Bishop of the Devil

The probability of producing stars in the first round is quite high, but the number of fish that slip through the net in this year's second round is far less than in 1998.

It's quite similar to 1996...

In 1996, there were also no fish that slipped through the net. There was only one big player, and he was just an undrafted player.

In 1999, there was only one second-round pick who slipped through the net, and that was Manu Ginobili!

Needless to say, Richard Ginobili is bound to win!

Richard has already let the Spurs get Bowen, so if Ginobili talks about it, Richard will accept it without mercy...

Ginobili's draft pick was very low, and he was not selected until the 57th overall pick in the second round.

That is, the second to last overall draft pick!

Under normal history, the last place would be the Jazz, who selected Eddie Lucas with the 58th overall pick in the second round...

The second to last thing is that the Spurs selected Ginobili!

The more embarrassing problem now is that the second-round pick in Richard's hand is the last one...

…

trade!

A transaction must be made!

Regardless of whether it is the first round or the second round, Richard has to seek a deal, at least the first round pick must be replaced with the 24th pick or above, and the second round pick must be replaced with the 57th pick or above!

Only in this way can he ensure that the Blazers gain something in this draft.

Ginobili is a player that Richard cannot miss, and the same is true for Kirilenko. Richard will try his best to get it.

In Richard's view, Rasheed's departure will greatly weaken the Blazers' defense on the front and back lines. In this case, if they can get the AK47, they can make up for this shortcoming.

In fact, Kirilenko and Rashid still have a lot in common.

First of all, the two are about the same height. Kirilenko is 206 centimeters and Rashid is 208 centimeters. The main offensive methods of these two people are mid-range shots.

He has excellent jumping ability, very tough defense, and can be played inside or outside.

Due to his size, his single defense ability is not particularly outstanding, but he is a top supplementary defense expert...

When defending the perimeter, you can use your long arms to easily create steals and form counterattack fast breaks!

It's just that Kirilenko's offense is not as stable as Rashid's. Rashid's mid-range shooting is as stable as a dog, while Kirilenko is a little worse in this aspect.

The offense is poor, but the defense is not bad. Kirilenko's defense may be better than Rashid's.

It can be regarded as a weak offensive and defensive version of Rasheed Wallace!

Such a player can completely make up for the damage to the team's strength caused by Rashid's departure!

But whether it is Ginobili or Kirilenko, there is a problem that cannot be ignored.

That is, both of them are European players!

It's okay to say Ginobili. When Ginobili participated in the draft in 1999, he actually had the opportunity to directly join the Spurs to play. However, the Spurs did not directly sign Ginobili and retained Ginobili. contracting rights.

Let him continue to hone in Europe for two years...

It wasn't until 2002, when Ginobili was 25 years old, that Ginobili was actually signed.

If Popovich was determined to let Ginobili enter the NBA after the draft, it would not be impossible.

Although Ginobili is currently playing in the Italian League, he is playing in the Italian Serie B...

And even in this second-tier league, Ginobili is being trained by the coach to be a qualified backup shooting guard, not to mention training him as the team's leader...

If the Spurs pay a small transfer fee, they can easily get Ginobili. Instead of waiting for so many years...

But once money comes into play, the Spurs are doomed. Their team can break a penny in half, allowing them to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in transfer fees for a shooting guard who is not very eye-catching in Europe. It's impossible to think about it...

And if Richard selects Ginobili, there will be no such trouble. As long as Richard opens his mouth and says that Ginobili will become the mainstay of the team's backcourt, Paul Allen will be reluctant to part with the mere three and a half million. Transfer fee in US dollars? !

Without even thinking about it, Paul Allen probably agreed without saying a word.

As for Kirilenko, it will be more troublesome...

The main reason is that Kirilenko is already playing well now. In 1999, this guy won the honor of the best rookie in Europe. It is not easy for the Moscow CSKA team to release him because of the transfer fee of 3.5 million US dollars... …

Historically, Kirilenko was selected by the Jazz in 1999 and only entered the NBA in 2001.

Of course Richard couldn't wait until 2001, when the day lilies would be cold...

At the moment, we can only take one step at a time and try our best to trade the draft pick up. If we can get the 16th pick in the first round, Richard may choose Artest...

Under normal history, Artest would have been selected with this pick.

Choosing Artest is actually a pretty good choice, even better than Kirilenko...

But the problem is that Artest now has the aura of a West Lafayette player, and it is unlikely that he will be just the 16th pick like under normal circumstances.

According to Richard's estimation, Artest has a high probability of being selected in the top ten picks.

No matter what, Richard should make preparations first and trade draft picks as high as possible.

…

Things must come easy first. As soon as the lottery ended, Richard contacted several teams and wanted to exchange the second-round pick he had on hand.

What Richard didn't expect was that Mavericks came to visit...

No matter what Old Nelson said, he wanted to change with Richard. Looking at his attitude, if Richard didn't change, he would be able to catch a plane and fly to Portland tomorrow to strangle Richard to death.

Richard could actually understand Nelson's behavior.

To put it bluntly, it actually happened at the last draft...

Old Nelson always felt guilty. Of course, he actually wanted to make good friends with Richard.

The draft pick itself is not very valuable. The key is that the Mavericks have two second-round draft picks this year. It does not hurt to exchange one for Richard.

A second-round pick with the 36th pick, and a second-round pick with the 40th pick!

Under normal circumstances, the Mavericks used the 36th pick in the second round to select Da Zhi, and then used the 40th pick in the second round to select a foreign Croatian player. Finally, they voluntarily gave up the right to sign this player... …

The Mavericks really don't need these two second-round picks, so they might as well exchange one for Richard and sell Richard a good deal...

"Old man, are you sure?!"

