The Godfather of Basketball

"Are you sure the Kings are not interested in Thomas?" Tang Tian said and looked at Jones.

In the previous life, the No. 60 pick of the Kings was obtained in a trade with the Bulls. Now history has changed, and the No. 60 pick belongs to the Cavaliers.

Originally, if Beverly was still on the team, he was going to trade up the draft pick to select E'Twaun Moore, a three-point shooter, but now that Beverly is traded away from the team, there are only two left on the team's roster. A point guard, then Isaiah Thomas is the most suitable choice.

"Yes, this is Isaiah Thomas. Apart from having the same name as 'Smiling Assassin', there is nothing worthy of the team choosing him." Dante said.

"Yes, it's Smiling Assassin, who indeed recommends this small player in front of the media, but he is only 1.75 meters, and he really can't play at the NBA level at this height." Victor also added.

"His father, James Thomas, is a diehard Lakers fan. He named his son Isaiah Thomas after he lost a bet with others, but in fact, his name is Isaiah A. Thomas, his Height is indeed a problem, but his breakthrough is very lethal." Jones said.

His initial thoughts were similar to those of Dante and the others, but the things Tang Tian told him, he checked and confirmed, it was completely true.

And even more coincidentally, the University of Washington where Thomas is located once produced an NBA player with a height of 1.75 meters, "Little Potato" Nate Robinson.

Sometimes fate is so strange, Tang Tian's draft vision can always find some players that others ignore.

"Height is not everything. AI has ushered in the era of small men, but before that, Boykins and Nate Robinson both made a fortune in the league." Tang Tian said.

When he spoke, both Dante and Victor put away their contemptuous expressions.

They do have some preconceived ideas, just like the skin, in basketball, height will always be automatically looked down upon.

The second round of the draft went quickly, as Dante said, until the Bulls with the 59th pick had finished their selections, Thomas was still not selected.

The attitude of most of the people in the Cavaliers cabin is also the attitude of this league towards smaller players.

In fact, a large part of the reason why the Kings selected Thomas in the previous life was also the strong recommendation of the "Smiling Assassin".

After all, Iverson is still 183, and 8 centimeters is already an insurmountable gap. Even Boykins and Robinson listed by Tang Tian, ​​in the NBA for so many years, there are only two people.

"With the 60th pick in the second round of the NBA in 2011, the Cavaliers selected Isaiah Thomas, a 1.75-meter point guard from the University of Washington."

Unlike previous years, it was not Stern's assistant Tatum who was in charge of broadcasting the second-round pick, but league vice president Adam Silver, who read out the Cavaliers' final selection.

Almost all the fans at the scene were gone, but there was still a small man standing up excitedly, took the hat handed over by the staff and walked onto the stage.

Xiao Hua didn't seem to expect that Thomas would be on the scene, and smiled after being taken aback for a while.

At this time, all the reporters had left, and the handshake with Thomas was just a formality, and even the picture of the two shaking hands was not left behind.

Thomas walked off the field, a smile on his face.

For him, he has been underestimated since he started playing basketball, and he is even ready to lose the draft. The Cavaliers selected him last, and he is already excited enough.

But when he stepped off the stage, he saw a group of people waiting for him.

He knows the person headed by him, the well-known godfather of the NBA dynasty, the general manager and head coach of the Cavaliers, Tang Tian!

"Hey, Isaiah, welcome." Tang Tian smiled and stretched out his hand to Thomas.

What he couldn't say in the hut earlier was that in his previous life, Thomas played the peak of a short player and was selected as an All-Star with a height of 1.75 meters.

The strongest on the surface is 1.75 meters, which is the most inspirational story and the greatest affirmation of fans for him.

Thomas was very excited, so many people greeted him together, it was really a big battle.

"coach!"

He couldn't hide the smile on his face, and hugged Tang Tian and the draft team one by one.

"Get ready, I'll wait to see your performance in the summer league." Tang Tian finally clenched his fist and stretched out.

"I'm ready all the time." Thomas and Tang Tian clenched their fists and said firmly.

After chatting with Thomas, a group of people finally left the draft venue.

After selecting Thomas, the Cavaliers' lineup has changed a lot compared to last season.

After Wallace won the championship last year, he told the team management that he was going to retire.

In fact, since he chose to renew his contract with a basic salary during the offseason of last season, he probably already had this plan.

As for Brown and Iverson, both chose to test the free agent market. The former must get a big contract, and the latter also wants to get another contract at the end of his career after experiencing last season.

Because the salary of the Cavaliers has already exceeded the luxury tax, renewing the contract is tantamount to double spending. The basic salary is acceptable, and Gilbert will not agree to it.

In this way, the Cavaliers' roster for the new season is basically released.

Point guard: Paul, Jeremy Lin, Isaiah Thomas

Shooting guards: Green, Butler, Stephenson

Small forwards: James, Artest, Chandler Parsons

Power forwards: Anderson Varejao, Channing Frye

Centers: Yao Ming, Hassan Whiteside

Next, as long as two big men are added in the free agent market, the lineup for the new season is basically completed.

Tang Tianjia's Big Three, iron-clad core, and circulating role players.

And probably only Tang Tian knows how terrifying this lineup will be in the next few years.

Both Butler and Whiteside are players who can grow into All-Stars.

"There is news that the special clause may be canceled because of the new collective bargaining agreement, and the Wizards are planning to pardon Antawn Jamison before July 1." On the car back to the hotel, Jones told Don the first-hand information he had just obtained. sky.

"Follow me." Tang Tian was also a little excited.

Jamison is 35 years old, but in his previous life, he can still average 17+6 per game next season. He was also in the Cavaliers at the time. Now that history has changed, Jamison is still in the Wizards. This is obviously to make room for young players. location.

Jamison is the kind of standard stretch power forward, and the defense is also very good, perfect for the Cavaliers.

Although you cannot receive it directly because you exceed the luxury tax, as long as the clarification period has passed, it is worthwhile to use the mini-middle class.