At around 8 p.m. on June 27, the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington was unusually crowded, not with patients, but from the media in Washington and elsewhere, as well as Celtic celebrities who came from far and wide.

In Ward 1301, the originally spacious room suddenly became crowded, and there were all former basketball superstars who were more than 2 meters tall standing in it - Bill Russell from Louisiana, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Tom Heinsohn who flew in from Boston, Danny Ainge, Dave Cowens, Jojo White, Siegfried from New York, Robert Parish from Chicago, and KC Jones and Dennis Johnson on the road. It can be said that in addition to the managers and coaches of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Don Nelson, the other famous players in Celtic history have either come or are on the way.

Auerbach wanted an emperor who was dying, and at the end of his life, he would gather together those heroes who had accompanied him in his immortal deeds and announce his will. But Auerbach didn't say anything, he just chatted with Russell next to his bed, asked Havlicek to pour himself a glass of water, told White to open the window to breathe, and finally asked Danny Ainge to explain the team's trade decision in the draft.

As soon as it was mentioned, the whole ward exploded, and the green-blooded old Celts began to chatter.

'I think Milicic is a good guy, he's still young, he's very talented, and what's more great than developing a great centre-forward? I don't like this deal, not at all! Tom Heinsohn said in his loud voice that although he is not a high player in the older generation of the Celtics, just a Hall of Fame, not a top 50, he has a high reputation with the Celtics and is also a close confidant of Auerbach. So in front of Auerbach has always dared to speak.

Tom Heinsohn was also a staunch draft picker in the trade dispute, believing that the Celtics should seize the opportunity to bolster with rookies and achieve the same results they did when they selected Bird, winning both a championship and a future.

"And Garnett's salary this year is said to be 28 million, oh my God, if I knew that I could get so much money playing ball, I wouldn't have retired." Havlicek handed Auerbach the water and joked so much that the room burst into laughter. Havlicek did not pursue a career in basketball after retiring, and at the same time, he disappeared from the public eye for a time, living an ordinary life.

However, although Havlicek has no actual position with the Celtics, he still has a high prestige, and when he was with the Celtics, Heinsohn was his coach, and the two added two championship trophies to the Celtics in the 70s, so they have a deep mentor-apprentice relationship, and Havlicek must support Heinsohn in his position.

The two bigwigs bluntly criticized Anji's transaction, Anji didn't say anything and made it difficult in his heart, to be reasonable, Anji agreed with this deal 10,000, take Walker plus some miscellaneous fish, plus a rookie who doesn't know the future, to change to an MVP-level super inside, which is an unavoidable opportunity in the current NBA. Giving up such an opportunity in favor of so-called tradition can only lead to the continuation of the Celtics' crownless experience.

But in front of the two big guys, there are some things that Anji can't say. Several other people, such as Sigfried and Cowens, also supported the trade, but Sigfried was not qualified enough, he did not even retire the jersey, Cowen is Havlicek's younger brother, and he did not dare to speak out against it. Now only two top veterans left are Bill Russell and Bob Cousy, who are qualified to speak.

However, the two don't seem to want to get involved in the dispute, and although they support Fox Leon in their hearts, that doesn't mean they also support the trade.

And the real arbiter Auerbach took a sip and didn't speak, he continued to ask Angie: "Danny, tell me how you got this deal done, how did the Timberwolves send Garnett?" McHale has always treated him like a baby. ”

This question stopped Angie, in Madison he can take care of the details and he prevaricate, but here, there is no way to hide, so Angie can only tell the truth honestly, he said: "I just completed the final operation of the transaction, and all the previous foreshadowing work was done by Fox Leon." He started preparing more than a year ago. ”

As soon as Angie's words came out, Hayne Thorne sneered at first, as if he was laughing at Angie, such a big deal for him, the president of the team, was not the leader. Havlicek seemed intrigued, wondering how the Celtics' new Finals coach had poached one of the league's highest-paid players.

"Where is Leon? Let him come! Auerbach said to Angie. Angie also felt very strange, he called yesterday and clearly said that he was in Washington, but now he is missing. He called Leon, who said he would be there within five minutes.

When Leon showed up like a gym teacher in a room full of Hall of Fame's 1301 ward, wearing a green T-shirt and jeans, he felt for the first time a tremendous pressure on his face, even more than the suffocating pressure he had felt a month earlier before the Finals. For a second, Leon regretted that he had agreed to Auerbach's suggestion.

The reason why Auerbach woke up and told Leon not to inform his family was to wait for this opportunity today to get all the Celtic celebrities together, and then tell Jean-Fox Leon that he was the true heir of Auerbach, and no matter who it was, he should not have an opinion on Leon's decision.

This regret only lasted for a second, Leon walked to Auerbach's hospital bed, gave the old man a kiss, Auerbach patted Leon on the shoulder and said to him: "Everyone knows that Kevin Garnett was traded to the Celtics, and everyone is very interested in knowing how you completed this 'Lakers-style' trade." ”

Auerbach's words made the people in the room smile again, the so-called Lakers-style trade is because the Lakers have always been good at robbing super insiders, from Chamberlain to Abdul-Jabbar to O'Neal, this time the Celtics got Garnett, which is a typical Lakers-style trade.

Leon looked up at the room full of old men, all of whom had a lot of experience in basketball, and Leon knew this was a great opportunity for him. In Boston, no matter what he led the team to, he was never considered a pure Celtic in his bones.

Although in the past two days or so, Leon has almost broken his legs, worn out his mouth, and used all the connections he can use, coercion and temptation, and pushed everything in the unseen.

Leon has already figured out that he will not be the so-called pure Celtic, even if he wins the championship. His experience meant that he would not be able to enjoy the glory that he had since been a player in the same way as those famous people. It's just that here, he's going to tell them that in this era, in the 21st century, in the whole new NBA world, a pure Celtics can no longer add honor to this team, they need to change, they need revolution.

"It all started after the 2000 Minnesota Draft...... Leon said calmly, telling the story.

In fact, it has been a full three years since the deal was conceived and realized. (To be continued.) )