Kobe Bryant's very domineering words left Giles Taylor speechless.

Yes, there are a lot of managers in the league, there are a lot of bad guys like Isaiah Thomas (in this case, the "smiling assassin"), and there are people like Pat Riley.

However, there is only one Kobe, no matter how much you hate Kobe, he has unparalleled super popularity in the league and even in the world.

It doesn't matter what Mitch Kupchak thinks, if he doesn't like Kobe Bryant, skip him and go directly to the president to make a suggestion, want to embarrass Kobe, or want to trade him out. Then don't think about it, the first to leave must be him Kupchak himself.

Thinking of this, Taylor's worries disappeared completely.

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On May 19, the NBA lottery draw ceremony was officially held, and the Minnesota Timberwolves drew the top pick, while the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers got the list and the flower lottery respectively.

The results of the 2015 lotto draw were:

1. Minnesota Timberwolves

2. Los Angeles Lakers

3. Philadelphia 76ers

4. New York Knicks

5. Orlando Magic

6. Sacramento Kings

7. Denver Nuggets

8. Detroit Pistons

9. Charlotte Hornets

10. Miami Heat

11. Indiana Pacers

12. Utah Jazz

13. Phoenix Suns

14. Oklahoma City Thunder

The most happy about the lottery was the Los Angeles Lakers, who not only retained their first-round picks, but also moved up to No. 2 pick. In this way, they have more initiative in their hands.

As the saying goes, "some people are happy and some people are sad", compared to the happy Lakers, the New York Knicks should cry. They finished the 2014-15 regular season with a 17-65 record and finished last in the East with a 19.9 percent chance of being the top pick, second only to the 16-66 Timberwolves.

But they only managed to get the No. 4 pick in the first round. I didn't even get the top three picks!!

Also retaining the draft pick are the Miami Heat, who are protected by the top 10 picks in the first round. If they fall to the 11th, 12th, or 13th pick, the draft pick will have to go to the Philadelphia 76ers according to the rules.

In the end, the Heat got the No. 10 pick in the first round.

Glen Taylor, the Timberwolves' representative and owner of the 2015 NBA Lotto Lottery, said excitedly in an interview: "[The Timberwolves got the No. 1 pick] is an incredible luck. ”

In this way, the Timberwolves have nearly three years of No. 1 picks: including 2013 No. 1 No. 1 Anthony Bennett, 2014 No. 1 No. 1 Andrew Wiggins and this year's No. 1 pick.

What's even more amazing is that Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, both Canadians, were drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first pick to become the much-anticipated No. 1 picks, and then both traded to the Timberwolves......

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When the results of this year's lottery were known, Bryant happened to be at the home of Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak.

Kupchak was originally going to attend the lottery ceremony because of Kobe's visit today, and temporarily arranged for his assistant to attend the lottery draw ceremony instead of him.

When he heard the annunciation of his assistant, Kupchak was ecstatic.

“OMG！ Kobe, you are really my lucky star! If you hadn't come over today, maybe I wouldn't have had so much luck going to the lottery myself! Hahahaha......"

Kobe Bryant also smiled, and the joy in his heart was overflowing.

Now that the Lakers have a list of signs, they can win Yi Feng without any surprise!

As for the Timberwolves, who have the No. 1 pick, they have Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Ricky Rubio, and Kevin Martin...... The outside talent is slow, and there is no room for anyone at all, and it can only be a waste if Yi Feng goes.

So the Timberwolves will definitely pick an interior player, either Towns or Okafor. In this way, Yi Feng will be won by the Lakers who have the list of signs!

As for the Lakers, they don't need to sign Yi Feng on the list......

Such a possibility is completely non-existent. Kobe Bryant believes that his matchmaking in the middle will definitely make Yi Feng the first choice of the Lakers.

A cold glint flashed in Kobe's eyes, if Kupchak was not interested......

After a burst of laughter, Kupchak said: "Now we have the initiative, Karl Anthony Towns, Jahir Okafor, D'Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Moodier, etc., the Timberwolves can't pick them all, after the Timberwolves are selected, this year's rookies are up to us to choose!" ”

Kobe Bryant said coldly: "Didn't you say that our first choice is easy? Now that I've got the list sign, my goal can't change. And easy is definitely worth a list! ”

"Even if you don't want an inside teammate, we can choose D'Angelo or we can choose Emmanuel, why are you just obsessed with that Chinese?"

Kupchak tried to convince Kobe Bryant in turn.

