The Road to Stardom: Start as a Slam Dunk Master.

Chapter 287 Draft Puzzle

In the NBA Commissioner's Office, Bob Myers has just left. The Sonics invited him to be the team manager. Stern approved it. He just came to say goodbye to Stern.

Stern expressed his blessing for this guy to go to Seattle.

When he was in Japan, it was this guy who discovered Lin Dong in street basketball. After that, whether he sent Lin Dong's videotape to the Dragon Country Basketball Association behind his back, or when the SuperSonics failed last season, that guy Stern was well aware of some of the things he was doing secretly for the Sonics.

Although sending the videotape was against his will, looking at it today, Stern has to praise Bob for being wiser than his own choice. I am afraid that half of the NBA market in Dragon Country can be attributed to him. That action at that time.

Bob Myers can be said to be Lin Dong's boss, and this guy has been working at the league headquarters for several years and knows all the operations well. When Schultz came to recruit him, it can be said that he has a keen eye to recognize heroes, and he can go there. The SuperSonics will also help Lin Dong integrate into the NBA faster. These are things Stern is happy to see happen, and they also have many benefits for the development of the league.

As soon as Bob left, a senior executive from Nike came over.

As one of the sports brands that has the closest cooperation with the NBA today, the other party's intention is very clear. It does not make any detours with Stern. It is hoped that Stern will use the league to put some pressure on Lin Dong's rookie season, such as a slightly biased whistle, such as Some nit-picking fines, and then Nike stepped in to help Lin Dong solve the problem and be a good person, letting him feel the feeling of "in the NBA, he needs Nike".

This was actually just a piece of cake for Stern, but he just smiled and agreed casually, but did not give the other party a clear answer.

It wasn't until the Nike chief was sent away that Stern rubbed his tired temples.

Are you looking for trouble for Lin Dong?

It's not just Nike, or even these brands, who want to cause trouble for Lin Dong. Even the heads of several teams have come to him for suggestions.

Coupled with the large order just signed with Longguo CCTV and many plans to sell peripherals, Stern has made a lot of money in the Dragonguo market alone this year, and it is expected that the total will be at least around 5 million. .

What happened to Nike? For the NBA, Nike only helps each other. At least at this stage, it is not their turn to influence the league. The NBA can help Nike, but it can also help other brands. To put it bluntly, as long as the NBA continues to be popular, Nike can be replaced. .

The Dragon Country, which has just joined the WTO, is in its economic infancy. It is hard for Stern to imagine how much potential that market will have in five or ten years, so...

Therefore, when Schultz came to recruit people from him, he would not hesitate to send Bob Myers, his confidant who had been with him for several years, to the SuperSonics just to escort Lin Dong.

But none of the Sterns were going to help.

3.13 million US dollars, in 02, this was a big deal, and this was obviously due to the two super talents from the Dragon Kingdom, Yao Ming and Lin Dong, who represented the Dragon Kingdom and set off waves in the NBA, making the NBA enter the NBA. The Longguo market is four to five years ahead of Stern’s expectations.

But Dragon Kingdom is different. No other country in this world can replace Dragon Kingdom's market.

As long as he is here, no one can make trouble by harming the interests of the alliance.

Stern tossed aside the box containing the Patek Philippe sent by the Nike representative.

After joining the WTO, Dragon Kingdom is now in an exciting attitude of actively embracing the whole world. It has an incomparable desire to learn from all the good things from European, American and Western countries.

………………

Not only does he not do it, he also has to find ways to protect these two good prospects of the Dragon Kingdom. It is best to provide some conveniences to the SuperSonics and Wizards so that they can have a better performance in this new season.

Things have to be collected. Nike is a big customer after all, otherwise its bias will be too obvious, but I won’t do this!

This has allowed the basketball market of Dragon Kingdom to show extraordinary potential. Not only has the market value of the Xiangjiang NBA Company established in 92 increased significantly, it has cooperated closely with various wireless media, and it is also expected to establish NBA Dragon Kingdom in the second half of this year. It has reached an agreement with six companies including Longguo Bank of Communications, Li Jiacheng Fund, Legend Holdings, Longguo Bank, and Sina. As long as NBA Longguo is officially launched, the six companies will invest a total of US$3.13 million to acquire 11% of NBA Longguo. Original equity.

And Stern can feel very keenly that the market in Dragon Kingdom may be far more than this.

