The Whip of the God of Basketball

When the two people got into the car and introduced themselves to each other, Leon knew that one of them was Pete Vixie, a columnist for the New York Post. He came to Washington International University to do a program today, and after Woodmont Country Club visits Auerbach. It happened to be pouring rain, and his special car happened to break down, so he had to stop Leon's taxi on the side of the road.

"You also go to the Woodmont Club? Do you have any friends there? It's not easy to get in there, you have to be introduced. You look very young, are you applying for a job? Hahaha." The thin and capable little old man with beards spoke in a deep and deep voice. It seemed that he didn't know Leon, nor did he know the relationship between Leon and Auerbach.

On the contrary, Leon knew Vickers because he was Auerbach's deadly enemy.

Leon had heard people around Auerbach mention this Vixie, a well-known man in the press and TV sports circles. As early as the 1960s when New York and Boston were competing for hegemony in the eastern part of the country, he confronted Auerbach in the newspapers, and often broke the news about Auerbach's embarrassing things to tear him down. For example, Auerbach liked to light a victory cigar to stimulate his opponent when the game was not over but the overall situation was settled. Once in a game against Philadelphia, his team led by 30 points, and Auerbach began to smoke on the sidelines again. It turned out that Dick Barnett had coach Dolph Schayes put himself on the bench on the outside closest to Auerbach. The closest to Auerbach before was Hannum, a small man, and Barnett, a 6-foot-7 burly man who kept glaring at Auerbach, then rose to his feet as soon as the game was over. Walking with Auerbach, Auerbach was so frightened that he ran from the player tunnel back to the locker room without looking back.

There are a lot of anecdotes like this in the 1960s and 1970s, but unlike other people who glorified and praised Auerbach, they only satirized and ridiculed the famous bishop.

Leon didn't expect that this person would come to visit Auerbach tonight and be invited to a party at the Woodmont Country Club, which wasn't something just anyone could do. Many of the biggest names in basketball are invited to such a gathering probably once in a lifetime, let alone a well-known Auerbach nemesis like Vicky.

Leon didn't really care about Vixie's joke. At this moment, he was still thinking about how to cheat the Spurs. He looked at Vixie. This guy is a veteran figure in the basketball media circle. , speaking is very powerful, and the power of communication is very strong, maybe you can take advantage of it.

So Leon said to Vickers: "I didn't come to apply for the job. I'm just a scout to provide the Celtics with a little player information. Some time ago I found a good young man in France. I think Auerbach Sir will be interested in him, so come here today and report to him."

As soon as he mentioned the players Auerbach was interested in, Vixie got excited. He poked his head close to Leon and asked, "France? Has Auerbach extended his tentacles to Europe? I didn't hear that." Said he was interested in European players."

Vicky expressed disbelief, but actually wanted Leon to talk about the specific situation of this player. Although Auerbach and Auerbach were deadly rivals, Vicky also knew that Auerbach was the king of excavators. Yes, he has seen countless players in his life, and basically never passed by, but he might not be able to get them in the end.

Leon was afraid that Vicky was not curious, so he turned around and pretended to be mysterious and said: "It's a small French point guard named Tony Parker. I don't know if you have any impression. He participated in the 2000 Indiana International In the basketball game, I scored 20 points. Later, Mr. Auerbach asked me to go to France to inspect this player. He is indeed very talented, with amazing speed and a very good sense of the ball. I guess there is no better point guard in this class. gone."

Leon bluffed together, boasting that Parker was like a flower. Vickers must be 3-point suspicious, but when Leon met Auerbach later, he would be 3-point suspicious of Vickers. Get rid of it.

When they arrived at the Woodmont Club, Vicky was stopped outside the club's porch by his introducer, Rob Eze. Ezzie is a member of the Woodmont Club and a legal practitioner. It was thanks to Ezzie that Leon was able to successfully finish his volunteer work early last year.

"Hi Leon, Mr. Auerbach is already waiting for you inside." Eze said to Leon, and at the same time led him into the box inside, which made Vixie dumbfounded. He originally thought Auerbach would go first. Seeing myself, I didn't expect this young scout to be the first to arrive. It seems that this is not a small person. Vickers can't help but look up to Leon in his heart.

Auerbach was playing bridge when Leon walked into the box. Auerbach's younger brother, John Wood, and Fox reporter and anchor Chris Wallace were also at the same table. "Mike Wallace.

