When pride still matters

Chapter 560 That Man
(Took a nap in bed and overslept)
The 2012 NBA Draft will be held on June 6.

This year's draft is particularly eye-catching because many rookies who could have entered the league last year chose to withdraw from the draft, and there is also a recognized talent in the industry like Anthony Davis.

Before the draft began, Durant requested a trade, which caused an earthquake in the NBA.

The Supersonics completed the deal extremely quickly, with no intention of waiting for the storm to die down and slowly mend the relationship. They sent Durant to New York the day before the draft.

As a result, Durant may not even attend the championship celebration on June 6.

If Bosh is included, the Sonics' fourth consecutive championship celebration will be without two absolute main players. Perhaps nothing looks more like the end of a dynasty than this.

The Sonics got the No. 2 pick, which will make them the protagonists on draft day.

The selection of this draft pick may determine the future of the entire team.

Therefore, some people want to know who Yu Fei prefers in this draft.

However, Yu Fei did not make any comment.

Whether it was Durant requesting a trade or this year's draft, he had no presence.

Many media outlets were surprised that a person who had a huge influence on the Supersonics refused to exert his influence and instead allowed things to become unpredictable?

Yu Fei behind the scenes was too lazy to explain his thoughts.

There are many things that will not change even if he objects. Instead of wasting his time, he might as well watch it happen.

Come draft night.

A year ago, scouts had a preliminary assessment of this year's top pick.

After a college season, Anthony Davis defended this judgment with outstanding performance.

Therefore, all the preparations before the draft were in vain.

People know who will be the top pick.

The Hornets' selection of the No. 1 pick wasn't even as interesting as the rumored story of Bill Simmons' failed interview for the Hornets' general manager position.

The specific story is as follows.

The owner of the Hornets asked Simmons who came for the interview: "Please answer a key question. What level is the 2012 No. pick for you? A, completely untouchable. B, untouchable. C, untouchable, but negotiable. D, negotiable."

Simmons agreed with Davis' value, but he also arrogantly believed that nothing in the NBA was off-limits, so he chose C.

The Hornets owner said: "The answer is A, you stupid media person!"

It is not surprising that such a largely fictional story happened to Simmons, after all, he tried to become the general manager of the Timberwolves a few years ago.

Then, the five minutes Stern left for the Hornets quickly ended, and he returned to the stage to announce that the Hornets selected Anthony Davis with the No. 1 pick.

There was cheering at the scene. This was an expected choice.

Stern was also very happy. As he was approaching retirement, he could still see such a promising young man entering the league. He couldn't help but feel that the future of the NBA was bright.

Then came the highlight.

"The New York Knicks have sent the No. 2 pick to Seattle, and their selection is crucial."

In ESPN's draft live broadcast room, Jeff Van Gundy seriously discussed this issue.

"I heard some inside information from the NBA," Van Gundy said. "The relationship between Frye and the owner of the Supersonics seems to have broken down, and he is not happy with what has happened in the team recently. If Seattle can't select the right person with the second pick, then the only thing we can know is that the Supersonics dynasty will most likely end, and Frye will become a free agent next summer."

Van Gundy said cryptically: "Anything is possible by then."

Will the master of the empire abandon the empire?
This is a question that no one has ever considered.

Before this, no one had ever discussed in depth the nature of the "sole empire".

If Yu Fei needs it, the nature of the empire will change accordingly.

Back then, when the GOAT competition between Yu Fei and Jordan became increasingly intense, Mark Stein from Yu Fei's camp proposed the concept of "the only empire".

This is because Yu Fei completed consecutive championships after changing teams at that time, while Jordan's fans believed that changing teams means changing teams and the honors should be counted again.

The original intention of proposing "The Only Empire" was to string together Yu Fei's honors, highlight Yu Fei's personal influence, and thus downplay the role of the team.

That is, Seattle is part of the empire, and so is Milwaukee.

What they have in common is that they have achieved absolute success in the era of flying.

If this theory is true, then staying in Seattle or not is not a matter of great importance to the Flying camp.

Because if the GOAT can succeed in any city, then no city can be the carrier of the "Empire".

Van Gundy brought this up on the air, and the argument will quickly gain momentum.

As a media person who is extremely biased towards flying, it is hard to believe that his remarks were not instructed by others.

Is this Yu Fei declaring his intentions to the outside world?
No one knows how it will play out, except to discuss it as Van Gundy puts it.

For Fei, who would be the best person for the Supersonics to select with the second pick?
ESPN's senior draft expert Jay Bilas undoubtedly chose Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who has the highest talent besides Davis.

Why? This guy is simply impeccable. What superstar would refuse to join forces with the next Gerald Wallace?
Van Gundy doesn't like this option because no matter how you look at it, McGee needs time to develop and he is not the kind of player who can fight right away.

Does the GOAT have time to wait for him?

If things don’t work out, I’ll be gone next summer.

Therefore, Van Gundy's choice is Bradley Beal.

"This young man is expected to be a better scorer than Eric Gordon." Van Gundy said, "In my opinion, he can easily average 20 points per game in the NBA, and his position and playing style will not conflict with Brandon Roy."

Another Chris Broussard also chose McGee.

The reason is similar to Bias's, both think that in the absence of Anthony Davis, this person is the ideal choice for the second pick.

As the saying goes, laymen watch the excitement, while insiders watch the door.

NBA general manager is a job that requires highly professional theory. It seems that people who do this job are very smart, but the history of the NBA is full of stupid trades and draft picks.

So, there is a phenomenon that goes against common sense here.

Smart GMs are actually a minority.

