Chapter 85 84. The second part of the draft
Originally, the logo man didn't necessarily have to compete with the Lakers.

If the Lakers had not traded the 16th pick, they would not necessarily have selected Zhang Yang at the 19th pick.

Based on Kupchak's understanding of the Lakers, this deal was definitely not what this disciple wanted to do.

Kupchak will definitely compete for it, but he won't do something that would hurt each other. If he doesn't pay attention to Tellem's hype, his pick won't be that high.

They are the brother and sister who usually fight with each other but unite when they meet the logo man.

Then he would have to compete hard, with the 19th pick, plus a second-round pick, and then do a favor, and he could get the Nets to help him select someone with the 15th pick.

It happened to be the first pick, which made the brother and sister very angry.

At the draft, Stern shook hands with Channing Frye, who was selected with the 8th pick. Dolan smashed the table for 2 minutes and 58 seconds, and gave the spare envelope to the staff in the last two seconds.

If he couldn't get his own talented high school center, he would just get someone else's. Dolan turned his attention back to Chicago. Before he saw Bynum's talent, that guy was his dream striker.

As for Zhang Yang, Dolan didn't even go to watch his tryout. Their team has Marbury, Jamal Crawford, and a bunch of people on the bench, so they don't have time to train guards.

Warriors general manager Chris Mullin hesitated for a long time and finally handed the envelope with Ike Diogu's name on it to the staff.

Originally, Mullin had already decided to choose Diogu. He guessed that it was just hype from Tellem, but the Lakers traded the 16th pick in return, and it seemed that Tellem was not lying... In the past few minutes, his mind was full of the next Kobe Bryant.

The envelope was taken away and Mullin felt lost.

He said to his assistant and head coach: "I want to be crazy once, but if I use the ninth pick to select a 9-year-old high school student, spend four years to train him into an excellent player, and finally watch him leave, I will go crazy... I know this idea sounds stupid, but this is what happens to us every year."

The Raptors selected the eyebrowless hero Villanueva with the 10th pick. This was the player they planned to select from the beginning, a 211 cm power forward. After they sent Carter away in December last year, they began to build the team around Bosh... Currently, Bosh plays mainly as a center, scoring mainly in the interior, and does not shoot from the outside.

The Magic selected Spanish center Fran Vazquez with the 11th pick. Vazquez's performance at the 04 Olympics impressed the Magic management. After Howard showed his talent in his rookie season, the Magic prepared to give up Francis and Grant Hill and build the team around Howard and Turkoglu. This well-rounded white European power forward is very suitable to partner with the two.

It is worth mentioning that Vazquez did not come to the draft site, and he did not actively sign up for the NBA draft. He automatically participated when he reached the age.

When it came to the 12th pick, the Clippers' draft pick, the commentators on major TV stations became excited.

Will Baylor stab his old club in the back?
In 96, Baylor did not select Kobe with the 7th pick, and it is said that Sterling later pointed at his nose and insulted him.

Now the Lakers have responded to the logo man's statement that they will select Zhang Yang with the 19th pick, and have put the matter of snatching Zhang Yang on the table. Will Baylor intercept him or not?

If it is a steal, it would be crazy for a high school student who just turned 17 and is less than a month old to be selected in the lottery.

If Zhang Yang fails, Baylor will probably be fired by Sterling.

But if he didn't intercept, the Lakers would spend a few years to train another superstar... No, even if it was just an All-Star, Baylor would probably be fired by Sterling.

A Chinese high school student who is so controversial, if he can grow into an All-Star, his commercial value will be amazing.

Although the probability is low, it is not impossible.

The commentator joked that the old teammates were competing with their old club, putting Baylor in a situation where he was doomed either way.

Soon, the Clippers' selection results came out. They chose a Russian small forward named Yaroslav Korolev. Not many people in front of the TV knew him. He was only 18 years old and played in the Western Second Division.

The commentators were greatly disappointed. The record for the youngest lottery pick in history would be set at Bynum's age of 17 years and 8 months.

But after the complaints, the small forward was introduced very professionally, and compared with Nowitzki who was in the German 2nd Bundesliga before entering the NBA... A white European forward with technical skills, Nowitzki was the chosen template.

In the Clippers draft office, Baylor said to the head coach: "We don't need to participate in the competition between those two teams. We haven't tried out that high school student. There is no need to take that risk. Let's choose the European forward you like."

