warrior godfather

Chapter 584 What's going on?

June 6, New York, Brooklyn, Barclays Center.

The end of the NBA 2013-2014 season is also the beginning of the 2014-1015 season. The annual draft that makes the lottery team the most exciting is held today.

This year is a very rare draft year—at least in the media publicity. Even during the playoffs, the draft conference received a lot of attention. After the finals, the popularity of the draft conference rose immediately.

The Warriors, holding the No. [-] pick, only invited Wiggins to participate in the trial training, and Embiid and Jabari Parker's favor to the Warriors was turned a blind eye.

This makes those Canadian fans and mother fans who are optimistic about Wiggins very excited. If Wiggins can get the guidance of Coach Z, he will definitely be able to realize his peerless talent!
Although Embiid and Jabari Parker were not invited by the Warriors to participate in the trial training, they never gave up and kept showing favor to the Warriors. After all, the draft has not yet started, and everything is possible. won't show up at this time.

However, even if the two are not selected as the No. [-] pick in the end, it is safe to be selected in the top three.

Although in previous workouts, Embiid's back injury caused controversy, and some people thought it would affect his performance, but after an excellent and successful workout and interview, Embiid's performance made the 76ers The management is very satisfied and seems inclined to pick him with the second pick, even if it takes some risks for this, it will not hesitate.

Jabari Parker is favored by the 76ers and the Jazz, and the management of both teams appreciates him, and he is a strong contender for the second pick.

But in a fiery atmosphere, Barkley sang the opposite tune:
"A lot of people say that this year's rookies are very good, and several of them are considered to be the cornerstone of the team. But so far I haven't seen any players that make my eyes shine. Maybe they all played They had a great performance, but they were silent on a stage like March Madness. Considering the level of confrontation and defensive intensity in the NBA is much higher than that in the NCAA, I don’t think they are ready to play in the NBA.”

He obviously meant something. In the previous March Madness, the University of Kansas and Duke University led by Wiggins, Embiid and Jabari Parker were all out early, and they didn't even make it to the top 16.

"It's happened before that players who deserve to be No. [-] picks get out early in the NCAA Tournament, but most of them are because of the lack of strength of the teams they belong to. Basketball is a team sport after all. But Duke and Kansas are strong teams. , They are all expected to enter the final four. As the core players of a strong team but unable to lead the team forward, this is really very bad." Barkley's criticism was merciless.

In Duke University's loss to Mercer University, Jabari Parker made only 14 of 4 shots, scored 14 points, 7 rebounds and sent 4 turnovers.

Wiggins' performance was even more disappointing. Facing Stanford University's highly targeted defense, he only made 6 of 1 shots and only scored 4 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. Embiid was due to a back injury. Didn't show up at all.

Barkley concluded by saying:
"It's really ironic. Everyone wants to see what the top picks can do, but they're all out early. Maybe they still have a lot of potential that hasn't been tapped, but let's talk about them now." It's too early to reach the heights of the rookies in 1996 or 2003. I know no less than 6 teams that have confirmed their plans to play badly early this season, and they hope to draft a future cornerstone players, but judging from the current situation, such a plan is likely to fail."

Barkley's words were very sharp, but people were immersed in the peerless talents of these supernovas and scoffed at his words, thinking that he didn't want to see the Warriors continue to grow after seeing the Warriors get the No. [-] lottery. Saying this, after all, everyone knows about his feud with Zhang Yu.

But no matter what people think of this year's draft, amid all the chaos, the draft has finally begun.

The Warriors selected Wiggins with the No. 76 pick without any suspense, and the [-]ers took Embiid with the No. [-] pick. The Jazz only had Jabari Parker as their choice.

If it was the draft in previous years, the top three picks would be selected, and the draft would not be attractive, but this year is a super draft year, and the selection of lottery picks has also attracted much attention.

The Magic selected Aaron Gordon with the 4th pick, the Bucks selected Dante Exum with the 5th pick, the Celtics selected Marcus Smart with the 6th pick, and the Lakers selected with the 7th pick Power forward Julius Randle, there is no recognized talent after that.

