With the away victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Magic's 2003-04 season came to an end for the players. After returning to Orlando, the team disbanded on the spot. In fact, the players whose contracts were to be renewed were also on vacation, leaving their agents behind.
Debate over contract renewal.
Although the players have been disbanded, the NBA is not over, and the playoffs have officially begun.
Team staff like Edison naturally had no rest. After the game, the acting head coach was relieved of his duties, and his identity reappeared as the assistant team manager.
This year's magic was very unlucky, probably because Edison came on stage and changed his destiny and changed his character. Edison had just taken a day off when he came back and received a call from Pat again. The signing king once again conveyed bad news to Edison.
"Paul, what happened to Charlie DeVos this morning?"
"Who, you said something happened to Charlie?"
"Yes, Charlie suffered a cerebral hemorrhage when he got up this morning. After emergency rescue, he is still in danger."
"God, what happened to Magic today? Maybe we should donate to the Foursquare Gospel Association. Hasn't Mr. Charlie been in good health? Doesn't he insist on eating Nutrilite every day?"
"Well, Charlie never eats that kind of thing. The main reason I called you is to tell you that at Charlie's age, even if his life is out of danger, no one can guarantee what will happen. Maybe he will be paralyzed in bed from now on, or maybe he will be paralyzed in bed again.
I can't speak or write. In addition, the team's president Van der Velde and the original manager Weisbrod are also in the hospital, so now I am the only one qualified to finalize the team's future plan. Come to me this afternoon.
In the Amway Center office, I plan to implement your previous plan."
That afternoon, Edison came to Old Pat's office.
"Paul, sit down. That's it. Something happened to Charlie now, and you also know the situation of Weisbrod and Vandevelde. I plan to have an overview of the team's management right now. What do you think? Is it feasible?"
After hearing this, Edison looked at Old Pat in surprise. Three big words flashed in his mind, "The Legend of Zhen Huan". Old Pat was going to seize the class and seize power. But when he thought about it carefully, it was wrong. Old Pat was the initiator of the formation of the team.
Man, why have so many years passed? If he was a man who was greedy for power, he would have legitimately become the team president long ago. There was no need to wait until now.
"Of course, with your qualifications, Pat has devoted so many years to the team. Now you come to manage the team. I don't think anyone will object. In fact, Mr. Charlie will be here, and he will not object, but what do you want?"
do what?"
Old Pat did not think that Edison would think of seizing class power, and continued, "It's like this, the team has had a lot of misfortunes recently, and I am very old myself. I'm afraid that I will think about it when I wake up tomorrow."
Like Charlie, he may never wake up again, or never wake up again. These things touched me very much, and I began to be afraid, not of death, but of not being able to see the team win the championship with my own eyes.15
Years have passed, and the time when a few of us planned to set up an NBA team in Orlando is still vivid in my mind, but we have not won a championship this year, although we once had many excellent players. I think of it now
You were so confident in your team-building plan in my office and in the big conference room that day. Your confidence infected me. It made me feel that you could succeed, that the plan could work, and that it could bring success to Orlando.
The first championship. Paul, you have the ability, courage, and knowledge. I believe in you, so I decided to implement your previous team building plan. Now I want to know if you have the confidence to rebuild the team.
important responsibility.”
Edison thought about many possibilities, but he did not think of this. Old Pat's thoughts were full of love for the team. This love has even transcended life and death. This love can make him give everything he has for the team.
,. Edison knows how risky it is for Old Pat to implement his team building plan at this time, and how much responsibility he needs to bear, but Edison needs this opportunity, and he also believes that he can fulfill Old Pat's wish...
So the two people communicated together for a long time, and finally Pat decided to hold a high-level meeting of the team the next day.
The next day, April 17, the team's deputy director Pat Williams Sr., the manager of the personnel department Dev Tovacek and the manager of the player development department Odis Smith and many other senior officials gathered again in the conference center of the Amway Center.
, compared with the last team high-level meeting, there are three less big-name figures.
Old Pat said straight to the point as soon as he came up, "As everyone knows, two unfortunate incidents happened to the team in the past week. Now I am temporarily in charge of the team's decision-making power. Do you have any opinions?"
Old Pat has been with the Magic for more than 10 years and is one of the initiators of the Magic's team building. Although he has not been very prominent in recent years and has the title of deputy director of the team, he has actually not been involved in the team.
Things have changed, but when he comes back with such qualifications and demands to take control of the entire team, and at a time when other big players are in tragedy, everyone present may not support it, but no one objects.
"Well, now I am the interim president and manager of the team. For the team's manager, Dev Tovacek, the manager of the player development department, and Otis Smith, the manager of the player development department, have joined forces to succeed the team's general manager.
.The team’s head coach next season will still be Paul Edison. As you have seen, in the last two games of this season, Edison led the team to play very well. Although the opponents are not very strong, our strength is even worse.
