warrior godfather

"Jimmy is leaving the Warriors? What's going on? The Warriors just won the championship, and you're going to dismantle the championship lineup? What do you think?" Stevens questioned like a cannonball from the phone.

His voice was loud, Zhang Yu took the phone a little farther away, and said with a wry smile:
"I also want to keep Jimmy, but the contract extension has not been negotiated, so this is the only way."

"Contract extension...Okay, but you don't want to defend the title? The chance for a three-peat is in front of you. Jimmy is gone. Who are you going to fill his vacancy? Kawhi Leonard?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure he has that strength? His defense is really good, but it's not enough to shoot three-pointers." Stevens doubted.

"Brad, you must not have seen our regular season much... I let Kawhi practice the offense with the ball for a season, just so that one day he can carry the team's forward offense."

"So during the regular season, you were ready for Jimmy to leave?"

"Of course, I can't put all my eggs in one basket."

Stevens was silent for a while before saying:

"It seems that you have planned a long time ago... Well, I just saw that Jimmy and you parted ways, and I was in a bad mood. I thought he would always play for you like Stephen... When I was in the Bulldogs , Jimmy is your most staunch supporter. I don't even doubt that even if you let him sit on the bench for a season, he won't complain. I didn't expect him to leave the Warriors because of the issue of contract extension... ..."

Zhang Yu was also silent. In this world, there may be no one who understands the relationship between him and Butler better than Stevens.

Zhang Yu took Butler out of the slums, and Stevens was the one who taught Butler with his heart.

Stevens taught Butler how to play. Together with Zhang Yu, he is the leader on Butler's basketball road.

"The NBA is a business, it's normal... You called me just to ask about this?" Zhang Yu asked.

"One more thing-I want to ask which teams are in contact with you, and you can tell me the bottom line."

Zhang Yu's heart moved, and he asked:

"Are you asking on behalf of the Celtics?"

"No, I'm asking on behalf of the bulls."

Zhang Yu was greatly surprised by Stevenson's answer. He said in surprise:
"Bulls? You signed with the Bulls?"

"That's right, 4 million in 1800 years, the conditions are better than the Celtics, and they should have a lot of power. This morning, Foreman just called me. Actually, I didn't expect him to agree. My conditions, after all, the Bulls are a strong team with the ambition to compete for the championship, and Foreman only started contacting me not long ago, and I have no experience in coaching NBA teams... I didn't expect him to agree. said Stevens.

Zhang Yu's thoughts changed, and he figured out the key point:
"Because Jimmy was leaving, Foreman finally chose you?"

"It should be like this. I just won an NCAA championship, which is not enough for Foreman to value so much. He must choose me because he wants to take the lead in Jimmy's signing." Stevens is very self-aware Said.

Zhang Yu understood, and said:
"Well, since you asked, of course I can't hide it. Jimmy wants a super-max contract. He has agreed to a sign-and-trade. My minimum limit is a lottery pick this year, and a few The second round, but before that, you have to convince Jimmy, which should be a bit difficult. The Bulls already have Rose, and Jimmy seems to want to be the core of the team... I really don’t know, I’ll answer you after I ask Larry.”

Zhang Yu didn't hide anything. His relationship with Stevens was extraordinary, and it was well known that Butler wanted to leave the Warriors. His contract expired again, and it was impossible to get back any good bargaining chips.

"Thank you, Ronan, this matter is very important to whether I can gain a foothold in the Bulls. I will go and have a good talk with Jimmy. I owe you a favor." Stevens sincerely thanked him.

Zhang Yu smiled and said:

"Based on the relationship between the two of us, is there still a need to talk about this? If you cause more trouble for the Heat, it is the best reward for me."

"Are you still thinking about the Heat? Since I chose the Bulls, the Heat don't want to rule the East again! The most important thing you should do now is to study our lineup." Stevens said proudly.

