no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 229 2014 NBA Draft
After Nowitzki said the last words, he held the FMVP trophy high, and his teammates behind him also shouted and jumped with excitement.

It was at this time that many familiar figures appeared in the lens.

Nash, Kidd, Carter, Marion, Chandler...

The "excellent teammates" Nowitzki said in his speech were not polite words. If these people were three to five years younger, then it would not be about winning a championship, but about starting a dynasty.

However, they are three or five years younger and cannot be in the same team at the same time. For them, if they can win the championship at the end of their careers, their careers are complete.

Of course, there is also Carlisle. This famous coach who has long been well-known in the league has finally used this crown to rectify his name.

Including Cuban, his indulgent investment in the team for so many years has finally been rewarded.

This championship means a lot to most of the Mavericks organization.

Even for the Mavericks, they finally had their first championship in team history.

Xu Yong also noticed Yi Jianlian.

Unknowingly, Yi Jianlian's career honors have already reached 2 NBA championships, as many as Yao Ming.

……

Oklahoma.

Durant also sat in front of the TV with Harden to watch the Finals.

The moment the Mavericks won, Harden couldn't help shouting excitedly, while Durant let out a long breath.

His emotion was more regret than excitement.

If it weren't for Ibaka's accidental injury, they should be the ones standing on the highest podium at this time.

What's even more terrible is that because they didn't win, Ibaka's closure has no value. Ibaka's strength will predictably decline next season, and their strength will naturally decline accordingly, and their chances of reaching the finals will be even smaller.

In other words, they missed the best window to win the championship.

And at this time, thinking back to Xu Yong's answer to him before, "Wait until you win the championship," it really made him feel ashamed.

At this time, Nowitzki began his championship speech. When he heard "Basketball, never give up", he was stunned.

After a while, he took another long breath.

Only this time, a smile appeared on his face.

He didn't reach the finals, and Xu Yong didn't reach the finals either, so rounding off, they are the same.

Moreover, Nowitzki's persistence took 16 years to succeed. He has only finished his seventh year and is less than half of Nowitzki's performance. What reason does he have to be discouraged?

If Xu Yong knew what Durant was thinking at this moment, he would definitely feel relieved.

But this is the impact of the league's ethos.

Just like when the Bulls won the championship before, the Thunder management will imitate the team building model. James took shortcuts and was beaten around. Durant will naturally not imitate him. After all, people will only imitate the successful ones. Who will imitate them? loser?
And this night became a carnival night for fans.

Nowitzki's story is inspiring, touching, and worthy of praise.

All over social media, fans played victory songs for the Mavericks.

However, this situation changed fundamentally the next day.

When the words of victory had been spoken and the joy had been slowly diluted, they remembered another thing.

Social media was still very lively on this day, but instead of singing praises, it was filled with ridicule and ridicule.

"Look, no one else even got a chance to put a championship ring on their feet."

"Yes, so what if we entered the finals on a foothold? Can we win? Aren't we giving people another championship?"

"Can anyone tell me what a sweep is when you lead 2-0 and then get defeated 4-0?"

"Do you understand the value of runner-up? LeBron has already won two overall runner-ups. If you include the Eastern Conference runner-up, there are already 6!"

"If the league really can't do it, let's hold a mid-season tournament. Then LeBron might have a chance to win the championship. It doesn't matter what championship it is. Just omit the prefixes when calculating statistics in the future."

"No matter what, he won't win the championship. This season is the Bulls' weakest season. How can he compete with Xu in the future?"

"God is unfair. Why is there Xu in the east and Leonard in the west? Where does this leave my king?"

"If you really can't, go to the CBA. Become the real king of the CBA and compete with Mr. Zhang. I believe he can do it."

"You dare to look at me? You are the king and you have to kneel down in the CBA!"

"You are really unhappy with your life!"

"Speaking of dissatisfaction, what did LeBron say in this year's post-game press conference?"

"Sorry, the King did not attend the press conference after the game this year."

……

After the journey to the Finals, James did not attend the press conference or the team's season summary, and flew back to Indiana alone that night.

Returning to the tunnel early was no longer enough to satisfy him, so he went home early.

No, this is not his home.

Cleveland is.

Let's go back to April, the end of the regular season and before the 4 draft lottery.

James and Rich Paul are discussing returning to the Cavaliers.

"What do you say over there?" James looked at Rich Paul and asked. He has always been the one doing the communication with the Cavaliers.

"Daniel (Gilbert) still hopes to join as a free agent in the summer."

