The Whip of the God of Basketball

Chris Wallace has been away from Boston for more than a month, and now he and his family live in a townhouse on the banks of the Mississippi River, which is a temporary residence arranged for him by the Memphis Grizzlies. Compared with Collierwell's high-end residential area, it is closer to the city center and noisier, so it is not very popular with the high-level crowd. The only advantage is that you can overlook the Mississippi River from the window. The second-floor room where Wallace lived had a view of the Mississippi River Bridge and Arkansas across the river.

The afternoon sun in Memphis makes people lazy. After leaving the cold and gloomy Boston, Wallace feels that he has gained a little weight. The place is filled with the lazy and lazy atmosphere of the south. Perhaps this is also the sports career here. Why is it the reason for the perennial depression.

It's just that this year the Grizzlies have made a big move different from the past. The team's owner Michael Heisley seems to have finally realized that relying on a manager like Billy Knight, a few more No. 1 picks in the draft will not solve the problem, so After the end of the 01-02 season, he decisively fired Knight. The next candidate for the helm of the Grizzlies is very clear, that is, Jerry West. After the Lakers completed their three consecutive championships, West decided to leave Los Angeles and return to the southern part of the United States to reclaim the barren land of Memphis. Virgin basketball.

As an alumnus of West at West Virginia University, the two met at a charity basketball game at their alma mater (see Chapter 64) and had a good chat. Jerry West admired Chris Wallace. This made Wallace a little flattered. Not only because of West's status, but also because Wallace was often scolded during his years as the general manager of the Celtics. pot. On the contrary, after Angie and Leon came to power, Wallace received less and less scolding in the media, because he no longer had the right to make decisions.

After that acquaintance, West contacted Wallace many times and expressed his willingness to ask him to be his assistant, which made Wallace quite moved. After all, although the Celtics have a glorious and long history, this is really a heavy burden for Wallace. It is very difficult for an outsider who has no basketball foundation and has not played a second on the court to succeed in Boston. After all, not everyone is Fox Leon, not to mention that Leon also has Auerbach's protection and support.

Before the 2001 NBA Draft, Wallace privately revealed his intention to Leon, and unexpectedly got Leon's strong support, and the two tacitly hid the secret. Throughout the 2001-2002 season, Wallace basically became the shopkeeper, and most of the affairs were completed by Darryl Morey. With the help of Leon, he even managed to complete the work for a season steadily. finished. Of course, it is a pity that Morey did not succeed as the team's general manager after Wallace left the Celtics, because Danny Ainge directly revoked the position of general manager.

After the end of the season, Wallace resigned unexpectedly. In the second week after resigning, he received a call from Grizzlies owner Heisley, inviting him to become the head of player development of the Grizzlies. Draft and free agency recruiting efforts.

Today, the third week after the Finals, Jerry West will officially join the Grizzlies as the general manager of the team. Wallace is waiting for West's call at home. In the afternoon, they will participate in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Grizzlies' new arena, FedEx Arena, and also the press conference for West to become the general manager of the Grizzlies.

At 1:30 in the afternoon, Wallace received a text message that West had arrived in Memphis. Wallace immediately came out of his home and drove to the pre-selected address of the new arena, which is located near Robert R. Wallace's residence was only two kilometers away, so Wallace arrived at the scene with one step on the gas pedal, and saw Jerry West, team owner Heisley, and Memphis Mayor Hellendon, who had already arrived. Frederick Smith of the express company, as well as the design and construction personnel of the engineering company. They all wore yellow hard hats, planning and talking about what the FedEx Arena will look like when it stands here in the future on the still desolate flat land.

As the world's largest express delivery company, Memphis-based FedEx had already won the naming rights of the stadium before it was built. And this gymnasium named after FedEx will also be the largest public project invested in the history of Memphis, so Mayor Hellendon will of course also participate in the groundbreaking ceremony.

Wallace got out of the car, took a hard hat from the staff, and walked over to Jerry West and Heisley. West saw Wallace come up and shake his hand. This was the first time the two met after Wallace decided to join the Grizzlies. The two stood on the construction site of the FedEx Arena, which was about to break ground, and they were about to face the Memphis Grizzlies, who were also looking forward to rebuilding.

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At around three o'clock in the afternoon, after the groundbreaking ceremony, Wallace followed West and Heisley to a restaurant in the BBQ Center for afternoon tea. West just arrived in Memphis by plane at noon today and directly participated in the groundbreaking ceremony. He didn't even have time to sit down, eat something and take a break. Now they can sit down and chat about things related to basketball.

