Chapter 141 140.2006 Draft
As the team entered the draft month, Zhang Yang and Felton continued to train their shooting under the guidance of Chip Englander, and were occasionally pulled in to help with tryouts.

Zhang Yang practiced slowly and patiently, but Felton couldn't sit still after practicing for a few days. When he saw Jordan coming to watch the draft tryout, he ran to learn techniques, but was yelled back with a reply, "You XX, practice your damn free throws first."

Zhang Yang is pretty good at free throws, with a free throw percentage of 82% in his rookie year and a steady 90%+ in training.

Felton was in a terrible situation, with a free throw percentage of 70% in his rookie year and barely 80% in training.

However, after Jordan criticized Felton with a player's mentality, he switched to a boss's mentality and said, "If you can't make 85 free throws in training after the draft, I will only take Jack and Gerald to special training in the summer." This ignited Felton's fighting spirit and he started training like crazy.

In terms of tryouts, the 11 draft participants are only the first batch of players tried out by the Bobcats, and they are their first choice targets, the back line players.

No. 3 and No. 5 had two more tryouts.

The No. 3 tryout target is the inside line. Okafor and Perkins will be responsible for the test. The former will test their defense and the latter will test their offense. This is the second choice. If the intended guard is intercepted by other teams, then the inside substitute will be given priority.

The tryout on the 5th was a non-invitation tryout, which was for people sent in by agents.

Zhang Yang learned from Bickerstaff that the relationship between the team and the agents is very complicated. During the tryout, if one wants to try out a talented player under a certain agent, he or she has to accept the other party sending less popular players to try out.

However, this is also an opportunity for teams to get in touch with players they have never paid attention to, and maybe they will find the players they want.

This time, the one helping the team with the tryouts was Gerald Wallace.

The subsequent individual tryouts and second tryouts were all conducted by players of the same position among the five of them to help test for the draft… Zhang Yang was called in the most times, and he would also be asked to watch the inside tryouts. Bickerstaff liked to listen to his opinions, especially when asking other players who helped with the tryouts for their opinions. The other players could not say anything clear, but Zhang Yang, the youngest, could.

Zhang Yang discovered one thing. The coaching staff did not ask other players to help with the tryouts. It was normal for their four core players to come. As for Perkins, is he going to become the main center?

In the playoffs, Perkins' role was not as strong as Blazek in most cases. As a 218 cm tall man, he moved well and could score, so he was still very useful.

But considering that Perkins is 21 years old, there is enough room for growth, and Brezek is about to turn 27 and has reached the end of his career, so it is not impossible.

Zhang Yang heard that Bickerstaff would be in charge of the team's reinforcements this summer, and that there were no high draft picks, so the boss was not interested in making a move... He was still very relieved.

When Bickerstaff was working for the SuperSonics around the 90s, he made bold moves to sign Kemp and Payton, helping the SuperSonics lay the foundation for dominating the Western Conference for the next decade.

After being fired by the SuperSonics, he went to the Nuggets and signed Mutombo, helping the Nuggets lay the foundation for the black eight victory over the SuperSonics.

With this resume in hand, it would be easy for Bickerstaff to do minor repairs as long as his boss was kind enough to do so.

...

On June 6, Zhang Yang celebrated his 6th birthday. He received a "birthday gift" from Felton, a car for transportation. It was not particularly expensive and was about the same price as the watch he gave him.

Zhang Yang felt good. If he gave Felton a gift worth 3 yuan and Felton returned him a gift worth 6 yuan, it would become a vicious cycle.

Zhang Yang also bought two cars, one for himself and one for his mother. Now, if he is in the city, he plans to drive the car given by Xiao Fei Lao Da, and he gave the car given to himself to his father.

After receiving the car keys, Zhang Chen turned back to the room with an expressionless face, leaving Zhang Yang confused.

After a while, Yang Jing quietly came to tell her eldest son: Your father was so moved in there that he was crying. He wouldn't let me go when I wanted to come out because he was afraid that I would tell you and he would lose face.