James couldn't help but frowned.

This old guy!
Of course, Gilbert will not refuse to join Gilbert as a free agent. The Cavaliers have salary space. Will the super giant take it for free?

Businessmen are not fans. The only thing they always see in their eyes is profit.

You have to know that after he left, the Cavaliers have yet to make the playoffs, and their attention and market are also getting smaller and smaller.

And purely in terms of team configuration, the Cavaliers now have a lot of young people, and they lack a big brother to lead them. His type is a perfect fit.

However, joining as a free agent means that he will lose his bird rights and he will lose a lot of money.

The main reason why he wanted the Heat to acquire him through a trade was because of the bird rights.

"I don't have to go to Cleveland." James said.

"I think there is another plan." Rich Paul said immediately. As a roundworm in James's belly, he certainly knew that James was speaking out of anger. After all, the Cavaliers' chances are so good now, and this is the situation now when he returns to Cleveland. The only option that could save his reputation.

James glanced at Rich Paul and signaled him to say.

"We can sign 1+1 contracts continuously, so that we can not only get the early bird rights, but also have more say in the team's decision-making."

Rich Paul's words instantly caused James to widen his eyes. What a wonderful idea.

First of all, he went to the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers' record will definitely improve, including attention, and the team's income will definitely come back.

So can the Cavs afford to lose him for nothing in Year [-]?
The answer is obviously no.

So when he asked who to sign, or even who to keep, Gilbert had no choice but to do it.

Otherwise, do you think why Jordan had such a big say during the Wizards period? Everything was business.

Moreover, this kind of contract model can also greatly reduce the risk of being traded like he did when he was with the Heat, which is very good.

"Besides, it's not impossible to get Gilbert to relent."

Rich Paul's next words made James' eyes widen.

"They have a chance to get the top three picks this year, and it seems very possible now, but the premise is that we don't make decision two before then."

Rich Paul's explanation is simple but easy to understand.

Stern is a person who focuses on checks and balances. In order to prevent the Cavaliers' market from weakening, he will give draft picks, but there is a limit. He definitely does not want a true Big Four team to appear in the league.

So if James reveals in advance that he wants to return to the Cavaliers, it will be impossible for the Cavaliers to get the top three picks this year.

(This is different from the history Xu Yong knows. In history, Bennett was already in trouble when he was selected. The Cavaliers could not make the playoffs. James returned, and Wiggins traded Love to return to form the Big Three. This is in line with the league. beneficial)
And James can use this to threaten, of course not call it this word, to ask Gilbert to sacrifice his draft picks for a sign exchange.

In other words, he now has two choices to make, and he has the initiative in either one.

"As expected of Richie, I will do as you say."

A few days later, the league lottery results came out, and the Cavaliers were lucky enough to win the No. 1.7 pick with a [-]% probability.

……

The draft is coming soon, and Foreman did not look for Xu Yong this year, because Xu Yong's advice in last year's draft actually did not have any effect (Antetokounmpo did not perform well in the Raptors, and Adams also played in the NCAA).

But Shane found Xu Yong chatting.

Battier is now mainly responsible for draft-related work in the operations department, using information from scouts to give Foreman some suggestions.

It’s easy to understand why the Bulls would let Battier do this job. Battier has a good reputation in the league and his connections are very good.

While chatting with Shane, Xu Yong took the initiative to mention someone.

This person is really too easy to get, and as a reborn person, it is hard to miss.

Nikola joker jokic.

According to the history he knows, Jokic is a second-round pick. Even if the Bulls use their first-round pick to select him, it is definitely worth it.

Don't worry about the ball possession issue. Jokic only likes to pass the ball and has an appallingly low desire to score.

"How do you know him?" Battier was a little confused. He heard that Xu Yong spoke highly of Jokic.

"I heard about him when I went to Europe with the national team to play warm-up matches. He has long been famous in the Balkans." Xu Yong has already said this.

Battier nodded in realization. Since Xu Yong recognized it so much, he really needed to find out.

A few days later, just one day before the draft, Battier came to Xu Yong again.

He brought Xu Yong news related to Jokic.

"Based on the information I know, the team should not consider Jokic."

"why?"

"Because he still has a one-year contract with his Serbian team, and his current body shape cannot meet the requirements of the NBA. He... is too fat."

After Battier finished speaking, Xu Yong remembered that in history, Jokic did play overseas for a year before entering the NBA after being drafted. The reason was that he was as fat as a ball because he loved drinking Coke too much. .

