The Rest, Only Noise

The fact that Ralph Sampson is about to become a Celtics has many teams living in fear.

New York owner Sonny Weblin, who has been paying attention to the league, said: "What could be scarier than a 62-win team getting the best rookie of the decade?"

Others were optimistic about the state of affairs.

For example, 76ers coach Billy Cunningham.

He believes that Sampson's potential has yet to be developed and will not affect other teams in a short time.

He's right, Sampson wasn't a decisive force for a year or two. But after a year or two, it's hard to tell.

Within days, Louie got his third contract.

He's still a senior Celtics scout and assistant coach, and now Auerbach has a new position.

Potential development coach.

The first potential development coach in Celtics history is Louie, who will be responsible for the potential development of interior players.

Not only Sampson, who is about to join the team, is in charge of him, but Laimbeer and others are also in charge of him.

In the 80s, it was a creative concept.

Louie also asked the team to hire a fitness coach to serve as the team's nutritionist, mainly responsible for making Sampson's recipes to allow him to gain weight reasonably.

Reasonably asked, Auerbach agreed.

In the NBA finals that ended not long ago, the magician came down to earth, played the famous 42-point battle, and let out a bad breath, proving to the media who looked down on him that he was no worse than Bird.

This year's Rookie of the Year vote, Bird won by a landslide.

The 63-3 vote spurred the Magicians.

What Magic didn't know was that the fact that he led the team to the championship was also stimulating Bird.

From the NCAA to the NBA, Magic's team performance has been ahead of Bird, which deeply troubled him.

A few days before the 1980 draft, the Celtics held a pre-draft briefing, as they did in the past.

There were Auerbach, owner Mandrian, Bill Fitch, K.C. Jones, Louie and new assistant Jimmy Rodgers. Rodgers was Fitch's old Cleveland staff, and former assistant coach Bob McKinnon went to the Washington Bullets to seek employment.

In addition to a few core decision-makers and the coaching staff, there were also Jane Walker, garden announcer Johnny Most and other important figures for the Celtics.

There is nothing to discuss about the candidate for the top pick.

What they're discussing is the 13th pick in the first round.

With the arrival of Sampson, the Celtics no longer need to be reinforced inside, but the back line needs to be improved.

Nate Archibald is a decent starter for the most part, but he has a lot of defensive issues.

Fitch prefers players who are down-to-earth and steady.

A scout recommended Ronnie Lester, whom Louie called a normal player in his scouting report.

John Kirillia suggested a trade up for North Carolina's Mike Okran.

"Mike is a rare tall guard who can play three positions."

He also praised Oklen's professional attitude.

And, quoting Dean Smith's assessment of his disciples.

"Coach Smith said O'Cron is the best guard he's ever seen."

"If I were Mike's coach, I'd say the same for his future." Louie didn't mean to target Kyrilla, he really didn't think Dean Smith's assessment would explain the problem.

Kirillia gave Louis a displeased look.

From the first day this kid came to the Celtics, he was against him everywhere.

But now Louis has three jobs. Although he has only been on the job for less than three years, his contribution to the team has already exceeded some of the seniors in the team.

That's why he can rise so fast.

"Then what do you recommend?" Kirillia could only say.

"John, I like your idea, swing guys are really a talent category we need to focus on." Louie didn't embarrass Kyrilla too much, "but Mike Okran is not the player we need, he has a former Qi's market, if we want to get him, we need to pay a big price."

"Besides, he's not our best option in this position."

The 20-year-old Louie has the right to speak at the briefing meeting, which is difficult for other scouts to match.

At a young age, he can express his views in front of the seniors in the team and attract attention. This is the position he has successfully achieved repeatedly over the past three years.

John Long, Maurice Cheeks and Bill Laimbeer, who were recommended by him, all made their mark in the league. Long is the team's starting No. 2. Cheeks is the starting guard that the 76ers vigorously cultivate. And Laimbeer also proved himself in the Eastern Conference finals last season, and it is a sure thing to be reused in the new season.

As long as it's related to the draft, he's an authority.

Because he hasn't missed it yet.

"Lu, who do you think is the right choice?"

Auerbach asked.

"Andrew Toney of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette." This is the first talent that Louie saw. "Although he is a 6-foot-3 (193CM) No. 2, he has enough talent to be a cameo No. 1. Ball ability. He has the offensive ability that we are sorely lacking on the back line, can fire from any position within the three-point line, has a standard shot, is difficult to block, has a killer instinct..."