Dunleavy really wanted to complain: Are you trying to put the blame on me? Who mentioned that high school student?
But he felt that Baylor was quite pitiful. He had been the general manager of the Clippers for more than ten years, but his salary was not as high as that of the head coach.

Look at the fortune teller, the logo man, and the villain Popovich, their annual salaries are all tens of millions of US dollars.

Dunleavy thinks he should just take the blame. He has already signed a 4-year, $2100 million contract extension. What can Sterling do to him?

At the 13th pick, the Bobcats made their selection.

The commentator was not in high spirits, and the audience in front of the TV was also in a state of adjusting their mood to watch the competition between the Lakers and the Grizzlies.

The only ones who were nervous were the players who had not been selected yet in the green room.

Originally, the number of people in the green room was higher than that in the lottery zone, 15 to 14. Bynum, Vazquez, and Korolev were not members of the green room. Now there are only two draft picks left in the lottery zone, and there are still six people in the green room who have not been selected. Anyone who is not selected will feel embarrassed.

Three minutes passed quickly and Stern returned to the stage. All the unselected contestants in the green room stared at the old Jewish thief who opened the envelope. Then, they saw Stern's expression change from a smile to laughter, but he was trying hard to suppress it. That chrysanthemum face looked so scary!
...

"Ladies and gentlemen, in the 2005 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Bobcats selected... Jack Zhang, a Chinese international student from Centennial High School in Compton, California!"

When the logo man heard Stern mention that he was from California, his eyes widened.

Bobcats, why don't you pick a North Carolina player when there is a lottery-qualified North Carolina player?
Who else can we choose? Logo Man remembered the team that Zhang Yang participated in the second try. In addition to them and the Lakers, there was another team, which was the Bobcats!
Sure enough, I immediately heard Compton High School and Zhang Yang's name.

Seeing Zhang Yang walk onto the stage and take the Bobcats cap from Stern, who was laughing so terrifyingly, the logo man was stunned for a moment, then started clapping his hands on the table and laughing wildly.

He remembered that Zhang Yang's back-to-the-basket moves were like that man!

Assistant Chris Wallace looked at the general manager and laughed so hard that he was about to have a seizure. He wanted to say something but didn't dare to - the Logo Man's favorite candidate was snatched away, so he was mad?
After the logo man laughed enough, he said to the troubled assistant: "Don't worry, I'm fine, I just thought of something interesting."

Chris Wallace asked anxiously, "What's going on?"

Logo man: "It doesn't matter. If you didn't get it, you didn't get it. It's a pity, but it's very difficult to train a player like Jack. Hubie has left. I don't think our current coaching staff has the ability. And I won't be in the team for long. It's too much for you to leave such a big problem."

Chris Wallace's attention was diverted: "Jerry you want to resign?"

Logo man: "Yes, although I am very unwilling, the challenge of leading a small-market team to build a championship lineup has failed. I have only built this team into a 50-win team. If Jack had been selected, I would have wanted to spend a few more years trying. What a pity."

Chris Wallace: “…”

It only took two years to turn the Grizzlies, the worst team in the league that had the No. 5 draft pick five years ago, from the bottom of the league to a 6-win team. Do you think this is a failed... challenge?
The world of the big guys is really hard to understand.

The logo man was originally unwilling to fail in this challenge, but now he has figured it out. This failure is just the beginning of the next one, and there is no need to dwell on the previous failure.

Now just watch the jokes on those two siblings.

His deal hasn't been completed yet, so he just said sorry and owed a small favor and the problem was solved. He can find an opportunity to repay the favor in the future. It's a give and take, and his relationship with Yomark can be even closer.

And the brother and sister have already thrown out their chips!
The deal was completed just before the 7th pick, and he estimated that the Lakers were not ready for a backup pick, so they must be busy now...

The Lakers draft office is indeed very busy.

Jim Buss was on the phone with his father and sister, urgently discussing who to pick with the 16th pick. They had no preparation for this range at all. Before that, they had only one target for the lottery pick - Bynum.

After learning that the Knicks were going to snatch him away, they chose to trade up instead of looking for a backup.

Two days before the draft, they made a temporary decision to acquire a draft pick higher than the Grizzlies', and they had not tried out any of the players predicted to be in the middle of the first round.

Kupchak was calling Jordan.

