The rest is just noise

When it comes to business, of course it’s the rebuilding of the Celtics.

What Paul Gaston meant was, tell Isiah Thomas to go away and Louis will take it upon himself.

Louis smiled and said nothing. The young master thought he was still the boy he once was. Even if a man remains a boy until his death, sixteen years have passed, and no matter how young a boy is, there will be slight changes.

At least now, he has no intention of shouldering the responsibility, nor does he have the energy to take all the coaching and management work on himself as he did in the past.

During the Knicks and Lakers days, he had a lot of helpers around him, but in Boston, there was only one Thomas, with whom he had a bad relationship.

And he couldn't fire Thomas off right away.

There is only one reason why fans can accept Thomas' dismissal, and that is that Louis is his successor.

If Louis is the successor, then Thomas will have to get out no matter how popular he is. And Louis' plan is to continue to stay behind the scenes.

Because this time his goal is not to create a dynasty - or rather, it doesn't necessarily have to be a dynasty.

The ultimate goal is to form a black-free championship team.

To achieve this goal in the first decade of the new century, at least most of the non-black elite players must be gathered together.

Therefore, this matter has to be done slowly. It is destined to be a long-term project and there will be some setbacks. Let Thomas suffer these things. He will not grow without suffering some hardships. This is for his own good.

Since Louis is not coaching yet, the two contracts have become one contract. Gaston very wisely increased the compensation of the president's contract, and what was finally placed in front of Louis was a six-year contract worth US$100 million.

This contract has not been exposed, because once people know that Louis holds such a big contract, the entire sports world will be shocked.

Finally, Louis and the Gaston family reached a special terms.

During Louis' contract period, if the Gaston family is ready to sell the team, it must sell Louis at least 35% of the team's shares.

This is the last line of insurance.

After both parties reached an agreement, Louis had no other problems.

Isiah Thomas was the first insider to get the news. The day he got the news, Thomas wanted to resign.

But when he thinks that the team has three years left in his contract, with an annual salary of US$7 million and a conditional bonus of US$2 million, he really can't give up so much money.

Thomas finally made the most advantageous choice - selling the news to the media.

Just as the divisional battle between the East and West was getting heated, a shocking news came out: legendlu returned to Boston!

For a time, countless friends and media contacted Louis to confirm the news.

Louis knew that the news would leak out sooner or later, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.

Now that it had been leaked, there was no point in hiding it anymore, so Louis admitted it frankly.

Wilson was confused: "Coach, is there anything I can't do that you can do in Boston?"

"Benj, I can't tell you why yet. This matter is top secret. You will know it later." Louis emphasized in particular, "You just need to know that I chose to return to Boston to seek excitement."

Seeking excitement? This was interesting. Wilson didn't ask any more.

He had the idea of ​​asking Philadelphia to trade him to Boston. As long as Philadelphia did this, they would have a high probability of getting this year's No. 1 pick. But he didn't do that.

Because that would embarrass Louis, and what he wants to do must be something that he cannot interfere with. The two of them have worked together for so many years and know each other very well.

Wilson doesn't believe there is anything on the basketball court that he can't handle, but if Louis really thinks so, then maybe it really does exist, but he doesn't know it yet.

No matter what, Wilson will keep his eyes on Boston, wondering what the one thing he can't do is.

On May 29, 2001, the day of Game 6 of the conference finals, Louis, accompanied by Reed Auerbach and greeted by the smiles and hugs of Isiah Thomas, met with the Gastons and his son.

All the Celtics management staff, big and small, appeared at the press conference.

Paul Gaston announced at the beginning: "We have reached a multi-year contract with Legendlu, and he will serve as the president of basketball operations for the Celtics."

The first person to stand up and ask Louis a question was a reporter from the Boston Globe, "Coach Lu, you are the president and Reid is the team chairman. If there is a disagreement between you, whose opinion will the team take precedence?"

?”

The reporter who asked the question was very young, and many old reporters couldn't help but shake their heads when they saw him like this. He asked this kind of question, do you want to interview Louis again in the future?

This man has a notoriously bad temper!

The Boston media's impression of Louis stayed sixteen years ago. At that time, Louis gave people the impression that he was young and frivolous but had great talent. However, because of his bad temper, many reporters who asked bad questions were humiliated by him on the spot.

A meal.

Unexpectedly, Louis actually smiled slightly and said: "Reed is the senior I respect the most, and at the same time, he is also my leader. His opinions will play a key role at any time. However, it is not 1984 anymore.

Reid is the flag of the Celtics, and I will carry his flag forward."

Globe writer Bob Ryan, who has become a famous reporter, asked keenly: "Coach Lu, Mr. Gaston said you will become the president of the Celtics, does this mean you will not coach the Celtics?"

people?"

Louis replied jokingly: "The head coach of the team is Isiah Thomas, and I am here to assist him."

Everyone laughed, including Ryan.

The difference is that while others were amused by Louis, Ryan smiled in distress.

Everyone has seen what Thomas is capable of in the past few years. He doesn't look like a championship coach at all. Even with Louis' help behind the scenes, if the team is left in his hands, it will be difficult for the Celtics to win the championship.

I thought it would be dawn when Louis was invited back, but I didn't expect that the day was not quite bright yet. After that, the reporter's questions were neither as sharp as at the beginning nor as sensitive as Ryan's questions.

When asked about Louis' plans for the future of the team, Louis' answer was to strive for the team to return to the playoffs within two years.

As for what happens in two years, it depends on how well you do in the first two years.

Some reporters hilariously asked: "Who are we going to select as the No. 1 pick this year?"

Louis answered him seriously: "I won't tell you that we will choose Yao Yueban."

The atmosphere is lively and the future is bright. The Boston media has not felt this optimistic about the future for a long time.

Louis once became the city's public enemy in Boston because he led the Knicks to bury the Celtics dynasty. But as time went by, everyone gradually accepted the fact. After all, pushing back and changing dynasties are the most common things in the sports world.

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Louis just did what he was supposed to do.

They should be happy that such a talent has appeared in the Celtics' front office. Now, he is back with 12 championships on his resume.

With Louis, there is a future. They firmly believe in this.

At the end of the meeting, a reporter interviewed Auerbach and asked him to tell the story of Louis' return to Boston.

Auerbach smiled lightly and said: "How can there be so many stories to tell? He originally left Boston, and now he is just returning to his hometown in glory."

Later, the reporter asked him if he would help Louis rebuild the Celtics.

Auerbach laughed loudly: "You are the only ones who still treat this old man like me as a treasure. Forget me. My only influence in the professional basketball world is my name. My time has passed. You guys

Let's move on. That guy is one of the best sports executives I've ever met, and with him, the future of the Celtics is bright."