NBA Building Cardinals

Chapter 297 298. Excavating the coaching staff (8000 characters ask for a monthly ticket!)
April 6

Yesterday, Bickerstaff made this call to Liu Rui, and the two talked for a long time on the phone.

Liu Rui believes that the Warriors' invitation will definitely be an opportunity for Bickerstaff.

Because it is also after this year that the Warriors will get better and better.

Although it will not directly rank among the strong teams, but at least it is better than the current record, and there is absolutely no big problem.

Under Liu Rui's dissuasion, Bickerstaff also expressed his enthusiasm for the conditions offered by the Warriors.

After all, Liu Rui's vision is recognized in the Lynx team. Since Liu Rui said that the Warriors will develop in the future, Bickerstaff also decided to give it a try.

If it's a big deal, I'll come back to be a teaching assistant...

And June 6rd is also the time when the first game of the NBA Finals will officially start.

It's just that Liu Rui really can't arouse much interest in this kind of hand-to-hand finals.

Taking advantage of the rest time, I had a good sleep at home, and it was already past ten o'clock in the morning when I woke up.

Liu Rui looked at the date and felt that it was almost the same, so he picked up his mobile phone and made a call.

Beep~beep

"Hey, Coach Liu Rui! You finally called me. I thought you forgot me, but I was afraid that you were busy, so I never dared to call you."

After receiving Liu Rui's call, Stevens on the other end of the phone was very excited.

With the end of the Bobcats playoffs, Stevens has been waiting for Liu Rui's call, but he has not been able to wait for Liu Rui's call.

This made Stevens so anxious that he wanted to pick up the phone several times to call Liu Rui, but he was afraid that something might happen to Liu Rui over there.

During this period of time, it can be said that days are like years.

"Haha, little guy, I said you are too honest. I wondered why you didn't call me. It turns out that you have been waiting for me to call you."

"If there is nothing else, I will come to the team in the middle of this month to go through the entry procedures. After the team drafts at the end of June, I will play the summer league in early July."

"I don't have any interest in this kind of league. When the time comes, your coaching staff can go together to inspect the rookies."

After getting up, Liu Rui walked to the kitchen and took out a glass of milk from the refrigerator.

Drinking a glass of milk after getting up every morning has obviously become Liu Rui's habit.

On the other end of the phone, Liu Rui said to Stevens as he wished.

After all, the summer league is to test rookie players, as well as some expired contract players who have no ball to play.

The annual summer league is generally led by the assistant coaches of each team.

And Liu Rui is still very confident in the newcomer he chooses.

So this league is just a form to help players find out the game status in advance.

Of course, Liu Rui is not interested in this level of competition, not even interested in going to the sidelines to watch the competition.

Because compared to the summer league, after the draft, Liu Rui has more important things to do.

"Ah, that's great. When I actually heard the news, I still felt excited. I really thank you, Coach Liu Rui, for giving me such a chance."

Even though Liu Rui has expressed to Stevens before, next season he will be hired to come to the Bobcats as an assistant coach.

But as the Bobcats played better and better this season, they first defeated the Celtics in the first round, and then brought so much trouble to the defending champion Pistons.

And you know, the Bobcats are just a new team that has been around for a year.

Therefore, more and more people are very optimistic about the future of the Bobcats.

The Bobcats are currently the dream of all rookie players and rookie coaches.

Because big data shows that every rookie player who came to the Bobcats got a very good playing time and played the perfect rookie performance of his career.

With the list of the best rookies announced this season, it can be found that the Bobcats are definitely the best training base for rookies.

So this has also led to the fact that the draft this season has not yet started, which has already made those rookies who are not lottery picks very nervous, nervous about whether they can be selected by the Bobcats.

Because maybe after being selected by teams in other big markets, it can at most increase some exposure.

But after being selected by the Bobcats, he can get a stable playing time. After all, Liu Rui is good at recruiting new players, and it has been completely spread in various NBA forums.

The main players of the entire Bobcats team entered the playoffs last season. Under this level of confrontation, rookies are still the main players. This is the best proof.

"Okay, watch the finals at home for a while, and I will let you write a summary report when you come."

"To sum up why the loser in this year's finals lost, and why the winner won."

"Just take it as a small test for you. Of course, no matter what the final result of this test is, you will definitely be a member of the Bobcats coaching staff next season."

Nestled on the sofa, Liu Rui drank milk, held the phone between his head, and flipped through the magazines in front of him, not knowing what he was reading.