It's no wonder that people fall to the second round, because generally, if a player has no self-control, he will not be able to play in the NBA.

It is because Jokic is a freak and he has excellent static talent that he was selected.

"Do you have any other candidates you need suggestions for?" Shane then asked.

Xu Yong thought for a while and shook his head. He was so focused on training this summer that he didn't have time to pay attention to this year's draft list.

Unless you put the draft list in front of him now and he looks at it one by one, he may be able to think of some familiar names.

And more importantly, the Bulls' current lineup is relatively complete, and it is difficult for rookies to get opportunities.

Just look at Ennis. He basically had no chance to play in his rookie season. If he doesn't get another chance this year, he will most likely disappear from the NBA.

……

On June 6, the 26 NBA Draft was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

This year's draft has a special feature: the calls are particularly aggressive.

Two key words, one is the [Diamond Generation], which is called "the best draft in the past decade" and is comparable to the 2003 Platinum Generation;
The second is Wiggins. Before the draft, Wiggins' agent Bill Duffy posted a picture of Wiggins bouncing.jpg on social media.

In this picture, Wiggins' run-up height is shown to be a terrifying 383.3cm.

Although Wiggins did not participate in the joint trial training in Chicago, the picture of this move alone is enough to make everyone imagine.

You must know that Xu Yong's run-up height was only 375cm.

威金斯参加骑士队试训时的一些数据也流了出来，2米01的穿鞋身高，2米13的臂展，1米12的助跑起跳高度。

This dynamic and static talent is extremely rare in the history of the NBA. He has also been called the next Vince Carter by ESPN and other mainstream media, another "chosen son" after James.

Xu Yong is also preparing to watch the draft at home. He is curious about whether the Cavaliers will trade Wiggins for Love.

After discovering the problem of ball rights before, if he were the Cavaliers management, he would definitely not want Love, but would choose Gasol, Noah, or even Bynum.Because having Love means Davis has to play the five position. Based on his knowledge of Davis, Davis's willingness and effect of playing the five position are actually not good.

Before the draft officially begins, there is a VCR of the rookies. In addition to Wiggins, there are several popular players in this year's draft, including Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Aaron Gordon, and Julius Lang. Coefficients such as Del and Zach LaVine are listed.

Judging from these names that Xu Yong feels extremely familiar with, the quality of this draft is actually quite good.

The draft began soon, and there was no suspense about the Cavaliers' selection. They selected Wiggins with the No. [-] pick.

But in fact, before the draft, even if Wiggins was highly speculated, the top pick belonged to Wiggins's college teammate, Joel Embiid (Philadelphia accent), a French-Cameroonian from the University of Kansas.

With a height of 2 meters and a wingspan of 13 meters, he is highly flexible, light-footed and fast among players of the same height. Such a big man will be the top pick in the draft no matter what year he is.

However, he suffered injuries in college and underwent surgery for a stress fracture in his right foot last week, which ended his rookie season.

The Bucks selected Jabari Parker with the second pick, Embiid ended up going to the Philadelphia Digitals as Xu Yong knew, and [the process] began.

The draft went on, and the Timberwolves selected shooting guard LaVine with the 13th overall pick.

During this process, Xu Yong had been reading the tweets of famous players, but there was no news about the Wiggins trade.

James will not return to the Cavaliers?

But he soon realized that a trade for Wiggins might not happen in the draft.

When other teams know that you are going to form a super team, they will try to kill you in the transaction, and the transaction may not be successful.

That's why the Bulls didn't form a lineup of Wade, Bosh, Rose, him and Noah.

So the Cavaliers shouldn't be in a hurry. After all, Wiggins is already in their hands. They will most likely wait until the free market opens or even after the dust settles.

The draft is going very quickly, and the Bulls' pick is about to come.

The Bulls have two picks this year, No. 25 in the first round and No. 55 in the second round.

But before the Bulls made their choice, Xu Yong saw news on Twitter that the Bulls and the Thunder reached a deal.

The Bulls sent away the No. 25 and No. 55 picks and received the Thunder's No. 30 and No. 46 picks (the Hornets' picks obtained in last season's trade).

The Thunder then selected Clint Capela with the 25th pick.

Capella, that's interesting.

The Bulls are not short of centers this year. Hawes performed well last season, and his playing style complements that of Adams, so it is normal not to use Capela.

The interesting thing for Xu Yong is that Capela was teammates with Harden in the Rockets history.

