The rest is just noise

"Why would I jump from the Celtics, which had a promising future, to join the Knicks?"

Louis asked a pointed question, and before the food in the restaurant was served, they entered a state of negotiation.

Weblin and DeBusschere exchanged glances.

Opened by Weblin: "New York is a city full of possibilities. We have the biggest stage and the most passionate fans in the world."

Louis agreed with the first half of the sentence, but not the second half.

The city of New York has made many people's dreams come true, and it has buried thousands of people's dreams. It is right to say that it is full of possibilities, but to say that it has the most passionate fans?

Louis has seen fans in Boston, fans in Los Angeles, and even fans in small cities. No fan is like New Yorkers, who will cheer for their opponents as long as the performance of the home team does not go to their liking.

To be honest, this is more disgusting than the future Miami people who will leave the game and abandon the team as soon as they see the team is about to die.

"Sonny, I want to hear some real words." Louis smiled.

"Don't worry, Lu." Weblin said slowly, "You are a real genius. Boston has given you a stage to display your talents, and you have done an excellent job at the job they assigned you. But, do you think

How many media outlets would credit you for the Celtics' championship?"

In an instant, the image of Auerbach holding the championship trophy and shouting to Brent Musburger: "The Dynasty is here! The Dynasty is in my hands!" flashed before Louis' eyes.

"I led the team to 87 wins and 12 losses. History will give the answer." Louis said sincerely.

"Is it possible?" Weblin had done enough homework before coming. "If it is like what you said, Tom Heinsohn will not just be a commentator now."

Weblin said what Louis was most afraid of, that he didn't want to be another Heinsohn.

The Celtics man who will always be overshadowed by Auerbach and Russell.

"If you stay in Boston, I believe you will win more championships. One day, you will enter the Hall of Fame with a full hand of rings, but on your medal of merit, it will definitely have Reed printed on it.

·Auerbach’s fingerprints, everyone will mention him before mentioning you. He is the one who runs the Celtics, he is the one who selects the players, and he is the one who controls the team behind the scenes from the beginning to the end.

.”

"You're just a lucky guy who came in at the perfect time to lead the perfect team Reid built to win a championship."

It was so well said that Louis was beginning to feel unwilling to give in.

Werblin perfectly articulates the reasons why Louis left Boston.

"So, if you ask me, why should we let you leave Boston and join New York, my answer is very simple."

Weblin said confidently: "Here, you will get everything you want."

"Do you know what I want?" Louis asked.

DeBusschere said: "I will fully cooperate with your work."

"You can build the team according to your vision. It may take many years, but when you leave the comfort zone of Boston and come to New York, which is rebuilding, once you succeed, no one will question you anymore." Webb.

Lin said, "Not only will you get the greatest authority, but you will also have the largest coaching contract in the league, one of the best fan markets in the United States, immeasurable commercial value, and many other things that are difficult to describe in a word. Also, MSG (Tracy McGrady)

The conditions (abbreviation of Sun Garden) are also far better than those of the garden.”

It's so good to say that Weblin is like a roundworm in Louis' belly.

The facilities at the Boston Garden were definitely a potential factor in Louie's decision to leave.

At this time, the waiter brought what they ordered.

Louis ate dumplings first and then drank Coke. When eating, the central nervous system would pay more attention to the instruction to chew food, making it difficult to be distracted and think about other things.

Louis cleared his mind and stopped thinking.

New York wasn't an option for him originally, but now, it is.

Originally, the city of New York had two major disadvantages against him: the media hated him, and the core of the team, Bernard King, publicly announced after the All-Star Game that he would never play for him.

He hasn't even gone yet, but there are two icebergs that could sink the Titanic waiting in front of him. Everyone should think twice.

2.2 million is very good, but Louis doesn't want to ruin his future for the 2.2 million in front of him.

"Lu, do you have any ideas?"

Louis' silence left DeBusschere confused. Before leaving, the Knicks internally analyzed various possibilities that might prompt Louis to leave Boston.

They had made all preparations before arriving here. Now, Weblin had unleashed all his ultimate moves, but Louis remained silent.

"I have seen your sincerity. To be honest, I am very moved, so I want to share my views on the Knicks."

"That's great." Weblin said happily, "I was afraid you weren't interested in the Knicks."