"Okay, I will try my best to write a summary report that satisfies you."

"Okay, let's do this first. Just come to the Bobcats team to apply for employment in the middle of this month. I've already finished the greeting."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Rui picked up the phone book, but he didn't know whose phone he was looking at.

"Hello! Haha, long time no see, Smith. I've been too busy recently. I'm calling you to ask you to do me a favor."

After dialing the phone, Liu Rui seemed to be as casual as an old friend he hadn't seen for many years.

Of course, this Smith is not Smith, the general manager of the Bobcats, but Kenny Smith, the partner of Barkley on TNT commentary radio station.

"Oh my God, I thought you forgot about me after you left my number last time, but I didn't expect to receive your call again, haha."

"Tell me what, you know, I really like the Bobcats, as long as I can help, I will try my best."

Smith has been a Bobcats fan since the middle of the season, after calling out several Bobcats games with Barkley.

Also in an interview, they exchanged phone numbers with Liu Rui.

But both of them have a lot of things to do, and they haven't been in touch since then.

"Haha, don't be so nervous, it's just some small things. I know that the people you are serving as commentators will have contact information, and they have more or less private contacts."

"So, I want to ask you for the contact information of a person. Strictly speaking, he and you are still colleagues, and you both belong to TNT radio station."

"It's just that he should have just arrived here. Its name is Steve Kerr. I want his contact information."

"Of course, if it's convenient, I hope you can call him for me and tell him that I want to talk to him."

Liu Rui knows very well that Cole announced his retirement at the end of the season after winning the championship with the Spurs again in the 02-03 season.

After retiring, Cole became a trainee commentator for the Turner Television Network (TNT).

Now it is with Barkley Smith and others as colleagues, but obviously, the commentator is not very suitable for him.

Cole's goal has always been to serve as the team's coach, but unfortunately, he has never had a good opportunity.

Until 2007, Kerr left the TNT television network and became the general manager of the Phoenix Suns.

But unfortunately, he is obviously not this material, so he can only announce his resignation in 2010.

After resigning, no team offered him a coaching invitation, so he had to return to the post of commentator and stayed there for a few years.

It was not until 2014 that he received an invitation from the Golden State Warriors to become a head coach, and he has been out of control ever since.

And Liu Rui currently wants to poach him in advance. Compared with his potential as a coach, he values ​​Cole's shooting skills more.

For Cole, who likes three-pointers, Liu Rui can not only be placed by his side in advance for training.

His single-handed three-point shooting can greatly improve the players of the Bobcats.

This kind of person is poached as an assistant coach, and it is simply a steady profit.

At the very least, it's much better than people like Brownie and Bickerstaff Jr. who only know how to eat and don't work much.

It is worth mentioning that Bickerstaff Jr. has followed his father and plans to go to the Golden State Warriors together.

Liu Rui has always been a coach who likes three-pointers. The arrival of Cole will definitely help the players a lot with regard to three-pointers.

And his coaching philosophy is also deeply appreciated by Liu Rui. Looking around, Liu Rui chose to win over several teaching assistants.

Whether it's Stevens or Steve Kerr, or Montgomery, these people have one thing in common.

That is, their thoughts are very agile, not restricted by the times, and they are not rigid.

Even Montgomery, the oldest, has always believed in the idea that basketball will play farther and farther in the future.

You know, in this era, how advanced Montgomery's coaching philosophy is.

If it weren't for the fact that his team was so bad, I believe that if Montgomery had a little bit of luck, his achievements would definitely undergo earth-shaking changes.

"Cole?! Of course there is no problem, but I am curious what you are looking for him to do? Wouldn't you want him to come back to play?! God, Cole is already 40 years old!!"

Hearing Liu Rui's words, this matter is nothing to Smith.

But it really surprised Smith, because upon hearing Liu Rui's request, Smith's first reaction was, Liu Rui didn't want Cole to come back, did he? !

You must know that Cole is 40 years old this season. Even if his shooting skills are not reduced, but at the age of 40, his contribution on the court is really minimal.

"Haha, don't think too much about it, I'm just helping him fulfill his dream, how about it, help me draw a line from it."

I ignored Smith's thoughts. After all, as long as two people can make a decision about this kind of thing, then everyone will know in the future.

"Of course, this is simply a small problem. I will call Cole first, and then send his mobile phone number to your text message."

"But Rui, you have to remember, I helped you, and you will owe me a favor in the future."

Although I don't know what this favor will be useful for the time being, Mies obviously won't let go of such an opportunity.