Now Harden did not go to the Rockets and stayed with the Thunder, and then Capela was selected by the Thunder. This is really fate.

When the time came for the 30th pick, the Bulls also made a choice.

When he saw the chosen person, Xu Yong had a reasonable feeling.

Kyle Anderson, a forward swingman from UCLA, averaged 14.9 points and 6.5 assists per game in his just-concluded sophomore season.

Battier retires, and the Bulls need to add this kind of swingman.

And looking at his draft report, he has excellent static talent, with a height of 2 meters and a wingspan of 02 meters. Unfortunately, he has no athletic talent, so he was not selected high.

Xu Yong is relatively familiar with Anderson. First, he is the "Essence of Human Creeping". This guy's playing style is not in the same league as others.

The second is that Anderson once went on a "root-seeking trip" to China, and he is of Chinese descent.

When the first round was over, Xu Yong turned off the TV and continued practicing.

Ding Yanyuhang still hasn't announced his candidacy for the draft this year, and there's nothing exciting about the second round of the draft.

It was already two hours after he finished training, and when he came back he found that he had missed the call.

It's Shane calling.

He called back, and when the other side picked up, Battier asked him if he had watched the second-round draft pick.

Then, he learned that the Bulls used the No. 46 pick and two future second rounds to reach a deal with the Pistons in exchange for the No. 38 pick, and then used this pick to select Jokic.

This surprised him a little, but it seemed to make sense.

Because the Bulls' second-round picks over the years are really worthless, and the previous first-round trade gave them an extra mid-round pick, which means that the original one pick became two.

It makes perfect sense to choose what one team needs and the other as a reserve draft.

So, Jokic and him, like Capela and Harden, have a certain fate?
……

The draft is over and free agency is about to begin.

This year, led by James (player option), Bosh and other 03 generation superstars, this year's free market is destined to not be quiet.

Indiana, Office of the President.

Opposite Larry Bird, Rich Paul was sitting opposite him.

Just now, Rich Paul made a request to him, asking him to send James to the Cavaliers through a sign and exchange.

He was shocked when he first heard the news because James had never told him about leaving the team before.

Even in the brief exchange between him and James on the night of the finals, he knew that the latter's choice would most likely be to opt out of his contract and then re-sign a new contract with the Pacers.

What I didn't expect was such a result.

However, he did not show anger, but more disgust.

As a very well-known celebrity, he has no interest in James, especially since Nike often used to praise James by stepping on him.

It is no exaggeration to say that if he had not resigned due to illness, the Pacers would not have been able to trade for James.

Especially in this year's playoffs, James' step-stepping behavior made him feel sick, but he couldn't speak out due to his status as the team president.

Now that it's fine, James actually wants him to cooperate.

"Larry, I believe the Pacers have no reason to refuse to do this, right?" Seeing Bird's uncertain expression, Rich Paul continued to ask.

Yes, James has already made up his mind to leave, and even the Cavaliers had been coerced by him into agreeing to a sign swap as early as April.

So it would definitely be better for the Pacers to accept the Cavaliers' draft pick than to lose James in vain.

"That's impossible." Bird said with a cold face.

"Why?" Bird's reaction made Rich Paul confused. He didn't even want the free draft picks?

"Why?" Bird asked with a hint of sarcasm, "Why should I cooperate with someone who leaves?"

Rich Paul heard now that Bird was angry.

This is understandable. Bird is not an ordinary manager. As a superstar, he is arrogant.

Rich Paul calmed down and then began to reason: "Although LeBron failed to bring a championship to Indiana in the end, he brought the Pacers to the Finals after many years. That is already a great achievement, isn't it? Even Reggie Miller never did it in Indiana.

Moreover, due to the joining of LeBron in the past two years, Indiana's football market has grown rapidly. I think the team has no reason to refuse such a proposal. "

"Everything you said is right, but I refuse." Bird didn't want to continue listening to Rich Paul, because the two sides couldn't pee in the same pot.

People like Rich Paul think that two or three draft picks at the end of the first round are already huge benefits, but for him, compared to those, asking the team to cooperate with James is the most unacceptable, because that is the team's dignity.

And don't think that he doesn't know that James is doing it for the Bird Rights. James is so disgusting with the Pacers. What he wants, the Pacers can't give him.

Rich Paul wanted to speak, but Bird had already stood up and signaled that he could leave.

Rich Paul's face was extremely ugly. He predicted everything, but he never expected Bird to be so stubborn.

