The Whip of the God of Basketball

Vixie was finally freed after waiting for nearly an hour, and Ezzie told him he could come in and see Auerbach. At this moment, Vixie was already shivering from the wind and rain outside the porch, and her hair and coat were covered with small drops of water. This media person, who had ridiculed and satirized Auerbach countless times in the newspaper, still showed enough awe when he really faced the cardinal.

As soon as the two met, Auerbach said to Vickers, who was covered in rain, "It's been ten years. If I remember correctly, the last time we saw each other face to face was ten years ago. Ten years ago... where was it ten years ago?"

"Charlotte, it was Charlotte, the All-Star Game that year," Vixie added. Leon, who was standing aside, handed Vickers a towel, and Vickers nodded with a smile and took the towel to dry himself. At this moment, he looked at Leon no longer the way he was in the taxi. Contemptuous, he knew that this young man must have a lot to do with Auerbach.

"That's right, it was in Charlotte. During the All-Star Game that year, I met you in the elevator. We were shaking hands at that time. Who knows what was going on in my mind at the time, I would shake hands with you." Auerbach was still unkind, reminiscing about the incident, but it didn't look as bad as it looked in the papers when the two faced each other.

The next one-and-a-half hours turned into a meeting for the two of them to "remember suffering and think about the battle". Leon poured a cup of coffee for each of them. They started from Chamberlain's Eastern Conference Finals in 1967 to end the Celtics' ten-game winning streak. , Talking all the way to the 1996 season because of Duncan's bad fight, which runs through the verbal battle between Auerbach and Vickers in the media and newspapers. When it comes to where the sparks are flying, the two people either laugh or really fight each other.

Talking about the excitement, Auerbach couldn't help pulling out a cigar from the drawer and wanted to light it up for a few puffs. At this time, Leon reminded: "You'd better not smoke any more today, the last one was just finished, If you smoke any more, it will exceed the limit given by the doctor." Hearing what Leon said, Auerbach gave him a hard look, but obediently put the cigar back into the drawer.

This made Vickers very surprised to see that there are still people in this world who can make Auerbach give up smoking cigars. He couldn't help asking the question that had been hidden in his heart since he entered the door: "It's really rare. Someone can make Mr. Auerbach stop smoking cigars. Who is this young man? Is he more terrible than losing? Before I and He came in the same taxi, and I still have to thank him when I think of it."

Auerbach snorted, picked up the coffee cup and wanted to drink it, but found that it was empty, and shouted at Leon: "Pour me a cup of coffee! Don't let me smoke cigars, I can't even drink coffee Go!" After watching Leon fill himself with coffee, Auerbach said: "His name is Fox Leon, he is a scout for the Celtics, and he will become the team's assistant coach this season." Urbach took a sip of coffee slowly, waiting for Vixie to digest the sentence.

It is not unreasonable for Auerbach to let Leon choose to meet him today. A month ago, Vixie was recommended by Eze to come to the Woodmont Club. Auerbach just wanted Leon and Vixie to meet. , I just didn't expect the two of them to come in the same taxi by such a coincidence.

In addition to being Auerbach's deadly rival, Vicky is also a well-known "whistleblower" in the New York press. He has his own connections in various teams and can often get first-hand news. He was able to get word out before the official news was announced, which allowed him to steal the limelight in many big team trades.

Auerbach's intention is very clear, that is, through Vicky's mouth, the news that Leon became the assistant coach of the Celtics will be stabbed to the media circles, so as to create momentum for him to actually take the coaching position.

Assistant coaches and scouts are completely different professions. There are many scouts in the NBA. Except for the team staff and some senior coaches, almost no one knows them. Even the big names in the sports news world don’t know them. How about sweeping to those nooks and corners? An assistant coach is different. Although it is only an assistant to the head coach, it means becoming a member of the coaching staff, and more importantly, it means being qualified to be a head coach. How many famous coaches in the NBA came up from the position of head coach, Pat Riley, Chuck Daly, Stan Van Gundy, all have experience as assistant coaches.

Sure enough, Vixie was quite surprised when he heard the news. He widened his eyes and looked at Auerbach, then squinted at Leon, and said with a smile: "Fox-Leon, I I seem to have heard of you... an assistant coach? Congratulations, the NBA coaching world needs another outstanding commander."

Although Leon is already well-known in the scouting world, Vixie is still "ignorant". After all, his field is superstars and famous coaches, not scouts like Leon who are struggling in the NBA's bottom player market.

Leon was also a little unprepared for Auerbach's sudden claim in front of Vickers that he was the assistant coach of the Celtics, but he is such a smart person, and he knew Auerbach's gourd when he turned his eyes and thought about it. What kind of medicine is it selling. For Vixie and Auerbach, this is completely different. Auerbach gave Vixie a small revelation, and Vixie released this revelation to create momentum for Leon. The role of public opinion in the NBA is beyond ordinary people's imagination, especially for coaches, who are often at the center of public opinion storms and are under tremendous pressure. Pitino is a typical example. Some of his unreasonable and eager for quick success and quick profit signing and trading choices in the free market have reasons why he was forced by public opinion.

But Leon and Pitino are the opposite. Pitino is under too much pressure from public opinion, while Leon has no basis for public opinion. He is a rookie basketball player with no prestige and qualifications. Mao hastily became an assistant coach, obviously it will be questioned. Auerbach has spent a lot of energy and money in order to win the unity of opinion within the Celtics. Now his preparations are to create a good, hot and not too noisy voice for Leon. external public opinion environment.

"It seems that you don't know Leon well, maybe I can tell you the story of this kid. Have you brought paper and pen? As a reporter, you should carry these things with you..." Auerbach couldn't wait Trying to describe to Vixie a good, talented, legendary Fox-Leon image. Vickers also understood what he meant from Auerbach, and cooperatively took out a pen and paper and began to pretend to record it.

Leon sat on the sidelines and listened to the two guys discussing from the past to the present, and from between the two of them to himself, and from time to time he had to refill the coffee for the two of them, but Auerbach kept talking about what he really wanted to say. There is no opening. He was not in the mood to listen to Auerbach blowing himself up like a flower. He was a math wizard with an unparalleled intuition in basketball. Leon thought that Auerbach himself would feel like throwing up. "So-you-are-over-paid" (you are over-paid), if he doesn't scold himself, the world is at peace.

Auerbach kept blowing until he couldn't go on anymore, until he felt a little sick, and then waved his hand to indicate that the conversation should be over.

Vicky's trip to Woodmont is coming to an end, and for him the hour's wait was worth it for a nice Coke talk and a decent bit of gossip just as he was packing up. When he was packing up to leave, he asked the last question: "I heard from Mr. Leon that the Celtics are quite fond of a French player. Let me think about who was the last European player for the Celtics." With? Dino-Radegar?"

Vixie asked casually, and Auerbach answered casually, saying, "Hmm, it seems to be a kid named Parker. Leon said he's good, so he's not bad. Anyway, we have three draft picks this year."

After hearing Auerbach's words, Vixie nodded with satisfaction and said goodbye to everyone, and it was a rewarding day.

This time, Auerbach was finally able to take out the cigar from the drawer and put it to his mouth. Leon took out a match and lit the cigarette for Auerbach himself.