In the CBA finals, the Shanghai team won the championship of the annual CBA League.

And Yao Ming also appeared in Richard's office half a month later.

Not to mention how excited Richard is right now......

……

Seeing that the day of the draw is getting closer and closer, each team is also showing its own talents.

Speaking of which, Lao Mei is still quite superstitious.

At least as far as Richard knows, at least five teams have specially invited holy water back from France, and they want to rely on holy water to change their lives.

After all, this lottery meeting, if you remove those shady operations, it is completely a matter of luck......

If God blesses you, you can achieve something like magic, and you will make a lot of money.

The Miami Heat were well prepared and asked for two unsmoked cigars from Pat Riley......

The Wizards asked Jordan to wear lucky shorts to the lottery.

The Trailblazers had the same chair they had sat in Richard's office......

Anyway, they are showing their powers, carrying some things that imply good luck, and preparing to participate in the lottery meeting.

Pistons owner Davidson asked Richard if he wanted to get some holy water from France, but Richard refused with a smile.

He couldn't figure out what the hell was going on in this NBA circle......

What a bunch of old feudal superstitions.

Do you have lucky dice on hand and can you use these magic sticks?

The duration of the lucky dice is three minutes, and during these three minutes, Richard is definitely the luckiest man in the world!

……

After Yao Ming came, he stayed in Detroit directly.

At present, Yao Ming has already signed up for the draft, so it is definitely not a violation of the league rules for the Pistons to contact Yao Ming like this.

Moreover, even if Yao Ming did not sign up for the draft, such contact is not considered a violation of the rules, because Yao Ming is not an NCAA player, so the NBA will not punish the Pistons anyway.

The news of Yao Ming's visit to the United States, whether in China or in the United States, has attracted a lot of attention.

In addition, after Yao Ming came to the United States, he was directly stationed in Detroit without saying a word, which made people start to reverie.

Judging from the current situation, it is obvious that Yao Ming has the idea of joining the Pistons, and the Pistons also have the idea of choosing Yao Ming in the draft.

What is puzzling is that there is no chance to get Yao Ming on the piston.

You must know that Yao Ming is the champion candidate, how can the Pistons draw the champion on that record......

Could it be that before the draft, what will Yao Ming do to dispel the idea of others to choose themselves?

For example, it was publicly announced that they would not go anywhere except the Detroit Pistons......

For example, deliberately defrauding injuries and affecting their draft prospects.

Many people in the basketball circle are already waiting to see the excitement, because judging from the situation of the Pistons, unless it is God's favor, otherwise, they have no chance to get Yao Ming at all!

In early May, several teams in the league sent out trial invitations to Yao Ming.

In the past two years, even Richard has noticed a significant decline in the quality of rookies, and those experts who specialize in this must also be aware of it.

This year's draft, in the eyes of various experts, may be as unbearable as in 2000.

The only variable, I'm afraid, is Yao Ming......

The center is withering, the value of a good center is self-evident, and now many teams are staring at Yao Ming tightly, in case they draw the champion at the lottery meeting, in the absence of a more secure choice, they must follow the principle of having a general election, and choose Yao Ming.

Now they are sending Yao Ming a trial invitation, and they must also want to see how Yao Ming's situation is and whether he can adapt to the rhythm of the NBA game.

……

But what made them a little annoyed was that Yao Ming directly rejected the trial invitations of these teams.

I stayed in Detroit all the time, and I didn't want to go anywhere.

This has made the management of several teams very angry......

Although the excuse given by Yao Ming was that he was unwell, it was not convenient for him to go to the team's individual trial, and even the alliance's joint trial was postponed.

But the management of each team feels that things are definitely not so simple.

Yao Ming scored 41 points, 22 rebounds and 6 blocks in the just-concluded CBA League Finals, and the whole person didn't look like a problem at all.

Why did Detroit feel unwell, was it poisoned by Richard?

In this way, it is strange for Richard to say that there is no problem......

Brian Winters, who had just taken over as the head coach of the Warriors, was completely mad.

The Warriors finished last season at the bottom of the league under Dave Cowens, but Cowens was fired just after the season ended.

Now Winters has taken over as the head coach of the Warriors......

As for Cowens, he has packed his bags again and is preparing to join the Pistons in the near future and become a glorious assistant coach under Richard.

……

Winters is quite annoyed, and their Warriors have the best chance of getting the top pick this year.

In this case, if you want to try out Yao Ming, this request is not too much, right?

But his grandmother has a leg, and Richard must have stopped Yao Ming from leaving, and as a result, their warriors are now very panicked......

I only learned a little about Yao Ming's situation through the CBA league, and the Warriors now want to increase their understanding of Yao Ming through trials.

As long as they understand, they can make a decision, if they get the champion sign, whether to sign Yao Ming or not.

