After more than a month and three rounds of fierce battles in the series, the NBA finally turned into a game between two teams.
Those teams that were eliminated started preparing for next season early.
Before the conference finals, the NBA held its annual draft lottery to lay hope for the future of the NBA.
The 2013 draft is recognized as a small year, but it will take time to verify whether it is a small year.
For example, before the 2009 draft, it was considered a young year. As a result, Curry, Harden, Griffin, and the Raptors' DeRozan all became successful.
Curry has grown into a league superstar, the founder of a new generation of play, and the new idol of many young fans.
Therefore, each team is still fully committed to this year's draft. After all, whether they can turn around depends on one pick in many cases.
Privately, the team's general manager, scouts, agents, sponsors, and players' families are even more frenzied.
Build momentum when it's time to build momentum, find people when it's time to find people, and negotiate terms when it's time to negotiate. It's similar to graduates looking for jobs. Don't look at it as an open recruitment, but there are actually a lot of people and sophistication behind it.
After all, it is tens of millions of dollars, and it is possible to achieve a large business worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the future, which is different from ordinary recruitment.
Needless to say, players can enter the league, even if they don't become famous in the future, it is a step that changes their destiny.
An income ranging from several million to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year is a huge sum of money for many people and families.
How many players from slums are just waiting to be selected and receive millions of annual salaries so that their mothers, relatives and friends who have worked hard to raise them can live a good life, and by the way, let that damn dad who doesn’t even know what he looks like, look at it. Watching TV and regretting it.
Agents who are dependent on players live directly on commissions proportional to the contract. Naturally, they hope that the players will be selected as high as possible.
Therefore, agents spare no effort to promote the players they have, calling the managers of each team, inviting trial training, writing articles in the media to build momentum, and participating in various training camp activities and presentations.
But for managers and scouts, they have to keep the fake and the real, and find the real thing and the future through these complicated appearances.
The two sides are always engaged in a game of confrontation and cooperation.
During this time, Min Congda was worrying about the Western Conference.
On the other side, after arriving at the office every day, the phone on the desk has not stopped ringing.
The general managers of each team kept calling Min Congda, wanting to hear his opinions on the draft.
After all, in the past few years, Min Congda's draft selections can no longer be described as successful, they are simply cheating.
Several rookie-related operations were a stroke of genius, successfully turning the Clippers into an unsinkable battleship.
Some media and magazines took stock of the drafts and rookie trades in the past five years, and Min Congda's operations were all ranked among the best, and they were all divine operations.
When Min Congda saw this article in Sports Illustrated, he threw the magazine away and told Ada not to subscribe to Sports Illustrated in the future.
This sports magazine with a long history in the United States originally wanted to close the relationship between the magazine and the Clippers by praising Min Congda.
Unexpectedly, the relationship between the two parties was directly severed.
Min Congda doesn't care about the Clippers' draft affairs, but he is very concerned about other teams.
He asked the scout team to send him information about this year's rookies.
Olshey felt quite strange. Didn't Mr. Smart say he didn't care about the draft? Secondly, the Clippers didn't have a good signing this year. They traded out players in the first and second rounds, so they didn't have a share in the draft.
Min Congda explained: "It is precisely because we are not involved that I have to pay serious attention. This is called knowing yourself and the enemy, do you understand? These young people will all be our opponents in the future, so we must study it early!"
What Min Congda said was righteous, and of course Olshey could not disobey him. The Clippers' scouting team continuously sent first-hand information to Min Congda.
Min Congda actually started working overtime as never before!
During the four years since he came to the Clippers, it was not easy for Min Congda to get to the office on time every morning, not to mention working overtime.
Generally speaking, after having lunch at the training center, his work for the day is completed and he can do whatever he likes in the afternoon.
When it's time to go fishing, there is no such thing as a meeting. There will never be a meeting. If you have something to say, just say it.
What's the point of a group of people gathering together and chattering? Apart from venting and communicating, there is often not much benefit in promoting things.
In the end, Min Congda said, do this, do that.
Besides, as a Clippers team, it is better to do less than to do more, and it is better to do nothing than to do less.
The team's performance improved, the championship fell, and the business took care of itself.
Having nothing to do every day, having meetings, and working overtime will actually affect employees' work enthusiasm.
