the great gatsby

Chapter 524
When Kupchak saw Kobe and Gatsby coming together in the office, he quickly put down his work and directed them to sit in front of the sofa. Both Kobe and Gatsby deserved Kupchak's respect.

Gatsby inadvertently looked at Kupchak, who was born in the 50s. He had silver hair all over his head, but he was hale and hearty. It could be seen that his mental state was not old, but middle-aged.

Most people who work in the NBA, like coaches and general managers, can maintain this state, because competitive sports need vitality after all.

The coach needs to stand on the sidelines and yell every game, and he has to run around with the players during training. Only with a good body can he be able to cope.

The general manager is no exception. NBA general managers can't stay in the office all the time. They have too many things to deal with, and sometimes they have to go to the training hall to train with the players to cheer them up.

When it's time for the draft and trades, sometimes it's possible to work all night long, and you won't be able to cope without a good body.

"Mr. Kupchak..."

"Mickey!" Kupchak laughed, "Gatsby, just call me Mickey!"

Gatsby smiled: "OK, Mickey, I'm still a little uneasy to hear that you are looking for me. After all, your past achievements are too brilliant, three championships in the player era, five championships in the general manager era. Champion. This record is really brilliant."

Kupchak laughed and said, "It's fine for others to say that. I can't afford to say that, Gatsby. As the founder of a super dynasty, you are the FMVP of 4 consecutive years. I am too ashamed to say that!"

Kupchak is ashamed to say it, but he is obviously smiling. It seems that he is still very proud of his past achievements.

"Mitch, did you ask us to come over?" Bryant asked.

Gatsby looked at Kupchak.

Kupchak said: "This time we were able to welcome Gatsby to join us. It was really unexpected, and it was too hasty. As a result, we did not have teammates who could match Gatsby. Please come over this time. , just to discuss how to strengthen it. Do you have any helpers you want, I will try my best to work it out."

Kobe glanced at Gatsby and said with a smile: "Just ask Gatsby about this matter, he is good at this matter."

Kupchak was a little surprised. He had never seen Kobe smile so easily. He often heard Kobe talk about Gatsby before, but he could feel Kobe's appreciation for Gatsby. But now he is a teammate and a competitor. , Kobe has no grudges?

Gatsby and Kobe smiled and nodded, thanking him for his trust: "Thank you, Kobe."

Then he turned his head and said to Kupchak: "I came too hastily, it's normal for the team to have no way to react, don't worry about signings, take your time, it is very difficult to win the championship this season, especially in the wild Wild West.

Thunder, Clippers, Spurs, Warriors, Grizzlies, Mavericks, wow!They are not easy to mess with, and it is well known that I have a good eye for people. Now that I have arrived at the Lakers, it is probably not easy for the Lakers to propose a deal with them. "

Gatsby smiled wryly and shook his head: "...so, take your time."

Kupchak has been the general manager for so many years, and has been the general manager of the Lakers from 2000 to now. He doesn't know what will happen after that. He just made a gesture to Gatsby and Kobe: Look, I'm not I’m not looking for help for you, but I’m in trouble!
Now that Gatsby understands it this way, Kupchak can let go of his high-hanging heart. Sometimes the stars are too big, which will indeed put a lot of pressure on the general manager.

Especially someone like Gatsby, who has become famous at a young age, and whose future dominance is even more terrifying, such a person cannot afford to be offended.

"Oh, I want to ask about Steve Nash's contract..." Gatsby asked.

Kupchak explained: "We are going to talk about a buyout with Nash, and our salary space is actually a little tight."

Gatsby nodded. Nash is 40 years old and has been suffering from back injuries. It is normal for the Lakers to want to buy him out to make room.

Gatsby would like to win a championship with Nash, a respectable senior, but Nash is already 40 years old, and his appearance on the court is a loophole.

If the offense can make up for it, it's okay, but the reason of age cannot be ignored. It is simply impossible for the Lakers to win the championship this year.

Can Nash still be relevant next season, when he's another year older and have him come off the bench to win a championship?
Gatsby, Kobe and Kupčić didn't have a good solution after discussing it, so they started to look for it slowly. Anyway, they don't expect to win the championship this season anyway.

After meeting Kupchach, Lakers coach Scott took the initiative to find Gatsby. Gatsby was not very impressed with Scott as a coach, mainly because the Cavaliers he coached before were not really a big threat to the Knicks.

But Gatsby knows the characteristics of Scott as a coach. This coach, like D'Antoni, is a coach who is good at coaching point guards.

Kidd was trained in the Nets, Chris Paul was brought out in the Hornets, and Kyrie Irving became an All-Star in the Cavaliers, but he was criticized a lot.

Some people say that he is a star nanny-type head coach, but his tactical literacy is insufficient;
Some people say that he has vision and can build a lineup based on the core, but the core is whatever level it is.

This statement makes some sense.

In this way, Paul's upper limit is the second round, Irving's upper limit is the lottery, and Kidd's upper limit is the finals. So, what about Gatsby?
But no matter how you say it, Scott has been criticized the most - he has coached more than a thousand regular season games, with a total of 1136 games, ranking No. 20 in history, with a winning percentage of only 41.2%.The most embarrassing thing is that the team he coached only played 57 playoff games.

But Scott, the coach, really has deep research on interpersonal relationships. This time, he praised Gatsby, expressing his joy for Gatsby's coming to the Lakers. His daughter Admiration for Gatsby (who knows if he has a daughter).

As for the expectations for the team's performance, there was nothing practical about it anyway, but Gatsby was quite comfortable listening to it. This flattering skill is really top-notch, no wonder he is called a star nanny type head coach.

Well, actually that's ability too.

This kind of coach may not be very capable, but if he can meet a super player, he can really do great things, especially in a giant team like the Lakers.

Offensive tactics not working?

Come on, the offensive assistants make arrangements.

Defensive tactics are not good?

Come to the defensive assistant to make arrangements.

Come on, Gatsby, sit down and take some time to rest. If you play another 48 minutes, you'll win this game.

Gatsby doesn't care either, as long as he can hold the team together, such a coach is already a good coach. As for tactics, with Gatsby around, he will naturally sort them out. Moreover, with Scott The coach, he is good at doing things.

Gatsby would have a hard time dealing with head coaches who were paranoid and overconfident.

(End of this chapter)