The rest is just noise

On June 18, a piece of news from Boston made Louis focus on his old club.

The Celtics announced the appointment of Dave Gavitt as vice president of basketball operations to assist Jan Walker in handling internal affairs.

Since 1950, when Reed Auerbach jumped ship from the Washington Capitols to the Boston Celtics, no matter how the franchise has changed owners, no matter how the owners feel about the team, no matter what the relationship with Auerbach is.

, the personnel appointments of the Celtics management have always been led by Auerbach.

Auerbach is a pioneer in the patriarchal management model of professional basketball. During the Bill Russell era, he only traded one player. He hopes that all Celtics players can stay and work for the team after retiring.

Let the team's glorious tradition be passed down.

Therefore, when he gave up the position of general manager to Jan Walker in 1984, everyone believed that this middle-aged white man would be Auerbach's successor.

Now, the Celtics have set up a vice president under Auerbach's power center, which gives him power beyond that of Walker. At the same time, this is a professional sport that has nothing to do with Auerbach.

The operator is not like the previous managers of the Celtics who have green blood...

Due to Auerbach's glorious resume, the Celtics may have only three mediocre seasons from 1950 to 1988. For many times, the entire league seemed to be immersed in the smoke of Auerbach's cigars.

It also set an unapproachable standard for his successors.

At the end of the season, Gavitt was hired by the Celtics, which seemed to be a strong hint that the Celtics' top brass was tired of Auerbach's rule. The Boston media was worried that such an approach would weaken Auerbach's role in Kyle.

The authority within the Special Team has caused internal turmoil. But Auerbach strongly opposes this view. He is 72 years old and at this stage of his life, he urgently needs someone like Gavitt to inherit his career.

In Auerbach's original vision, Louis should be this character. Facts have proved that his view of Louis was completely correct, but things did not develop in the way he imagined.

Louis felt sorry for Jane Walker.

The arrival of Gavitt heralds the failure of his work. Otherwise, relying solely on his and Auerbach's two-threaded model, there is no need to add Gavitt to make the internal operation a complicated three-thread.

So who is this Gavitt? Louis concluded that he is not a puppet like Walker. Judging from his professional resume, he may be the most important "signing" in the history of the Celtics.

Before joining the Celtics, Gavitt was widely regarded as one of the most influential sports league managers in the United States. He was the president of the NCAA Big East Conference, which is one of the most competitive and profitable leagues in college sports.

During his tenure, the Big East Conference signed television broadcast contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars; at the same time, he was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, committed to promoting domestic professional players in the United States.

Such a person is now a senior executive of the Celtics who is inferior to one person and above all others. It can be seen that the world of Boston has indeed changed.

Louis called Volker to say hello.

It seems that his mood is quite stable.

Volker is sober. Even if Gavitt comes, the team's president and chairman is still Auerbach. Gavitt is considered his subordinate, and all decisions he makes require Auerbach's nod.

But the problem is that Gavitt is not Volker. If his philosophy conflicts with Auerbach, it will inevitably affect the team's internal stability.

Then, just thinking about the recent news about Isiah Thomas, it is difficult for Louis to have any expectations for the future of the Green Army.

In this offseason that was bound to be a mess, the Lakers fired the first shot.

One week before the draft, the Lakers bundled Kevin Johnson with the ineffective Mark Aguirre and sent them to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Fat Liver and Ed Pinckney as well as first-round picks for the next two years.

Draft picks.

Judging from the transaction itself, the Lakers seemed to have acted too hastily.

KJ is recognized as a core guard prospect. He averaged 20+4+5 per game as the sixth man for the Lakers last season. If you give him enough playing time, he will definitely bring surprises. But West is not waiting for a price.

Selling, on the other hand, is like selling off negative equity quickly.

This shows the attitude of the Lakers. The tragedy master's status is supreme, and anyone who wants to challenge him can only be sent away.

The two players they got were slightly average in strength.

Fat Liver was a good defender in the 1980s, but now we are in the 1990s. Replacing KJ with him is like replacing Zhou Jie with Deng Chao in "Young Boys".

