Chapter 275: The Dust Settles
As soon as the draft ended, the uniforms and coaching staff of the 30 teams began to frantically contact, and then the rookie trade began, even if the free agency market door had not yet opened, but the teams had already made development plans.
The end of the conference became another beginning, and from the moment Stu Jackson announced the end of the draft, reporters were active, some went to interview the rookies, and many more stared at the uniform groups of the thirty teams, waiting for the big news they needed.
The uniforms did not disappoint the reporters, and the general managers of the teams teamed up with the head coach to strategize, and the deal began to be born:
The Warriors immediately traded second-round picks JR Giddens and Turkish center Omir Asik to the Celtics in exchange for the guard they stole Stephen Curry. After the deal broke out, Curry immediately threw away the baseball cap he had just brought to his head, and Chamberlain and others cheered to welcome him.
Then, before the Rockets had time to say hello to the first-round drafted French rookie Batum, they sent the 19-year-old small forward to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for power forward Donta Greeney, who was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies with the No. 28 pick, and Joey Dorsey, who was drafted by the Trail Blazers with the No. 3 pick in the second round, and also received a second-round pick from the Grizzlies in '09.
Here's how the deal worked, the Rockets traded the No. 25 pick to the Trail Blazers' No. 27 and No. 33 picks, and then traded the No. 27 pick to the Grizzlies for the No. 28 pick. So Darrell Arthur was sent to the Grizzlies and Greeney was sent to the Rockets, who then got the Grizzlies' second-round pick for next year, as well as Joey Dorsey, the No. 33 rookie.
The Pistons then agreed to a trade as well, and that was the decision to move D. J. White was traded to the SuperSonics in exchange for the latter's No. 32 and No. 46 rookies. The SuperSonics previously used two second-round picks to select No. 32 rookie Walter Sharpe and No. 46 rookie Lund Plestead.
The trade continues, and the Grizzlies seem to be addicted to the trade, except for making a trade with the Rockets, and then having a trade with the Timberwolves, and this time on a bigger scale: the Timberwolves will be a rookie O. J. Mayo, forward Anthony Walker, guards Mark Jarric and Greg Buckner were given to the Grizzlies for Grizzlies No. 7 rookie Kevin Loverford, shooters Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins.
Mayo is considered to be a very good talent and even has the strength to compete with Rose and Beasley for the top pick, but the Timberwolves need an orthodox center to return Al Jefferson to his familiar power forward position, Kevin Lover can undoubtedly meet their needs, as for the previously selected Serbian and Montenegro center Peco? Hehe, he's just a second-round show, and only God knows what the growth trajectory is.
Another player to be reckoned with is Mike Miller, a sharpshooter who was once considered a non-sale by the Grizzlies and has been interested in him by several teams, including the Rockets and Warriors. Now that Miller has moved to the Timberwolves, his outside shooting will further free up the pressure on Jefferson and Lefour on the inside. For the Grizzlies, they got the much-anticipated Mayo, which laid a better foundation for the team's rebuild.
After making a trade with the Grizzlies, the Timberwolves did not hesitate to make a second trade, and the NCAA Final Four MOP Mario Chanmos has not yet met the general manager of the Timberwolves, McHale, but he has already been sent to the Heat in exchange for some cash and Darnell Jackson, the 52nd pick of the Heat this year, and another second-round pick for the Heat next year.
As soon as the trade here ended, the trade over there started again, and the reporters were happy, and there has not been such a fierce trade in the draft for several years, which shows how chaotic the league is now. Journalists hope that the more chaotic the alliance, the better, the more chaotic the alliance, the more exciting the news, the easier it is for them to make money.
The Portland Trail Blazers quickly reached a verbal agreement with the Indiana Pacers, with the Trail Blazers sending Brandon Rush and Jared Jack to the Pacers, with the latter paying the price for their No. 11 rookies, Jerry Bayless and Eke Diogu.
The frequent trades shocked the rookies, except for the talents in the small green room who have long been used as the cornerstone of the team building by various teams, the other rookies are all in danger, and no one knows where they will go in the next moment.
Right after the draft, the rookies began to appreciate the brutality of the professional league, which was manifested in the unfriendly commercial operation on the one hand, and the treatment of fire and ice on the other: reporters gathered in front of the second-round show to get first-hand trade news, and the lottery show was surrounded by reporters to talk about it.
Beasley stood in front of the most people, because this guy had the biggest mouth and dared to say anything:
"I'm very happy to be a part of the Heat. While I'm not a top scorer, trust me, the Heat got a really amazing player, a very hard worker, a genius rebounding monster, a player with dominating power. Let the fans enjoy this moment, any team should be very happy at this moment......"
When a reporter heard Beasley call himself a rebounding monster, he began to set him up: "You say you're a genius rebounder? That's a bit of an exaggeration, because this is the NBA, not the NCAA, and you should know that there is only one talented rebounder in the NBA, and that's SUPER-Z! ”
Beasley is simple-minded and rebellious, in fact, he doesn't need to talk about Chamberlain, and now that the reporters are on it, he is faster: "SUPER-Z? Who is he? Doesn't he have a name? I don't want to say anything too much, because it would make people think I'm a big talker, so wait and see, you guys, wait for the new season, and I'll show SUPER-Z how good I am! I'll help the Heat, and winning the championship will be a breeze! ”
Durant, who was next to him, was almost frightened when he heard Beasley's words, he hurriedly pushed away the reporter and pulled Beasley out, and scolded in a low voice: "Idiot, when will you grow a little?" Talk less in front of reporters, didn't I tell you, come to the NBA to eat more steak and talk less! FUCK YOU WANT TO TEACH SUPER-Z A LESSON? Do you know that your eldest brother and I were almost killed by him? ”
Only Durant, who is in the same grade as Chamberlain, knows how terrifying this guy is, and he is glad that he is on the same team as Chamberlain at the All-Star Game, otherwise they would definitely be killed very badly.
