Zhiba NBA

Chapter 9 ([-]) Hot Draft
The finals had just ended on June 6, and the players were on vacation, but the busiest work period for Yuan Fei and Dawson had just begun.

Yuanfei has counted the resources in his hands. Currently, the Rockets have the 11th pick in the first round (bad performance over the past year), the 18th pick in the first round (Francis traded in 99, from the Grizzlies), the 23rd pick in the first round (the 00nd pick from the Bucks in 22 in the Przybila trade, and the 6rd pick just exchanged with the Magic in June), and the 23th pick in the second round (through Dan Lang in 13). Ji’s trade to Mavericks, Yuanfei blocked the deal).

The next job is to count and evaluate the rookies.Yuanfei quickly got the information of that year, and sat down with Alexander, Dawson, and Tomjanovich to start a discussion.

"The quality of this year's draft is much better than last year, but I think the Washington Wizards are likely to be blind. I speculate that the final choice of the No. [-] pick is high school student Kwame Brown. Brown will become a famous disaster in draft history, comparable to Olowokandi."

"Tyson Chandler, a great center, tall but not slow, strong defense, good finishing ability at the basket, good free throws, but no main offensive ability. He will be a good star."

"Paul Gasol, my favorite player among the rookies this year. He is tall, can organize offenses, and can pull out shots. Except for his weak confrontation ability, he is the perfect inside candidate."

"Eddie Curry, he's hot right now, but he has a problem with his training attitude. He's probably going to be a degenerate player. Forget the name."

"Sean Battier, the perfect spokesperson for role players. The best individual defensive ability, the best overall situation and leadership, strong three-point shooting ability, and can switch four positions outside the center. I want this player very much."

"Desagina Diop, a weakened version of Chandler in all aspects. The level of a backup center."

"Eddie Griffin, terrible player, don't think about this."

"Ah, that's it." Dawson interjected regretfully, "Actually, I quite like this player." Yuan Fei couldn't help but roll his eyes at this.

(In history, Dawson used Jefferson, Collins, and Armstrong to get this great fairy... let alone the star Jefferson, even if the blue-collar Collins is almost equivalent to him, Dawson's ability to judge people is really not flattering)

"Joe Johnson, a great shooting guard, has a solid shot and a strong body. It's okay to be a role player without the ball, and it's okay to be a three-position."

……

"After listening to your words, I feel that the quality of the rookies at the end of the first round and the second round of this year may be very high." Alexander concluded.

"That's right, so I suggest that instead of merging the picks in your hand to make a higher pick, use the existing picks to select people."

"Based on our top 11 pick, Gasol and Chandler are dead. Battier and Johnson are still possible."

"In my opinion, Battier is also likely to be selected early, as for Johnson... there is still hope."

"What do you think, Rudy?"

"I suggest that we choose at least one young point guard. We can't let McGrady play the organization all the time. Reed and Mobley are not the same material. According to the plan, we will have results in one year, and we must cultivate a point guard." Tang Shuai complained.

"According to what I just said, there are not only candidates, but also two or three candidates." Yuan Fei is confident about this, "At least one can be won. This time there are four draft picks, and at least one must be added to the interior, wing and point guard, and the remaining one is adaptable. Then recall Turkoglu, next season will be our training season. But there is still a problem, I need your order, boss."

"What's the problem?" Alexander asked.

"Our three first-round picks are all right, but the picks in the second round are too low. This time, the target is missing at most 2 to 3 people in the second round, and the possibility of being picked by our previous team is very high. So I want to increase the pick through trades to ensure that the target is not missed."

"Mr. Dawson, this matter is up to you."

"Okay, boss!"

***
"Dawson, I told you three days ago, how is the matter of draft picks going?" Alexander leaned on the chair and crossed his legs, feeling happy.

"Boss, this is too difficult." Dawson said with a sad face: "Most of the teams with good draft picks are rebuilding and want good young players. And our young players are all treasures. Because we are rebuilding, we don't want to pay for future draft picks. If we only add cash, who will exchange draft picks for us?"

"Here, have you talked to Vancouver, oh no, the Memphis Grizzlies (Note: The Grizzlies moved from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001, just in the transition period)?" Yuan Fei asked.

"Why are you specifically talking to the Grizzlies?"

"Oh, old man, you are still the manager." Yuan Fei was almost dizzy, "Like us, the Grizzlies have three first-round picks this year, and their picks are ahead of us, so their roster is enough to make up these first-round picks. The second round is dispensable to them. Now they still have the fourth pick in the second round and the 19th pick in the second round. It doesn't matter to them, but it is useful to us. Ask them if they can add cash to us for the fourth pick in the second round. If not, buy the 19th pick in cash. , and then use the combination of the 19th pick and our 13th pick in the second round to exchange for the Warriors' second pick in the second round."

"You're a genius, Jason!" Dawson trotted out after listening.

***
Rookie training is an important step for other teams to examine rookies, but it doesn't matter to the Rockets.The Rockets' workout was just a formality.

In Memphis on June 6th, Jason Wang met again with the team executives one by one.This time Wang Yuanfei is already 27 years old, and his height has grown to 15cm. He looks like an adult.He also seemed more familiar and natural, and took the initiative to say hello to many people.

