Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 12

The NBA draft looks at talent and potential, and most high-ranked rookies have a reason for their high picks.

There are still a few players like Bennett, the No. [-] pick of the Cavaliers parallel imports, and Thabeet, the No. [-] pick of the Grizzlies' parallel imports. Even if the lottery picks fail to meet expectations, most of them can still hang out in the NBA, or make some money as a chicken head overseas.

After all, personal talent can only account for [-]% of a player's ability to perform. The rest of the team environment, training and guidance, coaching tactical arrangements, and personal efforts are the key to determining whether a rookie can grow.

Therefore, there has never been a lack of counterattacks in the NBA, such as Agent 0, the strongest 175 on the surface, and the second-round pick to DPOY's Dream Chaser Green.

And the Thunder know how to make the lottery show come out. The three young players are all MVP-level players. The third young men of the Grizzlies and the Timberwolves are no match for these three brothers.

In the previous life, Neptune Adams also quickly grew into a main-level center after landing in Oklahoma, especially the frontcourt.

Of course, the Grizzlies were unable to play in the playoffs. There was no way to do it. In the small ball era, which big center was not trained by the military. DPOY Gobert also became a defensive loophole in the playoffs, and MVP Jokic was also caught.

The key depends on whether the big center can punish the opponent when he is on the court. If he can't eat and defend, it will basically be a side effect on the court.

Of course, it is not as crazy as it will be in the future, and the market for big centers is still not small.

Therefore, whether it is Adams or Gobert, it can still be of great use if it is well trained. Even if the contract cannot be retained in the future, the value of the transaction is also very high.

And forward players are becoming more and more popular in this era. At first, everyone said that they were swinging forwards and guards or being nonsense (to put it bluntly), and being able to play inside and outside (better to hear).

Especially at the moment when the outside offense is encouraged, the role of the inside line is becoming more and more marginalized, and the guard has a natural disadvantage due to physical limitations, so the striker in between has risen.

As a small forward, in fact, the current market of Robertson may not be worse than that of Alphabet Song. He has a domestic household registration and no basket, but his advantages are clear to everyone. It is because of lack of potential, especially offensive potential, that he fell to the end of the first round.

But they have all reached this position, and there is no better choice than him, so regardless of whether they have the idea of ​​revenge for the Thunder, the Nuggets finally chose Andre Robertson at the request of the Jazz.

Not long after that, Presti got another call from Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsay.

In the future, Lindsay will resign because of the conflict with Angie, but now his position is still very stable. The team is currently in the rebuilding period, and his thinking is also very clear. Judging from the results, he has a good vision.

"He wanted to trade Roberson and us for Gobert..."

There are not many secrets in the league. At least these managers who have been around for a long time have their own contacts and news channels. Therefore, before the draft, each team can almost know which rookie they are optimistic about.

In this way, they can conduct mutual transactions in a timely manner, and can also make some alternative plans.

The Thunder tried out Robertson before, coupled with the trade of draft picks, it can be regarded as a very clear expression of appreciation for the rookie forward.

Now they unexpectedly signed the Frenchman with the draft pick they got in exchange, and cut off the Jazz. The Jazz took it for granted that this was a deliberate attempt to pinch them.

It seems good if the two teams can reach some other deals along the way, because the Jazz's lineup changes a bit in the new season.

The Jazz's starting point guard last season was Mo Bu Chuan who played only half a season after returning to his old club-yes, the one who didn't pass the ball to Space Yi.

In the middle of last season, he returned to his old club in a multi-party transaction, but his contract ended after the end of the season, and he chose to join the Trail Blazers to chase the championship.

Of course, in reality, Trey Burke became more and more useless, and he could only be traded in the end. The Jazz's performance in recent years has not been very good, and they have been blocked from the playoffs for five consecutive years.

In the past season, they regretted losing their playoff tickets to the ninth place in the Western Conference. During the offseason, many main players, including Mo Williams, expired and left the team. The team had to rebuild around 10-year rookie Gordon Hayward.

This is also the helplessness of the small ball market. Although the Jazz can be regarded as a traditional western powerhouse, they are not attractive enough to big stars, and they can only cultivate themselves in many cases.

In the new season, they are destined to be another running year, which makes them pay more attention to rookies than ordinary teams.

Their original plan was to get a point guard and a big center, and then add Hayward for two years of training to form a new lineup for the playoffs. In reality, they did, although it was delayed for two years before finally succeeding.

But now because the Thunder team suddenly broke out, if they want to maintain the original plan, they have to make a deal with the Thunder.