After all, Liu Rui is simply a rising star in the league right now.

What's more, Smith likes Liu Rui's coaching philosophy very much.

"Haha, of course, you can speak up if you have something to do in the future."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Rui, who was in a good mood, found some slices of bread and planned to eat something with milk.

In the past two days, for Liu Rui, I'm afraid he will go out a few times in person.

Because before the draft, even if everyone's eyes are currently focused on the finals.

But in the list Liu Rui made for himself, there are many things he has to do...

Ding~
The voice prompt of the text message on the mobile phone sounded, Liu Rui looked down, and Smith sent himself a series of phone numbers, which must belong to Steve Kerr.

Dial the phone number.

Beep~beep

"Hello, Coach Liu Rui?!"

Obviously, before Liu Rui called, Smith had already called Cole.

Although he didn't know what Smith said to Cole with his big mouth, Liu Rui seemed a little excited when he heard Cole's voice.

Cole is of course excited now, because Liu Rui doesn't know what his current achievements represent.

But for all newcomers who want to be the head coach, Liu Rui is simply a role model for us.

As a coach who has never coached in the NBA, he coached the new team Bobcats in the first year and led the team to the playoffs with the sixth record in the Eastern Conference.

And in the first round, they defeated the Celtics in an upset, and in the second round they played against the defending champion Pistons even more.

Leading the rookie lineup to snatch a victory from the defending champion.

For a rookie head coach, this can be written into a book!

This makes Cole, who wants to step into the coaching industry, admire him.

It's just that he obviously didn't expect that Liu Rui would take the initiative to call to find him! !

"Hello, Steve, yes, I'm Liu Rui, I'm so abrupt with you this time, so I didn't bother you."

"No, no, anyway, I don't have anything to do with the commentary of the finals. I'm also on vacation recently."

"It's just that I didn't expect that you would call me, because the two of us didn't meet before, so I was surprised."

As Cole said, if the Zen master called Cole, although there would be some doubts, Cole would not be too surprised.

After all, Zen Master also coached Cole before.

However, Liu Rui is currently a rising coaching star in the league.

Cole didn't have any contact with him before, so Cole felt a little surprised by Liu Rui's call.

"I have something I want to talk to you about, but before that, I want to ask you a question."

Liu Rui said to the phone with a smile.

"Okay, I don't know what's wrong with you?!"

"Do you want to be a coach, a coach who will be known by everyone in the league in the future."

Liu Rui thought about it, and decided that it would be better to draw a cake for Cole.

Moreover, he was indeed well-known by the alliance in his previous life, and he is not lying about this. With this life by his side, Cole at the same time will only become stronger.

As for whether he still has the opportunity to coach the Warriors, Liu Rui never knows.

"Coach? I always wanted to be a basketball coach, but you know, I didn't have a good chance."

"Popovich told me before that if he had the opportunity, he would pull me into the Spurs' coaching staff, but you know, the Spurs are now in the championship stage, and the coaching staff is very complete."

"So at the moment I don't have the opportunity to get in touch with this aspect."

Hearing Liu Rui's question to himself, although Cole was a little puzzled, he still expressed his thoughts.

After all, for a retired defender.

Being a basketball coach is definitely the dream of more than 80% of people.

So in Cole's view, this is not surprising.

After all, most of these coaches in the league today started as players and took up the post of head coach after retiring.

There are only a handful of academic coaches like Liu Rui who come from wild backgrounds in the entire league.

"That's great. I want to invite you to be a member of the Bobcats coaching staff and serve as my assistant coach. I don't know if you are interested."

"I know, it sounds unbelievable, but I'm not kidding you, and the potential of the Bobcats is currently in your eyes."

"I don't need to say more about my coaching ability. Each of you must have your own evaluation in your heart."

"As for why you found you, I can only say that I like you."

Although Liu Rui is currently younger than Cole, but Liu Rui has been a human being for two lifetimes, and he is still standing at the high point of this matter.

Liu Rui, who has experienced the real Internet era, has come to these chicken soups easily.

What's more, what Liu Rui said was not poisonous chicken soup, but what he said was true.

It's just that saying it like this will make people sound more attractive.

"What? You want me to join your coaching staff, but I don't have any coaching experience before."

"This sounds so crazy to me, you let me digest it first."

Hearing Liu Rui's words, Cole obviously became restless.

For the player coaching industry, in addition to serving as an assistant coach under the leadership of old acquaintances, most people can only start by editing video tapes if there is no relationship.

