All-round Athlete

Chapter 938: Rookie Selection

The first-round pick is a very distant vocabulary for the Los Angeles Lakers. The last first-round pick of the Lakers dates back to the 2009 NBA draft. Second in the league, so the Lakers finally got the No. 29 pick.

At that time, the Lakers had just defeated the Magic in the finals to win the championship, and had entered the finals for two consecutive years, so in terms of lineup, the Lakers were very neat and there was no need to make adjustments. A 29th pick A rookie, even if he came to the Lakers, he couldn't play, so the Lakers simply traded with the Knicks, used this draft pick to select Tony Douglas, and then exchanged a second-round pick and several million dollars from the Knicks , In fact, it means that the Lakers helped the Knicks choose a Douglas.

Giants like the Lakers seldom train their own rookies. They prefer to directly recruit famous superstars, mess with high-ranking rookies and then train them themselves. It is a last resort for the Lakers. Since the beginning of the 21st century, among the first-round rookies selected by the Lakers, only Bynum has won the Lakers' second contract. Those like Farmar who can stay with the Lakers for four years as a rookie are already rare. , The other first-round rookies all said goodbye to the Lakers in the first two years.

Since 2010, the Lakers have basically been spectators in the NBA draft for four consecutive years, because they only have second-round picks. In order to get Gasol, the Lakers sent the 2008 and 2010 first-round picks; then in the three-way transaction between the Lakers, the Rockets and the Nets in 2010, the Lakers sent the 2011 first-round picks to get the veteran Joe Smith; the Lakers' 2012 first-round pick was exchanged from the Cavaliers for guard Sessions to replace "Old Fish" Fisher; in the year that formed F4, in order to get Nash, the Lakers traded 2013 The first-round picks in 2015 and 2015 were traded to the Suns. In the same year for Howard, the Lakers also traded the first-round picks in 2017 to the Magic.

Exchanging the first-round pick for a superstar belongs to exchanging the future of the team for the present of the team. At the time, it seemed that this was not a loss. In Bath Jr.’s plan, the Lakers first form an "F4" to win the championship, and then renew Howard's contract. Then Nash and Kobe retire. A superstar still has the ability to win the championship.

As for the issue of first-round draft picks, as long as the team maintains a good record, it will not be able to get high-ranking draft picks. Picks outside the 20th place are not so valuable.

It’s just that Bass miscalculated the cards. The Lakers’ F4 didn’t win the championship. Howard went to the Rockets. The team is big, and there is no first-round pick in hand, so it lacks the bargaining chips to trade big-name stars.

However, because the rules of the league also prohibit any team from trading their first-round picks for two consecutive years in the future, so one of the picks is "protected", so the team sells the picks every other year .

Take the 2015 first-round pick that the Lakers traded to the Suns as an example. It is a top-five pick protection, so as long as the Lakers can draw the top five, they can keep this pick. At that time, the Lakers were lucky and got it The second place, and then decisively chose D'Angelo Russell, missing future stars such as Pol Burgess, Myles Turner and Devin Booker.

Although the Lakers kept the first-round pick in 2015, the Suns will not lose money. This pick will be postponed to 2016 before being handed over to the Suns. According to the contract at the time, 2016 and 2017 were the top three protections. , 2018 is unprotected, that is to say, as long as the Lakers get the top three picks in 2016 and 2017, they can also keep the first-round pick. The power must be handed over to the sun.

In 2016, because the Lakers had a bad record and good luck, they got the second place again, so they kept the draft pick again.

But in 2017, if the Lakers still want to keep the draft pick, they must continue to play badly and strive to draw the top three again, so as to keep the 2017 draft pick, so the Lakers traded away the team's top scorer. Si, make the team worse, and strive to be at the bottom of the league.

At the same time, the Lakers also owed the Magic a first-round pick in the Howard deal, so if the Lakers can't keep the 2017 pick, they need to send another 2019 first-round pick to the Magic. The reason why it is 2019 instead of 2018 is also because the league does not allow a team to have no first-round picks for two consecutive years, so 2018 should be avoided.

...

2013 is considered to be a small draft year, and the upcoming 2014 draft is considered to be a big draft year, and the quality of the draft picks has greatly improved compared to last year.

Andrew Wiggins from Canada is not only the best high school student in the United States in 2013, but also was elected as Mr. Basketball in the United States. Many experts even believe that Wiggins will become the second LeBron James.

Jabari Parker, won the best high school student in the United States in 2012, and is also the fourth person in history to win this award without a high school senior. The previous three people are LeBron James, Greg Oden and Bruce Landon Knight. In his freshman year, Parker was successfully selected to the NCAA All-NBA First Team, and he was the only freshman selected.

