On August 23, 2014, the three-way trade between the 76ers, the Timberwolves and the Cavaliers was officially concluded. Love officially became a Cleveland Cavaliers

On September 25, the NBA preseason training camp for the new season officially began. Frank. Vogel became the continuation of Henson. After Joe, another Pacers coach was promoted from assistant coach to head coach. At the same time, it was also the first time in six years that the Pacers had won a game without Henson. Joe's case to start pre-season camp.

On October 28, the new NBA season officially began. Ahead of the opening game of the Pacers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pacers hosted a championship ring ceremony at home, while also hoisting the third NBA championship pennant to the bankers' living arena dome.

It is worth mentioning that the legendary coach of the Pacers, Henson. Joe was not present. According to the official Pacers, the ring will be sent directly to Henson's residence. The reason is, Henson. Qiao Wanyan declined the invitation to attend.

After 48 minutes, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost by five points to the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers fans cheered that the Pacers were able to defeat the Eastern Conference upstarts in the first game of the new season, which undoubtedly means that the Pacers are still dominant. But Bird couldn't laugh, he knew it well. Winning the opener is not the same as winning the entire season......

No Henson. Joe's new season has just begun, and the league doesn't seem to be affected, but only the Pacers know how much of an impact Henson's departure will have.

Until the end of December, Larry. Bird is still busy. Injuries, dressing room fixtures and a drop in results have put a lot of pressure on Bird. Since cutting Jim. After O'Brien straightened Henson, Bird hadn't been so busy in years.

Today, for example, he just appeased Jimmy, who always complains about not playing enough minutes. Butler, before he could catch his breath, was notified by Pritchard that someone was visiting.

"If it's a journalist, let him fuck off! I don't want to be bothered by anyone right now! Hearing that someone was coming, Bird did not respond angrily.

"Then if this person is Henson. What about Joe? ”

"What did you say!?" The angry expression on Bird's face was swept away, but the magic of surprise appeared on his face in an instant.

Henson. Joe, how long has it been since I've heard that guy's name?

※※※

In the afternoon, the skies in Indianapolis were overcast. In December, the weather is always not good, after all, the coldest season is coming. The overcast sky was like Bird's mood right now.

Today, though, Bird's mood was slightly better. Across from him sat a guy who always made him feel good.

"Damn, your kid seems to have evaporated from the world in the past six months! Can't you turn on your phone often? What kind of letter do you always write? Bird pulled the humidor out of his suit bag and took out a cigar and handed it to the man across from him.

The man's hair was very long, and it was all combed back with oil. He grew a beard that made him look a few years older. But this guy is not young now, just two months ago, he just celebrated his 35th birthday. But as a manager, 35 years old is really jealously young.

"I don't smoke, Bird. You know, I've been quitting cigars for a long time. The man waved his hand and looked curiously around the office, both familiar and unfamiliar.

"Come on Henson, Anjiali is not here, what are you afraid of." Bird smiled evilly, and Henson noticed that the guy had more wrinkles than before. You don't have to think about it to know that it's because Bird has a lot more to worry about this season.

"Forget it, I won't smoke when she's not there. Remember what I told you? The next time I take the cigar you handed me, it's time for me to return. In other words, I'll never smoke a cigar again in my life. ”

Bird smiled wryly, retracted the hand that handed the cigar, and lit himself.

"What? The team is not in good shape? Henson asked knowingly, as he had already had a cursory look at the Pacers' situation before visiting Bird.

"yes, not so good. Leonard suffered an injury in training camp before the start of the season and only returned a few days ago. Paul has another ankle problem and has been off for five games. George has just returned from injury, and training with the U.S. national team this summer has left his ankle extremely vulnerable. As for Jimmy. Butler...... I had just finished talking to the kid and he seemed to be running out of patience and he thought he should go to a team with more chances than waste time on the bench at the Bankers' Living Arena. Sucks, Henson. Everything has been terrible since you left. So far this season, we haven't had a couple of games with a full line-up. Injuries, contract extensions, negative emotions for players...... All the problems seemed to explode all at once. ”

"yes, it sucks......" Henson didn't know what to say, so he could only echo him. He knew very well that he would leave a lot of mess with his departure. Because Vogel is a "pure" coach, he has a knack for coaching the game, but not so much for other things.

However, Henson knew that Bird would take care of all this, so he was relieved to recommend Vogel as a pure head coach. It's just that for now, it seems that Bird can't handle so much trouble.

"You...... Not planning to come back? Or are you just here to catch up with me? Where have you been in the past six months? What did you do? Oh my God, it's been a long time since we've gotten together to talk. Bird had forgotten those troubles for a while, and he was in a good mood to be reunited with Henson today, and he didn't want to spoil it.

"In the past six months, I've been in Brazil, in Paris, in Italy, and I've been to many places with Angeli. I invested in BodyArmor sports drink, injected $6 million, and bought a 10% stake. I started learning to do business, and I started trying to develop in another field. You know, BodyArmor had sales of $3 million in 2012. But since Kobe Bryant became a shareholder last year, sales have increased 10 times in an instant. In my opinion, this emerging energy drink has a lot of potential. That's what I've been doing for the last six months, Bird. By the way, and most importantly, Anjiali and I have already planned our wedding. In fact, I'm here today to deliver invitations to you and others. ”

"Married? yes, you're 35 years old, and it's time to get married. It looks like you've had a great time in the past six months, Henson. But you haven't answered my question yet, aren't you going to come back? If you don't want to be a head coach, I can give you a position as general manager. You don't have to coach the game yourself, you just have to control the general direction of the team with me. Bird didn't ask Henson when or where the wedding would take place.

Now, all he wants is Henson to come back.

But Henson's answer made Bird despair, "Thank you for your kindness, Bird, but I'm already retired." And as I said, I'm not really fit for the kind of job where I sit in an office and drink coffee. I like to take control of my team personally, from the big picture to the small details. So, I had to do the job of a manager. It doesn't matter, even without me, we'll always get out of this mess, won't we? ”

Bird sighed, the twisted melon is not sweet, and he has no reason to force others to join. So, he regained his sense of normalcy and talked to Henson about family rather than work.

"When are you going to get married?"

"June '15, half a year to go, Bird."

"Where?"

"It's in Indianapolis, it's my hometown, after all."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Others will find out right away, but I don't want this to be known to journalists. It's a private party, you know? ”

"Well, I see what you mean. Don't worry, Henson, I'll be on time for your wedding. June? By then, the season should have ended. Bird looked at the overcast sky, not knowing when the weather would get better.

"When the time comes, there should be an answer to what the Pacers will become." Henson laughed.

"If there is a serious problem with the team by then, will you come back?" Bird asked Henson this question for the third time today.

Henson looked out the window and saw that the clouds were gradually dispersing, and a faint glimmer of sunlight was shining down. He didn't answer, but got up directly.

"I've got to get an invitation to someone else, Bird."

"Then I'll take you by default?" The corners of Bird's mouth curled.

"I didn't say yes, Bird. Remember to come to the wedding, when the time comes, we can have a few drinks. I'll go first, and I'll talk about it later. ”

"Well, there are always endless possibilities for things that haven't happened yet, aren't they? This sentence is Chris. Paul told me. ”

The two men stared meaningfully at each other for a few seconds.

"Gone!" Henson waved his hand, got up and walked out of Bird's office, closing the door.

He looked at the invitation in his bag, but he didn't dare to go to the training ground. Because just now, his heart was almost shaken......