ctnovel Chapter 52: The Draft Night – The Dust Has Settled!
Chapter 52: The Draft Night – The Dust Has Settled!
The teams' offices were still frantically making phone calls, and neither the fans nor the players knew about the behind-the-scenes drama of the draft.
Only a few experienced media professionals obtain the latest information through internal informants.
"Boss, the Knicks have already made their choice. What's our next step?"
"Keep in touch with the Clippers and Bucks!"
"OK!!"
Presti was still issuing instructions.
.....
Bucks office.
The Bucks have the 8th pick this year.
General Manager Jon Horst is in a bind. His target is big men, and he wants Kevin Love and Danilo Gallinari. However, the Grizzlies took the fifth pick and selected Kevin Love. And the latest news is that the Knicks will select Gallinari, which forces him to look at his third option.
Joe Alexander possesses outstanding physical attributes, standing at 2.03 meters tall with a wingspan of 2.12 meters and a running vertical jump of 98 centimeters. He is extremely athletic and is known as the "Kissing Rim Boy," which can compensate for the Bucks' lack of athleticism at the forward position.
He had an outstanding performance in college, averaging 16.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in his junior season. He was selected to the All-Eastern First Team and led his team to defeat Duke University in the NCAA Tournament, demonstrating his scoring ability and leadership in crucial moments!
However, Joe Alexander's lack of ball-handling and shooting skills, coupled with his unclear positional role, means that if he cannot adapt to the pace and physicality of the NBA, he could easily become a bust, which has always been a concern for him.
A large part of the reason Jon Horst didn't consider Zeng Zhen was because of Yi Jianlian.
In 2006, the Bucks selected that Chinese big man with the sixth overall pick, which ultimately proved to be a failure. Now they dare not gamble on another Chinese guard.
He thinks the talent of Chinese players is deceiving, and they might even be falsifying their ages!
Although many things were not confirmed, Jon Horst backed down.
"Boss, Larry Bird called again. This is the third time he's called." The Clippers' assistant general manager came over with the phone.
"Hang up," Jon Horst said directly; he had nothing to talk about with Larry Bird.
"Boss, Sam Presti is calling."
What's this guy calling for?
Although puzzled as to why Presti, who had already selected his players, wanted to call him, Jon Horst answered the phone anyway. The SuperSonics really did have the players he wanted.
"Jon, I'm not going to waste any more time. I want your No. 8 pick. Name your terms."
"KD"
"Apart from KD, everyone else is negotiable."
"Jeff Green plus this year's 24th pick and next year's first-round pick, how about that? If it works, I'll give it to you."
Jon Horst made demands in addition to Durant.
The 8th pick is already a slightly late midfielder. You can't pick a core player to build the team in this position, so you can only pick a piece of the puzzle.
Rather than choosing an inconsistent swingman at the three or four position, it's better to choose a player with high certainty.
杰夫格林身高2米06，他是去年的5号秀，在超音速的场均28.2分钟贡献10.5分 4.7篮板 1.5助攻 0.6抢断0.6盖帽，投篮命中率42.7%，作为锋线摇摆人。
Jeff Green demonstrated versatility in his rookie season. He can post up, shoot mid-range jumpers, and has some ball-handling and passing abilities. His overall performance met the expectations of a high draft pick and he already has the potential to be a versatile forward.
You could say Jon Horst thinks this guy is just a version of Joe Alexander who played for a year.
The Bucks can gamble that Joe Alexander has a better future than Jeff Green, but he's far less stable than Jeff Green.
"Don't hang up, give me two minutes to think about it!" Presti's voice was somewhat low.
OK.
Supersonic Office.
Although he was prepared for the opponent to make an exorbitant demand, Jeff Green's request for two first-round picks still made Presti sweat.
If they get the 8th pick, the probability of selecting Zeng Zhen is extremely high. According to his understanding, neither the Knicks nor the Clippers' first choice is Zeng Zhen.
Should we gamble?
Jeff Green is part of the future rebuild and has already proven his potential.
If Zeng Zhen performs poorly in the NBA, Presti will face enormous pressure.
Presti thought of Zeng Zhen's near-perfect performance in the tryouts and his calm attitude, and finally bargained over the phone: "One first-round pick this year + two second-round picks, but no first-round picks next year!!"
"Deal!!" Jon Horst's main target was Jeff Green.
Upon hearing this word, Presti took a deep breath!
This time, Presti knew he had taken a huge gamble—he was betting that Zeng Zhen would become a great player!
A player far better than Jeff Green!
.....
The Knicks selected Danilo Gallinari, the Italian Serie B MVP and a big man with shooting ability, with the sixth pick.
"I'm so anxious, so anxious. Will the Clippers draft you, Boss?" Annie was even more nervous than Zeng Zhen.
"I don't know either," Zeng Zhen shrugged.
Schwartz was still on the phone, trying to find out who Zeng Zhen would ultimately end up with; he had no time for idle chatter.
Soon, Stern read out the Clippers' decision from the stage.
The Clippers selected Eric Gordon with the seventh pick.
Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor originally wanted to draft Zeng Zhen, who was more capable of immediate contributions, but Clippers owner Donald Sterling vetoed the idea.
Although Baylor didn't know why Sterling had vetoed it, he could vaguely sense that it might be due to skin color.
Sterling was clearly a racist on several occasions.
Zeng Zhen's team became increasingly tense.
When it came to the eighth pick, David Stern walked onto the stage, opened the envelope in his hand, and announced loudly, "The Milwaukee Bucks have selected—Zeng Zhen from UCLA!!"
Zeng Zhen, who had finally heard his name called, stood up, buttoned up his suit jacket, and took a deep breath.
"The Bucks?"
He didn't have much of an impression of this team; it seemed like Yi Jianlian had been there before.
Schwartz arranged for Zeng Zhen to go for a trial, but the response there was lukewarm.
At this moment, Schwartz hung up the phone, walked over and whispered in Zeng Zhen's ear, "Zeng, the Bucks and the SuperSonics have reached a trade agreement, and you will be going to the SuperSonics."
Schwartz was worried that Zeng Zhen would embarrass himself by professing his loyalty to the Bucks in front of reporters.
"Did Supersonic trade KD for me?" Zeng Zhen asked immediately.
"You're overthinking it. Jeff Green is the leader." Schwartz rolled his eyes at Zeng Zhen. "There will be news about this soon. Go on."
"OK, thank you, Jeff!" Zeng Zhen hugged Schwartz, then raised his hand to Westbrook, Love, and the fans.
Zeng Zhen strode confidently onto the stage with his long legs, took the Bucks' cap, and put it on!
Go to supersonic speeds?
No, it should be called Thunder.
Then let Durant be my assistant; calling him "Durant the Second" is more comfortable.
Zeng Zhen thought confidently!
Fans cheered at Madison Square Garden, and reporters frantically snapped photos.
"Click click click!!"
...
Years later, Jon Horst recounted a conversation with Presti in his memoir, in which he could never have imagined that he would turn the Bucks into another Hornets...