The Whip of the God of Basketball

The scorching sun in Arizona is beginning to scorch the earth. For people in Phoenix, they have long been accustomed to the hot weather starting in April - summer is coming.

Robert Savo got up early in the morning and started busy, dressing and grooming, calling the hotel to book a room, and arranging dinner for the evening. He is not dating any female celebrities or socialites, but recruiting a new general manager for his team.

Savo is the owner of the Phoenix Suns. He bought the team in 2004, but the team's general manager has always been Brian Colangelo, the son of the former owner-former owner and president of the American Basketball Association. Jerry Colangelo is his father. Savo wanted to directly remove this young man from the Suns and replace him with his confidant. Unexpectedly, in the summer of 2004, Savo made a series of magical operations, including signing Steve Nash and trading for Joe from the Hornets. -Johnson allowed the Suns, who were still lingering on the edge of the playoffs, to climb to the first place in the Western Conference.

Although they failed in the Western Conference Finals that season, Colangelo secured his position, and the cunning Savo was also happy to see the team sell out at the box office and make a lot of money for himself. Until this summer, it was already 2007, and Savo considered it the best time for the Suns to win the championship. Stoudemire, who had been injured before, returned, and there was no opponent in the Western Conference except the Spurs and the Mavericks. The Mavericks, number one in the Western Conference, fell in the first round of the playoffs.

More importantly, the green empire in the East collapsed, the head coach left in the summer of 2006, and Kevin Garnett suffered a season-ending knee injury - an injury that came from the meeting with Karl Malone in the 2004 Finals. Collide. The shadow hanging over the powerful head disappeared in an instant, but the shadow hanging over the sun is still there - the San Antonio Spurs.

In the desperate Western Conference semifinals, Robert Holley's flagrant foul ruined the Suns' hopes. They were eliminated by the Spurs again, and watched the Spurs easily defeat the Cavaliers in the finals and win the championship. Savo finally couldn't stand it anymore. Colangelo was fired, and he already had a candidate in mind.

"Are you here? Already here! Okay, I'm almost at the airport. I want to greet him personally." Savo was on the phone with the team consultant in his luxury Maybach. The person he invited had already arrived at the Phoenix Airport. He wanted to Use the highest standards to receive the person he thinks can change the sun.

When he arrived at the airport, Savo found that the person he was looking for was already waiting for him in the VIP waiting area. Savo warmly greeted him, held his hand, gave him a warm hug, and said: " Welcome, Steve Kerr."

Steve Kerr couldn't adapt to Savo's enthusiasm, just like he couldn't adapt to the scorching Arizona sun, but at least he knew that this shrewd owner valued him. He was very satisfied with this, because he no longer wanted to do play-by-play commentary on the sidelines of the noisy court with a headset and a keyboard. He wanted to be a real operator, a team manager or coach.

The smug Cole and the high-spirited Savo had endless things to talk about. It was undoubtedly a pleasant meeting. Savo took Cole to experience the most high-end dining and entertainment in Phoenix, and they talked a lot. NBA trends in recent years and future trends. At a dinner specially prepared for Cole, Savo asked Cole to talk about his plans for the development of the Suns next season.

Cole talked about a lot, including how to improve the team's recruitment mechanism, how to spend more energy on cultivating new players, and how to rebuild the team's core lineup. Cole said a lot, but it seemed that he could not make Savo Completely satisfied, as this all seems a bit cliche.

However, in the middle of the dinner, Cole had the opportunity to chat with Savo alone, avoiding other Suns managers, especially their head coach D'Antoni. Cole said to Savo seriously: " In fact, I have the most effective way to strengthen the sun, and I will invite another person."

"Who?" Savo suddenly asked with his eyes shining, as if he already had the answer in his heart, but he was just waiting for Cole to say the name.

"You know who it is." Cole said mysteriously.

"Are you sure you can invite him here?" Savo asked worriedly. He should be sure that Cole was talking about the person he thought of.

"Eighty percent, because he still owes me a championship."

……………………

North Carolina, Charlotte, Davidson Township, Davidson College. After March Madness is over, summer vacation is coming soon. For the boys of the Davidson College basketball team, the hard summer training is about to begin.

Having just successfully reached the quarterfinals in the national competition, they have already attracted the attention of the United States. The best result of this small college with several thousand students in the past was to reach the semifinals, but that dates back to the distant 1969. This year they are almost rising from the ground, because this team has welcomed two important figures. One is the new star, super shooting guard Stephen Curry. He averaged 21.5 points per game in his rookie season and won the The rookie champion and scoring champion in the lower division.

