The Whip of the God of Basketball

On the way back to the MGM Hotel in the car, the two security guards said nothing, but they felt uneasy in their hearts. When leaving the Hoover Dam, Leon's words "I must take a gamble" left the two of them confused. If Leon definitely wants to go back to the MGM hotel casino to gamble, then the general manager will definitely twist off the heads of these two guys and use them as balls. The responsibility of the two of them is to protect Leon and accompany him to the dam at night. At the same time, you should accompany him with kind words and don't make him unhappy and insist on going back to the casino to kill everyone.

Today is different from the past. Fox-Leon is no longer an ordinary gambler, but a famous NBA coach in the United States. In the 2003 playoffs, he led the Boston Celtics all the way through and into the NBA. The finals allowed the Celtics, who had been away from the finals for 16 years, to touch the floor of the finals again. Although they ultimately lost to the San Antonio Spurs due to insufficient hard power and failed to bring another championship trophy to the Celtics, their performance along the way was enough to make the United States look at Fox-Leon with admiration.

Moreover, the stage of the finals is much larger than other basketball games. Leon suddenly went from a well-known basketball coach in the basketball circle to a well-known young coach in the United States. He was able to strategize against the 76ers and Pistons with ease. Then when he faced the Nets in the Eastern Conference finals and fought back step by step, the name "Scarface" quickly spread in the United States.

Therefore, if Fox-Leon insists on participating in a gambling game at the MGM Grand, even if he is on the casino's blacklist, the casino will not dare to forcibly refuse him entry. His celebrity aura will bring unbearable consequences to the casino. This is the reason why the general manager of the casino sent two of the best bodyguards to serve him well - if it weren't for Leon not being a womanizer, the general manager of the casino would never mind letting the hotel's best socialite accompany Leon. Come to the Hoover Bus for an exciting wild battle.

"Mr. Leon...we...maybe we should give you some advice...No, it's a request...No, it's a request, a plea. I hope, I hope you don't go back to the MGM Hotel to gamble...Gambling, gambling is harmful to physical and mental health ..." After struggling for a while, the big black man sitting in the passenger seat finally asked Leon not to go back to the casino to gamble. Because he was nervous, he gave a reason that made Leon feel dumbfounded.

Leon smiled and shook his head. He knew that the two guys misunderstood the meaning of his words. When he said he wanted to gamble, he did not mean to go back to the MGM Hotel to gamble. In fact, he came to Las Vegas to do so. I'm not ready to go to the gambling table, because there is no gambling game here that is more attractive than the big gambling table of the NBA draft and trade market.

As early as the end of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the NBA 2003 Draft Lottery Ceremony was held in New York. Everything was the same as the only memories left in Fox Leon's mind. The Cleveland Cavaliers got the No. 1 pick they dreamed of. The Grizzlies "regrettably" got the second pick. According to the deal last summer, this second pick was personally sent to the Celtics by Chris Wallace.

This is the second No. 2 pick in the history of the Boston Celtics. Their last No. 2 pick was in 1986, when they selected Len Bias on that heartbreaking draft night and he died of drugs. If you go back further, the Celtics also tried to get the second pick through trade, and finally got the second pick, and that person was Bill Russell.

For the Celtics, a team that has never had a No. 1 pick except in 1949, the first year of the NBA, the No. 2 pick is the highest pick they can get, and in the Celtics' Both black and white have left an indelible mark. Now they have another such pick in front of them, and it's a super draft year.

In addition to the talented high school student from Akron who is destined to go to Cleveland, the Celtics' remaining options include Carmelo Anthony, the hottest player in the NCAA in 2003, and Lightning guard Dwayne from Marquette University. -Wade, as well as Georgia Tech's versatile power forward Chris Bosh, either one has the potential to become the core of the team.

Because of this, the Celtics were divided on the issue of continuing to implement the trade to get Garnett or finding a quality rookie through the draft. Leon naturally hopes to use this pick to match other players on the team and get Garnett through a trade. After all, this plan has been laid out for nearly two years, including public opinion building, signing friends, threatening agents, and even face-to-face persuasion. Asking Leon to give up getting this super power forward now is like asking him to give up being the Celtics coach.

Now, the whole world knows that the Celtics want Garnett, including Garnett himself and the Timberwolves. Whether the deal can be concluded depends on the Celtics' bargaining chips, the Timberwolves' intentions and actions, and Garnett's own thoughts. . None of these three points will work, because the person Leon wants to get is Kevin Garnett. His salary next year will reach a staggering 28 million, the highest salary in a single year since Michael Jordan.

The salary cap for the 2003-2004 season is expected to be around US$430 million, an increase of US$30 million from 2003. This is an absolute benefit for Leon. The new TV broadcast agreement has taken effect, and the extra US$30 million will The tens of millions of space will greatly increase the possibility of the Celtics taking Garnett's contract.

But there are still different voices within the Celtics. Although the operation to obtain the second pick was led by Leon and was specially obtained to trade for Garnett, this year's draft is too tempting. Well, for the Celtics, who have a tradition of relying on the draft to build a team, it is really a very Celtic decision to be able to use the second pick to get the talented players the team needs most and inject vitality into the long-term development of the team. .

Those who make this sound are naturally the old guard represented by the older generation of Celtic stars. They don’t care how the pick came from. They just want to maintain the glorious tradition of the Green Legion and select a low-key, Excellent young people, adding talent to a lineup that can already reach the finals, is really the best choice.

This voice is currently so powerful that the entire Boston is now discussing who they should select. Media like the Boston Tribune have launched fan voting activities to allow fans to choose whether they should use this unexpected pick. You must know that as a team that has just reached the finals, it was able to obtain such a high pick in the second year's draft. However, the only comparable team is the 1982 Los Angeles Lakers. championship, and ended up with the No. 1 pick that year. This was one of the incentives that forced Stern to change the draft and draft pick trading rules.

But now it's 2003, and all the rules have been quite perfected. The Celtics still took advantage of the loopholes and got the second pick. How could they not make the Boston people ecstatic, as if they were back to the Celtics who were making waves and playing hooligans throughout the league? era.

How this pick came about has long been forgotten. This put Fox-Leon into an embarrassing passivity. He didn't even participate in the rookie's pre-draft training camp, nor did he issue a scouting report. Instead, he went to the Hoover Dam in Las Vegas. Clear your mind and thoughts.

Leon knows that all fans are forgetful, even the Celtics fans, the best fan group in the United States. They will remember the most glorious victories and the most painful defeats, the most dazzling stars and the most painful defeats. It is an exciting game, but they will not remember the sweat behind the victory and the lessons behind the failure, nor will they remember the complicated behind-the-scenes transactions and meticulous pre-match preparations. These are not things that fans should remember.

So Leon knows that there is no point in arguing and blaming people. The only thing he can do is to complete this deal that has been prepared for two years before the draft, remove all obstacles on the road to the deal, and treat it as a done deal. When Nate comes to Boston, everything will be back under his control.

Just like the majestic and tall Hoover Dam, it has stored water for many years, making the rushing river as calm as a stream. But the moment the water is opened and the water is released, all obstacles will be washed away by the surging water, just like the process of history, unstoppable .