The rest is just noise

On June 21, the Charlotte Hornets won the coin toss and, therefore, received the first choice in the expansion draft.

After learning the news, Louis immediately found the contact information of the Miami Heat general manager.

The current general manager of the Heat is named Lewis Shaffel, and he is not new to the professional sports operations department.

Louis let Elgin Baylor obtain his operating records.

He studied it in Baylor's office.

"I see, this guy is not interesting. He only does small business and won't be able to do it for a long time." Belle actually looked down on him.

Louis smiled and asked: "Why do you say that?"

"You will know just by looking at it. This is his operational record. None of it can be called a big deal."

Louis felt the same way after reading it.

Shafir served as general manager for three teams before taking the job in Miami.

They are the Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks and New Jersey Nets.

It may have something to do with the strength of his team. The draft picks he is responsible for do not have the top five picks. Therefore, it is not clear what his vision is.

The transactions he made were basically small-scale transactions.

Use your own scraps to exchange for other people's scraps.

There are no bright spots in the signings, and the signings are all small roles that cannot affect the overall situation.

Remember what I mentioned a long time ago, there are three types of managers in this industry.

Stupid, mediocre, smart.

Shafir is a typical mediocre manager. He doesn't make mistakes, but he doesn't have the guts to make big orders. The advantage of doing this is that you don't have to worry about his brain overdrawing the team's future. But the disadvantages are also obvious.

If he is in charge of a team that is neither good nor bad, it is difficult to expect the team to improve under his leadership.

Therefore, he frequently changed working places. Although he repeatedly proved that he could not bring the team back to life, there were still bosses who were willing to give him a chance.

"Elgin, you make this call."

Louis decided not to call Shafir himself.

"I have no problem, but where is our bottom line?"

Louis laughed: "As long as they don't select John Salley, the Knicks' 26th pick in the first round will be theirs."

"The 26th pick in the first round? A little bit like that, right?"

"Which one?"

"That's it, you insist on me explaining it clearly, right? You're so petty, how could they agree?"

Louis looked at him helplessly: "So, you want to call them directly, send us our best chips, and ask them not to choose Selly?"

"Isn't this good?"

"What a hammer! Fortunately, there are no directors like you in the adult film industry, otherwise movie fans like us who like romance wouldn't have watched the film!"

Baylor said helplessly: "Where are you following?"

Louis always loses his temper against such mindless pushing players who emphasize that "big efforts can produce miracles".

If he is his negotiating partner, Louis will definitely be happy.

Communicating with this kind of person is effortless, simple and direct.

"Let me give you an analogy." Louis said obscenely, "Before you do that thing, do you want to have some romance and polish your guns first so that you can fight a good fight?"

"Is this necessary?"

"Chuang, you didn't have any foreplay before doing that?"

"That's right!" Belle said cheerfully, "Young men don't need so many tricks. If you take off your clothes and get on, you will definitely win a big victory. If not for this, I wouldn't have been blackmailed in the first place!"

Well, it's been several days since Louis heard the story about Belle being tricked into marriage by a fairy dancing as his father when she was young.

Louis really can't stand this kind of guy who doesn't pay attention to foreplay in everything he does. This is why he has never watched the "Meeting in 39 Seconds" series.

"Anyway, just pay according to the price I said, don't be so direct, understand, control yourself!"

"Okay"

Baylor called, "Hey, Lewis, this is Elgin, we met a few days ago, do you still remember it? I want to talk to you about a deal about the expansion draft in a few days.

Oh yes, yes, yes”

Not to mention, he doesn't look smart, and he sounds like a liar when talking on the phone.

"If you could, could you please tell me who you are going to select from our team on the day of the expansion draft?"

"Dale Ellis? Man, you can't pick him. What about the second choice?"

“Good choice John Salley!”

"What a fart!" Louis almost spat out.

Baylor quickly interrupted: "Well, Lewis, we are willing to give you some benefits to keep John."

"What about the 26th pick in the first round?"

"Uh-huh, that's it, okay then, let's talk about it."

Baylor hung up the phone and said to Louis dissatisfied: "You have always been there to influence me. If it weren't for you, I would definitely be able to perform better!"

