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As the Knicks get ready for the summer run abroad, it's worth coming back to some history. Allan Houston, 25, signed his rookie contract with the Detroit Pistons when he entered the independent player mode in the summer of 1996, with no intention of leaving the NBA home alone. known.
Having grown up in Kentucky and then played for his father at the University of Tennessee, he was comfortable in Detroit. In a class of free agents, he was recruited for the first time in his life with the plan to use the player 's movement and his own visits simply to push the Pistons to pay him what he wanted. he thought he deserved.
And then he got on a private plane with Patrick Ewing sitting next to him.
By the time the plane landed, Houston had changed its mind, leaving behind the path that he thought was his career and decided to head to Madison Square Garden to try to help Ewing to win a championship by signing a $ 55 million contract over seven years. He never had the ring, but reached the NBA finals and two conference finals.
"I think for me, what has already sold me first is that everyone wants to be valued, validated, especially when you are trying to stand out," Houston said afterwards. his participation in the TJ The Martell Foundation's second annual fishing tournament organized by the Martell Foundation. And that's one thing. I really felt like the organization was thinking, "Allan, you're a big part of us to reach the championship level."
"The second thing for me is that's what you want: the biggest athlete scene that everyone can dream about is playing in New York. For me, it was never about, it was not so much the challenge, it was just the opportunity to play at the top, to be at the top. That's what I think all athletes dream of being at the top. So these two things [are what] I think about."
The Knicks currently have the highest number of salary caps in the NBA and focus on the prices of this category of autonomous players. Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker are leading a group that is changing the game, even as deep as the Knicks, with a record-breaking 17-65 in the league this season. season.
There is little doubt that players such as Durant could find a place on the field, but he wonders how he will handle New York, the pressures and expectations that characterize the league's largest media market an impregnated franchise dysfunction for decades.
Houston, who is the special assistant to chief executive Scott Perry, said he expects the recruitment to be led by Perry, Steve Mills' team president and chief executive officer. Head coach David Fizdale. But he experienced the move himself and said that he would contribute to whatever he could to the process. Although the Knicks put in place all the obstacles in his recruitment, it was important to him because he had never been recruited. He does not think flashy presentations will make a difference.
"I do not think players need the show so much," said Houston. "I think you know what New York brings you as an athlete … as they said, really, really, it's true, if you can do it in New York, you can go anywhere … as far as I know, you can never anticipate what this really is before you do it.
"It's on both sides, good and bad. But I would say that on the plus side, no matter what you dreamed or imagined, it will be more than that. And that, you do not know what to expect. It's like becoming a husband or a father, you can only anticipate it. But when you experience it, it will be more. "
Lottery time
Before the start of free competition on July 1, the Knicks have a more pressing problem: the NBA Draft lottery Tuesday night in Chicago. The final draft will follow and all top prospects, including Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, should be on hand for team meetings and medical tests, leaving the game to the players at a lower level.
Houston will be in Chicago for the draw. He will represent the Knicks in the back-shop and will oversee the choice of the ping-pong ball while Patrick Ewing will serve as the Knicks' representative on the podium.
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