Strong as an Ox and Fat as a Ball
On August 6, 1998, after re-adjustment, the two sides resumed negotiations.
The players' union proposed increasing revenue sharing between teams, resulting in commissioner David Stern and owners' representatives walking out.
This situation also made the players' union somewhat embarrassed.
The other party was firm in their attitude and the negotiations broke down again.
Major sports media have been reporting this news repeatedly.
Many players already felt something was wrong.
If the team cannot pay their salaries, everyone is ready to go to other leagues to play.
Not every player has savings or sponsor support.
Most players spend money lavishly.
It is even more difficult for low-level players to support their families without salaries.
Lee did not have these worries.
According to the plan he had made previously, he came to Chicago and received training from Tim Grover.
The training hall is located in an industrial area in southwest Chicago.
It covers a large area of 6.5 acres and has 6 basketball courts, a baseball field, a professional gym, yoga room, massage room, ice room, hyperbaric oxygen chamber and other professional facilities.
As Michael Jordan's trainer, Tim Grover has also risen to fame with Michael Jordan.
The company he just founded is the result of many years of hard work.
As a VIP client, Lee is accompanied by Tim Grover every day, and the training plan he develops is constantly changing.
Even in the late 1990s, most players didn't care about strength training.
Generally speaking, outside players were not very enthusiastic about strength training.
NBA players have messy private lives, and playing with drugs is commonplace.
In the Knicks, Lee is considered a self-disciplined player.
He never cuts off warm-up training before and after games, and he is also very particular about his diet.
Although Michael Jordan once promoted his "Breakfast Club", most of the stars who made a lot of money don't want to suffer this kind of hardship:
"I can win by talent, so I don't have to practice so hard."
Starting in the morning, Lee will first conduct speed and agility training, mainly skipping rope, alternating between left and right feet, accelerating at the end, and changing the rhythm.
Next comes strength training, mainly upper and lower body resistance band exercises.
The subsequent continuous shooting practice becomes mixed aerobic training.
Most of them are compound set exercises, which are close to actual combat and can also increase endurance.
After a week of observation, combined with physical data and other conditions, Tim Grover finally confirmed one thing:
"Lee is more durable than he thought."
Among the guards he came into contact with, Michael Jordan was an outlier, because although he was a shooting guard, his playing style was similar to that of a forward.
Seeing that Lee, accompanied by other trainers, continued to complete explosive balls, shots, and continuous shuttle runs without affecting the stability of his shooting, Tim Grover decided to increase the intensity in the future:
"Practice until you vomit and then continue practicing. This is what a ruler should do!"
In the afternoon, in addition to completing training, Tim Grover also conducts some spiritual communication.
In the yoga room, Lee is doing stretching exercises, while Tim Grover is giving spiritual chicken soup seriously:
"Lee, after nearly a week of observation, I think you can become stronger."
"When I say strong, it's not just about the physical aspect, it's more about the attitude towards basketball."
"After so many years of observation, I divide players into three categories: passive, controlling, and dominant."
"Michael Jordan is a ruler, with absolute confidence, unparalleled intuition and skills. Even if he misses consecutive shots, he still believes that he will make the next shot!"
"Some players may train themselves until they vomit, and then stop when they feel unwell, but the rulers will continue training after vomiting until they vomit again, and so on, constantly beating themselves up!"
"No encouragement or even self-encouragement is needed. All a ruler has to do is complete his mission, and his mission is to win."
The staff beside him all nodded in agreement with a serious look on their faces.
Lee was a little confused. It was like a pyramid scheme, self-hypnosis?
Noticing Lee's listening attitude, Tim Grover nodded with satisfaction and continued to give him some inspirational advice:
"The ruler only cares about the results. You don't need to care about how others evaluate you. You did a good job in this regard!"
"There's nothing wrong with shooting more three-pointers. That's your style of play. You can put the ball into the basket and you can score consistently from beyond the three-point line. Why should you care what other people say?"
"They haven't played a game, they don't understand the true dominant mentality."
"Everyone has a dark side in their heart. All you have to do is embrace it. That surging power remains true and wild, and it will drive you to success!"
"Tell me, what do you really desire deep down?"
"Oh my god, victory and money! I want to pursue these!"
Lee almost blurted out the joke that was about to come out, so he held his forehead and continued to look serious.
Tim Grover nodded in satisfaction, motioned Lee to keep moving, and continued:
"There's nothing wrong with wanting money. All you need to do is use your dark side to overcome external interference. Once you know yourself, you will become stronger!"
"When you become strong enough, you can enter the 'white-hot space', which is a very terrifying state. Michael has mastered the method of entering this state."
"Once you're in that white-hot space, it's just you, the basketball in your hands, and the hoop in front of you."
"You will be away from all negative emotions. You will feel that the defensive players on the court will move slower and faster, and you will be able to get rid of your opponents. Basketball games will become extremely simple!"
Lee was confused and started to complain in his mind:
"You are here to tell me about Kuroko's basketball!? Isn't this just entering the zone?"
Tim Grover had no idea what Lee was thinking.
His theory was already very mature, and most players would believe it as long as he brought up Jordan.
As for the body not being able to withstand the intensity of training, that is a talent issue.
He is only responsible for tapping potential:
"Believe me, maintain a dominant mentality to complete every training session, and you will complete your transformation during this offseason!"
