the rest, only noise

1202 Honestly, it's boring

The day before the 1996 NBA? GM summit meeting, Louie set off from Los Angeles ahead of schedule.

Before Louis left, Jerry Bass found him and asked him to take Bass with him.

Old Bass knew that if it wasn't for an important summit, someone like Louis would not attend it in person.Now that Louis has gone, it means that this year's summit is as important as this year's draft.

Old Bath wanted to use this opportunity to show his precious son to the world, and it would be even better if he could accumulate some contacts.

"It's okay to let Jim go with me, but he must listen to my arrangements during this period." Louie said.

Old Bass nodded without doubt: "Of course, if he dares to mess up, you can deal with him casually."

"Well, if he dares to mess up, my assistant will change."

"Ah...uh... Coach Lu, don't be so serious, right?"

The few seconds of Louie's silence made old Buzz nervous: "Jerry, I was joking with you."

"Hahahaha, I can hear it."

His smirk was really heard by Louis.

Learning to make such stomach-ache jokes is one of the few things Louie has learned from Ewing.

Wait, is this really an advantage?
Louis and Bass Jr. went on the road together, heading for Washington.

The journey is beautiful, and it is not a bad thing to have little Bath as a company.

He is very good at talking about his sister's black history to enliven the atmosphere.

But what he talked about today was the reason why he didn't deal with Jenny.

"Do you know, Sri, she wanted to enter our brothers' room when she was a child, so she entered our room. She dug up a lot of secrets in our room and spread them everywhere. Then one day, I also entered her room to find something to do with her."

Little Buzz's smart-off operation surprised Louis: "I guess, you didn't let her find out on the spot, did you?"

Little Buss said with a little shame: "Hey, although my plan was very thorough, the first step failed. Who would have thought that she would want to go back to that disgusting boudoir and spend two hours braiding her hair again because her hairstyle is a little flawed?"

"And then you fell out?"

"Yeah, she was very angry and asked me to apologize. Isn't this hegemony? She came into my room casually and I didn't say anything."

Louis wanted to tell him that hegemony was not used in this way.

"Is it possible that...women value privacy more? Not only does she not want you in her boudoir, she doesn't want your dad either."

"It's sexist, why can she come into my room casually?"

Louis found himself playing the piano to the cow, and after persuading the pig to move forward, he could only nod vigorously: "You're right."

After that, Louis told Buss Jr. to shut up on the grounds of closing his eyes and resting his mind. The two had no communication until they arrived in Washington.

When he arrived in Washington, Louis asked Bass to stay at the Four Seasons Hotel first, while he himself went to a Michelin restaurant called "Seasons".

Regardless of the mediocre name, this may actually be the most prestigious restaurant in Washington, D.C. Its breakfast and lunch are award-winning, and it has a special location where you can see people coming and going outside.

Government senators, foreign officials, ambassadors and business executives like to eat here.

David Stern is a big fan of Seasons.

Louie arrived on time, and Stern arrived 10 minutes earlier.

"Please sit down, Coach Lu, this is the only restaurant I can find in the special zone that can satisfy the tastes of both of us at the same time."

Louis smiled: "I have a heart, Mr. President."

The advantage of eating in a fancy restaurant is that Louie won't be disturbed.

All the people who come here to eat are people with status, and they basically come to talk about things, and they don't have the effort and mood to chase stars.

Stern chose a seat near the window, and Louis sat down, took a look at the menu, and found that there were not only Chinese food on it, but the names were all Chinese.

There is no horse or beef dish like General Tso's chicken.

Louis ordered and put the menu down.

The waiter served desserts and drinks, and Stern spoke first: "Coach Lu, I've been thinking these days, why did the Lakers choose a high school player with the No. [-] pick?"

Louis said with a smile: "Mr. President, please allow me to tell you a little secret. Last year, we used the No. [-] pick to select another high school player."

"Also, his performance did not disappoint us."

Stern smiled lightly: "For many people, Kevin Garnett, like Moses Malone back then, is a high-risk, high-reward player. You made the right bet, but Kobe is not at that level."

Louie could see that Stern wasn't happy that the Lakers took Bryant with the seventh pick.

And, he's even more upset that the decision was made by Louie.

Who is Louie?A mountain in the professional basketball world, whether as a coach or as a GM, he is a banner figure in the industry.

If he succeeds with his high school picks, Stern is almost certain there will be hordes of teams following suit.

At that time, the trend of high school players giving up college and directly participating in the draft will intensify.

This is something he doesn't want to see.

"If we made a wrong bet on choosing Kobe for the seventh pick, then we are willing to bear the consequences. Anyway, it is only the seventh pick. At least Kevin Garnett is right." Louis added jokingly, "But thank you, Mr. President, for your concern."

Stern frowned, but he really didn't have the position to pursue it further.

To put it bluntly, it's none of his business how the Lakers like to choose?

First understand the affairs within the purview of the president of the alliance, understand?
And don't forget why you asked Louis today.

"That's right, Coach Lu, I believe there will be no problem with your vision."

The tendency to limit the drafting of high school players is the job of the future, not the immediate concern.

Stern changed the subject: "Coach Lu, have we known each other for more than ten years?"

Louis changed his mind and replied, "It's been 16 years. When we first met, I was an ordinary scout in Boston."

Stern never imagined that the "kid" who followed Reid Auerbach back then would have such a great impact on professional basketball in the next 16 years.

Since 1983, when it comes to professional basketball, there are several names that cannot be ignored.

Stern, Sad Bird, Louis, Youwei, plus the Celtics and Knicks.

And these names, except for Stern and Tragedian, others are directly related to Louis.

Even the title of Tragedy Master was earned by Louis' team...

Louie's team has dominated the league for more than ten years. Now, the style he developed has attracted others to learn from. The era of super teams he opened is like a magic box, making civilian teams completely lose hope of competing for the championship.

This is completely inconsistent with the original intention when the salary cap was designed.

Stern and everyone in the league office can use novelties like salary caps to eliminate old men like Auerbach, but they can't limit Louis, the devil living in the new era.

Obviously, the cause and effect of all this is on him, but Stern still needs to use Louis' power to help himself.

This is too ironic.

Counting on Louis to weaken himself?
Of course, Coach Lu is a loyal person, as long as the benefits are enough, what's the point of weakening yourself?What's more, the Lakers don't play defense now, and they're not a super team (for the time being), so no matter how they cut, they won't be able to cut them.

But Stern didn't think so. He felt that if he didn't sign the No. 1997 pick in [-] to Louis, the other party would never help him.

"16 years have passed, how do you think the league today is compared to 16 years ago?"

"Mr. President, we don't need to underestimate ourselves. The alliance at that time was completely incomparable with the present." Louis raised the question himself, "However, the alliance at that time was at least a little stronger than it is now."

"Which point?"

"Competitiveness." Louie said what Stern wanted to hear the most, "It was an era of vitality and competition for everything. Larry and Irvine had just entered the league, Dr. J and Kareem were still at their peak, and the competitiveness of the Spurs, Bucks, Rockets and other teams should not be underestimated. Born between orchids."

"Honestly, it's tedious."

(End of this chapter)