However, because Bird was opposite him, it was difficult for him to have an attack, so he could only hold back and leave without having an attack, and then snorted coldly in his heart.

The Pacers lost James in vain, and based on his understanding, he knew that Bynum's character would most likely degenerate without James. When the Pacers fail to recover, Bird will be waiting to step down from Indiana again!

After Rich Paul left, Bird picked up the phone and called his assistant:
"I'm going to New York, please prepare it for me."

……

cleveland.

A private mansion.

After four years, Gilbert and James finally met again.

James was all smiles, and so was Gilbert. James took the initiative to reach out and give Gilbert a big hug.

With this embrace, the grudges from four years ago became a thing of the past, and everyone started to make money together.

Of course, this meeting was not just the two of them, but also James' closest brother, Rich Paul, and the current general manager of the Cavaliers, David Griffin.

Griffin had already discussed the contract matter with Paul Rich before that, and in the end the Cavaliers had to accept James' 1+1 contract request.

There is no need to elaborate on the reasons, everything is for profit.

What they are talking about now is another matter, which is who to choose to join the fourth giant.

Thanks to ESPN's momentum, Wiggins' current trading value is very considerable, and he can basically be directly traded for an All-Star in his prime.

For example, Noah of the Rockets.

Before the draft was over, the Rockets had already asked them for a price.

Because they have been unable to make the playoffs, the Rockets have to start thinking about rebuilding.

"Joakim Noah is the most suitable candidate." Griffin is the voice of the Cavaliers.

He started working for the Cavaliers in 2010, but was promoted to the team's general manager just this year.

This is a very subtle personnel change, because Griffin and James have not interacted before, so naturally there is no conflict.

Replacing him is actually a manifestation of the team easing the previous conflict with James.

Griffin's proposal is the same as what Xu Yong had thought before. By choosing a center who can defend and does not occupy the shot, the Cavaliers will not only improve their strength, but also won't have the problem of fighting for the ball.

"I have discussed it with LeBron, and we have a more suitable candidate." Rich Paul said, speaking on behalf of James.

"Who?" When Griffin asked, Gilbert also looked curious.

"Kevin Love."

"Love?" Griffin was stunned for a moment when he heard the name, and then turned to look at Gilbert.

Obviously this choice surprised them. You must know that Love also mainly plays the fourth position, which overlaps with Davis's position.

"Kevin is a top rebounder. He had 30+ rebounds in a single game last season, and more importantly, he has outside shooting, can open up space, and can complement AD on offense and defense. He is a second-tier player. Players." Paul Rich gave a series of explanations, which can be summed up in one sentence: Love is strong enough.

Yes, Love averaged 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game with the Timberwolves last season, averaging 6.6 three-pointers per game and shooting 37.6% from the field. With this performance, he was the league's top power forward last season.

"If we choose Love, our ball distribution next season will be a problem." Griffin reminded.

"I think that should be a matter for the head coach." Paul Fu replied calmly.

By the way, the Cavaliers invited their former head coach Mike Brown back last season, but the team failed to reach the playoffs last season. With James returning this time, they have fired Brown again (although Brown had previously Getting along with James is okay, but James will not like a coach who has proven a failed combination).

The head coach just finalized not long ago is "European League Coach of the Year" David Blatter.

That is to say, Blatter was not present. Otherwise, if he heard Rich Paul say this, he would probably have scolded her on the spot.

Gilbert frowned at this time, Rich Paul was too strong.

In the brief exchange just now, Rich Paul's tough attitude may even make people feel that this Cavaliers team does not belong to him, but to James.

The room was inexplicably quiet, and the atmosphere was somewhat solid.

Griffin's mind was racing at this moment, and he finally broke the silence: "So, are there any alternatives?"

Griffin's question was very clever. He was trying to find a second candidate that would be acceptable to both parties.

"We're not sure we can trade Kevin Love right now. As you said, he's a second-team player." Griffin went on to explain.

Rich Paul didn't expect Griffin to ask this, and turned to look at James.

James had been leaning on the sofa since he sat down in front of him. At this time, he finally sat up straight and said, "Andrew Bynum."

Bynum is quite capable as his younger brother in the Pacers, and the chemistry between the two was pretty good after last season.

Hearing this, Gilbert's frown relaxed, and Griffin nodded in agreement.

Bynum's strength is no worse than Noah's, and he doesn't occupy the ball. His problem is his character, but since James can control Bynum, then Bynum is a suitable candidate.

(End of this chapter)