"Sure, Li, you can choose one of these two draws..." Old Nelson said with a smile on the other end of the phone.

Richard blinked, this was like a pie falling from the sky. Nelson didn't want cash, and no one wanted Richard's players. It was a simple exchange of second-round picks.

Two second-round picks, Richard picks one...

This is simply a good person, old and beautiful LF!

"Okay, old man, let me choose the second-round pick with the 40th pick..."

"I owe you a favor!"

Richard didn't say any more words of thanks. He owed Old Nelson a favor this time, and he would just find an opportunity to pay it back in the future...

No, it seems that I can return this favor now.

Richard searched his mind and carefully recalled the second round pick in 1999 in his mind.

Although Ginobili was the only one in the second-round pick who slipped through the net, it does not mean that the other players are completely stinky tomatoes and rotten eggs. There are still some who can beat him.

Li Nailong...

When Richard thought of this player's name, his eyes suddenly lit up. This player with a very Chinese name could actually repay Nelson's favor.

"Why are you being so polite to me? Li, although I am older than you, we are friends after all. Larry Hughes is a pretty good guy!" Old Nelson smiled from ear to ear.

Richard's favor is a good thing...

"By the way, old man, I'm embarrassed to let you suffer. Why don't I recommend a good player to you..." Richard said with a smile.

Old Nelson on the other end of the phone had the urge to look up to the sky and laugh wildly!

A second-round pick for a good player? !

This is really profitable...

Richard said yes, that’s definitely true...

No, it's not a second-round pick at all. After all, the Trail Blazers traded the second-round pick with the Mavericks!

…

Although Richard deceived a lot of people in the last draft, Nelson felt that there was no need for Richard to lie to him now.

"Li Nailong..."

"A good combo forward with good offensive ability and a little lackluster defense. He can grow into a qualified starting player or main substitute."

Richard opened his mouth and told Old Nelson about Li Nailong's situation.

The reason why Richard can remember such a player is actually mainly because this player's name is very special.

If it were a name like Jack Tom, Richard would probably not be impressed.

Li Nailong's offensive strength is not bad, and he can average more than 14 points per game at his peak. As Richard said, there is no problem in growing into a qualified starter or main substitute.

…

Old Nelson is already happy!

A qualified starter may not sound like much before, but in many cases, the top five picks in the first round may not be able to select a qualified starter...

As for the second-round pick, if you want to select a player with qualified starting ability, it is definitely the level of finding a needle in a haystack.

In fact, among the second-round picks in 1999, except for Ginobili and Li Nailong, none of the other second-round picks could even play.

Not to mention qualified starters or main substitutes, there is not even a qualified substitute among the others.

This piece of information given by Richard undoubtedly made Mavericks a fortune.

They didn't pay a big price to get a newcomer with decent potential!

At this moment, Nelson felt that he was really wise. If he hadn't made good friends with Richard, would the Mavericks have gotten such benefits from Richard? !

It just so happens that the Mavericks still have the 36th pick on hand to sign Li Nailong!

He now regrets why he sold the first-round pick to the Suns in the first place. Otherwise, at this time, while Richard is in a good mood, he might be able to get some news about the first-round pick and then use the ninth pick to get it. , isn’t it wonderful...

In the Nash deal, the Mavericks sent their first-round pick, and the Suns used this first-round pick to acquire the hacker Marion.

…

But now that the Mavericks don't have a first-round pick, it's really weird to ask Richard about the first round, but Nelson didn't say this.

The second-round pick was obtained smoothly. Carlisle originally wanted to help Richard, but the 76ers' second-round pick was too low, and Richard felt that it was not safe.

The Mavericks' current second-round pick at No. 40 is definitely enough.

There is no risk at all...

Next, Richard began to seek to trade first-round picks.

This is the most important task. Trading the second-round pick itself is not difficult. At the worst, Richard can compensate with some cash, and there are still quite a few teams who are willing to exchange it.

But this is not the case for first-round picks, especially first-round picks in the top ten picks, no one is willing to trade them...

The main reason is that in recent years, there have been too many powerful newcomers among the top ten picks in the first round!

Needless to say, in 1996, Kobe, the seventh pick, was a double MVP this year. He was so strong. In addition to Kobe, there were also strong newcomers such as Allen Iverson, Raheem, Marbury, and Ray Allen among the top ten picks!

Duncan, Keith Van Horn and the No. 7 pick Da Zhi in 1997 are also already prominent players in the league.

The situation in 1998 was actually similar. The main reason was that a large number of West Lafayette players entered the NBA this year. There were four West Lafayette players in the top ten picks alone!

And these 99 years are even more exaggerated...

Brand, Davis, Odom, Szczerbiak, Hamilton, Artest!

West Lafayette has six players entering the NBA this year!

This is simply a draft feast!

Whoever has the top ten picks in their hands will only think of trading them out unless they are out of their mind...

Last season, Nelson didn't expect so many people from West Lafayette to enter the NBA. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't be willing to sell their first-round picks.

Six West Lafayette players are entering the NBA!

History has proven that unless you are very, very sure about a certain player, otherwise, you are absolutely right to choose a West Lafayette player!

This is a kind of guarantee. Those clueless teams holding the top ten picks are currently staring at this year's Purdue Sixth...

The NBA draft is very popular here, but Purdue University is in pain!

Last season's draft was made up of the fourth player from Purdue, and this year it's the sixth player from Purdue!

The most embarrassing thing is that last season Purdue University only introduced two players designated by Richard, namely Prince and Richard Jefferson...

In other words, these two are the only ones left on the Purdue University team...

Maybe Purdue's strength is still good, but the chance of winning the championship with this lineup is not very high.

We can only wait for Richard's new list to see if he can add to it.

…

There is definitely no need to think about the top ten picks. Richard can only target the next ten to twenty picks.