Zhang Yang was embarrassed and decided not to tell his father the truth... He remembered that he gave his father a birthday present every year!
Dad is 39 years old, he needs a razor, 40 years old, he needs a razor, 41 years old, he needs a razor… He’s almost 42 years old, so it’s time to buy him a tie!
On June 6, the finals kicked off. After Zhang Yang finished his training every day, the happiest thing was to wait in front of the TV for the live broadcast.

The Heat defeated the Pistons, who had dominated the Eastern Conference for the past two years, 4-2 and advanced to the finals.

The Mavericks defeated the Suns 4-2 and met the Heat in the finals, avenging their defeat in the second round of last season. Nowitzki and Nash, the former good friends, each defeated the other once.

In the first two games of the finals, the Heat were beaten by the Mavericks, losing by 1 points in G10 and 2 points in G14. The situation of the Heat was very bad.

Wade felt so comfortable playing against Rasheed Wallace, who weighed 110 kg, and Ben Wallace, who weighed 109 kg. The two had to focus on locking down O'Neal and could only use assist defense against Wade. Of course, Wade was able to make use of this, which was his ability, but it would be hard to say for others.

But the Mavericks' center...

首发中锋德萨盖纳-迪奥普，04-05赛季场均1分1.8板，但他就是能得到一份两年400万美刀全额保障合同，因为他有213公分+136公斤的大吨位。

The backup center Eric Dampier, 211 cm tall and 120 kg, is also a large center. After Diop went to consume O'Neal, Dampier was able to face O'Neal when he came on the court.

In fact, these two players cannot defend O'Neal alone, but they can limit O'Neal's number of shots and consume O'Neal's physical strength, which is enough. The Pistons need two Wallaces to do it together.

When O'Neal's restraining effect decreased, Wade had a hard time facing the Mavericks' explosive outside line. He made 25 of 11 shots in the first game, and his shooting performance plummeted to 19 of 6 in the second game.

On June 6, in the third game of the finals, as Zhang Yang expected, the whistle came again... Wade made 14 free throws in a single game, and the Heat scored 18 to 31 in the final quarter, reversing the Mavericks 19 to 98 and narrowing the score to 96 to 1.

Zhang Yang didn't watch the next three games, he just focused on the scores.

In fact, the referee called the call "no problem". Every time Wade stepped onto the free throw line, the opponent did commit a substantial foul on Wade.

However, when O'Neal made the same defense against Josh Howard who broke into the inside, Josh Howard didn't hear the whistle.

Of course, if the whistle is blown tighter, such a huge disadvantage can be reversed, which is also a very difficult thing. In the future, the league has used this method to promote several potential stars, but Wade is the only one who can win the championship by this method.

时间来到6月19号，韦德18投10中，加上21中16的罚球，拿到36分10板5助攻3抢断4盖帽，率领热火队以95比92击败小牛队，热火队连赢4场，以4比2击败小牛队拿下队史首个总冠军，韦德加冕总决赛MVP，成为21世纪进入NBA的球员里的首个FMVP。

This championship became another controversial championship after the 01-02 season championship. Wade was nicknamed "73 Wade" in the United States, and fans used it to "praise" his free throw performance in the last 4 games of the finals; in China, Wade was nicknamed "Hairy Wade" and his European step was also called "Eighteen Falls with a Touch of Clothes."

Time flies and it is June 6th. Zhang Yang's training has come to a temporary end.

Jordan asked him to rest for a few days and would take him, Felton and Gerald Wallace for special training after the draft.

During this period, under the guidance of Englander, a top shooting coach, Zhang Yang's three-point shooting has improved greatly, from 67 to 70, officially entering the stage of 'being able to shoot three-pointers' from 'knowing how to shoot three-pointers'. There are still three months left in the offseason, and he hopes that by the time he is in his second year, three-pointers can become a regular shooting method.

England told Zhang Yang that the obvious improvement in just 20 days was largely due to the fact that he had been shooting three-pointers on the court for most of the season, and he did it with his heart. His body and brain knew how to adjust the details of the force.

