The Whip of the God of Basketball

Time flies, and 2002 is about to pass in a blink of an eye. After the Celtics experienced the glory and volatility of the opening season in November, their results began to stabilize in December. Leon's training effect is becoming more and more effective. The team's efficient training, adequate pre-match preparation and hard training of the players have enabled the Celtics to achieve a record of 10 wins and 5 losses in 15 games in December, although it is not as good as In November, the impressive winning percentage of 12 wins and 3 losses in 15 games, but the record of 22 wins and 8 losses is enough for the Celtics to gain a firm foothold in the first position in the Eastern Conference. The distance between two wins is staring at the throne of the Atlantic Division champion.

December 29, two days before the end of 2002, is an important day for Leon, because today Khomeinis will fly back to Boston from Australia. After a long field survey, she finally To return to Leon's side. For more than two months, Leon devoted himself to his work, and only in the dead of night did he think about her in the southern hemisphere. Leon has no family in this time and space, and now he is well-known in Boston, but his stepfather and stepmother didn't come to him, and he didn't want to meet them. Auerbach was old, not because he didn't come to Boston for important things, but he was nestling in his Washington residence and slowly approaching the end of his life.

Only basketball and Khomeinis are the companions of Leon's lonely soul. Before driving to the airport to pick up Khomeinis, the two of them have already discussed that they will go to Pagliuca's house for dinner tonight, as a formal boyfriend and girlfriend. Meet Pagliuca. Several months of experience as a head coach have caused some changes in Leon's personality, with a little more enthusiasm and impatience, and a little less indifference and blandness. The huge pressure of the coaching work and the ups and downs of the game process have polished Leon all the time, and at the same time made him miss Khomeinis who is thousands of miles away.

So on the way to the airport, he drove the car to 150 kilometers per hour. In fact, he will not be late. He also needs to wait when he arrives at the airport, but he wants to start waiting sooner. Fortunately, he did not meet the police on the road. Leon arrived at Boston International Airport smoothly. After waiting in the terminal hall for more than three hours, at 2:30 in the afternoon, he was finally in the passenger flow of the non-stop flight from Sydney to Boston. He saw the figure of Khomeinis.

Fieldwork in Australia darkened Khomeinis's complexion to the wheaten color popular in Europe and America, and her red hair also darkened. She cut her hair short before leaving the United States, and it turned out to be surprisingly refreshing and beautiful. Now Leon sees that her hair has grown a little bit, and she has a neat braid, which is matched with a red down jacket. It can be as conspicuous as it needs to be in the lobby.

Khomeinis saw Leon one step later, she flew towards Leon like a pop piercing the sky with a red tail flame, Leon hugged him with his strong arms and turned twice in the air lap, and hugged her tightly. Khomeinis was not used to it for a while, she pushed Leon away and asked, "Hey, what's the matter, Fox, you are a little... a little... quite different."

"It's different, because you're back." Leon said with a smile. In the past, he was always cold in front of Khomeinis, and Khomeinis would often put his face on his cold butt, which Khomeinis was used to. In his eyes, even if Leon didn't speak for a day, it was just like that. She is also willing to look at him. Now it looks like this guy misses himself quite a bit. Thinking of this, Khomeinis was overjoyed, and felt that the two months of wind and sun in Australia and all the hardships were all worth it. She hugged Leon's arm tightly and refused to let go at all.

Just when the two were immersed in the sweetness, Leon's cell phone rang. Leon glanced at the number and found that it was Danny Angie calling. Not only did Leon's heart tighten, he had a hunch that he had been worrying A team trade may have come.

Leon connected the phone, and Anji's greeting came from the other end of the phone. Leon didn't want to talk nonsense with him, and asked directly: "Is the transaction completed? Tell me the result."

"You are such an impolite guy, but I still have to tell you the result... This morning, we have completed the transaction with the Hornets, taking Joe Johnson, Tony Batty, Potapanko and a second-rounder next year. The draft picks were sent to Charlotte, and we got PJ Brown and Courtney Alexander! Now we have handed over the specific transaction plan to the league office, and as long as the league approves it, the transaction will take effect the day after tomorrow."

