The Whip of the God of Basketball

On February 17, 2004, the All-Star Game kicked off in Los Angeles, and Fox-Leon unsurprisingly became the head coach of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. This is the second time Leon has been associated with the All-Star Game after becoming an All-Star assistant coach in 2002.

This All-Star Game has attracted much attention because it is held in Los Angeles, which is originally a superstar city. The All-Star Game held here will undoubtedly add glory.

In fact, after being elected as the All-Star coach, Leon refused at first. In this regard, he was very similar to the old-school basketball coaches. He didn't like these fancy star shows. He believed that instead of participating in the All-Stars, it would be better to sleep at home and have a good rest and prepare for the All-Stars. Prepare for the tough schedule after the game.

But when he revealed a hint of such an intention, he was warned by the league. Adam Silva personally called Leon, hoping that he would not make such an "unprecedented decision." Indeed, no coach has so far Refuse to coach the All-Star team. In addition, the Celtics are also considered the big winners of the All-Star Game this time. Four starting players were selected for the All-Star Game. Among them, Garnett and Pierce became the All-Star starters without any suspense.

This situation also forced Leon to give up the idea of ​​making big news and hit the road honestly on February 15th to Los Angeles to prepare for the All-Star Game. I say preparation, but in fact I just want to have fun, meet Khomeini, walk along the beach in Santa Monica, and talk about work and life.

"Have you ever thought about coming to Los Angeles to work?" On the beach, Khomeinis asked Leon a sensitive question.

"That will make your father very angry." Leon replied half-jokingly, but he didn't seem to object to such an idea.

"Maybe this year you can realize the championship dream with the Celtics. By then... Actually, California is really great, a real basketball state." Khomeinis put her basketball agent career on Los Angeles makes sense. California is indeed a true basketball state. It has four NBA teams, the most in the United States. At the same time, it also has the most players from California in the league. The Celtics have two of them, Pierce and Arena. Si, they are all famous figures.

"Maybe...but as long as Arnold is here, I will not leave the Celtics...Besides, I haven't brought a championship here yet, have I? For Boston, what do you think of an O'Brien Trophy?" Is that enough?" Leon looked at Khomeinis and smiled and said, hugging Khomeinis tightly with his arms.

It was already dusk, and the beach under the setting sun, under the canopy of red and yellow interweaving printing and dyeing, was like a lingering gauze. The waves caressed its edges and washed the soles of their feet. It was a rare beauty and romance.

The next day, the 16th, the day before the opening of the All-Star Game, Leon accompanied Wang Zhizhi, Diaw, Daniels and others to participate in a training class specially opened for NBA newcomers - how to manage money. This is specifically aimed at newcomers who have just entered the league for one or two years. Many of them have gone from poverty to rich people overnight. But this time is likely to be short-lived, ranging from more than ten years to just one or two years. Therefore, the NBA will hold financial management lectures for these newcomers during the All-Star Game to teach them how to properly arrange the wealth in their hands.

Leon attended this lecture as a special guest because he is the only one among all current NBA coaches to hold the CPA International Certified Public Accountant certificate - he served as the Celtics assistant coach from 2001 to 2003. , used his spare time to obtain this important accountant qualification certificate. Because he is worried that one day if he doesn't want to work in basketball or can't do it anymore, he can go back to his old profession.

Of course, Leon was invited not just because he has such a certificate, but also because of his current reputation in the league and his current status. He has a huge ability to persuade young players. Since this is related to the future livelihood of many young people, Leon did not talk nonsense in the training class, but gave a lot of pertinent suggestions.

In fact, he himself is a very good financial manager. For a long time, he was one of the lowest-paid coaches in the league, with an annual salary similar to that of an ordinary white-collar worker. And he relied on the small funds in his hands to double his assets in the past two years.

Although Leon really wants to tell these young people that if they want to preserve the value of their assets and make a fortune, they can consider investing in real estate in China, but it may be difficult to do so as an American. But he gave Wang Zhizhi private advice and asked him to buy a house in Beijing as soon as possible.

After spending two relatively leisurely days, the All-Star Game will officially begin on the 17th. As the head coach of an all-star team, your job is actually very simple, just make sure the time is right for different star players to take turns to perform. Although the Eastern Conference has been inferior to the Western Conference in terms of overall strength for many consecutive years, in terms of star quality, the Eastern Conference is no worse than the Western Conference. Especially the arrival of Garnett has filled the gap of the Western Conference's lack of star talent. On the defensive line, the Eastern Conference has several super-popular defenders such as Iverson, Tracy McGrady, and Carter. Therefore, the only thing Leon has to worry about is not winning, but how to allocate these performers to 48 minutes of appearances. time.

However, this year in Los Angeles, the final protagonist is still given to the owner of Los Angeles. This is also an unwritten rule of the NBA. It will give some care to the star of the home team of the host city, especially if he is a superstar - O'Neal is obviously a superstar. star. The show-stopping All-Star darling shined in the All-Star Game again after 2000. He scored 33 points in the game and helped the Western Team defeat the Eastern All-Star Team. O'Neal was also honored in the All-Star Game. MVP, the title of star among stars.

In addition, the slam dunk contest and the three-point contest that started before the All-Star Game also had their own winners, and a lively All-Star weekend came to an end. Unlike those players who stayed in Los Angeles to continue having fun, Fox-Leon immediately flew back to Boston because Danny Ainge called from Boston and hoped that he would come back when the trade market was about to close and analyze it together. Let’s talk about the current situation.

Because Danny Ainge has received the news, the Detroit Pistons are currently preparing to make a big move in the trading market, which will change their appearance and become a championship contender.