The 16th pick, add something, try to see if you can get the 13th pick back.

He was much calmer than Jim Buss about the potential shooting guard from high school. He had been thinking that if he could get a bargain in the second round, he would go for it, but if not, forget it.

After Jordan called and talked for a few words, Kupchak hung up the phone and went to look at the tryout report.

It's not easy to work for the Lakers. He's used to being tormented by the siblings, and he got into work mode very quickly...

At the draft, Zhang Yang put on a Bobcats cap and took a photo with Stern, but he was still a little confused. How did he get into the lottery?

I'm such a famous blacksmith, and such a big pig, and I'm gone just like that?
As a rookie selected by Jordan, Zhang Yang felt that his future was fraught with uncertainty.

Zhang Yang walked off the stage and shook hands with Bobcats general manager and head coach David Bickerstaff, then prepared to leave the draft and celebrate with Bynum.

Their draft picks were three spots higher than expected before their names were called out, which means they'll make over $3 more per year, which would require a new hairstyle or something.

Then he heard someone calling his name.

"Jack, come here..."

Zhang Yang looked over when he heard the voice and saw the fat boy from one of North Carolina’s four young masters!

After hesitating for a second, Zhang Yang walked towards Felton.

Felton came forward, took the initiative to hug Zhang Yang, and said, "Hey, Jack, we are teammates from now on... Jarek, get out of the way!"

Zhang Yang declined, "No, I can just stand. My legs are numb from sitting in the conference room."

Jarek Felton was about to stand up, but when he heard Zhang Yang's words, he sat back down, and was then picked up by his uncle and thrown aside.

Zhang Yang looked at his eldest nephew and patted his butt speechlessly. He guessed that this was how the uncle and nephew got along, so he sat down.

"Thank you for giving me your seat, Jarek."

Jarek Felton laughed. What could he do if he didn't allow it?

Felton introduced his relatives and friends, and then enthusiastically told Zhang Yang about things related to Charlotte.

The University of North Carolina where Felton and Jordan studied is fully known as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill, where it is located, has a population of less than 5 and is just a small town built around North Carolina.

When students in North Carolina want to go out and play, they either go to the state capital, Raleigh, or to Charlotte. Felton knows the city of Charlotte very well.

Zhang Yang was surprised by Felton's enthusiasm, but he was happy to have someone introduce him to the city where he was about to start his new life. He listened patiently, asked questions at the right time, and learned more.

Felton has temporarily escaped from the shadow of being overshadowed by Deron and Paul. Although he was embarrassed this time and was selected at the fifth pick and was overshadowed by Marvin, there are still two college teammates who are worse off than him...

Life has to go on. He is an ambitious player. He goes to the NBA just to become the boss!

What's more, the Bobcats are both a hometown team and a local university team, so they have to be the boss.

The current star player of the Bobcats is Emeka Okafor, who entered the NBA just one year earlier than him. Felton thinks he can replace him...

But as a newcomer, he was isolated and helpless, so he had to find help. Zhang Yang, who was from the same class, was the first person he recruited.

He is polite and courteous, unlike those evil teammates in college who always interrupt others when they are talking, and he can also make timely support... After the initial contact, Felton felt that except for the shortcoming of being too handsome and might steal the limelight, Zhang Yang is simply the most perfect younger brother in his mind!
Zhang Yang doesn’t know yet that he has been treated as a younger brother. Even if he knew, it wouldn’t matter. He just turned 17, and Felton said that he turned 22 yesterday, so he is still a younger brother.

Anyway, he was very grateful to Felton for introducing him to a lot of things about the city of Charlotte.

While listening to Felton, Zhang Yang was also paying attention to the names read out by Stern and Vice President Stu Jackson who came on the court later.

The Lakers selected a small forward named Joey Graham with the 16th pick in the first round.

Graham's template is LeBron James... a player who is 24 years old, and his template is a 20-year-old player. This is why Zhang Yang can remember this small forward. It is said that his physical fitness is amazing. If he is not too old, there will definitely be a team that will use lottery picks to take a chance.

The Grizzlies selected Hakeem Warrick, Carmelo Anthony's senior, with the 19th pick.

The hype two days ago made Zhang Yang aware of this player. The media speculated that the Grizzlies were most likely to select this player with the 19th pick in the first round.