This year's draft is definitely a feast. There are so many good prospects, and the NBA has ushered in a prosperous year.

But what Stern values ​​most now is the Asian market that has grown from scratch.

For the sake of the small calculations of several local brands, do you want to plot against Lin Dong, who is now being watched by the entire Dragon Kingdom? Are you going to disgust the people from the Dragon Country who are just full of enthusiasm for the NBA?

Stern doesn't do this kind of thing.

Not only have the values ​​of various golf clubs skyrocketed, but the broadcast agreements that Stern has just negotiated with TV stations such as TNT, as well as sponsorships from several brands, have also hit new highs again and again.

These are to be expected for Stern. After all, the failure of the Nike Summit and the World Championships, coupled with Jordan's comeback, have made Americans pay special attention to basketball this year.

You know, according to Stern's original plan last year, he planned to expand the global overseas market to the scale of annual revenue of 05-5 million U.S. dollars before 8. But now, not counting the European market, just one Dragon Country can The goal for 3 years has almost been achieved.

Bob Myers was already No. 8 when he arrived at the SuperSonics. The SuperSonics welcomed the new general manager.

Everyone knows that his arrival is not just for the general manager's scheduling function. This guy is a popular person around Stern. Schultz obviously realized early on that he needed to provide Lin Dong with a backstage backer in the league, and with that This guy's vision in drafting and his determination to do things have already suggested several new combination options for the Sonics on his second day after arriving.

The Sonics currently hold the No. 17 pick, the th pick in the first round, and two second-round picks.

According to the team's original plan, the No. 17 pick must go to Lin Dong. Sakuragi Hanamichi's poor performance during the trial training made no team interested in him, so they can also move to the second round. , then there is still one th pick in the first round.

Don’t even think about Wade, Anthony, Bosh, TJ Ford, Chris Kaman, David West, Kyle Korver, Darko Milicic and others who are the hottest rookies nowadays. The picks of these guys must be in the lottery area, so the team wants to train two low-pick point guards to take over Gary Payton's class in the future. After all, Payton is not too young, so I don't know. I can still play for a few more years.

Therefore, the team is targeting the three point guards Marcus Banks, Luke Ridnour, and Rhys Gaines. They have all been recruited and participated in trial training. It is expected that their selection will be in Between 15-20 in the first round.

But Bob Myers doesn't see it that way. He hopes to use this first-round pick to give the team an excellent shooting guard to form a more intuitive combat capability. After all, the Sonics' current shooting guard is a bit stretched. He recommended Alexander Pavlovich, who had teamed up with Lin Dong in the international team, and Dengtai Jones, who came out of Duke University.

So, there was another trial that was almost scheduled before the deadline.

In the trial training of the three shooting guards, in addition to the two mentioned above, there is another name recommended by Lin Dong: Andre Iguodala.

In terms of team formation alone, Lin Dong agrees with Bob's opinion. Although Payton is older, his strength is still strong. According to past history, even in the midst of ups and downs, Payton has been playing until 08. There is no need to start training new players so early when he chooses to retire at a young age.

In addition, the memory of these historical players is Lin Dong's biggest asset.

The popularity of this year's Nike Summit and World Championships, and the business craze that Lin Dong set off in high school, not only made those brands jealous, but also really stimulated many young people who are interested in entering the basketball world.

This has allowed many good basketball prospects in the United States to join the draft in advance, and Iguodala is one of them.

In Lin Dong's memory, Iguodala only participated in the draft in 04, and was only ranked ninth overall. Two years in advance, his strength was not as outstanding as two years later, resulting in two Every team that is interested in him gave him a relatively low position when inviting him to try out. Coupled with this year's blowout rookie market, Iguodala's pick is bound to be lower. A first-round pick of 17 There is every chance he will be drafted.

A defensive warrior and a scorer who does not occupy the ball, he has become a substitute for Iverson, has also won the FMVP award, and has played an important role in assisting the Warriors to successfully reach the top of the Super League, but only needs A draft pick with the 17th overall pick in the first round.

Lin Dong really can't think of any more cost-effective option than this.

Center boxing champion Chandler, power forward Sakuragi Hanamichi, shooting guard Iguodala, point guard Gary Payton, plus himself as the No. 3 position, with a little polishing, give Chandler, Sakuragi and Yi Godala has a certain amount of time to grow, and that is definitely the basic puzzle piece for the championship!

