At the 1999 draft convention in Washington, D.C., Joe Hay flew to Washington along with Stu Jackson and Billy Knight on June 30.

That afternoon, the MCI Center Arena became the liveliest place in Washington.

At all times, luxury cars are parked here.

The top management of the 29 NBA teams has arrived one after another, hundreds of players and agents who participated in the draft have also arrived, and of course, tens of thousands of spectators on the sidelines, which directly made the front of the MCI arena crowded.

Qiao Hai took a taxi with Stu Jackson and Billy Knight to arrive at the MCI Center, and when entering, Qiao Hai was stopped by a reporter and asked a few questions.

After arriving in Washington, Qiao Hai also contacted Kevending, preparing to give Kevinding the interview he promised Kevending in Washington, and at the same time, he also hoped to keep in touch with Kevinding, in the future, once he had sufficient funds, Qiao Hai would talk to Kevinding about a cooperation he had already thought of.

In the interview at the entrance, a reporter wanted to inquire about the choice of the grizzly bear, but Qiao Hai naturally kept silent.

Many questions Qiao Hai had already answered when he was in Vancouver, so Qiao Hai hurriedly ended the interview and followed Stu Jackson and Billy Knight into the arena.

On the court, each team has its own position, and Stu Jackson took Qiao Hai to find the Grizzlies' location and sat down, their seats were boxes with blocks on both sides, which was to prevent the teams from snooping on each other and affecting the selection in the draft.

However, the draft did not start, and the general managers and head coaches of the teams who knew each other well on the field were also talking to each other.

Here, Qiao Hai doesn't know many people, but Stu Jackson knows a lot of people, so it's still very lively near the grizzly box.

Stu Jackson and Raptors general manager Glenn Grove communicated for a while, and the trade between Bangyan and Maddy has not yet been announced, so many people don't know that the Grizzlies and Raptors actually have their own calculations.

The two tacitly waited for the draft to begin.

The league's staff is also on the court, and Stu Jackson has a good relationship with the league's officials, after all, he was recommended to the Grizzlies by David Stern.

In the end, the spectators on the sidelines have basically entered, and the private rooms exclusive to the 29 teams have also been filled, David Stern has entered, the lights are on, and the draft is about to begin.

Before the draft began, Stu Jackson leaned over and asked in a suppressed voice next to Joe Hai's ear, "Joe, who are we picking at No. 5?" Is there a goal? ”

Qiao Hai has never said who he will choose for the No. 5 pick, and Stu Jackson has never asked, but he knows that Qiao Hai already has a goal.

On Qiao Hai's side, Stu Jackson asked, and Qiao Hai didn't hide it: "We have a few targets, Wallis Zebiak, Sean Marion, Ron Artest, these can be." ”

In fact, Qiao Hai has not thought about who to pick in the fifth pick, Volis Zebiak, which is an option to enhance the team's offense, and Sean Marion or Ron Artest will strengthen the team's defense.

And between Sean Marion and Ron Artest, Qiao Hai is also hesitating to choose Sean Marion, what he gets will be a defensive player who can defend multiple positions, and Sean Marion is also a rebounding monster with strong rebounding ability.

And with the selection of Ron Artest, Qiao Hai will get a top wing defender, and if he plays against a team with top wing stars like the Lakers and 76ers, Ron Artest can come in handy.

Therefore, whether to choose Artest or Sean Marion, or only to consider offense, and to choose Wallis Zebiak, Qiao Hai is still hesitating.

With the arena filling up and the MCI Center in a bustle, David Stern entered, and the draft was about to begin.

Joe Hay had been considering the No. 5 pick, and as the draft began, David Stern announced that the Chicago Bulls, the owner of the No. 1 pick, could start the selection, and the Bulls had five minutes to think about it.

However, the choices in the draft are basically considered in advance, especially the choice of the top pick, which the Bulls have already thought about.

Only a few dozen seconds later, David Stern returned to the center of the court, pinched a small note in his hand, and announced into the microphone: "In the 1999 American Professional Basketball Draft, the first pick in the first round, the Chicago Bulls chose - Elton, a 6-foot-9-inch power forward from Duke University!" Brand! ”

As soon as the words fell, Elton Brand stood up in the small green room in the infield, and Qiao Hai also saw David Falke, who was Elton Brand's agent.

Elton Brand and David Falke embraced, then donned the Chicago Bulls hat and walked onto the stage.

On the Grizzlies' side, they, along with the Raptors, just submitted a trade.

Elton Brand on stage finished his speech and walked off the court for an interview, and David Stern announced the trade between the Grizzlies and Raptors on stage.

"The Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors completed a deal, and now, the second-round pick belongs to the Toronto Raptors."

As soon as the deal was announced, Stu Jackson received a call directly from the Pacers.

Qiao Hai is also a little helpless, Larry Bird is really obsessed with Jonathan Bender, but the Pacers don't have what Qiao Hai wants, whether it's players or draft picks.

So, he directly asked Stu Jackson to reject Larry Bird.

The Raptors directly chose Steve Francis, Steve Francis seemed a little unhappy, he put on the Raptors' hat, came to the stage, shook hands with David Stern, made a somewhat embarrassing speech, and quickly left the court.

Qiao Hai smiled: "Look, Steve Francis doesn't even want to go to Toronto." ”

Stu Jackson was also a little helpless, he still wanted to choose Steve Francis, but Steve Francis was very demanding for his future, the Grizzlies were reluctant to come, and the Raptors, who seemed to have a bright future, seemed to be unwilling to go, and the requirements were really high.

With the third pick, the Charlotte Hornets selected Byron Davis.

With the fourth pick, the Los Angeles Clippers selected Lamar Odom.

Then, there is the choice of the fifth pick.

The Grizzlies also had 5 minutes to think about it, but when it really came time for Qiao Hai to make a choice, Qiao Hai was sure.

StuJackson gave him an inquiring look, and he held a small slip of paper in his hand and wrote the player's name.

"We choose Sean Marion."

Stu Jackson nodded, and he didn't ask why, just wrote Sean Marion's name on the note.

The note was handed over, and Qiao Hai also explained why he chose Sean Marion: "From what I know about Sean Marion, he is a short forward, but he has a long arm span, so he is good at protecting rebounds, strong defense, can defend five positions, from point guard to center, and his fixed-point shooting is also very stable, but he basically has no ability to hold the ball alone, of course, what we need is Sean Marion's defense, as for offense, Mike Bibby, Tracy and Sherif can completely handle it." ”

Stu Jackson nodded, Sean Marion's characteristics Qiao Hai said very clearly, and next, it depends on whether Sean Marion can cash in on his talent and ability in the NBA.

Joe Hai said a lot about Sean Marion's personal characteristics and strengths, but Wallis Zebiak and Ron Artest are not bad either.

The reason why Sean Marion was finally chosen was because Qiao Hai considered what players the Grizzlies really needed from a global perspective.

Compared to Wallis Zebiak, Sean Marion's advantage is that he defends well and does not possess the ball, and the Grizzlies already have enough scorers, and if you sign another Wallis Zebiak, the team's scoring will completely overflow.

Compared with Ron Artest, Sean Marion's advantage is excellent co-defense, and the Grizzlies need a player with excellent co-defense, so that the multi-person pressing defense on the strong side can really be used, so, between Artest and Marion, Qiao Hai chose Marion.