When pride still matters

Chapter 269 God rolls the dice

During Granger's interview, Yu Fei had already arrived at the training center.

When he heard that Granger was willing to give up being selected in the top 12 picks in order to be his teammate, Yu Fei just wanted to say, good fan, but don't be too fond of him.

At the end of the interview, both the Bucks' management and coaching staff were very satisfied with Granger.

Carl thought there was something old-school about Granger.

He can endure pain, take responsibility, and lead the team forward.

What Harris is worried about is that the Bucks currently have no draft picks to select Granger.

Then, technical testing begins.

Just like Granger showed in the college arena.

In the first two years of college, Granger actually played power forward. Then, he transferred to the University of New Mexico and spent one year with the Redwoods. In his senior year, he mastered the top shooting skills in the country like a completely different person. The short and sturdy No. 4 position was transformed into the No. 3 position.

He has the physique and confrontation required for the college-level fourth position, as well as professional-level shooting skills, coupled with passable dribbling and good athletic ability, allowing him to rise from unknown to lottery pick, and There is a vague reason for the top five momentum.

In today's trial, Granger was in the best condition.

He almost never missed the shooting test that the Bucks valued most. Both his shooting action and touch were excellent.

If the management wants to choose him, Yu Fei has no objection.

But what the management is worried about is that the 13th pick may not be able to touch Granger's clothes at all.

"It's hard for me to believe he dropped to No. 13," Carr said. "If I had to choose, he would definitely be above Marvin Williams."

The Bucks can only ask Granger to undergo a physical examination before giving him a draft commitment.

While Granger was waiting for the results of his physical examination, Yu Fei came over to talk to him.

This flattered Granger.

"I just have to come and meet my fans." Yu Fei said, "Your performance was great."

Granger said modestly: "I got lucky today."

Just like Granger, who has a top-10 ranking but still accepted the Bucks' trial training, what he showed today shows to the Bucks' management and coaching staff that he is not only capable of fighting, but also a high-level player. A player of character.

"If I had been as lucky as you during the trial training, I might not have been selected by D.C." Yu Fei laughed at himself.

Granger tried not to laugh, but couldn't.

Because D.C's rookie season is an indelible part of Yu Fei's legendary four years.

If he hadn't called out Jordan when he was just starting out, maybe Yu Fei's popularity wouldn't be as polarized as it is today.

In fact, what Yu Fei wanted to say was that Granger performed so well in trial training that the Bucks might not be able to select him.

So use this story to inspire the other person.

I didn't expect that the opponent's fans were so stupid that they thought so much.

Afterwards, the Bucks team doctor came out with Granger's physical examination results with a gloomy face.

The result is not ideal.

Under Granger's seemingly perfect conditions, there is also a dark side.

When he transferred to the University of New Mexico, he not only had to sit on the coaching staff for a year, but also missed a lot of time with a knee injury. Then, in his senior season, he injured the same part of the same knee again. Although this injury has little impact, some risks can be predicted under the NBA's sophisticated physical examination.

The Bucks held a meeting behind closed doors.

The team doctor expressed his opinion: "I don't think Danny's knee can support the long NBA schedule."

Carl asked: "Are you 100% sure?"

"Of course not." The team doctor smiled bitterly. "The injury prevention mechanism is sometimes like God throwing dice. Even if you put all the protection in place, some people are destined to be injured. In turn, we also I know some people who are favored by God and whose lives are contrary to scientific rules, but they have always maintained good health.”

The team doctor's words caused the scene to fall into silence.

Carr knows how important it is for the team not to screw up this year's lottery pick.

Yu Fei only signed a 2+1 contract extension, which means that the Bucks only have two years to make the team competitive again, so they must not be careless.

"Can this hidden problem be eradicated surgically?" Larry Harris asked.

The team doctor shook his head and said: "He is healthy now and there are no problems with all physical indicators, but his knees are very fragile."

Assistant coach Lester Conner made a suggestion that made Yu Fei frown: "Maybe we can use this news to lower Danny's draft stock, and then trade for another first-round pick to pick him."

Very good, very good, with a kind of Boston Celtic beauty.

Yu Fei believes in the reincarnation of heaven. The Celtics have lived so miserable in the past thirty years, which must be because their ancestors have too many bad qualities.

"That's enough, don't use these little tricks. If everything goes well, we will have no chance to get involved with Danny. But if he really falls to the 13th pick by then, we hesitate for a second because we are not satisfied with his performance in today's trial training. respect!"

Yu Fei made his attitude clear: "My opinion is, just choose him!"

Although Yu Fei's defense of Granger seems like a repeat of last year's mistake, the options before the Bucks are limited.

Granger is a can't-miss talent for them.

So it was decided.

That night, Carr and Harris Jr. took Granger to dinner and gave him a draft commitment. Having finalized the lottery pick, the Bucks will continue to work on the 26th pick in the first round.