The team was quite satisfied with the results of the trial training, probably because the previous two trials gave Iguodala more understanding and familiarity with the trial training process, and his mentality was no longer as nervous as before. , performed quite well, with excellent static and dynamic talents, coupled with the age advantage of being only 18 years old this year. Although his skills are slightly flawed, it can still be seen that he has considerable potential, and even with his ball control level and speed, If necessary, he can also be trained as Payton's successor and play the No. 1 position.

It is expected that he will be a low pick in the first round and can be one of the key targets of the team. I hope no other team will grab it...

And just as every team is constantly analyzing and considering these rookies and team puzzle pieces, and it feels like the pattern is almost set, several successive pieces of news have added waves of waves to this year's draft journey.

First, there was news that the Wizards and Spurs had extended trial invitations to LeBron James.

Fans across the United States laughed and cursed.

Is this because Jordan was embarrassed by scolding Yao Ming and wanted to find a punching bag for himself to bear his anger? Or is Mr. Popovich planning to save a lost child?

The results of the trial that followed made fans across the United States burst into laughter.

He made 75 of 51 shots and 25 of 19 free throws. This level is more than a star and a half worse than when LeBron dominated the high school league in Ohio.

And probably because he has not played in a game for a year, his athletic ability has declined across the board. The talent that once was praised by the United States is now gone. Even when arranging a confrontation game, he faced another unknown young man. As a small forward, LeBron was actually beaten to death by the opponent. The embarrassing result at 4:10 made this former son of Ohio State and the No. high school student in the United States have his last fig leaf ripped off and he was ridiculed to death.

And then came the third message.

LeBron had just returned to Akron after completing a trial with the Spurs. He was stabbed four times on the streets of Akron. One of the stabs almost hit the heart. It was the luck of the luck to survive. Now he is lying in bed. On the hospital bed, even the surgery fee was paid temporarily by a doctor in the hospital because he felt pity for him.

But his life was saved through surgery, but the subsequent treatment expenses were not covered. St. Mary's High School organized student donations, but they only raised more than 20,000 US dollars, which was undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for the number he needed, so through the newspaper The media turns to society for help, hoping to reach some social donations or the generosity of philanthropists.

--Pooh! Is this kind of person worthy of our donation? This is God's punishment for him! Punishment for his lack of sportsmanship and wasting the talent God gave him!

——This guy was a gangster from the ghetto in Akron. It was a world full of JN, DP and gangsters. Maybe he was stabbed because of the uneven distribution of the spoils? You deserve to die!

——I heard that his mother is a JN!

——Do you think any philanthropist dares to donate to him? It would be strange not to be called a fool!

Under the instigation of public opinion, netizens across the United States cheered collectively. They were happy to see the guy's pain, and they also used all the most vicious words to vent their dissatisfaction with LeBron on the Internet.

How much I liked it in the past, I hate it now.

Until another piece of news appeared, which was a long video posted by a girl on Netflix, telling a story.

——When I was blocked by those bad guys in the alley, I knew that I would definitely be insulted by them in the most cruel way. I was extremely desperate and scared, until LeBron appeared at the entrance of the alley, oh ! God, I swear he was like a light!

——LeBron has been trying hard to communicate with them, but they threatened him with daggers. LeBron did not back down. He is a real man. He protected me with his body. His shoulders are so broad and generous. Nuan Nuan, he shouted for help outside the alley, finally attracting the police!

——I was saved, but LeBron fell in a pool of blood! Afterwards, some gangsters came to me and threatened me not to say anything or to visit LeBron in the hospital. I was afraid and backed down, but to this day, I saw my savior lying in the hospital and couldn’t even afford the treatment. , and have to endure so much accusations and insults on the Internet, I can no longer sit idly by.

——I will go to the JC Bureau today to correct the criminals and restore LeBron’s innocence! Even if I am retaliated by the gang, no matter what the consequences are, I will stand up bravely!

——It was LeBron who taught me courage, and it was the 'bad guy' you called me who gave me new life! He does not hate the world because of your scoldings, but is working hard to give back to the world!

——Thank you LeBron, he is a good man, he is a real man in my heart!

The video spread rapidly, with over a million views and tens of thousands of reposts in just over an hour!

The Internet across the United States also went completely silent at this moment.

Those who had scolded LeBron fell silent and blushed.

Oh, God! What on earth did we do!

(End of this chapter)