Champagne Stings the Eyes

It bounced. From the front office, it appeared as though the orange orb was a tiny dot amongst the constellation of players vying for its possession.

“We’ve got to do better than last year. I assumed control over this enterprise with what limited knowledge I had of business. Remember, I’m coming out of high school,” Posner Deeks said.

The boardroom snickered.

“But seriously, I know my faults and failures. I’ve learned from them and it feels great to realize that we can make changes on the fly. Now, it is time to unveil the current roster. There’s Connor, Balik, Jobas, Terry and me.”

“That’s our starting five?” Stapleton Smithee asked.

“Yes. I tweaked it so that we will have adequate space for a wriggle room. By chopping Davidson and Riley we can peer into the future.”

“And your head coach is back from touring on the spaceship….” Lance Adepo pointed out.

“Horton’s on a flight into Delaware as we speak. He will be the guide to a championship we project in three years. His expertise and ability to show us what we’re doing wrong and all our foibles will propel us to victory.”

The room seemed to hush gradually. Thoughts of keeping Deeks as the owner reassured the men and women of the board. They looked at the numbers.

“It appears we have two three-point shooter joining the ranks,” Zacaria Wantanabe said.

“We have three designated three point assasins who are ready to do damage betond the arc,” Deeks insisted.Zacaria twirled her pin in her hand.

“Let’s just say that we eventually reach that promised land,” Xavio Onyx said. “We get a chip. Then what?”

“We all reap our bonuses and then we search for three to ten more trophies,” Deeks replied.

“Ten?”

“That’s right.”

“Isn’t that greedy?” Zacaria asked.

“It is very greedy and very good. What were they chanting after the Bulls’ second threepeat? Seventh heaven. Why did Kobe feel like he failed? He didn’t get those six rings that Jordan earned. It’s all about perspective. The rapacious nature of this game asks for more. You want more points, assists, steals, blocks. More is more when it comes to the game of basketball.”

“But aren’t we putting ourselves a bit too far ahead of ourselves?” Onyx asked.

“No,” Deeks replied. “I don’t. Iverson never got a ring but he’s in the Hall of Fame. Barkely, same thing. Players want it all. They want the induction but mostly they want to lift that golden statuette up and wear goggles to protect themselves in the locker room. Champagne stings the eyes.”

“So what you’re saying is that we’re going to get all of these victories after a 32-50 record last year?” Zacaria asked.

“I’m telling you we will right this ship and glide it to winning waters. If you’re on board with me, then you will see this team turn around in the playoffs and win the finals. This team is on my back. I’m aware I can be fired any moment. You all know that well enough. What I’m doing here is setting the tone for player-owners to take their roles seriously. That if they wish to continue down this beautiful path of riches and glory, the work must be done.”

“And who’s doing the heavy lifting?”

“I’ll be lifting figuratively and literally,” Deeks smiled. The room let out a chuckle.

“I wish to say that these coaching and player changes worried me at first, in fact I’m still apprehensive. How do we know we’ll be the dynasty team you envision?”

Deeks sighed. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”