Beasley was not convinced, and pouted: "Big brother, you are afraid of a bird, who can stop us brothers when we join forces?" Just like when we were at Oak Hill High School, none of us were afraid! ”
"Join a fart hand, you're in the East and I'm in the West, you're the Heat, I'm the SuperSonics, ah, no, it should be the Thunder, in short, we're not on the same team!" Durant criticized Beasley vigorously, and at this moment, Beasley, who was once unruly, became a good boy, he just laughed and didn't refute.
Beasley and Durant are good brothers, and their relationship is very, very good, although they are not brothers, but they are better than brothers.
The two have known each other since they were 11 years old, playing together on a junior team in Maryland, and the geniuses always cherish each other, and it didn't take long for the two to become hardcores. Beasley's parents were very irresponsible, and Durant's mother took care of the two children, and for a long time afterward, the two children ate at the same table and slept in the same bed, calling the same woman 'Mommy'.
Later, both Durant and Beasley grew up almost identically. Both men were their freshmen at National Christian College in Washington, D.C., and then transferred to Oak Hill College in Virginia for their juniors, both of whom were MVPs of the McDonald's All-American Star Game. In college, the University of Texas, where Durant plays, and Kansas State University, where Beasley attends, are both teams in the Big 12 League, and both of them only played for a year before entering the NBA as the top picks.
Compared to Beasley, Rose is much older, and he doesn't like to speak more silently, in the face of reporters' interviews, he simply said: "The Bulls are a very great team, it is an honor to inherit the MJ flag, and I will do my best to help the Bulls." ”
Reporters were clearly unhappy with Rose's conservative statement, with some questioning the Bulls general manager, "Did you pick the wrong guy?" Derrick Rose is also too introverted, how can such a person become the leader of the Bulls, and how can he lead this team to shape the glory of the past? ”
Professional managers are obviously very disgusted by the reporter's behavior of sowing discord, so Bulls head coach Ga Foreman said coldly: "It's our own business who chooses to be the champion, what does it have to do with you?" What's more, everyone knows that Derek is a man of action, and he only speaks with actions. ”
Although Zhuang Yuanlang and Bangyanxiu surrounded many people, the focus of the scene was not the two of them, but a pair of twin brothers, that is, the Lopez brothers.
The twin brothers are eye-catching, both 2.13 meters tall and graduated from prestigious Stanford University, and were picked by the Nets and Suns in the first round at the draft, respectively, No. 10 and No. 15. Among them, the elder brother Brook Lopez will become Yi Jianlian's teammate in New Jersey, and the younger brother Robin Lopez will go to Phoenix to play for O'Neal and Xiaosi.
They were the first brothers in NBA history to be drafted in the first round in the same year, and since then, the twin brothers, who have been practicing basketball together since childhood, and have played until the NCAA, will go their separate ways in the NBA.
The Lopez family was invited to the draft and hugged Brook Lopez's name tightly when Stern read it out. Robin didn't wait too long and put on a Suns hat and went on stage to shake Stern's hand. The night belonged to Rose, Beasley, Mayo, and the happy Lopez family.
Speaking to reporters, Brook Lopez said: "I would feel weird, I don't remember the last time we played against each other on the court, but I know that sooner or later something like this will happen. Now I'm ready for that. I think it's going to be a new experience, and I've been saying I'm tough, so life in the NBA is going to be a test. Anything, as long as it doesn't make me desperate, only makes me stronger. ”
Brook Lopez, who has a nimble foot and excellent low-post offensive skills, averaged 19 points and eight rebounds per game in the NCAA last season, making him Stanford's biggest asset. The Nets also have high hopes for him and Yi Jianlian's frontcourt combination. Although the Nets are trying to free up salary space in 2010 to attract James, Wade or Bosh, they still see Brook Lopez and Yi Jianlian as the kind of young players with great potential, hoping that they can fight for New Jersey and keep spectators at Continental Airlines Arena after Kidd and Jefferson are gone.
Robin Lopez's stats aren't very outstanding, averaging 10 points and five rebounds per game last season. Unlike his older brother, who likes to kill on the inside, he specializes in defense and has made a total of 156 blocks in his two-year NCAA career.
In addition, Robin Lopez, although he has a lot of inferior abilities, attracts more reporters, because his girlfriend is an absolute star on the golf course - Korean beauty Wei Shengmei.
At the age of 11, she became the youngest winner in the history of the Hawaii Women's Amateur Championship, and since then she has made frequent appearances in various golf tournaments. At the end of last year, Forbes magazine announced the latest edition of the list of female rising stars under the age of 25, and the rising star in the golf world caught up with tennis beauty Sharapova with an annual income of 19 million US dollars.
For such an important matter as her boyfriend's participation in the draft, Wei Shengmei of course also came to the scene, and because of her, several people also had conflicts.