Li Sheng thought for a while, then smiled and said: "Ask them, we still have a second-round draft pick, are they willing to exchange it, and if they are willing, they can also take a fee... a rotation player in our team."

He originally wanted to say that it was with Fisher. After all, Fisher's experience and shooting are still very instructive for rookie point guards.

However, considering the grievances between Fisher and the Jazz, it would be regarded as disgusting for the Jazz.

Of course, what Li Sheng wanted was to pick someone for the center position. There are already three centers in the Thunder team. Adding Gobert is actually a bit crowded. In order to give Gobert training time, it is best to send one.

Anyway, it's not that the Jazz will give it to anyone they want, so it can be discussed.

In the end, the Jazz refused and chose to keep Robertson in the lineup.

This is a small year in the draft. If there are some arguments for the first round, most of them will at least be able to play in the NBA rotation in the future. In that round, Li Sheng remembered that very few could stay in the NBA.

At present, there are no other rotation players that the Jazz can look up to in the Thunder. Instead of looking for them to change, it is better to keep them and train them. Anyway, the Jazz has enough center positions, and they can also sign others in the free market.

Because many contracts have ended, their poor line for the new season has not yet reached the standard.

Robertson still has potential anyway. With the Jazz's defensive tradition, this player also fits their style very well, and it is not a loss to stay and train.

Li Sheng could only express regret about this, Presti also shook his head, and then at Li Sheng's suggestion, the Thunder selected the Spaniard Raul Neto with the No. 32 pick.

However, Raul currently still has a contract, and it is expected to take another season to join the NBA, but the Thunder does not lack such a rotation and can afford to wait.

Unexpectedly, they had just selected this side, and the Jazz over there called again.

"They want to trade Robertson and us for the signing rights of Neto, and at the same time they want to get Perry Jones..."

Perry Jones used to be the favorite of heaven. Later, due to injuries and scandals, the draft price fell. He was selected by the Thunder with the 12th pick in the first round of 28. In the past season, he played 38 games for the Thunder, averaging only 2.3 points per game, and his efficiency is also very average.

At present, he still has a rookie three-year contract left, which is somewhat expected, although he actually ended his NBA career after playing a three-year rookie period.

Obviously, the Jazz are eager to get Neto. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't log in to the NBA immediately, Neto would probably be selected in the first round.

He is a point guard who performed well in the Spanish league. He has average physical fitness but simple skills and a steady style of play. The Jazz hope that he will be Burke's substitute in the future. The current team's backup point guard Lucas III is just an excess-he is too short.

Probably Jazz himself didn't expect that the Thunder's continuous cuts could only be slapped in the face and sent to the door.

Of course, a Robertson signing right is not worth so much, so the Jazz will also pay for the No. 47 pick they got from the Hawks-they originally planned to use this pick to choose Neto. The Thunder used this pick to get James Ennis III.

Li Sheng was aiming to cut off the Heat. Although Ennis III's performance in the Heat's two seasons was mediocre, he was considered a stable rotation player. As long as he is not troubled by injuries, he can also play and contribute; this can also disrupt the Heat's plan.

The Heat's current lineup is already very deformed. Although they won a championship and entered the finals three times, their internal weaknesses have increased year after year, and their external cores have continued to decline.

As the public enemy of the league, it is also difficult to get a good deal, so they can count on the draft to ease it, and being disrupted will definitely be a headache for them.

Raul Neto and James Ennis are rare second-round picks who can continue to gain a foothold in the NBA in the future, and Ennis can immediately sign and play immediately.

The rookies in the other draft positions are basically unchanged. After all, each team has its own established plan, and the draft is just the beginning. In the following free market transactions, the clubs of these rookies may change.

But the Thunder's work in this draft is all over, with a total of four rookies.

There won’t be much movement in the trading market in the future—the main reason is that there is no money, and the Thunder’s 15-man roster will also be preliminarily finalized:

C: Perkins, Gobert, Thabeet and Orton

PF: Ibaka, Collison
SF: Durant, Antetokounmpo, Robertson
SG: Sefolosha, Lamb, Ennis
PG: Westbrook, Reggie and Fisher

Among them, Robertson and Ennis can swing forward and guard, and Antetokounmpo is a substitute at the 3/4 position. When they play in the future, the depth of the Thunder's lineup will appear terrifying.

　Thank you book friend 20200321192708220 for rewarding 100 points, thank you friends who bookmark and vote for recommendation, because the lineup planning of this part is difficult to write at the beginning, and a lot of information needs to be checked, so the update will not be fast, I can only try to write as much as possible every day.

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(End of this chapter)