After the finals, the media concentrated on coverage for a few days, and then the attention of the NBA turned to the draft that will be held soon.
Each draft favorite has become the focus of media reports. Every rookie who is listed as a lottery pick by the media has received a lot of attention from the media, and the rookies who are likely to enter the top five or top three are even more focused, but the focus is only on the No. 1 pick. Show popular candidates.
Tyson Chandler has become the most popular candidate for the No. 1 pick. He is 216 centimeters tall and has an outstanding wingspan of 222 centimeters. He has excellent athletic ability, soft shots, good defensive awareness, smooth movement ability, and stability on both offense and defense. And his outstanding performance made every general manager in the NBA covet him.
Perhaps the only weakness is that he is a high school student and has not been trained by the NCAA, so his quality is not very good.
Another popular candidate for the No. 1 pick is Kwame Brown. Like Tyson Chandler, he is also a high school student and is as famous as Chandler.
Compared with these two, Yao Min's draft attention is still much smaller. Few media believe that he will become the No. 1 pick. After all, in terms of athletic talent, he is far inferior to these two and has never played in the United States.
However, he has the blessing of an Olympic title, a height of 226 centimeters, and Zhou Quan's high opinion, so he has attracted a lot of attention. Most media predict that he will be at least among the top five, or even top three, in the first round, and his draft prospects are only low. Higher than Tyson Chandler and Kwame Brown, and higher than Eddy Curry and Pau Gasol.
The media's evaluation of this draft is that it is better than that of 2000. It can be regarded as full of talents, but it is not considered a big draft year.
The most important reason for this evaluation is that the two top picks are both high school students. Although they are extremely talented, they have certain risks in the future.
Another example is that there are no outstanding defenders among this year's rookies. Starting with Magic, the league has entered the era of defenders. By the time Zhou Quan appeared, super centers were crushed. Without outstanding defenders, it is naturally not a great year. .
The draft will be held on June 28th, and on the 17th, the one-week rookie training camp organized by the league will begin in New York.
During this period, the general managers and presidents of each team were busy doing final analysis and made several draft plans.
After Michael Jordan received the No. 1 pick, he finally made up his mind after countless considerations. He still believed in his own judgment.
He was more optimistic about Kwame Brown, the strongest high school student with the best talent, and gave up Tyson Chandler.
As for Yao Min, he is not optimistic about his talent. He has no bounce on the floor, which is half the value. His arms are short, which affects defense. His hands are also small. As a 226 cm big center, he cannot grab the ball with one hand and make moves. This is very big. defect.
The important thing is that Yao Min is not an iron fist and has no experience playing in the United States. He feels that the possibility of Yao Min adapting to the NBA is not high. Just like the king of the Mavericks, he is not worth the No. 1 pick at all.
Tomjanovich was very optimistic about Yao Min. After discussing with general manager Dawson, he decided to trade up the draft picks, try to get a top eight or even top five pick, and then choose Yao Min.
The Clippers hope to get Tyson Chandler, but they are worried about being snatched away by the Wizards, so their plan is that once the Wizards select Chandler, they will choose Kwame Brown.
The first choice of the Hawks management with the No. 3 pick is Tyson Chandler, but the second choice is not Kwame Brown. Their head coach likes Gasol very much. If the Wizards and Clippers select these two people, Their third choice is Yao Min.
The Bulls' first choice with the fourth pick was also Chandler, their second choice was Yao Min, and their third choice was Eddy Curry.
In the end, Mosaic did not complete the transaction, and the pick in hand was still No. 13, so a trading plan was formulated.
Dameng still had the last year of his contract, so he changed his mind and hoped to leave the team to compete for the championship. They planned to use Dameng to trade Yao Min.
Zhou Quan rested for a week, then went to various places for some business activities, and came to New York on the 24th to continue business activities.
Take time every day to have a meal with Dayao, expose him, and add some attention and popularity to Dayao.
"Dayao, why haven't I seen you sign a sneaker contract these days?" Zhou Quan thought of this while eating that day.
Dayao said with a face full of pain and tears: "Brother, I signed a four-year contract with Nike in 1999, the first year was 20,000 US dollars, and the next three years were 40,000 US dollars, 60,000 US dollars, and 80,000 US dollars respectively. A total of 200,000 US dollars, it ends on May 31, 2003, and there are still two years left."
200,000 in 4 years?
Zhou Quan couldn't close his mouth. Which idiot signed this contract?
Because of him in the country, Dayao's commercial value will definitely not be too high, but no matter what, as long as he is selected in the top five, even if the center does not sell shoes, the two million US dollars a year contract is still worth it. Nike is bloody Make money!
"Whoever signed the contract for you, fire him immediately." He only said one sentence and stopped talking about this topic, so as not to irritate Dayao.
The 28th, draft day.
In the evening, Zhou Quan came to Madison Square Garden.
As soon as he got off the bus, he was surrounded by reporters. He answered questions while walking inside.
"King of Iron Fist, who do you think this year's No. 1 pick will be?"
"Why don't you ask me who Michael Jordan will choose this time?"
"Okay, that's it."
"Then let me tell you, he will definitely not choose the best one. He doesn't have that vision, haha!"
"Tekken King, do you think Yao will be drafted by Michael Jordan?"
"Won't."
"That also means, do you think Yao might be the one you think is the best?"
"Haha, you are very smart, but this is what you imagined."
"So do you think Yao might be the best one?"
"It's certainly possible, he's one of the best this year."
When he arrived at the scene, Madison Square Garden was already filled with many people, but it was not full. There were empty seats everywhere. He came to sit next to Whitchet.
The small green room in front is already full of rookies, all of whom are officially considered potential lottery picks. Dayao and his agent Mr. Zhang are sitting together, next to them are high school students Tyson Chandler and Spaniard Gasol. In the past it was Eddy Curry and Kwame Brown.