Warrick is also an older player, turning 7 in July. He played for four years in college, but there was actually no improvement in his junior and senior seasons. After winning the championship in his sophomore season in 24, his draft predictions were all in the lottery zone in that big draft year of 03. He played for two more years and fell to the middle to late first round.

Zhang Yang is more concerned about those high school students. Unfortunately, among the 31 high school students, only 4 were selected in the first round, namely him, Bynum, Webster, and Gerald Green.

The nine-finger dunk king was selected by the Celtics with the 18th pick.

However, in the second round, several high school students were selected. Among the 11 top 20 high school students in the United States who participated in the draft, only Keith Bublen, who was ranked 11th, was not selected, and the other 10 were all selected.

All the top 20 high school students in the United States who were outside the top were not selected.

31 high school students participated in the draft, and only 11 were selected. This is the lowest probability of high school students being selected in the history of the draft.

Just as Logo Man and Kupchak analyzed, if you want to bet on high school students this year, the second round is actually enough.

With Monta Ellis causing trouble, only Webster and Bynum, two high school students who seem to have explosive talent, will definitely be selected in the first round, and Zhang Yang is just someone who may be snatched up by some team in the first round.

Gerald Green's selection in the middle of the first round was considered a surprise. When the commentators heard Stern read out his name, they all joked that the Celtics were imitating the Lakers.

In previous years, so many teams competed for high school students because there were so few of them. If they were not quick, the 'next Kobe', 'next McGrady', or 'next Garnett' would be gone.

There are 31 this year, and if each team gets one, there will still be some left.

The 60 NBA Draft came to an end with Alex Ake being selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 2005th overall pick.

...

Felton reluctantly bid farewell to Zhang Yang. This was the first time he had met such a good listener.

But it doesn’t matter, they are already teammates, and there will be plenty of opportunities to talk to Zhang Yang. He has this little brother under his protection!
Zhang Yang came to the parking lot and got into the seven-seater commercial vehicle rented by Terem.

In addition to Tellem and Bynum, there were Maxiell, Jarrett Jack, and two undrafted college graduates on the bus.

The joy on Tellem's face was visible to the naked eye. He signed 6 players, four of whom were selected in the first round. What a great harvest!

He originally thought that those two college students would be selected in the second round, but in the second round, seven high school students were selected and 7 high school students were eliminated...which took up a lot of spots for the college students.

But if they were not selected, they are not without options. They can show themselves in the summer league, play in the Development League, play in the Continental Basketball Association, or be recommended to Europe or Asia... These two people can definitely find jobs with their levels, but the salaries are very different.

Tellem sent a few players to the hotel to rest. Being selected is not the end of the world. There is still a lot to do next, such as negotiating contracts, playing in the summer league, and planning offseason training...

When he arrived at the hotel, Zhang Yang was about to go back to his room to call his parents, teacher, coach, and the exam king team... one by one, when Tellem received a call and stopped him.

Tellem: "Jack, go to the French restaurant on the second floor. Someone is waiting for you."

Zhang Yang: "Who?"

Tellem rolled his eyes and said, "You'll know when you get there."

Zhang Yang: “Oh.”

Tellem: "..."

(╯‵ ′)╯︵┻━┻

Zhang Yang came to the second floor and was led by the waiter to the French restaurant... and saw a woman with a model figure waiting at the door of the restaurant.

An invisible question mark popped up above Zhang Yang’s head. He was only 17 years old. What kind of airplane was Tellem working on?
But this time he was distracted. The model girl said, "Hello, Jack, please follow me..."

Zhang Yang put away his random thoughts. No, he was not having any random thoughts. The person waiting for him was the one he had guessed before.

Sure enough, when he came to the window seat in the restaurant, Zhang Yang saw the legendary man - Michael Jordan.

Jordan saw Zhang Yang coming, stood up from his seat, straightened his clothes, took the hot towel from the model girl and wiped his hands, then came to Zhang Yang, stretched out his hand and said, "Hi, Jack, it's our first meeting. Do you like the dining environment here?"

Zhang Yang stretched out his hand to shake Jordan's hand and responded, "The environment here is great. I rarely have the opportunity to eat at a restaurant like this."

Jordan: "Haha, then you have to get used to it as soon as possible. This is your future life."

When they sat down, Zhang Yang watched Jordan go through another set of procedures, wiping his hands with a towel, rinsing his mouth... and then reaching for the wine glass...

