Danny Ainge has been under a lot of pressure lately, and a month ago at the same time as the team played the Eastern Conference Finals, there was also good news in the draft, and the Grizzlies drew the pick, which the Celtics got based on the previous trade between the two teams. The team made it to the Finals and got the 2003 draft pick, which is a great thing for any general manager. But Angie was in a dilemma.

On the one hand, most of the Celtics hope that Angie can take advantage of this list and pick a rookie with outstanding potential and can seamlessly join the team in this batch of outstanding young people in 2003, and the most popular one is Carmelo Anthony from Syracuse University, although he overlaps with Paul Pierce in the position, he can also play the power forward position, and many people think that getting Anthony will be a "Havlicek" option. In 1962, Celtic acquired Havlicek, who became a leading figure in the 70s after Russell's retirement, continuing the team's championship spirit.

Of course, the likes of Dwyane Wade and Kirk Hinrich are also fans who are now preparing for the 2003 draft, ready to welcome a new man who can change the team's future fortunes.

However, Angie is a person who understands in his heart, and he knows that the team's head coach Leon has been planning for more than a year to get Garnett, although he didn't trust Leon's trade feasibility earlier, so he made a move to trade Joe Johnson to get PJ Brown. But when the Celtics got the No. 1 pick like pie in the sky, Ainge knew that everything was different, and with this No. 1 pick as a bargaining chip, the possibility of trading with the Timberwolves to get Garnett greatly increased.

As for the salary, Angie is not worried, he knows that Leon is a miracle and is proficient in CBA agreements, and since he has long been ready to trade to get Garnett, then Garnett's $28 million salary is definitely not a problem.

The question now is whether he should follow the "public opinion" and pick a suitable rookie for the Celtics, or follow through with Leon's plan and lead the way in completing the deal to bring in Garnett.

Starting from June 6th, the finals will be held on one side, and the NBA rookie training camp will also be held in Chicago as scheduled.

During her two weeks in Chicago, Angie did feel that this was a group of young people full of talent, and it was a world away from the previous three drafts. With the Celtics losing in the Finals, this choice will become very important, and it will depend on whether the Celtics will challenge for the championship or continue to be inferior next season.

From the bottom of her heart, Angie is still more inclined to Leon's trade option, after all, except for LeBron James, no rookie can guarantee to reach the level of Kevin Garnett, and Garnett is already in his prime, and that group of young people still has a long way to go. But how to convince the boss, the fans, and the celebrities is a problem that Anji must consider.

With such questions and worries, Angie traveled to New York three days early, where agents, scouts and owners of the teams will gather, hoping to get more advice here.

Just as Angie arrived in New York, he got the news that Fox Leon was also leaving Las Vegas for New York. Hearing that Leon was coming from Las Vegas, Angie was a little angry, and after the finals, Leon basically disappeared from his field of vision, the team operation, and the rookie selection He didn't participate in it at all, and just went to the casino to spend all day's time.

Angie didn't believe that Leon would be unmoved, on the contrary, he was sure that Leon must be making moves, and he just didn't like Leon's this, as a member of the Celtics, he had his own system of connections, and he never reported to him about any actions, making him, the general manager, fidget in front of the stool with nails. I don't know what kind of crooked ideas this guy has with him, and he is ready to turn the clouds and rain at the draft conference.

………………

On June 23, after arriving in New York, Angie contacted Kevin McHale, the general manager of the Timberwolves, by phone to meet for dinner at a small restaurant in New York. After hesitating for a while, McHale still agreed to the invitation of his old comrade-in-arms, although he knew that this guy Angie was a master who didn't see rabbits and didn't scatter eagles, but after many years of teammate friendship, plus McHale also had a little Jiujiu in his heart, he naturally agreed.

The agreed place to dine was in a small American restaurant called "Serendiptiy" in Manhattan, which is an old restaurant in Manhattan, when Angie and McHale played at the Celtics and visited New York, they often came to this restaurant to eat, so Angie did not hesitate to book this restaurant this time.

The two were reunited in a small private room, and although they often saw each other on the court for work reasons, such private gatherings had not taken place for several years, and the usually enthusiastic McHale gave Angie a big hug, and then sat down with a certain limp.

When old friends meet, they naturally have to catch up, in the Celtics team, Angie and Bird and McHale have a good relationship, but Bird and McHale don't like each other, so Angie has become a microphone between the two, Bird has something to tell McHale will not tell McHale directly, but tell Angie first and then let Angie tell him.

In this way, there are a lot of interesting things between the three of them, and they can't finish talking about them for three days and three nights.

The two chatted and chatted about the topic, and in this draft and player trade, McHale got straight to the point and said to Angie: "I told you Danny, the probability of us trading Kevin is almost zero, and I said almost because you do do a lot of work, and your probability is indeed higher than that of other teams, but ...... We will not give up on him. ”

"But what if Garnett is leaving? Then you won't be able to stop it. "Angie knows that the focus of Leon's work in the past year or so is not to get the Timberwolves to give up Garnett, but to let Garnett give up the Timberwolves, as long as Garnett wants to go, the Timberwolves can't stop him.

"That's right! But I'm sure Kevin will stay after the draft, and we're not going to do nothing. McHale smiled and said that the Timberwolves have been making a lot of moves recently, and they are ready to strengthen the team through trades as a bargaining chip to keep Garnett.

"I'm sure Kevin will stay, Kevin, but Garnett doesn't have to......" Because McHale is also called Kevin, Angie used this to mock McHale.

McHale laughed at this, and he said to Angie: "Even if you want to trade, it's hard to say whether the Bostonian will say yes, you know, some of the old stubborns there are...... Also, Auerbach still has the right to decide, and his opinion is definitely important. ”

McHale mentioned an important person who has been silent since the Celtics got the Eye Sign, and although he no longer holds any position with the Celtics, his opinion is still significant.

Angie was tempted to tell McHale that Fox Leon was Auerbach's own son and that he would definitely support the deal, but he held back. The conversation was still tentative, at least now he knows that the Timberwolves must have a reinforcement plan, and the Celtics shouldn't be pinning their hopes on a trade. Once negotiations open and the final deal can't be reached, it will only hurt the hearts of the Celtics players.

"Hey, where's your manager? Fox Leon? It is said that he has been in charge of poaching Garnett, and has he also come to New York? McHale mentioned Leon again, and it seemed that after the Finals, he disappeared from the public eye.

"I don't know, and I can't reach him." Anji said helplessly, as the general manager of the team, he can't control this head coach at all.

"However, he is said to have made his way to New York." Angie added. (To be continued.) )