"Please follow me."

Led by Linda, assistant to the president, Chen An walked into a small conference room, which was not spacious and there was a round table in the conference room, and in front of the door, there was a gray-haired but energetic old man, although he had not been introduced, Chen An knew that this old man should be the boss of the Magic team, Richard Devos.

Calculating the age, the founder of Amway should be in his 80s and almost 90s by now, and he even came to preside over the interview of the team's head coach, it seems that he still values the Magic team very much.

And in Richard. To the left of Devos sat a man in his thirties, this guy was brown-haired and blue-eyed, his facial features were like a knife and axe, and he looked a little similar to Blatpitt in a flash, in short, handsome! Chen An looked at this buddy and immediately recognized his identity, not because he knew him, but because of his predecessor's memory.

Rob. Hennegan, used to be an assistant in basketball operations for the Spurs.

"I don't think I need to introduce much, Rob has officially become the president of the team a few days ago, you have worked together at the Spurs before, Rob has a high opinion of you."

Located in Richard. A young woman with blond hair and blue eyes on the right side of Devos stood up, smiled and stretched out a hand to Chen An, and said, "Jason, it's a pleasure to meet you, don't mind if I call you that, right?" ”

"Of course."

Chen An responded politely, then shook the woman's hand, and the young woman continued: "Introduce yourself, Hathaway. Devos, who currently works for RDV Sports, was in charge of the recruitment of the head coach at the request of my grandfather. ”

The Magic team is not actually an individual, it was purchased by RDV Sports Ltd., and the owner of this company is the two founders of Amway, Richard Brown. Devos and Jay. Wen Anluo, the two of them each account for 50% of the company's shares, but Wen Anluo is not involved in the company's operation. Devos is the chairman of the company's board of directors, so the de facto owner of the Magic team is Richard. Devos.

As for this Hathaway, I think it should be Richard. Devos's granddaughter, who works for RDV Sports Ltd. and has some ties to the Magic team itself, makes sense to come to the head coach recruitment.

There are only these three people in the conference room except Chen An, in other words, the three of them are the interviewers of this interview. Before coming, Chen An didn't know about Rob. Hennegan has already been inaugurated, but according to the trajectory of the previous life, this guy does seem to have been the president of the Magic team for a long time, but he was later fired, and the reason is that the team is really a mess.

And in the memories of his predecessor, Rob. Hennigan and his confirmed acquaintance, the two have worked together at the Spurs for several years, but they don't know each other very well, so Hathaway said Rob. Hennigan's opinion of himself is quite high, and this remark is really very watery.

After meeting with Hathaway, Rob. Hennegan also stood up and politely greeted Chen An, and then took their seats, Hathaway immediately went straight to the point and said: "Jason, I believe you should have an understanding of the current situation of the team when you come to the competition this time, if you become the head coach of the team, what kind of plan do you have for the team?" ”

Hathaway was very direct, and Chen An was not ready to go around in circles, so he said directly: "Rebuild!" The team is in the current situation and it is imperative to rebuild, otherwise it will only get into a more difficult situation. ”

Hearing this, Rob. Hennegan nodded slightly, obviously, Chen An's words corresponded to his thoughts, Hathaway also nodded, and said: "Indeed, although Arenas was pardoned, he occupies too much salary space, even if this part of the salary is not included in the luxury tax salary cap, but the team's salary space is very narrow, and the operability is not strong, and rebuilding is the best choice."

But do you think it's necessary to keep Howard any longer? ”

One of the main reasons why the Magic team is a mess is Arenas, this guy's contract is going to last until next season, and the salary is as high as $20.81 million, you must know that the salary cap for next season is only $58 million, which means that the salary of a player who has been pardoned occupies more than one-third of the team's salary space, what is the future of such a team?

And Howard, who is the league's No. 1 center, as long as he is a little self-motivated, may stay with the team to rebuild? Not to mention, the conflict between Howard and Devos has almost become public, and when Chen An checked the information on the Internet yesterday, he saw a number of media reports that Howard had publicly asked the team to trade him.

After thinking about the wording, Chen An shook his head and said: "Howard's problem is already obvious, the trade is imperative, and since he chooses to rebuild, then Howard is the most important bargaining chip, which is related to whether the team can rise again in a short period of time and become a powerhouse in the East again." ”

Hathaway's eyes lit up, and Chen An's words reached her heart, and she couldn't help but look at Richard. Devos, as if he wanted to ask his grandfather's opinion, but the old man sat in his chair, his cloudy eyes lowered, as if he was listening, but he didn't seem to listen, and he didn't react at all.

It's Rob. Hennegan frowned slightly, and said, "Jason, I noticed that you just said that you will rise again in a short period of time, and I want to know how long this short period of time is. ”

"About two years."

Chen An gave his answer, Hathaway showed a surprised expression, and Rob. Hennegan smiled and said, "Are you sure?" ”

"Of course!"

Chen An's answer was categorical, Rob. Hennegan immediately wanted to say something, but Chen An preemptively said: "I know that when the team rebuilds, it generally needs to hoard future draft picks, accumulate some potential newcomers on a three- to five-year cycle, and then wait until the salary space is extremely manipulative, and then bring in stars in the free market."

Perhaps, you think the same way, right? ”

Rob. Hennigan was stunned by this sentence and nodded dumbly, because that's what happened. Follow Rob. Hennegan's plan, the Magic's rebuild, was on a five-year cycle, so in the previous Howard trade, the guy asked for a ton of future draft picks, and in the years to come, he picked a bunch of rookie players who were embarrassed to use.

"You're not wrong to think so, but you're ignoring a problem."

Rob. Hennigan's brow furrowed again, and Hathaway asked, "What's the problem?" ”

"Draft year! This year is a veritable draft year, there are a lot of talented players, and if the team wants to rise again, it has to make a difference in this year's draft, get a cornerstone player, and then rebuild the team around him, otherwise, no matter how much talent is hoarded, the team will only suffer like a fly without a head.

Now that the league landscape is obvious, big players are looking to huddle, and the effect of superstar basketball is starting to come to the fore, we can undoubtedly reap great rewards by trading Howard at this time, and it can even be said that it is a take-and-take.

And one thing that can't be overlooked is that after this year, the draft will be at a low ebb in the next two or three years, and it will be difficult for us to pick cornerstone players even with high picks.

It is no exaggeration to say that although the 12th rookie is not as good as the golden generation like 96,03 in my heart, it is by no means worse than the 09th class. ”