Bill Fitch worried: "A 6-foot-3 2?"

"I said, he can play the 1st position." Louie said, "In my opinion, he is a more ferocious 'elf' on the offensive end, and he is still young and has good plasticity. I believe that under coach Fitch's The men must learn how to control their offensive urges. His impact in the frontcourt can bring immediate impact, and I believe he is the final piece of the puzzle for the Celtics to return to the hall of glory."

Louie's devotion to Andrew Tony is astonishing.

This should be his most admired player so far.

"He's so good, can he still drop the 13th pick in the first round?" Mandrian asked.

"That's what worries me," Louie explained. "Most people think he's a pocket two, but any experienced scout can see that he has enough ball-handling ability to play the one. , he's putting up good numbers in a weak league, but the competitiveness of the league he's in can affect how scouts rate him."

"I'm not the only one who 'discovered' him, I believe," Louis affirmed.

"So, we're going to trade?" Auerbach asked.

"Better." Louis finished.

Although many people on the team had doubts about Andrew, no one raised any doubts.

The only thing that can be said is that Andrew is too short as the second position.

For the next few days, Auerbach repeatedly watched the video of Andrew's game at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette sent by Louis.

He didn't like videotapes, but it was the only way he could get to know Andrew.

On the tapes, he really saw what Louie described as "killer."

This is even more tangible in Louie's scouting report.

"He is slaughtering his opponents all the time."

"Confidence in his abilities, with a contempt for every attack."

"Once it's hot, he'll be a butcher."

It's hard to say this feeling, but anyone who has watched Jordan and Kobe's games will understand. When Jordan met the so-called "Jordan Terminator". How did Kobe punish his opponent when he got irritated and grinned and forgot where the pass key was.

That's how Andrew plays.

He is a bit more sloppy than these two.

The attitude of Jordan and Kobe slaughtering opponents is "I must kill you today", while Andrew's feeling is "You dare to stand in front of me at this level?".

Auerbach was sure he saw the same thing as Louis.

So he set out to prepare a deal.

You really can't expect other people to be fools waiting for a good piece of meat to fall into their mouths.

On the day of the draft, teams traded continuously.

The Celtics, hungry for a pre-trade pick, called the archrival Philadelphia 76ers for their No. 8 pick in the first round.

The proposal was quickly rejected by the other side.

Although Auerbach valued Andrew very much, he had a bit of luck in his heart, thinking that Andrew's draft should not be so high, so he took the second place to find the San Diego Clippers with the ninth pick.

After the two sides negotiated, the Celtics exchanged the 13th pick in the first round and two future second-round picks to the ninth pick in the first round in the hands of the Clippers.

At the beginning of the draft, Larry O'Brien immediately announced: "The Celtics selected center Ralph Sampson from the University of Virginia with the first pick in the first round!"

Watching the young 7-foot-4 beast stand up, UU read www. The history of uukanshu.comNBA will also usher in a new page.

It is a pity that the Celtics were not able to take down Andrew Toney as scheduled.

Just a little bit!

The 76ers, one pick ahead of them, went ahead with the eighth pick, bringing Tony back to Philadelphia.

That's what Louis and Auerbach fear.

Tony is undoubtedly a piece of real gold wrapped in rust, but scouts who can see people are not unique to Boston.

The 76ers' Jack McMahon also locked him.

The Celtics, who failed to adopt a more aggressive strategy on the trading floor, could only watch the beautiful woman fall into the arms of the sworn enemy.

Auerbach immediately started the preparatory program.

He made a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the ninth pick in the first round from the Clippers.

The Celtics traded the ninth pick in the first round for "Iron Man" Randy Smith (RandySmithSG/SF).

This man was A.C. Green's previous NBA streak holder.

Although it is the last year of his career, he still averaged 20 points per game in the rotten Cavaliers last season, which can be regarded as a back-up for Auerbach who can't get Andrew Toney reserved.

Although not getting Sampson and Tony at the same time, the Celtics' harvest in this draft can also be regarded as a reward.

They also strengthened their weakest interior and back line, plus the existing candidates.

The Green Army at this time is completely different from last season.

The strength of the lineup is enough to make other teams shudder.

From the moment the draft was over, the Celtics became a "win or lose" team.