"Meng, in fact, I've always wanted to talk to you, but I always don't know where to start." On November 13, 2000, when the Spurs defeated the Lakers at home, and then won back-to-back road games against the Mavericks and Grizzlies, after the game against the Grizzlies, the Spurs returned to San Antonio, and the Spurs will next play back-to-back home games against the Jazz, Wizards and SuperSonics. After a day of training, Popovich called Meng Xu, who was practicing in the gym, to his office.

In the Spurs' two games against the Mavericks and Grizzlies, the Spurs continued to slump as a team, shooting more than 38% from the field in both games. Facing the crazy package of the Mavericks and the Grizzlies, Duncan shot 11 of 30 in these two games, and Duncan is similar to other players, especially Derrick Anderson, 1 of 8 in a game, 5 in 15 in a game, even so, the Spurs finally defeated the Grizzlies and Mavericks with difficulty, and achieved 3 consecutive wins this season, and the hero of the victory in these two games is Meng Xu, in these two games, Meng Xu scored 26 points in a game, 28 points in a game, and scored 15 points in the crucial fourth quarter in the game with the Mavericks, helped the Spurs reverse the Mavericks, and it was precisely because of his outstanding performance in these games that Meng Xu was nominated for the first Player of the Week in his career, although he eventually lost to Stephen Marbury, who averaged 35 points and 9 assists per game. But Meng Xu averaged 28.3 points, 7 rebounds, 4.3 steals, 3 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game in these 3 games, which is undoubtedly very good, especially in the game with the Grizzlies, Meng Xu scored 26 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 7 steals, and 5 blocks, and won the third 5*5 data in his career. Although Meng Xu's playing time and performance on the field have been restricted, Meng Xu's data will usher in explosive growth this season, which is undoubtedly a sure thing, in this case, Popovich also feels that he can't delay it anymore, and he should talk to Meng Xu about it.

Seeing that Meng Xu lowered his head and didn't speak, Popovich picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip gently: "Meng, are you now thinking that I am restricting your development and deliberately suppressing you, as the outside world said?" Maybe in your heart, I've become a wicked person by now? ”

After hearing Popovich's words, Meng Xu was stunned at first, and then raised his head, to be honest, Meng Xu does have some such thoughts now, as his strength gets stronger and stronger, Meng Xu naturally hopes to get more opportunities, including the time of possession of the ball, the number of shots, etc., but what disappoints Meng Xu is that until now the Spurs have not formulated targeted tactics for themselves, and the unique tactics are not only an affirmation of a player's ability, but also a direct manifestation of this player's status in the team.

"Nope." Meng Xu shook his head and fell silent again. Although he also had a little resentment in his heart, Meng Xu couldn't have the slightest hatred for this coach who brought himself into the league and cared about his growth all the time, and could only impress him through hard training and excellent performance on the field. And Meng Xu can also clearly feel that although the team's coaches deliberately limit themselves tactically, Duncan still keeps creating opportunities for himself on the court, and for Duncan's behavior, Meng Xu is still grateful in addition to gratitude.

"Meng, what kind of player do you think you should be?" After hearing Meng Xu's answer, Popovich was also relieved, this alliance is full of too many enemies and betrayals, and Popovich is now afraid that if he is not careful, this kind of scene will befall him. Meng Xu, who is just 20 years old this year, is now in the second phase of the middle period, and he has no opinions on some things, and during this time, the outside media is also overwhelming against himself, saying that he is deliberately suppressing Meng Xu for the stability of the team, and for his deliberate suppression of Meng Xu's playing time, even a senior executive of the alliance criticized himself in a phone call with him.

"What kind of player to be? Jordan? Like most teenagers who like basketball in this era, Meng Xu's idol has always been Jordan, so when Popovich asked this question, Meng Xu also subconsciously said it.

"No, no, no," after hearing Meng Xu's answer, Popovich immediately shook his head: "Meng, you are different from Jordan, you will not become a player like Jordan, compared to Jordan, you are more similar to Ervin Johnson, you are a natural team player." "Meng Xu's playing style is very different from Jordan, and no one can stop Meng Xu from wanting to be Jordan, but if Meng Xu is Jordan, what should Duncan do? Let Duncan, who is at his peak, give Meng Xu a hand? Don't even think about it, and compared with interior players, outside players are inherently weak, and players who also belong to their own system, with the same ceiling, the lower limit of interior players is higher, which is why in the NBA draft, the advantage of big men is more obvious, which is why Olajuwon can overwhelm Jordan to become the champion.

