The Whip of the God of Basketball

The entire discussion started at three o'clock in the afternoon and continued until five o'clock, two hours, with almost no progress. The focus of everyone's discussion is still on such boring issues as what the name of the alliance should be and what logo to use.

However, on some key issues, such as capital contribution, the relationship between the Development League and the NBA, the shares held by each team, how to allocate them when new teams join in the future, the payment of players' salaries, and the conclusion of contracts, the meeting was only held. A heads up, without any in-depth discussion.

Leon sat in the corner and watched the representatives from various teams. They talked to each other, some of them were fierce, some were like lukewarm water, some actively reconciled, and some sat there in a daze. Only Adam Silva, who was sitting in the middle, sat firmly on the Diaoyutai, and did not comment on the chaotic discussions of other people, but nodded and smiled occasionally, or whispered to the staff on the side without knowing what to say.

"I don't know what medicine he sells in the gourd, what do you think, Leon?" Michael Karl turned to Leon and said, he wanted to hear Leon's opinion. The debate on the scene was mainly divided into two factions. One faction agreed to establish a new development alliance, while the other believed that the cooperative relationship with the CBA could be changed and expanded on the basis of the CBA.

Leon looked around, and then asked Carl: "Do you know, who are the people who come to each team? Are they all the same as you as the head of the development department, or are they different?"

Leon needs to determine the identities of the teams present, which is very helpful to understand the current situation. Michael Karl has been in the league for many years. The NBA circle is not big or small. There are opponents on the field and friends off the field. Sitting around him are some old faces.

Michael Karl leaned close to Leon's ear and said: "You know, today's meeting time is relatively tight, it's just a meeting, so some teams in the west didn't send anyone at the executive level, and all the players who were at the headquarters were present. Team representatives; the East, like us, as well as Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Washington have all sent executive-level representatives, like the 76ers' player director Tony Di Leo, the Wizards' player director Daryl Walker... and a few more The teams, mainly in the Southeast, the Orlando Magic, the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets, they all sent high-level officials, look at that tall, white-haired old man, he is Orlando, the Human Resources Director of the Magic - Holyfield, the Heat have their assistant coach here, see, the big tall guy at two o'clock, he's Bob McAdoo."

After Karl’s introduction, Leon already knew the bottom line. First of all, he knew that there would be no heavyweights in this meeting. The head coaches and owners of each team did not come. This shows that this meeting will not be decisive. Things, at best, reach a preliminary agreement and say hello to the teams; secondly, the western team can say that none of them came, and those permanent representatives brought only ears, and basically did not express their opinions, while the eastern part occupied the majority; finally, Those new teams on the southeast coast in the east seem to pay more attention to this meeting, and these teams have a characteristic, that is, they are all newly formed after Stern came to power.

The Charlotte Hornets, the Orlando Magic, and the Miami Heat, these three new teams in the southeast are all products of Stern's efforts to expand the basketball market in the Caribbean region of the southeast after he took office, and with the help of Stern's lottery draft reform In the 1990s, the three teams that hoarded a large number of draft picks all obtained rising fresh forces through the new draft rules, the Hornets' Mourning and Johnson, the Magic's O'Neal and Hardaway, and the Heat's Beetles and Rice.

If it is said that the Celtics sank because of the lottery show in the 1990s, then these three rising stars relied on the lottery show to turn around. In comparison, they are indeed full of freshness, especially the Miami Heat.

"The league must have its own idea. I guess they mean to establish a regional minor league similar to the CBA, but it is not directly affiliated with the NBA, but has a cooperative relationship with the league. No matter whether there is any objection from the team, as long as As long as there is team support, the three teams in the Southeast will be the basic set. No matter what the teams in the West and Northeast think, this small league will be formed by the teams that support the league. Then, there will definitely be balls The team supports the CBA and thinks that the CBA is enough to become a development league. Maybe some people want the league to invest in the CBA. However, Silva must have his own ideas. He looks confident. Although he has been pretending to listen to opinions seriously, in fact He didn’t want to hear a word of what the people present said. He didn’t speak, but he didn’t want to give others a chance to refute and bargain, just watch, he will come to the end.” Leon was close to Carl and he analyzed himself idea.

After Karl heard this, he glanced sideways at Leon. After speaking, Leon loosened his neckline, crossed his legs and found a restrained position to lie on the sofa, like a fortune teller who had already made a prediction. Quietly waiting for the arrival of his prophecy.

