The Whip of the God of Basketball

At the end of August, the Boston Celtics held a jersey launch event for Kevin Garnett at the North Shore Garden Arena. Nearly two months after joining the Boston Celtics, the super power forward’s jersey controversy came to light. The dust has settled. In the end, Garnett did not listen to the advice of his agent Andy Miller and insist on wearing Bill Sharman's No. 21 jersey, but chose his own favorite No. 5 jersey.

At this belated jersey conference, Celtics legend Bill Sharman was invited to the scene. He gave a No. 21 jersey with Garnett's name on it to Kevin Garnett on the spot. Souvenir. Then Garnett showed off his brand new No. 5 jersey in front of more than a hundred media and hundreds of fans. This number, which also embodies the Celtics' glorious history and superstar style, was handed over to Garnett. .

At this point, the long-running number selection controversy subsided. Leon also participated in the number conference, but he did not go on stage, but sat backstage with his legs crossed and smoking. Let Danny Ainge and the team's owners handle this kind of publicity and front-page media work, even though he actually solved this matter single-handedly.

In addition to Bill Sharman, the Celtics stars who arrived at the press conference also had their ring kings Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, Cousy, White and others.

In the hospital in Memphis two months ago, they were either moved by Leon's story, or they succumbed to the situation and had to admit that Leon's choice was more beneficial to the team. In short, no one in the Celtics anymore This deal is nonsense. Anyway, the boss is willing to pay a high luxury tax, the fans are happy, and the team has hope of winning the championship. What else can they say?

After officially confirming Garnett's number, the Celtics completed the signings of Laga Bell, James Posey and Rick Carlisle in more than a week. It can be said that throughout the offseason, Leon did the most groundwork and facilitated the most important transaction, but in the end, all the limelight was taken away by Danny Ainge alone, as if he built it overnight. Out came this giant green ship.

For a time, praises about Ainge were flying in Boston, and he began to make headlines constantly. He was shaped into the Auerbach of the new era, the chief heir to the Cardinals-the gray cardinal. In short, the green and yellow ruled throughout the summer. Half of the media industry is concerned, and Anji is almost ready to win the best general manager next season.

Kevin Garnett stayed in Boston after the jersey was finalized. He soon had his own residence and began to set up their own star training camp with Paul Pierce in the Boston University arena. Inviting stars from the Atlantic region such as Iverson and Kidd to train, and also recruiting young basketball enthusiasts from Massachusetts to participate in summer basketball camps.

As a result, Boston immediately became a basketball hotspot in the East. Scouts, agents, reporters, and fans gathered here one after another, and there was a vague feeling of challenging the summer basketball center of Los Angeles.

Garnett has completely come out of the previous jersey controversy. Major media in Boston have begun to show their favor to him. Various exclusive interviews, interviews after training camp, and columns of several major newspapers in Boston are also full of comments about him. Kevin Garnett's article, as if overnight they were as sweet as before, back to how they were when the deal was just completed.

In September, Boston TV station also invited Garnett and Ainge to appear on a prime-time nightly talk show for an in-depth interview on the ins and outs of the deal and the resolution of the recent number controversy.

This is a bit embarrassing. Garnett is a man of upright character and has something to say. When talking about why he chose Boston, he said without hesitation, "Because of Fox Leon."

Afterwards, Garnett began to talk about his fate with Leon, how they didn't know each other after the draft, how they communicated at the All-Star Game, and how they discussed the future of the players together.

The show suddenly became a selection of gay stories about Garnett and Foxx Leon, and Danny Ainge was left alone, with only an occasional interjection.

When the host started to ask how the transaction was completed, Anji also discovered that there was no way to say that if Leon was skipped, because he only completed the last step from beginning to end, and the whole process was completely controlled by Leon.

It's just that there are some things that can't be talked about on the show, so Anji picks out the ones that can be talked about and takes them through in a few words.

As a result, the issue of jersey selection came later, and Garnett opened up the conversation again, "The reason why I chose No. 5 is because I followed coach Leon's advice. I tried to understand the Celtics and Boston. , I went to visit Russell to find out how they won so many championships..."

In short, it is Tofox Leon's blessing.

After the program was broadcast on the TV station, it caused quite a stir in Boston. Many fans did not know that their team's head coach could not only lead the team to the finals, but also had so many additional functions that could win over other teams. Super star.

For a time, Leon's popularity in Boston skyrocketed, and many restaurants near Leon's home posted tips offering free meals at "Fox Leon."

However, Leon did not have the opportunity to go to these restaurants for free meals, because starting from September, Leon went out early and came back late to train with the Celtics' newcomers at the Waltham training hall.

Boris Diaw, Marquis Daniels, Ralph Alston, Laga Bell, James Posey, two rookies and three new guys, there are exactly five people.

The oldest of these five people is Alston, who was born in 1976 and is only 27 years old, which is the golden age of players.

But except for the two rookies Diaw and Daniels, the other three actually had a less than smooth experience in the NBA.

Alston was born as a street player. It can be said that he was not a good person at all. When he was playing in college, he was sued and suspended for assaulting his ex-girlfriend. After the lawsuit, he simply participated in the 1998 draft and was selected by the Bucks in the second round. middle.

As a result, he encountered a lockout as soon as he entered the league and had to go to the CBA Continental League to play. After the lockout ended, he returned to the Bucks and was blacklisted by George Karl due to a lawsuit. It was not until he performed well in the summer league in the summer of 1999 that he officially entered the Bucks roster and received a two-year contract.

After the contract ended, he signed with Toronto. His personal performance in the weak Raptors team has been greatly improved, but as a point guard, his organizational and defensive abilities have always been criticized.

As a result, he changed clubs again this year. He originally thought he would go to the Heat, but Riley suddenly expressed that he did not want to sign him. In the end, it was the Celtics' turn to take over.

Lagabell's road was even more bumpy. He attended Boston University and then transferred to Florida. He was undrafted in the 1999 draft. He joined the Spurs in 2000 but did not play a game.

Joined the 76ers at the end of the 2001 season, participated in the playoffs, and reached the finals with the team. After that, he went to the Mavericks. Like Alston, he failed to stay with any team for more than two years.

This summer, after the Jazz and Celtics swung directly for a period of time, he still chose the Celtics, not only because the Celtics offered a bigger contract, but also because he wanted to get more training in Boston. Here is Fox Leon, who is said to be the most strict and powerful trainer in the league.

Compared with these two people, Posey's fame and strength are above them. He was a first-round pick in 1999, so although he is younger than Bell and Alston, he has more actual NBA experience than the two of them combined. .

But Posey had a bad reputation among coaches and the team, and was a minor thorn in his side. At the peak of his numbers in 2002, he was directly traded to the Rockets by the Nuggets. After the season, the Rockets had no intention of renewing Posey's contract. He became a free agent.

Anji was originally a little worried about his thorny attributes, but when he thought that their coach was the biggest thorn in the league, he did not hesitate to use the mid-level to win him.

In order to allow these new players with different experiences to integrate into the Celtics relatively quickly, Leon began to open a rookie training camp in September to conduct targeted training for them in Waltham.

During the summer league, Diaw and Daniels had already experienced Leon's training. They thought they could adapt. However, when Waltham's rookie training camp began, they discovered that the content of the previous summer training camp was nothing more than drizzle. .

High intensity, high precision, and high efficiency are the three high levels of training that Leon follows.

And he also set a goal for these five people-to defeat the starting team after the official training camp begins.