Time went back to 5 minutes ago. After Stern announced the 12th pick in the first round, he returned to the backstage again.
After being the NBA president for so many years, Stern will inevitably develop a certain desire for control.
In order to minimize the occurrence of things out of his control, Stern chose to "peep the screen" as before, opening the envelope in advance to check the Grizzlies' candidates.
"How could it be Duan?"
It was also because of Stern's "caution" that Stern noticed in advance that the operation plan for Duan to enter the NBA actually deviated from the planned track!
And this is exactly what Stern will never allow.
"Notify Mitch Kupchak immediately and ask him to complete the deal with Jerry West and get Duane for the Lakers!"
Following Senter's order, other staff in the NBA draft office immediately became busy.
When Kupchak received the call, he was stunned.
Didn't we agree to take Duen with the 18th pick in the first round? Why did you suddenly change your mind again?
The 18th overall pick in the first round is in the hands of the New Orleans Hornets, who have just moved to New Orleans from Charlotte and also have the support of Stern.
Therefore, Stern personally took action to facilitate the Lakers' upward trade of draft picks, and the Hornets had no choice but to agree to the Lakers' request.
As for why the Lakers chose Duan, on the one hand, it was Stern's promotion, and on the other hand, Buss had no money in his pocket and had to rely on the Chinese market to maintain his Lakers dynasty.
We all know that the basis for winning the championship is the team's salary space.
In the past few years, the Lakers have won three consecutive championships and once again established the Lakers dynasty.
However, behind the scenery, the Buss family and other Lakers shareholders pay a large amount of luxury tax every year.
It is true that during the three consecutive championships, the Lakers were still profitable.
However, this year's Western Conference semifinals failed, and the Lakers showed faint signs of losses-the stock price rose, but the team's revenue was a loss.
The salary cap is only 40 million, but the Lakers' salary is as high as 64 million.
In addition to player salaries and luxury taxes, there are also essential team operating expenses, hotel transportation expenses, and coaching salaries.
In other words, the Lakers are not just the players making money, the general manager, head coach, scouts and even the staff who clean the toilets are all making money.
However, the team owners and shareholders did not receive the year-end dividends they deserved.
Considering that the contracts of the OK combination next season are 24.75 million and 13.5 million respectively, their contracts will expire the year after next and next year respectively.
The Lakers are facing pressure to renew the maximum-salary contracts of their two stars, as well as the sequelae of the dynasty that are bound to follow...
For this reason, the Lakers owners and management have to consider in advance how to take into account the current record and the near future.
Considering that he is old and has limited time, Old Buss wants to witness the moment when the Lakers surpass the Celtics before he dies! So I decided to make another year.
If they can win the championship next season, the Lakers will seize the tail of O'Neal's peak and continue to chase the championship.
In order to reduce the team's salary pressure, the Lakers have to hope to get a share of the NBA's globalization trend.
Like the Rockets, gaining the favor of more Asian sponsors and using the good news of Chinese players joining the Lakers will increase the Lakers' stock price.
Coincidentally, league president Stern personally stepped in to take care of everything for Duen.
Old Bass had this intention, and the two naturally hit it off.
But unexpectedly, after making a complete plan, something unexpected happened during the draft.
"If it's Jerry, that's not surprising at all!"
Kupchak is the direct disciple of the logo man!
When Kupchak joined the Lakers, the position held by the man with the logo was the general manager of the Lakers.
It was also the man with the logo who taught Kupchak step by step and personally gave up his position as Lakers general manager. This made Kupchak what he is today.
Kupchak knows very well how good the logo man’s vision is.
Last year, the logo man had just handed him the position of general manager of the Lakers dynasty. Kupchak thought the Lakers could continue to win consecutive championships smoothly.
As a result, once the logo man left, the consecutive championship journey was over...
In order to avoid becoming a scapegoat, Kupchak naturally wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to catch up with his mentor.
Thinking of the close relationship between master and apprentice in the past, and "once a Purple Gold, always a Laker", Kupchak was very confident and completed the next transaction with the logo man.
Soon, Kupchak called the Grizzlies draft office next door.
Hearing the familiar voice of the logo man, Kupchak immediately calmed down.
However, after chatting for a few words, Kupchak's heart was hanging again.
"Detroit Pistons? They have traded the draft pick from you? Do they want to draft Duan?"
Kupchak was immediately numb when he learned the truth!
Isn’t it that no one wants Doon?
