But Krause did not give up. The general manager, known for his shrewdness and stubbornness, continued tirelessly negotiating with the Toronto Raptors.
He kept raising his offer, even willing to include future draft picks and young players from the roster in addition to Malone.
The trade negotiations fell into a prolonged tug-of-war, with reports occasionally claiming a deal was close, only for it to collapse again over some detail.
This trade, which could reshape the league's future landscape, was like a suspenseful serial drama, leaving every fan on edge.
Amid the clamor of the league's powerhouses all making plans for the new season, the annual NBA Summer League quietly got underway.
The 1999 Summer League had yet to reach the massive scale centered around Las Vegas that it would have in later years.
At the time, the Summer League mainly consisted of several regional leagues, among which the historic Long Beach Summer Pro League was undoubtedly the largest and most closely watched.
Since the Knicks had not held a high draft pick that year, the Summer League roster they sent out was rather lacking in star power, consisting mainly of undrafted players, free agents, and fringe members of the team.
Leading this ragtag bunch was none other than Stephen Jackson, a second-year player who had received few opportunities with the Knicks the previous season.
"Martial Saint" Jackson, the young man from Port Arthur, Texas, had the toughness and unruliness of the streets in his bones. Last season, he had merely been a towel-waving presence on the Knicks, but a fire burned within him—a desire to prove himself. The Summer League was the perfect stage for him to show what he could do.
Before the tournament began, almost no one thought highly of this Knicks team.
Yet from the very first