Plenty of veterans wanted in on the Knicks project. With Lin Yi and Chris Paul still in their pris, many around the league believed they could beco the next great inside-outside duo—sothing like a modern O'Neal-and-Kobe partnership, only flipped.
Among the pile of nas that reached the Knicks' front office, one imdiately caught Lin Yi's attention—Tracy McGrady.
McGrady was supposed to sign with the Hawks on a minimum deal, or so Lin thought. But he had underestimated how much pull his na now carried. In McGrady's eyes, if both offers were for the minimum, why not pick the Knicks—the reigning champs with a real shot at a ring?
Last season, McGrady averaged 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in Detroit. He wasn't the scoring champion he once was, but he could still play multiple positions and move the ball smartly. Lin began to think seriously: Was giving that last roster spot to McGrady the right move?
Putting sentint aside, he analyzed it objectively. The Knicks already had enough depth at guard and on the wing. Logically, they should look for a veteran big man instead.
The problem?
There were no good bigs left. The league's shortage of quality centers was so bad that, in a few years, any seven-footer with a pulse would be earning ten million a year.
Hmm... what if we slide McGrady between small forward and power forward? Lin wondered.
He rembered McGrady guarding Nowitzki back in the Rockets-Mavs series years ago. McGrady had the height and instincts. Playing at the four, he wouldn't even need to move as much. And with Tyson Chandler and Whiteside anchoring the paint, the Knicks could afford that flexibility.
From a cost-benefit point of view, signing McGrady to a minimum deal was a no-brainer. Their roster was basically set anyway.
The new season's schedule, however, was brutal—four gas in five nights, and even triple back-to-backs. Absolute madness.
That was why the Knicks needed to fill that last roster spot. The biggest challenge wasn't talent—it was endurance.
McGrady wouldn't have to play every night. The Knicks didn't need him to. And if things didn't work out, Dolan could simply cut him and move on. The man had more money than patience, after all.
Lin thought about it for a long mont. McGrady wasn't arrogant anymore; those days were long gone. A minimum contract ant he just wanted to be part of sothing bigger.
Still, Lin couldn't help but laugh to himself.
"If we sign him, we'll be bringing two curses to New York," he mused. "Paul—the man who's never reached the Western Finals—and McGrady—the eternal first-round exit."
To be fair, McGrady had reached the second round once... but he'd been injured and watching from a hospital bed.
Lin sighed.
He shook his head with a grin. "Whatever. If we don't win, we'll just bla Paul and McGrady. Problem solved."
Of course, it was just a joke. He'd never throw them under the bus.
And so, the Knicks signed Tracy McGrady to a one-year veteran minimum deal. When McGrady heard the news, he felt a quiet sense of relief. His options had been few, but joining a title contender felt right.
With that, the Knicks finalized their 15-man roster and submitted it to the league.
A few hours later, a puzzled league staffer called the Knicks' office.
"Uh… did you guys make a mistake here? It says Lin Yi is listed as a small forward?"
The Knicks' rep chuckled. "No mistake. He's playing the three this season."
The news broke instantly—Lin Yi, a 7-foot small forward!
Stern, on the other hand, couldn't be happier. This lockout-shortened season wasn't going to be dull after all.
Because as long as Lin Yi existed, the league would never run out of headlines.
The Anti-Lin Basketball was in shambles. Lin was switching to small forward—what next?
With Paul running point, would the Knicks unveil so new bizarre super lineup?
Analysts tried to calm the chaos, claiming Lin's small forward tag was just symbolic, a simple positional swap.
Then the leaked footage from Knicks practice hit the internet.
And every expert who had downplayed the change fell silent.
Lin Yi really was playing small forward. This wasn't just a title trick. He was legitimately handling the ball on the wing, cutting, creating, moving like a guard trapped in a giant's body.
And when Motiejūnas joined the lineup, the Knicks were fielding three seven-footers at once. The internet collectively gasped.
"Are you kidding ?" one reporter wrote. "That's not a lineup; that's a skyscraper formation!"
Over the sumr, Lin had bulked up slightly, reaching 120.5 kilograms—his ideal playing weight. Knicks strength coach Mark D'Alessandro had stopped even trying to asure his athletic trics.
To him, Lin Yi was a walking contradiction: too tall to move that fast, too light on his feet to be that strong.
And the crazy part? At small forward, there were barely any players in the league quicker than him.
Of course, excluding monsters like LeBron Jas.
So on dia Day, as caras flashed, the main question every journalist wanted answered was the sa:
"Why the position change, Lin?"
Lin smiled calmly. "Honestly? It's tiring to bang with big n every night. So instead of forcing mismatches inside, I figured—why not create chaos on the wings instead?"
Everyone nearly choked.
You can't just switch like that!
But Lin had his reasons. Beyond the tactics, he had another goal—protecting his MVP throne. If the league was going to box him in, he'd just reinvent himself.
"Lin, what's the Knicks' goal for the new season?" another reporter asked.
Lin grinned. "To make the playoffs and strive to retain the championship."
He knew the reporters were waiting for him to make a bold claim, so he simply leaned into it. After all, saying strive to sounded ambitious but left him so room.
Deep down, Lin was confident about defending the title. The Knicks' roster was even stronger than last season: the starting five featured Paul, Green, Lin himself, Battier, and Tyson Chandler. The bench was loaded too.
Honestly, that bench alone could probably compete with so weaker teams' starters.
Sure, one of his guys in Danilo, had left, but D'Antoni quickly discovered a new surprise — the rookie, Klay Thompson.
Klay's shooting consistency was remarkable. Lin rembered that in his previous life, Klay had nailed over a hundred threes at 40% in his rookie year. In this Knicks system — where shooting threes was practically encouraged like breathing — Klay fit right in.
During shooting drills, when he got into rhythm, even Green admitted defeat. Green defended well, and with Klay being ntored by Tony Allen in defense, life wasn't going to be easy for any opposing shooting guards. Better keep so tissues ready.
As for Paul — well, D'Antoni adored point guards. Just like Lin recalled, D'Antoni told him sothing that sounded awfully familiar: increase isolation scoring and let Lin handle more of the playmaking.
"Chris," Lin said with a straight face, patting him on the shoulder, "you've already got an assist title. Stats like that don't an much anymore. Scoring is what wins gas!"
Paul sighed quietly. He wasn't sure anymore if joining the Knicks was a blessing or a curse.
What's the point of assists? That's just filler data, Lin thought smugly. I'll take care of those numbers myself.
…
On the 15th, after the team wrapped up its first full practice, D'Antoni gave everyone two days off. The Knicks had two preseason gas lined up against the Nets on the 18th and 22nd.
Given how compact the new schedule was, D'Antoni turned many training days into rest days — better to keep the squad fresh than broken.
McGrady, who had just joined the team, initially wanted to show his dedication by going all out in practice. But Lin just chuckled, patting the veteran on the back.
"Tracy, take it easy. You're not 25 anymore. I'd rather see you on the court than in the hospital."
McGrady just stared at him in silence.
The shortened season actually favored younger teams. In Lin's previous life, that was one of the reasons the Heat had managed to win the title — youth and energy. Sa reason the Thunder rose out of the West.
And on the 17th, after weeks of chaos — signings, trades, last-minute moves — the dust finally settled.
Because the new NBA season had officially begun.
...
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