Louis said directly: "If the Knicks want to return to the championship track, they need to reshuffle the team from beginning to end, because almost no one in your entire team can become the main force or puzzle piece of the championship team."

"Including Bernard?"

"I can't think of an example of a mediocre defensive player who was not good at motivating his teammates to score a championship." Louis asked DeBusschere, "Dave, you are well-informed, can you think of that?"

DeBusschere was active in the era of Russell and Chamberlain and overcame Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at his peak. He witnessed the entire process of professional basketball from ancient times to modern commercialization.

As Louis said, there is no example in history of a pure scoring machine leading a team to win the championship.

Perhaps George Mikan is the only example.

The problem is, Mikan's achievements were made in the first 24 seconds of offense.

After completing five championships in six years, he announced his retirement and came back in the 1955-56 season. At that time, the league had been updated and entered the 24-second offensive era. Mikan averaged only 10 points and 8 rebounds per game and shot 38.9% from the field.

He is an unreplicable example.

Therefore, from a historical perspective alone, Louis is absolutely right.

Until Bernard King undergoes a major transformation, he cannot become a core player on a championship team.

"If I join the Knicks, I will spend one or two years accumulating talent. I don't know, will you be able to accept this result? Can you support me? Will you waver under the criticism of the media? Are you ready to live?

Two years of suffering?”

Weblin and DeBusschere exchanged glances again.

Just one or two years to mess it up? Will it definitely lead to success? However... they think of Louis' vision for discovering rookies. Maybe two years to mess it up can really get enough for the Knicks to compete for the championship.

Player?

Last season, the Knicks failed to make the playoffs due to civil unrest.

Fans have no expectations for the Knicks' record. If the Knicks are going to mess up at this time, they will not have any overreaction other than scolding them.

"Since we have chosen to entrust the future of the team to you, no matter what decision you make, we will support it," DeBusschere said.

Weblin smiled and said: "Dave has no problem, I have no problem."

Hearing this, Louis could not even find a reason to make things difficult for them, because they fully accepted his demands.

If so, maybe New York's two icebergs aren't that difficult.

From this moment on, New York became an acceptable option.

"In that case, we can have a good talk." Louis smiled.

※※※

The conversation was very pleasant. Louis exchanged many opinions with them and reached a consensus on the general direction.

The Knicks have gone from being one of the teams to choose from to being one of Louis' top three options.

Moreover, he had a vague feeling in his heart that no other team would offer conditions that could be higher than those of the Knicks.

Whether it is material or administrative power.

The Knicks gave him the largest coaching contract in NBA history, and general manager DeBusschere promised to fully cooperate with his work.

Team president Werblin, who is above the general manager, will soon step down as president to serve as an advisor.

Knicks basketball operations brass will not name anyone else as team president.

In other words, the general manager and head coach are the first and second leaders of the team.

In this way, Louis has gained the power to run the entire team.

Which other team can offer such conditions?

He doesn't know, but even if a second team can provide the same conditions, it will be difficult for him to change his mind.

Succeeded elsewhere, he is legendary at best.

And if he succeeds in New York, his achievements will be held in high regard just like Auerbach's 35 years of hard work in Boston. It will be eternal, just like the Knicks in 1970 and 1973.

What's more, if he can really take root in New York, it will not only benefit his career, but also benefit everything he wants to achieve.

Louis thought about it and couldn't find any reason to refuse.

That night, Louis came to Lorraine's apartment, hugged her gently and said, "Maybe we can go to New York together."

For a moment, Lorraine didn't particularly understand what Louis meant.

When Louis talked about the contract New York gave him, Lorraine screamed.

A day later, another team came forward. They offered Louis the same rights at a lower price than New York.

This team is in Washington, and the one who lobbies Louis is Washington Bullets legend Wes Unseld.

Louis politely informed him of his views on the Bullets and promised that the Bullets would be taken into consideration.

On June 18, the last day before the draft, the Los Angeles Clippers took the initiative to offer Louis the dual positions of head coach and general manager, but the salary offered was only $800,000.

In 2K, this is an insulting offer.

Louis smiled and told them to go away.

As more and more teams pursue Louis, he clearly feels that he belongs, but he feels like he is choosing a concubine in a KTV...