As a result, with such a good working atmosphere and culture, Min Congda made an exception and started working overtime.
"Ada, please go back first, I still have some information to read."
Min Congda asked Ada to go home first in the office, and Ada was shocked.
"Mr. Smart, you...do you want to work overtime?"
"Ah? Yes, I have to work overtime. Anyway, I will read it when I go home, so why not read it here. Oh, if you are free, bring me a lunch."
"Okay...ok, no problem."
Ada went to buy a lunch for Min Congda. She suddenly remembered that at Min Congda's house, the two of them frantically searched for various information, watched video tapes, read tactical reports, and looked through old basketball books in order to find a suitable offensive tactic for the Clippers. .
Ada suddenly understood that Min Congda only looked relaxed, but in private he had always been a very hard-working person.
His relaxation is just to allow everyone to work easily and happily, and does not want to put pressure on everyone.
Isn't that how he treats his players? He laughs when he loses, but keeps a straight face when he wins.
Clippers employees also knew that Mr. Smart worked overtime in the office and did not leave.
Although everyone was surprised, they all stayed at their workstations. Those who worked on data were working on data, and those who were doing ticketing were on the phone. In short, no matter what happened, no one dared to leave.
Min Congda was completely unaware of this. He ate the dinner bought by Ada and looked at the player data and videos sent to him by the scouts to predict their strength and potential.
To be honest, this is Min Congda's weakness. Although he is very talented in basketball, just like Jordan, when God opens a door for you, he also has to close a window.
He is really not accurate in his judgment of people. If he were accurate, he wouldn't be in the situation he is in today.
But to see if a player is accurate, in addition to talent and feeling, it also requires accumulation of experience.
After all, Min Congda has been in the league for four years and has been exposed to the world's top basketball players and the best basketball management and coaching teams.
A mouse can become a spirit by listening to the Buddha chanting sutras in front of the Buddha. What's more, Min Congda is so talented. If he works hard, his ability to recognize people will definitely become stronger and stronger.
From four o'clock in the afternoon, Min Congda read the information until nine o'clock in the evening. For five hours, he could be said to have forgotten all his sleep and food.
After seeing the level and ability of this year's rookies, Min Congda shook his head and thought: "Damn, this year is really young. From beginning to end, there is not a single outstanding character. Why don't you let me time travel?" How about completing the task this year? This... it is really not easy to pick someone who can become a star."
Min Congda felt very angry. After all, there was no room for the Clippers to play in this year's draft. How come they were all crooked candidates?
Min Congda looked through all the people in the information, including some players who were in the dark and no one paid attention to them.
The Clippers' scouting team has numbered and marked them in advance. There is a high probability that these people will not be selected, but it does not rule out that there are some hidden gems among them.
Especially the European players. The Spurs' previous selections of Parker and Ginobili took advantage of other teams' lack of understanding of European and South American players to select the right talents with low picks.
Therefore, Min Congda paid special attention to European players. He took a look and found a player with a long and strange name called "Giannis Antetokounmpo" that caught his attention.
Judging from the information, this player is ordinary in all aspects. Except for his height and wingspan, he doesn't look like a serious athlete. He looks too thin and weak from the only photo of him playing.
But Min Congda had suffered losses before, and it was a huge loss, which directly brought his mission career to where it is today.
He had just come to the Clippers and was selecting the new No. 1 pick. When he saw that Curry was thin and small in the information and looked like a primary school student, he chose him without hesitation.
The results of it? It's ruined. He has already won the championship, and Curry is running towards an MVP-level player. He can't stop him.
This kid is accurate in three-pointers, has top-notch skills, lives a simple and self-disciplined life, and only focuses on playing basketball. He is a rare basketball wizard.
Therefore, Min Congda dared not make a conclusion based on just one photo. It was not accurate to think, "This person looks like he can play ball, but this person doesn't look like he can play ball."
This NBA scout is not a fortune teller. Some players are indeed born with superstar looks, but in the end they are not superstars, just ordinary players, such as OJ Mayo.
There are some players who look like migrant workers, who are earthy and wretched, but turn out to be really good at playing. The typical example is Kevin Durant.
It's just that there is really little relevant information about Antetokounmpo. Min Congda feels that more information is needed to understand this player from Greece.
So Min Congda got up, picked up the phone and called Olshe and asked him to come to the office.