"I hope I didn't disturb you." Leon said when he saw Auerbach was seriously looking at the cards after he came in.

"You've disturbed me! Wait a minute! Wait a minute, Ezzie, why did you bring him in so quickly." Auerbach continued to stare at the cards while shouting, he hated being disturbed when he was playing bridge .

Eze suffered from being dumb. It was Auerbach who brought him in when he saw Leon, but now he blamed him for bringing him in too quickly. It can only be said that the bishop's temper is too unpredictable.

Leon straightened his clothes, wiped off some water stains on them, and then glanced close to the card table, then looked at the cards in Auerbach's hand, and said: "Don't hit the old man, there is no chance, Your bidding is still so bad, how can you bid 10 tricks with such a hand?."

Bridge, a card game that relies heavily on calculations, is a piece of cake for Leon. He glanced at Auerbach's cards and the table, and he could see the pros and cons of Auerbach's hand. And in his mind, he roughly calculated the possible card combinations of several other companies, and decided that Auerbach had made another mistake in his call.

Hearing what Leon said, Auerbach threw the cards on the table angrily, and the cigar in his mouth shook off a few ash. In fact, he also knew that this hand must be lost, and he couldn't play it at all. 10 tricks, but it is really embarrassing to be pierced by Leon like this.

"You're a scum!" Auerbach poked Leon fiercely with his finger angrily, and then sat down on the sofa beside him angrily and smoked a cigar.

Leon didn't care, he sat next to Auerbach and said to him: "I have a plan to make a fortune from the Spurs." Upon hearing Leon's words, Auerbach's anger seemed to disappear immediately He asked Leon to continue talking.

So Leon told Auerbach about meeting Presti yesterday and meeting Vickers today, and pointed out the weakness of the Spurs in wanting Tony Parker.

Auerbach took a puff of a cigarette. Although he had tried hard to quit cigars for more than a year, he couldn't do it in the Woodmont Club. As long as he walked in here, he would smell the lingering cigar aroma, which was his Years of puffing and puffing here, sucking in everything that emanates from around him, and he can't stand the smell of it.

"What about Tony Parker? Are you sure that the Spurs want him very much?" Auerbach confirmed to Leon that he didn't want to be reversed.

"I confirm, and Parker is indeed a young man with great potential. If we choose him in the end, he will be a good choice." Leon is still very confident in his vision, especially after contacting this young man in France. Feeling the gritty temperament of Parker, which is good for him to gain a foothold in the NBA.

"It seems that Popovich also made a mistake. He shouldn't easily show his cards without knowing our cards. This is very, very dangerous." Auerbach seems to be for the Spurs Pity.

Indeed, it is very unfavorable to easily show your own cards without knowing the opponent's cards, but obviously the Spurs are also helpless. Their cards are too few, and the room for manipulation is almost zero. What they want is Unknowingly. It should never have fallen into the hands of the Celtics with the strongest cards. It is estimated that Popovich also felt that it would be better to take a bold gamble and get Parker back first by groveling and selling favors instead of dying in ignorance.

Auerbach sat on the sofa and smoked a cigarette for a long time without saying a word. He was thinking quietly, not only thinking about how to extract benefits from the Spurs, but also thinking about how to make Leon sit as an assistant better. The position of the coach, this is the main purpose of letting Leon come this time.

"Where's Vixie?" Auerbach asked Ezzy suddenly.

"Oh, he's outside. He wants to confirm again whether he can come in." Eze went out to entertain Vixie just now.

"Has he brought an umbrella, is he driving?" Auerbach asked again.

"I didn't bring an umbrella, and I didn't drive. It looks like I've been drenched in the rain." Eze thought that the famous anchor was shivering from the rain coming in on the porch, but he still politely asked if he could go in. It seemed that although the two were rivals in the newspaper, when there was really only one door between them, Vixie also trembled with fear. Just like Eze himself when he first met Auerbach, cowering like a schoolboy meeting his teacher for the first time.

Eze looked at Leon who was sitting next to Auerbach again, with his legs crossed and his face indifferent, thinking that he was the only one in this world who dared to be so unscrupulous in front of the old man Auerbach.

"Hmm..." Auerbach scratched his head, thought for a while and said, "Then let him wait, I still have something to think about, think about it."