Just the Losers’ Alliance (asking for monthly votes)_3 771: 261: Big 3?
Just the Losers’ Alliance (asking for monthly votes)_3 “Hey, you really don’t need to worry about this because Roger asked me to come find you.
You know Roger’s standards; if he doesn’t respect you, he wouldn’t even think of you.
Maybe Roger is a strict person, but Jeff, did the cozy Salt Lake City help you win a championship?
Also, if the thing about Jerry Stackhouse hitting you happened with the Hawks, trust me, Jerry wouldn’t be able to walk away standing.
Forget those damn rumors, there’s no better atmosphere than the Hawks in the whole league.”
Jeff Hornacek stayed silent for a while, then nodded: “I need to go back and discuss it with my family, see if they’re willing to move to Atlanta.
Damn, my wife will kill me, I just told her about the plan to travel the world yesterday.”
“Looking forward to your good news, Jeff.
If your wife really takes action, text me with a ‘1’, and I’ll help call the police.”
Having already stood up to leave, Hornacek took a couple of steps before seemingly remembering something, turned around, and looked at Babcock’s face: “Hey, Pete.”
Want to sign directly without telling anyone first?
“No, you really should take a break, your dark circles are worse than Charles Barkley’s rear end.
At your age, you shouldn’t be staying up , it might really kill you.”
After Hornacek left, Pete Babcock drank half a cup of coffee in one gulp.
The sour, bitter black liquid stimulated his taste buds, making him feel a bit more awake.
Caffeine had no effect on him anymore; he purely needed the bitter taste to stay alert.
Hornacek’s observation wasn’t wrong; Babcock hadn’t had a good night’s sleep for several days.
He had been flying back and forth for several days and meeting different people for the summer enhancements.
After yesterday’s negotiations with Billups broke down, he immediately bought the latest flight to Salt Lake City and stayed up late to see Hornacek at the earliest.
His nerves were completely tense all the time; even when there was spare time, he couldn’t sleep at all.
His headache was unbearable, and he was dead tired, but he just couldn’t fall asleep.
Babcock drank the remaining half cup of coffee, then raised his hand: “Another cup!”
At this moment, the sound from the television drew Babcock’s attention.
Because he had reserved this coffee shop, there was only him as a customer, so the TV sound was extremely clear.
“The 00-01 Season Los Angeles Lakers will be a strong contender for the top ten teams in history.
In my career, I have never seen such a dazzling lineup.”
The words on TV made Babcock even more annoyed, and he shouted: “Turn off that damn TV!”
The dazzling lineup of the Los Angeles Lakers was precisely the source of Pete Babcock’s immense pressure.
Recently, two major events happened in the NBA, both related to the Lakers.
The first event, Jerry West, the Lakers’ symbol, left the place he had been committed to since 1960.
For almost half a century, Jerry West served as a player, coach, and management staff in the Lakers and personally crafted the Lakers’ glory.
But Phil Jackson’s arrival ended all of this; Phil Jackson wanted to be the next Pat Riley.
From the moment he entered the Lakers, he was excluding Logo.
He didn’t allow Logo to attend any team meetings, and if there were personnel changes he would bypass Logo and directly inform Jerry Buss.
In addition, since Phil Jackson was Jeanie Buss’s guy, he received favoritism from the Buss family.
This fact told everyone that getting close to a rich woman was the most correct direction for a man to strive in this lifetime.
Logo was heartbroken and proactive in resigning.
The second event, Los Angeles Lakers used Glenn Rice, Derek Fisher, and two first-round picks for 03 and 05 to get Grant Hill from the Pistons via a sign-and-trade!
This is an absolutely earthquake-level trade; people knew the Lakers would strengthen, but didn’t expect them to bring in a third superstar directly!
These two events can be viewed together because this trade was the trigger for Logo’s departure—Logo only learned about the trade’s completion through the news, while Old Buss and Zen Master were involved in the entire transaction, leaving Logo, the general manager, completely excluded.
And these two events concerning the Lakers are the source of Pete Babcock’s immense pressure.
Firstly, Jerry West’s departure surprised Babcock.
Even Pat Riley, who led the team to four championships, couldn’t shake Logo’s position, yet Zen Master, in just a year at the Lakers, succeeded.
You should know, Jerry West’s glory is almost synonymous with the Los Angeles Lakers’ glory.
Since the Lakers’ team moved to Los Angeles, this team and Logo were completely integrated, he participated in all the championship journeys since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles in various capacities.
Yet the Lakers decided to kick him out, so he was kicked out.
This inevitably reminded Babcock of his own experience—he nearly got kicked out this summer, but a phone call from Roger kept him in his job.
Even Logo could be kicked aside by the Lakers, yet Babcock got to stay because of Roger, which made Babcock dare not let Roger down.
So after seeing the Lakers form such a strong lineup, he worked day and night on enhancements.
The Lakers managed to secure Grant Hill, while all Babcock needed to do was secure some role players.
If he couldn’t even accomplish this, how would he be worthy of Roger’s trust and support?
Therefore, Babcock ran all over America day and night during this period.