basketball player

Chapter 35 035 Unexpected Candidates

The NBA regular season is over, and the fierce playoffs are starting again.But like the previous three years, the Pacers have entered the holiday state after the regular season.For four consecutive years, the Pacers have failed to make the playoffs. Since Bird took office, this is the second consecutive year that the team has been shut out of the playoffs.

Of course, Bird didn't get nothing this season.At least he really saw the potential in Holiday, and saw the miracle of winning 14 in the last 10 games.Most importantly, he saw a perfect head coach candidate.

After the regular season, the Pacers got the tenth overall pick in the draft lottery.The Pacers' performance in recent years is indeed very embarrassing. They are always just one step away from the playoffs, and high draft picks often have little to do with them.This level of position makes it impossible for the Pacers to select super rookies and attract big-name stars to join.

This is the reason why many teams now choose to play badly directly, because this uneven pick is really not good for reconstruction.

This year's No. 10 pick is better than last season's No. 13 pick, but honestly, it's not much better.John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, the Kentucky twins, certainly won't be able to land in Indianapolis.And the chances of the top picks in this year's draft, Evan Turner, Greg Monroe, Wesley Johnson and others, falling to the tenth pick are extremely slim.

This kind of draft pick is the most test of the team's ability, because it means that you have to pick a real talent among a bunch of not-so-special talents in college.They selected Holiday with the No.13 pick last year, and this season, under the guidance of Henson, the Pacers are targeting Paul George, a sophomore from the NCAA Division II.

Henson and Silas had noticed George from the start of the season.And when Henson became the official assistant coach of the team, Silas also continued to send George's game video to Henson.So for Paul George, Henson can be said to know this guy like the back of his hand.

In this year's joint trial training, Paul George's quality is indeed satisfactory.Next to Daniel Granger, he can be a very good "3D" player, just filling the Pacers' weakness at the second position.

Of course, in addition to allowing Granger and George to coexist, Bird also proposed an idea, that is, use Daniel Granger and Paul George to trade the Nets star center Brook Lopez, but this idea was strongly opposed by Henson.

First, Granger must not move now.He is the pinnacle of the locker room, with both qualifications and strength. If he leaves, the entire Pacers team will lack a leader.The veterans have no leadership qualities, and the young people have too little qualifications.Looking at what the team was like without Granger the season just passed, Henson was afraid to try again.

Second, Henson firmly believes that Paul George will become a better player than both Granger and Lopez.

"He will be more than just an All-Star!" This is what Henson repeatedly emphasized in front of Bird.

Can a small star in the secondary league surpass the NBA All-Star level?Bird would laugh wryly if anyone else said that.But if Henson says that, Bird will have to think twice.

The joint workout is in full swing, and what is unusual is that the reporters did not find Pacers coach Jim O'Brien in this joint workout.

The people leading the team are Henson and Frank Vogel, and Jim O'Brien was photographed by reporters on vacation in Hawaii.

It's not unusual for the team's head coach not to come to the joint trial training site in person. Do you think Phil Jackson has time to come to this poor place to watch young people play?

But the Lakers are a championship team, and they don't have too many tasks in the draft, so there is no need for "Zen Master" to worry about it.The Pacers are different. The more awkward the pick is, the more it needs everyone to work together to find the most suitable players.It turned out that O'Brien was on vacation like a champion coach, while the two assistant coaches were busy.

O'Brien thought at first that Bird didn't need to operate the draft himself, but later he discovered that things didn't seem to be that simple.It's more like I was left alone, completely set aside from basketball affairs!
Looking at the golden beach and the blue sky in front of him, O'Brien suddenly lost his mood.Could it be that he won 14 of the last 10 games last season and still didn't impress Bird?
Bird is not stupid. He knows exactly who to attribute the Pacers' excellence in the last moments of last season.It cannot be said that O'Brien has no credit at all, but his contribution is definitely not as great as Henson's!
And after this season, the three-year period Donny Walsh promised to O'Brien also expired.In three years, O'Brien did nothing but bring three embarrassing picks to the Pacers.

While O'Brien was still sitting under the coconut tree thinking, his cell phone rang suddenly.

O'Brien saw Bird's name on the caller ID, and his mood fell to the bottom instantly.

"Bird. Is everything going well in the joint trial training?" O'Brien's voice was trembling slightly. In fact, his whole body was trembling slightly now.

At first he thought that Bird didn't let him handle the draft because he didn't need to do it himself, but now after receiving this call, he seemed to understand everything.

Larry Bird also made this decision after discussing with his assistant Pritchard for a long time. He gave O'Brien enough time for three years, which is considered as the most benevolent.

"I'm sorry, Jim, you're out." Bird originally thought of a lot of pleasantries, but once the phone call was made, Bird didn't want to talk any more nonsense in an instant.

O'Brien's head suddenly buzzed. It wasn't the first time he had been fired, but it had never been so sudden.

Seeing that O'Brien didn't speak for a long time, Bird continued, "Last night and this morning, I had a long meeting with the senior management. We agreed that the team's performance did not meet expectations, and there seemed to be some problems with the team's construction. After discussion and consideration, the management decided to change the head coach."

Bird's words are simple and clear, but very cruel.O'Brien knew that if Byrd talked about this, it meant that there was no room for reversal in this matter.

Everything happened so fast, a few minutes ago, O'Brien was still enjoying his sunny vacation.But now, he has become the one who was eliminated, becoming the first person to be eliminated this year!

"So, everything will be handed over to Frank Vogel from now on!?" O'Brien obviously couldn't accept the reality yet, and asked loudly in surprise.Vogel's strength is very clear to O'Brien, but he really can't accept that his assistant coach has replaced him.

O'Brien seems to have forgotten that he himself also started his head coaching career as an assistant coach after defeating the famous coach Rick Pitino, who was a great success in the NCAA but struggled in the NBA.

This is the professional rule of the coaching circle!
Although being pushed by Vogel made O'Brien a little angry, Vogel was brought out by himself anyway.Unexpectedly, what Bird said next made O'Brien even more unacceptable.

"No, Frank is still the team's assistant coach. The person who will take over your position is Henson Joe."

It is not difficult for Bird to imagine that O'Brien must be speechless now.

(End of this chapter)