Duan's guess was basically correct. Stern did a secret operation in order to allow Anthony to play basketball in his hometown.
The Bulls were selected with the 8th pick in the first round, the Clippers were selected with the 7th pick, and the Grizzlies were selected with the 6th pick.
The Grizzlies failed to get the No. 1 pick, which means they couldn't keep the pick. The Pistons got the No. 6 pick in the first round.
In the regular season this season, the Grizzlies had the sixth-worst record. This pick is actually more in line with their record.
The problem is, the Knicks have the ninth-worst record, but now they have quietly squeezed into the top five, or even the top three. This is worth pondering.
"The fifth pick in the first round of the 2003 draft was the Miami Heat."
The Heat have the fourth-worst regular season record and deserve the No. 5 pick in the first round.
Seeing the Heat obtain this draft pick, as a good brother, Duan immediately took out his mobile phone and sent a text message to Wade, thereby acting as a prophet and congratulating Wade.
By the time Duen finished sending the text message, Lars Granik had also announced the No. 4 pick. Just like Duen remembered, it was picked by the Raptors, who had the third-worst record.
"Melon, congratulations, the New York Knicks have entered the finals!"
After the announcement of the No. 4 lottery, a commercial came on during the lottery draw on the TV.
What follows is a five-minute commercial. After the commercial ends, the winners of the No. 3 pick, No. 2 pick, and No. 1 pick will be announced.
"Duane, brother, I want to thank you very much!"
Anthony received Du En's reminder and immediately stood up and gave Du En a big hug.
Anthony didn't spend time with his family tonight, and he didn't have a date with any of his gangster brothers in Baltimore.
It was because of Du En who personally helped him create this plan to use hometown basketball to compete for the top pick.
Understand the operating rules of the NBA and the unspoken rules behind the lottery.
With the ninth-worst record, the Knicks have a 1.52% chance of winning the No. 1 pick, which is reasonable.
For Anthony, he can spend time with his family anytime. On the day of the draft, he can take his family into the little green room.
You can also make an appointment with a brother with an innocent identity and accompany him to participate in the draft.
However, Du En is also a rookie participating in this year's draft, so he will definitely not be able to sit at the same table with him.
Therefore, Anthony chose to watch the lottery meeting with Du En and spend this extremely important moment in his life together.
"Well, I know, we will always be brothers."
Du En patted Anthony's shoulder, motioned for him to let go, and then suggested, "Would you like a drink?"
"Only kids drink that stuff. Do you dare to drink with me?"
Anthony looked down upon Duan who picked up the orange juice, and instead opened the champagne on the table.
The legal drinking age limit in the United States is 21 years old. Teenagers under the age of 21 can only drink orange juice and apple juice sparkling drinks similar to wine.
In fact, there are also watermelon juice sparkling drinks, but in most cases only white people like to drink them.
In other words, things like bans tend to become more and more popular the more they are banned.
Anthony had gang connections, and the gangs used Prohibition to brew smuggled alcohol and make huge profits.
Therefore, Anthony had been drinking for a long time and did not take Prohibition seriously at all.
Bill Duffy has known Anthony for several years and is relatively familiar with Anthony's situation.
In addition, this is a hotel. After watching the lottery meeting, Anthony will not run out of the hotel to do evil, so he ordered a bottle of champagne from the hotel in his name.
When the time comes that you can’t finish drinking it, you can also use it to spray it to celebrate.
Of course, the orange juice was specially prepared to take care of Du En.
"I'm not an American, so why wouldn't I dare?"
Du En said that he would risk his life to accompany the gentleman and have a few drinks with Anthony.
The two drank and chatted, only half a bottle was finished, and the commercial break passed.
The picture on the TV returned to the lottery meeting, and the next thing to be announced was the winner of the third overall pick.
"The third pick in the first round of the 2003 draft was the Denver Nuggets."
The No. 3 pick was taken away by the Nuggets, so only the Cavaliers and Knicks were left with the No. 1 and No. 2 picks!
The chance of choosing one of the two made Anthony quite excited.
At the sound of "yeah," Anthony jumped out of his seat and started doing a striptease.
Du En was a little worried when he saw this situation. There was no one else in the room.
Although Du En also watches football and appreciates Anthony's skills, he is not as stubborn as some fans. He dreams of sticking up with the stars they are fans of...
Fortunately, Anthony didn't stay excited for long before he sat down in despair.
"The second pick in the first round of the 2003 draft was the New York Knicks."
As a New Yorker, Stern supported the Knicks and gave them the second pick, but in the end he chose to keep the Cavaliers' No. 1 pick.
In this way, the situation of the battle for No. 1 pick becomes clear.
The Cavaliers, who won the No. 1 pick, will inevitably choose James, who is close to home, to be their son in Cleveland.
The Knicks, who won the second pick, had no other choice but to choose Anthony, a son of New York who also plays basketball in his hometown.
"Melon, congratulations! Our efforts have not been in vain!
Being able to stay and play in New York is better than going to the ice and snow in Cleveland!
Besides, the Knicks are a fringe playoff team. Under your leadership, they will definitely make it to the playoffs next season!
In the next four years, maybe you have won the championship, but James can't even make the playoffs. "
Not being able to get the No. 1 pick was a big blow to Anthony, who had always been No. 1 since he was a kid.
However, after receiving Du En's comfort, Anthony felt a little better.
Anthony thought about it carefully and realized that this was indeed the truth.
New York, a big ball market! The Knicks, the league’s top club!
Not to mention playing for the Knicks, which has considerable advantages in increasing personal business value.
In terms of team reinforcement alone, the Knicks undoubtedly have an advantage over the Cavaliers!
Last season, the Knicks did almost make the playoffs.
As Duane said, under his leadership next season, will the Knicks still worry about not making the playoffs?
Anthony had just won the NCAA championship and was very excited. At this time, he even felt that he could lead the Western Conference lottery team to the playoffs.
What kind of rotten sweet potatoes and stinky bird eggs are there in the east today? Reaching the playoffs in the Eastern Conference is considered an honor?
"Brother, thank you. If it weren't for you, I really don't know what I would do!"
"No need to say thank you, it's all in the wine, done, done!"
Du En continued to persuade Anthony to drink. After all, after finishing this bottle, Du En would start flying around again to participate in trials with other teams.
In order to strive for a better draft pick and join a team that satisfies him, Duen had to work hard for a while.
Granted, the Pistons have already given a first-round commitment.
However, the Pistons got the Grizzlies' No. 6 pick and have every opportunity to sign a better guard.
Duan is self-aware, and the draft price in the middle of the first round is almost his limit.
Perhaps some teams are covetous of the Chinese market and will consider him a Chinese player and want to select him like the Rockets did with Yao Ming.
But how much does this help Duane improve his draft stock?
With Yao Ming's talent, no matter which draft he participates in, he will basically be selected by the team with the top three picks.
Now that the Chinese market is not fully open to the NBA, the hidden commercial value of Chinese players cannot actually help Duan improve his ranking.
If Du En wants to make progress, he must keep his feet on the ground, work hard on his own, and blaze a trail.
