Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

The finals were played in mid-June, followed immediately by this year's NBA draft.

The Magic, who were ninth in the Eastern Conference last time, had unlucky luck in getting the No. 1 pick. But this time, there weren't many twists and turns. The Bucks, who were last in the Eastern Conference, got the No. 1 pick, and the Mavericks, who were last in the Western Conference, got the No. 1 pick. The second pick and third overall pick belonged to the Pistons, but as expected, these three companies won all three draft favorites.

Glenn Robinson, No. 1 pick, Bucks!

Jason Kidd, second overall, Mavericks!

Grant Hill, No. 3 overall, Pistons!

As for the last draft pick Chris Webber's good friend, Juwan Howard, joined the Washington Bullets with the fifth overall pick.

…

This is the general situation of the first round of the draft. Apart from these popular rookies, Li Shengli is of course most concerned about the situation of compatriot Ma Jian, because the news given by Su Qun is... Ma Jian will also participate in this draft.

Obviously, Ma Jian's name was not seen in the first round, but it was not until the end of the second round that there was finally news, but the one who extended an olive branch to Ma Jian turned out to be... the Utah Jazz.

How come Ma Jian can reach the Jazz by walking on the back foot while he walks on the front foot?

Li Shengli felt a little sore, but it was good, at least he didn't lose the draft, and when he got to the Jazz... and Malone and Stockton were covering him, he wouldn't encounter Larry Johnson like he did with the Hornets. , as for the old man Sloan, he will not be left on the bench.

This is not something Li Shengli is worrying about blindly. Although there are players who have made a name for themselves in the second round, and there are even undrafted players, it is a small probability event after all. Without special circumstances... more people will still be drowned in the army of rookies. Not even qualified to look at the water dispenser.

Therefore, Ma Jian going to the Jazz is definitely the best outcome, and even if the two have never met, having the same nationality makes it worthwhile for Li Shengli to say hello to his old Jazz teammates.

These things are still just side effects, and the Jazz management really didn't make any news. Although he can't participate in the game behind the curtain, he only wants the final result now.

…

At the Senior Activity Center, because the young people have left and the old guys can't stay, only Li Shengli and Julie came to visit the lonely elderly people, while Thompson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were lying comfortably in the backyard watching the sunset.

"This kid finally knows how to worry!" Thompson said to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, "Man, what the hell is Stern doing? It's really strange that the boss of the Jazz is willing to disintegrate on his own!"

"You can see this just by looking at the Celtics!" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a witness to the development of the NBA over the years, and when Stern came to power, he hit the Celtics with a combination of punches. They beat the once wealthy club until now and they still haven't been able to catch their breath.

You know, around the 1980s, the Celtics were the leader of the NBA, and most championship trophies were produced during that period. In Stern's view... this was a stumbling block to the development of the NBA.

So, when Stern took office in 1984, the first thing that burned out was the salary cap.

At that time, it was the sensitive matter of Larry Bird's contract extension, and the salary cap made Greencap's salary space insufficient to renew Larry Bird's contract. The final solution was... Greencap teamed up with the Lakers to propose a cap extension. Stern gave the green light under pressure and came up with a 'Larry Bird Clause'.

Stern lost the first confrontation, and the second confrontation was in the 1985 draft.

The No. 1 pick in 1985 was Georgetown University's Ewing, and Auerbach, then the Bishop of Greenwich, had a natural advantage in this regard. On the one hand, Ewing's college coach, John Thompson, was a disciple of the old bishop, Bill Russell. Serge's substitute, on the other hand, Ewing is also a little fan of Bill Russell.

Given that the original draft was a coin toss for the top pick in the Eastern and Western Conferences, the old coach only needed to chat with the two bottom brothers and get Ewing to the Green Kai in advance, and dominate the league for another ten years.

However, Stern made a comeback and made a lottery pick in 1985, sending Ewing to the Knicks. To this day, some people think that Stern tampered with the envelope of the No. 1 pick for this purpose. Suppress Green Kai's takeaway services to take care of the Knicks, who urgently need to seize the New York market.

Stern murdered the Celtics? !

Is that murder? That riding on a horse is whipping a corpse!

The salary cap and lottery picks have stabbed the Celtics twice. Even some time ago... after the unexpected death of Reggie Lewis, a super-level rookie, Stern actually refused to release Lewis' salary space for the Celtics. , pulled out Lu Kai, who was still alive, and stabbed him again.

There is no doubt that if the heyday Green Kai does not win the championship, then the only one who can win the championship is Stern, because this guy defeated Green Kai by himself.

…

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar brought up the old story again, and Thompson probably understood the whole story, and began to understand the helplessness of Jazz owner Larry Miller, and it was like... Stern took a knife and a piece of candy and gave Larry Miller a choice. ah.

If you don't send Li Shengli away, you will be punished, just like Lu Kai.

When you see Li Shengli away, you eat candy, which is a little sweet.

You know, the Jazz already made enough money from the deal with the Hornets. Without Li Shengli and Utah, the Jazz have just transformed from a dynasty to a strong team, but if they reject Stern... who knows this notorious reputation? What kind of vicious CEO will he do to himself and how many years will he do it?

Perhaps on a large level, destroying dynasty teams will cause short-term revenue losses for the league, but in the long run... it will be beneficial to development. After all, the NBA really cannot tolerate the situation of one dominant player, and the alliance of multiple giants is what the NBA wants Typical of catching.

"Don't talk about it, I just want to know the result now!" Thompson looked at the sunset with no sense of beauty, but felt very depressed.

"The result?" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar turned to Thompson and smiled, "I can take a guess. Do you want to listen?"

"Nonsense, I'm just here to listen to your guesses. Why don't I watch the sunset with you?"

"Ewing!"

"What Ewing?"

"Think about the role Ewing played in Stern's hands!"

"Development of the market?"

"Yes, I have been thinking a lot these days... Stern's thinking is different from ours. He doesn't care who can win the championship. He only cares about which market needs a superstar to open the way. I will tell you specifically where it will be. It’s not good, but I know that Li doesn’t have a choice!”

"Shit, you said it but you didn't say it!" Thompson rubbed his head, "Boston is impossible, and New York and Los Angeles don't seem to need it."

"That's right. If you exclude a few big markets and a few markets with low potential, the rest will be a matter of choice."

"I won't guess anymore. I'm too annoyed. Anyway, the results will come out in the next few days."

"Wait, there is someone who is more anxious than me!"