And the other one is their head coach, Fox Leon.

"If there are still people who can't adapt to simulation training, then I tell you that you are not suitable to survive in this team. If you can't remember those tactics, actions and rules, wash your butt and go home and squat on the toilet. Starting from this summer , everyone, keep in mind that the defeat in the quarterfinals is not for revenge, but to tell you that the way forward is never-ending."

On the floor of the college basketball gym, Fox-Leon lectured the young guys in a sweatshirt, and no one dared to make a sound. For these kids, just hearing the name Fox-Leon is enough to make them breathless, especially those who are just preparing to join Davidson University this year.

After meeting the real Fox-Leon, they discovered that he was even scarier than they imagined. He was an out-and-out devil coach, and his control over details was extremely perverted. The only thing that made everyone feel relieved was that his cruelty was only Staying on the basketball court, once he leaves the arena, he becomes a silent and somewhat cool uncle, never interfering in the players' private lives.

After a day of training, those new players will feel that their bodies have been hollowed out. It is completely high-intensity and high-efficiency training at the NBA level. For those who relied on talent to play in high school, this is a kind of torture. , it is also a kind of training.

Leon packed his things and was about to leave the arena, when he discovered that Curry was still holding the ball and practicing shooting on the court. He was practicing three-pointers, standing three steps away from the three-point line, which is farther than the NBA's three-point line.

At this time, Leon tore a piece of paper from the tactical manual, crumpled it into a ball, and suddenly threw it at Curry when Curry was about to take a shot. Curry, who was about to take a shot, was startled when the ball was shot crookedly.

"What are you afraid of? Can the paper ball kill you?" Leon shouted towards Curry.

"No...I just..." Curry scratched his head and picked up the ball.

"Even if someone points a gun at you, you have to throw the ball in before you get hit. This way, even if you die, your death will be worthwhile." After Leon said this, he left the training hall, leaving Curry alone. In a daze on the court.

Little did Curry know that this would be the last lesson Fox-Leon gave him at Davidson College. Because two days later, Fox-Leon announced his resignation from Davidson College, returned to the NBA, and joined the Phoenix Suns.

……………………

In the King David Memorial Gardens in Washington, in front of a simple and inconspicuous tombstone, a man and a woman stood in front of the tomb and presented a bouquet of small white flowers.

"Are you really going to Phoenix?"

"Yes, I promised Steve, I owe him a championship."

"The Celtics deal is about to take shape. Michael is expected to go to the SuperSonics, and Rivers will be exchanged for Ray Allen...the Big Three."

"Then when you go to the Suns, are you confident that you can beat the Celtics? Can you do it?"

"I don't owe Ainge anything... If there's one person left in the world who can outright beat the Celtics, it's me."

"What do you owe me?"

"Phoenix is ​​closer to Los Angeles, otherwise you move to Phoenix. You owe me LeBron James."

"Since you went to the west, I will keep him in the east."

"Let's not talk about basketball... let's talk about our child... Mikel, this is the name the old man gave him, which means miracle."

"Well, it's a good name. It's indeed a miracle... for everyone."

While stroking her slightly swollen belly, Khomeinis looked at Leon affectionately beside her. To her, to Auerbach, and to Boston, this man was a miracle.

It was a day in June when Leon and Khomeini went to Washington to visit Auerbach's grave. Seven years ago today, Leon met Auerbach for the first time in Marshfield and started their new relationship. life.

In six years, he led the Celtics to four finals and three championships, helping the Celtics complete their second three-peat after eight consecutive championships.

Now, a new basketball journey is waiting for him, and his life has also opened a new chapter.

(over)

………………

Postscript: The fate of others

Kevin Garnett: Finals MVP in 2004 and 2005, suffered a serious injury in 2007 and was reimbursed for the season.

Paul Pierce: 2006 Finals MVP, against the Mavericks, averaging 25.7 points per game.

Arenas: He left the Washington Wizards in the summer of 2005 and received a maximum salary.

Michael Reed: Traded to the SuperSonics in the summer of 2007 for Ray Allen.

Chris Anderson: Traded to the Grizzlies in the summer of 2006.

PJ Brown: I chose to retire in 2007.

James Posey: In the summer of 2005, he jumped out of his contract and chose to go to the Heat for a higher contract.

Wang Zhizhi: He became a free agent in the summer of 2006 and chose to return to China to play for the Bayi Team.

Laga Bell: Joined the Suns in the summer of 2005 and later played for Fox-Leon.

Boris Diaw: Was traded to the Suns in 2005 and later played for Fox Leon.