best shooting guard

Chapter 18
San Antonio, Texas.

As night fell, it was raining lightly.

The holy city is not a particularly prosperous metropolis, nor is it a remote small city. As the second largest city in Texas, it is low-key, restrained, and inconspicuous.

Like the style of this city, the San Antonio Spurs are also a low-key, luxurious and connotative team. This team has no lace news, no trade gimmicks, and some only have the public impression of "the Spurs are very old" and a "multiple" team. The white-haired coach Gregg Popovich, who is wise but close to the demon, oh, Chinese fans may prefer to call him "Zhuge Weiqi".

However, it is such a calm, calm, and unobtrusive team that quietly won 20 NBA championships in the first ten years of the 21st century at the end of the 4th century. The championship in odd-numbered years was won by the Spurs and became a special "dynasty team". The current leader of the team is Tim Duncan, who has been stable for more than ten years and has reached the retirement age. The man, using ordinary and well-used techniques to support the backbone of the Holy City, is like a dark iron epee, the epee has no front, and it is very clever.

Maybe this is a great team in the ordinary, only those unreliable advertising videos can make people complain. There is a comment that says it well, the Spurs are a group of comedians and artists who are delayed by playing.

If you don't believe me, go and watch the video yourself.

Ahem, that's a long way off, let's get back to the topic.

On the streets of the holy city, the street lights are on, dotted with this ordinary city. Seen from a distance through the rain and fog, it seems a little more mysterious.

In an inconspicuous corner of the student commercial street in front of the University of Texas, an old-fashioned wooden van parked there quietly.

This kind of cart is not common in the United States, because it comes from Japan, where it is called "yatai cart" and is specially designed for ramen chefs walking around the streets.The windows are opened to form a rain shed. A few wooden benches are placed under the shed. The extended part of the window sill forms a narrow table. The guests sit on the wooden benches and eat with the noodles on the window sill. The ramen chef is in the car. You can also chat with people on the windowsill.It is really "although the sparrow is small and complete", the soup pot and various ingredients are stacked neatly on the chopping board. After the guests sit down, the dark curtain is lowered to cover their upper body, leaving only the legs and the wooden stool exposed. , it seems to create a private space from a distance.Of course, the taste of the ramen in this kind of car is not as good as compared with those in the store, but it is still passable, and here you can not only eat noodles, but also drink some wine. The most important thing is that here The price is very cheap, and it is the favorite of poor students at the University of Texas.Somewhat strangely, the owner of this Japanese ramen stand is an old American man. The old man has been operating here for more than ten years and has a good reputation, but almost no one knows his name, and he didn't tell others his name.

"Boss, come for a bowl of noodles, just like yesterday!" The curtain moved, and a handsome young man came in. He didn't notice that there was already a guest here, an old man with white hair in a suit.

The old man was wearing a neat black suit, his gray hair was neatly combed, and he wore big sunglasses on his face, making it difficult for people to see his appearance clearly.

The young man also noticed the old man at this time, smiled apologetically, and then quickly changed his words, "Boss, I packed my noodles."

After all, those who want to sit and eat here hope to have a private environment. Since there are already people here, it is better to leave early, so as not to spoil their interest, especially an old man.

The boss quickly packed the noodles for the boy, and the boy thanked him after paying and left. Only the boss and the old man were left in the small trolley.

"How long do you want to sit here with me?" The boss tidied up briefly, and sat behind the counter facing the old man. "My customers are scared away by you."

"Hehe, you don't welcome old friends." The old man smiled and asked back.

"Friends are friends, business is business, why don't you just sit here?" The boss rolled his eyes and pushed back.

"Okay, whiskey, this is it."

The boss handed over a bottle of whiskey and a plate of bacon by the way.

"It's still this kind of bacon, I miss it very much." The old man was not polite, picked up a piece and gnawed it.

"Your taste hasn't changed since graduation, Greg." The boss picked up a bottle of Japanese sake, poured himself a glass and drank slowly.

"Well, this reminds me of the old days." The old man took off his glasses and revealed his true face. It was none other than Popovich, the head coach of the Spurs.

"Every time you are idle and bored, you will come to my place. You come here for half a day. Every time you come, these children dare not sit and eat and chat with me by the way. I can only look at you, an old man."

"Hmph," Popovich sneered, "You want to strike up more conversations with female students, you're still so unruly at your age."

"Greg, you have to speak responsibly, do I look like that kind of person?" The boss was a little dissatisfied.

