The Whip of the God of Basketball

The NBA is always divided into two seasons. November to June is the fierce battle season. All teams fight for at least 82 games for the same goal. The players shed sweat and tears on the court, and all this ends It will come to an abrupt end in mid-June. With swords and guns in storage and horses released in Nanshan, those players who were originally fighting each other to the death began to fish and take vacations. The entire league entered the rough season from the campaign season.

Then for NBA players, they can relax themselves or find a place to cheer themselves up. But for NBA team management staff, the rough season is their fighting season, and they are engaged in a battle. A war without smoke. The outcome of this war will often have a huge impact on the trend of the entire league next season.

The first battle of this war will start on June 28. The 2007 NBA Draft will be held in its old place, Madison Garden Square, New York. About two days before the start of the draft, the managers and staff of each team will They slowly gathered in New York and began to make final preparations for the draft two days later.

This is Buford, the manager of the defending champion Spurs, once again leading the team to New York. Although they are the defending champions and they only hold the lower draft picks in their hands, Buford always firmly believes that they must cherish every moment in their hands. Draft pick, even if it is a pick at the end of the second round - he once used the 57th pick to take Manu Ginobili, and now he has grown into one of the best shooting guards in the league, a ruthless bench killer. .

Buford still remembers that at that time, they could have used the No. 40 pick to grab Ginobili in advance to avoid a nightmare. At that time, they made a small deal with the Mavericks and got the No. 40 pick from the Mavericks. However, Buford still chose to take a risk, using the No. 40 pick to acquire Kirisek, and then traded him for a 2004 draft pick. Finally, he won Ginobili with No. 57.

But now, Buford definitely doesn't dare to take this risk again. In 2001, they almost lost Tony Parker to the Boston Celtics, and the Spurs had to pay for Steve Kerr. Fortunately, they defeated the Celtics in the 2003 Finals, otherwise the Spurs' failure would really be attributed to this little robbery. From the beginning of this robbery transaction, Buford felt that the guy named Fox Leon was simply a troublemaker with a lingering ghost.

Every year during the draft, starting from the training camp, he would create a series of rumors. Seven out of ten messages in the entire NBA were related to this guy's behind-the-scenes manipulation. They were true, false, false, false, true. Moreover, he often does things that harm others and do not benefit himself. The Celtics cannot benefit from this, and neither can other teams. It has the style of the red-headed Auerbach back then.

Then he really led the Celtics to resurgence and won three consecutive championships, including knocking the Spurs to the ground at their peak in 2005. Fortunately, he chose to retire in 2006. Auerbach also passed away that year, and the Spurs immediately won the 2007 championship. Buford had already begun to think about building bridges and paths for the Spurs to defend their title. As a result, this guy came back and even came to the Phoenix Suns, the Spurs' archrival in the playoffs in recent years.

What a headache! In the hotel in New York, Buford felt a headache, not only because Fox Leone was back, but also because he had received news yesterday that the Phoenix Suns intended to select Splitter with the 24th overall pick in the draft. Replenish the team's No. 5 position. Buford has already paid attention to Split because he is Ginobili's teammate in Argentina. In fact, Buford is quite fond of this group of players in Argentina.

But Fox-Leon didn't know where he got this news. He learned that the Spurs wanted Split, and then released the news that they wanted to select Split. This routine is too familiar to Buford. In 2001, he chose to compromise and make a trade with the Celtics. In the end, his compromise was worth it. In 2007, Tony Parker became the Finals MVP, the first foreign MVP in NBA history.

So is Split worthy of Buford doing this? That depends on Split's value and what the Phoenix Suns want.

Buford did not sit still. On the one hand, he was trying to establish contact with Fox-Leon and sent him a text message to find out. On the other hand, he was communicating with Split's agent, because Split Te is still under contract, so he won't be able to play in the NBA if he chooses. If Split is unwilling to go to the Suns, then it is useless for Leon to choose Split. Then Buford is not anxious, because in his plan, Split was originally prepared for the future; finally, Buford is designing Plan B, once Split is really taken away by the Suns , then he will have to choose an alternative.

