Champion Creed

How important is this victory to the New York Knicks?

Just look at the old tears pouring down Gary Payton's face.

Before the season started, the harsh New York media wasn't kind to Gary Payton.

"The New York Times" claimed: "He's so old that even police search dogs smell him and mistake him for a corpse, barking wildly."

You can imagine how unpopular Gary Payton is in New York, given his performance with the San Antonio Spurs last season; New Yorkers don't like this guy who openly clings to success.

But this victory in the game showed Payton that all these hardships were worth it.

He doesn't care whether the New York media and fans like him; he's long past needing their affection to prove his worth.

He only cares about one thing now: whether he can wear a ring when his career ends.

It's obvious that the New York Knicks have such capability.

In front of the reporters' cameras, Gary Payton, who contributed 9 points, 9 assists, and 4 steals in the game, covered his face as tears seeped through his fingers: "I'm not a stinking corpse yet!"

New Yorkers can party all night long tonight; they have reason to believe the team will hoist the O'Brien Trophy next summer.

Roger is also wide awake; he needs to solve the team's current thorny problems.

The New York Knicks are strong not only because of their formidable lineup but also because their locker room is truly cohesive.

Wade, Yao Ming, and KG, they love and trust each other.

They don't care who took more shots, or who scored the most points today; all that matters to them is victory.

This is simply the most perfect state for a championship-contending team.

And it's precisely what the Warriors desperately need right now; Allan Houston should never again ignore tactics just because he wants to surpass Jason Richardson in scoring.

Upon meeting Bob Bass, Roger straightforwardly announced his intentions: "We need to make a trade."

Bob Bass seemed surprised after hearing this and reminded him: "It's only been four games into the new season; you can't be like Dennis Rodman, choosing to divorce Carmen Electra after just a few times together."

"That's different; that's because Dennis was too weak. If it were me... never mind, let's continue discussing business."

Bob Bass's advice was actually quite correct. Generally speaking, the two weeks before the trade deadline is the period when trades are most frequent during the season.

Because it's difficult to evaluate if a lineup is suitable just through a few games, or know how to adjust based on them.

You need more than half a season of game samples to figure out how to strengthen the team, so mid-season trades mostly happen in that timeframe.

But Roger believes the Warriors' situation is unique.

Because in terms of lineup, the Warriors actually don't have any problems; one could even say it's extremely perfect.

If Allan Houston and Jason Richardson can coexist, the Warriors will gain a great advantage in the second position. Like in tonight's game, the second position played a huge role for the Warriors.

But because they can't coexist, Allan Houston becomes selfish trying to outscore Jason Richardson.

Retaining both Jason Richardson and Allan Houston is a choice that does more harm than good; Roger would rather make the lineup less perfect than allow locker room issues. He'd rather sacrifice some talent to make the team a tight-knit unit again.

This is just the regular season; what if all this happens in the playoffs?

Will Jason Richardson go crazy with his shots for more playing time?

Will Allan Houston ignore his teammates out of jealousy for Jason Richardson's attempts?

Roger, who aims to build a dynasty, can't gamble on such issues.

Last season, they might have been willing to make some compromises for a ring. But now that everyone holds a ring, their tolerance will decrease.

Anything harmful to the locker room should be immediately stopped, so Roger hopes the trade happens quickly.

After hearing Roger's explanation, Bob Bass continued to ask: "So who are you planning to trade away? Allan or Jason?"

Roger made a heartbreaking decision: "Allan."

It's not an unexpected choice; Allan Houston has already spread laziness during the preseason camp, and now he's spreading selfishness.

He's always been the unstable factor.

Thus, the solution to problems is to eliminate the person causing them: Allan Houston must go.

What pains Roger is that he may never find another substitute shooting guard who doesn't require much ball, runs cleverly and smartly, can shoot 40% from three-point range with considerable volume, and still provides some defense.

Moreover, Roger isn't emotionless.

Last season, he and Allan Houston got along well enough; they weren't friends, but there was some camaraderie.

Now, he's personally sending him away, which is somewhat cruel.

Bob Bass also reminded Roger: "We can't expect to receive equivalent return in this trade. Allan's contract is large, his age's advanced, and he's almost 34 with next season's salary nearing 20 million, which means not many teams are willing to take him. I'll try my hardest to trade for the best possible asset, but you shouldn't have too high expectations."