Cameroonian athlete Joel Embiid, although he only started professional basketball training at the age of 17, his physical fitness is very abnormal. As a big man, he has a soft touch and good agility. He was once considered a popular candidate for the No. 1 pick , Some experts even believe that Embiid's potential is greater than that of "Big Eyebrow" Anthony Davis.

These three players would have been the No. 1 picks in other years, but now they are in the same year. Therefore, for the team that draws the top three picks, no matter which one of them they choose, they will be sure to make a profit.

In addition, there are Dante Essam, Aaron Gordon, Julius Randle, Marcus Smart, Noah Vonleh, Doug McDermott, Jr. Payton and other outstanding players have also participated in this year's draft. If these rookies are placed in the draft year, they will all have the strength to hit the top three.

Of course, these players basically have nothing to do with the Lakers. They are all popular candidates in the lottery zone, and the Lakers got the 21st pick this season.

Although the Lakers are eighth in the West, they have a record of 48 wins and 33 losses. If this record is placed in the East, it will be second only to the Pacers and the Heat, ranking third. In comparison, the Eastern Raptors, Bulls and other teams have also entered the playoffs, and are ranked high in the Eastern Conference, and their draft picks are all ahead of the Lakers.

However, in terms of the level of rookies in the first year of the draft, there is still a great chance of finding a competent starter with the 21st pick, and even rookies before the 40th pick can stay in the NBA.

"My dear general manager, do you have any good suggestions for our first-round pick this year?" Buss Jr. asked.

"I have two plans. The league has just announced the invitation list for the small green room in the draft. There are 21 players in total. They all have the potential to enter the lottery. I looked at the list of players and they are all well written. We happen to be the 21st pick, so my first plan is to choose a player in the small green room." Kupchak said.

The small green room is equivalent to the "VIP room" during the draft. Every year before the start of the draft, some rookies participating in the draft will be invited to enter the small green room. These invited talents will sit in a green room at the draft and wait for the president to call their names. Being able to be on the list means that he is favored by many teams and has a great chance of becoming a high-ranked rookie player.

There are also many cases of entering the small green house but not being selected for a long time, which is more embarrassing. For example, Jordan was originally expected to enter the lottery area, but he was not selected by the Clippers until the 35th pick in the second round. selected. This incident made Jordan unhappy for several years.

"Choosing from the small green house is indeed the safest plan." Little Bass nodded, and then asked: "What about the second plan?"

"The second plan is to choose an inside player, a power forward or a center, which is conducive to our renewal of Jordan Hill. And if the renewal of Jordan Hill fails, we also have a substitute plan." Kupchak spoke.

Kupchak is using an old trick experienced in the NBA, by choosing a rookie player at the same position to undercut the player who is about to re-sign. Sometimes the team will also sign some free agents in the same position to lower the price of players who are about to renew. And some more conservative players will choose to renew their contracts at a reduced price.

For example, Jordan Hill wants a big contract. At this time, the Lakers choose an inside player to tell Jordan Hill that the Lakers have already found someone who can replace you. If you are interested, don’t propose a high amount. number.

Everyone in the conference room nodded. From the perspective of the team management, everyone agreed with Kupchak's approach. Little Bass even asked, "Do you have any suitable candidates?"

"Among the 21 players who entered the small green room, Adrian Payne and Nurkic are both excellent inside players. In addition, Mitch McGarry of the University of Michigan once ranked second in the 2012 list of high schools in the United States. , he is very good at rebounding and blocking shots, the only hidden danger is that he experienced a back operation last year. O'Bryant of Louisiana State University can play power forward and small forward, and he has entered the NCAA Southeastern Conference for two consecutive years a team."

"In addition, the Swiss player Clint Capela is also a good candidate. He played in the French LNB league last season, averaging 21.4 minutes per game, scoring 9.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.8 assists. Cap is the best young player in the LNB league and the winner of the most improved award. These are our reserve candidates." Kupchak introduced over and over again, and other people in the conference room looked through the files in their hands to check these players data of.

Among the players mentioned by Kupchak, Zhang Guan is most familiar with Capela. After Howard left the Rockets, he replaced Howard as the Rockets' starting center and achieved very good data. Although Capela La has no offensive means, and he is not allowed to make free throws, but as a blue-collar, he is still qualified, at least he can adapt to the Rockets' offensive system.

With the Lakers' 21st pick, if you choose Capela, you won't lose money, and Capela can be regarded as a talent to make. But the Lakers already have Whiteside, what Capela can't do, Whiteside can do, what Capela can do, Whiteside can do better, instead of cultivating Capela, It's better to train Whiteside.

At this time, Zhang Guan suddenly remembered a name, and he asked: "I know there is a Serbian inside player named Nikola Jokic, who also announced his candidacy this year?"

