Chicago is always buzzing in June, after all, it's a time of year when Chicago is full of promising talents.

Every team's management or scouts would gather here, and in Henson's view, joint tryouts would seem like a legitimate, big human flesh. The "capitalists" pointed fingers at the "commodities" on the basketball court and picked and chosen.

But Henson prefers to think of joint tryouts and drafts as a treasure hunt. You never know, on draft day, you'll go home with treasure or be a joke in the eyes of people with a pile of useless scrap rocks.

"Have you decided on the next manager?" Sitting in a taxi to the United Center, the two Pacer giants, Bird and Henson, were chatting about work-related things without a word.

Although Henson has only announced his return for less than a week, he is already quickly getting into the groove of work. It's been a hard week for Henson. Not only does he have to take care of the Pacers' construction this summer, but he also has to take care of Angela and the baby.

It can be said that this is the hardest week for Henson in the past two years.

But this kind of hard work did not make Henson feel tired, but made him extremely fulfilling. After all, the most important thing in his life, apart from his family, is back.

"Not yet, it's not like just finding a coach and becoming a championship coach. Even if you want to find a new manager, you have to get a new boss from McMillan and Becky. Hamon chose between the two. Because they are the only ones who know this team well. As he spoke, Henson flipped through the rookie roster provided by Silas.

Last year, the Pacers paid for this year's first-round pick in a trade for Oladipo. So this year, Henson only has one second-round pick at his disposal. Undoubtedly, this greatly increases the difficulty of success in this draft.

In the past few days, Henson has watched a lot of videos and materials, but he has never had a favorite candidate. So today, he decided to rely on the data analysis module to take a good look at the young people of the 16th class.

"Otherwise, you're going to be the head coach as well. Didn't you say that too? You always like to take control of your team. And there are not a few head coaches in the league who hold multiple positions at the same time, Popovich, Doug. Rivers and your old friend Thibodeau and others are both head coaches and other management positions. ”

"That's the worst-case scenario, Bird. My daughter is still young, and Angeli needs someone to take care of her. If I'm also the head coach, I'll have twice the workload. Let's not talk about the head coach, let's solve the draft now. I looked at the second round of this year's show, and it didn't seem to be too many people worth noting......"

"It's true, but it's not every year that there are two rounds of shows that can become talents. If you want me to say, we don't have to run for a second-round pick. If you have this time, you might as well have more contact with some free agents. Bird waved his hand, and in the blink of an eye, the taxi was already close to the Union Center.

"It's just that in terms of data, this year's second-round show is not worth our attention. But that doesn't mean there won't be players in the joint tryouts that will make us shine. Draft patience, Bird. Especially, it's when treating the second round show......"

At noon today, when Henson, Bird, and Silas stepped into the training hall at the United Center, Henson was surprised to find that many people had come to greet him.

Among these people, there are scouts, coaches, and general managers of other teams. There is no doubt that Henson's appearance made them very excited. After all, they were in the same room as the legend at this time.

But at the same time, they also started to get nervous. Because of Henson's arrival, it is bound to mess up this draft meeting. Even if all he has in his hand is a second-round pick.

"I didn't expect you to suddenly become so popular after two years away." Living in the makeshift stands of the training hall, Bird quipped.

"That's because they've forgotten how much of a threat I was to pose. Let's get to work, guys. Let's take a look at the rookies that scouts have recommended and then we'll make a decision. ”

Henson said, glancing down at the names on the list that had been highlighted by scouts.

Ivica. Zubac is a Croatian U19 member. He is tall and has long arms and is skilled under the basket. But his slow pace and poor shooting put him at odds with the NBA's current small-ball ethos. Because of this, such a guy with excellent physical conditions will fall to the second round in the prediction rankings.

Patrick from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. McCaw, outstanding in defense, dare to fight. But the scoring ability is mediocre, and the organizational ability as a point guard is also a little less meaningful.

Of course, Henson even spotted Chinese player Zhou Qi in the key name drawn by scouts. As an inside line with height and long arms, both flexibility and range, Zhou Qi undoubtedly meets the requirements of the inside line in today's small-ball era.

But it is still unknown whether his body can adapt to the rhythm and confrontation of the NBA. Although Henson is of Chinese descent, he was also a native Chinese before crossing over. But that doesn't mean he will be too biased towards Chinese players because of this.

