The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 579 - 5 Foxbat_2
His rebounding, steals, and defense are irreplaceable, something that Hornacek and Terry Porter simply cannot provide.
West understood clearly that if Drexler hadn’t left in the summer of ’88, and had faced off against Magic Johnson in the ’89 Western Conference finals, the Lakers might still have not been able to get past the Trail Blazers.
In this respect, Pat Riley indeed accomplished his revenge against the Trail Blazers, even though it ended up benefiting the Lakers.
Petrović was also a talented guard, but according to the information West had received, Petrović also had injury problems.
Dubbed "the Mozart of basketball," he was strong offensively but weak defensively. The Trail Blazers already had an overflow of firepower; they needed defense, rebounding, and steals, someone to do the dirty and tiring work.
The fourth point: To strengthen the Trail Blazers’ coaching staff. After Adelman left and Jack Ramsay retired, the Trail Blazers were left with Beelman alone at the helm.
He tried to find assistant coaches, but he wasn’t very satisfied with the collaboration, as Beelman had his own ideas, which others found difficult to understand.
Being young, he operated like the coaches from the ’60s and ’70s, doing everything by himself. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
In the current NBA, this was definitely not feasible; he needed the help of assistant coaches.
When West took over as Lakers’ head coach, he immediately recruited two assistants for help.
West had already decided that if a suitable candidate couldn’t be found, he might fill in as an assistant coach for a while.
West was also very interested in the up-and-coming Bobby Beelman.
If he could successfully achieve these four work objectives, West was confident that the new season’s Portland Trail Blazers would set sail once more, unstoppable by anyone.
This draft, West was prepared to give it his all, secretly fight a beautiful battle, and achieve his strategic objectives.
That’s why he requested to keep his visit to Portland confidential, holding meetings overnight to devise strategy and preventing leaks so other teams wouldn’t be on guard.
After West arrived, the former general manager, Buckwalter, would return to his position as head scout and be promoted to vice president and director of player personnel.
Buckwalter was very satisfied with this arrangement. He had had enough of being general manager the previous season.
With most of his subordinates gone and an all-knowing boss above, he found it extremely difficult to move an inch.
Last season, the Trail Blazers didn’t complete any notable trades or successful signings.
Now with someone as well-known as West taking the heat, Buckwalter’s promotion and pay raise allowed him to do work he was familiar with, which was an opportunity he couldn’t have asked for more.
Of course, Buckwalter’s skill in selecting rookies was very noteworthy.
The building of the Trail Blazers’ first dynasty owed much to Buckwalter’s talent for finding gems in the lower draft picks. He was key to the Trail Blazers rising so quickly without any major trades, no attraction for big-name free agents, and not many top draft picks.
This draft, the Trail Blazers had the 24th pick in the first round and the 35th pick in the second round, which were the low-order and second-round picks Buckwalter was familiar with.
Buckwalter said, "The top target for the 24th pick is Michael Smith from Brigham Young University, a 6-foot-10 white interior player from the All-America Second Team."
West glanced at Michael Smith’s profile and shook his head, saying, "He won’t fall to the 24th pick. Brigham Young’s white forward, the Bostonians will definitely want him. Plus, I don’t rate his ability; the Trail Blazers don’t need his offense."
Buckwalter said, "It is indeed a slim possibility with Smith, that’s why we haven’t contacted him... The second target is Anthony Cook from Arizona, 6-foot-9, with good rebounding and shot-blocking ability. The third target is Gary Leonard from the University of Missouri, 7-foot-1..."
West looked through the profiles of these players, and from his expression, it was clear he was not very satisfied with these choices.
As for Cliff Robinson, who was to be picked in the second round, West said, "This guy has a drug use risk. You guys should have taken that into account."
Buckwalter replied, "Indeed, that’s a problem, but if he didn’t have that risk, I don’t think we’d be able to get him in the second round. We need a talented forward to fill the gap brought by Cheche’s decline."
When Buckwalter spoke these words, he glanced at the boss Tang Jianguo.
Tang Jianguo, frowning with his arms crossed, sat to the side with a serious expression as if he were listening intently.
But Buckwalter was sure he hadn’t absorbed a word; he was unfamiliar with these players.
When the Trail Blazers were sold to Tang Jianguo, Larry Weinberg wanted to be sure the buyer was a real basketball fan, not someone who just saw the team as a money-maker.
Tang Jianguo was indeed a fan; he often appeared at NBA games, exposing himself to the live broadcast cameras.
However, his interest was only in those superstars like Ah Gan, like Jordan, like Magic.
He seldom interfered with the finer details and role players.
This gave him the appearance of not a true seasoned fan, but to a certain extent, it also benefited the management’s selection process.
A boss who likes to micro-manage is not necessarily a good boss.
West asked Gan Guoyang, "Ah Gan, what do you think of Cliff Robinson?"
Gan Guoyang replied, "I’ve seen his game tapes. At 6-foot-10, he can play inside and outside, very versatile. Feels a bit like me, but in all respects, he’s quite a bit less skilled."
West gave Gan Guoyang a disdainful look and asked, "Is this guy always like this, liking to compare others to himself? Do you find that interesting?"
