Legendary star

Chapter 416 Arms Race (2)

"Lester, is there any response from the Rockets?" On June 2002, 6, at Madison Square Garden in New York, less than an hour before the start of the 28 NBA Draft, in a stand on the side of the stadium, Larry Bird was whispering to his assistant coach Lester Connell.Almost every year's draft conference will be a feast, and the transactions around the draft conference have always been the focus of the entire trading market.Although the Pacers' draft pick this season was already given to the Grizzlies last season, in this season's Al Harrington trade, the Pacers got the Grizzlies' No. Larry Bird, the No. 2002 pick, is also preparing to do a big job in this year's draft.

Although he has not given up contact with Mutombo, Larry Bird does not want to hang himself on a tree. Although this year is not a draft year, there are still many excellent insiders. In Larry Bird According to the scout report, Yao Ming, Amare Stoudemire, and ** Hilario are all very potential insiders, especially Yao Ming and Amare Stoudemire. According to the rookie report of the rival Rockets obtained through special channels, the rocket's internal template for Yao Ming is Hakeem Olajuwon, while Amare Stoudemire's template is Chris Webber. In the Pacers' scouting report, the assessment of the two is similar to that of the Rockets. It can be said that Yao Ming and Amare Stoudemire are the two best rookies this year, and today's top pick is also very likely It's one of these two.

Compared with Amare Stoudemire, whose position overlaps with Jermaine O'Neal, what the Pacers want most is Yao Ming, who is 2 meters tall, weighs 26+ kilograms, and has excellent footwork and offense at the basket. Ability, as well as good defensive awareness and shot-blocking ability, if the Pacers can get Yao Ming, supplemented by Jermaine O'Neal, then it is no problem to deal with the big fat Lakers, but the Rockets holding the No. Not only did he publicly declare that Yao Ming would not be selected, but he also directly sent a management team to Huaguo to contact Yao Ming's Shanghai Sharks Club. Olajuwon, who had already entered the Rockets' management, also publicly He declared that he is very much looking forward to Yao Ming being able to take over the flag in his hand and continue the tradition of the Houston Rockets.

Therefore, in this case, the Pacers who only have the No. 4 pick in their hands have very little chance of getting Yao Ming, but Larry Bird did not give up. On the one hand, Larry Bird kept bragging in public. Blowing Amare Stoudemire, claiming that Stoudemire is the most potential high school student he has ever seen. When a reporter asked about Stoudemire's future, Larry Bird bluntly said that Stoudemire Myer's upper limit is Duncan, and the lower limit is Garnett. Larry Bird's words immediately shocked a large group of people who eat melons. The strength of Duncan and Garnett is obvious to all. One has only entered the league for 3 seasons, and has already secured the position of the number one power forward in history. No one stood up to refute Germany's remarks. On the one hand, he praised rookies as a routine subject in the annual draft. On the other hand, it was also because Larry Bird's vision was too vicious. Since then, in every trade and every draft of the Pacers, Larry Bird has never played an eye.

While constantly touting Stoudemire and trying to fool the Rockets, the Pacers also secretly contacted the Rockets, Bulls and Cavaliers who have the top 3 picks, hoping to use their No. 4 pick to add some extras in exchange for For the top 3 picks, it is best to switch to the No. [-] pick in the hands of the Rockets.

"Larry, Rudy said that if we are willing to send Meng, he will consider it." Looking at Larry Bird's expectant eyes, Lester Conor looked very uncomfortable, because Rudy Tomja What Norwich said on the phone just now made it impossible for him to speak to Larry Bird.Larry Bird hoped to use the No. 4 pick plus Jeff Foster or Bobby Simmons to exchange the Rockets' No. [-] pick, but was rejected by the Rockets' head coach Rudy Tomjanovich. -Tomjanovich even said to Lester Conor in a joking tone that only Meng Xu in the entire Pacers can exchange for the Rockets' No. [-] pick.

"This old bastard." After Lester Conor finished speaking, Larry Bird pulled his tie on his chest and swears at the same time. It seems that his fooling these days has completely failed. Determined to use the No. [-] pick to select Yao Ming, Rudy Tomjanovich proposed to exchange Meng Xu for the No. [-] pick. In fact, he explicitly rejected the Pacers' trade application, because they all knew that even if the Rockets were willing to give two No. [-] picks , It is impossible for the Pacers to send Meng Xu.

"Where are the Wizards?" You can't put all your eggs in one basket, which is the motto of almost every businessman, let alone an old fox like Larry Bird. While discussing the possibility of a trade with the Wizards, although Kwame Brown, the No. 38 pick last season, was disappointing and was crowned the No. [-] pick in parallel imports, his potential is still well known. O'Neal is impossible. There is still no difficulty in the direction of Ben Wallace and Mutombo.At the same time, the Wizards now also have a player that the Pacers desperately need. As the former head of the Wizards and the second head after Jordan's comeback, perhaps because he was too cautious playing next to his idol, Richard Hamilton's performance has never satisfied Jordan. After the end of last season, there was a message that the Wizards were going to send Richard Hamilton away.The Pacers are also now looking for a successor for Reggie Miller. In Larry Bird's plan, Reggie Miller, who will be [-] years old next year, will significantly reduce his playing time in the new season and play sixth. People or false starters, so finding a suitable shooting guard has become another important task this summer.

After Larry Bird asked Meng Xu and Reggie Miller for their opinions, Meng Xu recommended Wallis Zebiak to Larry Bird, while Reggie Miller recommended Richard Hamilton, and bluntly said, If he has a successor, then it must be Hamilton.The Pacers first contacted the Timberwolves, but the asking price of the Timberwolves was too high. Not only the No. 4 pick of the Pacers, but also James Posey, which made it difficult for Larry Bird to accept the No. 4 pick. After all, it was won from the Grizzlies for nothing. James Posey is an important puzzle for the Pacers to win the championship. He has a top-notch defense and can defend from the 1st position to the 4th position. He also has good organizational skills and has a shooting rate of 43%. 3-point shooting, such a player, no team will give up. The Pacers are ready to give James Posey a new contract of 6 million for 4800 years, and James Posey It was still the player Meng Xu called for. It was impossible for Meng Xu to let the team trade him away. After hitting a wall with the Timberwolves, the Pacers turned to contact the Wizards.

"Michael hopes to add Jermaine to the deal. They send Richard and Kwame, and we send Jermaine, the No. 4 pick and Bobby." After hearing Larry Bird's inquiry, Lester Connor Hall directly took out a piece of paper from the folder and handed it to Larry Bird.

"Michael is funny." After roughly browsing the content on the paper, Larry Bird crumpled into a ball.

"Then what should we do next?" After continuous setbacks, Lester Conor didn't know what to do next. The draft was about to start, so he could only ask Larry Bird to make up his mind.

"Time is running out." Rolling up his sleeves and looking at the watch on his arm, Larry Bird frowned: "Execute Plan B."

　Thank you Emperor Dongyu for your reward, thank you.

　　Thanks to 0773 for the reward, thank you.

　　Thanks to No. [-] Xu Qingfeng for the monthly pass, thank you.

　　Thanks to "The Emperor of the Underworld".Thank you for the monthly pass.

　　Thanks for the monthly ticket of book friend 1790910881, thank you.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)