But it is worth mentioning that the Timberwolves used the No. 13 pick to select a shooting guard from UCLA with very average statistics but extremely amazing talent-Zach LaVine.

He only played in the NCAA for one year, averaging only 9.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. In 18 games after the season, he only scored in double figures in 4 games. His performance was very average, but his physical talent was too outstanding, so he still entered the lottery Area.

But many people think that LaVine will not be famous in the NCAA, and he will probably fade out of the NBA soon, just like those guards with outstanding physical talents but still unable to develop skills in the past. The Timberwolves have done another stupid thing choose.

After the lottery draft ended, the rest of the draft seemed to be uneventful.

In a box, Zhang Yu stood by the window, holding a can of Coke in his hand, looking at the gradually calming Barclays Center, and asked:
"Larry, there's nothing wrong with Jokic, right?"

Larry Riley stood beside Zhang Yu, hesitated for a moment before replying:

"No... Ronan, are we really going to use the No. 27 pick in the first round to pick him? I don't think it's necessary? Only we have a fancy for him, and a second-round pick is enough."

Zhang Yu took a sip of Coke and shook his head lightly:

"The second-round signing is indeed enough, but the first-round signing can sign a four-year contract. At that time, we still have the priority to renew the contract, so that we can keep Jokic."

Larry Riley froze.

Good guy, this is getting more and more outrageous. It is not certain whether Jokic can adapt to the intensity of the NBA, so I started to think about how to keep him. A person who is usually quite sensible, why is he stunned today...

Larry Riley is still not optimistic about Jokic, but Zhang Yu has made up his mind, he can no longer persuade him, he can only follow through.

Waste it, waste it, it's just a first-round pick, anyway, the No. [-] pick is in the hands of the Warriors, and the Warriors are destined to be the biggest winners in this year's draft.

……

"With the 2014th pick in the first round of the 25 NBA draft, the Houston Rockets selected Clint Capela from Switzerland and playing for Chalon Sur Saone in France!"

In Xiao Hua's voice, the draft has gradually come to the end of the first round, getting closer and closer to the Warriors' No. 29 pick.

According to the record, the Warriors should be the No. 28 pick, but in the Butler deal, the Warriors and the Bulls swapped the first-round picks, and the Warriors' pick dropped one.

This is because Butler himself wanted to leave at the beginning, and Zhang Yu also promised that he would not ask for too high a price. He just asked for a second-round pick symbolically, and the other second-round pick and the first-round pick were swapped.

At this time, Larry Riley had left the box and went backstage, preparing to stuff a card with Jokic's name in the envelope.

Of course, he will have to wait until after the 26th pick is over before he can do that.

But seeing that the distance to earning this MVP-level super center is getting closer, Zhang Yu drank the Coke in his hand, and the smile on his face became more intense.

Curry, Clay, Leonard, Green, Jokic, Antetokounmpo, what a perfect lineup this will be...

At this moment, Xiao Hua on the high platform opened the envelope with the Heat team logo in his hand, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes, he raised his head, and said loudly:
"With the 2014th pick in the first round of the 26 NBA draft, the Miami Heat selected Nikola Jokic from Serbia, who played for the Mega Leks!"

Snapped!
Zhang Yu in the box subconsciously squeezed the coke can in his hand, staring at the smiling Xiao Hua on the stage, his eyes absent-minded.

"Ding……"

There was a soft ringtone of the mobile phone in the silent box, Zhang Yu suddenly came back to his senses, took a deep breath, suppressed all kinds of thoughts that suddenly appeared in his mind, and picked up the mobile phone to answer.

"Ronan, Jokic was cut off by the Heat, are you implementing a backup plan?" Larry Riley's calm voice came from the phone.

Zhang Yu gritted his teeth and said:

"Just do it."

After a while, the staff walked up to the high stage and handed the envelope with the Warriors logo to Xiao Hua. Xiao Hua took it and opened it with great interest. He was very curious which rookie Zhang Yu had his eyes on.