Moreover, after the tragic tragedy he just experienced, Edison was able to adjust the team's state in time, scoring over 100 points in two games and winning, which shows his coaching ability. As for the future team plan, it will be based on Edison's last team building plan.
Edison is responsible for executing and rebuilding the team. The main job of Dev and Otis now is to cooperate with Edison's team building plan. Do you have any different opinions?"
After Old Pat's appointment, everyone present looked at each other. At the beginning, Dev Tovacek and Otis Smith were asked to join forces as team managers. Everyone thought this was quite reliable, and the two people worked conscientiously.
He has worked for the team for nearly ten years, and everyone knows his talents. If these two people join forces as managers, they may not achieve any big results, but at least they will not make big mistakes. The current owner, Charlie DeVos, is not sober, but
It doesn't mean that I will never wake up in the future. This kind of arrangement method is a good thing for everyone.
As for letting Edison continue to be the team's head coach, it's not a big deal. He did play well in the last two games. It makes sense not to change coaches after winning. Moreover, Tracy McGrady has made it clear that he is leaving. If the team rebuilds, the record will definitely be better.
No matter where you go, well-known coaches know what's going on here and are reluctant to come, for fear of ruining their own brand. Then simply let Edison take the lead first, and then fire him when it's no longer possible, and replace him with someone else, which can be regarded as a contribution to management.
There is a black pot on the top floor.
But giving the leadership of the reconstruction to Edison, and letting Dev Tovacek and Otis Smith cooperate with Edison, everyone can't understand this. Everyone knows Edison's team building plan before, although it sounds beautiful
, but everyone knows that that plan is too crazy. Let’s not say much about this plan to bring the Sharks back. Once successful, it will definitely be the most important signing this summer, but can the Lakers lose? Even if the Lakers are determined to disband, what about the Magic?
Do they have enough chips? Although the Lakers are easier to deal with, you must know that the appetite of the Sharks is not that big. As for the draft, is Howard really better than Okafor? Maybe Howard's potential is really great and he can become
The next super center, but again, choosing Okafor will at least not make a big mistake. It is insurance. Choosing Howard itself is a big gamble. This is still saying that if the Magic get the No. 1 pick, if not,
Then Edison wants to trade McGrady for Howard, which is simply crazy. The safest option is to trade with the Rockets. Following McGrady's wishes, the Magic can make sense...
So someone immediately raised an opinion, "Pat, do you really want to follow Paul's team building plan? Isn't this inappropriate?"
"Now Charlie doesn't know when he will wake up. Vandevelde and Weisbrod are still in the will and need to rest and cannot work. The season is over and reconstruction is imminent. So if you have any good methods or good plans, please tell me.
Listen to you."
It's up to you to say it. This is a big killer. You can tell people how to answer it and tell them a plan "what to do." Well, Old Pat will make the decision immediately. If something happens in the future, it won't be Old Pat's fault.
Well, the person who came up with the idea was the one who came up with the idea. If you say "no plan", then it's time for old Pat to say it again. Having said that it's imminent, you don't have a plan. What do you think of this plan? What do you think of this plan? Say "
This plan is already very good." Well, this means that you support this plan. If you do this, this is not the result of my old Pat's arbitrary actions. It is also your business. You support it. Say "This plan is not
Okay." Then you talk about a good plan and then go back to it.
This is like your college graduation project. After you finished speaking, the grading teacher said to you, "This thing of yours is not perfect enough. There are some flaws. I will give you half a month. Can you make it more perfect?" How do you answer?
Okay, give me half a month and I can do better." Then the teacher will let you defend this time, but he will give you half a month to do it again. If you answer "It can't be perfected, that's it."
So congratulations, you talked back to the teacher and gave up immediately, waiting for the second defense.
The people who could sit in this conference room were all weathered and had never seen anything. As soon as Old Pat said this, everyone immediately thought of the result. They couldn't be the one who stood out, so everyone fell silent.
"Okay, if there are no objections, it's settled. The next work of the team will be centered on Paul Edison, using his previous team building plan as a template, and all departments will fully cooperate with him to implement it. Okay, let's break up the meeting. Paul, please wait
one time."
After everyone left, Old Pat asked Edison to sit down. After a while of silence, Old Pat did not look at Edison next to him. He looked straight at the seat opposite him, as if he could see through the wall.
Then he sighed and said quietly: "Paul, this time I put all my chips on you, but I don't regret it. I really think you can do it, you have the ability, and I hope to help."
Give me a try. But I don’t know if I’m too hasty if I really do it, and it might actually hurt you.”
"No, Mr. Williams, thank you very much for trusting me and giving me this opportunity. Please rest assured that I will definitely succeed. My eyes have already seen the bright future of magic, a dynasty created by you and me.
A dynasty that makes everyone crazy." Edison was like a cult leader, full of fanaticism.
Old Pat looked at Edison quietly. His eyes showed neither worry nor relief, nor confusion. He just watched quietly, neither sad nor happy, without a trace of emotion.
