The rest is just noise

Dave DeBusschere had congenital heart disease, which was the first time Louis knew about it.

Doctors said he could not engage in intense work, such as continuing to serve as the Knicks' general manager.

It sounds funny. Could it be that DeBusschere, who has played in the NBA for 11 years, has experienced less intense and intense sports than during his management days?

DeBusschere was the last person Louis had ever met who should have heart problems.

He looks so majestic - no matter how many wives he has, it's not enough to describe the majesty he gives people.

If Louis were a woman, he would be willing to cling to DeBusschere's chest, provided he divorced first.

The sense of security he gives people is indescribable, which is one of the reasons why Louis loves working with him.

He is not a clever administrator, and the wisdom from his playing days was not brought to the management.

However, he is definitely a good colleague.

"What's next?" Louis asked.

The doctor said: "Mr. DeBusschere must rest. He can no longer continue his current job."

"Fart!" Louis said rudely, "With such a strong character, he needs to rest? I think he can work for the Knicks until he is 100 years old!"

The doctor said displeasedly: "Mr. Lu, can you be responsible for Mr. DeBusschere's health? I mean, are you sure you want to challenge my professionalism with your irrational first judgment?"

Louis was silent, and DeBusschere patted him on the shoulder, "Let's go."

On the way out of the hospital, Louis asked DeBusschere about his next plan.

"Resigning, although I really like this job that brings me hundreds of thousands of dollars in income every year, I still have to be responsible for my family." DeBusschere said with a hearty smile, "I hope I will have the opportunity to see Nick in the future.

Sri Lanka wins the championship.”

DeBusschere's resignation was the last thing Louis wanted to see.

The two of them worked well together, and DeBusschere was willing to transfer the power of running the team to him.

Many times, Louis does the general manager's job in his capacity as a coach.

Most of the Knicks' transactions last season were negotiated by Louis. If there is a new general manager, assuming he is a stinky, arrogant, stupid and unaware person, Louis cannot imagine what will happen.

What's more painful than working for Auerbach is having a coworker who is stupid and confident.

"The team can't do without you." Louis suggested, "How about you continue to do this job and leave the future transactions and negotiations to me, and you can"

"I will be responsible for picking up the fruits of your victory under the tree and sending a fax to the alliance?"

"That's right."

DeBusschere laughed at himself: "I think this is everyone's dream job. You don't have to do anything, you don't have to worry about anything, but you earn hundreds of thousands of dollars every year."

Louis could tell that he didn't want to.

"Don't worry, Lu, no one will stand in your way." DeBusschere said as if he could see the future, "You will become the next general manager of the Knicks."

"But I'm still the team's coach."

"Haven't you been saying that? You should get two salaries." DeBusschere said with a smile, "I also think you should get two salaries."

Louis was still worried, and DeBusschere assured him that he would not leave hastily before his next candidate was determined.

The next day, news of DeBusschere's illness spread like wildfire, and there were no secrets in New York City.

After the draft, what the Knicks need to do is sign players and then patiently prepare for the new season.

When news of DeBusschere's illness reached Wood and Krug, their first reaction was to let Louis serve as the team's general manager.

They saw how Louie dealt with the old foxes in the league on draft day.

In consecutive games against Jerry Krause and Jerry West, he didn't get caught, and he also brought the Knicks the biggest gain possible.

Moreover, he is only 25 years old, which is when he is full of energy.

For Louie, this represents hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra income each year.

Although he had no intention of seizing DeBusschere's position, his plans could not keep up with the changes.

Louis pretended to decline a few times, and then became the only head coach in the league today who also serves as the team's general manager.

The New York Times, which loves to join in the Knicks' commotion, listed the Knicks' operations last season in a special article on Louis.

I don’t know which insider leaked the secret, but they actually swore that every operation of the Knicks last season was directed by Louis and completed by DeBusschere.

As a result, Louis traded various players with immediate combat potential, and his deliberately bad plan came to light.

The Times did not criticize him, but said happily: "Would you rather see Pat Cummings and the injured Bernard King lead the Knicks into the playoffs, or watch the Knicks with Patrick Ewing?"

future?"

Normal people know how to choose. Although the process is painful, the result is sweet.

For the New Yorkers, getting Ewing is no less than winning a championship.

Regarding the prospect of Louie serving as general manager, Times columnist Bill Wallace said: "I am not optimistic about Little Lou. However, there are many people who are optimistic about him. This list includes Pat Riley and Jerry Weis.

Special, Reed Auerbach, Jan Walker, and Reed Holzman (the godfather of the Knicks). So, our opinion is irrelevant, Little Lu doubles as general manager and maybe Madison Square Garden Company

Best decision since firing Sonny Weblin."