But all this has become an extravagant hope, Yao Ming just doesn't participate in the trial.

"I don't know what benefits Richard promised Yao Ming!"

"I don't know if their behavior violates the relevant rules of the alliance......

"Anyway, this kind of behavior is quite dissatisfying, and we have the right to get the opportunity to try out Yao Ming!"

"Yao Ming, I hope you can think about it carefully, Richard's behavior is definitely not helping you, but harming you!"

"It's nice for them to have a top-10 pick in their hands, don't you want to be in the league as the top pick?"

"If you want, please contact my warrior as soon as possible, we will arrange a trial as soon as possible, and we will not delay you for too long!"

Winters held a press conference on behalf of the Warriors and caught Richard in the run.

He was also really angry, and told me what it was called......

Not only the Warriors, but also the Cavaliers are quite dissatisfied.

Their record is the second to last in the league, and they also have a good chance to sign the champion, and they have sent Yao Ming a trial invitation more than once, but there is no news.

The same is true for the Knicks, who are now looking for a super-center to build their team on after Ewing left.

These teams are all teams with a relatively high chance of getting the top pick, but at the moment they are itching their teeth for Richard.

……

Richard was also quite speechless here, and this matter really had nothing to do with him.

He really didn't instigate Yao Ming to refuse the trial, in his opinion, Yao Ming could go to the trial or not.

It's okay to go to a tryout, but it's okay not to go.

Anyway, this champion must be in his own hands, and he will definitely choose Yao Ming.

……

But Yao Ming has already made up his mind not to go to the trial, at least not at this point in time.

Under the pressure of various teams holding press conferences, Yao Ming also had to stand up.

He didn't care about the feelings of those teams, but he was afraid that Richard would be misunderstood.

After all, instigating a player to refuse a trial is really not a glorious thing......

"Coach, you can help me hold a press conference in Detroit, I want to talk to those teams and let them not worry."

"Da Yao, what do you care about those people? After waiting for the lottery to end, they will naturally keep their mouths shut honestly. Richard said with a smile.

Despite the commotion outside, Richard was unmoved.

"Let's hold a press conference, I also want to try to hold a press conference in Lao Mei, what is it like...... Yao Ming said with a smile.

Richard nodded reluctantly, since Yao Ming said so, then open it......

"By the way, Da Yao, you don't have an agent on Lao Mei's side, right?" Richard asked, frowning.

Yao Ming nodded, he has an agent in China, and he brought it over this time, but there are some things that domestic agents are not particularly proficient in.

For example, some tax issues in the United States, as well as some legal issues in contracts.

"Well, coach, I was just about to consult you about this, is there any reliable agent to introduce me to a ......" Yao Ming asked with a smile.

If you are looking for an agent, you must find a reliable one, otherwise, you won't know if you are trapped.

Richard frowned and thought about it, he knew a lot about the agent......

And the relationship with the agent is also quite familiar, after all, Richard has produced a large number of super newcomers, and those agents naturally want to slap Richard.

But Yao Ming's question this time made Richard have the idea of setting up a brokerage company.

At present, the West Lafayette player has made a name for himself in the league.

Continuing to let these West Lafayette stars sign with other people's agencies, Richard feels like a bit of a loss.

It's as if the money has been made by someone......

The key is that the money that has been made is not a small number, after all, these West Lafayette players have almost grown into stars, and they have signed sky-high contracts with the team.

The commission of the contract alone is quite a good income.

The more Richard thought about it, the more restless he became, it seemed that he should earn the money himself......

It's best to set up an agency and say hello to the West Lafayette players and ask them to come and join you.

Of course, Richard is now an NBA practitioner and a general manager, so he must not be able to open a brokerage company, which is against the rules of the NBA.

But I can't open it myself, so I can let the golden dragon open it......

When the time comes, it seems that it is not difficult to use some means to get the profit into your own hands.

Richard and Golden Dragon have also known each other for several years, and Golden Dragon has always been responsible for the financial problems on Richard's side.

There has been no problem for so many years, Golden Dragon is quite conscientious, capable of having character, and Richard is also quite relieved to hang this brokerage company on Golden Dragon's head.

Moreover, the foundation of the establishment of this brokerage company is Richard's connections, and if it weren't for Richard, this brokerage company would definitely not be able to do it.

So from a reasonable point of view, the golden dragon is very suitable for this job.

"Da Yao, the agent's business, you wait for a while, and I'll handle this matter when the time comes." Richard is ready to do what he says, and he will inform the golden dragon of this matter in the near future.

Yao Ming naturally nodded, and he wasn't too anxious about the agent.

……

At two o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, Yao Ming's first press conference after coming to the United States was held.

There were a lot of reporters from Detroit who wanted to see how Yao Ming would respond to those teams.