'D'Angelo Russell is injured now and I don't know what he'll be able to do in the future. And even if he didn't clean it up, it wasn't as easy as it was at all. Emmanuel Moodier was able to win the list last year, but not this year. ”

Bryant was unmoved.

"I think the Chinese kid is more unbearable than Emmanuel, and it is not worth us to use the list to choose him."

Kupchak is clearly repulsive to the wind.

Kobe Bryant stood up angrily, "So there's no need to talk about it?!" ”

Kupchak shrugged.

"Humph!"

Kobe Bryant didn't look back and left coldly.

Bryant personally visited the general manager, but the persuasion failed again.

This year's draft will be held on June 25 at the Barek Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets in New York, USA. It's already the 19th today, and Kobe Bryant understands that he has to hurry up to persuade the management.

――――――

Along with the results of the lotto draw, there was also the tragic D'Angelo Russell.

According to a Yahoo Sports reporter, Russell was in a Lakers tryout, and during a rebounding process, he stepped on his teammate's foot very little, and injured the ligament in his left ankle, and it will be two months before he can return to the court at the earliest.

At the same time, the reporter also predicted at the end of the article that Russell suddenly injured on the eve of the draft and in the middle of the tryout, which had a very bad impact on his draft pick.

It's fine if it's in general, but Russell's situation is different. He was completely blown out by the Chinese rookie at the Chicago United training camp, and he needs to prove himself again. And the tryouts for various teams on the eve of the draft are his chance.

But now his injury has deprived him of the opportunity to prove himself.

Although his performance in the NCAA has made him famous in the United States. But equally, his performance during the joint trial was also a big disappointment among the fans.

Now he's missing out on a tryout opportunity that was so important to him, and there's a good chance he'll be down in the draft. It is even possible to fall out of the lotto zone!

Yahoo Sports reporters share the same opinion as several draft experts. ESPN's Chad Ford, in particular, is most concerned about Russell's draft prospects.

According to Ford, Russell is not a defender known for his physical qualities, but many times, with his height, he has to be placed in the No. 2 position by the coach, which makes him even more disadvantaged in the matchup.

Now he has an ankle injury, which has left many teams to think about his future recovery. Will his injury become a lifelong pain in his life and affect his career? Will he start to fear confrontation, even if his injuries are completely healed?

In the long run, perhaps his spirituality, which is rare among point guards, may be wiped out and become a shooter who only knows how to run + shoot.

And with his physical condition, it's hard to be a top 3D player. Because his defense was never expected.

Finally, Ford added: "I think it's normal for him to fall out of the lottery zone this year. Even if he were drafted at the end of the first round, I wouldn't be surprised. ”

Russell, who was once the top pick and was considered by many to be in the top three in the draft, has now fallen into such a field, which makes many people sigh.

His college alumni and fans have left messages on his Twitter account, wishing him strength and wishing him a speedy recovery and return to the game.

Yi Feng also asked Zhou Mu to send blessings to Russell through his account.

At this time, Yi Feng was not a nobody when he first came to the United States. He already has more than 800,000 followers on Twitter. Of course, compared to the millions of fans in the NBA, Yi Feng's hundreds of thousands are nothing at all.

However, as an opponent competing with the injured Russell, Yi Feng's identity is particularly special. He sent his blessings to his injured opponent, and his sincere words were discovered by fans.

His sincere gesture has won the praise of many people, and in a very short period of time, the number of his Twitter followers has exceeded one million. The identities of these fans, some are Russell's fans, and more are passers-by.

Of course, just like a coin has a positive and negative coin, there are always two sides or even multiple sides to things. If someone praises his actions, someone will scoff at them.

There are also many Russell's fans who bluntly pointed out that Yi Feng's fake blessing is completely shameless and shameless. If it weren't for Yi Feng's "tricks" in the game, which caused Russell's pressure to increase suddenly, Russell would not have been injured.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that such a statement is completely untenable. Doing your best in the arena is a sign of respect for your opponents. What's more, everyone has a different position, of course, they have to work hard for their own victory.

However, Russell's great tragedy, even if he was injured, only briefly attracted some attention. His message was soon drowned out in endless news:

For example, the Timberwolves released news that they would not be selected by Carl Anthony Towns or Jahill Okafor or something;

For example, the Los Angeles Clippers were reversed by the Houston Rockets with a good advantage of 3:1, which eliminated the Clippers with a total score of 4:3 and advanced to the Western Conference finals;

Major international events also grabbed headlines, with the extremist group "Islam-State" seizing the city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province in western Iraq.

……

Therefore, Yi Feng's blessing to the injured Russell only spread in a small area for a while, and soon disappeared.