Darko Milicic, a young lad from Serbia, is still not very proficient in English, so what Stern just said, he only understands the words "draft", "Celtic", "TV" and, of course, his name, and that's enough.

The scene erupted in applause again, and compared to five minutes ago, there was a clear sense of surprise in this applause, which was another international player who was taken out of the top three after Yao Ming won the top spot in the draft last year. Moreover, this year's draft is not comparable to last year's, behind Milicic were Anthony, Bosh, Wade, Hinrich, Ford, Kaman, etc., several of them may have been the top picks in other years, and today, they are pressed behind by a Serb.

Milicic walked up to the stage with a shy smile, and on the way the staff handed him a certain green hat, no way, all the newcomers selected by the Celtics have to wear a green hat. Milicic, who wore his hat, looked even more youthful, and he stepped forward to shake Stern's hand, showing a big smile.

At this time, he only knew a little about his situation. He's been to Celtic's tryouts, he's known they're in the Finals this year, he's a team with a long history, and now he's a part of it. He'd met the Celtics' head coach, the man with dark hair and a hawk-like sharp gaze, the hottest head coach in the NBA this season.

Milicic's heart is warm and bright, full of hope, he is full of anticipation and longing for the Celtics team, standing on the stage, he already imagines himself on the parquet floor of the North Shore Garden, fighting for the glory of Boston.

Of course, the most important thing is that at this moment he is out of poverty, out of the turmoil and war in his homeland, and he can win money and fame in this developed country by participating in a game he loves. He can support his mother, who has worked hard to raise him, and he can allow his family to live a comfortable life in a stable environment, and he is sincerely grateful and grateful to the Celts for this choice.

In the interview with reporters after stepping down, Milicic seemed a little excited, which is a matter of course, in the face of reporters' questions, his tone seemed lively and cheerful, this boy who has always been few words, a little shy, and does not speak good English, at this time is using his small vocabulary to piece together the beauty of his heart.

But half an hour later, he will get his first taste of the NBA's ruthless side as a business league.

……………………

On the other hand, Angie did not feel relieved after seeing Milicic selected, on the contrary, the real pressure and challenges have just begun. Most of the deals are made on draft day, and the moment Milicic is drafted, it means that Milicic's signing rights are put on the shelf by the Celtics.

The phone in his pocket began to ring non-stop, and the managers of several teams have already expressed to Angie that they are willing to offer chips, even draft picks to trade for Milicic, including some tempting chips, but Angie has refused for the time being. He was waiting for McHale's call, and although he wanted to go directly to McHale, his phone never got through, and it seemed that McHale was also on the phone to discuss.

At this time, Angie's mobile phone rang again, and the name of the caller ID was "Fox Leon".

"You-...... Where the hell did you go? Is everything keeping me in the dark! Anji immediately connected the phone, lowered his voice and gritted his teeth.

"One, Danny, if you dare to accept another manager's trade request, I'll resign immediately when I get back to Boston, and second, immediately, call Kevin Garnett right away, talk to him, get ready to trade. Third, I'll solve other problems on the Boston side, and you can remember to cooperate with them when the time comes. Leon's voice was as calm as ever, and there was no doubt in his tone, which was what Angie hated the most, because he was such a person himself, and he didn't like to be treated like this.

However, Angie really can't refuse and refute, since Leon has asked him to call Garnett, it can only mean one thing, everything has been settled, and with Angie almost ignoring, a deal that may shock the alliance is about to happen.

"You... Where are you? Still in New York? Angie felt a little tightness in his chest, a tension from excitement, and he even forgot to ask Leon for Garnett's number, which he didn't have.

"Garnett's phone number is, 67****98, let's talk to him. Also, remember to calculate the problem of contract matching, if something goes wrong because of this, Danny can apologize with death...... I'm not in New York right now, I'm in Washington, D.C., and I'll be here tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so you'd better come too. Leon said.

Angie didn't have time to think about why Leon was in Washington, nine times out of ten it had something to do with Auerbach, but none of that mattered, the important thing was that he was going to get the deal done. Leon has shuffled and straightened out all the cards and handed them over to Anji, who only needs to play the cards according to the rules, and everything is done.

The two didn't talk too much, and after saying what they had to say, Leon hung up the phone, and now it was Angie's time.

He first made a phone call to Kevin Garnett, as Leon said. The two were not completely unfriendly before, because of McHale's relationship, Angie once went to Garnett's house as a guest, so the two did not have a relationship on the phone.

"I'm ready and ready to take on this deal...... However, I haven't been on the phone with McHale, and I hope you'll be able to express my apologies to him later, I still love Minnesota, but I'm leaving. On the phone, Garnett's voice was a little low, obviously he had experienced an inner torment in the past two days.

"Okay, I see, I'll talk to him. Also, welcome, Kevin, and welcome to Boston. Anji's tone couldn't hide her excitement. Of course, Angie didn't know that Garnett was at the home of his friend Malik Ciri at the moment. Ciri has been around Garnett since before the draft began, being a lobbyist for the Celtics, constantly telling Garnett about the Celtics' merits and reminding Garnett that he will likely continue to waste his career with the Timberwolves.

Before the draft, when the news that the Timberwolves trade was investigated and stranded was broken, and Garnett's friend Smith was involved again, Garnett finally felt helpless and angry, and at that moment his disappointment with the Timberwolves management reached its peak, that is, at that moment, he texted McHale, saying that he was considering being traded.

Then, Angie found Kevin McHale, who was also at the draft site, and the two sat down and will discuss the details of the deal, and then the content of their discussion will be fed back to the headquarters of both teams, and then the two bosses will agree to jointly send an email to the league office for approval, and then wait.

It's all about to take shape.

As the first round of the draft was coming to an end, the league office sent out a news message that immediately drew everyone's attention from the draft to the market.

"The Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves reached a trade deal that saw the Celtics send Antoine Walker, Darko Milicic, Eric Williams and Abdul Varik, a future first-round pick, and some cash to get the Timberwolves' power forward, Kevin Garnett."

A short newsletter made the entire venue boil, the basketball media circle in New York, and the basketball fans across the United States.

A deal that had been nearly two years in the making was close on June 26, 2003. In the eyes of many, from this moment on, the shade of green will re-hang over the NBA. And few people know what's going on behind the scenes.

At this time, the driving force behind the scenes is far away in Washington, D.C., in the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., sitting on a stool and reading a novel. (To be continued.) )