Most of them are volunteers without salary, and then through their own efforts step by step, they can get the position of assistant coach.

And Cole and Liu Rui can definitely be said to have never met each other before.

At this time, Liu Ruique called Cole and said that he wanted to invite him to join the Bobcats coaching staff.

What kind of team is the Bobcats at present? If we say that last year, the Bobcats were still a newly established team, then this year, the Bobcats have become a rising potential star in this league.

In terms of potential alone, no one will underestimate the Bobcats. After all, this is a team dominated by young players, not to mention that this young team has just made history.

"Haha, I know this sounds crazy, so I hope you can calm down and think about my suggestion."

"Maybe I can't promise you a bright future, but I can only say that with me, at least you can find a job as a head coach in the future."

"This point is my personal promise to you, Liu Rui, and there is a piece of news that you may not know, that is, my assistant coach last season, Bickerstaff, will be the head coach of the Warriors next season."

"And he only stayed by my side for one year. I won't say anything extra. There is only one chance. I hope you can think about it carefully."

"This is my phone number. Before the middle of this month, please call me anytime after you think about it."

Although Liu Rui is sure that Cole will definitely agree to his request, after all, for the current Cole, he absolutely has no better direction in life.

As for the radio station contract, Liu Rui didn't have the slightest worry. Not to mention that Cole is only an intern commentator at present, and the contract has not yet been confirmed.

Except for a few popular commentators like Barkley Smith, most commentators also sign contracts for one to two years.

There are definitely only a handful of people who can really sign a long-term contract, which is the main reason why the home commentators of each team put on some new faces every year.

"Okay, I will definitely think about it, anyway, thank you."

"Because this thing is so crazy to me, maybe I really need to digest it."

"I'll call you when I think about it."

Although Cole really wanted to agree to Liu Rui on the other end of the phone right away, because it sounded too tempting.

This is simply like a person walking on a long road in the dark, when he didn't know the direction, suddenly there was a burst of light in front of him.

Then came out a person I used to envy very much, who took the initiative to lead me to find the direction, which is even more rare than a pie in the sky.

"Okay, then I'll wait for your good news, haha."

Liu Rui, who hung up the phone, seemed to be one thing on his mind again.

Although Cole has not agreed yet, from the tone of his speech, Liu Rui can already be sure that the next step is only a matter of time.

After another matter was resolved, Liu Rui also let out a long breath.

After all, in this offseason, Liu Rui assigned too many tasks for himself. For the first time, he felt that he knew too much after being reborn, and it was also an annoyance...

...............

April 6

Liu Rui woke up early this time for an unprecedented time, and booked a flight ticket for 08:30 in the morning to fly to New York.

And in this offseason, Bickerstaff has decided that he will be the head coach of the Warriors next season.

Also with him was his son Bickerstaff Jr.

So this also led to the fact that Liu Rui and Brommi were left in the small Bobcats coaching staff.

What's even more funny is that Brownmi has always served as a physical coach for the Bobcats.

In other words, he usually only cares about the physical training of the players, so he is the only one left who can really help Liu Rui make suggestions, that is, the legendary polished commander.

Then Smith saw that Liu Rui was too pitiful, and initially expressed that he wanted to transfer the team's scout Sam to the coaching staff to learn from Liu Rui.

When Liu Rui heard this, he quickly waved his hands, although now the coaching staff can be said to go their separate ways.

But Liu Rui is not so shabby yet, he needs to find assistant coaches from scouts.

Although from the use of players, scouts may be more professional than general assistant coaches.

But what Liu Rui needs is someone who can advise him, not someone who can help him employ people.

So during this offseason, when the finals were still underway, Liu Rui had already been busy with his coaching staff non-stop.

Fortunately, the good news is that Cole and Stevens have already been identified as Bobcats' assistant coaches for next season.

These two are also well-known head coaches in later generations, and being able to recruit them for training obviously puts Liu Rui in a very good mood.

I planted a seed and it finally bore fruit...

Especially Stevens, a young man who has shown amazing talent since he was a teenager.

Liu Rui believes that in this life, under his indoctrination, he will definitely become stronger than himself at the same time.

As for whether they will still coach their previous teams in the future, Liu Rui never knows.

And because Bickerstaff will serve as the head coach of the Warriors next season, this also means that Montgomery has completely announced his dismissal.

For Montgomery, Liu Rui has liked it for a long time. After all, in this era, he has the idea of ​​ruling the three-point line, which is obviously very great.

