As soon as I arrived at school, I met Sakuragi.

This semester's rampage at the American High School, coupled with Peyton's incessant blowing wind in his ears, Sakuragi Hanamichi has more and more confidence in himself.

I heard that Lin Dong was going to participate in this year's NBA draft, so he wanted to try it too.

Frankly speaking, Lin Dong felt a little early.

From August last year to April this year, for most of the year, the height of Sakuragi Hanamichi continued to jump, and this guy grew 6CM taller...... Today, the Sakuragi Ikebana is 203 centimeters long.

Compared to his height of 200 cm at the beginning of the year, but he has not grown since then, Lin Dong is a little envious.

On the court, under the condition of ensuring one's athletic ability, every extra centimeter that can be grown will have an advantage of one centimeter.

Fortunately, for a No. 3 position, a height of 200 cm is enough, and maybe after entering the NBA, he can slowly grow a centimeter or two in a year or two, which will be more perfect.

However, Sakuragi is different, his height is still growing rapidly, and based on the No. 4 position he plays, 203 cm is really a little short for a power forward.

At the same time, the No. 4 position is a position that emphasizes physical confrontation in itself, with Sakuragi Hanamichi's current physical strength, it is good to deal with high school students, but to pull to the NBA arena to face those real fighters, there is almost no other way out except to gain muscle and weight, and once he starts to gain muscle and weight, it is likely to affect his final height......

Lin Dong talked to Sakuragi Hanamichi once about this issue, and suggested that he go to the NBA a year later, as long as he is in the superSonics, he can still come to the arena to practice.

But apparently, this guy didn't listen to his own advice.

"Oh, it's okay, Brother Gaoren!" Sakuragi Hanamichi laughed and patted his chest, and said nonchalantly: "My adaptability is super strong, Payton said that this year's supersonic has two first-round picks, and the certainty of signing me is relatively large, if you wait for next year, if you play well, there are no high-ranking draft picks in the new season, then I may not be able to come to the supersonics, I like it here!" ”

"Allah Allah, Payton also said, my rookie season will not allow me to gain muscle and weight, just let me adapt to the NBA with the team, the team can give me a year of growth, and then talk about it next year!"

Lin Dong looked at him with a smile and a smile.

"Are you having some trouble at home?" Lin Dong felt that this guy's choice might be related to money, but Sakuragi said it all to this, and Peyton promised not to let Sakuragi gain muscle and weight within a year, so it was okay, so he didn't persuade him more, and only said: "If you need money, tell me at any time, you know, I have so much money that I can't find a place to spend it." ”

"Hahaha, last time my mother was hospitalized, you borrowed a lot of money from me, Brother Gaoren, you know, I'll tell you something!" Sakuragi Hanamichi's voice didn't sound like there was anything wrong, but it made Lin Dong stop thinking about it.

"Let's go, let's hand in the application form together!"

Also with Rukawa Kaede.

In the past six months, although Rukawa Kaede has found a lot of presence in Meigao, to be honest, he has also encountered a lot of setbacks in supersonic.

He practiced with the SuperSonics, and although he had just formed, most of the members of this team in the Development League were still NBA draft players.

Most of them are second-round picks, but there are also some low-pick first-round picks, who did not perform well in the NBA last year and faced layoffs, so as soon as the major teams began to form subordinate teams, they naturally signed up to join.

can't mix in the NBA, but it doesn't mean that their ball skills are not good, at least in the United States, they are all ruthless characters who can kill a piece.

Training with these people, and without Lin Dong who can help him carry things, Rukawa Kaede's advantage in Meigao naturally no longer exists, and he is at a level where he can barely keep up with the rear of the car when he plays well.

Therefore, whether it is the superSonics, or the team's coach Bob, or Lin Dong, the advice to Rukawa Kaede is to hone for another year, but Coach Anzai actively encourages him to participate in this year's draft.

Coach Anzai has been calling from time to time for most of the year, and occasionally flies over to see them, and he still knows a lot about the situation of Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi Hanamichi.

In the eyes of Coach Anzai, participating in this year's draft has two advantages for Rukawa Kaede, one is the age advantage, after all, he is only 18 years old this year, NBA's assessment of rookies, age is also an important criterion for potential, at the same time, this session has Lin Dong and Sakuragi Hanamichi, so Rukawa Kaede will not be so lonely when participating in the open trial, and having a foil around you during the trial may not only cover up some of your shortcomings, but also help you adjust your mentality.