What made these reporters quite speechless was that Richard was blatantly sitting next to Yao Ming......

At this time, will you die if you avoid suspicion......

Looking at Richard's expression, it seems that he didn't take the dissatisfaction of those teams seriously at all.

……

"Coach Richard, in what capacity are you here for this press conference today?" After the reporter began to ask questions, the first person to ask questions turned out to be not Yao Ming, but Richard, who was sitting next to Yao Ming.

Richard didn't expect these reporters to ask himself questions as soon as they came up.

"Ahem, I'm here to attend this press conference as a translator, you should also know that Yao Ming's English is not very good, and I may not understand what you're saying right now, so I need to translate!" Richard's skills are simply heavenly.

The reporters in the audience are going to vomit blood, translator?! With such blatant, you are so embarrassed to speak......

If you're a translator, what's going on with the guy with the translation sign sitting on the other side of Yao Ming?

"Coach Richard, your identity is unconvincing, it's just a press conference, Yao Ming doesn't need to bring two translators, right?"

"That's right, when people and national leaders talk to each other, they only bring one interpreter!"

The reporters began to heckle, and they must have had a purpose in doing so, to see if Richard could say what they wanted to hear.

For example, directly admit what kind of relationship he has with Yao Ming......

"Hmph, who said that the press conference can't bring two interpreters? Does the NBA have this rule? ”

"And why can't I be a translator Richard, is it easy for me to find a part-time job this offseason? Don't keep an eye on this, if you want to ask Yao Ming questions, ask ......," Richard said to the reporters unhappily.

The focus of today's press conference is Yao Ming, what is the matter with you staring at me Richard?

The main reason why he came to this press conference today was that he was afraid that Yao Ming would say something that he shouldn't say.

If you are at the scene, you can also help Yao Ming come back.

As for whether his appearance at Yao Ming's private press conference will cause other teams to be more dissatisfied, how can Richard care......

……

"Due to the recent physical discomfort, I have no plans to participate in the trial in a short period of time, not only the joint trial of the league, but also the individual trial of each team, I hope the teams can understand."

Yao Ming first explained in Mandarin why he did not participate in the trial.

may also not want to offend so many people when he first entered the alliance, so Yao Ming's words were quite tactful.

As soon as Yao Ming finished speaking, many reporters looked at Richard, your translator should start translating, right?

"Yao Ming said that he was unwell and didn't want to participate in the trial, so don't bother him in the future." Richard rolled his eyes......

Reporters are going to vomit blood, Yao Ming really said that? People have said so much, why did you only say two sentences in this translation?

"As for why I stayed in Detroit, it was because I had a relationship with Coach Richard, and I came to the United States mainly to get used to the diet and living habits, and to learn English by the way."

"Yao Ming said that the reason I came to Detroit was to learn English."

"As for when I'll be tryouts, I'll be on one or three teams when the draw is over."

"Yao Ming said, the trial will be talked about when the draw is over."

The reporters in the audience were skeptical, and they always felt that Richard's translation was deceiving.

I always felt that something was wrong......

……

In the evening, the teams also got the news of the press conference in the afternoon, and they were even more angry.

In their opinion, this is what Richard is provoking them......

Why do you want a manager to attend a private press conference for other players?!

Still embarrassed......

……

Anyway, Richard doesn't bother to care about the feelings of those teams now, and he is now just looking forward to the draw meeting starting soon.

……

The NBA playoffs are already in full swing, the first round has ended, and now they have reached the division semifinals.

The remaining four teams in the East are the Philadelphia 76ers, Green Kai, Nets and Magic.

Nets vs. Magic, 76ers vs. Green Kai.

This is the matchup for the Eastern Conference semifinals......

As for the West, the remaining four teams that advance are the Kings, Trail Blazers, Spurs and Lakers.

The Trail Blazers faced the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.

As for the Kings, they collided with the Lakers......

Originally, the Trail Blazers had plans to sell Ginobili, but they didn't find any good chips and could only stay in their hands.

The Spurs are interested in Ginobili, but they don't have anything in their hands, and the Trail Blazers aren't stupid enough to give their rivals the Spurs a boost.

……

As for the Lakers team, they don't care about the regular season record anymore, and all their energy is focused on the playoffs.

Seeing the matchup in the West, Richard had a hunch that the Western Conference might be another matchup between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers.

Emotionally speaking, he naturally wants the Trailblazers to advance to the finals, in that case, maybe the three consecutive championships can be extended to four consecutive championships.

After all, on the eastern side, no matter who enters the finals, it is actually the fate of being beaten.

But Richard is also well aware that the league may not tolerate the birth of a four-game winning team.

In this case, the Lakers may be taken care of by the league, and it is not unimaginable to defeat the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals.

Richard didn't think too much about it, he was now out of the Trail Blazers, and there was no point in thinking too much.