no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 74
Thunder draft lodge.

Presti's expression at this moment was as if he was constipated.

His draft style is like that of a jaguar, hiding in the dark and then accurately scoring the target.

The selection of Westbrook and Ibaka last year was the same.

This year, his goal... yes, Xu Yong.

Harden was once his top priority answer. Although the Thunder already had Westbrook, it was more like a "scoring point guard". Durant didn't have much organizational skills. Nengwei.

But Harden's problem is as stated in the draft report, his possession rate and turnover rate are too high.

The latter may be improved, but the former is in direct conflict with Westbrook, because Westbrook's poor shooting can't play without the ball.

In contrast, Xu Yong naturally became his first choice.

Xu Yong has a point that is easily overlooked by others, and that is his ability to improve.

In his freshman season, although Xu Yong had excellent physical fitness, he was still just an off-ball scorer, a high-quality or even top-level role player.

But when he was a sophomore, Xu Yong was already the second ball-holding point, and he also developed a stable pull-up shooting ability, and his breakthrough with the ball was obviously stronger.

This is a terrifying thing, which shows that Xu Yong has a lot of room for improvement in the future, that is, he has a lot of potential.

Compared with the point in Harden's draft report, the potential is small.

Even when other managers were focusing on Xu Yong's performance in the finals, his attention was on the semi-finals.

In that game, Xu Yong was criminally committed, but he was not injured by it.

A seemingly small detail, but dispelled his biggest concern, the injury problem of the yellow race.

In fact, yellow players are not much worse than white players in terms of physical talent. Their biggest problem is injuries.

But Xu Yong, like his jumping, is different among the yellow race.

And the last point, Xu Yong does not take possession of the ball, and his defense is better than Harden. He will be very suitable for the team.

So he had already set his sights on Xu Yong, and he wasn't worried at all.

Because based on the information he got, Xu Yong has a high probability of going to the Knicks with the eighth pick, and a small probability that the fourth pick will be won by the Kings.

But that doesn't matter, because he will cut the beard silently.

But he never expected that the Grizzlies, no, the Bulls would cut it off!

Moreover, in order to get Xu Yong, the Bulls spent a lot of money, and even sent two starters, and the future unprotected first round directly.

Not to mention how well Thomas and Salmons played last season, let's talk about the unprotected first round. If the Bulls don't make the playoffs, then the Grizzlies will be Qin Shihuang touching the wire and winning.

You must know that after the Bulls did this, most of the rest of the team are players during the rookie contract period. This is a high probability event.

It is now and the future, and it is not an exaggeration for the Bulls to say that they will exchange half of the team for Xu Yong.

The most important thing is that there was no rumor before.

If so, isn't it much easier for him to trade the No. 3 pick for the No. 2 pick than it is for the Bulls to trade for the No. 5 pick?

This confidential work can be called a "secrecy card".

This is also the first miscalculation since he took office in the Thunder.

But things have happened, what can he say besides congratulating the Chicagoans?

The choice he faces now is who to pick with the third pick.

In the 5-minute wait time for the Thunder to make their third pick, Grizzlies fans were already blowing up on social media.

"As soon as Chris Wallace took office two years ago, he gave Pau Gasol to the Lakers for nothing. Now they have changed the second pick to the fifth pick. Who can tell me, our general manager's brain Is it filled with shit or poop?"

"I miss 'Logo' so much now. He made us a Western Conference team, but now I feel like I ate shit."

"I've already died twice. Once when I heard that we selected a player of yellow race with the second pick, and once when I heard that our second pick turned into the fifth pick. Really kill me!"

"Brother, look on the bright side. The Bulls sent two starters to get Xu Yong. They may not be able to make the playoffs next season. The pick we got is likely to be a lottery pick."

"Does that mean anything? You fed me shit and told me there was a piece of chocolate in it?!"

……

Stern walked up to the stage for the third time before announcing the Thunder's third pick.

"The third pick in the first round of the NBA in 2009, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected James Harden, a 1-meter shooting guard, from Arizona State University."

In the absence of Xu Yong, Harden became the best choice for the Thunder.

As for Thabeet, he failed to catch Presti's eyes.

Harden also got up excitedly to go on stage at this time.

The pick was a full three picks higher than his expected No. [-] pick.

And who would have thought that the small Arizona State University would be ranked No. [-] and No. [-] at the same time!
……

Kings draft lodge.

Petrie's expression was very complicated.

After a fierce ideological struggle before, he finally decided to make a bold decision to forcibly pick Xu Yong at the fourth pick.

As for Brother Maruf's question, he said that he took the wrong envelope during the draft.

While that meant he was taking a huge risk, it was an emotion he felt after 15 years with this team and he didn't want to pass up an opportunity like this.

So while waiting, he was nervous and excited.

He even rehearsed in his mind how surprised he should be when Stern announced that the Kings had selected Xu Yong.

As a result, it was better now, all his preparations were useless, and he didn't have to take any risks, because Xu Yong had already been picked as the second pick.

For a moment, he didn't know whether to be relieved or uncomfortable.

……

Stern walked up to the big screen for the fourth time.

At this time, the most nervous people on the scene were the fans of the Grizzlies.

Because after the Thunder chose Harden, Thabeet was still not selected.

So as long as the Kings don't choose, they still have a chance to win the big man they like.

"The fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2009 NBA season, the Sacramento Kings selected...Tyreke Evans, a 1'98" point guard from the University of Memphis."

When Stern announced the result, there was a burst of cheers from the fans at the scene, from the Grizzlies fans.

They are the group with the strongest presence tonight.

And at the same time, fans on social media have also fallen into a carnival.

"I was wrong, I have to apologize to Chris Wallace, now we can get Thabeet with the fifth pick! God, he is like a second 'magic operator'! How incredible!"

"Wallace is so great. Not only did he bring us Thabeet, the 2-meter-21 giant, but he also took a first-round pick from the Bulls for nothing. This is definitely one of the greatest trades in NBA history. !"

"Let's pop the champagne, we are the biggest winners in this year's draft!"

……

Five minutes later, Stern walked up to the stage for the fifth time, and announced the Grizzlies' choice to the cheers of a crowd of Grizzlies fans.

Without much surprise, the Grizzlies took Thabeet with the fifth pick.

The Grizzlies fans once again cheered, and some fans couldn't help but dance on the spot.

Thabeet's expression was shown on the scene... as if he was constipated.

He could have been the second pick, but after a round of inexplicable operations, he directly became the fifth pick.

The Bulls and Grizzlies management was happy, and the Grizzlies fans were happy, but he lost even more than real money.

Because the person who was selected as the second place was Xu Yong!
Not only did Xu Yong block him on the court, but now he even blocked him in the draft!

A world in which only Thabeet was injured was achieved.

At this time, Xu Yong left the press conference after accepting the interviews of the reporters.

At this time at the door, Schwartz was already waiting for him at the door.

But he is not alone, there are two people beside him, one he has never met, and the other he had met in the United Center training hall, the head coach of the Bulls, Vinnie DeNagro.

　I have started to recycle the previous foreshadowing (there is more behind the bull part). If you think the design is not bad, please remember to vote and read it~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)