"You are talking about the Serbian star of hope. Our scouts have paid attention to this player in the first half of the season. At that time, there was even an assessment that he would enter the lottery." Kupchak paused, Then he said: "However, he has never played in the United States, but has been living in Europe. For this kind of overseas players, before they have achieved results, we will be more cautious in our choices, and generally we will not give them high rewards." order."

Kupchak said it very tactfully, but Zhang Guan understood that Kupchak didn't think Jokic was worth a first-round pick.

For those overseas players who did not grow up in the United States, if they have not played decent results, it is impossible to get a high pick even if they participate in the NBA draft. For example, Ginobili was selected with the 57th overall pick in the second round of 1999, and he landed in the NBA after being elected as the MVP of the European Basketball League. After winning the Spanish League regular season MVP twice, he joined the Rockets. There is also Gasol Jr., who was selected with the 48th overall pick in the second round in 2007. He also received the contract from the Grizzlies after he won the MVP of the Spanish regular season.

Therefore, if young overseas players have not played in the United States and have not achieved results in other professional leagues, they are worth a pick in the middle or late of the second round. NBA teams choose them and buy lottery tickets. almost.

And if you have already achieved results before participating in the draft, it will be different. In 2001, Gasol was already the star of the Barcelona team; in 2002, Dayao had already dominated the CBA; champion.

Jokic is only 19 years old this year, and has yet to show his prominence in European professional leagues. Although he is regarded as the star of hope in Serbia, there are too many talented young people in the United States. In the eyes of the general manager of an NBA team, Jokic is just a "lottery ticket", worth at most a second-round pick. What's more, even very good European players will not adapt to the climate when they come to the NBA.

But Zhang Guan knew that Jokic should be regarded as the biggest "miss" in this draft. Jokic could score 10 points and 7 rebounds in his rookie season, and his data in the second year increased to 16 points and 9 rebounds. A quasi double-double in rebounds and 4.6 assists, which he averaged in 27 minutes per game.

Jokic's efficiency value reached 26.4 in the second year, which is comparable to Love's peak season. Compared with players in the same position, the efficiency value of the thick eyebrow brother Anthony Davis in the second year is 26.5, and the efficiency value of Anthony Towns in the second year is 25. However, the thick eyebrow brother and Downs are both champions, and they are both Among the top picks, Jokic is just a second-round rookie.

I just heard Kupchak ask: "Are you optimistic about this Serb?"

"Yes." Zhang Guan nodded, and continued; "I think he is the most underestimated one in this draft. The young Zhang Guan has comprehensive skills but is flexible. Low-post offense, great passing ability, and most importantly, he has a good three-point shooting ability, this is a big man who can shoot three-pointers."

As Zhang Guan said, he deliberately glanced at D'Antoni, and D'Antoni really showed a look of interest.

A big man who can pass the ball and shoot three-pointers is obviously the person D'Antoni needs most, so D'Antoni coughed dryly and said, "If possible, can you get a detailed scouting report?"

"Yes." Kupchak nodded. He could see that D'Antoni was quite tempted, so Kupchak then reminded: "An overseas player is really not worth using a first-round pick. But we Try to get a second-round pick from another team, and it costs some cash."

As Kupchak said, he looked at Little Buss, obviously asking for his opinion.

Spending money to buy a second-round pick is a relatively loss-making thing. 2014 is another draft year, and the price of draft picks will definitely be relatively high. The value of the 40th pick in the second round is about 2.5 million US dollars, which is quite the value of the basic salary of two veterans. So unless there is really a favorite player, the team will not spend this unreasonable money to "buy lottery tickets".

Little Buss thought for a few seconds, and finally put on a posture that you are happy, and nodded in agreement. A wealthy family like the Lakers always spends 100 to 200 million US dollars a year. It is not a loss to spend 200 to 300 million to buy a lottery ticket and make Zhang Guan happy by the way. Anyway, as long as Zhang Guan is willing to stay with the Lakers, the Lakers can earn back these millions in minutes.

In terms of spending money, Bass Jr. is quite generous.

"In this case, I will contact the teams that are interested in selling the second-round picks and listen to their offers." Kupchak said.

"Mainly contact the Philadelphia 76ers. They have a No. 3 pick this year and the 10th overall pick. They also have five second-round picks, which means they have 7 picks this year. So many picks. If they can't use it themselves, they will definitely be willing to sell it." Zhang Guan paused, and then reminded: "We only need the 39th pick in their hands."

Kupchak silently wrote a few strokes in his notebook. He originally wanted to mention a rookie named Jordan Clarkson, but since the Lakers were planning to select Jokic in the second round, Kupchak would also There is no need to mention Clarkson. The guard who was originally worth playing in the Lakers also passed by the Lakers because of this.

Thank you Rubber Band and Zhao Laoyao for the 10,000-point reward!