The rest is just noise

Louis has always wanted to act mature. Reason tells him that he is already 30 years old, but he has now entered the body of an 18-year-old.

Are maturity and stability a natural expression? Not necessarily.

Just because youth is gone forever, most people are asked to do things that are appropriate for their age. Even if they don't like it, they have to do it. No one wants to attract strange looks.

Yi Jianlian, the men's basketball leader in the post-Yao Shuan era, had a famous joke when he was young: "Emperor Yi is always 18 years old."

Now Louis really thinks that as long as his mentality is young enough, why should he be bound by his mental age and give up his nature?

Well, he decided to stay 18 forever.

This is what he went through in the few seconds before his bestiality exploded in the hotel.

He thus became a secondary scout reporting to K.C. Jones.

The pay for being a secondary scout is slightly better than Louis imagined.

There is a salary of US$1,400 per month, and all travel, tickets, and accommodation expenses used to observe players during the season can be reimbursed.

But there are conditions.

For example, flights can only be in economy class, and accommodation and meals are kept simple.

Although it is a world of difference from future scouts staying in various business classes and five-star hotels, it is good enough for Louis now.

His scouting report is said to have been approved by many within the Celtics, but not Reed Auerbach.

It's not that his scouting reports are bad, but Auerbach doesn't like to make judgments based on video.

The problem is that Louis' main judgment about John Long comes from the VHS tape.

But Auerbach has his own creed when it comes to observing players. That is a famous saying: "I don't look at the data, I believe in my own eyes. You can show me a guy who scored 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists.

But he may also throw the ball randomly, move slowly, make mistakes in blocking positions, make careless shots, disrupt the rhythm of his teammates, coupled with poor defense and inaction at critical moments, when

When you can quantify that, I'm interested in looking at the data."

In fact, everything Auerbach was worried about can be clearly seen on the video.

But it is difficult for him to use video to judge players. He would rather trust the words of his old friends in the NCAA and then watch a game in person.

It has to be said that he is very discerning. For the Celtics to have achieved their glory in the past few decades, Auerbach accounts for 99% of the credit.

The reason why Louis was recognized, and why even though Auerbach was not convinced, he still agreed with K.C to include him in the Green Army family, is because the pick they planned to use to select John Long was a very low pick.

.

Therefore, you can try it.

If you choose a parallel import, there is no loss. If Long gains a foothold with the Celtics, it will be a report card that belongs to Louis.

Louis moved out of the hotel and settled in a white neighborhood not far from the Celtics' training ground, Greek Academy.

He didn't like that community.

It was filled with members of the "Greatest Generation" who did not flee Boston's desegregation policies.

Although they meant no harm, they often called Louis "Oriental".

This is a deep-rooted habit, and no matter how Louis corrects them, they will not change their name.

Louis can only adapt to this group of "the greatest generation". Many of them participated in World War II when they were young, engaged in decent jobs that Li Xuanbing identified, and had great influence in the community.

It's his first time here, so it's best to keep a low profile.

In the next few days, he traveled back and forth between Boston and Ohio to go through the formalities of suspending his studies.

Wu Sansheng was shocked when he heard that Louis was actually going to drop out of school in order to become a professional scout. Although he tried to persuade him for a day, it was a done deal.

They can only have one meal.

"I hope you can become a top scout when I graduate!" Wu Sansheng wished.

Louis didn't have many friends in DSU, and Wu Sansheng was the only one he could talk to.

"You underestimate me too much. Maybe I will have become the general manager by then." Louis said whimsically.

Returning to Boston from Ohio was on May 26th.

There were still 14 days until the 1978 draft.

This year's draft is the top priority for the Celtics, who are eager for rebirth because they suffered unprecedented humiliation last season. Auerbach repeatedly rushed into the team's locker room after losing and instilled in the players "Be ashamed."

” and the words “Don’t give up”.

This put too much pressure on Tom Heinsohn, who was fired by Auerbach during the season.

A team that is in chaos and has no direction cannot be saved by a coach.

Celtics legend and Heinsohn's assistant coach Tom Sanders took over the Celtics, and at the same time buried his coaching prospects in the NBA. He did a mess.

The "very fair and beautiful" Celtics' love affair with the public and the media in the early 1970s seemed to be over.

At home, the fans booed like a waterfall, and in the Boston Globe, Bob Ryan, known for his harsh reviews, lashed out at the team. He said Weeks "

It's useless," Cowens "has no idea what he's doing on defense," Havlicek "looks like a mercenary," and "this team is boring and lifeless," Ryan wrote. "In the past 20 years,

The Celtics have always stood for something. Now the only thing they stand for is the national anthem."

