The rest is just noise

Entering the second round, there are not many players worthy of attention.

The Celtics used the No. 1 pick in the second round to select Turkish big man Memet Okur, and then used the No. 15 pick in the second round to select Carlos Arroyo - there is actually another Earl at this position.

Watson is optional, but Louis is more impressed with Arroyo.

Arroyo is a short shooting guard, while Watson is a full-time point guard.

Since the general direction of the team has determined that they will go all out to train Parker, it makes no sense to choose Watson. If they want to be a substitute, the Celtics have veteran Steve Kerr on the roster, so they chose Arroyo.

To enhance the offensive firepower of the bench lineup.

This allowed Louis to inadvertently form an international brigade.

In the 2001 draft, the Celtics selected Americans, Chinese, French, Spanish, Turkish, and Puerto Ricans, who would be called the 01 International Class in the future.

After the draft, the Celtics quickly signed rookie contracts with the six rookies selected. One of the major impacts of the 1999 lockout was that the standard rookie contract was changed from three years to five years, and,

There is no distinction between first round and second round.

This is a very exciting thing for Louis. Yao Yueban, Gasol, Parker, and Wallace can enjoy their rookie bonuses for five years. Maybe he can finish it before these guys finish their rookie contracts.

plan.

On the day he completed the rookie signing, Louis got a message from Vice President Chris Wallace (one of the luncheon members).

Andrei Kirilenko, the Russian forward drafted by Isiah Thomas in 1999, has informed his parent club CSKA Moscow that he will leave the team and go to the United States to play in the NBA.

Was Kirilenko originally drafted by the Celtics?

If Wallace hadn't mentioned it, Louis would have forgotten about it.

Yes, a few years have passed and we have almost forgotten that this happened. Wallace said. It's a good thing. This is a good thing.

Putting aside his ability, Kirilenko's skin tone is very suitable, and Louis is now a player with zero black blood.

That damn dwarf had been short of virtue all his life, but he did a few good things in the end! He was so happy that Louis did not forget to praise the far-sighted Isiah Thomas. Wallace did not agree because he didn’t know whether Louis was cursing or not.

Kuai Ren. Louis looked at the roster and found that the Celtics were already very good from the lineup point of view.

Parker, Gasol, Yao Yueban, and Wallace, these are the four All-Stars.

In addition, Okur, Kirilenko, Cole and other good role players, although they still need time to develop, the overall framework of the entire lineup is already clear.

It shouldn't be difficult for Thomas to lead this lineup into the playoffs, right? Louis is not the coach now, and he has no control over coaching matters.

He could only continue his work. Louis called Los Angeles.

As soon as the other party answered the phone, Louis said with a smile: Manager Zhao, how are you doing? Over in Los Angeles, Zhao Yuanzheng immediately became alert, Laolu? Is something wrong? It's okay. I just want to say hello to you.

Then, without saying a few words, Louis hung up the phone. Zhao Yuanzheng had known Louis for so many years and knew him well. If nothing happened, Louis would not call for no reason. But if something happened, he would

Didn't say what it was.

Zhao, your face looks bad.

The speaker was Jim Bass, who was enjoying the joy of holding power. Coach Lu just called me. Zhao Yuanzheng said.

Bass was immediately interested, oh? How is he doing? How is he in Boston? He didn't say anything, he just said hello to me.

Wouldn't that be nice?

Zhao Yuanzheng smiled lightly and said: As far as I know, no one who has been cared for by him is better. If Louis knew that Old Zhao missed him so much, he would be sad.

Everyone knows that he is a loyal person, why doesn't Lao Zhao know that? We have been working together for many years, and we have no confidence at all?

He's not holding anything back, he just wants to get Ginobili for nothing. He really can't rush this matter.

Louis believes that Zhao Yuanzheng is

Know your own.

He is not the kind of person who would always call old friends to maintain relationships.

Emotions may fade after a long period of no contact, so it is necessary to contact them frequently, but he and Zhao Yuanzheng are really die-hard buddies, and there is no need for this at all.

Louis made this call to prepare him, lest he didn't understand and misunderstood again. After the draft, the number of players on the Celtics roster had reached 13, with only 2 left.

Quota.

Since there are no stars on the team and the new big names are rookies, the Celtics actually still have about $10 million in spare space.

Isiah Thomas hopes the team will free up some more salary to pursue one of the biggest fish in this year's free market - Chris Webber.

This is purely a thinking problem.

How much did you have to drink before you even thought about pursuing Weber?

Other than Karl Malone, a douchebag who had his head wet from hanging out with the Mormons in Utah for so long, what other star player would want to come to Boston?

If you want money but not money, if you want commercial potential but not commercial potential, if you want results you are still a rebuilding team, what a devil.

However, Louis also paid attention to Thomas's feelings, so he gave Dumas this instruction: Take the initiative to contact Webber's agent and say that we are interested in Webber. Well, we are willing to provide a seven-year, $100 million contract. Yes, also

Saying that we want him to win the championship trophy within five years, that's it.

According to Dumars' feedback, Webber's agent didn't even hear him finish and said there was no way his employer would play in Boston.

After receiving this news, Louis said with a sad face: Go tell Isiah that we have tried our best, but Chris Webber, this bitch, is so ignorant!

Dumas was expressionless: What else?

Say I'm angry, the consequences will be serious! Louis clenched his fist and said we have to win the championship before that bitch gets the chance!

Dumars has a question: Chris Webber definitely doesn't have the ability to lead a team to win a championship, but what if he emulates Danny Manning?

Can a champion who is won by hugging his thigh be called a champion? This kind of water crown that is not pure enough only has 30% of the gold content of a pure champion at most!

Dumas's face turned dark. His four championships were all obtained by holding on to his thighs.

Louis guessed what Dumas was thinking and immediately comforted him: JD, you are different. Take a step back and say that even if your four championships were obtained by hugging your thighs, according to my conclusion, a water that hugs your thighs is worth it.

A pure champion with a crown value of 30%. You have four crowns in one, but you still have the weight of a pure champion. This is not something that bitch like Weber can have. He is a fool who can’t even hug someone’s thighs. You

Say what?

Dumas responded with a serious face: I say the president is wise!

Go tell Isiah. Tell him, Louis said, to be strong.

After sloppily presiding over Webber's recruitment effort and failing, Louis handed Dumars the offseason recruiting task and told him to ask Thomas for advice before signing players.

Louis doesn't have many demands. No matter who he wants to sign, he won't give him a long-term contract, only a short-term one.

Luncheon party.

On Tuesday, Louis attended Reed Auerbach's event alongside his own vice president, Chris Wallace.

At the meeting, Wallace shared good news.

Louis' purchase of Celtic shares has been approved by the NBA Board of Directors.

Selling an NBA team is easy, but buying an NBA team is difficult.

This kind of thing is not something you can do if you have money.

Rich people have their own circles, and NBA owners are theoretically in the same circle. If a new owner wants to join, this person must have good connections in most people's circles before he can get permission.

Most of the owners of each team knew Louis.

Over the years, Louis and Stern have jointly promoted the commercialization process of professional basketball, which can be said to have enabled all teams to gain considerable profits.

This invisible network of connections will always be there when Louis needs it.

Play a huge role.

Passing the assessment on the board of directors means that Louis can acquire shares of NBA teams as long as he has money. Compared with this stinky thing, Auerbach cares more about another thing: this year's draft.

Why were so many international players selected?

What else could it be? Because they are excellent.

To this kind of old man who was out of touch with the times, Louis had only one nonsense to say: Because I want to choose. These words directly silenced Auerbach for half a minute.