It's past five o'clock, five ten past five, and the noisy people have gradually quieted down. Everyone knows that they have no right to make decisions, they just come to play an outpost and give proper feedback to the team's will. It's getting late now, and no one likes to work overtime in meetings, so the debate grows quieter until it's all quiet and everyone is staring at Silva.

Silva saw that the fire was almost ready, stood up from the sofa, said with a smile on his face full of energy: "Thank you for the heated discussion, you have provided me with a lot of valuable ideas and opinions, the league will consider and balance every ball The interests of the team should be rewarded as much as possible, and at the same time, those young people who love basketball can get more opportunities to realize their potential."

After speaking a few words on the scene, Silva cut to the chase and directly threw out the real idea of ​​the league: "We will try to start next season and create a small basketball league to provide opportunities for those undrafted and free agents to play. The talent pool of the league. The NBA will fund the establishment of this small league, and each team can contribute capital and take shares on a voluntary basis. At present, several teams have expressed their willingness to contribute and provide assistance in field and team building. But The relationship between the Development League and the NBA is not an affiliation but a cooperative relationship. The teams are not related to each other. If there is a need for a player, you can directly talk to the team where the player is. This is our initial idea. There are many details that have not been finalized. Starting tomorrow, we will hold a two-day meeting to discuss specific issues in detail. Well, it’s getting late today. Let’s go to the restaurant for dinner. We have prepared a French dinner for you tonight. "

As soon as Silva finished speaking, all the participants stood up and prepared to leave. The venue suddenly buzzed, and Leon also stood up and tightened his neckline. He looked at Silva with a relaxed expression, Know that his purpose has been achieved.

If Silva throws out his ideas early in the meeting, there will soon be dissidents, no matter how perfectly planned, there will always be critics. At that time, everyone will start fighting each other around the alliance's plan. By five o'clock in the afternoon, it is estimated that the original idea of ​​the alliance has long been sprayed beyond recognition.

But Silva didn't say anything first, and let everyone fly around like headless chickens. When everyone was tired, exhausted, and had nothing to say, he would delay the meeting for a while and starve everyone for a while. Yes, if the alliance's opinions are released at this time, no one will object or discuss them anymore. They will all have an attitude of "that's it, let's go to dinner".

"If Arnold is here, he will spend a week with this kid." Carl also stood up and said to Leon with a smile. Leon's analysis was almost perfect. Karl really saw the shadow of Auerbach from this kid, and he also somewhat understood why the Bishop placed his hope of inheriting his mantle on this little-known guy.

"I know, the Celtics' Hundred Days' War, but it was for Larry. I don't know what this development league can bring to the team."

…………………

The subsequent talks lasted for another two days, and everything was under the control of the league. The teams resisted at the beginning and then gradually compromised. They knew that the trend of the league to form a development league alone was hard to stop. , Those teams that still want to get a share of the CBA seem to be changing their flags.

During the two days of talks, Michael Carr has remained on the sidelines, neither supporting nor opposing. This is Auerbach's request. what good.

However, in the meeting on the second day, Silva mentioned the need to form a scouting group to recruit for the minor leagues and evaluate the strength of those undrafted picks and free agents. At this time, Michael Karl, who had never made any movement, finally took the initiative Yes, he was the first to raise his hand to recommend Leon to join the scouting team.

"He is a young man with great potential. In the short few months of working time with the Celtics, his scouting report is the most accurate and predictable we have ever seen. In this year's draft At the meeting, he made a decisive opinion, which is very remarkable. I hereby recommend him as a member of the scouting team, and think that he can participate in more and more important work."

In the eyes of others, Michael Karl is talking nonsense. Although Leon is still well-known in the scouting circle in Boston, he is just a small shrimp in the entire American basketball circle. People who have been around for many years, they didn't expect Michael Karl to praise such a kid so much.

"Who are you talking about, Auerbach in 1949?" Jim Ain, a senior scout for the New York Knicks, joked. Leon, who was sitting on the sofa, squinted at him coldly, and Ain could only smile awkwardly.

For this position in the scout team, it is not a hot job, on the contrary, it is a hard job. To face the group of undrafted and free agents, and to recruit big players in the slump, I don't appreciate the comfort of those talented teenagers.

In the end, Leon joined the scouting team without any suspense. In the next year, his job added a task of inspecting hundreds of marginal players in professional leagues across the United States, which has a great impact on his future basketball work. will have an immeasurable impact.

And Michael Karl's work has also been successfully completed. Before leaving, the task Auerbach gave him was to "push Leon and let him join the formation of the Development League."