His current mood can no longer be described as speechless.

In short, the joy of meeting the God of Basketball was completely gone.

Tellem was the most fussy person Zhang Yang had ever met, but according to the information his parents had found, Tellem was born into a wealthy family, so it was normal for him to have those habits.

Jordan, a black man, is more particular than Bitram!
Although he felt shocked and didn't quite understand, Zhang Yang chose to be tolerant.

Anyway, they don't eat together every day, so just think of it as learning some table manners. He thinks Jordan's table manners may be better than those etiquette teachers.

Jordan finally got the process right and asked, "Jack, do you have any favorite dishes?"

Zhang Yang: "I've only eaten French food once, so I don't know much about it. Michael, can you recommend a few dishes for me to try?"

Jordan agreed and ordered a few dishes.

While choosing the wine, Jordan thought of something, looked at Zhang Yang, and couldn't help laughing out loud.

What about your table manners? Zhang Yang muttered to himself, and asked, "Michael, have you thought of anything happy?"

What kind of reaction is this? Jordan was broken and responded: "It suddenly occurred to me that you can't drink and you can't go to the bar after your rookie contract is over."

Zhang Yang: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

This time it was his turn to break through.

Xiaofei said the same thing when he said goodbye to Felton just now!
Originally, Xiaofei wanted to take him to celebrate with relatives and friends, but he couldn't drink, so he didn't take him.

Soon, the dishes were served on the table one after another.

Zhang Yang looked at the night view of Manhattan Island outside the window. Eating Western food late at night was also a unique scenery.

Fortunately, he lived upstairs, so he didn't have to stroll around the street after dinner. As soon as he arrived, he saw a police car driving past on the street.

According to legend, Gotham City's crime rate is not as high as New York City's.

Zhang Yang tried the French food. It wasn't to his liking, but it was okay.

During the meal, the two began to chat.

When talking about the draft, Zhang Yang asked, "Michael, you won't trade me to the Lakers, right?"

Jordan: "Why would I trade you to the Lakers?"

Zhang Yang: "The Charlotte team selected a shooting guard with the 13th pick in the first round. The Lakers wanted this shooting guard, and this shooting guard was only 17 years old... The conditions were basically met."

Jordan: "So it seems that you should go to the Lakers. They called me and I talked to them."

Zhang Yang: “Oh.”

Jordan: "Aren't you curious about what I talked to them about?"

Zhang Yang: "When you put it that way, I know the discussion didn't go well. I don't need to continue to be curious."

Just as Tellem said, this guy is not easy to deal with. Jordan shrugged and spread his hands: "Okay, you win. My condition is that if they give me an All-Star player, I will send you over."

Zhang Yang: "All the conditions were met, but unfortunately the Lakers rejected it."

Jordan: "I was willing to give you to them, but they didn't want to give me Kobe Bryant, so I had to refuse."

Zhang Yang: “…”

Currently, the only Lakers player who has made the All-Star team and is in his prime is Kobe.

Jordan asked, “Why are you asking me that?”

Zhang Yang: "If you don't trade me, I can choose the university I want to apply to. I can't play in Charlotte and go to university in Los Angeles? I have to fly across the United States to attend classes. It's too tiring."

Jordan: "You want to postpone entering the NBA? That's not possible. You've already participated in the draft and been selected. You can't play in the NCAA."

Zhang Yang: “Huh?”

Jordan: “What do you mean?”

Zhang Yang: "Just going to college. My grades are pretty good."

Jordan: "Uh... you took the SAT in 11th grade? What was your score?"

Zhang Yang: "The admission score for several North Carolina campuses seems to be just over 1300 points. My score was a little higher than that."

Jordan: “How much higher?”

Zhang Yang: "Two hundred more."

Jordan: "...You started playing basketball at the age of 15, and participated in the NBA draft at the age of 17. In the meantime, you still had the energy to study and score over 1500 points?"

Zhang Yang: "Studying makes me happy. I feel uncomfortable if I don't study for a day."

Jordan wants to hit someone, really wants to!

He hasn't been this irritable in a long time.

But, but!
That’s the smell! That’s the smell of being able to show off in everything!

……

……

I tried it and was able to finish it at around 1 o'clock. So starting from tomorrow, Xiaofeng will update before 12 o'clock in the afternoon and before o'clock at night!
Please give me monthly votes and recommend votes!

(End of this chapter)