Then, as the rare black star on this team with serious albinism, Joe-Jo White was repeatedly criticized as a scapegoat, which finally broke him, missing training consecutively and demanding to be traded.

The Celtics were waiting for Havlicek's decision to retire in this atmosphere of chaos and despair, thus finalizing this season.

They need a successful draft.

The problem is, Auerbach has had very little success in the draft since drafting Dave Cowens in 1970 - it's safe to say he screwed up every pick from 1971-1977.⑴

In the spring of the 1977-78 season, Indiana State University's Larry Bird became the focus of the basketball world.

Although he is only a junior, he is one of the five players in the current draft who can be selected early by the team in the draft.

Based on the outcome of the Oscar Robinson case, the NBA will open free agents, provide medical and retirement protections, and allow junior college students to participate in the draft. But in the first dozen years, elite players will go to college for three to four years to mature.

It is still the norm to enter the league with the best physical, technical and mental state.

If they do not actively sign up for the draft, American college students can theoretically be drafted by an NBA team after four years of college. However, some players, such as those who participated in compulsory military service before 1973, are often drafted before graduating from college.

They are qualified to be drafted by the NBA. There are still some people, like this year's Bird, who was a member of Indiana University when he was a freshman, playing for the famous coach Bob Knight.

The campus life at Indiana University was extremely difficult for Byrd, who came from the countryside. He couldn't bear it, so he dropped out of school after only three and a half weeks. He then worked a job, repaired cars, and then transferred to Indiana State University.

.According to the regulations, he needs to serve as a ball supervisor for one year in his new university before he can play games. However, the year he served as a ball coach is still considered a valid year, so in his junior year, that is,

In 1978, he became eligible to be drafted by an NBA team.

Despite his "once-in-a-century" reputation among scouts, NBA general managers still don't know how good he really is.

Including Auerbach, it must be nonsense to say that they knew Bird would be as good as he would be in the future.

The first pick in the 1978 first round belonged to Bird's hometown team, the Indiana Pacers.

This story should have played out like it did in 2003, when Cleveland welcomed the Chosen One.

However, Bird listened to his mother and insisted on returning to school to play for the fourth season and complete his studies - is there a familiar plot?

The Pacers' head coach and general manager met with Bird. At that time, there was no NBA clause prohibiting contact with college students. The Pacers wanted Bird to join the team immediately after being selected, and they could only give Bird $500,000 a year.

annual salary. This is not a low price, but it can only be regarded as a "just right" contract for a rookie of Bird's level.

The Pacers were on the verge of bankruptcy. They paid a huge franchise fee to join the NBA. Due to their poor record, home attendance was dismal. Like several other ABA teams that merged into the NBA, they did not broadcast any broadcasts in the first four years of joining the league.

Contract sharing - This is four years of belt-tightening, and they are hungry for immediate change.

However, Bird wanted a superstar-level maximum salary, and he was determined to return to school for a fourth season.

The Pacers could only bid farewell with tears and send the No. 1 pick to the Trail Blazers.

Then the same plot begins again.

The Trail Blazers are willing to give Bird the contract he wants, but he must join the team immediately.

Bird's determination to complete his education was unshakable.

It stands to reason that choosing Bird is a no-brainer for a team that longs for a savior. However, in a world without open eyes, who would take the risk of using the No. 1 overall pick to gamble? Although Bird is already qualified to be selected,

But according to regulations, after he officially graduates in 1979, if he is not satisfied with the team that selected him last year, he can re-enter the draft.

By then, the team that drafted him this year will lose everything.

Therefore, although no one knows how good Bird's future will be, he was indeed the only natural selection in 1978. However, due to various objective conditions, not many teams dared to take risks.

Louis heard about Bird and knew that the Celtics were determined to select Bird with the sixth overall pick.

This is all history. Even if he doesn't understand the NBA of this era, he still knows that Bird is a Celtics player, and he also knows that he often pretends to be ridiculous on the court.

He has no control over Bird's affairs and is currently sifting through a stack of scouting reports given to him by K.C Jones.

⑴One of the 10th overall picks in 1972, Paul Westphal, who had a chance to blossom, was traded before he became a talent. Of course, that trade brought a championship. However, to be fair, from 1971 to 1977, Kay

The Celtics' first-round pick did not have a top-nine pick. The two highest picks were the 10th pick in 1972 (Westphal) and the 12th pick in 1977 (Maxwell 1984 FMVP).

They have chosen the right people.