I was determined to be bad, but I went straight to the Basketball Hall of Fame

Chapter 212 Welcome to China (fourth update)

Time to late May 2010, the pace of summer is getting closer.

The playoffs are still going on, but most teams have already started their holidays to prepare for the new season.

The Los Angeles Clippers' playoff journey has ended for more than two weeks, and the players have begun to take vacations.

The Clippers headquarters at the Staples Center continues to be busy, because the offseason of the players is the busy season of the management.

On May 5th, Olshey came to New York to participate in the lottery ceremony of the 19 draft.

Last season, President Roser participated in the lottery on behalf of the team and won the No. [-] lottery.

They drew a good pick and selected a very good player.

Although Stephen Curry missed the game-winning three-pointer in Game [-] of the playoffs.

However, he has earned the praise and respect, and his performance is worthy of the name of the No. [-] pick.

In the competition for the best rookie, Curry narrowly lost to the Kings' Evans.

Evans' rookie season 20+5+5 data performance is too amazing.

But Olshey believes that Curry is the better one because he proved himself in the playoffs.

Because the Clippers entered the playoffs, they were not in the lottery area of ​​​​the draft.

But because of the Kaman trade in the middle of the season, they got the Grizzlies' first-round pick.

The Grizzlies are 30-52 and have a 2.2 percent chance of winning the No. [-] lottery.

The Bulls won the No. 2008 lottery 1.7 percent of the time in [-], so miracles are possible.

It's a pity that Orche was not as lucky as Rosser.

The 2010 No. [-] pick was picked up by the Washington Wizards.

This is really a crucial sign for the Wizards.

They just had a gun incident this season.

The sudden accident completely disrupted the team's construction plan.

Like the Pacers who experienced the Auburn Hills incident, the Wizards' original structure fell apart because of Arenas' suspension.

Jamison and Butler were all traded away, and Arenas' departure is also a matter of time.

Coincidentally, the Wizards got the No. 10.3 pick, and their probability of getting the lottery is [-]%.

That has undoubtedly injected good fortune into the rebuilding Wizards, who are eager to pick future cornerstone players in this year's draft.

The Philadelphia 76ers got the second pick, the New Jersey Nets got the third pick, and the top three were rounded up by poor Eastern teams.

The following teams are ranked according to their records, and the Grizzlies' pick is only the protection of the top three picks.

Therefore, the Clippers successfully got the No. 26 pick, as well as their own No. 51 pick in the first round and No. [-] pick in the second round.

In the past, Olshey would definitely trade these picks away in exchange for enough immediate combat power.

Different teams have different draft strategies, and some teams like to draft and train young people.

And some teams are not very interested in the draft, and like to directly buy and trade to cultivate their combat power.

The Clippers have been oscillating between the two. A few years ago, they wanted to cultivate high-ranking picks. As a result, none of Odom, Olowokandi, and Darius Miles were cultivated.

Starting from Brand, the team turned to the line of immediate combat power, and unless they were selected very high, they would all be traded.

Anyway, if you can't cultivate it by yourself, it's better to trade to get someone who has cultivated it. Although the cost will be higher, just ask for certainty.

After Min Congda entered the home team, the Clippers' strategy has obviously changed again. Min Congda doesn't like trading.

Throughout the season, the Clippers made a deal, and all draft picks were kept in their hands and not sent away.

The management is quick to fart, but everyone has nothing to say, because the team has a good record.

With 50 wins and 32 losses in the regular season, they have entered the upper half of the Eastern Conference.

The stable environment of the team allows players to play with peace of mind.

Look at the Wizards, the result of the chaos in the locker room is that the team is divided and disintegrated.

Reconstruction is a long process. How many fans can accompany the team through the long road of reconstruction.

During this period, the team's box office and income cannot be guaranteed, and the team's morale is difficult to gather, which is very painful.

Olshey has been through this pain, so he sincerely admires the changes Mr. Smart has brought to the team.

The Clippers management also summarized this, thinking that this is the profound oriental wisdom:
"Stability is above all else, build a harmonious team."

After finishing the lottery in New York, Olshey did not return to Los Angeles.

Instead, he boarded a flight to Shanghai directly in New York. He was accompanied by two deputy marketing directors of the team, three scouts, a financial assistant, and a business team from Youtube.

A group of more than 20 people went to China to set up a basketball talent development foundation for Min Congda's "Three Treasures Project".

When boarding the plane, Olshey felt uneasy in his heart, because he felt unreliable since the preparation of this plan.

Olshey originally thought that Mr. Smart's idea was to go to China to find a second Yao Ming, hoping that the Clippers could eat the big cake in the Chinese market like a rocket.

However, Min Congda repeatedly emphasized not to cooperate with the government, but to go to China to build training camps and engage in talent selection.

The so-called strong dragon does not overwhelm the local snake, even if the Clippers are a professional NBA team, how do you organize it when you go to an unfamiliar place?
Without the cooperation and assistance of official agencies or local basketball organizations, is it possible to distribute leaflets in various schools?
If it is caught as an illegal operating unit or a spy agency, it will be over.

And the only contact method Min Congda gave was an ordinary mobile phone number. When it came to Shanghai, someone would answer the call.

Olshey took out the phone number that came with the ticket—it was written on a napkin—from his pocket.

"Mr. Smart, as always, feels unreliable, but fortunately, the funds are very sufficient. You should trust Mr. Smart."

Olshey encouraged himself in his heart. He didn't tell the team about 20 people. He led a group of people with a phone on a napkin in his hand. After more than two months of preparation, he rushed to China.

It was the first time for Olshey to do such a crazy and unreasonable thing, and he chose to believe in Min Congda.

The plane arrived at Shanghai Pudong Airport on the afternoon of May 15 after a 5-hour flight across the entire North American continent and the North Pacific Ocean.

Before getting off the plane, Fabrizio Bischat, the Clippers’ international scouting director, asked, “Neil, are you sure we can start a development foundation when we come to China?”

Olshey said, "Why do you ask that? We've all arrived in Shanghai."

Bishiyat said: "But until now, I haven't met anyone from China. You didn't tell us anything. I wonder if you sold me to China."

Olshey didn't say a word, to be honest he felt the same way.

During the two-month preparation period, China did not say to come to contact me personally.

Like Bischat as an international scout, he has always been in touch with European clubs.

Everyone will communicate with each other, and communicate in advance about any plans and projects.

Teleconferences, emails, face-to-face meetings, etc., to maintain the relationship between each other.

Only when things are done in this way can they proceed smoothly.

What kind of foundation is this time, the momentum is quite huge, and the people from the oil pipe are also brought over.

But there was no movement at all in China, not even the people at the NBA China headquarters.

Olshey was really worried that a group of them would be suspected of espionage.

But after getting off the plane and arriving at the departure hall, this worry was eliminated a lot at once.

Because in the hall they saw a huge banner:

"Warmly welcome the visit of the Los Angeles Clippers team."

(Welcome to China, Clippers.)
(End of this chapter)