NBA: I just want to play soy sauce, you let me win the championship

Chapter 279 No. [-] Candidate Team

The Indiana Pacers announced that they will re-hire Larry Bird as the team's general manager.

Bird coached the Pacers from 1997 to 2000 and won Coach of the Year in 1998.

You win MVP as a player, you win Best Coach as a coach, and you might even win Best Manager in the future.

Really - the big winner in life!
Here’s a little trivia: Larry Bird was the 6th overall pick when he entered the NBA. It wasn’t that everyone was blind and didn’t want to pick Bird as the top pick, but Bird made it clear that year that he would not participate in the draft. It's a waste of a year in college.

Therefore, none of the top five teams selected Bird that year.

However, the Celtics, who picked sixth overall, noticed that Bird had taken a year off from school. According to the NBA draft rules that year, Bird, who was just a senior, had actually been in school for four years. Regardless of whether he actively participated in the draft or not, He can be selected by other teams.

Then the Celtics chose Larry Bird without hesitation. They really understood the rules.

Of course, Bird would definitely be unhappy with what the Celtics did. How he and the Celtics settled their differences is another story.

There is an even colder piece of trivia. The No. [-] pick that year was named Michael Thompson. Yes, he was Klay Thompson’s father, and he also had two championship rings.

Therefore, no matter how much Boozer's two sons are being praised now, in NBA history, the most powerful second-generation players are still Curry and Thompson, who led the team to win four championships.

However, the three Thompson brothers seem to have inherited more of their mother's genes. Michael is 208 centimeters tall, while the three Thompson brothers are 198, 198 and 190 centimeters respectively. The shortest, Tres, goes to play baseball.

The first thing Larry Bird did after taking office was to publicly praise Lu Yuanzhi, expressing how much he liked Lu Yuanzhi and hoping to bring Lu Yuanzhi back to Indiana.

At first, the media didn't take it seriously. They didn't believe even a single punctuation mark of what the Celtics players and coaches said.

If the Celtics hadn't hyped Van Horn and called him the second "Larry Bird," the Nets wouldn't have used the second pick to take Van Horn and keep Billups. Gave it to the Celtics, who held the No. 3 pick.

But this time, it seems a little different. After Bird's speech, Pacers boss Reggie Miller also spoke publicly, saying that he was getting older and would choose to take a salary cut to stay with the team next season.

This is unusual.

Players generally do not promise to reduce their salary. After all, no one can live with money, so Miller's statement has great credibility.

Miller's salary this season is as high as US$1205 million. Although it is not the league's maximum salary, if he finally gets a mid-level contract, it will free up more than US$700 million in salary space for the Pacers.

With this salary space, combined with Bird's words, the Pacers seem to be really interested in bringing in Lu Yuanzhi.

The Pacers really need to add fresh blood. Since the team reached the Finals in the 99-00 season and were finally defeated by the Lakers, the Pacers have continued to age. Although they can enter the playoffs, they are all in the first round.

00-01赛季，步行者队首轮1:3负于76人队，最后76人队进了总决赛。

In the 01-02 season, the Pacers lost to the Nets 2:3 in the first round, and the Nets finally entered the finals.

A pure ticket boy.

Now, the Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal continues to grow, Artest, who was traded from the Bulls in the 01-02 season, performed well, and Miller seems to still have some gas in the tank.

If Bird wants to bring a championship trophy to the Pacers during his tenure, using the free salary space to recruit Lu Yuanzhi seems to be a good choice.

The iron-blooded defense of O'Neal Jr., Lu Yuanzhi, and Artest will probably frighten most Eastern Conference teams.

Lu Yuanzhi's increasing offensive ability can also make up for the Pacers' lack of vitality.

The big reality show called "Where's Max?" seems to be entering its second half, and more competitors are starting to enter the game.

However, before the discussion about Lu Yuanzhi started to heat up, another shocking news broke out in the league.The owner of the Clippers, the famous iron rooster Donald Sterling, has been exposed to racist remarks. League executives have intervened in the investigation. If true, Sterling will be forced to sell the team. (Note)
His name is Donald, and it seems reasonable for him to say something like this!

Lu Yuanzhi didn't feel that the Clippers' trade had any impact on him. At this time, he was hosting the Celtics' former legendary power forward Kevin McHale.

"Max, I have not worked for any NBA team, nor have I accepted any commission from anyone. Now I am chatting with you as a retired player and fan, and sincerely invite you to go to the Indiana Pacers next year. Play ball.”

Lu Yuanzhi strongly agreed with the media's judgment at this time. Don't even believe what people from the Celtics say.

"Isn't it the Celtics? After all, you were once a star of the Green Army."

"Well, if you're not the same color as me, I suggest you don't play in Boston."

McHale pointed at his face and told Lu Yuanzhi a hellish joke.

Indeed, Boston is the most racially discriminatory area in the United States and one of the base camps for white-skinned people. It is indeed not a pleasant thing to play there.

This is why Lu Yuanzhi was indifferent to the olive branch extended by the Celtics before.

There is still something strange. Isn't Bird's best friend Rick Carlisle? Why is McHale the lobbyist?

Oh, Carlisle is still coaching the Pistons, so that's no problem.

Funnily enough, in order to help his old friend Bird, Carlisle went to coach the Pacers. This gave Larry Brown the opportunity to enjoy the powerful Pistons lineup trained by Carlisle and lead the team to win the championship.

What do you want to say Brown brings to the Pistons?
Perhaps only Rasheed Wallace can be fooled to complete the last piece of the puzzle.

"That Miller's team?"

Lu Yuanzhi remained calm and began to make insinuations, and McHale also understood what Lu Yuanzhi meant.

"Reggie is the most selfless player I have ever seen. He even gave up a lot of shots to Jaylen Rose back then, but that young man Rose didn't have the strength to lead the team to victory."

"If it were you, I believe you can lead the team further."

Yes, Lu Yuanzhi wants more. Since he has such a good opportunity, he doesn't mind becoming the boss of the team, and McHale also made it clear that Miller only wants a championship now, and he can give up everything else.

This really fits Miller's character.

Over the years, since entering the league, Miller has not been a player who demands too much for the ball. Even in the years when he was the team leader, his ball usage rate hovered around 20%-25%.

If a strong ball-holding offensive player joins in, he can even reduce his ball ownership to less than 20%.

"Then the other players..."

"I talked to Artest. He thinks you are a real tough guy who can defeat the villain Karl Malone head-on. O'Neal also admires you very much."

Understand, this is that everyone in the team recognizes his status as the boss.

And he also knows that the Pacers also have Brad Miller, the second dealer of the Kings after Divac. If he goes to the Pacers and gives Miller a little guidance, he may not be sure of the Pacers. It will really skyrocket.

Therefore, the Pacers have entered Lu Yuanzhi's sight and become the number one candidate team.

Note: Sterling's racist remarks were exposed in 2014, but were moved forward to 2003 for plot purposes.

(End of this chapter)