Life as a general manager is not easy, and Louis must start negotiations immediately.

He originally wanted to sign Ewing first, but the latter was still in Washington, and his agent Falk had to wait for the Knicks to sign other rookies before starting Ewing signing negotiations.

In early July, Louis signed his first contract, which made him suspect that he might not be qualified for the job.

His negotiations were with Oakley and his agent Ray Daniels.

This Daniels is asking for an annual salary of 500,000 yuan.

"300,000." Louis said, "For a player who has not proven himself in the professional arena, I can only give this price."

It seemed that Oakley was a little unhappy.

This is what worries Louis, who is both the general manager and the head coach.

If he was just the general manager, he could say those ugly and straightforward words. But he is the head coach and will have to lead Oakley to play games in the future. He can't let this guy have other ideas about him.

It was bad enough that Ewing had other ideas about him. If the bandit he specially selected to escort Ewing had other opinions about him, would he deliberately let others trample Ewing on the court?

Wow, it’s so sour and refreshing.

"Do you offer this kind of contract to Patrick Ewing? I don't ask Oak to be the same as Ewing, but you must give him enough respect!" Daniels said angrily, "Do you think Oak is not worthy?

Higher price?”

Louis was a little dizzy at the time.

Here comes the trouble of dual identities.

Not daring to say harsh things, he was passive throughout the whole process and eventually signed a five-year contract with Oakley with an annual salary of US$400,000.

This cost 500,000 more than expected.

It was this day that convinced Louis that he needed "Debusschere".

It's not that he wants DeBusschere to come back, but that he needs a professional who is as willing as DeBusschere to help him negotiate.

We definitely can’t invite DeBusschere back now.

DeBusschere currently only has one position, that of Jack Krueger's personal consultant, which is considered a retirement job.

In order to solve an urgent need, Louis suspended signing contracts with rookies and applied to his superior, Wu De, for the position of deputy general manager.

His application plan is for the headquarters to spend an annual salary of 100,000 US dollars, and then deduct another 100,000 US dollars from his annual salary, for a total annual salary of 200,000 US dollars for open recruitment.

As a result, the Knicks' operation surprised him.

The boss directly allocated a quota of 400,000 US dollars, allowing him to recruit people at will.

How should I put it? The moment he saw the $400,000 quota, he felt for the nth time that changing jobs from Boston was the right decision.

If he stayed in Boston, he wouldn't even see $100,000.

While Louis was worrying about finding a deputy who could do the dirty work, there was constant movement in the trading market.

The Pistons sent away Cedric Maxwell, who was acclimated, in exchange for Rick Mahon.

Then came the Celtics, who traded Pat Cummings, who was lying on his back to win the championship.

Cummings was sent to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Bill Walton.

The deal was puzzling at first.

Cummings performed well in the playoffs last season and served as a good substitute for Bird and Sampson, but now he is replaced by Walton, who is not sure whether he can still play?

But Louis can clearly see that the Celtics have learned the lessons of last season.

Cummings, like Maxwell, is not a person who lives his job. It's just that the team he joined in the middle was an unfamiliar place, and the Celtics were the defending champion. For the sake of the championship, he would naturally be more honest.

Now that I have won the championship and become familiar with the people, I naturally want to be in the team.

The Celtics sent him away before he caused trouble, and in exchange for Walton, even if he couldn't play, they still had Jim Peterson as a backup.

While the Eastern Conference champions and title challengers were getting ready, Louie received a fax.

"Coach Lu, Manager Lu, Mr. Lu"

This title already made Louis feel dizzy.

"Excuse me, I am one of the many candidates for deputy general manager. You must have heard my name. What I want to say is that my resume in the professional basketball circle is not the reason why I aspire to be a top executive.

Although I was a player that many called a great player, I never won a championship. My biggest goal was to win a championship as an executive.

Although I don’t have any management experience, please believe that I know damn well what you do! I fully meet your recruitment requirements, and I am also very good at scouting young players when necessary.

You can travel like a scout."

Omitting a lot of bragging that makes Louie's head hurt.

"I have been a coach in New Orleans for four years and have rich work experience. If you encounter problems during the season, you can communicate with me at any time. This is the fifth reason why you should hire me.

Finally, what I want to say is that before you recruit me, I have a general manager contract on my desk. I am not showing off myself. What I mean is that my ability has been recognized by other teams.

, please consider my application for employment seriously.

Hurt, July 16, 1985."

"Who the hell is this? Such bullshit!" Louis laughed and scolded.