The Pope of Basketball Community

Brad Stevens is 29 years old, a sunny and handsome white guy. His appearance is enough to join Yang Rui's Justice League. It can be seen from his resume how much he loves basketball.

In 1999, 23-year-old Brad resigned from his job as a marketing operations director at Eli Lilly and Company and joined Butler University as an unpaid basketball volunteer.

What kind of lunatic would leave the largest pharmaceutical company in the United States to become a volunteer? If he were seeking job stability in China, his parents would probably have to ask an immortal to draw talismans on his bedroom to slay demons.

In 2001, Brad Stevens began serving as an assistant coach at Butler University, where he remains today. After hearing that the Lakers were recruiting new assistant coaches, he sent out his resume with the intention of giving it a try. If he could succeed, it would be a leap to success.

Yang Rui called and said that Brad had been selected. Kupchak couldn't believe it. "You're looking for this young college assistant? Aren't there a lot of NBA assistants? There are also retired NBA players."

The implication is that anyone can be more qualified than Brad, such as Fred Hoiberg, who played for the Lakers.

Yang Rui believes that among all the people who submitted resumes, Brad is the most promising.

In Yang Rui's previous life, Brad served as the head coach of Butler University from 2007 to 2013. His coaching winning rate was as high as 77.2%. He led Butler University to the NCAA Finals twice, the most since Bob Knight in 1973. The youngest head coach to lead a team to the NCAA Final Four, and the youngest head coach to lead a team to the Finals since 1940.

On July 4, 2013, the Celtics announced the appointment of Brad as the team's 17th head coach. The two parties signed a six-year contract with a total value of US$22 million.

Brad had a difficult time with the Celtics because Ainge sent away Pierce and Garnett in the summer. By the way, coach Rivers was also traded to the Clippers, setting a precedent for trading a head coach.

Ainge is broken and ready to rebuild. Last season, James scored 45 points against the Celtics and had nothing to do. As a result, there wasn't even anyone willing to compete for the position of the Green Army in the summer. The rest of the Green Army must be at the bottom, and no one wants to take the blame.

At this time, Stevens stood up and said: "IcanIup"!

With no one to support him, he led a group of players that no one expected. After a year of hard work, he achieved 40 wins and 42 losses in the 2014-15 season, returned to the playoffs, and won the title of "Young Coach" .

Then in the 2016-17 season, everyone's jaws dropped to the ground. The Green Army actually won the first place in the Eastern Conference in the regular season. The core was Isiah Thomas, who was only 175cm. The Green Army also reached the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the Cavaliers 1-4, which was an honorable defeat.

You know, the Cavaliers lineup is too terrible. Putting aside the Big Three and TT Thompson, substitutes JR Smith and Shumpert both earn tens of millions per year, Korver makes 5.24 million, Frye 7.81 million, and the fringe people who don’t need money are all Germans. Ron Williams, Derrick Williams, Deng Tai Jones, Richard Jefferson, James Jones and other celebrities.

The Cavaliers star team's annual salary plus luxury tax reaches 160 million. This is not about playing but making money. It's normal for the Green Army to lose. After all, the Cavaliers can win...one game against the Big Four Warriors.

In short, Yang Rui knows Brad's future achievements and knows that this man is flexible and bold in his tactics. Even if he hasn't figured it out yet, he will get better in the future. He can be a bole and let him stand out earlier.

There are more "Jerry-type" coaches. If they all become head coaches in the future, Yang Rui will also have a bright future.

Brad made a big joke when he received the call from Kupchak because he didn't believe the identity of the other Lakers manager at all. "Don't think you can fool me because I haven't heard your voice. You must be David's friend, right?"

Kupchak immediately felt that this guy was unreliable. Yang Rui just looked at the resume in the email and decided to be an assistant coach. It was too hasty.

"I don't know how your friends usually joke with you,

But I am really the general manager of the Lakers Kupchak. Jerry Young asked me to inform you that I will come to Los Angeles the day after tomorrow for the second round of interviews. The location is..."

The other party seriously told him the location and asked him to rush to Los Angeles as soon as possible. Brad was convinced that this was not a prank. No matter how crazy his friend was, he would never trick him into going to Los Angeles from Indianapolis in the Midwest.

After hanging up the phone, Brad jumped up excitedly. Being able to make it to the second round of interviews is a success for him. This is the Lakers, and there must be many people who want to join. It is proof of his strength that an unqualified college assistant like him can discuss tactics with an NBA-level assistant coach.

Kupchak reacted quickly and did not say that Yang Rui had already decided on Brad, otherwise he would not have believed it.

The next day, Brad was fully prepared and flew to Los Angeles. He dressed appropriately and arrived at a hotel near the Staples Center a day early. He had a good rest and recharged his batteries, hoping to be in the best possible spirit to face the important event. interview. Although he didn't have high hopes, what if he stayed? He has been working in college for five years and has long been looking forward to promotion. The NBA is his ultimate goal.

The result was even more dramatic than Brad imagined. He went to the manager's office to see Kupchak and Yang Rui. There were no other interviewers, and he immediately relaxed a lot. There was a lot of pressure when there were people competing.

Yang Rui talked with him about his work in the new season and basketball concepts, and asked him a few questions.

Brad has received professional coaching training, has a solid foundation in team training, and answers questions fluently.

Yang Rui asked him what he thought of the Lakers' current tactics and how they planned to use the team's fringe players. These issues are difficult to resolve and must be raised constructively.

Any coach who pays attention to the game can tell what tactics the Lakers' rotation players used last season. It's no big deal. It's the ability to use rookies like Gibson and Millsap that matters.

Opportunities are for those who are prepared. Brad has thoroughly understood the Lakers' tactics. Many of Butler University's tactics are copied from the Lakers. Of course, this is related to the relatively simple tactics played by the Lakers last season. If it is the kind of multi-person movement without the ball that the Wizards had, no matter how experienced the coach is, it will be messed up after seeing it, so he has to study it slowly.

He believes that the key to the Lakers' starting tactics is to help the superstars exert their personal abilities. It is enough to open up the space and create singles opportunities and mismatched singles opportunities. There is no need to change it. If a coach arranges complex running tactics for the "drug combination" , that is absolutely crazy.

In terms of the team's fringe players, Brad appreciates small guards who have speed and can break through, and suggests reusing Louis Williams next season; Millsap and Louis can be used in pick-and-rolls, and Walton, Kapono, and Gibson are there. The outside is open and he waits for opportunities to shoot three-pointers; Hayes' role is relatively single, he can only defend. On the offensive end, he is in the low post on one side preparing to grab offensive rebounds to attract the defense without having to go out to cover.

In college, Brad suggested reusing small guards with speed and ability to break through, but the head coach didn't allow it, and the two had a quarrel about this.

In the NCAA, short players who have poor competition often don't even get a chance to sit on the bench. Stephen Curry is an example. He was an accurate shooter, but he didn't want to go to college after graduating from high school. In the end, his father used all kinds of connections to join a bad team. Lewis has also been undervalued and barely played last season.

Brad's thoughts came to Yang Rui's heart. Once Mo Williams leaves, he does plan to increase Lewis's playing time. He can also shoot three-pointers. Lewis's breakthrough ability is better than Gibson and Jones.

If the Lakers' fringe lineup is well integrated, they will be strong on both offense and defense, and Brad's tactics are very reasonable. He has a flexible mind and believes that adapting to the situation is the most important thing in the game. He will definitely be qualified to serve as an assistant coach next season.

After the conversation, Kupchak came up with a prepared contract, with the first two years guaranteed and a team option for the third year. The new assistant coach was confirmed.

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