"."
For a while, Lee was toiled like a donkey in training; no one else on the team came close to his grueling sessions.
[Karl Malone's extraordinary physique] made it difficult for him to vomit during training, allowing him to challenge his limits again and again;
[Michael Jordan's extraordinary core strength] allowed him to be beaten constantly during strength training;
As he increased his strength training, his weight increased and Lee's body shape began to change.
This is when [Michael Jordan's extraordinary coordination] played a key role.
Tim Grover was still worried at first, but as time went on, he found that after Lee gained weight and muscle, his explosive power, jumping ability, and stability of basketball movements were further improved, so he continued to increase his efforts.
When everyone confirmed that Lee's muscle gain did not affect his shooting touch, he completely let himself go in the training session and entered the "ruler" training mode.
Chicago media reporters had long discovered that Lee was receiving training from Tim Grover, and after failing to interview Michael Jordan, they chased after Clay Lee every day.
The Chicago Tribune criticized Lee's love life every now and then, and never tired of gossiping about how many girlfriends he had changed in the past two months.
On September 25, 1998, due to the lack of progress in the labor-management agreement negotiations, the NBA announced the official cancellation of the preseason and the postponement of training camp indefinitely.
In the first episode of Saturday Night Live on the 26th, New York fans saw Lee again.
Clay-Lee and His Goldilocks
Clay-Lee and the Gambler
The star's destination is comedy and sketches.
Tina Fey, who joined Saturday Night Live last year, combined real-time events and wrote two good scripts for Lee.
One was to tease his personal preferences, and the other was gossip about the Knicks:
"Don't play cards with Lee, he will win all your money!"
This was the first time that Lee served as the guest host of the show, and the musical guests were the Beastie Boys.
The ratings were very good, at least, New York fans especially liked it.
But most of the players are not in the mood to watch these shows.
By early October, the negotiations had made no progress.
On October 20, the result that the players least wanted to see occurred:
"League arbitrators rule that team owners do not have to pay players during the work stoppage."
Once this news was announced, the players' union was in an uproar, which meant that the employer would gain a huge advantage in the negotiations.
Taking this opportunity, the NBA announced again that the first two weeks of the 1998-1999 season were officially cancelled.
After negotiations still made no progress, all 99 games in November were cancelled.
At this time, Lee did not plan to play in other leagues like other players, but returned to his home in Hartford to walk the dog and train.
By the end of October, the weather in Hartford became cold and dry, and every precipitation would cause the temperature to drop.
The Husky Happy likes this kind of weather very much.
He runs around with Lee every day to vent his energy that has nowhere to go.
After participating in Saturday Night Live, Lee also met a new friend. Jimmy Fallon was bored recently and insisted on experiencing the life of an NBA player.
On his first morning in Hartford, he ran to the point of vomiting.
Lee really likes to go for a morning run near Elizabeth Park in Hartford, and so does Happy the Husky.
Although the surrounding scenery is beautiful, with red leaves and green grass complementing each other, Jimmy Fallon, who is dressed in sportswear, can't help but laugh when he sees Happy, the Husky's smile:
"I should stay in New York. I'm an actor and I shouldn't try this damn training!"
Lee looked at the other person's heavy breathing with a smile and continued to joke:
"Staying at home playing games? Your daily life is boring, no parties, no girls, you have to change yourself, come on, keep running!"
"Happy, go help him!"
"Woof!"
Melinda almost raised the working dog into a little doll, and the month since Lee came back has completely aroused the wildness of the Husky.
Seeing Happy barking without a smile, Jimmy Fallon made a bitter face and shouted:
"Shit! I'm running! This guy is not cute at all!"
"."
When Lee returned home in the evening, Jimmy Fallon was no longer by his side.
He ran away overnight and made an appointment to meet again in New York.
Melinda took good care of this elegant Victorian villa and even added a fireplace, which was somewhat inconsistent with the architectural style, but both of them liked it very much.
Happy the Husky has gotten used to the noise every night.
After a tiring day, he falls into a deep sleep in the nest next door.
The fire in the fireplace is still burning.
Lee hugs Melinda, looks at her rosy face, and enters the sage mode again.
Not caring about being naked, Melinda leaned in and whispered:
"Life without competition is also good, I hope the suspension will last forever!"
Lee kissed the girl in his arms and said sweet words:
"You are becoming more and more beautiful, and I like this kind of life too!"
After arching her back twice in his arms, Melinda soon fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Lee felt a little sad when he thought about the loss of his big contract:
"Damn labor agreement, can't they add a talented player clause?"
[Michael Jordan's extraordinary core strength], [Michael Jordan's extraordinary coordination], and [Karl Malone's extraordinary physique] have turned silver.
Thinking that his body seemed to have reached a bottleneck period, Lee stopped thinking about the things he could not change and fell asleep peacefully while hugging the busty girl.
All November matches were cancelled and the two sides continued to negotiate, but again to no avail.
The team is not paying salaries, and as December approaches and there is still no result, the bottom players are the first to give up.
The players' union headquarters is located on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, close to the Empire State Building.
This location was chosen to increase the influence of the players.
In mid-November, Lee would come here every day and mostly saw low-level players seeking help.
Lee hadn't seen Ewing for about two months.
When he saw him in the hall, he was shocked:
"Shit! How come he's as fat as a ball!"
"."
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