"Magic Johnson?" It is undeniable that although the magician is also very strong, Meng Xu never thought that he would become a player like the magician, and when he thought of the magician's AIDS, Meng Xu was a little uncomfortable. And in Meng Xu's heart, I can sacrifice for the team, or I can change for the team, but I will not give up my original intention, nor will I give up my dream, never.

"Maybe you can try, starting tomorrow, you'll be replacing Avery as the team's main point guard." After Popovich finished speaking, he put the unfinished coffee on the table, and his hands were already shaking a little involuntarily. He was afraid that Meng Xu would refuse, and he was also afraid that he would fail, if this attempt failed again, then the Spurs would inevitably be pushed to rebuild.

"Well, I'm going to change my style of play, to adapt to this new position, to adapt to the team's new tactics." Meng Xu nodded, Meng Xu had no way to refuse Popovich's request. Before this, Meng Xu had always been a small forward in the Spurs, occasionally playing a few cameo games as a scoring guard, whether it was a small forward or a scoring guard in the Spurs' system, his status was very low, especially the small forward, who played the role of a sapper. The organizational guard is different, whether it is a two-tower tactic or a combination of internal and external tactics, the organizational guard is very important in it.

After a few more small talks, Meng Xu left Popovich's office in a daze, every time he changed his position, someone only had to make sacrifices, when Meng Xu first served as the starting small forward, the original starting small forward Chaki Brown was traded by the team, and when he played point guard, Mario Elie had to play as a substitute, and even if it wasn't for his outstanding performance in the playoffs last season, Mario Ely would definitely have gone to another team this season, and now he is going to play point guard, so what should Avery do? Thinking of this, an ominous premonition suddenly rose in Meng Xu's heart.

"Let me bet on this one last time." Looking at Meng Xu's back as he left, Popovich took out a fax from a drawer and signed his name on it.

When Meng Xu came to the club early on the second day, he found that there were two familiar figures missing from the locker room, and the two people who were missing were Avery Johnson and Antonio Daniels, and his hunch really came true, just last night, the Spurs used the main control position of Avery Johnson, and Antonio Daniels, who has performed well this season, from the Nuggets in exchange for backup center Reeve Lafrentz and veteran Terry Davis. Antonio Daniels is a little better, this guy's idea this season is to brush up on the stats and then go to another team to get a big contract, and now he has left the Spurs and gone to the Nuggets, who lack outside linemen, which is a good thing for him. And Avery Johnson is different, Johnson has been with the Spurs for a total of 9 seasons, and this one is full of thoughts about players who are going to retire in San Antonio, maybe this is what they often call business, a player's stay is often not something that an individual can control.

The Nuggets' current main point guard is Nick Van Exel, a guard similar to Iverson, with excellent offensive means and a strong desire to attack, so the Nuggets' head coach Dan Issel has always wanted to push him to the point guard position like Iverson of the 76ers, but the Nuggets are currently lacking an orthodox point guard who can replace him. At the same time, with an All-Star center like Antonio McDeyes on the team and hoarding 6 interior lines, although Reeve Lafrentz has good potential, he has never been given the opportunity to show it. In the offseason, the Nuggets wanted to trade Reeve Lafrentz for the Spurs' Avery Johnson, but the Spurs refused, and just a month later, Popovich took an Antonio Daniels to complete the deal, although the Nuggets were suspected of taking advantage of the fire, but it was a win-win deal, the Spurs got the coveted backup inside, or two, and the Nuggets also got the point guard they needed, and an excellent outside bench.

The Spurs' supposed rivals have always been the Lakers, so in order to deal with O'Neal in the playoffs, Popovich wanted to stock up on a few interior players in the offseason, after all, even if you want to cut the sharks, you need to have enough manpower. But this summer, the free interior line is very scarce, the Spurs have no draft picks, and the asking price of those teams that have hoarded a large number of interior lines is too high, and they want the main players of the Spurs, so they have been busy for a summer, and the Spurs have not been able to sign a center. However, less than half a month after the start of the season, the Spurs ushered in two interior lines, and of course, the Spurs paid a lot of price for this. With the departure of Avery Johnson, the Spurs were left with an orthodox point guard like Derrick Tial. Maybe Popovich should think about where to get a point guard.