The executives of other teams who came to participate in the draft also stared at the envelope in Xiao Hua's hand. They suppressed their surprise at the fact that the Heat selected an unknown Serbian with the No. 26 pick, and waited for the Warriors' choice.

"With the 2014th pick in the first round of the 29 NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors selected Bogdan Bogdanovic from Serbia who played for Partizan Belgrade!"

Xiao Hua's voice fell, and the executives of each team were very surprised, it was another Serbian!

Are this year's international players so popular?Of the 27 rookies selected in the first round, 10 of them were international players, and the top three picks accounted for 5 of the two playthrough areas. The overall quality and quantity are not inferior to the American rookies.

It seems that we should focus on young international players...

While more and more team executives are ready to set their sights on international players, Larry Riley has returned to the box.

As soon as he walked in, Zhang Yu ordered:

"Call Pat Riley, trade Jokic, let him open the conditions, whether it is a draft pick or a player, as long as there is no main force, let him pick whatever he wants!"

Larry Riley immediately complied, and no one knew Zhang Yu's importance to Jokic better than him.

He walked to the corner of the box, picked up his mobile phone, and dialed out, but only said a few words, then hung up, and returned to Zhang Yu with a very ugly face:

"Pat Riley told me that Jokic was drafted by him for the Nuggets and couldn't be traded with us..."

"Nuggets? Then go to Tim Connery, the same conditions, let him pick whatever he wants!" Zhang Yu frowned, and when he raised his hand, he realized that he was still holding a crushed soda can, and put it away casually. to the table.

Larry Riley picked up the phone again and dialed:
"Tim, it's me. I have one thing to discuss with you... Nikola Jokic was selected by the Heat for you, right? I want to ask if you have any plans to make a move... What? You are very optimistic about him development? I hope you can think about it again, and you can talk about any conditions... Well, I understand, we will cooperate again when we have a chance, goodbye."

Zhang Yu was standing next to Larry Riley, and when he hung up the phone, his expression darkened.

Larry Riley put down his cell phone, looked solemn, shook his head and said:
"Tim Connery refuses to trade Jokic, says he's not for sale..."

"Fuck!" Zhang Yu said a sentence in Chinese, turned around and slapped the armrest in front of him heavily, vented a lot, and then turned around, "Check it out for me right away, why the Nuggets are interested in Jokic, we have obviously already After communicating with Jokic's team, he will be selected with the 27th pick, how could the Nuggets come out halfway to cut him?"

"Okay, I'll do it now." Larry Riley agreed, and then walked out of the box.

At this time, the draft has reached the 38th pick, and the Pistons selected Spencer Dinwiddie.

In the following draft, the Warriors used the No. 49 pick from the Bulls to select point guard Semaj Christon from Xavier University, and traded him for $70 for Dinwiddie—this is Larry— Riley had already negotiated a deal with the Pistons.

At the end of the draft, Larry Riley returned to the box.

Before the Nuggets intercepted Jujokic, Larry Riley was ignorant of this, but when the dust settled and he knew who the opponent was, things would be much easier to inquire about.

"What's going on?" Zhang Yu asked anxiously.

He never expected that he would be cut off by the Nuggets when he planned to choose Jokic with the first round pick!

Originally, the Nuggets only selected Jokic with a late second-round pick, and didn't pay too much attention to him. Why are they willing to pay the price of a first-round pick for Jokic this year?
Larry Riley explained:
"It's like this. I asked a friend who works in the Nuggets, and I finally found out. It turns out that the Nuggets have been paying attention to Jokic, even earlier than us, but when we contacted Jokic, his Agent Misko Raznatovic hid the news and told the Nuggets that we were planning to take Jokic with the first round pick, which led to us being intercepted..."

"I've been eaten at both ends, Misko Raznatovic, very good, I remember... these stupid managers!" Zhang Yu cursed.

But he had to admit that as an agent, Raznatovic did a good job.