Yu Fei will not interfere with this lottery.

Because he only knows one player at this position, David Lee, but the Bucks don't seem to need insiders that much now.

Whether you use this to supplement the point guard or choose a wing, it is more suitable than choosing an inside line.

Therefore, Yu Fei decided to be an enlightened player president.

He gave the job back to Harris Jr. and Carl, who were supposed to do it, and went on vacation.

In the end, the Bucks were torn between C.J. Mills and Salim Stoudemire.

Of these two, one is an athletic high school second position player, and the other is the best shooter (point guard) in college.

Karl prefers the former, while the coaching staff believes that the latter is more suitable in terms of the rationality of the lineup.

Then they decided.

If Granger can be selected in the lottery, draft Stoudemire at the end of the first round. If not, draft Mills.

The Bucks have finalized their draft plans and are waiting for the show day to arrive.

June 6, NBA Draft Day

In the past few days, the Bucks are negotiating a deal with the Jazz.

The Ray Allen trade allowed the Bucks to acquire Cuttino Mobley and Greg Ostertag from the Kings as well as future draft picks.

Mobley is about to test the free market, and Ostertag has not brought much help to the Bucks due to injuries. He still has one year and $1 million left on his contract.

Ostertag's dream was to finish his career in Utah, so he requested a trade from the team.

The Jazz are also willing to accept him without paying too much price.

Negotiations went smoothly as both parties were happy to see the deal completed.

The Jazz used a future second-round pick to take away Ostertag from the Bucks, and the Bucks used this second-round pick from the Philadelphia 76ers to acquire this year's 16th pick in the second round.

The Bucks have officially fired their first shot at draft day.

However, no one cared about this shot.

The draft begins.

Due to the arrival of Yu Fei, the Bucks are still in the first echelon of the league. Therefore, the career of Andrew Bogut, who was supposed to go to Milwaukee to play, has undergone some changes.

The team holding this year's No. 1 pick is the New Jersey Nets.

The Nets' choice is the same as the Bucks in the previous life.

In a league still dominated by big men, Bogut is the only center with All-Star qualifications in this draft, so it is no surprise that he was selected as the No. 1 pick.

The ownership of Marvin Williams, Deron Williams and Chris Paul in the next three picks was no surprise.

Only the No. 5 pick once again sparkled with the power of the butterfly effect.

The Seattle SuperSonics, which has struggled since last season, once again drew the fifth pick.

However, this may also be one of the more annoying picks in this draft.

Because this year's draft pattern is a typical one king with three top players.

Bogut's No. 1 pick is very stable, and the choice between Paul and Deron depends purely on the management's feeling and whoever they like. Marvin can easily secure any seat in the top four with his superstar potential.

For the rebuilding SuperSonics, the fifth pick is a pain in the ass. Not only are they unable to select the top four players they expected, the rest are all X factors.

In the end, the Sonics selected Channing Frye from Villanueva University.

As soon as the SuperSonics finished selecting, the only reason Yu Fei watched the draft was to see if Granger could fall to the 13th pick.

If the variables in last year's draft were mainly off-the-court transactions - a total of twelve transactions took place on draft night - that was not the case tonight. In addition to the big trade of Jazz coach Dron Williams, several others Transactions are trivial.

When the Raptors selected Charlie Villanueva with the eighth pick instead of Danny Granger as predicted by multiple media outlets, the draft atmosphere seemed to change.

The Raptors and Granger seemed to be going in both directions. They had the right pick, and the team itself needed a forward with immediate combat capabilities, but they made what seemed like the worst choice.

Because Chris Bosh, the core of the Raptors team building, is a pure fourth position, and Villanueva is by no means a frontcourt swingman who can play center or small forward, which means that the Raptors cannot use one A bad lottery pick selected a player whose position and function overlap with that of the young core.

Why does this happen?

Because Granger is not only training for the Bucks, he is also required to undergo physical examinations while training for other teams. The injury concerns discovered by the Bucks will also be discovered by other teams.

This is the reason why the Raptors gave up on Granger.

The Raptors' attitude will undoubtedly affect how other teams view Granger.

Team after team jumped over Granger.

With the Clippers selecting a Russian with the twelfth pick whose name is so long that it gives Yu Fei a headache, the Bucks waited for the critical moment tonight.

Danny Granger, recognized as a top-10 pick before the draft, and the strongest forward in this class who is expected to enter the top five, is still awkwardly sitting in the little green room.

Just like the Nuggets in the Jokic era removed Michael Porter Jr. who had a disc problem. For a weak team, the risk of choosing such a player is huge, but for a strong team, no matter what the risk, just look at the return rate. It's worth the risk.

David Stern returned to the stage, opened the envelope and said, "In the 2005 NBA Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Danny Granger from the University of New Mexico!"

(End of this chapter)