However, although he looked down on Cleveland, Woody still maintained quality and quantity during the trial training, and even completed an extraordinary amount of training.
There is no other meaning, I just want to improve the strength of my old teammates.
Who told him to run away as soon as the last game was over, and he didn't even know to shake hands and hug his old teammates!
I don’t know, but I thought the two of them didn’t have a good relationship when they were at St. Mary’s~
Who shouted "good brother" at that time, turned around and pretended not to recognize him!
For nothing, he led this guy to restore the glory of St. Mary's and win the first Division I high school state championship trophy in team history!
LeBron James' physical fitness has reached the NBA level.
But Woody's current physical fitness has also reached the NBA level.
Although the two of them are good at different aspects, LeBron James is excellent in terms of physique, strength, explosive power, and jumping, but his coordination and lateral movement are relatively mediocre. .
It just so happens that these are the things Woody is good at!
LeBron James' physical fitness is the most mentioned aspect when their team is building momentum. Now Woody is tied with LeBron in this aspect. This was something no one expected, including Cleveland's front office.
Look at the stunned expression on Jimmy Paxson's face!
In fact, he had already promised LeBron James that he would be selected with the "No. 1 pick".
As long as the league gives the Cavaliers the "number one pick", this is something that has long been doomed...
LeBron James was born in Akron, adjacent to Cleveland.
It grew up in the slums again!
Still a dark-skinned person!
Any one of these together with the "geographical complex" is the reason why Cleveland must use the "No. 1 pick" to select him, not to mention that LeBron James now has three of them.
Although Woody also came out of Akron, he was not born here after all.
This is the difference between a godson and a biological son!
If Woody wants to defeat him, there is a way, and that is to join Ohio State University and fight for a championship trophy for Ohio in "March Madness"!
When both are high school students, if you must choose one person to inherit the "throne" of Cleveland, it must be LeBron James...
So trying out Woody is actually just a process.
After all, he's from Akron, too.
But at this moment, the shock that Woody brought to him caused his original firm idea to waver briefly. As long as the "buff" on LeBron James is not superimposed to this extent, it is really difficult for him to make this painful choice if the two people compete on the same starting line...
"Man, you're incredible, we'll give it serious consideration, and we'd love to have you play for Cleveland, and I love your Saint Mary's line, that's for you!"
After the trial, Jimmy Paxson did not refuse directly.
Woody's performance really has huge potential. If LeBron James fails to show his potential in the future, and Woody becomes the "Emperor Superstar" instead, then if he refuses too harshly today, there is no guarantee that he will not be nailed to the "Pillar of Shame" in the future. "superior.
It's been so long since the 1984 draft, but now the Trail Blazers are still being teased and "whipped" from time to time.
Paxson doesn’t want to be a “clown.”
Since both have unlimited potential, from his perspective, it must have been a difficult decision before they chose LeBron James.
It’s just that the LeBron James team heard that he had made a promise to Woody, and they were a little anxious. They kept contacting him, and even more vigorously preached outside that "LeBron is the only choice for Cleveland" and "This is what everyone expected." the result of!"
Woody's second stop wasn't Detroit, but Toronto.
The Pistons are still fully preparing for the playoffs. They completed a "big reversal" in the first round, making the Magic the first team in the NBA to lead 3-1 only to be overturned in three consecutive games after the first round of restructuring.
I thought that after such a difficult reversal, the semifinals of the playoffs would be easier, but when they faced the 76ers in the semifinals, they had to go through the "Battle of Tianwang Mountain" before they won the match point, winning 4- 2 eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers led by Allen Iverson!
They had the best record in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, but now they only reached the Eastern Conference finals after stumbling. Compared to them, the Nets completed a sweep in the second round. Their momentum was extremely fierce. Facing such an opponent, they did not dare to slack off.
Even the draft has been put on hold.
The trial training in Toronto also went very well. Woody's performance impressed even the determined Cavaliers management, not to mention the Raptors management, who were already interested in Woody.
General manager Babcock personally sent Woody out of the arena: "Man, I'm looking forward to seeing you wearing a Raptors jersey playing at the Canada Flight Center!"
But after he left, the assistant next to him looked at Babcock's reluctant eyes and couldn't help but remind him: "Man, if we really choose Woody, we will probably push Vince away completely! "
Since the results of the lottery came out, the "Canadian Flyer" learned that the Raptors have the No. 4 pick in the first round this year. He has repeatedly emphasized that he hopes this pick can bring immediate combat power to the Raptors. He does not want to wait for the newcomer to grow!
Babcock curled his lips: "Don't worry, this multiple-choice question was not done by me, but by Vince Carter himself. You can call Vince now and tell him that we have inspected a lot recently. The rookie now has two candidates for him to choose from, one is Woody from St. Mary's High School, and the other... is Georgia Tech freshman player Chris Bosh!"
After leaving Toronto, Woody's next stop was the Heat.
