Chapter 80: The most pretentious general manager in history, a successful signing
"Breaking news: Larry Bird becomes general manager of Denver Nuggets!"
"Klenk: I believe Bird's previous words were not malicious. He has never been a racially inclined person."
"Bird: I came to the foot of the Rockies to only do three things: win, win, win heartily!"
Before this, people probably didn't expect that Larry Bird, one of the brightest stars in NBA history, could still detonate an entire summer in the 21st century!
After Kroenke fired Kiki Vandeweghe not long ago, many media have speculated who the next Nuggets general manager will be.
But no media could guess that it would be "Legendary Larry"!
In the original history, Bird did not play for another team between 2004 and 2007. There is actually a reason.
First of all, if Bird wants to go, he will definitely go to a championship team.
Except for his hometown of Indianapolis, he will not devote all his efforts to rebuilding for any other team.
Therefore, the team he goes to must have some strength and foundation.
Bird just needs to build on that foundation.
However, at that time, the general manager position of the Western Conference championship team was not vacant.
Bird, the Eastern Conference championship team, will definitely not go, because that would mean a direct confrontation with the Pacers.
There is no choice but to do farm work at home.
In this history, the Nuggets have become a championship team and the general manager position is vacant, so Bird is so interested in this position.
In the Nuggets, Bird can satisfy Bird's desire to win without having to directly compete with his hometown team, the Pacers.
It fits Bird's requirements perfectly.
This is equivalent to being able to maintain a good relationship with your wife at home while eating outside. What man doesn’t love this feeling!
After Bird joined the Nuggets, all media and fans were speculating when his first signing or trade would occur.
The Nuggets will definitely make some moves this year, otherwise it would be impossible to replace the general manager.
But unlike those who like to be high-profile, Bird works very low-key and does not reveal any plans to the media.
He just quietly changed history a little bit in the next draft.
With the 25th pick in the first round of this year's draft, Bird selected Monta Ellis, a man who scored 79 points in a high school game.
Ellis' prediction has always been in the second round, because the outside world generally believes that Ellis's defensive habits are too poor and his offense has not been tested by high-level games.
He is 1.91 meters tall, but he plays shooting guard. This height is too short to play the second position, and his organizational ability is insufficient to play the first position.
It is a typical "double cannot defend".
But Bird happened to win him in the first round.
Bird admitted that he had some gambling elements.
Anyway, a late-round draft pick isn't worth much.
It’s not a loss if you lose the bet, but if you win the bet
In Bird's view, Ellis has the opportunity to become a "nervous" scorer.
It would be perfect for this kind of person to be a sixth man or something.
He doesn't need organization or defense. He only needs rotation time and when the situation cannot be opened up, he just needs to help the team maintain the scoring momentum!
Bird knows very well how much a sixth man can help the team. After all, when he was playing, Kevin McHale and Bill Walton both won the best sixth man award.
John Havlicek, one of the greatest stars in Celtics history, is even more of a legendary sixth man.
Even the concept of the sixth man was invented by Auerbach with Havlicek.
Of course, it won’t work to apply old experiences until now.
In addition to past experience, Bird wanted the sixth man because of the Spurs!
It’s self-evident how great a monster scorer like Ginobili is for the Spurs.
In this year's finals, the demon sword stunned the world as soon as it was unsheathed.
The Argentinian was the player with the highest scoring average per game on the Spurs team in the finals except for Duncan, and he was a major contributor to the Spurs' championship!
Whenever the Spurs had nothing to do with the Pistons' iron barrel formation, Ginobili could tear a crack in Detroit's steel plate in a seemingly impossible and unreasonable way!
It is indeed difficult to guard Ginobili. In Popovich's words: "Want to guard him? I wish you good luck. Because sometimes even I, no, even he himself doesn't know what he will do next. What will you do!"
This kind of player may have average overall efficiency, but occasionally when the situation cannot be opened up, you really need them to break the deadlock with incredible goals.
As a championship contending team, there is absolutely no harm in stocking up on such a surprise weapon!
Ryan also admires Bird's vision, because he knows very well that Monta Ellis will perform far beyond his position.
Although Ellis has never been considered a big star, nor can he reach the height of Ginobili, his only two honors are the Most Improved Award and the "Former Curry Big Brother Award."
But as an attacker on the bench, Ellis's firepower is definitely top-notch!
After the draft, reporters were pinning Bird's words again.
Ask him how he can achieve his three small goals of "win, win, or really win."
This time, Bird was uncharacteristically blunt:
"In fact, we are pursuing Raja Bell with all our strength!"
Laga Bell, a defensive fighter at the second position.
This is also the goal that the Phoenix Suns are striving to pursue this year.