Zhou Quan didn't ask Whithit who he wanted to pick. The last pick, No. 29, had a chance of picking up a treasure no matter what year it was.
The draft started at eight o'clock. At seven-thirty, Zhou Quan's cell phone suddenly rang. When he looked at it, he saw that the number was unknown and there was no note. It was an unknown caller.
"Hello?"
"Oh, brother, I, I'm Bart."
He was startled. Did this idiot call him?
"Bart, your phone number is from the United States. Have you come to the United States? Don't you have a problem with me? Call me now. Have you figured it out?"
Bart was born in November 1975. He is a little younger than him, almost four years old, so he has no worries about speaking.
Bart said awkwardly over there: "Yeah, brother, I, I can't help you!"
"Stop talking nonsense. When you come outside, be more open-minded. Tell me, what do you want from me?" Zhou Quan asked.
"Brother, the Nuggets management invited me to help them play in the summer league and preseason games." Bart said quickly.
"Good thing, is there any problem?"
"I've contacted Da Zhi. Isn't he training at your place? So, it's still some time before the summer league, you see?"
"Okay, you go to Seattle to find Da Zhi, and I will call the training center to make arrangements for you."
"Thank you, brother."
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Quan then contacted Roger Philippe and asked him to call the training hall, test the bus, and then make a targeted training plan.
He is not very optimistic about Daba. Daba has strength, but his mobility is a big flaw. The game rhythm of the NBA is much faster than that of the domestic CBA, and Daba cannot adapt to it.
However, Daba should have no problem finding a job in the NBA. After all, he is big and powerful, so being a human shield shouldn't be a big problem.
If it doesn't work, the Sonics are short of meat shields. Both Ewing and Chris Mullin have left the team, and they are short of players at the center position and defenders.
Soon, the draft begins.
David Stern took the stage to make an opening statement and then announced the official start of the draft.
Old God Jordan was there, holding his pearls of wisdom, and he was in a very happy mood. When the official staff came over, he handed over the envelope he had prepared in his hand.
On the stage, David Stern took the envelope handed by the staff, glanced at Jordan with a smile, and then pulled out the letterhead inside.
"With the No. 1 pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards selected Kwame Brown from Georgia Greene College."
"Pa bang bang..."
A round of applause erupted from Madison Square Garden as David Stern's voice sounded.
"I?"
Kwame Brown couldn't believe it. The most popular No. 1 pick was Tyson Chandler. He had no confidence in being selected at No. 1 and was not mentally prepared.
"What?"
Tyson Chandler was extremely surprised, it wasn't him? Jordan didn't even take a fancy to him?
"Hmph, it's not unreasonable for Michael Jordan to lose to the Iron Fist King. He has no vision at all."
At this time, he couldn't help but look at Jordan, and then looked back at Zhou Quan.
"Kwame Brown?"
Zhou Quan is not surprised. Kwame Brown's talent should be the best among the hottest rookies. It is not surprising that he was selected by Jordan.
Dayao was not disappointed that he was not favored by Jordan, but he always felt a little uneasy. He occasionally talked to Mr. Zhang and looked back at Zhou Quan.
"Jordan picked Brown, we want Chandler."
Kuaiban made the final decision, wrote Tyson Chandler's name on the letterhead, stuffed it into an envelope, and handed it to the staff.
At this time, Kwame Brown took over the Wizards hat, walked onto the stage, and hugged David Stern.
Next, David Stern announced the Clippers' selection.
Tyson Chandler breathed a sigh of relief. It was okay after all. Although he was disappointed that he was not the No. 1 pick, the No. 2 pick was not bad either.
Next, the Hawks used the third pick to select their favorite Pau Gasol.
"Brother, where are the top three we agreed on?"
Dayao was a little worried and looked back at Zhou Quan several times.
Zhou Quan is a little embarrassed, Dayao, please be quiet. I said you shouldn't fall out of the top three, but isn't this an accident?
At this time, Bulls general manager Jerry Krause wrote a name on the letterhead with a smile, then stuffed it into an envelope and handed it to the staff.
"The Chicago Bulls selected Yao Min from China with the fourth pick in the first round." A minute later, David Stern read out Yao Min's name.
"call!"
Dayao breathed a sigh of relief, fourth place was not bad.
Zhou Quan applauded and said to Whitsitt: "The Bulls have the worst record in the league this season, with only 15 wins. I think they can win at least 30 games next season."
Whitsitt also applauded and said: "Brad Miller is with the Bulls, and they should trade Miller."
"You want him to come back?" Zhou Quan asked.
"There's no room," Whitsitt said.
Zhou Quan thought about the Bulls' lineup and said: "With Yao Min and No. 1 pick Elton Brand on the inside, the inside is not bad. Artest and Ron Mercer on the outside, the Bulls only have one good control player." Guard, the lineup is actually not bad, I even think 30 wins is too few, 50 wins will be enough to make the playoffs."
Whitsitt tilted his head and said: "The Iron Fist King, Elton Brand, as the No. 1 pick in 1999, was at his peak when he debuted. He scored 20+10 for two consecutive seasons, but the Bulls only had only 17 and 15 wins.
That being said, Brand has let the Bulls down and I have sources that Jerry Krause has chosen to rebuild and they will likely want to trade Brand. "
"What?"
Zhou Quan was a little surprised.
This is good news. If Brand is traded, Dayao may be cultivated as the core, provided that he can play well.
At this time, the Mosaic team initiated a trade to the Bulls, who had just drafted Yao.
Dayao took over the Bulls hat and was still talking to David Stern on the stage, and the following transaction about him began.
(End of chapter)
