The Basketball Court Swordsman

"What are you talking about? Do you not invite Antetokounmpo to try out?"

In a hotel room not far from the Chicago United Center Arena, Vogel expressed shock at Henson's plan.

At this time, Henson, Vogel and Silas had finished their observation of the joint training and returned to their hotel. The rookies in this year's joint trial still made Henson feel bright. A few high-ranked rookies in the forecast rankings may not be very dazzling, but there are many treasures waiting for the teams to search for the low-ranking.

But among these people, no one can replace Antetokounmpo's position in Henson's heart.

As a result, he was determined to win Antetokounmpo in the draft on June 27. But because of this, the Pacers did not invite Antetokounmpo to try out.

"Yes, he is not invited to try out. As far as I know, Antetokounmpo has not received any invitation to try out any team until now. And his manager Sarahitis has also complied with the original match. Our promise is that we did not actively recommend Antetokounmpo to other teams. Now, Antetokounmpo is a little transparent to the general manager of other teams, and no one can guess that we will choose him. Naturally, So no one will intercept Juan de Tokumbo in advance to threaten us."

"But if we don't try out, how do we know if he is the kind of player we need?"

"I know very well that he is the player we need. When we saw him in Spain last year, he was only 2.06 meters tall. Now, he is 2.08 meters! This means that this guy's height and wingspan Still growing! Antetokounmpo’s scout report stated that he is a sporty insider who can’t shoot and is too light. But in fact, Antetokounmpo’s playing style has never been an inside player. Saying Antetokounmpo is inside is as funny as someone telling you that Kevin Durant should go to center."

Henson is very confident, he is always confident in the draft. And the facts have also proved that Henson will never miss in the draft!

Paul George, Leonard, Stephenson, Jimmy Butler, Danny Green, as well as Zhu Holliday and Wesley Matthews who have already played well in the Hornets and Blazers... These successful examples give Henson great power in the draft! Even Larry Bird, the chairman of basketball operations, has to listen to Henson.

So when Henson said that, Vogel had nothing to refute. Even if this draft really fails, it is not fatal to a championship-level team.

"I'm really curious, Henson. Why, you can always find this kind of player who is not favored by everyone, but who is outstanding?"

"If I say it's conscious, do you believe it?" Henson smiled slightly, prevarication from the question.

His secret weapon will naturally not be shared with anyone!

Antetokounmpo almost gave up.

No team trials, no head coach and general manager to talk to him. In the joint training session, only one reporter who seemed to be blessed interviewed him, but the questions he asked had nothing to do with basketball.

"How do you think you will die in the end?" The reporter seemed to be teasing the rookie who no one cares about.

And now, he can only live in an extremely cheap hotel. Antetokounmpo couldn't sleep on the bed in the hotel. He felt that as long as he straightened his waist, he might hit the ceiling.

He was penniless and could not go out to explore the beauty of the city of Chicago. He missed his family, because as a "black household", his family could not apply for a visa to the United States.

US law stipulates that if you fail to pass the visa application three times, it will never be possible to obtain a US visa. As for Antetokounmpo's family, they have failed twice and they can no longer take risks.

So the big boy could only be alone in this strange country, strange city. He once applied to live in the arena directly. First, he can practice at any time, and second, the time playing basketball can dilute his loneliness. Furthermore, Antetokounmpo does not want to continue spending his manager's money.

In fact, because of this, Antetokounmpo stayed in a small hotel. Saratisis originally planned to take Antetokounmpo to stay in the hotel, but Antetokounmpo resolutely refused. She promised to stay in the hotel instead of the arena, and Sarah Sis took a lot of effort to tell Antetokounmpo.

Standing by the window of the small room and seeing the bustling crowd and busy streets outside, Antetokounmpo had no envy or yearning in his heart. He just wants to go home now and return to his family.

He doesn't know whether his family is doing well at this time, and whether parents are not eating on time because of saving money? Did his two older brothers and two younger brothers trouble the family?

Home, this stunned green can only pretend to be home.

"Yang Nis!" At this moment, a person shouted from the door of the small hotel room, followed by a knock on the door.

Antetokounmpo opened the door without even looking at the cat's eye, because he heard that it was his number one manager and his fellow Greek, Alex Saratys, who was shouting. At the same time, this man is also the manager of Warriors head guard Stephen Curry.

