The Basketball Court Swordsman

As the draft is about to begin, Popovich has rarely made this year's decision.

Originally, the Spurs, who won the 29th overall pick in the first round, planned to take off the all-around guard Corey Joseph from the University of Texas. Joseph may not become the next superstar, but he can definitely become an excellent "Spurs" role player.

A draft pick with the 29th overall pick, it stands to reason that there is no need to worry about anything. But Popovich's assistant Budenholzer, famous shooting coach Ingold and team general manager Forbd made Popovich hesitate.

"We must make this deal, pop! Think about it, do you want a good player or a great player!" At this moment, across from Popovich’s desk, Budenhorse is still trying Persuade Popovich.

"Kavai Leonard may indeed be excellent, but is it too expensive to pay George Hill?" Popovich held his head with one hand, and George Hill was Popovich. A young player Qi likes so much, he doesn't want to reluctantly give up.

George Hill's value to the Spurs is of course needless to say. He was selected by the Spurs in the first round of 2008 and averaged 13.4 points per game in the second year of the playoffs. For the Spurs, who are in the transitional period between old and new, Hill may be the most reliable rookie they can develop.

Hill’s style of playing matches the Spurs incomparably. San Antonio fans have even agreed that he is Tony Parker’s successor and the Spurs’ future master!

"No, we can't make this trade. The risk is too great, Leonard is not Tim Duncan, he is not worthy of us giving up such an important asset. We have Duncan, do we want to send this rookie to the fourth position in the future? Then let Duncan senior general play center? Impossible! Or, let Leonard top the points after giving up Hill? As far as Leonard's shooting level is concerned, this is obviously unreasonable! For us , Leonard’s advantage is only active rebounding and fierce defense. But is this advantage enough for us to replace Hill with a promising future?"

Popovich waved his hand. He had read Leonard's scout report.

"Excellent physical fitness, outstanding defensive ability, and a certain low offensive ability. But he has obvious shortcomings, poor dribbling, poor shooting, and poor team awareness."

The scout's evaluation of Leonard is obviously difficult to impress Popovich. He knew that Leonard was a plastic talent, but even Popovich was not sure that he could develop this gem. The San Antonio Spurs have never been the kind of team that relies on athletic talent to play.

"We can let him play the 3rd position! I promise, I will train his shooting! If we can have a 3rd position as good as him, Manu won't have to top the 3rd position. ." Shooting coach Ingold patted his chest and seemed very confident about the transformation of Leonard.

"That guy is just like Tim. He is taciturn and he only thinks about how to play basketball. Even if it is labor negotiation, he won't let his training fall. Give it to my boss, I will definitely get Leonard's The shooting has improved, making him a true third player."

"That is, although George Hill is good, I think he is not as likely as Leonard. We must try it, and try it when everyone else is not interested in him!"

Budenholzer and Ingold sang me and you almost convinced Popovich, who was actually a little moved. If Leonard can develop shooting, coupled with the excellent qualities he already has, that guy will definitely become an outstanding striker.

But just then, the phone in Popovich's office rang.

Popovich knows that only General Manager Faubd will call him at this time. The draft is approaching, and the conversation between the general manager and the head coach has become more frequent.

"Hey, what's the matter? What!? Well, I think about it, um, goodbye."

With a few words, Popovich hung up the phone and looked up at his assistant coach and shooting coach.

"What's the matter? Is it Forbd?" Budenholzer saw that Popovich's expression was not right, and he became nervous.

"Well, Forbd. The Pacers offered us a deal. They proposed to exchange Holiday and McRoberts for George Hill." Popovich held his forehead, and it looked like George Hee. The value of your transaction must be re-evaluated.

The day before the start of the draft, each team expressed their views on the rookies in the media, and slightly revealed their intentions in the draft.

Disclosing your intentions generally has two purposes. One is to make rookies feel at ease, and the other is to tell other teams that you shouldn't compete with me. If you want, then take out your chips.

Of course, a team generally expresses this intention publicly only when they have a great deal of confidence in getting this rookie. After all, if someone intercepts you in advance and then forces you to make a bargaining chip, you will lose out.

Henson also expressed his intentions in an interview with the media, "Reggie Jackson is a very good defender. I believe that in Indianapolis, he can play his own value. His trial performance made me very Satisfied, every coach will yearn for such a player to play under his own hands."

After the trial training, Henson applied all the words of praise to Reggie Jackson. So in eSPN's prediction draft rankings, experts believe that the Pacers will pick Reggie Jackson with the 23rd pick.

As for Leonard, Henson didn't mention a word or even invited Leonard to try out. Therefore, no one would associate Leonard with the Indiana Pacers.

For the time being, it seems that only the San Antonio Spurs are interested in Leonard, because Spurs general manager Forbes only expressed his satisfaction with Leonard's trial results a few days ago.

Therefore, Leonard's predicted pick has also become the 29th pick in the first round.

The prospects of the draft seem to have gradually become clear, and each team has found its own goal. But as far as Henson and the Pacers are concerned, so far no media or expert has predicted the right candidate for them. Reggie Jackson? That was just another covert talk by Henson.

"Look, this guy's draft template is really interesting." In the hotel room near the Prudential Center Arena in Newark, New Jersey, Henson looked at the scout report of the rookies and waved to Vogel and Silas.

For the draft, Henson took his team to settle in New Jersey three days in advance. He needs to convince people as much as possible how much the Pacers value Reggie Jackson.

Vogel and Silas leaned over and found that the rookie Henson was watching was a USC Black Mountain center named Nikola Vucevic.

"His draft template is Wang Zhizhi and Mehmet Okur." Henson smiled, seeing the scout using a Chinese player as a rookie template, which made Henson feel kind.

"So? You are suddenly interested in this white center again?" Vogel spreads out his hand. He knows that Henson likes this kind of shooting inside, and Vucevic's height and physique can make up for Horford's presence here. Inadequate aspects.

"I'm not very interested in him, but the Philadelphia 76ers seem to like this big guy very much. Templates like Wang Zhizhi and Mehmet Okur, do we also have them? And compared to rookies, he has proven that he can play Survive in the muscle jungle of the NBA."

Seeing Henson smile confidently, Vogel and Silas were the second monk, confused.

"Tell the Philadelphia 76ers that we are willing to give them the 23rd overall pick and Mike Roberts, who can also shoot the ball. The premise is that they will win Leonard for me at the 15th overall pick."

Henson finished speaking and closed his rookie report book. In a few days, the good show is about to begin.