"You, you are not like that, you are that kind of person." Popovich took a drink. "You chose to go to Japan to serve in the military after you graduated, didn't you just want to see Japanese women, and you also learned the kung fu of hand-pulled noodles."

"Hmph, you thought I was you, and I was doing research on the Soviet Union." The boss was very disdainful. Unemployed. Like me, how happy I have been in Japan for so many years, especially the Japanese girls, tsk tsk, it’s really unforgettable.”

"Humph" Popovich ignored him and continued to drink. The boss didn't want to bicker for a while. The sudden silence between the two made the atmosphere in the car instantly awkward.

"You, have you watched this game?" After a long time, Popovich said, "The wine is gone, open another bottle for me."

"You mean the NCAA finals?" The boss nodded, "Look, it's not bad." Passed a bottle of wine, "Drink you to death."

"Oh, let me ask you, what do you think of that Chinese kid?" Popovich poured himself another drink very rudely.

"That Chinese kid? He's not a bad player. He's very smart. I can see that he still has some problems with his movement coordination, and he hasn't let go completely. But he didn't deliberately do some exaggerated movements, but used the simplest and most effective In this exaggerated age, there are not many people who are down-to-earth.”

"I like that kid," Popovich said slowly.

"But I don't think it's possible to get him with your team's draft pick." The boss said slowly.

"At what stage do you think he'll be drafted?" Popovich asked with interest.

"Although this Chinese kid played a few games from March Madness to the finals during his college years, he played dominant statistics in these games, and even staged a lore in the final game. It is enough to attract the attention of most people." The boss said unhurriedly, "Although there is no physical test data, judging from the fact that this kid was able to dunk two big men in the finals, this kid's physical fitness is absolutely perfect. How could a kid with such skill and body fall behind in the draft?"

"But he is Chinese." Popovich asked suddenly.

"So what? It's even better if you are Chinese. There is a large market. Do you think there is any manager who will have trouble with money? Although there is no lottery this year, I can be sure that you will not be able to win him with your pick."

"Actually, I think so too." Popovich put down the bottle, "Tell me, if I trade for a high draft pick, will I have a chance?"

"Are you serious?" The boss put down his glass and asked seriously. "Is he worth it to you?"

Popovich nodded, but said nothing.

"I remember you saying that to me in 1996, when you saw that Wake Forest flying devil, which is now your No. 21 big man. He was a very good player. , a superstar, you said you wanted to get him, but you failed for a year and almost got fired. Later, you successfully selected him in 1997, and the results later proved that you were right. This big man is very powerful. Bring you There are 4 championships, and now 16 years have passed, the second time you say this to me, can I understand that you are bound to win this kid?" The boss cut a cigar and lit himself" The Flying Devil back then was the one who proved himself, and this time, although the performance of this magical boy is dominant in these few games, can you guarantee that he will be stable for more than ten years? Besides, last time you Looking at Tim, at least you made preparations a year in advance, so what about this time? The draft physical test and lottery are about to come. Where do you want to change to the top draft pick? You are not afraid that you will be mistaken this time. gone?"

"I trust my eyes, and I trust your judgment. Since you have watched this Chinese kid's game, tell me, should I choose him?" Popovich also took out a cigar and lit it. stand up.

"He and Tim are not in the same style." The boss didn't answer directly. "Besides, didn't you already find a successor last year? The No. 15 rookie who was traded."

"Tim has Manu and Tony. These three have been with me for a long time, but they will eventually grow old. It is time to plan for the future. Kawhi (the official translation of Leonard's name seems to be Kawhi, Kawhi, but Everyone prefers to call him Kawaii) has great potential, but I think he cooperates well with China Qinhui, one for defense and one for offense."

"You want that kid to be Michael? Kawhi to be Scottie?"

"I'm not Phil, he only likes to use superstars, I like to create superstars, and I think that if Qin can partner with Kawhi, they have a great possibility to surpass Michael and Scotty." Popovich seems to be determined determined.

"So, how do you want me to help you?" The boss suddenly became interested in making his old friend so caring. This kid must have his own advantages. My old friend is definitely not just watching the video a few times For a person who decides such a big event, it seems that this matter is a bit interesting.

"I'll let you know. See you then." Popovich took the last sip of wine, put on his sunglasses, picked up the hat on the table and put it on his head, turned around and opened the curtain to leave.

"Hmph, I don't pay for the wine." The boss complained, heating a pot of sake for himself on the small stove. It has become a habit in Japan for too long.

It would be interesting if the wonder boy from Kansas could be recruited by an old friend.

The boss grinned and smiled silently, his smile buried in the smell of boiling alcohol.

(End of this chapter)