The work of convincing Sigfred was eventually completed, and Leon received a promise from Sigfried that he would report to the team before the Celtics training camp began, before he had to complete his original job handover and take a little time to re-learn basketball-related things.

Siegfried is just a small part of Leon's overall plan for the summer, and he is determined to build a strong, cohesive and practical coaching team for the Celtics. Over the past two decades, as the game of basketball has become more complex, head coaches can no longer do as much as they did in the '60s, and there are many details that need to be solved by the team and assistants. An excellent support team can even be decisive for the success or failure of a coach.

Leon realized this when he was an assistant coach himself, and he provided Carroll with a huge boost, and now he needs a strong support team. Normally, NBA teams have a steady line of two or three assistant coaches, usually two, one offensive and one defensive, but Leon decided to expand his assistant coaching team and increase the reserve to five.

There are five assistant coaches, one in charge of offense, one in charge of defense, one is the basic technical coach of the players, one is in charge of the physical fitness of the players, and the last one is dedicated to teaching the players to shoot.

Sigfried was Leon's shooting coach, a sixties shooter with a wealth of experience in shooting drills, and while he hadn't really worked in basketball for nearly three decades, Auerbach trusted the stubborn, competitive old man to do the best he could.

Leon was hesitant to accept Auerbach's recommendation, after all, Sigfried lived in the NBA era that was a bit far away, and he did not work as a basketball coach after he retired.

But Sigfried's background in a correctional facility attracted Leon, especially his experience in counseling, and Leon's instincts told him that the Celtics were a team full of young men with strong blood and eccentric bad boys. There is a need for such an assistant coach with special discipline experience.

Sigfried has about two months left to get ready to become a shooting coach, and Leon is on his way to his next goal. The day after convincing Sigfried, Leon and Morey left Mansfield and returned to Cleveland, where they made a short stop and bought a flight to Denver, Colorado. This time their aim is to recruit a good strength and conditioning coach for Celtic.

"Steve Hess, the strength and conditioning coach of the Denver Nuggets, doesn't seem like anything special, and has been with the Nuggets for about three or four years, so why bring him in as a strength and conditioning coach?" Darryl Morey always has a bit of a problem in front of León, but of course this time it's not the same as last time. At least he knew who Leon was targeting, and what he had in his hand was this personal resume called Steve Hess.

The two of them arrived in Denver at eight o'clock in the mountain time, and it was completely dark in Denver, a city that sits on the Colorado Plateau, the night sky is particularly clear, and the bright moon hangs next to the giant building in the center of the CBD. Leon loved the city of Denver, its magnificent snow-capped mountains, its atmospheric urban construction, and its warm, rustic citizens. All of them make Leon feel that this is a city completely different from the Atlantic region. But tonight, he's here to take one of their men.

Instead of choosing to find accommodation first, Leon took Morey directly into a taxi and went straight to a health club called "Floza". This club is exactly where Steve Hess works. When the two arrived, the club had just finished its business day and was about to close, and the front desk staff saw Leon and Morey walk in and kindly reminded them that business was over.

"We're here to find Mr. Steve Hess. There are some important things to talk to him about. Leon said to the young lady.

"Mr. Hess practiced inside, and at the end of each day he would practice alone for more than an hour, and he didn't like to be disturbed. I think you have something important to do, so come back tomorrow......" The front desk pointed to the private training room inside, and said to Leon and Morey.

"Tomorrow? The club may not be open tomorrow...... I'll wait for him here. Leon couldn't help but sit on a sofa, and the front desk lady had no choice but to run and pour Leon and Morey two cups of coffee, and muttered, "We are open all year round......"

Perhaps Hess heard what Leon said, and after a while, he came out of the training room.

Hess wasn't too tall, a little shorter than Leon, but he was very strong, with thick arms and a broad body like a Colorado bison. He had a Mohican hairstyle, wore a yellow tight tank top, looked aggressive, and stood in front of Leon and Morey, who were both a little intimidated by this guy.