This is something that a trainer as a bystander cannot guide.

Relatively speaking, the improvement in mid-range shooting is not that obvious. For most players, an 80+ mid-range shooting is a level that they will never be able to achieve in their lifetime. It requires longer training and more patience.

Another area that has seen significant improvement is ball control, which has risen from 86 to 88.

Unlike other shooting coaches who only teach players to shoot, Engelland attaches great importance to players' shooting-related techniques. To support single-handed shooting, the ball must be controlled first, so he is also very good at guiding ball control. What Engelland likes most about Zhang Yang is not how talented he is, but that he does not make random suggestions or be stubborn when he does not understand something. There are many NBA players who do not listen to him, and even if they agree, they pretend to listen but do not do it.

As for Felton, half of his shooting training this month was free throws. When Jordan came to watch his free throw test in the afternoon, he made 5, 87, 88, 85 and 82 free throws in 80 sets, which barely satisfied Jordan, who agreed to take him to special training.

Zhang Yang felt that the fat little boss was really a good horse... No, it was a good horse... No, anyway, if he was given a little sweetness, he would work hard.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yang became very worried. In two years, when Bickerstaff, who is already over 60 years old and feels that his body can no longer bear the high workload of being the general manager and head coach, and plans to retire, what will happen when the older senior comes?

In his previous life, Zhang Yang watched an interview with Felton, in which he revealed the reason why he rejected the good salary offered by Jordan and went to another team for a lower salary - he was called a "son of a bitch", a "fat pig", and a "stinky loach" by Larry Brown, which were still "nice to hear". There were many more nasty and insulting words, and he was not satisfied that he could not play like Iverson and Billups.

It is better to give more praise to Boss Joe, and pay attention to which great coaches in the league want to change jobs, and go to Boss Joe to praise him...

On the 27th, Zhang Yang took a day off, and at night he watched the live broadcast of the talent show in front of the TV.

He is looking forward to this draft, not who his team will choose.

Having participated in so many tryout meetings, he knows who the candidates are. Of course, if the team makes a trade and the draft pick position changes, it may be beyond his expectations.

What he is looking forward to is that the Bobcats no longer have a high draft pick, so who will get the 'modern Bird'?

At 8 o'clock, the draft began.

The Raptors unexpectedly selected Andrea Bargnani, the 'Italian Nowitzki', with the first pick.

In the 05-06 season, Bargnani averaged 12 points and 6 rebounds in Serie A. When he was less than 21 years old, he signed up for the NBA draft and received a lot of attention from many teams. He was predicted to be selected in the top five, but his selection as the No. pick still made the commentators exclaim.

Aldridge is the one with the highest voice for the No. 1 pick, and no one can even be compared with him.

The Knicks won the second pick, but they gave away multiple draft picks or draft pick swaps in the trade for Eddy Curry, and the Bulls couldn't wait to use the second pick to select Radmarcus Aldridge.

The Bulls declared during the tryout phase that they did not want a scoring center, as they already had enough scorers. People thought they meant they would not choose Bargnani, but in fact, they did not want Aldridge either.

However, grabbing Aldridge is the option to maximize the value of the second pick, and many teams are begging to trade with them.

Soon after the Hawks used the No. 3 pick to select Duke University swingman Shelden Williams, the Bulls and Trail Blazers completed a deal, getting the No. 4 pick, some cash, two future second-round picks, and the signing rights of CSKA star Viktor Kriappa from the Trail Blazers, and used the No. 4 pick to select their favorite defensive power forward Terrence Thomas.

Finally, with the 5th pick, the Celtics took the shot and selected Adam Morrison.

Zhang Yang smacked his lips when he saw the result. Just as the media had predicted, without the intervention of Boss Joe, the 'modern Bird' was eventually selected by the Celtics. He felt a little regretful that no other owner had the vision of their team owner.

