When pride still matters

Chapter 270 One day

Danny Granger never thought he would one day become an NBA player before this year.

So when he went undrafted in the top 12 picks, he was calmer than some of the other poor kids in the green room.

For him, entering the NBA has fulfilled his dream.

Is there anything else you’re dissatisfied with? No, there is no regret even if I die.

Next to him, Gerald Green had cold hands and feet and was anxious. He looked around with an expression on his face that said, "If I lose four more picks, I'll have to give back that Hummer and the big villa in the center of my hometown." .

Then, the Bucks didn't make Granger wait any longer.

Stern named Granger with the 13th pick.

He stood up, greeted his family, and then blessed the few guys who had to stay in the little green room.

"Wish ya'll good luck."

Granger turned to the stage.

At this time, ESPN's Dick Vitale roared excitedly: "Many people are talking about the rookie's wingspan, athletic ability, speed and so on! But let me tell you, we are talking about basketball, not track and field! Danny It’s absolutely ridiculous that Granger has fallen into this position but I’m delighted that this young man has gone to a team that suits him best!”

Like other rookies, Granger was interviewed by Greg Sager and answered three questions live.

Sager has been doing this job for many years as a special reporter on draft night.

For Granger, the most important question he raised was: "The Bucks are a championship team, which means you may not get as much playing time as other lottery picks, so be prepared for this. Yet?"

Granger gave the standard answer: "I'm happy to start my career on a team that can win. It's a blessing."

Sager then asked, "Milwaukee is still affected by 'that night,' how would you have handled the situation?"

Granger said maturely: "They encountered a little trouble last season. I think everyone will encounter it, but the past is in the past. I believe I can start again with the team."

"Do you think this is the best outcome?"

"Without a doubt, this is the best outcome I could have imagined."

In fact, Granger almost missed the Bucks tonight.

The Bucks internally believe that the top five players in this draft are Bogut, Paul, Green, Granger, and Marvin.

Ranked in order.

This put them in an extremely unique situation.

Two of the top five picks in the current draft fell to the 13th pick.

Although Gerald Green initially refused the Bucks' tryout, in the eyes of Bucks scouts, Green is the high school student who most resembles Kobe and McGrady in recent years.

Although he did not participate in the team's trial training, and his character is not as perfect as Granger, his talent is attractive.

Larry Harris has to consider one thing. If Yu Fei leaves two years later, maybe the team can build a team around Green.

In their view, Green is the star of tomorrow.

Just when they decided to break the contract and select Green with the 13th overall pick, someone said: "It's best to ask Frye for his opinion before making a decision."

Then, Yu Fei reiterated his desire to play with Granger and believed that there must be some problems with Gerald Green. Otherwise, other teams are not idiots. Why would they put a player who is predicted to be the top five by many media? Leave it to the Bucks?

Yu Fei's words are very convincing.

The reason why Granger fell to the 13th pick was due to injury concerns. Everyone knows this.

The scary thing about Green is that the teams that haven't tried him out have no idea what's wrong with him, so that all the teams that have the chance to choose him choose to skip him.

Unknown negative prospects are always scarier than known negative prospects.

Because humans like to anticipate the worst outcome.

Green not only refused to try out with teams at the bottom of the lottery, but also refused to try out with others. In other words, he did not want others to see him competing with rookies in the same class, so that he would not be tried out by others. In the middle of the game, he was involved in building wedding dresses for other people's drafts.

However, such an approach itself is a lack of confidence in oneself.

So, what exactly did the teams that tried Green one-on-one find the problem?

It was this fear, coupled with Yu Fei's strong request, that allowed the Bucks to maintain their original plan and successfully select Danny Granger.

Seeing that Granger was selected, Yu Fei was satisfied and turned off the TV.

After a while, Yu Fei heard that the team selected point guard Salim Stoudemire with excellent shooting skills with the 26th pick in the first round.

Yu Fei had a few friends from Fujian in his previous life, so he also knew a few Fujian swear words.

Therefore, he felt rude every time he saw the name Salim.

The Bucks also have a draft pick.

This was the 16th pick in the second round acquired from Philadelphia.

The choice for this position is consistent. Either choose an older rookie with strong combat potential, or choose a rough diamond with great potential but a lot of roughness.

However, the 2005 draft is considered to be the deepest draft in many years. Even in the middle of the second round, the Bucks can still make a compromise and select young high school students who have certain combat capabilities, whose skills are suitable for the team. Player Lou Williams.

When the Bucks drafted Lu Wei, Yu Fei was having dinner and turned on the TV to take a look.

ABC Connect is asking Harris Jr. why they use a second-round pick to select a high school student.

