Bishop of the Devil

Richard wants to use the Pistons second-round pick in his hand to get Okur.

Although Yao Ming will be taken next year, what can the team do without a backup center? Okur's strength is more than enough to serve as a backup center!

And if the deal with the Golden State Warriors goes through, Richard can get a draft pick around the 20th pick, plus a pick at the 30th pick.

These two picks, the higher 20th pick, Richard's purpose is to select Gerald Wallace.

As for the 30th overall pick, it was originally used by the Warriors to select Arenas...

If a deal is really reached with the Warriors, Richard actually has no other better choice but to choose Arenas.

Although Arenas is a big thorn, that will happen after he expands.

Under Richard's hands, Arenas, a rookie, could only expand with his tail between his legs and follow Richard's orders.

…

Now it depends on whether Stackhouse can be sold before the draft begins.

But Richard didn't hold out much hope. After all, there were still two days until the draft started...

It’s really a rush in terms of time!

Richard secretly felt that it was a pity that it was too late when he joined the Pistons.

If the regular season had just ended, I would have sold Stackhouse long ago if I had joined the Pistons.

Then use the collected chips to make a good operation in this draft, and you can create a decent lineup.

Arenas and Parker in the backcourt, Elvis, Jefferson, Randolph, Nochioni and Okur in the frontcourt.

Even if Parker and Randolph are not taken, Richard can find suitable replacements.

In this way, as long as Yao Ming returns, this team will rise...

But now because of the rush of time, many things cannot go according to Richard's plan.

"Let's do this for now. I'm not planning to enter the playoffs this season anyway. Take your time, there's plenty of time!" Richard thought to himself.

…

In this new season that is about to begin, Richard really has no plans to enter the playoffs. From his point of view, entering the playoffs this season will not mean much...

Even if they make it to the playoffs, they will still be beaten.

May be swept by the 76ers, Celtics or Bulls in the first round...

Richard shuddered just thinking about this possibility, how embarrassing it would be.

Therefore, reason tells Richard that not entering the playoffs this year is the best choice.

As for the boss Davidson, Richard felt that there was no need to explain this matter to him...

He previously signed a four-year contract with the Pistons, with a contract value of up to 55 million US dollars!

It seems that this contract is quite scary, but compared with the New York Knicks, it is really not good enough...

Richard doesn't care too much about the amount of the contract. He is really not short of money now.

There is a golden dragon that has been making money, so now I just need to lie down and count the money...

Anyway, during the duration of this four-year contract, if Richard can bring a championship to the Pistons, that will be enough.

…

In the blink of an eye, two days passed and the draft officially began.

In the past two days, some teams have made inquiries about Stackhouse...

But they were all taking advantage of the situation. Maybe they felt that Richard was hungry for draft picks, so they took out this year's first-round pick and prepared to exchange for Stackhouse.

If he was truly sincere, then Richard would definitely not refuse.

The key is that these teams have no sincerity. The Cavaliers are completely crazy. The No. 8 pick they drew belongs to the Trail Blazers, but they still have a No. 20 pick in stock.

As a result, the Crazy Knights actually planned to trade the stinky tomatoes and rotten eggs from the team with the No. 20 pick in exchange for Stackhouse...

They did have a good idea. Harrington brought in Stackhouse. This lineup is at least tolerable.

The key is that Stackhouse's contract is cheap enough, and the Cavaliers can absorb Stackhouse's contract.

…

Richard would definitely not be able to do this kind of taking advantage of the situation. Even if he traded it later for the 2002 draft pick, he couldn't sell it at a low price.

Of course, it would be best to return the 2003 draft pick.

Because 2002 can only be regarded as a small draft year, and the Pistons' own draft picks are enough...

There are only four All-Star players in total, Yao Ming, Stoudemire, Caron Butler and Boozer.

Among them, Boozer is still a second-round pick...

If Richard can get Yao Ming and Boozer next year, he will have no regrets.