Presti is one of the few smart people in the management. From the beginning, he put the highly praised McGee behind him.

He had no foresight and could not see what was to come, and he might be wrong, but he simply felt that McGee's technical deficiencies were so great that neither his talent nor his great character could make up for them.

This is one of the most unfair things in professional basketball.

Because McGee is a wing, which is the most demanding position in terms of overall quality. To be a great wing, it is not enough to have great talent and character, but also great skills.

McGee is the exact opposite of great technique, and his technique will hinder his development, thereby slowing down his progress.

Presti can't be optimistic about McGee's future, and their top priority is to change Yu Fei's view of the team.

Yu Fei has been staying in Los Angeles since the end of the season.

Looking back, during the entire suspended season, Yu Fei's life focus was Los Angeles.

His Hollywood career was thriving, his fiancée was an aspiring actress, and Seattle might have the largest middle class in the world, but if he wanted to get ahead in Hollywood, Los Angeles was the way to go.

There was a pervasive negative mood within the SuperSonics, which was definitely not what a team that had won four consecutive championships should have.

It's like the Bulls lost Pippen and Rodman in 1998, but Jordan didn't retire. People had reason to believe that their championship window was closed, but was it necessary to feel despair?
Yu Fei's alienation from the team created a sense of crisis among the management.

This forces Presti to think beyond the question of "is this person a good fit for the team" when considering the No. 2 pick.

If McGee isn't an option, Bradley Beal looks like the perfect fit, but Presti has his eyes on two others.

Duke's sophomore guard Kyrie Irving and Weber State's Damian Lillard.

These two people will conflict with Roy in terms of position.

But Roy is essentially a No. 2 guard, and he just developed into the league's best point guard by playing alongside Yu Fei.

Presti wants to break this situation.

He likes Irving's talent and appreciates Lillard's combat effectiveness and mental qualities. If McGee is great except for his lack of great talent, then Lillard has great skills and character, while Irving has great skills.

However, the effects of great burdens in different positions are different.

Presti's intention was like a wild horse that couldn't be pulled back and ran towards Irving and Lillard.

Faced with the potential for development, reliable character and strong combat effectiveness, Presti chose the former.

He didn't know if Irving could be better than Lillard, but he had to consider the possibility that Yu Fei might leave. If things went to the worst, they at least had Irving who could continue to develop.

As for Roy's own interests, they were not within Presti's consideration.

Because Roy is a good person, he likes to consider the overall situation, and he is even willing to risk coming back in the playoffs for the sake of honor. He is also known as the Son of Seattle, so he is the Son of the Supersonics player who is least likely to leave.

Such people are born to be victims.

Presti doesn't consider Roy's ideas when making decisions, Roy will just make his own plans.

Then, the moment of decision came.

Stern came to the stage, faced the audience, and announced the Sonics' choice.

"In the 2012 NBA Draft, the Seattle SuperSonics selected Kyrie Irving from Duke University with the second pick in the first round!"

It is definitely an unexpected choice. Before this, although Irving was also a top five favorite, he is a point guard and a ball-sticking point guard. Although he showed great skills in his second college season, making people believe that he is a potential All-Star, how can he coexist with Yu Fei and Roy?

Everyone was shocked by the result.

Including Irving himself.

Originally, he was prepared to fall to the fourth or fifth pick because the Supersonics would not choose him, and the Cavaliers already had John Wall and would not choose him.

The team he is most likely to go to is the Wizards.

However, the Supersonics made the most show-stopping choice under the watchful eyes of the public.

"I'm going to be teammates with the GOAT?"

As Irving walked towards Stern on the stage, all kinds of strange ideas were running through his mind.

He is not at all pessimistic about his future like the outside world.

"Congratulations, kid." Stern smiled and hugged Irving. "NBA welcomes you."

Owen couldn't help but ask, "Mr. President, what kind of person is Frye?"

"Good guy." Then, Stern said with a wry smile, "You can't stay on the stage. Go and accept the interviews below the stage!"

There was a tone of command in the voice, but Owen didn't pay much attention to it.

The impact of the entire draft is spreading.

It wasn't until half a minute later that several people from ESPN reacted.

"Sam Presti really picked an unexpected person!"

Bias immediately asked Van Gundy for his opinion: "Jeff, what do you think of the Supersonics' choice?"

Van Gundy's bleak hairline seemed to be illuminated. He smiled subtly, "This is exactly the question I want to ask Frye in person right now."

Yu Fei himself is not paying attention to this year's draft.

It wasn't until Presti called him and told him the team had confirmed its No. 2 pick that he realized, oh, today is the draft day?
"It's up to you, decide for yourselves." This is what Yu Fei said.

So he was surprised when he heard Presti say he was going to pick Irving.

"Really?" Yu Fei said, "Okay."

It would be best if Yu Fei had no objection.

Prestige made this choice with peace of mind.

Yu Fei was thinking about other things.

Has it been that long?
Irving can be said to be his basketball mentor in his previous life, or it can be said that he became interested in basketball because of Irving. He likes Irving's imaginative dribbling moves, and he likes his killer mentality at critical moments even more.

However, as he approached puberty, the things Owen did became more difficult for him to understand.

Gradually, he was no longer a fan of Irving.

Time flies, and he traveled through time, until today, Irving came to the draft and joined his team by accident.

He is almost a generation older than Irving, and Irving is definitely qualified to say that he grew up watching his own game.

How anti-Tiangang is this?

Yu Fei finally accepted the result. To him, Irving was like Durant in the past, an interesting person who was worth observing, but would eventually leave him.

However, he might be the one leaving this time.

(End of this chapter)