"Hehe, let's talk about it when you reach the finals, we are the defending champions!" Zhang Yu smiled, "By the way, don't delay too long, give me a result earlier, before the draft, there must be a learn."

"Okay, I will definitely give you an answer before the draft. Well, I won't show up. Foreman will contact Larry, and it will definitely not delay your operation at the draft...Actually, what you want to choose Not Gobert, right?" Stevens said.

"You'll know when the time comes. Well, let's do it like this. Hurry up and don't be caught by other teams..." Zhang Yu was vague and hung up the phone.

He put down the phone, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

If the Bulls can get Butler, it will be even more powerful. Rose has not suffered serious injuries. Stevens can use a little Thomas in all kinds of tricks. Rose will only play better under him.

But no matter how strong the Bulls are, they are still in the East. They only play against the Warriors twice a season. The Warriors really need to pay attention to the opponents in the West. Sending Butler to the other half is already the best choice.

He's done everything he can, and now it's up to Stevens to convince Butler.

……

In the next few days, Butler's departure from the Warriors has become the focus of the entire league. Only the news of Howard's intention to leave the Lakers can be compared with this matter.

The draft is about to be held, the free market is about to start, and there are all kinds of disturbing rumors and gossips, which have aroused discussions among fans of various teams.

But while paying attention to the trade rumors, Warriors fans focused on another thing, and that was the championship parade.

On June 6th, starting at five in the morning, Warriors fans began to gather at the junction of Lakershore Street and 25th Avenue in Oakland.

In the next five hours, a large number of Warriors fans gathered here, waiting for the start of the championship parade.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the championship parade officially began. Warriors players and coaching staff rode floats, and drove through five streets amidst the yellow and blue intertwined fireworks ribbons flying all over the sky, celebrating the fifth in the history of the Warriors with Bay Area fans. championship.

The championship parade attracted a full 50 Bay Area fans to join. Oakland Mayor Schaff also participated in the parade. In addition, many local celebrities in the Bay Area joined in.

But in the parade, it was not these famous people who grabbed the spotlight the most, nor Zhang Yu, the leader of the Warriors, nor Curry, who won the MVP championship again, but Green.

At the end of the parade, Green, who drank a lot of champagne, directly grabbed the microphone in the hands of the host who interviewed him, and impromptu rapped in front of the cameras of the local media in the Bay Area.

The first half was normal, but Green suddenly changed the subject and said, "The Heat suck, yes, they suck."

As soon as Green said this, the expression of Clay next to him obviously became a lot more embarrassed, and the expression of the media host whose microphone was snatched by Green also changed drastically.

However, although this interview was somewhat inappropriate, it was still broadcast, and the Heat did not seem to see Green's rap and did not respond to it.

But the Heat fans quit. They watched the home team lose the finals for the third consecutive year. They were already very upset. Green sprinkled a handful of salt on their wounds and directly aroused their anger. .

But as the losing side, their rebuttals were very weak. Wade and Bosh both remained healthy, and the team's injury excuses were hard to come by. In the end, they could only blame coach Spoelstra. .

However, what surprised these Heat fans is that after losing the finals for three consecutive years, the Heat still haven't made any major changes, at least not yet.

Under the close attention of the outside world, the Heat neither dismissed Spoelstra nor reported any news of a deal. After successive failures, this super team has fallen into a calm state, which makes people puzzled.

However, people's attention was quickly removed from the Heat, and from Butler and Howard.

Because the 2013 draft is about to begin.

……

June 6, New York, Barclays Center.

As the home court of the Nets, Barclays Center is far less famous than the "Basketball Mecca" Madison Square Garden, but today, it has become the focus of attention of NBA fans all over the world.

Today, 30 teams will select 60 rookies here. Fans of each team hope that their home team can select the rookies with the most potential.

But there are far more than 60 young people participating in the draft.

Most of the candidates can only stay at home, praying that they can be selected.

Only a very small number of recognized geniuses will be invited by the alliance to come to the scene and sit in the small green room.