Didn't Stern say that he forced Duan into the little green room?
How dare the Pistons gamble on Duane's future with a lottery pick?
Is it just because of the Chinese market?
Can you be more sensible? So speechless!
Just when Kupchak didn't know what to do, the logo man got a lot of useful information out of the stunned Kupchak.
"Just think of me as my teacher and help you one last time!"
The logo man still chose to help the Lakers, hoping to return to the Lakers and hold an important position in the future.
The Lakers are the only family business of the Buss family. Old Buss's strong personality does not allow others to get involved in the Lakers.
The logo man loved the Lakers too much and wanted to control the Lakers too much, so he was eventually driven away by Buss.
The logo man knows that only after Buss dies will he have a chance to return to the Lakers.
However, as the saying goes, Buss abused him a thousand times, and he treated the Lakers like his first love. Now the logo man has run away from home, but he still wants to go home.
If we can witness the Lakers overcoming the latecomers and surpassing their archrival Celtics in the number of championships, the logo man will feel a sense of accomplishment even if he does not return to the Lakers.
Therefore, I can only break my promise this time, I'm sorry to the Pistons.
After all, the draft pick is still in his hands! He only reached a verbal agreement with Dumas.
Because of the uncertainty of the draft, whether the picks are traded up or down, both parties who trade the picks can change their minds temporarily during the 5-minute formalization time of the draft list.
Some teams with high picks in the draft rely on the rookies that the teams behind them are bound to win, take advantage of the situation, ask for benefits, and then complete their purpose of trading down the draft picks.
Of course, after the draft, draft picks can also be traded between teams. But this has to be changed to rookie signing rights.
This time, the Grizzlies took down Duane, which means they were originally asking for a fee from the Pistons, but now they are asking for it from the Lakers.
When Kupchak received the reply from the logo man, he immediately thanked him profusely, shed tears of gratitude, and willingly made some transaction commitments.
The logo man has nothing to say about this. If Kupchak breaks his promise and makes a fortune, he can still make a deal with Dumas later, and neither will lose, but it will just hurt his character a bit.
As the saying goes, some people are happy and some are sad.
Unlike Kupchak who was relieved.
With Stern back on stage, it was announced that the Grizzlies selected Duane with the 13th overall pick in the first round.
Bucks general manager Glenfield and Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor both expressed their regrets about Duane's interception in varying degrees.
As for Dumas, who was confident of winning, he opened champagne with other Pistons staff in the office.
With two great players, Milicic and Duane, the Pistons' revival will begin next season!
However, Dunn had just put on his Grizzlies hat, hugged Stern, and then went to the nearby media area to be interviewed by reporters.
The league quickly announced the news that the Grizzlies and Lakers had just reached a deal.
boom--
As a well-known moral model in the NBA, the bottle in Dumas's hand fell to the ground at some unknown time, leaving a mess on the ground...
"Damn it Lakers, it turns out you were the ones who intercepted Du En!"
Grunfield cried for a while, then tremblingly took out his cell phone and made a call to his boss.
As a result, he heard the news that his boss was furious and was preparing to fire him.
"Herb, we still have a chance to get Duen. I will apply to the Lakers for a trade to get Duen."
For a time, the phone calls in the Lakers draft office were buzzed by Glenfield and Dumars.
The conversation was divided into two parts. Duen, who had just finished the rookie interview, walked to the media display area aside.
I found that there were already official NBA staff standing by with Lakers baseball caps.
Upon seeing this, Dunn was very straightforward and took the initiative to take off the Grizzlies baseball cap he was wearing, exchanged the Lakers baseball cap with the staff, and then put it on.
By the time the process was completely completed and we returned to the small green room to meet up with family and friends, the draft was already more than half over.
Almost half an hour later, Du En heard that the Mavericks selected another Chinese player, Xue Yuyang, with the 28th pick of the second round.
It's a pity that Xue Yuyang didn't arrive at the scene, otherwise due to Du En's personality, he would have gone up to say hello to him.
When the Pistons used the last pick of this draft to acquire Andres Greenedakis, this draft came to an end.
However, Duan's NBA career will officially begin here.
[Congratulations on being selected by an NBA team with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft! 】
[You achieved the status of an NBA rookie by virtue of your status as a lottery pick. When you officially sign a rookie contract with an NBA team, you will receive a lottery opportunity for the 13th overall pick in the NBA first round. 】