"Come on, even if we ask for help, you are too humble. We are the defending champions!" Louis said unhappily.

"Isn't it because I'm so humble to give the other party a good impression?"

"Well, you successfully made him think that our management is easy to bully. I guess he will be very angry next time I call you!"

Belle's expression changed, and there was a gleam in his eyes that made Louis uneasy.

"What did he say last?"

Baylor said: "He didn't say anything. He didn't reject me, but he didn't agree either. Instead, he mentioned you."

"Remember me?"

"Yeah, he said that he was deeply impressed by your performance at the annual meeting a few days ago, and he wanted to talk to you. Anyway, you are also our real general manager. It is indeed appropriate for you to talk about this matter. I don't like it the most.

This kind of passive negotiation, I have always taken the initiative, just like XX!" Baylor said more and more outrageously, "My favorite is missionary, let me tell you this position."

"Roll, roll, roll!"

"Coach Lu, this is my office."

Louis smiled and took a bottle of Coke from Baylor's refrigerator. The vending machine in his office requires coins.

"Then I'll get out of here. You just sit there all the time, and I'll go wipe your butt."

"Leave the coke, my soul is weak!!"

Louis turned a deaf ear and returned to his office with Shafir's contact information.

Zhao Yuanzheng is working in his office.

In fact, he has his own office, but much of his work is reported directly to Louis, so he spends much more time in Louis' office than in his own office.

"Coach, this is the first summer ever with unrestricted free agency."

Zhao Yuanzheng explained the situation.

Twelve years after the Oscar Robertson case, the NBA enters the era of unrestricted free agency.

Starting this year, expired players who signed with other teams will no longer need to compensate the other team.

"So, what are the free agents this year?" Louis asked.

"There are indeed no heavyweight free agents, but there are some role players who are very good, such as Danny Ainge of the Celtics."

Due to the contracts of Bird, Sampson, Thomas, and Laimbeer, the Celtics cannot keep Ainge.

Of course, if they are willing to use the bird rights for Anji, they can force him to stay.

But with Anji's strength, it's not worth doing this.

Louis smiled: "If we sign Anji, some people on the team might be unhappy."

"If Anji is our opponent, all of us will hate him. Once he becomes our teammate, the situation may be different." Zhao Yuanzheng said, "His playing style is very suitable for us, and his style on the court can also be

'Seamless connection' with us."

Louis is seriously considering the possibility of signing Ainge.

He rarely signs people in the free market because the Knicks have had too many draft picks in the past few years. The advantages of passing through and the excellent scouting team allow Louis to rarely waste draft picks. Therefore, he is just the person he selected.

That's enough, regardless of who appears in the free market.

This year's situation is special. Without the ability to fight back, they have to have two pieces of flesh cut off from their bodies. Two players who have adapted to the team's system. For Louis who likes to play long rotations, adding a former

Playing under your own hands, veterans who have been tested in the playoffs will be more cost-effective than choosing rookies to practice slowly.

"You are right." Louis nodded and said, "I will seriously consider this matter."

Zhao Yuanzheng left after reporting his work. Regardless of his appearance, Louis jumped on the table and lay down, dialing the number of the Miami Heat general manager's office.

"Hello, Lewis, I'm Lu from New York." Louis smiled, "We met at the annual meeting not long ago."

"It seems Elgin has relayed our conversation to you."

"Yes, he said that you did not explicitly reject him, nor did you explicitly agree to him." Louis asked, "Can you give me an answer?"

Shafir was silent for a few seconds, "Coach Lu, if you want us to give up selecting John Salley in the expansion draft, it's not enough to just send the 26th pick in the first round."

"Oh, what do you want?"

"The 26th pick in the first round plus the 11th pick in the first round in your hands. Or, give us the seventh pick in the first round alone."

"I like your directness, Lewis, but your request is a bit too much." Louis said with a calm mind, "John Salley is just a substitute who averages less than 15 minutes per game in our team. How can I

How can you possibly pay so much for him? If you insist on choosing him, I have no choice but to wish you good luck."