"Mr. Cuban, how does it feel to reach the second round of the playoffs?"

"Haha, just after buying the team, the record has improved. It feels really cool." Cuban is now proud of himself.The Dallas Mavericks rose from ninth in the Western Conference to fifth in the previous year. In the first round, they also upset the Utah Jazz led by two elders (superstars Karl Malone and John Stockton) 3-2.

Yuan Fei greeted Popovich enthusiastically, but Mr. Popovich only gave him a cold look and said nothing.

"Is it because you still hold grudges because you lost to us?" Yuan Fei wiped his cold sweat.

***
The first few picks in the draft were calm, completely in Yuanfei's impression.

The owner of the Washington Wizards, Michael Jordan, hand-picked the parallel import champion Kwame Brown. This lesson tells us that playing well and being able to select players are two different things.

The Clippers selected Tyson Chandler with the second pick. He is very good, but he is not a star who can lead the team to rise from the bottom.

The Grizzlies used the No. 3 and No. 6 picks to select Gasol and Battier, two great players, and the ten-thousand-year-old team is about to rise.

The Bulls selected Eddie Curry with the No. [-] pick, and McGrady will be thankful again soon. He is too happy not to sign with the Bulls.

……

Everything went exactly as planned until the Celtics took Joe Johnson with the No. 10 pick.

Yuan Fei and Dawson, who held the No. 11 pick, were speechless for a while, and they were only one point short, and they could choose their favorite players by one point.

"Fortunately, I have already made a plan B, using the alternative plan!" Yuan Fei roared in his heart.

The Rockets used the No. 11 pick to select Richard Jefferson from the University of Arizona (historically the Rockets' 13th pick, but it was a waste of time last season...).

Next, according to the plan, the No. 18 pick will choose an inside player. The optional personnel include: center Murphy, Dalembert, Haywood, Collins, power forward Randolph, and striker Gerald Wallace.

The Golden State Warriors selected Murphy with the 14th overall pick, leaving one less option available.

Yuan Fei is the least sure about this position.From the perspective of pure strength, Zach Randolph is undoubtedly the best among these people, but he has a bad temper and has the possibility of cancer in the locker room.Moreover, Randolph's style of play is more retro, closer to the basketball style of the last century, and it is not suitable for the Rockets' tactics.

Dalembert's type is close to a weakened version of Dameng, and it is best to choose him as a substitute for Dameng in terms of function.But Yuanfei is still thinking about making room for Yao Ming.

So the Rockets used the 18th pick to choose Gerald Wallace from Alabama State University (historically the 25th pick in the first round was selected by the Kings).

At this moment, the media was in an uproar. Everyone knew that the Rockets were strong on the outside and weak on the inside. They actually selected two small forwards in a row.Even if Wallace is stronger and can barely swing to the power forward position, the Rockets' starting center is very old and the backup center is very weak.

The next 19 Blazers drafted Zach Randolph.

20 Cavaliers chose Haywood.

The 23rd place went to the Rockets again, and the two candidates Dalembert and Collins are still there.

The Rockets used the 23rd pick to select point guard Tony Parker from France (historically, the 28th pick in the first round was selected by the Spurs).

The media was in an uproar again.Some reporters even thought up the headline of the guide-"What the hell is Dawson thinking?" ".People in the media couldn't understand why the Rockets, which lacked a center, made up for 3 outside players in a row.

The 26 76ers chose Jason Collins (historically the 18th pick in the first round was selected by the Rockets.)
The Grizzlies drafted Jamal Tinsley at No. 27.

The 28th Spurs selected Dalembert (the 26ers with the 76th overall pick in the first round in history).

With the second pick in the second round, the Warriors selected Gilbert Arenas.

So far, the defenders who flew far away have run out of targets. Arenas is one, and Tinsley is half. But with Parker, it's ok.

With the fourth pick in the second round, the Rockets selected center Mehmet Okur from Turkey.

The media finally felt that Houstonians were back to normal, but they picked a Turk after last year, and some reporters drafted a new headline—"Does Alexander Love Kebab?" ".

Yuan Fei smiled with satisfaction.He got the four players he wanted, and even the latter two were more important than the first two.Okur is 211cm tall and has a standard weight, which is enough to serve as Dameng's substitute, and can also be used as a power forward and Dameng to jointly defend against the opponent's twin towers.He can also shoot three-pointers. With him, the Rockets' tactics are much richer, and they can even form a five-shooter lineup.Parker and Arenas are the two best point guards in this draft. Considering the length of his career, Parker is obviously better.And Jefferson, Wallace and Turkoglu will enrich the Rockets' flanks, and Wallace and Turkoglu can also serve as power forwards in a small lineup.The worst thing about the Rockets last season was the depth of the bench. Now, they have enriched four rotations at once, and recalled Turkoglu to five.

The countdown to the launch of the rocket has already sounded!

　I received a "Notice of Reaching the Signing Standards" today. I would like to thank every reader for their support and thank you to all the quality golfers who love the NBA.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)