The NBA is a small circle, and it's normal for players, coaches, and management to know each other.

Jeff Ball and Tyronn Lue met in '06, when Ball, who was the Hornets' general manager, wanted Lue to join the Hornets as a backup for Chris Paul.

But in the end, it didn't work out for many reasons, which is a pity for Bauer.

After the Hornets lost to the Western Conference semifinals in '08, Ball extended another invitation to Tyronn Lue.

But Lue chose the higher-paying Milwaukee Bucks, and then retired from the game, ending his playing career.

Ball's admiration for Tyronn Lue is mainly in the belief that he can be Chris Paul's number two or even number one replacement.

And the experience Lue gained from winning a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers could bring some good luck to the Hornets, who have not had a lot of luck.

This is the third time Jeff Ball has made an offer to Tyronn Lue to be the head coach, much to Tyronn Lue's surprise.

He called Jeff Ball back, and on the other end of the line, Ball told him that the Clippers were in the process of picking a new head coach, "Four candidates, but none of them were particularly satisfying, so I recommended you to Mr. Smart." Tomorrow if you are free, you can come to Los Angeles and give it a try. Tonight's red-eye flight is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. ”

"But I still have a contract with Celtic, and besides, I don't have any experience as a manager."

"I'm telling you, this time four candidates, plus you five, no one has experience as a manager. Who didn't start from scratch? ”

Bauer's words are not unreasonable, some people will be superstitious about the experience of coaches, and always think that highly respected and older coaches are powerful.

But no coach is born a coach, and there is a time when he is a head coach for the first time.

Those successful managers tend to be successful from the start, rather than slowly accumulating to a certain level and becoming awesome.

If a coach doesn't win a championship for a long time and is always on the edge of the championship, he probably won't get that trophy for the rest of his life.

Likes George Carr, Adelman, Jerry Sloan, including Mike Dunleavy, are all of this type.

It is said that players eat talent, but in fact, coaches also eat talent, and even luck is needed in addition to talent.

In Jeff Ball's view, the original Hornets have always been one less lucky player to press.

If Tyronn Lue can come to the team, the Hornets may be able to go a little further.

Of course, Jeff Ball wants to recommend Tyronn Lue to the Clippers, and naturally has his own thoughts, not just because he thinks Lue is a good fit for the position.

As the Clippers' record gets better and better, the market value gradually rises, and according to Min Congda's "expansion" strategy, the Clippers may become one of the biggest and strongest teams in the league in the future.

Ball became the team's deputy operating officer with the appreciation of Min Congda, but his foundation in the team is still very, very weak.

Since Min Congda gave him a lot of power, he naturally wanted to use it and recruit some of his own talents.

In the offseason, Jeff Ball once pushed for Chris Paul, but was rejected by Min Congda.

Now, Ball has set his sights on the role of head coach.

The head coach is a very important position in the team, and if it is filled by someone recommended by Ball, it will definitely be of great help to Ball's power.

And, a fledgling assistant coach like Tyronn Lue must be deeply grateful to his Bole.

Bauer didn't want to miss out on this opportunity to invest in the original stock.

After some conversation, Ball convinced Tyronn Lue.

"I'm going to call Danny Ainge right away and ask him to allow you to come to the Clippers for an interview. If you pass the interview, we will take care of your contract issues. ”

Ball assured Lue that he knew Smart would always cost anything when it came to signing.

In order to take down Steve Kerr, the Clippers paid a hefty liquidated damages to Turner Television Network.

And Tyronn Lue just signed an assistant coach contract with the Celtics this year.

He also wants to accumulate experience here for a few seasons and prepare for his future role as a manager.

I didn't expect the opportunity to be the head coach to come so soon, and it is also the popular fried chicken of today's league, the Los Angeles Clippers.

After hanging up the phone, Tyronn Lue felt like he was dreaming and his mind was a little confused.

With less than half a day to prepare, how should he apply for the position of head coach?

After racking his brain for a while, Tyronn Lue realized that he had nothing to prepare for.

Tactics? The Clippers and the Celtics have very different tactics, and the two teams have completely different configurations, and he didn't need what he learned with the Celtics.

What's next to you? Lu doesn't even know what his future holds, and he plans the future of the Clippers, forget it.

Team culture building? What is the situation of the Clippers, Lu does not know, only that after this team came to Smart, it has changed a lot compared to the past.

Tyronn Lue naturally knows all kinds of legends about Min Congda, and who in the alliance doesn't know this strange oriental flower blooming on the west coast?

As a big fan of NBA-Batman, Tyronn Lue has a lot of "gossip" about Min Congda.

He knew that Min Congda ate a lot of food, knew that he was a dictator, knew that he played power tricks to override the boss, and knew that he was born a legend and was an orphan.

After thinking about it for a long time, Tyronn Lue thought to himself: "Although I am going to apply for the head coach of the Clippers, what can really determine whether I can become a head coach is not whether I have the ability to become a head coach, but whether Smart Min thinks I can be the head coach of the Clippers." Therefore, how to explain your own philosophy is not so important, the important thing is to let the person who has the right to decide think that I can meet his requirements, I am loyal to him, obey him, is this the truth? ”

In less than half a day, Tyronn Lue figured out a truth that many people can't figure out in their lifetime.

As long as it is a certain person or group of people who determines your fate, how to deal with this person or group of people will always be the top priority of the work.

For this opportunity to fall from the sky, Tyronn Lue wants to cherish.

After all, compared to the cold and harsh Boston, he still wants to work in the warm and familiar Los Angeles.

Return to the once-glorious Stamp Center.

Compared with the Boston Celtics, who are already in decline, the Los Angeles Clippers are the brightest rising star in the league.

And the head coach and the assistant coach are very different, he will be in the center of the stage.

That night, after communicating with the team's management, Tyronn Lue took a red-eye flight from Boston to Los Angeles and arrived in Los Angeles on January 20.

The second round of interviews for the Clippers head coach, originally scheduled for the afternoon of the 19th, was postponed to the afternoon of the 20th due to the sudden addition of Tyronn Lue.

On the morning of the 20th, Tyronn Lue came to the Clippers training center for the most important coaching interview of his life.

Tyronn Lue didn't bring anything, no playbook, no videotape, no sketchpad, and sat alone at the conference room table.

Min Congda looked up and down at this unsightly, most famous picture in NBA history of a point guard who was shaken down by Iverson.

He asked the first question of the interview: "How do you think the Clippers would have changed if they had been under your leadership?" ”

Tyronn Lue thought for a moment and said, "I think if I were to lead the Clippers, the team... It could get a little worse. ”

Well? Min Congda's eyes lit up when he heard it!

This guy, he's kind of interesting!

Some people died, but not completely......