The NBA is a small circle, and it is normal for players, coaches, and management to know each other.
Jeff Ball and Tyronn Lue met in 2006. Ball, who was the general manager of the Hornets at the time, hoped that Lue would join the Hornets as Chris Paul's substitute.
But in the end it failed due to many reasons, which was a pity for Ball.
After the Hornets lost in the Western Conference semifinals in 2008, Ball once again extended an invitation to Tyronn Lue.
But Lu chose the Milwaukee Bucks, which had a higher salary, and then retired, ending his playing career.
Ball's appreciation for Tyronn Lue mainly lies in his belief that he can become Chris Paul's second or even number one substitute.
And Lu's experience accumulated when he won the championship with the Los Angeles Lakers can bring some good luck to the Hornets, who have been unlucky.
This is the third time Jeff Ball has invited Tyronn Lue to become the head coach, which surprised Tyronn Lue.
He called Jeff Ball back, and Ball on the other end told him that the Clippers were selecting a new head coach, "There were four candidates, but none of them were particularly satisfied, so I recommended you to Mr. Smart. If you are free tomorrow, you can come to Los Angeles and give it a try. The red-eye flight tonight comes directly. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"But I still have a contract with the Celtics. Besides, I have no experience as a head coach at all."
"I'm telling you, of the four candidates this time, including the five of you, no one has experience as a head coach. Who doesn't start from scratch?"
Ball's words are not unreasonable. Some people are superstitious about the coach's experience and always think that coaches who are highly respected and older are more powerful.
But no coach is born as a coach, and everyone becomes a head coach for the first time.
Those successful head coaches are often very successful from the beginning, rather than slowly accumulating to a certain level and becoming awesome.
If a coach fails to win a championship for a long time and is always hovering on the edge of the championship, then he will probably not be able to win the trophy in his lifetime.
Players like George Karl, Adelman, Jerry Sloan, and Mike Dunleavy are all of this type.
It is said that players rely on talent, but coaches also rely on talent. In addition to talent, they also need luck.
In Jeff Ball's view, the original Hornets always lacked a lucky general.
If Tyronn Lue can come to the team, the Hornets may be able to go further.
Of course, Jeff Ball naturally has his own thoughts when he wants to recommend Tyronn Lue to the Clippers, not just because he thinks Lue is suitable for this position.
As the Clippers' record gets better and better, their market value gradually increases. According to Min Congda's "expansion" strategy, the Clippers may become one of the largest and strongest teams in the league in the future.
Ball relied on Min Congda's appreciation to become the team's deputy operating officer, but his foundation in the team is still very, very weak.
Since Min Congda gave him a lot of power, he naturally had to use it and recruit some of his own talents.
During the offseason, Jeff Ball once advocated for Chris Paul, but was rejected by Min Congda.
Now, Ball has set his sights on the head coaching position.
The head coach is a very important position for the team. If it is filled by someone recommended by Ball, it will definitely be of great help to Ball's power.
Moreover, a fledgling assistant coach like Tyronn Lue must be deeply grateful to his talent.
Ball didn't want to miss this opportunity to invest in the original stock.
After some conversations, Ball convinced Tyronn Lue.
"I will call Danny Ainge immediately and ask him to allow you to come to the Clippers for an interview. If the interview is passed, we will deal with your contract issue."
Ball assured Lue that he knew Smart had always spared no expense when it came to signing people.
In order to acquire Steve Kerr, the Clippers paid a high penalty to Turner Network.
Tyronn Lue just signed an assistant coaching contract with the Celtics this year.
He also wants to accumulate experience here for several seasons to prepare for being a head coach in the future.
I didn't expect that the opportunity to be a head coach would come so soon, and it would also be the Los Angeles Clippers, the most popular team in the league today.
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 this head coaching position?
After racking his brains for a while, Tyronn Lue realized that he had nothing to prepare at all.
Tactics? The tactics of the Clippers and the Celtics are completely different, and the configurations of the two teams are completely different. He will not be able to use what he learned at the Celtics.
future plan? Lu even doesn't know what his future will be like, and he still plans the future of the Clippers. Forget it.
Team culture building? Lu doesn't know exactly what's going on with the Clippers. He only knows that this team has changed drastically since the arrival of Smart.
Tyronn Lu naturally knows all the legends about Min Congda. Looking at the league, who doesn't know about this oriental wonder blooming on the west coast?
As a loyal fan of NBA-Batman, Tyronn Lue is very familiar with the "gossip" about Min Congda.
He knew that Min Congda had a big appetite and ate a lot, knew that he was dictatorial with his words, knew that he played power tricks to evade his boss, and also knew that he was born as an orphan.
After thinking for a long time, Tyronn Lue thought to himself: "Although I am applying for the Clippers head coach, what really determines whether I can become a head coach is not whether I have the ability to be a head coach, but Smart - Min thinks I can be the head coach of the Clippers. Therefore, how I explain my philosophy is not that important. What is important is that the person with the decision-making power thinks that I can meet his requirements. I am loyal to him and obey him, right? Is this the truth?"
It took Tyronn Lue less than half a day to figure out the truth that many people could not figure out in their lifetime.
As long as your destiny is determined by a certain person or group of people, how to deal with this person or group of people will always be the top priority of your work.
Tyronn Lue wants to cherish this opportunity that fell from the sky.
After all, he still wants to work in the warm and familiar Los Angeles compared to the cold and harsh Boston.
Returning to the Staples Center where he once thrived.
Compared to the aging and declining Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Clippers are the brightest rising star in the league.
And the head coach is completely different from the assistant coach, he will come to the center of the stage.
That night, after communicating with the team management, Tyronn Lue took a red-eye flight from Boston to Los Angeles and arrived in Los Angeles on January 20.
The second-round interview 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 in his life.
Tyronn Lue brought nothing, no tactical manual, no videotape, no drawing board, so he sat alone at the conference room table.
Min Congda looked up and down at this humble-looking point guard. The most famous scene in NBA history is the point guard who was knocked down and stepped over by Iverson.
He asked the first question of the interview: "Do you think the Clippers will change under your leadership?"
Tyronn Lue thought for a while and said: "I think if I came to lead the Clippers, the team... might become a little worse."
Um? Min Congda's eyes lit up after hearing this!
This guy is a bit interesting!
Some people died, but not completely...
