When pride still matters

Chapter 347 Wish us good luck

Oden's trial performance in Boston was not good. He seems to have not trained systematically for some time. Why is this happening? Maybe because he was already a lock for a top-two draft pick from last year?

However, as the trial training progressed, Anji became increasingly uneasy.

Ainge has watched every game Oden has played since he entered college.

Except for the narrow loss to Florida in the national championship game, Oden never showed NBA professionals the great potential of "the next Russell or Ewing".

Before that, he had had some great moments and had moments of dominance that lasted longer than 10 minutes, but never lasted the entire game.

Of course, he had plenty of reasons to defend himself.

His hand is injured.

He didn't want to get hurt again. So he has been restraining himself, but no matter what, Oden did not perform better than Durant.

If Anji is given the No. 1 pick, he will definitely choose Durant.

What is the only thing that Auden has? It’s potential in a literal sense.

There is no other reason, just that Durant can give him more security.

But no one can give an answer. The only answer to this question can only be obtained after the Celtics select him in the draft.

Secondly, the Celtics' old team doctor is worried about the health risks of his knees.

Since the Celtics are the most likely team to select Oden, Oden had no reservations about the Celtics and fully demonstrated his physical condition, including detailed physical tests and physical examinations.

In Boston, Oden had some new problems and hidden dangers.

The assistant said: "As he was about to leave, he was still changing clothes in the locker room."

But Anji often wonders, is it possible that only one of these is the correct answer?

And his smile.

"Did Greg leave?"

He grew restless, wondering if Auden was the right answer.

This is real.

One bad news after another reached Anji's ears.

This allowed the Celtics to confirm the rumor that Oden's feet were of different lengths.

Even today, the hand injury is still affecting Oden's workouts, and he doesn't seem to have fully recovered. At the recent joint trial in Orlando, Oden was also diagnosed with a lumbar spine problem.

Compared with other students of his generation, Oden's biggest characteristic is that he knew how to give the public a smile very early on, something Durant has not yet learned.

His trial performance was very poor, he had physical problems, he couldn't feel the layup, and his athletic test was stopped.

Yes, smile.

"Tell his agent that I was very happy with today's workout, but we may need to see Kevin Durant before we make a decision."

The night after the lottery was drawn, there was a joyful rally of basketball fans in Boston, chanting the names of Oden and Durant, ready to be fans of one of them for the next decade.

Angie asked the assistant.

Anji said and decided to go back to the office.

Suddenly, he stopped again.

He decided to take another look at Auden.

What is the biggest difference between talented athletes and those stupid guys living in the world who have no talent for sports? The pace they walk always seems relaxed, as if they belong to another species. But those big men with no athletic talent or aging veterans give people a different feeling.

When Oden walked out of the Celtics locker room accompanied by his agent and greeted everyone with a smile, Ainge's mind flashed to what his old teammate Robert Parish looked like at the end of his career.

Oden looks like a 50-year-old man with a strange walking posture. In any case, he doesn't look like the kind of athlete who slides on the ground.

It was at this moment that crazy ideas came to Angie's mind.

But what's even crazier is that he needs to convince everyone on the board of directors and make them understand why Greg Oden, a once-in-a-decade super talent that scouts call a once-in-a-decade talent, cannot lead the Celtics' future.

Boston's workout with Oden was just an ordinary day in the NBA, but Ainge's decision and Durant's refusal of Boston's workout invitation (meaning that the Sonics gave a draft commitment) indirectly determined the 2007- The distribution of power in the NBA in the 08 season.

Then, time came to the day of the 2007 draft.

Before the draft began, news that the Celtics might trade the second pick had already swept the trade market.

It is a public fact that the SuperSonics are preparing to select Yu Fei with the No. 1 pick, but this does not mean that Durant is recognized as the No. 1 pick.

It was only with the rise of Yu Fei and the popularity of small ball that Durant's value surpassed Oden's in the eyes of some teams. But no more than 30% of the teams are willing to take Durant with the No. 1 pick. Supersonics happens to be one of them. Oden is recognized as the No. 1 pick. In the eyes of some teams, only Yu Fei and James can replace him.

Now, the Celtics actually plan to trade the No. 2 pick?

Some people are still speculating whether something bad happened during the trial, but more people have gone crazy, and the phone in the Celtics draft war room keeps ringing.

Minutes later, Stern announced what the outside world already knew.

The Seattle SuperSonics selected Kevin Durant with the first pick of the first round.

A small number of Sonics fans at the scene shouted: "Save our Sonics!"

