Fortunately, Anthony's physical attributes are truly excellent. He used his left elbow and right butt to push away the defender, jumped up, and flicked the ball into the basket with one hand.
With 2 points and 1 rebound, Anthony simply smiled to hide his embarrassment.
That's how Anthony averaged two offensive rebounds per game.
However, although Anthony was a little jealous, Stoudemire, Smith and others were eager to participate in the dunk contest and wanted to experience this New York rivalry. The league was also really keen to have this happen.
But Lin Tian had already told Xiao Si and the others that he was declining the league's invitation.
Or, to put it another way, hold on, don't rush, take it easy.
He has a way, a way to make Xiao Si and others earn more money, gain more exposure, and attract more fans!
When Lin Tian said this, even though Stoudemire and the others had no idea what other way there was to attract fans and gain more exposure than by showcasing their talent in the dunk contest, they still agreed without hesitation because they trusted Lin Tian.
The team told the league that they needed to consider whether or not to participate in the dunk contest.
After being repeatedly turned away and given the cold shoulder by the Knicks, Stern angrily called Bird directly.
"Fuck you! You damn bastard, what do you want? I just want one of your guys to participate in a dunk contest, and you're already trying to bargain with me? Let me tell you, Larry, have some shame!"
"Are you senile? Who on my team can participate in the dunk contest? Tony Parker?" Bird cursed, then hung up the phone.
Who knows what's wrong with that old fox? Bird really can't be bothered with him right now.
Because the internal conflicts within the Pacers team are getting more and more serious.
Artest and Webber almost got into a fight during practice two days ago. The two pointed at each other and started spewing insults. If veterans like Miller and Christie hadn't stepped in quickly, the incident might have escalated to who knows how far.
But one thing is certain: this team is finished!
Lin Tian's departure left everyone without their backbone, and the massive decline in performance and personal form also put everyone in a very bad mood.
If Lin Tian were still here, then there would be no problem; he could handle most of the issues.
But the problem now is that Lin Tian isn't here!
With Lin Tian gone, everything that wasn't a problem before has become a problem!
Bird knew very well that if he didn't want the internal conflicts to escalate and the team to fall into a deep abyss of infighting, he had to make a trade.
We must take advantage of the fact that only Artest and Webber don't get along right now and cut our losses quickly by selling one of them!
Bird is having a real headache right now. He's thinking about who he should trade, how to trade them, and where to send them.
There are only a few days left until the trading deadline.
If you want to keep the team's hopes of making the playoffs alive, you have to start early!
If it weren't for the headache, Bird would have argued with Stern for another 3 minutes before hanging up!
As for Stern on the other side?
The old man was inexplicably scolded, then he slapped his thigh and finally realized where the problem lay.
That bastard Lin Tian changed teams! Now we need to find Lin Tian for a clean, honest deal; we can't go to Bird anymore.
We need to find...
Who were we looking for again?
Dolan? Stern felt that if he dared to call Dolan, Dolan would dare to put the conversation on speakerphone so that everyone could hear the two of them, and then release all the content through MSG.
Only a madman would talk to him about this stuff.
Who is the general manager of the Knicks?
Donnie Walsh?
Forget it, I'll just go find Lin Tian.
Stern didn't believe that this guy, who only knew how to flatter and whose signature skill was being obedient, could make decisions for Lin Tian!
"Forest?"
"Mr. President, you finally called me! I was just about to give you an update on our situation!"
Lin Tian answered the phone, immediately displaying great enthusiasm and excitement, smiling as he said to Stern, "You called me about the dunk contest, right? All the guys on our team really want to participate!"
"They couldn't wait, they were in a hurry, they were excited, they were full of enthusiasm, they had been preparing since they were 7 years old, they..."
"State your demands! Hurry up! I'm very busy before the All-Star Game starts!" Stern was too lazy to argue with Lin Tian. He knew that if Lin Tian kept rambling on, the call would take at least two hours, and he wouldn't be able to get anything done this afternoon.
"No requirements," Lin Tian said naively. "They all want to participate in the competition."
"Nonsense! I didn't ask them to consider or hesitate, what nonsense! Do you think I'm a three-year-old?" After years of getting to know Lin Tian, Stern had come to understand this cunning guy better and better, and he had become increasingly unruly.
His relationship with Lin Tian was completely straightforward and direct, without any formalities or beating around the bush – this was the most efficient way!
We're all old foxes, so let's not accuse each other of being slutty.
"If I had to point it out, there is a tiny problem," Lin Tian said, feigning hesitation. "It's that our head coach, Tang, you know, has a fiery temper, and he doesn't like his players participating in too many of these kinds of performances."
"He doesn't like three or four people participating in the dunk contest, as it would affect our preparation for the second half of the season and increase their risk of injury."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Stern indicated he wasn't going to take the bait and went straight to the point: "What exactly are you up to? What are you planning? Are you going to participate or not? And don't try to fob me off with that old man Tang. Do you think I don't know what kind of person he is? I've known him since he was playing basketball!"
"Alright, alright." Seeing that Stern was being so straightforward, Lin Tian stopped pretending and said directly, "We can only send one person to participate."
"What about the others?"
"We'll eliminate everyone else internally, and we're going to have an internal dunk contest. The winner will go on to participate in the dunk contest! How about that? Pretty generous, right? I've even taken care of the preliminary rounds for you, giving you the best of the best!"
"What a load of rubbish! I'd much rather all three of them come to the event, to the live preliminary rounds! How can anyone know if you're having your own closed-door preliminaries in the training facility? What good does that do for the league?"