"What's the matter with you? A gloomy look? I'll take you around the city center?" Sarah Sis carried a bag with food in it.

Antetokounmpo shook his head embarrassedly, "No, I have no money."

Sarahitis smiled, Antetokounmpo really got a stick sometimes. Although he has not yet played in the NBA, Antetokounmpo has also played professional leagues in Greece and Spain for a few years. How much, still made some small money. Although the salary of these teams is an order of magnitude compared with NBA teams, it is not enough to make a player unable to afford it.

But Antetokounmpo has a habit of paying all the money to his family after he gets his salary. So many times, Antetokounmpo is in a penniless state.

"Don't say that, you will be rich soon. If all goes well, you can make at least $8 million this summer!"

"8 million U.S. dollars...a lot?" Antetokounmpo looked at Sarahitis innocently. This guy really has no idea about money. "Furthermore, it has been I have not been invited by any team to participate in a trial. If I have not been selected, I am afraid it will be difficult to repay the money I owe you, Mr. Sarahitis."

"No, no, you can't lose the election. Do you know who called me just now?"

"Who!? I was invited by the team to participate in the trial!?" Antetokounmpo's eyes lit up in an instant, and his spirits immediately came.

"No, the person who called told me never to take you to a trial."

Hearing what Saratys said, Antetokounmpo dropped his head again.

"Hey, I haven't finished yet! They told me not to take you to the trial, but they will definitely choose you. I got their promise!"

"I will be selected for sure? Which team and which pick? Don't comfort me, Mr. Saratis. I am not a kid anymore, I am ready to fail."

"The 15th overall pick in the first round, the defending champion Indiana Pacers, Coach Henson Joe has been following you very early. In fact, I will become your manager because of the recommendation of Coach Henson Joe. You Don’t fail, Antetokounmpo, and you will not fail! If everything goes well, you will have to wear a corn yellow jersey at the beginning of next season!"

"In that case, why didn't the Pacers invite me to try out?"

"Well," Sarah Tixis smiled, "You have to get used to it. This is how Coach Henson Joe does things."

June 27, Barclays Center, New York. Although it is a young draft year, this draft meeting still attracted many fans to watch.

The championship and the finals are about two teams. The draft is related to 30 teams in the league. So today’s Barclays Center has fans from all over the United States.

This year's draft is very special. Before the start of the conference, people can't even predict who the top pick will be. The Cavaliers' No. 1 pick was very embarrassing, because there were no outstanding rookies this year, and no players they liked. The Cavaliers didn't know what to do with the No. 1 pick.

And at this time, other teams basically have their favorites, and the Cavaliers don't want to tear down their Tara hatred. So the Cavaliers slapped the thigh. Since the brothers don't know how to choose, then I will choose any one.

So in the first round of the draft, the No. 3 and 4 swingman Anthony Bennett, who was predicted to be selected 6-10 overall, became the No. 1 pick inexplicably.

The outside world was in an uproar. This time, the popularity of the No. 1 pick even surpassed that of the 2002 draft when Yao Ming was elected.

Many years later, everyone knows that Anthony Bennett has become the "spokesperson" of the new generation of parallel imports champion. At this time, the real "No. 1 pick" in the 2013 draft was sitting alone in the audience, without the company of his family, waiting for the 15th overall pick.

There were no trials and no reports. The only news was that Rockets general manager Morey had said four months ago that he had found a player somewhat like Tracy McGrady in Greece.

But no one will take this kind of remarks to heart. After all, there are too many "second Jordan", "second James" and "second Kobe" in the world every year. Of course, the second is indispensable. McGrady.

It is such a young man who can be called a transparent person, no one even knows his name, and his family can't even get a visa. After experiencing the smiling faces of 14 people, I finally heard my name.

"The 15th overall pick in the first round of the 2013 draft. The Indiana Pacers selected Yannis Antetokounmpo from Greece!"

David Stern’s voice resounded through the audience, Henson smiled contentedly in the private room, and Bucks general manager John Hammond was caught by the guy who stepped onto the stage and shook hands with David Stern. attract.

Did Henson prepare so long in advance for him?

Years later, eSPN talked about it when interviewing Hammond. Facing the camera, Hammond smiled helplessly.

"At the time, no one thought that a deal involving only draft picks and an ordinary player would actually change the structure of the entire league."