The rest is just noise

The next day, Louis stayed in the Greek Academy from day to afternoon and then to evening.

Until "Satch" Sanders informed: "No need to wait, Morris' agent called me and told me that his employer does not like Boston and he is afraid of racial conflicts here, so he will not come to tryout."

"hey-hey!"

Sanders didn't expect him to laugh so inappropriately.

"Lu, you give me the creeps." Sanders said seriously.

The only thing Louis needs to determine now is whether Cheeks has any plans to try out with other teams.

If not, then the 76ers' promise to him in the draft is a fact.

A person who has no draft prospects, refuses Boston's invitation to try out, and suddenly gives up on himself after the trial in Philadelphia? This kind of illogical story can only be accepted by cerebral palsy fans of the Tang Detective series.

"Sachi, I also want you to do me a favor..."

Louis wants to know what's going on with Cheeks.

But this is difficult for him. His network is not that big and he cannot get information remotely.

"What's the rush?"

"I want to know what Cheeks' next plans are."

"How can this be?"

"I believe that his agent is by no means the only client. If his focus suddenly shifts to other people, then we have the answer." Louis smiled, "I need to pay attention to the dynamics of his agent."

Sanders felt like he was getting deeper and deeper into the situation. Good guy, even a low-level scout could manipulate him at will.

However, Louis also thinks about the team.

If he didn't have the ability, K.C wouldn't be able to let him become a Celtics scout. Plus, Louis is not objectionable.

If he could reduce the frequency of his babbles and evil smiles—which remind him of Auerbach and Russell—Sanders would still be happy to be his friend.

"I will try my best."

"Thank you, Sage." Louis asked hypocritically, "You help me so much, how can I repay you?"

He hinted with his eyes: I don’t have money, and I can’t give it even if I have my life.

"If it's good for the team, if the player you're interested in can really come in handy, then helping you is helping me." Sanders laughed at himself, "How can I be at odds with myself?"

He has a point. Although his future is bleak, he is still the Celtics coach.

But for a rookie coach, the saddest fate is to take over a team that has high expectations and then falls into the abyss.

Internal pressure and external expectations are enough to destroy a rookie coach's ambitions.

Louis likes Sanders very much, but he is really not optimistic about his coaching prospects.

After confirming that Cheeks would not come, Louis began to prepare a speech for the briefing meeting, mainly for K.C. He felt that he would not have a chance to speak by then, so he could just express his thoughts through K.C's mouth.

With a formal job, Louis' life became much more regular.

He no longer had to run around for intelligence and news like he did in school every day, nor did he have to have strange relationships with various strange women. In that case, he was under too much pressure, and the dragon king under his crotch was not in its best condition.

It was difficult to leave a good impression on the other party. He was sure that if he were to do it again now, he would definitely be able to capture the city and give the other party the impression of a macho man.

But now he has to focus on the ventilation meeting in a few days.

On June 6, 1978, there were still three days before the draft. The Celtics had completed their trial training. The scouts had prepared their own information and put it in the hands of their superiors, preparing to exchange and learn at the ventilation meeting.

.

The venue for the information meeting was also the Greek Academy.

During the briefing meeting, team chairman and general manager Auerbach sat in the C seat.

On his left is head coach Larry Sanders, on his right is team president Gary Ralph, then chief scout and assistant coach K.C. Jones, and the other chief scout, John Key.

Rilea, assistant coach Bob MacKinnon, several senior scouts unknown to Louie, home announcer Johnny Most and team owner Irvin Levin's secretary.

"Now that we're all here, let's talk about our opinions about the draft in three days." Auerbach started.

The boss's secretary spoke first: "About using the sixth pick of the first round to select Larry Bird...Mr. Irving hopes you will reconsider. He doesn't want a player who can't play for the team immediately. If he doesn't play for the team next year,

If you refuse to sign with us, we will lose everything."

"If he refuses to sign with us," Auerbach said with an indifferent smile, "we will choose him again."

It sounds impossible, but there seems to be nothing that Auerbach can't do. He is a student of rules and a speculator of rules. He always likes to exploit loopholes in the rules.

The secretary was speechless.

The Celtics are a strange team. Even if the players have made their status higher and higher through their own struggles, the boss is still the master of the team, and the management is just a bunch of subordinates who are working. Although their professional

The boss's temperament is far greater than that of the boss, but the boss's words are imperial edict. Even if his decision is unprofessional, the management must resolutely implement it.

The former coach of the 76ers, Gene Shue, was used as a prop to establish his authority and was thrown away just because he refused to obey the new boss.

But in the Celtics, Auerbach's status has vaguely overshadowed the boss. After the first-generation Celtics boss Walter Brown passed away due to illness, the team's ownership changed many times, and it was inevitable to encounter bad bosses. Only Auerbach

Bach can force an uncooperative owner to sell the team in a "either I leave or you leave" approach.

No Celtics owner wants to be accused of "getting rid of Auerbach."

This is most likely fatal.

You know, this was the 1970s!

Think of those people on the street!

"Except for the sixth overall pick, everything else can be discussed." Auerbach smiled and said, "Let's get started."

Sanders delivered the speech he had been preparing for a long time: "We have been through a chaotic season, and here are a few things I took away from it..."

This is the reason why he is not suitable to be a head coach. He regards coaching as a class, and leading team games as leading students to take exams. Why not do a final summary here?

Although he talked a lot of nonsense, he still clearly expressed the team's current shortcomings. To sum up, everything is lacking, every position is lacking. If they don't strengthen the team, don't blame him for whatever the result will be next season.

"Yes, we need to strengthen all positions."

John Kiriglia said confidently: "In addition to Larry, there is another person we must get-Freeman Williams (Freeman Williams SG/SF) of Portland State University, he is a

An unstoppable attacker who scored a total of 3,249 points in four years in college. Only Pete Maravich scored more in college. He led the Vikings to defeat Larry Bird in the World University Games.

The U.S. team won the gold medal. His ability was recognized by many college coaches, including Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp. Coach Rupp believes that Freeman can achieve complete success in the NBA, just as he did in college.

Do the same thing!"

"Are you sure we can draft him with the eighth pick?" Auerbach had heard of Williams' reputation. He knew the guy was good and had seen him play, but Kiriglia clearly said he was

Very good.

At first glance, it sounds better than Bird.

"There is a chance," Kyrillia said without reservation. "Although Freeman's aggressiveness is exciting, his mental attributes are worth worrying about. He is prone to extremes on the court and his style of play is relatively selfish. He needs to be patiently adjusted/

teach."

The issues Kyrillia mentioned are shocking, but this is the eighth pick in the first round.

There are not many people to choose from in this position.

Therefore, he has obvious strengths and weaknesses, and Kirilia has prepared several alternative lists.

Not only did he name two top-10 picks (Kierilla was the first Celtics scout to follow Bird's game), but he also took care of K.C., and he blatantly did it on this occasion.

Play the race card.

He supported the team's selection of Jeff Judkins, who was rejected by Louis, because this man was a white college star and selecting him could attract fans.

This made many people present look at K.C.

Only Auerbach and Kiriglia knew it was Louis' decision to oust Judkins.

Considering the personal grudge between Louis and Kyrillia, Sanders was not surprised that the latter could make this suggestion.

When he saw that K.C was about to give a speech, he was even more surprised.

It wasn't Louis who spoke?

But then I thought about it, why is a low-level scout speaking at a draft briefing?

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