…

The night before the draft started, Richard called Zach Randolph and Richardson in the hotel.

After awarding the gold medals, he told the two to work hard and not to embarrass West Lafayette.

The two nodded repeatedly. Many of their West Lafayette seniors have now become top stars in the league.

It would be a shame if they couldn't fight it out.

…

At seven o'clock the next night, the draft is about to begin.

Richard brought Bob Myers into the stadium this time, and a group of coaches immediately surrounded him.

"Li, are there any unused candidates who can take care of us?"

"Yes, we feel very unsure now. We have finally looked forward to a draft year, and now we really don't know who is more reliable to choose."

Many coaches looked at Richard expectantly, hoping that Richard would give him a choice.

Richard shook his head, "Since it's a big year for the draft, everyone can choose with confidence. There are so many good players, and you can pick good players just by choosing."

This year is indeed a big year for the draft, but it is not a big year for the big man...

The Suns used their 14th pick in exchange for the Cavaliers' 20th pick, plus their second-round pick at the bottom of the first round.

Then they took the 20th pick and the 30th pick in exchange for Richard's No. 9 pick.

Richard currently has three draft picks in his hands, a first-round pick No. 20, and two second-round picks.

In terms of candidates, Richard has naturally already thought about it.

"Li, this year we have the No. 1 pick. Who do you think is more suitable to be the No. 1 pick among this wave of newcomers?" Jordan also came to participate in the draft today.

He ran to Richard and asked Richard for his opinion.

Richard had a headache. What should he tell Jordan?

"Ahem, it's not Kwame Brown anyway..."

These words directly made Jordan roll his eyes, wasn't it Kwame Brown? !

If not him, who else could it be? This Kwame Brown is the super insider prospect that he has been eyeing for a long time...

"Lee, this joke is not funny..." Jordan said dissatisfied.

…

Stern appeared and announced the official start of the draft.

The executives of many teams took their respective positions and began to get busy...

After a while, Stern came out and announced this year's No. 1 pick.

"I announce that the Washington Wizards have selected Kwame Brown from Green College in Georgia with the first pick of the first round!"

Richard couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard the Wizards' top pick.

The old gangster was really stubborn. He even said that Kwame Brown was not the top pick, yet he actually chose Kwame Brown.

…

After getting Kwame Brown, Jordan looked at Richard with a faint smile.

There was a hint of provocation in his eyes...

Look, why did I choose Kwame Brown? When the season starts, Kwame Brown shows off abilities like rookie O'Neal, let's see what Richard says...

You, Richard, have a vicious eye for selecting people, can’t I, Jordan, be the same? !

…

"I announce that the Atlanta Hawks selected Pau Gasol from Spain with the third overall pick in the first round!"

With the second pick, the Clippers got boxing champion Tyson Chandler.

Richard was startled, how could Dajia be selected by the Hawks? Wasn't this guy the Grizzlies who joined at the beginning?

After thinking about it carefully, I remembered the whole story.

It turns out that Dajia was indeed selected by the Eagles with the third overall pick this year, but Dajia was entangled with the Spanish club Barcelona, ​​and the Eagles felt that it was too troublesome...

Simply sold it directly to Grizzly Bear.

The Grizzlies have moved from Vancouver to Memphis in the United States this season. There will no longer be Vancouver Grizzlies, only Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies were much more patient than the Eagles. They helped Dajia negotiate with Barcelona. In the end, the Grizzlies paid a sum of money, and Dajia paid a buyout fee of US$1.65 million out of his own pocket. This was considered a gain. opportunity to join the NBA.

I have to say that grizzly bears sometimes have good vision...

…

The fifth pick was Jason Richardson, a product of Purdue, who was selected by the Golden State Warriors.

The sixth pick was President Shane Battier, and it was still taken by the Memphis Grizzlies...

Richard sighed secretly. In fact, if Battier's draft pick was lower, he would still be quite inclined to win Battier.

