Chapter 235: The 2009 Draft
There are a lot of last-minute trades that happen every year in the draft, and Rockets general manager Morey has long said that he wants to trade a draft pick, but until the draft, Morey's plan has not been realized. Most likely is the Wizards' fifth draft pick, and Rockets fans can only hope for Morey's ability to operate.
Finally, the big drama kicked off.
The first to be drafted was Blake Griffin, and although the Clippers made it clear that they would use the No. 1 pick to draft Griffin, fans still exclaimed when David Stern announced it. Griffin happily hugged his family and friends, and then went on stage.
Clippers fans fainted with happiness, and they all almost forgot about the pain of this season.
There's no doubt that Griffin was the best rookie in the country this year, averaging 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game at the University of Oklahoma in college. But at this time, Sam Presti, the manager of the Thunder team, sighed secretly, and Li Zhi shook his head when he saw it like this, even if the Clippers didn't choose Griffin, the Thunder would have no chance.
The most suspenseful part of the draft was the time when the Grizzlies were still struggling to choose Rubio or Tabit. In the end, Grizzly Bear Chris Wallace gritted his teeth and chose Thabit. Li Zhi often confuses Thabit with Bitcoin, and when he took the stage, Li Zhi realized that it was not.
It's no wonder that Li Zhi, he really doesn't know much about Tabit, after all, this guy slowly disappeared in the NBA, and there is no place for the NBA in the future.
The Grizzlies' choice is puzzling, they already have a Gasol Jr. with unlimited potential on the inside, and at this time choose a Tabit, if the two are combined, they can be called the slowest interior in the NBA.
The Thunder selected James Harden with a pick, and he will form a foursome with Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, and Westbrook.
The King's choice in fourth place surprised everyone, and it turned out to be Terek Evans. This is a swing man with amazing physical qualities. The Kings were still vacillating between selecting Tyreco Evans and Ricky Rubio, but Richie's performance in the Finals made them feel that Tyreco Evans might become "Little Rich" if he was trained well.
The hot Rubio dropped to fifth place, and the Timberwolves were very happy, and they traded the Wizards' No. 5 pick, but they didn't expect to pick Rubio.
The Thunder and the Kings secretly sneered, Rubio is good, but due to the rules of the West Tooth League, he can't enter the NBA now, no matter how delicious the meat is, it is difficult to be happy if he doesn't eat it.
The Timberwolves still have a sixth draft pick in their hands, and just when everyone thought they were going to pick a player at another position to rebuild, they once again chose a guard, Jonny Flynn, to be confused.
The Warriors didn't hesitate and immediately selected Stephen Curry with the seventh pick. Curry stood up in surprise when he heard that he had been drafted by the Warriors, and then turned around to see Li Ji waving at him, which made him very happy.
Li Zhi was relieved, fortunately, there was no mistake. Li Zhi was really afraid that his appearance would cause a butterfly effect.
After selecting Curry, the Warriors also had a No. 30 pick, and Richmondy and West didn't hope that this pick would pick any good players, so Lee Ji decided.
Li Zhi was entangled, fortunately he came, otherwise Richmond, an unreliable uncle, would really make the Warriors miss a lot of good resources.
Looking at the draft list with a large list of names, Li Zhi smiled sinisterly. Marcus Thornton, Patrick Beverley, Jeff Green, what a happy annoyance.
The Raptors chose DeMar DeRozan after the Warriors, and they were also risk-taking, one of the few shooting guards in the draft.
The No. 9 pick for the Bucks chose to starve Brandon Jennings, and the Nets used the No. 10 pick for Jordan Hill. The domestic fans sighed, and the opponent of the UAE was coming. Jordan Hill not only has a bull's nose name, but also can play two positions, power forward and center, which is not good news for Yi Jianlian.
The players who were drafted later were not well-known, and knowing that the Timberwolves drafted point guard Tylawson with the No. 18 pick, Li Zhi couldn't help but laugh. The Timberwolves are really dead, this is to play a five-point guard lineup.
With the Timberwolves going on to draft a guard at No. 29, Wayne Harrington, the Warriors' chance has come.
It's really a happy trouble, do you want to take a rocket? Pick Danny Green and make Popovich cry? Li Zhi glanced at the old Bobo of the spurs with his eyes, and the old man's face was light.
The Warriors are not Cavaliers, and if Danny Green is selected, they will definitely not let him go, and when the Spurs want Green, they will have to pay the price.
But after thinking about it, Li Zhi still gave up this idea, Danny Green's current three-point shot is not so stable, and the defense is only excellent, it is better to choose a Beverley to be cost-effective.
Beverley's offense was likewise undeveloped, but his defense was definitely underrated by scouts. The Warriors won't keep Anthony Morrow this year, and while Nelson likes him, his performance in the Finals is really bad and he can't adapt to the big scene.
At this time, it is a good choice to choose Brother Dog, after all, Brother Dog has a good defense and can be of great use at critical moments. And the position of Brother Dog does not conflict with Curry, and he can completely match Crawford with the backcourt to make up for the lack of Warriors' bench defense.
Richie made the choice, and the Warriors used the No. 29 pick to select Patrick Beverley, a little-known little guy.
West, Richmond, and Li Zhi all felt that they had gained a lot, and they were just waiting to go back and quote Old Kidd.
Morey's failure to get back the first-round pick disappointed fans. Morey had to settle for the next best thing, trading 200 cash from the Wizards for a second-round pick, and then using that pick to select Marcus Thornton.
On July 1, free agency opened, and the Warriors offered Kidd after the Mavericks, but Kidd turned it down. Kidd's exact words are like this.
"I don't feel like I'm getting to the point where I'm holding my thighs for a championship, and we can win a championship in the Mavericks."
In Li Zhi's heart, 10,000 grass beasts rushed by, the dog bit Lu Dongbin, and the warrior's offer was not low, why did he treat himself as hugging his thighs?
The Warriors' involvement created a sense of crisis for the Mavericks, who sent Nowitzki as a lobbyist, increased his contract, and eventually extended Kidd. The warriors and a group of people could only look at the calf's eye pantothenic acid, and then scold "Damn".
Milicic left, and although he was reluctant to give the Warriors, the Warriors would not give him the big contract he wanted. Milicic is an ambitious guy who joined the Knicks for 4 years and 5000 free transfers, reuniting with Lowry Jr. This made the New York fans very happy, and although they were called "Warriors" by the outside world, they were still happy.
With Lowry and Milicic, is Lee still far away?