Of course Olshey didn't dare to get off work. Mr. Smart worked overtime for the first time in four years. Who dared to leave?
After Olshey came, Min Congda said: "There is too little information about this player named Giannis Antetokounmpo. Take some time to get to know him better. Before the draft lottery, I want to know more about him. Case."
Olshey nodded and said: "Uh...Mr. Smart, do you still want to stay and work overtime?"
Min Congda said: "I... let me watch for a while. The day of drawing lots is very close. I want... uh, I want to know myself and my enemy."
Min Congda originally wanted to say that he wanted to provide advice to the managers of each team, but when he thought it was not good to say so, he changed his mind.
Olshey said: "Then...then, can the employees leave?"
Min Congda was stunned and said: "Employees? Why, you haven't left yet? You haven't gotten off work yet?"
Olshey said: "Yes, it's rare for you to work overtime this year, so everyone stayed to work overtime with you."
Min Congda slammed the table and said angrily: "What's going on? How can you work overtime casually? How can the good working atmosphere and culture established by the company be broken so easily! Get off work, let everyone get off work!"
With that said, Min Congda left the office and went from the third floor to the second floor to the first floor, rushing everyone who had not left to get off work.
While telling everyone to get off work, Min Congda also said: "Working overtime is not allowed in the Los Angeles Clippers! Of course, it's not that I don't want to pay you overtime, but working overtime is a violation of the eight-hour work system." A kind of disrespect! Moreover, work is not everything in life. Don’t you want to spend time with your family? Don’t you want to be with your lover and children? Just for me as the general manager, you will work overtime together. This situation must never happen again! "
"By the way, overtime pay must not be less. Everyone remembers to report their overtime hours to the finance department tomorrow and settle the overtime money."
After such a rush, the Clippers headquarters at Staples Center was finally empty, and Min Congda also left and went home.
He thought to himself that if there was something he wanted to read at work in the future, he might as well take it home and read it, but he couldn't work overtime on the team.
Once this unhealthy trend starts, how can it stop?
The Clippers are already thriving, but they are still not at full strength even if they work overtime.
No, absolutely not!
After eliminating the risk of overtime, the NBA lottery ceremony quickly came to fruition.
Surprisingly, the Houston Rockets were very lucky to get the No. 1 pick this year!
This is the sixth time in the history of the Rockets that they have won the No. 1 pick. With this No. 1 pick, the Rockets, together with the Washington Wizards, have become the team with the most No. 1 picks in NBA history.
And compared with the Wizards, the Rockets' top picks are all well-known, such as Hayes, Lucas, Sampson, Olajuwon, and Yao Ming.
Although they only won two championships, these players have left a heavy mark in NBA history and are characters worth writing about.
In comparison, several of the Wizards' No. 1 picks were too young and unknown. The more famous ones are like Walter Bellamy, who is most famous for being severely punished by Chamberlain.
There are also parallel import top picks like Kwame Brown, who leave their names and notoriety behind.
The probability of the Rockets' No. 1 pick is still quite low. After winning it, Daryl Morey's fat face burst into laughter.
Of course, he immediately became worried. The Rockets' high draft picks have never been used very much.
Morey himself is not a player, he is a data person, and he lacks the inspiration that a player has.
He had contacted Min Congda before, hoping that Min Congda could help and give advice on the draft.
Min Congda took a look and saw that the Rockets actually got the high pick? This is my chance to help!
He immediately called Morey. At the moment, Morey's phone calls were non-stop. Some people wanted to seek trades, some wanted to contact him for a trial training, and they were very busy.
Seeing that the call was from Min Congda, Morey immediately asked, "Smart, how about trading Harden for the No. 1 pick?"
Min Congda was stunned and thought, I am here to give you some advice. Do you want to give me warmth? There's no way around it, I don't want the No. 1 pick.
Although it feels like this year is a small year, what if another one like Curry appears?
Besides, he really has to think carefully about trading Harden. Then his mother will come to the door, but it will be fatal.
"Ahem, forget about the trade. Daryl, didn't you ask me to recommend a rookie to you? You should pay attention to a Greek player named Antetokounmpo. He may be a very good No. 1 pick."
"What's the name? What's Ad? Adto, the Greek from Kobo?"
"That's right, Adetto, Kun, Bo! Kun! Kun!"
(End of chapter)
