Doc Rivers was waiting for him in the locker room after watching the entire game. He thought He Xi Meng was injured, but when He Xi Meng returned to the locker room and closed the door, he immediately started yelling at Rivers.
"Why didn't you let me play in the fourth quarter?"
"I'm the head coach! I want you to understand that I have the right to play players and the right not to play players! You must respect me!"
"If you feel I've offended you, okay, I apologize! But you shouldn't use the team's victory as a bargaining chip against me!"
"We could have won this game! Karl and I wore down Kobe, and Xi Meng just needed to come in and seal the deal..." Payton also couldn't stand Rivers' actions and immediately stepped forward to support He Xi Meng.
"I am the head coach of the Celtics, and I bear the primary responsibility for the outcome of every game the team plays! I'm not happy with losing, but I'm even less happy that you didn't execute our planned tactics..."
"Our planned tactics? You mean your tactics, right?"
"My tactics are our tactics! I'm the head coach, and I'm responsible for all the team's tactics! As a player, you should do what a player is supposed to do! Just listen obediently and execute! Not tell me what to do..."
Rivers kept emphasizing his position as head coach, asserting that only he had the right to be responsible for the team's wins and losses!
"The team hired me, gave me a contract, to do this. And you, you're just a point guard! You're hired by the team to execute tactics..."
Rivers had finally said it all, expressing his true feelings in front of the whole team.
"Very good! From a head coach's perspective, I think you're not wrong to fight for your rights! I admire your courage!"
"But unfortunately, the Celtics are not suitable for you! Since you want to coach a team that listens to you, then you'll have to find another job!"
"Find another job?" Rivers laughed, "Who do you think you are?"
"Michael!" He Xi Meng ignored Rivers and turned to look at "The Boss" who was watching the show from the side.
"You've heard the situation, right? It's not that I can't tolerate Coach Rivers, but that my basketball philosophy and Coach Rivers' cannot coexist!"
"Understood! What do you want to do?" The Boss asked with a smile, flicking the ash from his cigar.
"Get Mr. Rivers out of here immediately! The Celtics don't welcome him!" He Xi Meng said decisively.
"Excellent! That's exactly what I was thinking!" The Boss said, gesturing as if inviting him, "I've just been looking into a few new coaches. Would you like to go to the conference room and check them out now?"
"Great! I'll take a shower and then meet you in the conference room!"
...
"Wait! Wait!"
Rivers was suddenly flustered when he saw The Boss and He Xi Meng seemingly serious, about to get him fired as the Celtics' head coach in just a few words.
"Michael, I have a four-year guaranteed contract with the team!" Rivers reminded The Boss.
"How much was that four-year contract again?" He Xi Meng chimed in.
"I think it was 4 years and 10 million dollars?"
"To be precise, it's 4 years and 11 million!" Rivers corrected The Boss.
"We can do without that 11 million!" He Xi Meng waved his hand dictatorially.
"Don't do that! Small money is still money!"
The Boss immediately rejected He Xi Meng's prodigal behavior and made a call to Ainge.
"Hey, Danny, I want to fire Doc, can we just pay him for one year's salary?"
On the other end of the phone, Ainge was stunned!
Rivers had been in his position for less than three months, and had only coached 6 official games. Was firing him this quickly a bit rash?
"Uh, boss, Rivers is a star coach who has won Coach of the Year. It took me a lot of effort to lure him away from the Magic..."
"I'm asking if firing Doc can save us salary, why are you telling me this?"
The Boss impatiently interrupted Ainge's rambling, not giving him any chance to plead for Rivers.
"According to the contract, it seems not... We have to pay the full four years of salary..."
"Is there any other way? For example, like players, can we trade him to another team?" The Boss proposed a constructive suggestion.
"Trade a head coach?" Ainge was even more bewildered. The new owner's thinking was truly unconventional and imaginative...
"In principle, the league does not allow head coaches to be transferred..."
"No, no, no! Danny, what you said isn't entirely correct!" He Xi Meng reminded him, "The league allows teams to exchange draft picks or cash compensation for a coach's signing rights! As long as one principle is followed: the new coach's agreement must not involve any players..."
On the other end of the phone, Ainge fell silent.
"Danny, is Xi Meng right?"
"Uh... the league does seem to have such a rule, Michael, I need to verify it..."
"Shit! Are you competent as a general manager? Your business knowledge is so poor! Go verify it quickly and give me a reliable answer!"
The Boss said, hanging up on Ainge with clear dissatisfaction.
"Larry always says Danny is very competent and handles things thoroughly... Why do I feel that guy, like Doc, doesn't fit our team's style? If I replace Danny, do you have any objections?"
He Xi Meng shook his head, "I have no objections."
The Boss took a puff of his cigar and slowly blew out a smoke ring, saying, "I think Collins and I hit it off very well!"
Collins was the former general manager of the Wizards. After The Boss left the team, Collins was also sacked by Pollin and was currently at home taking care of his children, unemployed.
Frankly speaking, Collins' independent operational ability was definitely not as strong as Ainge's.
Ainge was the kind of general manager whom the owner could basically hand over the reins to without much oversight.
But The Boss didn't want to hand over his team. He enjoyed working and the sense of accomplishment from being involved in the team.
From this perspective, Collins was indeed more suitable than Ainge.
Collins would follow The Boss's lead completely, even if The Boss's decisions were wrong, he would do his best to execute them.
To use an inappropriate analogy, Collins was like a favored courtier beside an ancient emperor. He might not be very capable of handling official matters, even making a mess of them, but he could understand the emperor's intentions and keep the emperor comfortable.
The Boss needed such a favored courtier now to manage the team according to his wishes. Someone who would do as they were told, not someone who would constantly remind him of what was wrong.
Thus, The Boss supported He Xi Meng in replacing the head coach, and He Xi Meng supported The Boss in replacing the general manager. They happily reached a mutual assistance agreement.
Rivers was dumbfounded. He never expected that his momentary impulse would lead to him losing his coaching position!
Are star players so powerful these days?
They can directly negotiate with the team's owner about who the head coach and general manager should be?
Rivers felt his worldview had been shattered. He wanted to go home and be alone...