But now that he is selected with the sixth overall pick, even if Richard has the sixth overall pick in his hands, he probably will not choose Battier.

Because there is Joe Johnson behind him, in terms of overall strength, Joe is undoubtedly stronger in singles.

The eighth pick is the Cavaliers' pick, but their pick already belongs to the Trail Blazers.

"I announce that the Portland Trail Blazers selected Zach Randolph from Purdue University with the eighth pick in the first round!"

The Trail Blazers directly selected Randolph with the precious eighth pick in the first round. Everyone present could think of the reason.

Mainly because the Trail Blazers currently don't have enough inside players in the team!

Ben and Ou are starting the starting lineup. There is only Kirilenko on the bench as an insider. Now that they have Zach Randolph, the Blazers will be more relaxed when arranging the inside line.

As for players in other positions, the Blazers are really not lacking at the moment.

Even if Nowitzki and Ginobili leave, the Blazers still have many outside players they can use.

Dave Cowens, who holds the ninth pick, has a sore face.

They were originally prepared to use this first-round pick to acquire Zach Randolph, and Cowens was prepared to acquire two players produced by Purdue this year.

The result was that he was intercepted by the Trail Blazers, which made Cowens quite uncomfortable...

But even if they feel uncomfortable, they can't help it. Their first choice has been cut off, so they can only choose the alternative.

"I announce that the Detroit Pistons selected Rodney White from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with the ninth overall pick in the first round!"

This is a combo forward with a height of 206 centimeters, and his physical fitness is quite strong.

Under normal circumstances, the Pistons actually selected this player with the ninth pick.

But regardless of his good physical fitness, this player really didn't perform well. After a few seasons in the league, he couldn't play at all.

…

Next, the Boston Celtics selected Joe Johnson with the tenth overall pick.

Although Green Kai has a very outstanding record this year, they actually still have a first-round pick in hand. They have two first-round picks this year.

Green Kai selected Joe Johnson, which seems to be a good thing, as it can make Green Kai's strength soar.

But Richard remembered that Joe actually failed to play in singles with the Green Kais. He was traded to the Suns before his rookie season was completed.

Why don't we trade with Green Kai and get single Joe? Richard thought to himself.

Joe's strength in singles is quite good.

Or to be precise, it is quite powerful!

With a height of 201cm, he plays the position of a swingman, or simply a shooting guard.

He has a great advantage in terms of height alone. His style of play is simple but quite efficient. He has point guard-level ball-handling skills. Later, when he played for the Hawks, he often played the No. 1 position and even had a single-season performance. A luxurious performance of 6.5 assists on average.

From this point of view, in fact, singles Joe and Tracy McGrady have quite a lot in common.

It's just that in singles, Joe doesn't have the same athletic ability as McGrady, lacks explosive power, and has average speed, so his breakthrough ability is definitely not as good as McGrady.

But in terms of pull-up shooting percentage, Joe is higher than McGrady in singles.

As for the defensive end, Joe's defense in isolation is not very good, at least not as good as Tracy McGrady, but it is not a laggard either. He just can't guard against fast or strong players.

Although Richard has missed singles Joe now, he still has a great chance to get it later.

After all, according to normal circumstances, Lu Kai does not pay much attention to singles Joe...

…

Next, the Houston Rockets selected Jefferson with the 13th overall pick in the first round, and then selected gay Collins with the 18th overall pick...

Well, attentive fans should have noticed something.

It's interesting that there are only two players in the league who have openly come out as gay, and they both played in the Rockets.

When the 20th pick came, Stern took the stage to announce the Cavaliers' selection.

"I announce that the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Gerald Wallace from the University of Alabama with the 20th overall pick in the first round!"

Richard felt settled. After taking over the Pistons, he finally got the first player in his team.

Gerald Wallace.

The first All-Star in the history of the Bobcats, nicknamed Elvis, is a star underestimated by history.

His personal abilities are quite comprehensive, he is quite sharp on the offensive end, and he is good at shooting. Of course, his shooting ability is not very good...