West was a tall man with a serious, square, round face. He had gray hair all over his head, but his complexion was still healthy and rosy, and he looked energetic. The long-distance journey and more than an hour of public activities did not make him feel tired. He sat on the soft leather sofa in the private room of the coffee shop, crossed his legs and talked with Heisley and Wallace about his performance against the Grizzlies next season. some ideas.

For now, West is the most successful general manager in the entire league. He single-handedly created the super combination of O'Neal and Kobe, who currently rule the league, and helped the Lakers complete their three consecutive championships in the new century. Whether it's Heisley or Wallace, sitting next to West is like a primary school student in class.

"As for the team's head coach, I have taken a fancy to Hubie Brown. I am confident that I can persuade him to return to coach the Grizzlies. This is of great benefit to us in cultivating young players and shaping the basketball culture. He is an excellent, professional player. With him, we will have a very good foundation for the new season." West mentioned the question of the team's head coach candidate, and he has already liked the coach who has retired from the basketball coach for more than ten years. Old coach Hubie Brown, a man with a proven track record and a huge cachet in basketball circles, would be a boon to a young team in the early stages of development.

After listening to West's words, Heisley couldn't say anything other than nodding repeatedly. He also thought in his heart that he is worthy of being a basketball giant with great powers. He is completely different from those professional managers who can only peddle ideas. Tell you "whom I will get, who we need," as for how to do it, the boss doesn't have to worry at all.

Heisley looked at Wallace who was sitting on the side. This guy has been in Memphis for more than a month and has been doing pre-draft work, but so far he doesn't seem to have brought any great player intelligence to the team. Not many rookies in this draft are willing to try out in Memphis. Heisley couldn't help asking: "Chris, what do you think of this year's draft? Tell me and let Jerry give some advice."

Faced with the boss's tough question, Wallace was stunned, he licked his mouth and said, "I think we should give this year's draft pick to the Detroiters."

Hearing what Wallace said, Heisley almost wanted to take off his shoes and hit him on the head. Is this the advice he gave? Facing Heisley with an angry face, Wallace went on to explain: "If you don't give Detroit this year's draft pick, you will call him Boston. In comparison, I think next year's draft pick will be reserved for Detroit. Bostonians are better."

It was only when Heisley heard this that he realized that the stupid trade made by the team in 1997 and the Kenny Anderson deal in last year's draft conference had given up both this year's and last year's draft picks. People, the question now is whether to give this year's to the Pistons, next year's to Boston, or this year's to Boston, next year's to the Pistons.

"Then why did we give Detroit this year? The No. 4 pick is a good one. In fact, it can be given to the Celtics. You don't have to avoid suspicion just because they are your old club!" Heisley said to Wallace with a smile. said the doctor.

Wallace shook his head and didn't speak. Jerry West took a sip of coffee and said, "The Celtics must want to get the 2003 draft pick. Tell me, Chris, what kind of conditions do they have?"

Ginger is really old and spicy! After thinking about it for a while, West knew that as an old Celtic, Wallace would not just cross rivers and tear down bridges. The Celtics strive for favorable conditions. Of course, in return, the Celtics will definitely provide convenience for the Grizzlies.

"First of all, the Celtics promised to share some scouting information with the Grizzlies, especially the information of some second-round rookies and undrafted picks; secondly, if conditions permit, the Celtics can make some loss-making transactions. , to provide the Grizzlies with the high-quality players they need. You know that the Celtics now have a lot of potential stocks; finally, because the Celtics have changed their new boss, some business in the Northeast can provide Mr. Heisley Convenience." At this time, Wallace seems to be a lobbyist for the Celtics, but this is also reasonable. Any employee from the old club, as long as he is not embarrassing, will be willing to work in a new place and serve the old team. The owner strives for some partnerships.

What's more, for a newcomer to the league like the Grizzlies, it is still very important to use the network of the league's oldest team to enhance their ability to operate in the league.

"This is a good proposal!" Heisley was already moved when he heard the last one that Wallace said. Heisley obtained the current billion-dollar company by acquiring companies that were not doing well, reorganizing, reforming, and then selling them at a high price. wealth. A large part of his business was the acquisition of bankrupt old industrial plants in the "rust" zone, the so-called "rust" zone is the old industrial area of ​​the Midlands and Northeast, Boston is of course also within this range.

West did not speak, although deep down he wanted to reject this proposal, because he knew that no matter how attractive the conditions on the surface, after all, this was the condition proposed by the Celtics, and the old fox Auerbach was probably behind it. , who would know what medicine he sells in his gourd.

"Who is the mastermind of this deal? Angie, or Auerbach?" West thought for a while and asked.

Wallace hesitated, and replied: "It's Fox Leon, the new head coach of the Celtics."