I'm good at basketball too

Chapter 356 Number One Scholar?I deserve it too?

Soon, it was the Hornets' pick.

Li Ran wrote his name in the envelope without hesitation.

Tan Huimin opened the envelope, glanced at the Hornets' seat off the court, and then read out the Hornets' choice for this lottery.

"The New Orleans Hornets, at No. 18, selected center Nikola Jokic from Serbia."

After the name was pronounced, applause subconsciously erupted at the scene.

Afterwards, most people looked at each other in blank dismay.

Jokic?
Who is he?
Except for the Hornets who selected Jokic, only Rafa of the Denver Nuggets, the Nuggets scout, knows something about Jokic.

The Nuggets originally planned to use their second-round pick to see if they could select Jokic, but they did not expect to be selected by the Hornets with such a high pick.

As for the Lord. . .

Jokic is now sleeping at his home in Serbia.

It never occurred to him that he would be drafted this year.

Even half a month ago, he asked his agent to remove his name from this year's draft list.

To put it bluntly, I have no confidence in myself.

Jokic, who played in Serbia, couldn't even play a dominant role in the Serbian league, which doesn't know how many leagues it is.

2014-15赛季，尼古拉·约基奇代表塞尔维亚Mega Leks队出战14场塞尔维亚KLS联赛，场均27.8分钟，得到18.4分、10.4篮板和2.7助攻；出战24场亚得里亚海联赛，场均30.5分钟，得到15.4分、9.3篮板和3.5助攻。

What's more, in the 13 World Youth Championship, Serbia vs. China, Jokic was crushed by Zhou Qi's statistics. . . .

当时周琦场均11.3分8.9篮板5.4盖帽，而约老师只有可怜的7.1分5篮板。

In this year's draft, Jokic ranks fifth among all centers and third among European centers.

Clint Capela, the typical forward selected by Mosaic, ranks second among centers.

As for the first, of course it is the Cameroon center Joel Embiid who was selected by the number.

No one knows what attracted the Hornets to Jokic, so the Hornets signed him with a precious No. 18 pick in the first round.

Only Li Ran knew that if he didn't choose Jokic, he would be the number one fool in the world.

This may be the biggest leak in the draft in NBA history.

Perhaps the word "possible" can be removed.

A super center with the 44th pick, the existence of the small ball era that ended by himself, two MVPs plus one FMVP, a master of organizational centers.

This is Jokic!

Knowing that Jokic did not participate in the draft at all, Li Ran did not notify him in advance, but only after the selection did he ask the uniform team to notify Jokic, who is far away in Serbia, to come to the team to report.

Although his contract with the Serbian team still has one year left, as long as Li Ran wants Jokic to come, there are plenty of ways.

He can't wait to prepare to cultivate this human pork belly essence.

Can't even do a push-up?

Can't run or jump?

It doesn't matter!
Next, the Hornets used their fifth pick in the second round to choose Spencer Dinwiddie.

If it weren't for the serious injury suffered by the torn ACL before the draft, Dinwiddie would have a good chance of being selected in the first round.

The scout's evaluation of him is: "Spencer Dinwiddie's height and weight have an advantage in the point guard position, he has forward attack ability, can score at the basket, can make free throws and has excellent free throw feel, and has excellent pick-and-roll awareness. , strong ability to handle the ball in transition offense. The disadvantage is that the speed is not fast enough and needs to increase strength. Knee injury is a hidden danger in his career."

However, Li Ran plans to train Dinwiddie as the team's sixth man.

Every team that Li Ran has played in has a super sixth man, JR Smith of the Nuggets, Crawford of the Grizzlies, and in the Hornets, Li Ran is going to let Dinwiddie fill this position.

Although there was Thomas Jr., who was selected during the reconstruction, his height was really flawed. When he was in the Hornets, Thomas Jr. was not trusted by Cole, which made Li Ran very helpless.

After the draft, the Hornets will focus on the upcoming offseason.

They need to round out their roster through trades and signings in the offseason.

"Li Ran, there is a fax from the knight."