Durant doesn't know what's ahead, but entering the league as the No. 1 pick is something he couldn't even imagine before entering college.

Because the No. 15 pick in this session was already locked in when Oden was years old.

Unexpectedly, he became the top pick in the end.

Durant, whose dream came true, couldn't help but think that if such a dream could come true, then even crazier dreams would not be impossible.

Could he, like Fry, taste the footwater of the Muse?

Later, while fans were waiting for the Celtics to select Oden with the second overall pick, ESPN draft expert Andy Katz suddenly broke the news: "The Celtics plan to send the second overall pick to Minnesota in exchange for Back to Kevin Garnett.”

Almost at the same time, ESPN officially confirmed that the transaction had been completed.

Celtics fans experienced both ice and fire for a while.

Trading for Garnett means they have to win in the moment, but giving up a 30-year-old super talent for a superstar over 19 years old? Is this really possible?

This is destined to be a highly controversial transaction.

But there's more to the deal than meets the eye.

Ainge's offer for the No. 2 pick has always been a superstar, and his targets are actually only two superstars who are applying for trades - Kobe Bryant and Garnett.

But the Lakers have Bynum, and their desire for Oden is relatively the smallest among all teams. Therefore, they proposed a price increase of Oden + Al Jefferson + salary space + future draft picks.

Anji thought, if you don't want to do this deal, you can just say it, but there's no need to do that.

On the contrary, Ainge's old teammate Kevin McHale in Minnesota was very easy to talk to. Since it was revealed last year that the Timberwolves secretly planned Garnett's trade, Garnett's heart has died. At this point, he understood the meaning of Yu Fei's original words, "Don't let loyalty hurt you."

McHale's relationship with the Celtics undoubtedly gave the Celtics a lot of advantage in this transaction.

As far as the chips sent by the Celtics are concerned, it can basically be an equal exchange between Oden and Garnett, and the rest is garbage to fill in Garnett's contract.

In this transaction, the Celtics sent Wally Szczerbiak home, and roped in Vin Baker and others who had not played for more than a year to gather the bargaining chips needed for the deal. Chi's "ticket" was brought back to Boston.

However, the Celtics' operation is not over yet.

As soon as the news about Garnett broke, it was reported that Ainge had traded Al Jefferson, a highly regarded potential big man, for the Memphis Grizzlies' No. 6 pick.

Subsequently, ESPN's number one reporter Mark Stein confirmed the authenticity of the transaction - another message from this transaction is that the Grizzlies have decided to rebuild around young people, so Pau Gasol is very likely to be traded.

However, Anji, who has been making waves in the trading market, is not satisfied yet.

He got the sixth pick from the Grizzlies not to select a young man he was more optimistic about, but to make a deal with the New York Knicks, who were selling Michael Redd, whose relationship with Thomas had deteriorated.

But in addition to wanting the No. 6 pick, Isiah Thomas also wants salary space, and the Celtics can just meet their needs-because the Celtics have a multi-million dollar contract that is about to expire next year. Contract Theo Ratliff.

Then, Ainge targeted David Lee, a high-quality young insider who has emerged in the Knicks recently, during negotiations.

After negotiations between the two sides, the Celtics finally exchanged Michael Reed and David Lee from New York at the cost of the No. 2008 pick, Ratliff and the first-round pick.

Anji’s series of operations disrupted the trading market.

The Grizzlies, who acquired Al Jefferson, decided to sell Pau Gasol.

The team taking advantage of the trend is the Bucks, who have just completed two consecutive championships.

Regardless of whether Yu Fei stays or not, the Bucks still have high-quality trading chips and healthy salary space as well as the two bonus contracts of Granger and Aldridge.

After the Bucks selected Joakim Noah, they bundled PJ Tucker, Sprewell and a 2009 first-round pick in exchange for Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies.

However, since the deal required the Bucks to continue to execute Sprewell's contract to take effect, the two parties only completed a verbal agreement on the day of the draft, but the deal was finalized and the Bucks opened up the post-Yu Fei era. The first chapter.

After the draft, the Bucks held a championship celebration in downtown Milwaukee.

Yu Fei gave a nearly 10-minute speech, reviewing his past five years in Milwaukee. The voices of those who expected him to stay have become weak because everyone heard Yu Fei's words clearly.

He is grateful for the past, grateful for the present, and grateful for the support of his staff, teammates and fans, but what about the future?

Nothing, he just said, "Wish us luck."

Some things are meant to happen.

(End of this chapter)