Coming to the passionate Miami, "Magic" Johnson's mood jumped a bit. After arriving, I made several phone calls one after another. Apparently, a lot of "sowing" was done here back then, but I don't know if any "fruits" have been produced.
Woody suddenly thought of the two Johnson children.
With those powerful genes, if there really is an "illegitimate child", he should be able to recognize it at a glance, right?
After two days of rest, Johnson took Woody to American Airlines Arena.
On the way, he introduced some information about the Heat to Woody: "Actually, this Heat team is very suitable for you. Pat Riley likes the kind of athletic forwards, and he once said that in the future basketball It is a sport for five players who are over 2 meters tall. This concept is also reflected in this team. In this team, your three or four characteristics can be activated to the greatest extent. Unfortunately... this old man's character is too paranoid. Yes, his training requirements for players are really inhumane!"
Woody knew that Johnson and Pat Riley were old acquaintances. During the "show time" of the Lakers, Johnson was the core of the team, and the head coach at the time was Pat Riley!
Hearing him say that Pat Riley was too paranoid, Woody couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
His basketball career has been going quite smoothly so far. From Ben Wallace to Dell Curry and then to Drew, he has never encountered any "coaches with defective characters."
Johnson saw Woody's nervousness and comforted him: "But buddy, you don't have to be nervous. If we really fall to the fifth pick in the first round, it'll be fine. I'm here! Parker will definitely not dare to be too paranoid about you." !”
Woody also belatedly remembered that Pat Riley was joined by Johnson and other Lakers players to create Los Angeles.
They have no problem with "infighting"!
It can be seen that Pat Riley still attaches great importance to Woody and arranged a special trial training. Only Woody participated in today's training. Two days later, Pat Riley had an open trial for seven or eight newcomers.
Obviously Pat Riley is expressing his attitude to Woody in this way: You are very different from me!
Woody was in good condition today, not only in the physical fitness-related trial training items, but also in the mid-range today. He made three sets of 30 shots, each with more than 23 hits.
Pat Riley nodded with satisfaction.
He had already seen Woody's explosive physical fitness just now, and now that he saw that he also had good mid-range skills, he wanted to take Woody to visit the locker room immediately and designate the wardrobe he wanted to use.
There was nothing he could do about it. A striker with such good physical fitness was his favorite, but now he actually had a hand job.
Who can bear this?
Even Johnson could see his affection for Woody. When he left the arena, he patted Woody on the shoulder: "This old man is probably attracted to you! That's okay, kid!"
Trials for 6 teams have now been completed for 3 of them. Judging from the feedback from the general managers of the three teams after the trials, the probability of Woody being picked in the top five is not only a certainty, but also a certainty.
Don't forget, they still have the Pistons, who hold the second pick in the first round, who haven't gone to trial yet!
"But don't take it lightly, man, we can't relax until all trials are over!"
Woody nodded, knowing this clearly.
They went to Washington first.
After Michael Jordan left, the Wizards are in need of a new core and are waiting to be reborn. If Woody is established as the core, it will be an environment that is very suitable for Woody to grow. Woody successfully conquered the Wizards' management with his outstanding performance.
It's just that the management's attitude is not so firm.
The reason...
The tragedy of Kwame Brown just happened.
And if we really want to say it, Kwame Brown's performance was no worse than Woody's during the trial.
So when they saw Woody's rough offensive skills, they immediately thought of this bad memory and felt a little more uneasy.
Woody then followed Johnson to New York.
After a year, Woody returned to New York again, standing on a familiar street, looking at Alan Houston on the big poster, and Woody was inspired.
The momentary passion at that time is gradually becoming reality!
This allowed him to complete an outstanding trial at Madison Square Garden.
At the end of the day, the New York management wanted to tie him up in New York with a rope immediately, and wait until the draft on June 25 to put him in New York Knicks clothes!
Just like that, the trials for all 6 teams ended.
Time has also come to the beginning of June, and the NBA 02~03 season finals have begun. The Nets finally broke out of the Eastern Conference. The Pistons were swept 4-0 in the Eastern Conference finals!
The one who fought his way out of the west...
It's the San Antonio Spurs!
They successfully eliminated the defending champion Lakers 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinals, and eliminated the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the Western Conference finals, reaching the finals.
Tim Duncan returns to the Finals stage after 5 years.
What made Woody and Johnson a little puzzled was that the Pistons did not contact them immediately after the Eastern Conference Finals to discuss matters related to the trial.
At this time, Johnson showed his calm side that had experienced strong winds and waves. He did not rush to contact him, but asked Woody to maintain his condition during training and wait quietly.
During this period, as the trial training was in full swing, various gossips emerged one after another.
There are frequent reports from the Chicago media that they are actively trading draft picks in an effort to get Dwyane Wade.
At the same time, Pat Riley is also trying to trade draft picks and seems to be competing for a new player.
When Johnson was thinking about whether to agree to the trial olive branch that the Bulls management frequently rejected and arrange a Chicago trial for Woody, Ben Wallace called Woody:
"Damn, no, Rick was fired by Joe Dumars, we're going to change our head coach!"