As for Ed Pinckney, his best years were spent in the NCAA. In 1985, he led Villanova University to counterattack the flourishing Georgetown University, leaving Mr. You with a regrettable ending. However, after entering the NBA, he developed

But not as expected.

Seeing the Suns' deal, Louis just felt that things were unpredictable, and KJ went to Phoenix after going round and round.

The funniest thing is that in the draft that year, KJ was initially selected by the Lakers. Then, for the fourth pick that year, the Lakers bundled KJ's signing rights with other chips and gave them to the Suns in exchange for Scott.

Dee Pippen's signing rights.

But not long after, the Suns suffered a serious illness, and they traded KJ from the Lakers for Dell Curry.

Unexpectedly, KJ went in and out and returned to the sun.

What Louis couldn't understand the most was that the Suns didn't need KJ at all.

They already have Rod Strickland, what else do they need KJ for? Are they afraid that Strickland's life will be too stable and there will be one more fight for the ball?

In the Lakers, KJ even dared to compete with the tragedy maker for the ball. Strickland is a rotten fish. Can he take it seriously?

Just as Louis was getting more and more excited about watching the show, the owner and manager of the Suns called the Blue Palace.

The person in the play turned out to be me?

"Hey, Jerry, what brought your phone to me?" Louis asked with a smile.

The person who called was Jerry Colangelo, one of the owners of the Suns and the person in charge of the Suns' operations.

Colangelo began his professional basketball career with the Chicago Bulls in 1966. He served as marketing director, scout and assistant to the team president. In 1968, he left the Bulls and was hired by the then-expansion team Phoenix Suns.

The first general manager in team history. He was once the youngest general manager in professional sports.

It can be said that he is a legend in this industry. From the general manager to the team owner, he still controls the team operations and really made the Suns complete a magnificent turn. I have to say that he is capable.

"Coach Lu, of course I'm calling to discuss a deal with you."

Colangelo spoke slowly.

"I think this deal will be beneficial to both you and me."

"My favorite thing is a deal that benefits both parties." Louis didn't believe there were so many win-win deals, "Please tell me about it in detail."

Colangelo then said: "Coach Lu, I want to exchange Rod Strickland for your first-round pick. Of course, after you exchange the first-round pick with the Bulls."

"oh?"

Louis wanted to hang up the phone, but that would be too rude.

Strickland is a good defender on a weak team, but the Knicks are a strong team, not only a strong team, but also a team of kings with the goal of competing for the championship.

They don't need a second-court defender who can only blindly play with the ball to raise the head coach's blood pressure.

"Jerry, thank you for calling, but I'm not interested."

"Coach Lu, I don't think you have any reason to refuse." Colangelo said bluntly, "Rhodes' value is much higher than the picks you have, and this year's draft picks are no better than before, even you have to.

Admit that this year's freshman class is seriously lacking in potential. Do you really think you can draft a better player than Rod with the eighth pick in the first round?"

Since he insisted on talking, Louis might as well speak out.

"Jerry, let me put it this way, I have John Stockton, Benj, Reggie Williams, why would I want a Rod Strickland who has nothing to do with the Knicks' playing philosophy?

Is it because he is from New York? Maybe you think this is good for us, but unfortunately, I don’t think so."

"To answer your question again, can I draft a good player with the eighth pick in this year's first round?" Louis laughed, "Jerry, you should seriously review my resume."

Colangelo's reasons for proposing a trade to Louis were crystal clear.

However, Louis does not feel that this year's draft is as devoid of attractive players as he believes.

"Even if you can select a useful player, do you have enough soil to help him grow?"

"That's not your concern. Good luck, Jerry."

Louis didn't say anything too harshly. It's understandable that Colangelo wanted to trade with him. Because, although Louis just mentioned a few loud names, there was only one point guard in those names: Stockton.

Both Wilson and Williams are skilled enough to play as point guards on the wings, but that doesn't mean they are really point guards.

Hornacek is destined to leave the team, it is unknown whether Ainge will return, and the Knicks' reinforcement plan this year has become clear.

They need a backup point guard and a center to take over Bowie's role.

Just when Louis was repeatedly checking the scouting reports submitted by Zhao Yuanzheng and studying these players' game videos carefully, his good friend Lewis Shafir, nicknamed the Godfather of Miami, called.