On June 6, Li Ran was thinking about how to proceed with the transaction in his office when a staff member walked in suddenly.

He took a fax and handed it to Li Ran.

Li Ran took a look and was a little surprised.

"What are you doing?"

This is a trade offer from the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers sent Andrew Wiggins to the Hornets for Klay Thompson and Gatobias Harris.

"Do the Cavaliers think we are fools? This kind of deal that is obviously losing money also needs to send an offer?"

Li Ran looked at the fax angrily, crumpled it up and threw it into the wastebasket beside him.

Could it be that the number one scholar in your family is very expensive?Not to mention another Clay, but also a Thomas.

"You give it back to the Cavaliers, we can send Okafor and Thomas, and ask them if they will give Wiggins."

After thinking about it, Li Ran shook his head again.

"Forget it, just ignore them."

No matter which team James is in, he has to find some moths for Li Ran.

Although he has not officially decided to return to the Cavaliers, but this is basically a certainty.

Otherwise, how could the Cavaliers deal with Wiggins in such a hurry.

After the members of the uniform team left, Li Ran lowered his head to study the next season's team.

Just then, there was another knock on his door.

"Come in."

Li Ran didn't look up and just said something.

"coach!"

A somewhat blunt, accented English sounded at the door.

Li Ran looked up and was amused.

Who is it if it's not Jokic.

He brought his two older brothers and agent Raznatovic, and came to New Orleans immediately after learning that he was selected by the Hornets.

Li Ran warmly greeted them to sit down.

Jokic's two older brothers were not good at dealing with each other either, and Li Ran felt that the two of them must have a lot in common with Rose's two older brothers.

There are three brothers in the Jokic family. The eldest is Strachinia, 32 years old, 2 meters tall; the second is Nemania, 10 years old, about 30 meters tall.

Wen Zhizhi, Jokic's eldest brother was originally a professional basketball player, but he didn't play well, and later changed his career to become an arms dealer.

And his second brother is a professional boxer. . .

Li Ran had a strong urge to let the four brothers get to know each other. . .

"Come on, Nikolai, your contract is ready, you can take a look at it together."

He said as he walked to the front of the refrigerator.

"Tea, coffee, drinks, plain water."

Li Ran came to the freezer, looked at the timid Jokic, and asked.

"Cola."

Jokic said subconsciously.

Li Ran almost didn't laugh out loud.

Sure enough, Jokic's biggest hobby is Coke.

He grabbed a Coke from the freezer and tossed it to Jokic.

"Nicolas, you know, as a professional player, it's best not to touch these things. Are your weight and body fat percentage too high?"

Jokic scratched his head embarrassedly.

"Coach, I want to know why you chose my brother, does he have a tactical position in the team?"

The elder brother sat down on the sofa, looked at Li Ran and asked in a deep voice.

Li Ran sat across from the four of them, holding a cup and smiling slightly.

"If Nikola is not in the team's plan, I will not choose him with my top pick. I am very optimistic about Nikola. He has the potential to become the league's first center in the future."

Li Ran's praise of Jokic made several people believe it or not.

If it were someone else, the four of them would definitely sneer.

That's almost it. What kind of bragging is there?

However, sitting across from them was a legend of the league.

"Now I give you a mission to lose twenty pounds before next season begins."

Li Ran then turned to look at Jokic, and said seriously.

In the scouting report, Jokic now weighs a full [-] pounds, which is obviously a bit obese.

This is also the first thing the Nuggets asked him to do after he entered the league in another time and space.

Jokic's second brother snatched the Coke cup from Jokic's hand and drank it himself.

"From today on, you are not allowed to continue drinking this stuff, and eat nutritious meals with me!"

Jokic nodded bitterly.

"The Hornets don't have the No. [-] pick this year. If there is a No. [-] pick, I will use the No. [-] pick to select you."

Li Ran drank some coffee and said to Jokic with a smile.

Jokic and his agent are all dumbfounded.

champion?I deserve it too?

Seeing Jokic's expression, Li Ran snickered in his heart.

Although you are not the top pick, you are much stronger than most of the top picks.

You are not worthy, who is worthy?