After all, the Suns' thin defense needs defenders like Raja Bell to fill the gaps.
Likewise, the Nuggets have been lacking a defensive stronghold at the second position.
From this point of view, Laga Bell does meet the Nuggets' needs very well.
Bird means it!
As soon as the Suns heard that Raja Bell was being targeted by Bird, they immediately panicked.
The Nuggets can be regarded as one of the Suns' direct competitors in the Western Conference, and the Suns will certainly not give up such high-quality players.
So they were frantically communicating with Laga Bell, telling Bell that no matter what offer he received from the Nuggets, he must contact them first!
The Suns are determined to have a bidding war with the Nuggets and try their best to recruit Laga Bell!
In addition to Raja Bell, Bird is also looking for a new head coach candidate.
Bird's favorite coach is undoubtedly his old buddy Rick Carlisle, but Carlisle is now coaching the Pacers, and Bird doesn't want to touch anyone from his hometown team.
Jim O'Brien is also under Bird's consideration, but this somewhat rigid head coach may be ridiculed by Popovich in the playoffs.
He has been an assistant coach with the Celtics since 2001 and has a very high level of Frank Vogel?
And too young.
Birds thought about it and finally found a suitable candidate.
The day before the free agent market began, he held another press conference:
"After much research and many days of deliberation, I have made a decision on my head coach position for next season.
Now, please allow me to introduce to you in detail:
Former NBA Coach of the Year winner, the most talented coach in the league, and the most suitable coach for this team
Myself!
I have decided to personally coach the Denver Nuggets next season.
The other teams in the Western Conference can now discuss who will be the second team next season. "
After Bird finished speaking, the reporters all wiped their sweat.
No one introduced themselves like this!
Kroenke also looked confused. Are you the head coach yourself? You left me here to get a double contract! ?
You are more of a capitalist than a capitalist!
Of course, Bird made this decision not because of the two contracts, but in Bird's view, rather than letting those bad guys mess up his team, it is better to do it himself.
Seeing the shocked faces of the reporters, he told them:
"But don't be nervous. I can only be a head coach for three years at most. I won't dominate the league for too long. Don't worry."
Bird's "three-year rule" as a coach was something he set for himself when he was with the Pacers.
Bird clearly led the team to great results and easily won the best coach, but after three years of work, he still simply quit at the drop of a hat.
That's because Bird has seen many coaches who stabilize the morale of the team in the first year, gain support from everyone in the second year, seem to be inseparable in the third year, and then in the fourth year everyone on the team wants the coach to get out.
From then on, he made up his mind that if he became a coach, he would only be a coach for three years, so as not to turn against the players and even the senior management who originally supported him after a long time.
However, because he has not been a head coach in the Nuggets, re-entering the profession does not count as breaking the rules.
Although it was only for three years, reporters were quite nervous when they thought about the Pacers in those three years.
Bird not only served as general manager, but also personally picked up the whip.
This western part is probably going to be disrupted by the magical bird flying from the east!
When a reporter saw Bird being so aggressive, he raised his hand and asked:
"Larry, you should know that the Western Conference is the most competitive place, right? The Suns won 62 games last season, and the Spurs were one game away from 60 wins. There are four teams in the Western Conference with more than 55 wins, and by comparison, there is only one in the Eastern Conference.
Are you sure you can lead the team to first place? "
Bird looked at the reporter with a look that looked like he was mentally retarded:
"If we don't fight for first place, is it possible that there are still people in this world who go out of their way to fight for second place? Winning N second places in a row?"
Bird's self-signing operation and his confident answers at the press conference have once again aroused heated discussion.
Ryan shook his head after reading the news. Well, now the head coach of the Nuggets has gone from being a show-off enthusiast to a show-off professional!
Reporters can't imagine how wonderful it will be to see Bird and Ryan singing along at the post-game press conference next season.
Don't mess with the Nuggets next season, otherwise Bird and Ryan can make people shut up with just their mouths!
However, Bird's wild words naturally made some media start to get angry:
"Larry failed himself last time. Does he think he can still play in this league?"
Spurs fans also feel that Bird is all about thunder and no rain.
I have been the general manager for a while, but the Nuggets still haven't made any money.
Raja Bell? Many reporters have said that Laga Bell is close to signing a contract with the Suns.
The Suns and Laga Bell have met countless times, but the Nuggets have only met with Bell once, and they still sent the general manager assistant there!
If you don't do your business for a day, you will know how to brag!
If Bird plays like this, next season the Nuggets will have to kneel down when they meet the Spurs!
After the free market opened, each team made immediate moves on the first day.