Since the draft month began, Boston has been calling on the Celtics to select Morrison online every day. If Morrison falls to the fifth pick and the Celtics do not select him, Ainge will definitely be scolded to the point of resigning.

Bird's status in the hearts of Boston fans is unmatched by any superstar in the history of the Celtics, including Russell.

Zhang Yang yawned as he looked at the dozen or so draft picks behind. He had no impression of many of the players who walked onto the stage, not even their names. The talent of the 06 class was indeed the least in recent years, only slightly better than the 00 class.

Finally, when it came to the 20th pick in the first round, Zhang Yang perked up.

The team's first choice, Thabo Sefolosha, was taken early in the lottery, so their first choice is point guard.

After Farmar's first tryout, he was passed over in the meeting and was not invited for a second tryout.

The only targets left are Rondo and Lowry.

Three minutes later, Stern returned to the stage and read out "Rajon Rondo of the University of Kentucky."

Zhang Yang clapped his hands and stood up, scaring the little Monkey King beside him so much that he also stood up and clapped his hands.

Zhang Yang sighed that the general manager was worthy of being bold enough to take the risk of choosing Kemp and Payton. His approach was indeed wild!
In 89, when Kemp participated in the draft, no one was optimistic about him.

He graduated from high school in 88 and could have gone to the University of Kentucky, but was expelled for stealing. He then spent a year in a vocational school and never played a decent game because that vocational school was not recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. In 89, when Kemp, who was 20 years old, participated in the draft, the NBA did not recognize his college status and marked him as a high school student, but Bickerstaff boldly selected him.

Before the 90 draft, Payton was not among the top three picks. Although Payton won the title of "Best College Student in the United States", he was too thin. He was 22 years old, 193 cm tall, but only 82 kg, which made teams question whether he could withstand the intensity of NBA games.

Denis Scott, Muhammad Lauf, and Kendall Gill are all more suitable choices, and their strength is worthy of the top three picks... Those three did perform better than Payton in their rookie season, two averaging 15+ per game, and one averaging 11+3+3.

But Bickerstaff chose Payton against all odds, forming the Glove + Rainman combination.

On the Bobcats side, during several tryout meetings, everyone, including Jordan, felt that Lowry was a more suitable choice.

After all, several core players of their team are young and their adaptability is not as good as those mature stars.

Moreover, they will have relatively large changes in role players this year. By selecting a backup point guard whose style is similar to Felton, whether it is the other three core players, the role players who stay on the team, or the new role players, the time spent in the running-in phase will be less, and there will be no need to adapt to the playing styles of two point guards with different styles.

Also, they tried out Rondo three times in total, and during the second try, Rondo almost got into a fight with Zhang Yang... If Zhang Yang hadn't pinned Rondo to the floor, a fight would have really broken out.

Zhang Yang felt a little regretful for not choosing Lowry. It would be so reassuring to have two little cannons around him.

But Rondo is not bad either! I wonder if the current Rondo has the same basketball IQ as Coach Rondo.

After the 20th pick, Zhang Yang's expectations for the second round were not that high. Among the inside players they tried out, the only one who might drop to the 50th pick was Ryan Hollins... In his memory, this was a successful player who played in the NBA for 10 years, but what he remembered about this Hollins was not how great Hollins was, but that he was dirty, so dirty that it was outrageous.

Just choose it. If Bowen dares to attack their players, let Hollins deal with Bowen... I feel a little excited when I think about it.

Although Perkins looks like someone who does that kind of thing, he is a candidate for the starting center after all and cannot be used as a consumable.

Soon, the draft progressed to the second round. Just when Zhang Yang thought they were going to pick Hollins, at the 40th pick in the second round, a trade was made! A trade with the Bobcats!
The Bobcats sent out Brezek, the 50th overall pick in the second round, and the 07 second-round pick to the Spurs in exchange for Nazr Mohammed and the 40th overall pick in the second round!
Then, the Bobcats used the 40th pick in the second round to select Paul Millsap, who was praised by Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace and Okafor!

……

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(End of this chapter)