In terms of rebounds, Gerrard, who is 201cm tall, averaged 10 rebounds per game in his peak season, which is enough to show that he has good rebounding strength.

On the defensive end, he won the steals title and was selected to the All-Defensive Team. There was no fault at all.

In Richard's view, Elvis' defense is even stronger than Shane Battier, who relies on defense to make a living.

The only shortcoming is probably that his free throw shooting in the first two years of his career was so rubbish, it was even as low as 40% to 50%.

However, he later also practiced free throws and improved to 70% to 80% level.

All in all, Gerrard's strength, at least in Richard's opinion, is at Pippen level, and there is really no fault at all.

More importantly, Gerrard has a very good personality, is humble and low-key. He is very tough on the field, but he is quite gentle off the field. He is a good old man in the locker room.

He never gets into trouble off the court, and he raises four children with his childhood sweetheart wife. He is a typical example of a good family man.

For such a player to be selected by Richard with the 20th pick in the first round, it can be said that he will make a fortune.

…

Richard once asked Purdue to recruit Gerald Wallace, but the recruitment was unsuccessful.

The reason was that Gerald didn't want to leave his girlfriend and ended up staying in his hometown of Alabama to attend college.

This is a good and passionate man...

The draft continued, and when it came to the 24th pick in the first round, the Grizzlies used the 24th pick in their hands to select French sports car Tony Parker.

Richard was a little confused. Could it be that the Blazers made a deal with the Grizzlies?

But Zhang Weiping's face looked a little ugly when he couldn't see far away, and Richard knew that something had happened.

It seems that the Grizzlies' selection of Parker was definitely not for the Trail Blazers. It was either for their own use or they reached a deal with the Spurs...

A deal with the Spurs is more likely!

Richard sighed. Popovich probably suffered the loss of Ginobili, so he deliberately traded up the first-round pick this year.

Their first-round pick is the 27th pick, and the Trail Blazers are the 28th pick.

Now the Spurs have traded up to the 24th overall pick and got Parker in advance...

As for the Trail Blazers, Zhang Weiping must have made arrangements, but they only got the 25th pick in the first round.

I originally felt that this pick was enough, but in the end, I was cut off by the Spurs. No wonder Zhang Weiping's face looks a little ugly now.

However, this does not have much impact on the overall strength of the Trail Blazers. After all, the number of players in the Trail Blazers' backcourt is still sufficient.

Richard sighed, and against all odds, Popovich got Parker.

…

Fans should be able to notice that the Trail Blazers' first-round pick this year is the 28th pick. In fact, according to their record, they should be the last pick in the first round, which is the 29th pick in the first round...

There must be a reason why he is now the No. 28 pick.

That is, the Timberwolves' draft rights were revoked, and they were revoked for five years!

In 1998, Joe Smith became a free agent. As a result, the Timberwolves reached a yin-yang contract with Joe Smith in order to avoid luxury tax penalties. In October last year, this yin-yang contract was revealed, causing Stern to be furious.

Directly taking away the Timberwolves' first-round draft picks for the next five years...

The Timberwolves evaded the luxury tax. This kind of behavior was paid by the Black League Management Committee. How could Stern endure it? He directly imposed the most severe punishment.

Joe Smith was also fined, forced to become a free agent, and then signed a one-year contract with the Pistons.

That is the Pistons that Richard is currently coaching...

The Timberwolves' draft picks were revoked, so naturally there were only 28 teams left in the first round.

So this year's No. 1 pick in the second round is basically the 29th pick in the previous first round, and the No. 2 pick is the 30th pick.

What Richard got from the Warriors was actually the second round pick, the 31st overall pick.

But this year is special, it can be regarded as the 30th pick...

When the Warriors made their second-round pick decision, they helped Richard choose Arenas.

Then Richard used the Pistons' own second-round pick to select Okur.

From now on, this draft is over for Richard.