Bishop of the Devil

On June 28, the day before the draft started, Richard met Durant and the company commander who would participate in the draft tomorrow in the hotel.

Although Captain Brewer is not as dazzling as Durant, his draft pick is definitely not much lower, and he will definitely be selected in the top ten picks.

Brewer also knew that it was basically impossible for him to join the Pirates. After all, Richard only had the second pick in the top ten, and it was unlikely that anyone would use this precious draft pick to select Brewer.

Durant is extremely excited. He is now extremely looking forward to the Blazers selecting Oden with the No. 1 pick so that he can join the Pirates.

Richard followed the procedure and awarded the West Lafayette gold medal to the two men.

In the evening of the next day, Richard showed up at the draft venue with Miles.

Every team is gearing up to draft strong new players for their teams.

Especially the few teams with high draft picks, their eyes were shining brightly at this moment, and they couldn't help but glance towards the little green room.

"Bob, has the Heat made any progress in selling O'Neal?" Richard asked Bob Myers next to him.

Miles shook his head, "BOSS, it's not that easy. Pat Riley may not be awake from his dream yet, and he still thinks that Shaq was the omnipotent inside overlord during his peak period."

"The Suns are negotiating with the Heat, but according to the news I've found, the Suns are prepared to give out two future draft picks, plus a newcomer on the team, and some contracts that are about to expire."

Richard nodded. Miles' ability to find out information is quite strong. If there is any trouble in the alliance, Miles can get the news immediately.

The Suns gave two first-round picks and a rookie, and the Heat would definitely not agree.

The main reason is that the Suns' two first-round picks must be very low in picks and not very valuable. It's surprising that Pat Riley agreed.

"Continue to inquire about the news, and let out some news by the way. Just say that Shaq is not in good health now. You should know what to say specifically." Richard said to Miles.

Miles nodded and agreed. O'Neal was not in good health. This was not nonsense. O'Neal only played half of the schedule last season. If you let out some rumors, every team would definitely believe it.

…

Stern had already begun to appear. After chattering for a while, he announced that the draft had officially begun.

After a while, Stern began to announce the candidates for the No. 1 pick.

"I announce that the Portland Trail Blazers have selected Kevin Durant from Purdue University with the first overall pick."

The representatives of each team in the audience were stunned. The Trail Blazers did not choose Oden, but chose Durant from Purdue University? !

Are they crazy? They didn't choose Oden with such a powerful talent, but chose a skinny guy? !

The offensive firepower Durant displayed at Purdue University is indeed quite powerful.

But there are simply not too many NCAA players with strong offensive abilities. Not to mention, Adam Morrison, who was drafted last season, has quite strong offensive firepower, but what about now? Can't even make it into the starting lineup...

However, after a moment of surprise, the high-ranking teams immediately became happy, especially the Atlanta Hawks, who now forced themselves to look calmer.

If the Buccaneers, who hold the second pick, don't select Oden, then the Hawks will need Al Horford.

Horford is indeed good, but he is far inferior to Oden. This is something that even a fool can see.

The representative of the Hawks team now only hopes that Richard will be out of his mind, give up Oden, and choose other newcomers.

…

Durant in the little green room was completely dumbfounded. He became the number one pick? Is it said that Oden is the No. 1 pick?

What the hell are the Blazers doing? Are they full? Why did they choose themselves with the No. 1 pick?

He had originally planned to join the Pirates, hang out with this championship lineup for a year or two, start to take the starting position, and then with his own strength, he might become the boss of the Pirates.

The thought of being the boss of a dynasty team is exciting.

But now it's over, he was selected by the Trail Blazers and can't join the Pirates.

For a moment, Durant's face turned red and he was very angry. He may be the person who least wants to be the No. 1 pick in the entire NBA history...

Durant, who was in an extremely unhappy mood, didn't even show a smile even when he went on stage to shake hands with Stern.

…

Soon, it was the Buccaneers' turn with the second pick.

Naturally, Richard did not hesitate to write Greg Oden's name on the note.

In the little green room, Oden was as confused as Durant. In his opinion, the No. 1 pick was his own, but now the No. 1 pick was snatched away by Durant.

As a result, the two most dazzling rookies this year both appeared on the stage with sad faces...

Stern was speechless. He looked like he was kidnapped.

Seeing Richard selecting Oden with the second pick, the following teams sighed. Richard seemed to be out of his mind. He was still quite rational.

…

Next, the Hawks followed their original plan and selected Horford with the third overall pick in the first round.

Yi Jianlian was lucky this time and was selected by Green Kai with the fifth overall pick...

Company commander Brewer was selected by the Timberwolves with the seventh overall pick.

