Dunleavy has been pretty comfortable lately.
After recovering from the hospital, he returned to his hometown in Brooklyn, New York, and took some time to recuperate.
Although he lost his head coaching job, Min Congda generously gave him a consulting contract.
The contract amount is not too high, but it is generous enough for the workload of this job.
The main part of Lao Deng's job is to answer the phone. If the team has any questions that he needs to answer, just call him and he will give you careful guidance.
In fact, there are no questions for him to answer. The NBA team will be the same without everyone. Without Deng, there are still Kerr, Kim Hughes, Lucas and others.
Each of them can stand alone, not to mention how capable Min Congda is, and Dunleavy knows it.
So during this period, he really entered a state of retirement, freeing himself from the high-pressure work of an NBA coach for more than 20 years.
He suddenly gained more than ten pounds, and even the originally sparse hair on the sides of his head was a little thicker than before.
I make some drinks every day, watch games, make phone calls, and go for a walk. I have assets worth tens of millions and a monthly salary.
Don't live a comfortable retirement life. You no longer have to think carefully about tactics, fly around the United States with a group of young people full of hormones, and compete in fear.
After resting, Dunleavy thought to himself that being an NBA head coach is really not a job for humans, and it was a miracle that he could persist in doing so for 20 years.
All in one breath, for the dream of a championship.
Now it seems that it doesn't matter whether there is a championship or not.
Of course, he still pays close attention to the Clippers' movements.
He often calls Lao Jin to learn about the team's situation.
He knew that Min Congda arrived late and left early every day and was not interested in training.
It is also known that Min Congda rarely spoke in tactical meetings and made a poor decision to rotate 15 people.
But Dunleavy said nothing because he knew it wasn't his job.
Since Min Congda is the head coach, how he works is his business. Anyway, this person never plays according to the routine.
But Dunleavy didn't expect that Min Congda didn't play according to the routine. He was playing mahjong while others were playing poker.
The unheard-of 15-man rotation allows every player on the team to get sufficient playing time, which is simply a joke.
Dunleavy originally wanted to call Min Congda and communicate with him, but that's not what the head coach does.
But as the Clippers won one after another, Dunleavy felt that Min Congda's idea might be right.
Because of the shortened season, the regular season schedule is extremely tight.
Three consecutive back-to-back schedules were arranged that did not treat players as human beings.
With such intensive competition and the lack of standardized training by many players during the offseason, each team will definitely experience an outbreak of injuries this season.
From this point of view, adopting a large-scale 15-man rotation is not a bad thing.
Moreover, the Clippers started with five consecutive victories. Min Congda had no tricks to win, and he was very lucky. 33
Victory can cover up everything, and Dunleavy has nothing to say.
Unexpectedly, Min Congda called me in the afternoon to complain to Dunleavy.
Just say "Lao Deng, I miss you."
Dunleavy was a little confused and asked: "What happened Smart? I heard you are sick?"
"Yeah, I had food poisoning and it almost killed me. But I still insisted on directing the game and finished the game. This head coach is really not made for people."
Hearing Min Congda's complaint, Dunleavy felt a faint sense of pleasure in his heart.
Back in the hospital, you proudly announced that you were the head coach of the Clippers without discussing it with everyone.
Are you tired after only playing five games now?
Why do you think I have no hair on my head?
Where did Jeff Van Gundy have dark circles under his eyes every day, Riley's wrinkles on his face, Sloan's bad temper, and Nelson's white hair?
It's not just coaching. Apart from referees, it's the most popular position in the NBA, and the workload is much greater than that of referees.
Feeling secretly relieved, Dunleavy also encouraged Min Congda, saying: "But you have achieved great results. You have won 5 consecutive games in the beginning. If you play the Mavericks tonight, 6 consecutive victories are waving at you."
Min Congda was anxious when he heard about the 6-game winning streak. The new season hasn't even started yet and he hasn't lost a single game.
Moreover, he only received one technical foul. In the following games, the referee made no mistakes, so he had no reason to get angry.
It is not very realistic to think of relying on technical fouls to replace wages for losing games.
It's better to be the general manager before, accumulate the anger of a few games, and seize the opportunity to vent.
Earning tens of thousands of dollars after spraying is much more enjoyable than $2,000 for a technical foul.
"Old Deng, I don't really care about the 6-6 winning streak, but...but I really miss the days when you were the head coach. I feel relieved when you are here, but I am worried when you are not here."
Min Congda has never been a meandering person. He will be ruthless when he should be ruthless, and he will be cowardly when he should be cowardly.
This is a character that really does big things. He rarely ruins his ultimate goal because of his own face and petty emotions.
Min Congda's purpose was very clear. After thinking about it, he felt that this coach could no longer work.
If he continues to work hard, he will really be unable to bear the inexplicable winning.
Secondly, life became too busy and without quality. After becoming a coach, he and Daddario became estranged.
The contact between the two became less and less, both were busy with work, and their relationship became weaker.
However, Daddario has not had any scandals and she has been concentrating on filming.
Min Congda thought to himself that maybe he should spend more time with her.
If he doesn't become a coach, then letting Deng come back is the best choice.
Mike Dunleavy sensed Min Congda's implication and probably wanted him to return.
Lao Deng has suffered a lot from Min Congda in the past two years, and he will definitely not agree immediately now.
He did not follow Min Congda's words, but looked around and said, "When will the Clippers come to New York to play? Come to Brooklyn, and you can come to my house as a guest. Or, I will come back after a while." I miss the sunshine in Los Angeles when I go to Los Angeles. It’s really cold in Brooklyn in January, and the weather here is so much worse than in California.”
Min Congda thought to himself, you old guy, are you talking to me about the weather now? Are you kidding me?
Min Congda didn't want to beat around the bush. Anyway, he was thick-skinned and said bluntly: "Mike, Lao Deng, I think my choice to be the head coach was too hasty. I'll leave the coaching job to you. Come back, You are all missed."
It's not enough to miss Min Congda himself, he also has to include others.
Min Congda is playing the emotional card very well. As for whether the players want to miss Lao Deng, who knows.
Of course, Dunleavy knew how true or false Min Congda's words were, but he didn't care much about it.
In his mind, he was weighing whether he could still be a head coach and whether he was willing to start the busy life again.
At this time, it suddenly snowed in Brooklyn in January. Dunleavy sat in his study and looked at the snowflakes floating outside the window, and his heart suddenly became peaceful.
He thought for a while and said to Min Congda: "Smart, I...will not go back to be the head coach...but don't worry, Steve Kerr will be a good head coach candidate. If you think Kerr is not good, If so, Lao Jin is still okay. Of course, if you think none of them are good, I can recommend a few candidates to you and let you choose... No, no, no, I am not angry with you. Once the snowflakes fall to the ground and melt, I can’t fly to the sky anymore.”
Some people died, but not completely...