Ragnarok Bell signed with the Suns quickly as the rumors said.
The Suns didn't even give Bell a chance to have in-depth discussions with the Nuggets.
Cavaliers fans collectively cheered. Last time, Ryan appointed an incompetent general manager. This time, he appointed a general manager who only pretended to be beeping.
How will you fight against my emperor next season?
There is a reason why Cavaliers fans are so confident, because while the Nuggets missed Bell, the Cavaliers have already made a blockbuster signing and found his "Robin" for James!
On the first day of the free agent market, the Cavaliers signed Larry Hughes for a five-year, $60 million price!
Who is Larry Hughes? Last season he averaged 22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals per game!
League steals leader, All-Defensive First Team of the Year!
Penny Hardaway once said of Hughes: "If Hughes was on a team like the Clippers where he could get more opportunities, he would achieve the same results as Iverson!"
A player who averages 20+ per game and can still enter the best defensive team is undoubtedly a great reinforcement for the Cavaliers!
Cavaliers fans are laughing so hard. Are they guaranteed to make the playoffs next season? No, let’s meet directly in the Eastern Conference Finals next season!
Ryan may be ahead of me in the starting stage, but starting from next season, James has the final say!
The Suns snatched Bell, and the Cavaliers snatched Hughes.
The two most defensive No. 2 spots on this year's free agent market have been taken away.
This can't help but make Nuggets fans a little worried.
Are we going to experience another summer of nothing?
Big Bird, can you do it?
Or.
Is Bird holding back his ultimate move?
Many Chinese fans even stayed up late in front of their computers to refresh the news, hoping to see news about the Nuggets' reinforcements.
This feeling is the same as looking forward to the Rockets to strengthen Yao Ming in the original history.
But in the original history, the Rockets found a few bad guys to mess with every summer.
There is also a bunch of media in China that hype those bad things to the sky, making it seem as if the Rockets are really a championship team.
But this history in the Nuggets is not fake.
Stan Kroenke's only instruction to Bird was: "As long as it can help the team break through the bottleneck, the luxury tax is no problem! Fill up the salary space directly for me!"
It's past four o'clock in the morning BJ time, which is the afternoon of the second day after the free agent market opens in North America.
Chinese fans who were staying up late to refresh the web page suddenly discovered that the page had changed!
Almost all sports news websites instantly turned festive red, as if they were celebrating some major holiday.
News about the Nuggets also occupies most of the page.
At this moment, countless Chinese fans had goosebumps all over their bodies. They were stunned for a moment, then slammed the mouse away and shouted loudly in the room!
"Are you crazy!?"
"What's the fuss about!? I have to go to work tomorrow!"
"Staying up late to play computer games secretly again? Pull out his mouse and hide it! Don't even think about touching it again this summer vacation!"
Similar shouting and cursing occurred in countless domestic families.
But at this moment, no matter what happens, Chinese fans are extremely happy in their hearts.
Because they stayed up all night waiting and finally got the good news!
Raja Bell?
Larry Hughes?
This moment is no longer important.
Chinese fans don’t envy the Cavaliers and Suns at all now!
Because on the web page just now, there is a title like this:
"AK47 Andrei Kirilenko joins the Denver Nuggets with a maximum salary, and the strongest perimeter defensive combination in history is born!"
Not only in China, but also in North America, all practitioners are stupid.
When everyone was ready to laugh at Bird for only bragging, and laugh at the Nuggets for getting nothing again, Bird suddenly made such a bomb!
Fans and media can't figure it out. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be right? Bird has never revealed that he was in contact with Kirilenko. Didn't he say that he was chasing Bell? ?
At this time, Bird was smoking a cigar in his office, looking out the window, imagining the shocked expressions of those bullshit reporters.
The first rule for a man in the world: Never let your enemies know what you are thinking!
Raja Bell? Just a smoke bomb.
From the beginning, Bird's target was Kirilenko, who was having trouble with the Jazz!
And, this is not his last signing!
Everyone may have forgotten that the most successful thing about Bird's pretense is that he never slaps himself in the face!
He said he would make the Nuggets No. 1 in the Western Conference, so he must have his own tricks!
In Bird's mind, he has outlined a complete lineup plan that can maximize Ryan's power. Now, it's just a matter of filling in the correct answers into the plan.
Kirilenko is just the first step.
For a moment, the entire league couldn't laugh.
In the past two seasons, Ryan has scared the entire league despite his mediocre teammates.
And now, when Ryan finally has All-Star teammates around him,
God knows if the Spurs can still stop the Lion from conquering the world next season.
Today’s 10,000-word update is here! The update is extremely stable, Laohe, please beg for monthly votes! Thank you stepfathers!