And more importantly, Coach Anzai can see that Rukawa Kaede doesn't have much potential to tap in high school.

In the past year, Rukawa Kaede has followed Lin Dong's advice to practice ball control and projection, and now his performance in these two aspects is quite outstanding, the outside 3 points are very accurate, and the ball control ability is not bad.

However, limited by height and weight, and limited by his athletic talent, it is difficult for him to make any progress in high school training.

To put it bluntly, his potential in high school has been tapped, and his physical talent is not enough to support him to practice any new methods.

If you want to improve, it is nothing more than to gain muscle and weight, strengthen the training of physical confrontation, and secondly, work defense and develop in the direction of 3D players as Lin Dong said.

And none of this can be done in a high-level team like the Space Needle.

Therefore, in Coach Anzai's view, even if Rukawa Kaede trains hard for another year and his strength increases from 8.0 to 8.2, his performance is not obvious, not enough to produce qualitative changes, but will lose his one-year age advantage, lose the help of familiar teammates around him, etc., in fact, it will be more difficult than him to run for election this year.

As for losing the election, if they all fail this year, then next year's result will not change much.

According to NBA regulations, a lost draft can no longer participate in the second year of the draft, but he can go to an NBA team as a free agent to negotiate a signing, and at the level of Rukawa Kaede, he can find a team in the development league, such as the supersonic subordinate team he is training now.

Coach Anxi is thinking that even if he doesn't want this old face anymore, he will have to ask Lin Dong for a favor...... With Lin Dong's current status in the SuperSonics, as long as he is signed by the SuperSonics this year, it is really just a matter of words to get Rukawa Kaede to the subordinate team of the SuperSonics to be a substitute.

Don't underestimate these league subordinate teams, they are basically cultivated as the reserve of the home team, the training conditions are definitely not bad, at least a few grades higher than the school conditions of the United States High School, and there are also development league games with good intensity, if you can survive here, then there is still a chance to stand on the NBA court......

Before submitting the application, the three of them were a little excited, but after submitting it, they felt bored.

It's just a matter of filling out a form and handing it to the school, and it's done in 3 minutes.

But there is another program today, the ownership of the champion sign, and the TNT Sports Channel will broadcast the whole process.

This year's NBA, whether in the Dragon Kingdom or the United States, can be said to have set off a wave of enthusiasm.

Jordan's comeback in October injected a shot of strength into the U.S. ball market, and even the entire U.S. stock market rose as a result, which shows its appeal and influence.

On the side of the Dragon Kingdom, Yao Ming joined the Wizards, and the Qiao Ming combination formed with Jordan also made the Dragon Kingdom audience excited, and the domestic NBA ratings once exceeded 3%, and 30 million people were online at the same time, far better than the 1.8% rating set by Lin Dong in the World Championships.

It's a pity that the results are mediocre......

Da Yao, who has just entered the league, is obviously a little uncomfortable with the intensity of the NBA, although he has occasionally performed amazingly, and has also played gorgeous statistics of 19 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks, but the overall performance is not stable, especially the lack of confrontation on the inside, which makes him quite criticized and controversial.

And even more difficult, because he is on the same team as Jordan, the basketball god is too demanding of his teammates......

Scolding teammates, any mistake may become a reason to be sprayed, and because he just arrived in the NBA, his English speaking level is insufficient, which makes Da Yao's communication with teammates on the court also have some problems, too much ineffective communication, which is obviously a point that makes the basketball god even more unhappy.

This Wizards is not the Rockets in history, they did not give Da Yao such full training, and they did not have the crotch pull of Rocket Thomas in history to give him the opportunity to start, but under Jordan's strength, until the end of the regular season, he was still sitting on the bench.

The data of 7.5 points and 3.6 blocks per game made the American media once call Da Yao the most watery.

In the middle of the season, there were rumors in the media that Jordan wanted to pressure the Wizards management to trade Da Yao, although it did not become a reality in the end, it was enough to see that Da Yao's life in the Wizards was not easy.

Fortunately, the god of basketball is still strong.

In the entire regular season, he averaged 29.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game, not only leading the Wizards to the playoffs in fourth place in the East, but also beating Kidd with 25.6% of the votes, second only to Tim Duncan 26.13%, ranking second in the regular season MVP nomination, and almost completing the feat of winning the MVP again after his second comeback......

The American media naturally praised the performance of the basketball god, but in Lin Dong's eyes, history has obviously changed.