The rookies invited this year include young talents such as Steven Adams, Otto Porter, Victor Oladipo, Anthony Bennett, as well as international players such as Sergey Karashov from Russia.

One of the unexpected names is Rudy Gobert from France.

Gobert was not favored at the beginning, but as Larry Riley kept mentioning Gobert in front of the media, it attracted the attention of other teams. After voting by the general managers of each team, Gobert also won the entry Green House Eligibility.

But he and Sergey Karashov were the only two international players in the green room, and Giannis "Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo was not invited.

Still, Antetokounmpo was on the scene with agent George Demeter, even though he wasn't eligible for the Green Room.

Three days ago, Bucks general manager John Hammond contacted George Dimiter, saying that the Bucks would select Antetokounmpo with the No. 15 pick and hoped that he could come to the scene to participate in the draft.

George Dimiter naturally agreed, and Antetokounmpo was also ecstatic when he heard the news.

His biggest goal now is to become an NBA player and change the life of his family. After getting the promise from the Bucks, his goal has come true, which made the big stone in his heart fall to the ground.

However, it is a pity that candidates who have not been invited by the league to enter the small green room are not eligible to bring relatives and friends into the Barclays Center. Antetokounmpo can only participate in the draft with George Dimiter.

Today's Barclays Center is full of people, because this year is the first draft open to the public in NBA history. Countless enthusiastic New York fans spent 20-30 dollars to buy tickets and came to the scene of the draft.

When Antetokounmpo was playing in Greece, the arena was very small and could only accommodate a thousand fans at most. After coming to the United States, he devoted all his energy to the trial training and never had the opportunity to watch the playoffs live. Sai, today was the first time he saw so many spectators, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

However, at the thought that the Bucks would select him with the 15th pick, the tension in Antetokounmpo's heart disappeared without a trace, and a happy smile appeared on his face.

He has learned about Milwaukee carefully in the past two days. Although the climate there is much worse than that in Greece, the winter is very cold and there is heavy snowfall every year, but he does not mind Milwaukee's humid and cold climate at all if he can play in the NBA.

And the Bucks also promised to solve his accommodation and food problems, which made Antetokounmpo even more overjoyed, so that he could send all his salary to his family.

When Antetokounmpo was young, his parents had no money to pay the rent in order to let him play basketball with his brother, so the family could only live in the car.

When the salary is paid, he must let his family live in a big house, and when he makes a lot of money in the future, he will also bring his family to the United States to enjoy a good life.

Moreover, Milwaukee is a small town, and his house should not be far from the arena. He can run to the arena for training every day as before, and dribble on the road on sunny days, which can not only warm up, but also save money. Expenses, sent to family...

Antetokounmpo imagined his beautiful life in the future, the smile on his face was getting bigger and bigger, waiting for the start of the draft.

……

Antetokounmpo didn't wait too long. After a brief opening ceremony, league commissioner David Stern took the stage, which rarely aroused cheers from the audience.

This is the last time David Stern presides over the draft, and even the New York fans who have always disliked him no longer boo him.

David Stern, as usual, smiled and waved towards the audience, but there was a little more reluctance and nostalgia in this smile.

But he quickly controlled his emotions, took the envelope handed over by the staff, opened it, took out a note, and read it out:

"The 2013st overall pick in the 1 NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Anthony Bennett! He is from Canada and plays for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas!"

The audience applauded, and Antetokounmpo also applauded. Seeing the high-spirited Bennett walking up to the high platform to shake hands with David Stern, envy flashed in his eyes.

Who wouldn't want to be the first to be chosen?
But there is only one champion. Antetokounmpo is self-aware. He did not grow up in the American basketball system.

"The Orlando Magic selected Victor Oladipo with the 2013nd overall pick in the 2 NBA Draft! He's from…"

Antetokounmpo's mood became more and more excited as he watched the high-ranking rookies step up to the high stage.

The 15th pick is getting closer and closer, and the turning point of his fate is coming soon.