In this way, Buford became busy, but there was still no reply from Fox-Leon. After thinking about it, Buford decided to call Leon, although he hated calling Leon, because he could often tell Leon on the phone. You were speechless, giving you no room to maneuver. This is very ineffective for negotiations.

But when Buford was about to make the call, his phone rang. He received a text message reply from Leon and quickly opened it to read, "We will take Split with a higher pick, but we I want Marc Gasol and Brent Barry more."

It's a text message from Fox Leone. The content is simple and straightforward. It's as straightforward as treating players as pigs on the trading market. But this is the NBA. They are heroes on the court and commodities in the eyes of team managers, especially ordinary players. players.

Seeing this text message, Buford was slightly relieved. Sending Brent Barry was not an unacceptable bargaining chip. The veteran was not in the team's future plans. This year he won the championship with the team, which is considered a complete achievement. In this case, it doesn't matter if he is sent to the Suns. If it is true that the Suns want Robert Holley, as has been rumored these days, it will be really troublesome. It's not that the Spurs don't want to part with Holley, but what Holley did to the Spurs in the playoffs. God knows what he did to the Spurs. Can I go home from Phoenix?

So, Buford made two more phone calls to discuss with Popovich and the boss. Since there was a precedent of sending Cole in 2001, the three-headed monster in the Spurs management didn't care about Leon's small robbery. It did not touch the core rotation of the team.

With an idea in mind, Buford replied to Leon, and then the message fell silent without any reply. Buford is used to this. Fox-Leon and Auerbach are really the same strain in some aspects. They are always mysterious and they are really the same strain.

……………………

On the day of the draft on June 28, Madison Square Garden became lively again. Anyway, the playoffs are basically not lively here, so we can only rely on activities like the draft to increase exposure.

Of course, before the draft started, no one cared about the little news that the San Antonio Spurs wanted to take Splitter and the Phoenix Suns wanted to intercept Hu. In addition to the professional managers and professional scouts, the remaining reporters and fans are all hyping up who this year's No. 1 pick will be - Greg Oden or Kevin Durant.

Most people always pay too much attention to things that don't have much suspense, especially in a big show like the NBA. The ownership of a No. 1 pick can indeed change the fate of a team, or even the trend of a league for several years. , for example, the Spurs won Tim Duncan in 1997, which completely changed the history of the Spurs. But in fact, these things were almost certain before they happened. Everyone was just waiting for the moment when the results were announced, applauding and cheering for these ten seconds of euphoria, and then creating a blueprint for the next ten years or so, and then All you have to do is wait quietly.

However, as a team manager, you must always focus on the inconspicuous places. The qualitative changes accumulated in those details are the secret to a team's long-term prosperity.

Buford always believed in this, so when the draft started and David Stern announced that Greg Oden was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers and was elected the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA, Buford Just as a token ovation from the position. The Spurs experienced a similar moment ten years ago, but for three championships in ten years, only Buford himself knew the sacrifices involved.

"I wish the Portland Trail Blazers good luck, but please make your choices a little quicker." Buford thought in his heart. The Spurs have been at the very bottom of the draft for many years in a row, but this year he is particularly special. anxious.

After that, the Seattle SuperSonics selected Kevin Durant, and the Atlanta Hawks could only regretfully take Al Horford. When they reached the tenth pick, Buford's cell phone suddenly rang. It was from the press department. messages from people.

"I just received news from the league office that the Suns and Lakers have completed a transaction, the main body of which is Turiaf and Barbosy, as well as this year's draft picks."

"Damn it, what is Fox-Leon planning again!"

The new book will be on the shelves in zero seconds. If there are votes and rewards, please give to the new book. The old book will be updated as well, but no votes are required. Thank you all.