He may not remember other people's injuries clearly, but Lin Dong knows everything about Jordan, the god of basketball, in the history of the world.

Historically, he was supposed to miss 20 games midway through the regular season with a knee injury caused by a collision with Thomas, and after that, his form plummeted, and the Wizards ultimately missed the playoffs in the 01-02 season.

Can ...... now

Sometimes seeing Jordan spraying Da Yao in the media, Lin Dong actually couldn't help but sigh, the god of basketball is really the wrong person this time, if Da Yao hadn't changed history, the god of basketball at this time may have missed the playoffs, Da Yao should be his lucky star.

Now the Wizards are also one of the favorite teams in the playoffs, ranking second in the league in attendance, regardless of record and popularity.

And under Jordan's poisonous tongue and high requirements, how far can Da Yao go in the NBA, is he stronger than in his previous life, or can't he reach the height of his previous life?

Lin Dong is actually quite optimistic about this.

He and Da Yao talked on the phone a few times, and he felt that his mentality was quite good, and Da Yao's words also impressed him.

- I'm standing here as the champion, and I've received a lot of attention, and I represent the Dragon Kingdom behind me, and I represent the expectations of hundreds of millions of fans, and I was swept away by others in their expectations? The Dragon Kingdom can't afford to lose this person, and I will never allow that to happen, even if it is death!

Da Yao is only 21 years old now, and the things on this guy's body are too heavy, which is actually an emotion that is difficult to understand for the people of the Dragon Kingdom who are from 2028 and have absolute confidence.

But Lin Dong could feel that Da Yao was serious.

Dragon players have grown up in setbacks, and there are too many things they have experienced to get to this point, coupled with the pressure they are carrying, words like happy basketball have nothing to do with them at all.

So not to mention the technology, but the mentality and endurance are not at all on the same level as the rookies in the United States who have passed a smooth high school and college invincible career, and then entered the draft with full personality.

And with the blessing of such a mentality, if there is any newcomer in this world who can withstand Jordan's poisonous tongue, Lin Dong feels that there is probably only Da Yao.

However, compared to the wizards who have little intersection with themselves for the time being, the team participating in the champion lottery today is the main event.

The SuperSonics have the league's bottom-to-last record and will have a 25% chance of getting the top pick, followed by the Phoenix Suns.

In addition, there are 14 teams including the Golden State Warriors, Grizzlies, Nuggets, Rockets, Bulls, and Cavaliers who will participate in today's first-round pick.

In the evening, the office of the supersonic arena was also full early.

The host took out the 14 table tennis balls numbered 1-14, put them in a container, and randomly drew 4 balls from the 14 balls, regardless of the number of sorts, a total of 1001 combinations can be produced, and after removing the combination of 11-12-13-14, there are exactly 1000 kinds left.

The SuperSonics, who are the league's penultimate record, have a 25% chance of winning the top pick with 250 permutations, and the second-to-last has 199 combinations with a 19.9% chance, while the best of the 14 teams has only 5 combinations, with only a 0.5% chance.

can see on TV, the expression of supersonic boss Schulz is very solemn.

It's rotten, but in the end, whether there is a champion or not depends on luck.

Peyton, Chandler, Sakuragi Hanamichi, Yua and others all looked a little nervous in front of the TV, and even Lin Dong, who had always been calm when the sky fell, stared at the screen tightly.

SuperSonics is undoubtedly the best choice for him at the moment, after all, he has been running in with SuperSonics for a whole year in training and various intra-team games, he knows this team well enough, and he is becoming more and more comfortable with Payton, plus the team has long had the idea of building a team with him as the absolute core, which can most effectively help him through his rookie season in the NBA.

But if the champion sign is obtained by someone else...... Although Schulz will definitely spend a lot of money to dig himself back, it will not only be a loss of money, but even some of the team's precious assets to weaken his own team, this kind of thing, foolish.

Fortunately......

“9—14—3—8！” When the host read out the numbers on the table tennis ball, Schulz at the scene let out a long sigh of relief.

And the supersonic people in front of the TV cheered.

Peyton laughed and stretched out his hand to Lin Dong: "Brother, we will be teammates in the future!" ”

Lin Dong said with a smile: "The public trial hasn't started yet. ”

Everyone was stunned, and then Peyton laughed: "Don't worry, even if you don't do anything during the public tryout, sleep the whole time, and no one is a dick, you will definitely be the champion of this year!" ”

(End of chapter)