"You're Fox Leon! I know you, the assistant coach of the Celtics, are now the head coach. I don't know what wind blew you here, do you want to come here to work out in the summer? Hess recognized Leon, who was also a member of the Denver Nuggets and was familiar with the coaches of various teams.

"Hello, Hess. Thank you for the coffee at your club, I'm here for the simple reason of inviting you to Boston to be a strength and conditioning coach for the Celtics. Leon was as direct as ever, without the slightest bit of mud and water, and said what he meant. Morey looked a little worried on the sidelines, and he was never used to Leon's super simple and rough negotiation style. Now he was afraid that Hess would directly outburst and knock the two out of the club.

In fact, Morey doesn't have to worry at all, even if he fights, Hess, as a fitness and fitness coach, can't be Leon's opponent, not to mention that Hess is not a fool, although he shook his head and said "NO" in his mouth, but it can be seen that he still wants to hear the conditions given by Leon. After all, Hess had come all the way from Boston, and Hess didn't believe that Leon would leave without quoting his price.

Leon took out a cash check from the Bank of America from the briefcase beside him, then took out a black carbon pen and a small stamp box, then spread out the check, wrote a number on it, and then took out the seal in the seal box, carefully stamped a seal on it, and handed it to Hess.

Hess frowned, it seemed that he didn't like Leon's style very much, he didn't take the check at all, and there was a disdainful expression on his face.

Leon didn't show any expression, he took back the check and put it on the table, took out another cash check, wrote the same number on it, stamped it, and this time he folded the two checks together and handed them to Hess.

Hess was still unmoved, but his face was no longer disdainful, and he seemed to have some anticipation, because Leon had already pulled out the third check. Morey on the side was a little stunned, and he didn't know where Leon got so many Bank of America checks, and he also brought his own personal seal. Each check bears the signature of the team's owner, Cross Peck.

When Leon took out the sixth check, Hess finally spread his hands, tilted his head and said, "Okay, okay, I still want to talk seriously about the conditions in words, not the checks, although money is important, but sincerity is equally important." ”

Leon didn't take back the sixth check he took out, but continued to fill it out, and then handed it to Hess along with the previous five and said, "This is the salary that was paid in advance for the new season, buy your family a house to settle down, you can continue to put your home in Denver, but you need to go to Boston to work." Every month the team will give you the day off to come back here, and if we have back-to-back away games, you don't need to follow and you can choose to go back to Denver. None of that matters to us, it's important that you come to work at Celtic and have the best impact on our youngsters. ”

Hess accepted the six checks that Leon had handed her, but she still had some questions, questions about why she chose him, and why she paid such a high price. After all, in the NBA, he wasn't much of a great trainer and didn't have a good reputation.

Leon smiled and said, "Chris Anderson had a brief period in Denver, and then he talked about team training and told me that he was ten times better physically trained in Denver than he was in Boston. Then I noticed you, Mr. Steve Hess, and you know I still have quite a few friends in the league. You were born in South Africa, you have loved fitness since you were a child, you have been adrift in many countries in Africa and the United States, and finally you met your lover in Denver and got a good job. I think it's great, it's great, and I don't want to disturb your good life, but you are the person we need, and you can have a better development and greater fame in the basketball world. I heard that when your lover married you, you only had three hundred dollars on you, well, now it's time to repay him, wouldn't it be good to let this day come sooner? ”

Hearing these words, Hess understood that it seemed that Leon had been eyeing him for a long time, but he was not angry, and it was not a bad thing to be noticed, because he had gained recognition and also obtained what he needed.

Finally, Hess nodded, pulled a chair and sat down next to Leon, asking, "I think I should know that there are things that will be the focus of my work in the new season." ”

Leon packed everything up and put it in his briefcase, and said to Hess, "Run, so that they don't know the tiredness of running." (To be continued.) )

PS: There may be an additional chapter of the Silver Empire updated tomorrow, so stay tuned.