09-02-2020, 10:40 AM
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#11
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Designated Red Shirt
OVR: 0
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 5,795
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Re: House of 'Zards: Bazemore Returns
Ch. 4
The airport was busy, as it was the summer and DC was a prime tourist destination — admittedly, a very hot one as June had arrived and the NBA offseason was underway. But Ron wasn’t here to report the weather or even pick up a regular tourist — he was here to grab an old friend.
On cue, Doc Kirby stepped out of the boarding tunnel, his now-silver mustache and still thick-rimmed glasses leading the way. He looked well for a man nearly 70, but Doc was always one to take care of himself; he easily could have passed for a man still in his 50s if he wanted. Ron waved at him and Doc waved back with a kind smile.
The two exchanged a quick embrace. “Welcome to DC, Doc.”
Doc Kirby — hair all silver now, but very distinguished looking — gave a happy nod. “I’m glad to be here.” The two proceeded to exchange in some small talk as they made their way through the airport towards the exit. But once they reached the parking lot and the privacy of Ron’s car, the real talk began.
“I’m relieved you accepted my offer,” Ron said as the two drove out of the airport and towards the city. “I really want you here.”
Doc’s mustache seemed to curl up as he laughed. “How could I resist? My niece works on this staff, having a chance to work with family — and you — just wasn’t something I could pass up. I’m not ready to retire … I have you to thank for that.”
Ron shook his head. “You could have gotten a job on any team you wanted after I quit.”
“I could have, but it wouldn’t be the same,” Doc said with a tinge of sadness. “But you pulling me out of mothballs restored my love of life. Traveling around the world all these years, learning new things … I went so many places Ellen would have loved. And I think she was there with me, in a way.”
Ron looked over at him and gave him an understanding nod. “I think she’s always with you, Doc.”
“I tend to agree.” He took off his glasses and wiped them off with a cleaning cloth. “So, tell me, who are we picking in the draft?”
Ron let out a loud laugh. “You’re dying of curiosity, aren’t you?”
“Last time we came into a high pick, you traded up for Kobe Bryant and selected him first overall — a high schooler — and it had never been done before.” Doc put his glasses back on and smirked. “You seemed to relish blazing that path.”
Ron couldn’t hide his own smirk. “I admit, I kind of did … it was a different time then, though. Not a lot of paths to blaze now.”
“I disagree, there’s always room for something new.”
“That I can agree with.” Ron leaned back in his seat as the car stopped at a traffic light. “This draft is stacked with talent, top to bottom — I believe we could be looking at one of the deepest drafts in years, though top-flight talent is concentrated in probably the first ten or so picks.”
“So just within the lottery.”
“I’d say so — there are ten guys I see as all-stars and superstars, if they go to the right teams and have the right luck,” Ron conceded. “But the draft is always a crapshoot. We took Kobe and knew he might want to bolt to LA at the first chance … we avoided it for two years and then the owners stupidly locked out the players again ...”
“And Kobe was convinced to go to LA,” Doc finished. “It was a chance we had to take and it bore fruit for us and him. It was a good arrangement while it lasted.”
“That’s just it — ‘while it lasted’ — is quickly becoming the way of the NBA. There aren’t many stars staying with their teams their whole careers. LeBron, Wade, Bosh, all are free agents and all are likely to be on another team than the ones that drafted them by summer’s end.” Ron leaned a little into the accelerator as the light turned green and zoomed past some of the slower cars.
“You seem annoyed by that.”
“I am,” Ron admitted. “I get it, though — players deserve the freedom to choose, every other employee in this country has that and so should they. But it bothers me that organizations seem ill-prepared to acknowledge that and even embrace it. It’s reality and if an organization was upfront about it, from the beginning, I think it would make a difference.”
“But winning is what it comes down to for just about everyone, Ron,” Doc countered. “You can’t expect a player to sit on a losing team for years and not want out?”
“Absolutely not, that’s the role of the organization — starting from the GM on down.” Ron tossed Doc a glance and stuck a finger in his own chest. “That’s why I want full control, and why DC is giving it to me. I think I can cut through the noise and build an organization that is upfront and honest with players … and in return, I think they’ll be that way with me.”
“And if they are, that will help the communications element of all this.”
“Exactly.” Ron held up his wedding ring finger. “If this has taught me anything, it’s that honest communication is the key building block of any relationship. If I’m going to be the head coach and GM of this team, if I’m going to be the architect of this organization, if the Wizards are going to be winners and contenders, then we have to have honest communication at the center of it all.”
“Whole heartedly agreed,” Doc said with verve. “Your logic is sound, though there is still the unaccounted for element of the agents.”
“Agents,” Ron spat. “I really wish they didn’t exist.”
“Not everyone of them is like Tellem.”
Ron frowned. Tellem had been Kobe’s agent when the Heat had drafted him and had been the man that made Ron’s life hell with the Heat after Ron had convinced Kobe that Miami was the place to make his mark. Though Tellem was ultimately dealt with and stripped of his ability to be an agent, the idea he had planted in Kobe’s head about the Lakers had eventually resulted in Kobe’s trade demand to LA after Ron retired.
“In a strange way, you have Tellem to thank for your life now,” Doc continued with a chuckle.
Ron sighed. “That thought has occurred to me over the years. If he hadn’t leaked all my personal life details to the press, Cynthia and I may have never gotten together.” It was hard for him to even imagine a life without her or Leo … would he even be happy in that life?
“Agents will always be the toughest variable to account for. But if you’re honest with the players, I think it will go a long way with putting the organization in good standing with the other players in the league.”
Ron nodded. “That’s really the whole point; you don’t want to have the impression out there that the organization is duplicitous. Even if our stars decide to go elsewhere, if we do right by them, we should at least mitigate some damage and set ourselves up for an easier rebound.”
“Then that leads me to this question: what are we doing about Arenas?”
Ron let out a deep sigh. “I’ve talked with him and asked him if he wants out and if so, to where. I’m not going to tie him to a rebuilding team if he doesn’t want to be here. He’s given me a list of teams to talk with and there’s one in particular that I have my eyes on.”
“At least he was honest.”
“He was honest because I was.” Ron tapped his thumb against the steering wheel as they pulled into Alexandria, not far from his home. “Arenas going will be a blow, but we can build a team around our first overall pick. I’ll tell you my plan over dinner.” Ron gave him a smirk. “I think you’ll like it.”
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