The Whip of the God of Basketball

One step ahead of Angie, Leon arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, the southern part of the United States on June 19. It used to be the main settlement of slave owners in the southern part of the Civil War, and it was also the birthplace of rock music.

Compared with Boston, here is a completely different world, and it is not the same as Austin, Texas. The wide and quiet Mississippi River passes through the city. Because it arrived a day earlier, Leon, Wallace and Morey took the ride together Steamboats on the river come to cruise the city.

Although in the center of Memphis there are also monotonous high-rise buildings, but in the old city and along the banks of the Mississippi River, there are old-fashioned wooden houses scattered, which look old and vicissitudes under the cover of tall beech trees and lush maple trees. It is a good material for making various musical instruments.

Leon was lying on the open deck on the top floor of the ship. Although it was summer, the thick clouds in the southern sky made the sunlight not so glaring, and it shone warmly on Leon's face. This was his rare leisure during the offseason. At this time, many players must be on vacation across the United States, and he still has to travel around as an assistant coach and scout.

"Sometimes I think, maybe it would be nice to stay in the South and be a little rebounder who runs a saloon and plays guitar, and spends my vacations lying on the boat I bought, floating on the Mississippi River, like Harry Baker Finn .” Leon said to Wallace, who was sleeping beside him, enjoying the sunshine and wind with his eyes closed.

All Wallace was thinking about the negotiation with the Grizzlies tomorrow afternoon, he couldn't react to what Leon said for a long time, he rubbed his eyes and said, "I can't sing...let's talk about the deal The problem, the contract..." Morey on the side covered his mouth and laughed, the three of them had a rare time to relax, and only Wallace was in a state of nervousness all the time.

"Chris, you have been nervous since you set off in Boston. To be honest, this negotiation is really a pediatric level transaction. You shouldn't do it like meeting your mother-in-law for the first time. You were in the league in 1986. , Tell me, what are you worried about?" Leon asked, standing up from the deck.

Wallace woke up from his sleepy state. He lowered his head and smiled and replied: "You know, I am not from the basketball circle. I have neither been a professional player nor a coach, nor even a trainer. It can be said I only took this position because I am a basketball fan, like Vogel, but Vogel also played on the school team, only me, I can't shoot very well. Since I became the team manager, no matter how much I will devote 100% to any small transaction, no matter how small a negotiation is, I will be 100% devoted and treat it, and sometimes I will be nervous as if it is a big event. This is already a habit of mine, unless the negotiation ends tomorrow, otherwise I can't have fun nodding"

Leon nodded after hearing this. In retrospect, Wallace is indeed a very serious and hardworking person. Although Auerbach commented on Wallace as "a fool who only knows how to work hard and can't get on the runway", but since Leon just came to Kai Wallace took good care of Leon from the beginning of the Walters. Perhaps this is also related to Leon's background without basketball, including Morey who is sitting on the side. .

"You know Leon, sometimes I think, in fact, you can come to this negotiation alone, maybe add Angie, this negotiation can definitely be done. I don't say these words out of jealousy or other intentions , I know you're a straight guy, so I'll be straight. Everyone knows that one day you're going to replace O'Brien, replace me, replace what Pitino left behind, and bring the Celtics back to their Of course, I have no other meaning, but you know, everyone has to think for themselves..." Wallace still spoke his heart on the quiet Mississippi River.

More than a month ago, when the season just ended and he was still on vacation, Wallace, who returned to his hometown in West Virginia, was invited to participate in a basketball charity event at West Virginia University, where he met his fellows and graduated from West Virginia University legend Jerry West.

Once the superstar of the Lakers, he is also the general manager of the Lakers and has achieved great success. Since he grabbed O'Neal and selected Kobe in 1996, West blocked O'Neill, who had caused lifelong psychological damage to him in the player era. Erbach and his Celtics avenged the N arrows while taking the Lakers to a new peak. After winning consecutive championships in the 2000 and 2001 seasons, they are striding forward to the three consecutive championships in the new century.

After meeting Wallace, Jerry West and the Celtics general manager actually had a good chat. The two basketball players who spoke Virginia accents but played for two feuds had a subtle relationship. After returning to Boston, Wallace continued to keep in touch with West. Finally, a few weeks ago, West called and hoped that Wallace could leave the Celtics to be his assistant. The Lakers, but in another team next season.

Jerry West has been in the management position of the Lakers for 20 years. Next season will be his 20th year. If he succeeds in three consecutive championships, he will retire. If he fails, he will not stay there anymore. He has nothing to pursue and achieve in the Lakers.

And West's next stop is likely to be Memphis, although all this is still only in the oral discussion of a few people in the circle.

Regarding these situations, Chris Wallace disclosed some to Leon and Morey. He did not mention Jerry West, but said that he would probably leave to seek positions in other teams. In his opinion, Leon is the successor of Auerbach, but the blood flowing in his veins is not green blood, let alone Morey, is an assistant he personally recruited, purely his own.

The NBA is a battlefield, but it is also a business field. There is nothing that must be fought to the death. As Pitino's "legacy" to the Celtics, Wallace does not want to leave everything like Pitino. If he doesn't stay, if he wants to continue to mix in the NBA manager circle and do better, he needs friends like Leon, and of course Morey.

Then it would be a good choice to get closer by speaking your heart on an appropriate occasion, and Wallace did not speak. He was indeed a little anxious. Ever since Pitino left the Celtics, he was full of insecurities. After a season, he didn't feel much better until he said something today.

Leon picked up two bottles of beer from the ice box on the deck, opened the caps and handed them to Wallace and Morey. The three took a sip, and then Leon said: "No matter which team you go to, we Will always be friends. But until you leave, you will always be a Celtic, just like me."

……………………

Wallace's little secret did not affect the talks between the Celtics and the Grizzlies the next day. After Danny Ainge arrived in Memphis on June 20, the managers of the two sides had a two-hour consultation to discuss The strategies and trades in the draft reached a certain degree of agreement. If there is no accident, the Grizzlies will rob Tony Parker in the 27th place in the first round, and then the Grizzlies will pull the Celtics and the Spurs together The three-way deal forced the Spurs who wanted to get Parker to bleed, and the Grizzlies will also get their favorite Celtics player.

In this way, under the promotion of Leon, the layout of the Celtics in the draft conference is basically completed. Of course, this is only their plan A. The draft conference is sometimes unpredictable. I don’t know what will happen. When things happen, once some teams don't play their cards according to the routine, all plans will be disrupted, and those agreements that have been formed will also be invalidated. Moreover, the Celtics' draft conference is very dynamic and the plan is complicated, and the more complicated the plan, the more likely it is to be disturbed by sudden factors.

In order to make complete preparations, after staying in Memphis for a day, Angie decided that he would immediately return to Boston to take charge of the overall situation, while Leon and his party went directly to New York to prepare for the public opinion war one week before the draft and set up smoke bombs Do a good job of fake moves to prevent malicious troubles from disrupting the team.

The drama of the 2001 draft is about to begin.