The Philadelphia 76ers were lucky enough to select Thaddeus Young, the best player outside the top ten in the first round.

As for another young hero, Nick Young, he was selected by the Wizards.

With the 23rd pick, the New York Knicks selected Wilson Chandler, a player who has been influenced by the unique culture of Chinese business clubs.

After the next few picks passed, it was time for the Buccaneers to make their selection.

"I announce that the Charlotte Pirates selected Sun Yue from Hebei, China with the 29th pick in the first round."

Richard's choice did not cause any waves at the venue. After all, it was just a pick at the bottom of the second round. Its value was no different from that of a second-round pick. It would not be a pity even if it was wasted.

However, at home, Stern's announcement made domestic fans completely excited.

Although they know very well that Sun Yue is not Yao Ming and is unlikely to grow into a star of Yao Ming's status, but now that Richard has selected Sun Yue, at least it gives Sun Yue a chance to stay in the NBA and develop.

What surprised Richard was that the Sonics played two good cards in a row. After they selected Landry with the first pick in the second round, they also selected big baby Glenn David with the fifth pick in the second round. Sri Lanka.

Richard blinked. The SuperSonics were amazing. The cost-effectiveness of these two choices was simply too high. They almost selected half of the reliable players in the second round.

But once you get it, whether you will use it or not is another matter.

The reason why many second-round players are late bloomers is not to say that their strength explodes at that age. Some players are actually good in themselves, but the team does not value them and does not get much playing time, so they naturally start to look mediocre.

Richard is very clear about the SuperSonics' talent selection vision. It's so good that it's ridiculous, but their ability to train new players is not that good. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in the history of the team. They just got it in ancient times. A championship.

…

Next, Richard selected Marc Gasol with the 15th overall pick in the second round of the Philadelphia 76ers.

There is nothing to say about this choice. Any time traveler, as long as he has the opportunity to replace the team in the draft, will definitely win Gasol, who is very cost-effective.

Next, Richard still has the 29th pick in the second round. This pick is basically useless as Ramon Sessions was selected with the 26th pick in the second round.

However, Richard still selected a player, an undrafted player who normally has little presence.

Andre Ingram.

To be precise, Ingram had no sense of presence in the first ten years of his career. He had been playing in the Development League for ten years.

The salary in the Development League is simply pitiful. It is really not easy for Ingram to last in the Development League for ten years.

Later, the Lakers gave Ingram a ten-day short contract opportunity, which brought this grey-haired veteran who was determined to play basketball into the eyes of fans. In addition, his performance on the court was indeed good, and the media reported wildly.

At the moment, Richard really doesn't have anyone to choose from. When he was looking at the draft list, he accidentally noticed this name and simply chose it.

At least Richard respects this kind of dream chaser. If he can do his best without losing the interests of the team, Richard is happy to give this kind of player a chance.

…

At the end of the draft, Richard selected four players in this draft, namely Oden, Xiaojia, Sun Yue and Ingram.

It just so happens that there are two insiders and two outsiders, but the strength of these two outsiders is really huge compared to the two insiders, indescribably huge.

However, the outside players Richard has on hand are enough. Even if the two newcomers are not nearly as strong on the outside, they will have no impact on the overall strength of the Pirates.

…

The night after the draft, Richard received another call from Pat Riley.

This time Pat Riley made a very honest offer. They were willing to trade O'Neal for Oden and let Richard sign a one-year contract worth $15 million to Mourning to match the salary.

Riley really didn't expect that the Trail Blazers didn't draft Oden...

Now that Oden was in Richard's hands, Riley was immediately entangled like a shark that smelled blood.

"Riley, Oden is not for sale. No matter which team gets him, it is impossible to exchange him for Shaq."

"You can continue to sell Shaq on the trade market, but I feel like Shaq may not be able to bring you the chips you want."

Richard said calmly.

Riley sighed in his heart. The most worrying thing for him now must be O'Neal. He wished he could sell O'Neal overnight to avoid long nights and dreams.

But this kind of player with a huge contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars, coupled with his old age, can't be sold so easily.

Richard has always maintained a distant attitude towards the Heat and expressed his interest in O'Neal, but once the offer was mentioned, Richard sneered directly.

"Lee, let's get straight to the point. What kind of chips are you willing to pay to trade for Shaq?" Riley asked in a deep voice.

"Don't worry, Riley, I will take my family to the east coast for vacation in the near future. Let's meet and talk then?" Richard said calmly.

He is indeed taking his time and is interested in O'Neal, but it doesn't mean that Richard must win over O'Neal...

If Riley had been lucky and wanted to sell O'Neal for a big price, Richard would probably break up.