Harris Jr. replied: "Louis has gained five pounds in the past month. He is the kind of player who trains hard and is willing to get better. This is the reason why we selected him."

Lu Wei's own interview was the funniest one Yu Fei heard today.

Sager asked him if he was surprised to be chosen. Lu Wei said seriously: "It was a little bit, but after a month of hard work, I'm not really surprised."

Yu Fei laughed.

He has a certain understanding of Lu Wei, because the other party has been active until the era when Kajiao gathered with the Clippers to form an aircraft carrier.

I never expected that a player I had grown up with in my previous life would now come to the Bucks to be my little brother. This feeling is really wonderful.

"Fry, here are the arrangements for the next few days."

Assistant Lin Kaiwen gave Yu Fei a memo about the itinerary for the next few days.

Yu Fei took it to take a look and found that his work these days was centered around the "Fry Yu National High School Star Invitational Tournament" held by Reebok in Seattle.

"Wouldn't it be a violation of the rules for me to participate in this?" Yu Fei remembers that in recent years, NBA practitioners have often been fined for having private contact with prospective NBA players who have not signed up for the draft.

The most famous thing is that Nelson went to Serbia to inspect Milicic and was severely fined by the NBA.

Lin Kaiwen said: "Don't worry, this is a Reebok event. You are only attending as an image ambassador and will not have private contact with high school students."

Yu Fei is not afraid of being fined, isn't it just a fine? What's there to be afraid of? If you have the ability, Stern will come and transfer all your savings away. Hum...

Just considering that I have just regained some good reputation after playing with the Pistons, I have been able to avoid causing trouble recently.

Since there won't be any problems, it doesn't matter if he goes. He hasn't visited his hometown for a few years.

"Are there any particularly powerful high school students?"

Yu Fei asked casually.

Kevin Lin said: "There is one who is said to be better than LeBron."

"So strong?" Yu Fei asked, "Who is it?"

"Looks like he's from Indiana, a kid who plays center."

It's 2005 now, and it won't be a problem for such an incredible player to play in 2020, but Yu Fei knows nothing about it, so he is identified as CJB.

The next day, Yu Fei and his team headed to Seattle.

Outside the airport, several media were already waiting here in advance.

Although Yu Fei's hometown is Kent, Seattle always makes him feel at home.

Moreover, although he did not play a game for the SuperSonics, every time public opinion emerged in the outside world, the Seattle media stood by him unconditionally.

You should know that there is no interest relationship between them, this is a spontaneous behavior.

They asked some normal questions and then let Yu Fei leave.

When he came to Seattle, the first person Yu Fei met was his good friend Brandon Roy, who is currently preparing for his senior season at the University of Washington.

In the past few years, apart from holidays, Yu Fei and Roy have only had the opportunity to see each other in June and July.

Roy made more calls to Yu Fei this year because he started to have some draft news.

But the competition in this year's draft was too fierce, and Yu Fei suggested that he wait for a year.

After Roy tested the water temperature of this draft, he directly chose to return to college.

"You know, even though you never played a day for Seattle, every fan here felt like you were going to come back one day."

That night, Yu Fei was having dinner at Roy's house, and Roy suddenly mentioned this matter.

Back to Seattle?

To put it bluntly, he didn't think about it.

Even, he hasn't really thought about leaving Milwaukee.

Although the 2+1 contract extension makes it seem that he will not stay in Milwaukee for long, it is just a way to put pressure on the management and owner.

"Maybe there will be a chance in the future."

Yu Fei did not completely deny this possibility.

"Is your invitational tournament going to be held tomorrow?" Roy was still the same as before, and the topic suddenly jumped from Yu Fei's decision to return to his hometown to play in the future, to tomorrow's invitational tournament.

Yu Fei looked at him jokingly: "What, do you want to participate? There are all high school students there."

"It's okay to participate." Roy wanted to be proud, "but it's still okay to show up for our University of Washington. Our coach likes that kid named Greg Oden very much."

Now, Yu Fei knows who the Indiana high school student is who claims to be better than James.

The next day, the first Frye National High School Star Invitational Tournament, sponsored by Reebok, was held in Seattle.

The venue is the home stadium of the SuperSonics.

At the scene, the arena was packed with people, and there were also crowds of people outside the arena, but these people were not here for the future stars who were about to play.

When Yu Fei walked out of the Humvee, he heard deafening cheers and screams, as if he had tens of thousands of extra family members out of thin air. Everyone at the scene was excited by his appearance.

Yu Fei thought he had seen many big scenes, but this scene still moved him.

This sense of belonging and recognition was something Milwaukee had never given him.

"Brandon, they are right." Yu Fei whispered, "One day, I will come back here."

(End of this chapter)