"In addition, I want to tell you one more thing. Next season, you will play for the team as the main force of the team with Clay and Jimmy."

Jokic pinched his thigh subconsciously.

Am I dreaming?
"Moreover, the team's next signings will be based on you."

Li Ran unceremoniously exploded one bomb after another in front of Jokic's eyes, making Teacher Yue dizzy.

"All you need to do now is to lose weight, and then come to the team to participate in the training camp as soon as possible. I will stay in New Orleans this summer."

"We know, since you trust Nikola so much, you will be the best friend of our Jokic family in the future."

Jokic's eldest brother nodded. Although the young man in front of him was six or seven years younger than him, he did not dare to underestimate him at all. After all, in the field of basketball, he is the true god in active service.

"Li Ran!"

At this moment, Cole suddenly opened the door and came in.

"Regarding Emeka, some teams have already issued offers, do you want to take a look?"

Cole, who was busy with work, walked into Li Ran's office with his head down, and found someone in Li Ran's office after speaking.

He smiled awkwardly.

Li Ran waved his hand.

"It doesn't matter. Putting Okafor on the shelf is also to make room for Nikolai. Don't be shy. You can talk about which teams sent the offer."

In the current league, the center position can be said to be extremely scarce. As long as you have the ability to play back and protect the frame, you can start with an annual salary of tens of millions.

And veteran centers like Emeka Okafor are in their prime, and their popularity is beyond the imagination of the Hornets' management.

Almost all teams except the Kings have sent offers to the Hornets.

Li Ran did not rush to make a decision, but put these quotes on his desk first.

The posture has been done enough. The Jokic brothers already know that the Hornets are even ready to trade Okafor to make room for him. Naturally, they know that what Li Ran said just now is true.

"If there is no problem with the contract, sign your name and you will be an official member of the Grizzlies."

Li Ran watched Raznatovic push the contract to Jokic, and nodded to indicate that there is no problem with the contract, and said with a smile.

Jokic also heaved a sigh of relief, picked up a pen, and began to sign his name on the contract.

Li Ran also heaved a sigh of relief.

The most important piece of chips for the Hornets' reconstruction has also been filled.

It can be predicted that in the next few years, the gradually mature Hornets will be another dynastic team like the Grizzlies that makes the entire league fearful.

Now the Hornets have players under contract, including Jokic, Okafor, McGee, Yi Jianlian, Harris, Dreaming Green, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Dinwiddie, Thomas Jr.

In addition to Okafor, there are still nine players. The Hornets only need to check for gaps and add some role players.

However, Li Ran is still planning to optimize the current Hornets.

Although Harris has excellent potential, he still needs time to grow, and his functions overlap with the UAE, so he is not in the Hornets team plan for next season.

However, even if he is to be traded, he has to wait until his value is maximized, so Li Ran is not in a hurry.

Two days later, the Hornets announced three deals.

They sent the team's main center, Emeo Okafor, in exchange for two first-round picks from the Pistons.

Then, they signed the Spurs' short insider Boris Diaw in the free market.

The last deal was a bit of a surprise.

They exchanged the 2018 first-round pick from the Pistons and their own first-round pick next year, and exchanged the famous "truth" Paul Pierce from the Celtics.

On the other side, the Celtics completed another deal with the Nets.

The Celtics sent Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry in exchange for Gerald Wallace and two first-round picks from the Nets.

This deal is much softer than the Nets' desperate exchange of three first-rounders + Gerald Wallace + Humphries in the previous life for Garnett + Pierce + Jason Terry.

After all, Garnett is 37 this year, and Pierce is 36. In addition, the outside core single player Joe they traded this year is 32 years old. From another time and space, the Nets' deal is undoubtedly a very failure.

They overdrawn their potential, in exchange for three old men, and the team's performance did not improve at all.

This year, the Nets didn't hurt their bones, they just sent two first-rounders and Gerald Wallace, and still retained some hope of a comeback.

The Celtics became the biggest winners, and they got a full four first-round picks through the trade.

And what about the wasps?

What did the Hornets get?

Li Ran smiled without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)