The Celtics didn't leave much time for Leon to learn tactics, and after training camp, a draft ensued. For a week, Leon didn't get involved in anything related to the draft at Marshfield, not because he didn't care, but because things like the wine, the ingredients and koji had been put into the vats, and all that left to do was wait for the fermentation slowly.

The draft is never a matter of cramming, with the exception of Michael Reed last year, when the draft picks were a collective misalignment of the scouts, allowing Leon and the Celtics to pick up the slack. It's not a small year, there are a lot of pretty good players coming into the draft, and teams are putting a lot of effort into preparation.

For example, the Washington Wizards, when the basketball god Michael Jordan became one of the team's all-round participants in the draft, and the team also held the No. 1 pick, their selection became the focus of attention, which was also a huge pressure for the Wizards. A low-ranking rookie will be a model of treasure digging if he succeeds, and no one will blame him if he declines; However, the first pick is completely different, and there is already a lesson from Olovocandi's past, once the top pick is not played, the team will waste the best draft pick of the year, not to mention, and will suffer ridicule from the media and accusations from fans.

Just like last year, with more than half a month to go before the draft, a draft camp was held in Chicago, also at the Chicago Track and Field Hotel, and also at the Impact Sports Center, where the Boston Celtics' scouting team returned here, only this time without Pitino, with the team's new assistant coach Dick Hart, deputy general manager Darrell Morey, and another team video editor, Jimmy Young.

Dick Hart has blonde hair, he has a thin face, small eyes and a pointed face, he doesn't talk much, and he looks a little dull and old-fashioned, just as he is known for his defense in the basketball circle. However, in the team he cares about the players and is deeply loved by the players. On the first day of Boston's arrival in Chicago, the Celtics coaching staff had a small meeting in a small conference room at the Athletics Association Hotel, and both Leon and Hart were brought to the conference room, and Leon began to come up to Hart and ask him questions.

During this time, Leon's energy was focused on tactical study, and it happened that Leon had some questions about the understanding of "space" in defensive strategy, and he said to Hart: "Defense is to constantly compress the opponent's shooting space, but sometimes, even if the opposing person blocks the space, the star can still score the ball in a one-on-one situation, and even sometimes put the star one-on-one, it is better to wrap the star and let other players shoot in the empty space." I don't understand how the two can be reconciled. ”

Leon's initial idea was to use data to measure a star's shooting percentage against one-on-one defenders and pack-and-roll defenses, as well as other players' shooting percentages, and combine the two to calculate an optimal pack-and-clamp ratio. However, the dynamic game, changing tactics and player feel made such an idea extremely difficult to realize, and Leon overturned this idea after a preliminary estimate. Similar data analysis methods can only be put into a more macro defensive strategy, and details like this cannot be used in this way.

Hart doesn't have much contact with Leon on weekdays, and Leon has been busy with scouting, but he has also heard about Leon's super learning ability. He listened to Leon's question and thought for a while before replying, "It's very difficult to answer, and if I want to describe it specifically, it will take me two days to prepare the data and video." But I can give you an idea and a few basic principles when defending. The space problem you mentioned is the most basic principle of defense, and on the basis of this most basic principle, several principles are derived, first, rapid return and positioning, when there is no one in your half, all defense is empty talk; Second, reasonable choice and abandonment, just like playing chess, we always want to ensure that each piece stays on the board, but this is impossible, we have to weigh the pros and cons, give up a part and keep a part. Like you said, to pack the star or not to pack the clip? You need to judge according to the situation on the field and use your experience; Third, the pace is uniform, the defense is the most disciplined, and the unified pace can minimize the loopholes; Fourth, the transfer route of the blocked ball is more important than the blocking player. Okay, that's all I have to say, I'm sure you'll understand it soon. ”

At this time, Leon was a hungry student, and he took the short time before the meeting to learn another lesson, and finally Hart added: "You can go back and watch the game video from Vogel, he has the defensive demonstration tape that I asked to edit, you never watched it before, and when you do, you will know what I mean by these principles." Of course, you have to remember that it's the player himself, it's the human being, who is involved in the defense, and when he has motivation, it works better than any tactic. ”

Leon nodded, jotting it down in his notebook and in his head, and that's when Jim O'Brien, who had arrived in the conference room from Portland, had rushed to Chicago. Before the trip, he went to visit his father-in-law, Jack Ramsay. After becoming the head coach, he has to call Ramsey almost every day, and now he also needs to consult Ramsey in the critical draft, after all, this year's draft is different from last year, they have three picks in the middle of the position, and there is quite a lot of room for manoeuvre, which may be a very important year draft for the future of the Celtics.

"Okay, Leon, the study time is over, you will have time to learn these things in the future, come on, tell me your opinion on the draft, this is what you are good at." O'Brien said bluntly to Leon. Compared with last year, O'Brien's temperament has changed a lot, from being gentle and flat when he was an assistant coach, to being a little impatient now, and his temper is getting bigger and bigger, and he is almost impatient when talking to Leon.

No way, the pressure on the manager is really huge, O'Brien has always appeared as a peacemaker among the players in the past, and he always comes out to mediate and sing red face when Pitino has a conflict with the player. But when he became head coach, he couldn't blush, which often left him in a state of conflict, wanting to maintain a good relationship with his players, and sometimes being unbearable for player misbehavior - for example, Walker has become a new nightclub prince under the leadership of Rodman and Anderson, and he is increasingly profligate beyond the three-point line.

Leon closed the notebook, he saw the changes in O'Brien, and this is also what he needs to be wary of, when your role changes, can you change your position and mentality and adapt to the new job. Just like he is now, Leon is trying to adapt to the role of assistant coach, and the team is still assigned to him in the scouting role, but he will be working on the player training side when the new season starts.

In this draft, the Celtics' arrangement can be said to be quite sufficient, with three draft picks, namely 11, 15 and 21, and their highest draft pick of 11 like last year, this pick is from the Denver Nuggets, and the 15th pick is the Celtics' own pick, and 21 is from the Suns.

After more than a month of careful screening, the first person the Celtics identified was Gilbert Arenas, and Leon gave a high rating in the scouting report, but fortunately this evaluation did not improve Arenas's estimated picks too much, because just two weeks ago Vojnarowski posted a report claiming that Arenas had misrepresented his height and pointed out his many weaknesses on the defensive end.

Of course, this report was also drafted by Leon, which caused Arenas' pick to fall to the end of the first round, and after repeatedly gathering intelligence, Leon decided that no one would rob Arenas in the first round, so he decided to use the 21st pick to pick the excellent defender.

The top 11th pick, after consulting with Danny Ainge and Chris Wallace, Leon thinks Joe Johnson or Radmanovic from Yugoslavia would be the best choice, depending on who the Orlando Magic pick with the 10th pick. However, because the positions of the two coincide with Reed and Pierce, Angie has begun to actively seek a trade partner to seek a good inside line.

And in the more awkward 15, the Celtics want to get a decent introvert, so if the 11th pick can't be traded for a quality instant power inside, then using the 15th pick to pick a rookie interior development is also a good idea, and they are targeting Brand Haywood and Haitian Dalham Porter.

Of course, the Celtics still have the Spurs to cheat, and Leon has already decided on a partner to work with, trying to solve their problems at point guard, and by the way, he can deal with Kenny Anderson.

Of course, all this is not just Leon's plan, Danny Ainge, who is far away in Boston at the moment, is also involved in all this, and as the president of the team, he did not come to this training camp because he has other more important things to do in Boston to ensure the successful completion of the plan.