Leon never expected that Angie almost completed an impossible transaction at this time. He used Joe Johnson and two untalented insiders with one offense and one defense to get their defensive backbone from the Hornets in good condition. The league's powerful center/power forward swingman, PJ Brown. He didn't know what the Hornets were thinking, and he didn't know what kind of means Angie used. In short, this was indeed an incredible deal. Of course, from the book point of view, the Celtics made a profit, they got the defensive insider they dreamed of, and the Hornets didn't lose too much. PJ Brown is just a double-double defensive player after all, and Joe Johnson His performance in December is enough to prove that he will have a great future in the future.

Leon calmed down quickly. He didn't say anything to Anjido. Anyway, he knew that he couldn't ask anything out of this guy's mouth. He would gradually understand the specific process of the transaction in the future. Now, another thought came out of his heart. He was going to see Joe Johnson, wondering if the kid had received the news that he was traded.

"Honey, I have some other things to leave now... I will go to Pagliuca's house tonight, and be with you, but now... sorry..." Leon showed a embarrassed expression on his face, pleading Said to Khomeinis in a tone of voice. Although Khomeinis was a little bit unhappy, why did she have to leave the meeting just now, but she had never seen Leon like this before, so she pouted and nodded, but still asked: "What is better than that?" Is there something more important with me?"

Leon touched her head and said: "There is nothing more important than you, but a child I raised by myself is about to leave me."

…………………

When Joe Johnson was having lunch at noon on the 29th, he received the news that he was traded. It was a text message from his agent Arne Tellem. The content of the text message was very simple, "You have been traded to the Hornets", With such a short sentence, Johnson felt that his chest was instantly pressed down by a big stone, and he couldn't breathe. The last time I experienced that feeling was in the draft. When he hadn’t heard his name in front of him, he felt that his chest was pressed by a stone until it was the Celtics’ turn. The stone was lifted from him and sent him on stage.

Now, the Celtics are going to send him away. This kind of transaction is very common in the NBA. When Johnson was a fan, he saw countless times on the news that a certain player and a certain player were packaged. Sent together to a certain team for a certain player, for those fans who want the team to change, they are happy to see such news, seeing new blood, seeing the opportunity for change, which makes them excited , Longing, although the final result may not necessarily be satisfactory, at first they enjoy the process.

But when things happened to him, Johnson felt that everything was not so simple and easy. For more than a year, he fought in Boston and was fascinated by the green glory here. He had imagined countless times that on a certain day, Under the light of 17 championship banners at the North Shore Garden Arena, he was able to lift the golden O'Brien Cup, adding another glorious page to this thick history.

Yeah, what young man who came to Boston didn't think this way? But how many people can achieve it? Sixteen years have passed, and no one, no one, has been the savior here. Now, Johnson has tasted the cold taste of the NBA, and it turns out that it is the same here, no matter how brilliant and traditional, business is still business, Business-is-Business.

After finishing his lunch, Johnson began to tidy up his apartment, his clothes, supplies, beloved photos, and the pendant his mother gave him. After three o'clock in the afternoon, when looking at the cleaned up apartment, Johnson knew that he could almost leave. Now all he has to do is wait, wait for the approval of the league office. Once the deal is established, he will go to Charlotte, take a medical examination, and then officially exchange clubs.

While packing up, people kept sending text messages and calling, including teammates, friends, and family members. They all knew the news of the transaction. Some comforted him, some congratulated him, and some simply asked him. Johnson used the simplest The tone dismissed them, he just wanted to be alone and taste the taste of the NBA.

At three-thirty there was a knock on the door, and Johnson waited for a minute. He thought it might be a newspaper delivery, and he hadn't had time to unsubscribe from the Boston Tribune. But the door was still knocking, and the knocker spoke, shouting, "Open the door, Joe, I know you're in!" It was Leon.

Johnson recognized Leon's voice, but he still hesitated to open the door. Now he was most afraid of seeing Leon. He was afraid that he would cry. The person who accompanied him day and night in the training ground saw the person who picked him in the draft—he knew that Leon meant to pick him in the first position of the first round.

Throughout December, Joe Johnson played very well, because of what Leon said at Mohegan Sun, he told himself, "If you don't want to be traded, play hard, if you want to be traded, work hard Play. Here, only outstanding people have the opportunity to choose their own destiny. No matter where you are sent, you have to work hard, just like when you first came to the Celtics."

Thinking of these words, Johnson felt that his eyes were a little dry. Leon was still knocking on the door. Johnson couldn't sit still and opened the door. When he saw Leon standing in front of the door, sweating profusely, he blurted out Said: "Coach..."

Leon calmed down and said to Johnson seriously: "Keep working hard."