"Of course I have ways!" Lin Tian said. "I have plenty of methods! Here's the deal: I guarantee that no matter how the dunk contest goes this year, I'll make sure to generate a lot of buzz!"
"I promise this All-Star Game will be more exciting than ever before. I promise it will be a game that changes everything!"
"Then what do I need to do?" Stern listened quietly to Lin Tian finish speaking, and then asked the core question.
Even if he were killed, he wouldn't believe that Lin Tian would give him benefits and promote the alliance for no reason.
Lin Tian was no benevolent man; on the contrary, in Stern's mind, Lin Tian was the kind of guy who wouldn't even let a passing beggar go, and would take two coins from the beggar's pocket before letting him leave!
He would never do anything that doesn't benefit him!
"It's very simple!" Lin Tian said with a smile, "Just tell the fans what we had in common!"
"Just tell the fans that the Knicks will be holding an internal selection process and will only send one of their best dunkers to the Slam Dunk Contest. As for who that person is, that's a secret! You can keep it a secret until the night of the Slam Dunk Contest!"
"How about revealing the mystery at the very last moment? Doesn't that increase the suspense and generate buzz?"
"It's possible," Stern frowned, sensing something was off. "How will the fans know how you fought yourselves internally and how you won the championship?"
"Before the All-Star Game starts, I'll send you our internal dunk contest highlights, okay? You can use it as a warm-up for the dunk contest before it starts and show it to the fans."
"That works." Stern had already envisioned a whole strategy and plan in his mind: how to create suspense, build up the hype, add more highlights, then hint that Lin Tian would participate, and finally pull off a surprise attack to reap the rewards of the hype.
This old man is truly a genius when it comes to marketing!
But there was still one thing he didn't understand.
"What do you get out of Lin? What do you gain from this? I don't believe you would help for no reason!" Stern asked the most crucial question once again.
"Don't worry about what I can get out of this. Ask yourself, David, ask yourself if doing this will be of great benefit to you! If it's beneficial, then do it. As for me, you don't need to worry about me. I have my own way and my own methods."
"Just tell me whether you want to cooperate this time."
Listening to Lin Tian's words and pondering the loopholes and processes in all his strategies and plans, Stern remained silent for a full three to four minutes without uttering a single word.
He was genuinely worried that Lin Tian was setting a trap for him, but the suspenseful setup that Lin Tian mentioned was really tempting for Stern.
After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't find any loopholes, and finally Stern made up his mind!
Let's just say that Lin the Skinflint suddenly changed his ways and became the Great Philanthropist Lin!
"Deal! That's settled!"
Stern finally made the decision, then quickly hung up the phone; he had to get to work!
In the coming period, he needs to find three dunkers willing to participate in the dunk contest, who can provide buzz for the All-Star Game, and create enough suspense and hype to make fans want to watch and pay attention to the dunk contest.
Then he also needs to find a few shooters and guards to participate in the three-point contest and skills challenge.
In addition, Stern had to attend meetings with many people, participate in many projects, and do all sorts of preparatory work.
The two weeks leading up to the All-Star Game are always one of the busiest times of the year for Stern.
At this moment, Stern was in no mood to care about or investigate what methods Lin Tian was going to use to benefit himself, nor was he interested in what Lin Tian was up to.
Anyway, Stern believed that Lin Tian might betray him, but he probably wouldn't betray the alliance.
After all, Lin Tian still needs to eat!
Let Lin Tian do whatever he wants, and just trust him!
Anyway, this guy really has some tricks up his sleeve!
Stern had no interest in Lin Tian, and Lin Tian naturally didn't care about Stern either, knowing that Stern would definitely keep his word.
So right now, Lin Tian has already started working in full swing!
As for the job content?
"Welcome to the inaugural Knicks Internal Slam Dunk Contest! This competition will serve as a preview and preliminary round for the NBA Slam Dunk Contest! We will use this competition to select one player to advance to the main Slam Dunk Contest!"
"Now, let's take a look at today's contestants!"
Lin Tian passionately narrated in front of a camera, and after saying this, he turned around and waved to Xiao Si.
"Amaré Stadamer!"
"Josh Smith!"
"Gerald Wallace!"
"Now, let's welcome our most beloved judges!"
"The most famous fan and number one fan in Knicks history, my good buddy, Spike Lee!"
"Knicks legend and one of the greatest players in franchise history, Patrick Ewing!"
"Our good friend, the fans' favorite fatso, Charles Barkley!"
"Carmelo Anthony wants to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest but his physical abilities don't allow it, so he can only vent his frustration by giving the players low scores!"
"And of course, there's me!"
As Lin Tian spoke and introduced the scene, he directed the camera to film everyone sitting there in a seemingly professional manner, before he himself plopped down behind the judges' panel.
"Lin, what do you want from us? Are you really going to hold an internal dunk contest?" Spike Lee asked Lin Tian, puzzled.
He wondered if Lin Tian had gone mad, or if he was planning to start his own faction and challenge Stern.
"Have fun! Are you having a good time? Just think of it as participating in our 'Produce Camp', Spike." Lin Tian said with a smile, "By the way, you'll have to edit this footage for me when we get back! I don't know how to do this, but you're my best friend, you have to help me!"
"I'm Spike Lee! One of the best directors ever!"
Spike Lee stared wide-eyed at Lin Tian and said, "Do you think I'd edit this kind of stuff for you?" (End of Chapter)