NBA: James wants to team up with me

As the draft went on, the expression on John Paxson's face became more and more complicated. Seeing that there was not much time left, he could only sigh and pick up the phone and dial a number.

"I agree to your request. As agreed, help us select Stephen and then make the transaction."

There was a burst of light laughter on the other side of the phone. “A pleasure to work with.”

In the stands, David Stern had already begun to read out the Timberwolves' selection with the fifth overall pick. As originally, they chose the talented Spanish player Ricky Rubio, nicknamed the Golden Boy.

There are successful cases of Gasol and Gasol in the league. The Timberwolves are very optimistic about Rubio's development prospects. But unfortunately, Rubio's level is indeed good, but it is only the level of an ordinary starting player. His career average is only about 11 points and 8 assists per game. , let alone compared with Curry, DeRozan and others behind him, even Brandon Jennings' performance in the league is more outstanding than him.

The next pick, the sixth pick in the first round, was drafted by the Boston Celtics.

Originally, the Celtics' 09 first-round pick was supposed to be sent to the Timberwolves as a bargaining chip for the 07 trade for Garnett. However, because the Bulls intercepted Garnett, the deal did not happen, including The Timberwolves' 06 first-round pick that was supposed to be sent to the Celtics in 09 did not happen, which gave the Timberwolves the opportunity to draft Rubio.

Stern picked up the envelope from the Celtics, opened it and took a look. He was a little surprised, but he still said with a smile on his face.

"With the sixth pick in the first round, the Boston Celtics choose Stephen Curry!"

When he heard the news, Curry, who was sitting in the small green room, was completely stunned.

Why would the Celtics choose themselves?

Before the draft began, his agent told him that the Golden State Warriors were most likely to select him.

As a rookie who performed well in the NCAA tournament, Curry was labeled as a "defensive black hole", "poor shot selection" and "poor confrontation ability" after participating in the trial training, and was considered to be difficult to adapt to the NBA. The competition is intense, but because of its various highlight performances in the NCAA, the attention is not low.

Curry's draft pick prediction given by ESPN is also between 11-20, barely within the lottery range.

But he never expected that the Celtics, who had never shown any special interest in Curry before, would actually take action and use the precious No. 6 pick to select him.

Are the Celtics lacking a point guard? Obviously no.

This past season, although the most dazzling star in the Green Army was Durant who averaged 25 points per game and even overshadowed the team leader Pierce, the team's main point guard Rajon Rondo also performed well. During the regular season, he averaged 11.9 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists per game. He has grown into a very good point guard. Moreover, Rondo is not old and has room for growth. Naturally, they do not need a second point guard. guard.

Surprised, Curry subconsciously walked up to the stage to shake hands with Stern and take a photo. Only after he walked out of the stands did he learn a shocking news.

Just when he came on stage, the Celtics had already traded him away from the team at the speed of light.

The Chicago Bulls sent Paul Millsap, James Jones and next year's first-round pick in exchange for Curry, who had just been drafted by the Celtics, forward Brian Scalabrine and the 09 second-round draft pick.

Once the deal was announced, it immediately caused quite a stir in the league.

Millsap doesn't have a big position in the Bulls, and Curry isn't a super rookie worth mentioning, but when this matter concerns the Bulls, who have won two consecutive championships, the situation is completely different.

What people are surprised about is not that the Bulls got Curry, but that the Bulls paid such a high price to get Curry.

Millsap + James Jones plus a first-round three-for-one, is Curry worthy?

Although the Celtics also produced Brian Scalabrine, this guy was just an addition in the transaction and not worth mentioning. He was a player who sat on the bench in the Celtics. Season averages 3.5 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.

As for the other bargaining chip, the Green Army's second-round pick...doesn't anyone really regard the second-round pick, or the second-round pick that is relatively low in the draft, as a valuable bargaining chip? No way?

Millsap was sent away as a bargaining chip in a sign-and-trade deal. The Bulls renewed Millsap's contract with a four-year contract worth $4 million, with an average annual salary of $4200 million.

The Celtics, who don't have Garnett or Ray Allen, have plenty of salary space, and they don't have any pressure to acquire this multi-million contract through direct trade.

The Celtics' current lineup is still very interesting to Millsap. After all, Durant mainly plays the small forward position, and the Celtics only have one center inside, Al Jefferson.

Although Millsap is slightly shorter in height in the interior, he has solid skills and strong strength. He performs well on both offense and defense. More importantly, he is very young like Durant, Rondo and Jefferson.

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge obviously wants to let these four young players grow together and build a championship-level team in two to three years.

Of course, what's more important is that the Celtics really don't have any good candidates for their first-round pick.

If there are still inside players like Griffin or Thabeet available in this pick, he will never trade with the Bulls.

But the problem is that the players behind are basically all outside players. With Durant, Pierce and Rondo, the Celtics are most in need of outside players.

And the value of a mere No. 6 pick in the trade market is not that outstanding. It is really good to get a good inside player Millsap, plus fixed-point three-point shooter Jones and a first-rounder.

The Celtics fans were laughing, but the Bulls fans couldn't help shouting in their hearts that they were sold out.

At this time, they didn't know that Wang Chong came up with this idea, but that didn't hinder their understanding of the football emperor's rational analysis.

It's a very simple truth, but any normal person should be able to imagine it. Why did the Bulls choose Curry?

Curry serves as a point guard and is best at three-pointers.

So the question is, what is the best offensive method of Billups, the current main point guard of the Bulls?

Coincidentally, it was also a three-pointer.

Billups' three-point shooting percentage has remained above 40% for several seasons in his career, and three-pointers accounted for nearly 50% of his total shots. Including this season that just ended, Billups also had 41%. With a three-point shooting percentage, he is the player with the best three-point shooting ability among point guards in the league.

<divclass="contentadv">While possessing excellent three-pointers, Billups has rich game experience, broad vision, and passing skills. Although he cannot compare with top guards such as Nash, Kidd, and Paul, he is also a first-line point guard. The defensive level can definitely support a team's organization and support work.

In addition, Billups' performance on the defensive end is also quite good. He has been selected to the All-Defensive Team for two consecutive years. He is physically strong and not afraid of confrontation. Apart from being slightly slower, he has almost no other shortcomings.

Why would the Bulls, who have such a perfect point guard, pay such a high price to acquire a rookie point guard who is good for nothing except three-point shooting?