Zhang Yu is now a gold-lettered signboard. Raznatovic has made full use of this. He has both the Warriors and the Nuggets. The Warriors serve as a guarantee, and they have also increased the Nuggets’ emphasis on Jokic. deficit.

He won the greatest benefit for Jokic, the Nuggets cut off a future mvp, and only the Warriors were cheated.

But this can't be blamed on others. If the Warriors hold back and wait until the draft, they will definitely not attract the attention of the Nuggets.

But the Nuggets paid attention to Jokic's performance early on, and the Warriors exposed their intentions in advance, only to be tricked once by Raznatovic and the Nuggets.

But this is also something that can't be helped. In order to invite Jokic, who had no intention of participating in the draft, the Warriors must make their own commitments.

But Zhang Yu now wants to understand. He already knew that Jokic would participate in the draft this year and be selected by the Nuggets. It must have been promised by the Nuggets. The Warriors did not need to contact Jokic in advance.

It's just that the smooth sailing in the draft in the past few years has made Zhang Yu a little swollen. Thinking of Jokic's second-round pick, there must be no one paying attention, and he was not careful enough, and finally suffered a big loss.

But Zhang Yu still couldn't figure it out. Even if he ignored the Nuggets, he raised his draft pick to the first round. Why did Connery still dare to bet?Isn't he afraid of being mistaken and wasting a first-round pick?
After all, Jokic's performance in Serbia was not outstanding before. Just because Zhang Yu took a fancy to him, Connery dared to take out a first-round pick to scratch the lottery. Isn't it too courageous?
Zhang Yu is puzzled by this, but if he knows that Connery has gone to the Timberwolves, he dares to use Beverly, Beasley, Vanderbilt, Kessler, Bolmaro and 4 first-rounders. It may not be so surprising to trade Gobert with a signing and a first-round swap right.

Connery is a big gambler. This time, after he learned that Zhang Yu was optimistic about Jokic, he decisively cut off his opponent. He didn't even choose Nurkic, who was originally fancy. Jokic, who landed in the NBA, agreed to let him join the Nuggets next season and prepare to train him well.

Connery's idea is very simple. Zhang Yu has trained so many young players, and he has never missed a single time. He bet Zhang Yu will not miss it this time.

General managers would never think so. No matter how accurate Zhang Yu's vision is, they would weigh the pros and cons. But Connery's decision-making thinking is different from others, otherwise he would not have paid so much for Gobert. Big price.

In the end, Zhang Yu could only admit that he was unlucky, and at the same time, he was alert. He must act cautiously in every draft in the future, and he must never let his fancy players be cut off by other teams.

……

After the draft, Zhang Yu met Wiggins, Dinwiddie and their agent. Wiggins knew that he would be the No. After saying hello, the two were already mentally prepared.

This is also the first time Zhang Yu met Wiggins. When he came to the Warriors to participate in the trial training, Zhang Yu was busy preparing for the Western Conference Finals and did not show up.

Dinwiddie is a person with high emotional intelligence, good at observing words and emotions, and took the initiative to chat about Butler University, and had a good chat with Zhang Yu.

Wiggins, like Curry and Clay, is the second generation of stars. His father Mitchell Wiggins played in the NBA, and his mother Marita Penny is a Canadian sprinter who has won two Olympic silver medals. , from a wealthy family, humble and polite, very likable.

Seeing Wiggins' innocent smile, Zhang Yu's depressed mood improved a lot.

So what if he was intercepted as an mvp?Giannis will also be the mvp in the future.

And Jokic has an Achilles' heel on the defensive end. With him, the Warriors would not be able to play small balls.

It is a pity to miss an mvp, but three mvp together, the ball is not enough, it is better to focus on one style of play.

Looking at it this way, being cut off by the Nuggets is still a good thing. It will take a long time for Jokic to grow up, and he can train Giannis well in the future...

Zhang Yu decided to carry out the small ball tactics to the end. Jokic is very strong, but the Warriors will be his biggest nemesis. He wants to let the Nuggets know that cutting is not so easy!

(End of this chapter)