With the list in hand, Henson also walked around the training gym. But disappointingly, whether it was Zubac, Zhou Qi or McCaw, the performance was very different from what Henson expected. And through the data analysis module, Henson can also see that the potential of these guys is not too good.

Among them, Zubac, who has the best potential, has only a B grade in terms of potential value. As for Zhou Qi, who Chinese fans are looking forward to, after seeing his body that is thinner than Antetokounmpo, Henson even began to doubt whether this guy can gain a foothold in the NBA.

"Bird was right, maybe we're really wasting our time." Henson shook his head, but just as he was about to go home, he saw a small defender who was sprinting three-quarters of the way.

This guard looks very old-fashioned, a little less childish than the other rookies. Of course, Lao Cheng here is not only an adjective, but also his face. Compared with other rookies, he is much older just by looking at his face.

The little defender was very emaciated, and his muscles were not beautiful at all. And, to be honest, his speed really doesn't interest Henson. Maybe Antetokounmpo, who has now grown to 2.11 meters tall, can run faster than him.

But after analyzing the guy's abilities with the data analysis module, Henson stopped.

That's right, this guy's physical fitness is really mediocre, and his height of 1.96 meters is not outstanding among defenders. The No. 2 spot of the Pacers team has been occupied by the guy who is 2.06 meters tall for a long time.

But the arm span of this "old rookie" is as long as 2.10 meters! And his shooting level is above B+. In the column of potential value, it has reached A-!

Indeed, this guy is not top-notch in all aspects, and his excessive age and mediocre physical fitness are also considered to be the future of the NBA. But this guy can shoot and defend, and that's enough.

Last season, Oladipo played hard with the Pacers. The main reason for this is that with Paul and George around, Oladipo has no ball at all. Oladipo, on the other hand, is a player who needs to hold the ball in his hand to play a role.

So this season, whoever coaches the Pacers, Henson will advise the coach to let Oladipo play the sixth man. That way, he'll be able to have enough possession of the ball.

But Oladipo is known to be very inconsistent in his shooting. In this respect, he bears some resemblance to Westbrook. In this way, wouldn't it be nice to pair Oladipo with a guard partner who can shoot without possession?

The second-round show is looking for role players and championship puzzles. If you want to find a superstar in the second round of the show, it is undoubtedly more difficult than winning the lottery. And the defender in front of him is just in line with the positioning of a role player.

With this in mind, Henson decided to write down the name of the "old rookie". While his name isn't as intimidating as Antetokounmpo's, it's also a tongue-twisting for Henson.

"Malcolm. Brogdon? Well...... I hope this kid won't be taken away in advance. Henson pouted, Brogdon was by far his favorite second-round pick.

Oladipo + Brogdon + Josh, who is already in second grade. Richardson? The firepower on the Pacers' bench next season may be enough.

In order to ensure that he could take Brogdon, Henson turned to his good friend, Bucks general manager John Brown. Hammond.

When Henson heard that Henson was willing to trade Ilyasova for one of his second-round picks, Hammond couldn't stop talking.

While Antetokounmpo is considered a promising new star, Hammond doesn't feel like he's being caught. After all, under the circumstances at the time, he really had no reason to choose Antetokounmpo. Now to say that this deal suffered a loss is just an afterthought.

So this time, Hammond once again agreed to Henson's trade request.

Ilyasova is an inside player with a shooting range, and this kind of player is not afraid of running out of food in today's small-ball era, and all teams are very welcome.

And this year's second-round pick, there are really no players who make Hammond feel bright. Rather than gambling on an uncertain future, Hammond is now more willing to add some veterans to consolidate his strength. After all, the Bucks are a playoff-caliber team these days.

"Come on, Henson, who do you want to pick with the draft picks this time?" After Hammond readily agreed to Henson's trade request, he asked with interest, "Of course, if you don't want to say it, I won't force it." ”

"It's just a two-wheeler, John, there's nothing inconvenient to say. Malcolm. Brogdon, I took a fancy to him. ”

"Brogdon?" Hammond was taken aback, "That older rookie who played in college for four years and is now about to turn 23?" ”

"Looks like you know him well, John."

"The Bucks watched him for a while, but we weren't too optimistic about his prospects. I hope that in your hands, that lucky boy can shine. ”

Hammond thought that Henson, who had taken a two-year break, could no longer keep up with the times. But only Henson himself knows that at least in the draft, he has a higher success rate than everyone in the league!