It's just that Montgomery is the godfather of basketball in Ncaa no matter what. Although his journey in Nba was relatively unsuccessful, it will be difficult to get a contract from the Nba team in the future.

But Liu Rui felt that facing such an old man, he still had to show enough respect, so he decided to visit Montgomery again at the last moment.

At this time, the reason why Liu Rui got up early to fly to New York was, of course, to visit the famous coach Wilkens.

As early as during the regular season, when the two teams played against each other, Liu Rui showed great respect to Wilkens.

As the first coach with a thousand victories in NBA history, and also the first coach with a thousand defeats, Wilkens' life can be described as miraculous.

And because of Liu Rui's respect and his playing style on the court, Wilkens also had a good impression of Liu Rui.

It's just that after leaving the contact information, the number of contacts between the two is really limited.

At present, Wilkens has also announced his resignation as the head coach of the Knicks, and several assistant coaches who follow him are all facing dismissal.

As a giant, the Knicks have decided to make a big change to the coaching staff this season, and of course none will be left behind.

No one knows this better than Liu Rui.

In the original historical trajectory, it was also because the Pistons lost to the Spurs in the Finals this season and lost the championship.

So this also led to the dismissal of champion coach Larry Brown.

After Larry Brown left get out of class, it was next year that he took over the giants New York Knicks as the head coach.

And Larry Brown's departure also took away several assistant coaches around him in the past.

Therefore, the entire Knicks can be said to undergo a wave of major changes from coaches to players next year.

The reason why Liu Rui visited Wilkens was of course not to get him out of the mountain again.

After all, even if Liu Rui's current performance is astonishing, it is not enough for this old man to be his assistant, that would be crazy.

The reason why he chose to visit at this time was also because Liu Rui rarely had a break.

During the regular season, Liu Rui actually promised to visit Wilkens. Now that he has time, of course he has to fulfill his promise.

In addition, there is indeed another thing...

Long before boarding the plane, Liu Rui called Wilkens.

Wilkens was also very happy to learn that Liu Rui was coming to New York for a special visit.

After all, for such a retired old man, their enjoyment of life is limited, and they like it even more for a sensible young man like Liu Rui.

Maybe I once told Wilkens that there are too many young people who want to visit, but I don’t know how many people actually visit.

After getting off the plane, Liu Rui took a taxi directly to the address Wilkens gave him.

After getting off the taxi, Liu Rui knew what a real local tyrant was.

Wilkens lived in a single-person villa. Seeing this villa, Liu Rui compared it with the house he rented, and it was like a toilet! !

ding dong~

As Liu Rui rang the doorbell, Liu Rui also adjusted his tie at the door.

And before coming, Liu Rui also bought a lot of things in the supermarket. Of course, Liu Rui didn't know what Wilkens liked, so he also bought some common things such as fruits and tea.

After all, it is really inappropriate to visit empty-handed for the first time.

"You are Mr. Liu Rui, please come in, Mr. Lanny is already waiting for you inside."

After opening the door, a servant who looked like a butler said to Liu Rui.

Seeing this scene, Liu Rui was also amazed in his heart, it is good to be rich...

"Haha, Mr. Lenny, I'm really sorry. I kept saying that I would come to visit you, but there are too many things for the Bobcats this season, and it has been delayed until now."

"I don't know what you like. I just bought some when I came here. I hope you don't mind."

As soon as he entered the door, Liu Rui clearly placed himself in the position of a young basketball player.

After all, the two also met because of basketball, and there is nothing wrong with this.

"Haha, come and buy anything else, I don't lack anything."

"Come on, sit down quickly and try my tea. Since I retired, although I feel that I have a lot of leisure every day, I also feel that this is getting more and more boring."

"I'm already very happy that you can come to visit me, but next time, don't meet outsiders like this. I won't let you in if you want to buy something again, haha."

Hearing the old coach Wilkens' words, Liu Rui also smiled from the bottom of his heart.

Now Wilkens is nearly 60 years old. In his previous life, he only heard that Wilkens had a hot temper when he was coaching on the court.

But in private, he is indeed a very good old man, whether it is in character or in supporting the younger generation, he can be said to be upright.

Seeing you today, Liu Rui at least knows that this is true! !

　The first update, ask for a monthly ticket, ask for a recommendation!
　　Thank you Lumia Brothers for your daily rewards and support!grateful!
　　Thank you Umbrella Yongyan Brothers for your support!grateful!

　　Thank you Shuhuangyi Brothers for your support!grateful!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)