The Pope of Basketball Community

The season officially ended, and Yang Rui flew to Washington with manager Glenn Gruward to participate in the 1999 NBA Draft held at the MCI Center on the 26th.

Raptors owner Richard Peddie called Yang Rui and gave him a lot of power. This time, the Raptors can choose whoever he wants, and he can communicate with Glenn if he wants to trade.

The Raptors have two first-round picks and one second-round pick. They don't like rookies. The Raptors signed in the free market in the summer and have plenty of salary space.

After Yang Rui issued the declaration of winning the championship, Peddy was willing to spend money, because he would earn more if he won the championship.

Yang Rui took the time at home to study the list of rookies. Every draft meeting, there will be experts making predictions, giving evaluations, and there are many draft terms.

Experts in this era have a serious secondary disease.

For example, "court eagle" is used to describe a person with a strong defensive awareness; "basketball sniffer" is used to describe a rebounder; "engineering" is used to describe an untrained player with great potential; "sleeper" Describe a player whose strength is underestimated.

What's more embarrassing for Yang Rui is that because the Raptors are too low in the draft, there are no good goals. The first round is the 24th overall pick. It is impossible for Maggette, Artest, Posey and other immediate combat powers to fall to this position. The penultimate pick of the Blazers is even less.

In the second round, the Raptors are in the 53rd pick, which is about the end.

There are two outstanding foreign players in this draft, Kirilenko from Russia and Manu Ginobili from Argentina. Due to the contract, he cannot enter the NBA for the time being.

Kirilenko was only 18 years and 4 months old, becoming the youngest foreign player ever selected in the NBA draft. He only joined the Jazz in 2001 in his previous life. Even if he can land in the NBA now, it may not be a good thing, because he needs to be cultivated. The Raptors have so many potential rookies, how can they give him the ball?

Ginobili was even later, joining the Spurs in 2002. At that time, Yang Rui didn't know whether he was still in the Raptors. He didn't plan to stay in Toronto for the rest of his life.

Whether it is for work or life, Yang Rui only regards the Raptors as a springboard, and he will definitely go to a big city to develop in the future.

Since he planned to leave, why did he choose Ginobili? The Raptors will be their opponents at that time, should they strengthen their opponents?

In the end, Yang Rui decided to choose someone suitable for the team system. Xia Tian discussed with Glenn and made some fine-tuning of the lineup through trades in exchange for experienced veterans. If the Raptors want to win the championship next season, veterans are necessary.

night,

Yang Rui was interviewed by a reporter from CCTV5 at the entrance of the arena and asked about Chinese player Wang Zhizhi's participation in the election.

"Jerry, will the Raptors consider choosing Wang Zhizhi? Where do you think he will be selected?"

"I think he will be selected in the first few rounds of the second round. Big men with height and shooting ability are scarce in the league. The Raptors will not choose him because we have three players with similar styles." Yang Rui smiled.

He didn't say anything hypocritical. After boasting that the other party didn't choose in the end, he might as well express his attitude directly. The Raptors have no shortage of space-type insiders. Wang Zhizhi's defense is too poor, and he has no chance to play when he is selected. Sitting on the bench all the time will only harm him. How can he compete with Jermaine O'Neal and Miller?

In Yang Rui's previous life, Dazhi was selected by the Mavericks, and neither the Bayi Team nor the Chinese team would let him go. He did not join the Mavericks until April 2001. Therefore, even if he is selected, he cannot be expected to attract Chinese fans.

After entering the venue and sitting down, Glenn asked, "Have you thought about who to choose this time?"

"The 24th pick in the first round is Kirilenko, and the 28th pick is Padgett. Let's trade in the second round." Yang Rui replied.

Even if Kirilenko only joined in 2001, he doesn't want to miss it. Kirilenko, nicknamed "AK47", is a super defensive player. He has strong physical fitness and is suitable for running and bombing, but his shooting ability is a bit weak. If he is missed, who will he choose? All lose.

In 2005, as a small forward, he averaged 3.3 blocks per game and won the block leader. Unlike other white swingmen who focus on offense and light defense, his long arms are like octopus, which troubles offensive players. In 2006, Kirilenko scored 14 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 7 blocks and 6 steals against the Lakers.

As usual, David Stern gave a speech first, and the audience booed. The scene was very embarrassing for a while, and the draft officially began.

Power forward Elton Brand became the No. 1 pick and was selected by the Bulls.

Although he is only 203m, which is not enough for a power forward, he has a wingspan of 227m. Needless to say, he graduated from Duke's basic skills. The defense is even more different from the traditional short insiders.

In the paint, Brand is as tall as a small forward but plays like a center.

The situation of No. 2 and Yang Rui changed in their previous lives. They were drawn by the Hornets. They chose Steve Francis, a point guard who grew up in a slum. In this way, there will be no situation where Francis refuses to report in Vancouver and the Grizzlies are forced to trade.

The Grizzlies are the No. 3 pick and also selected a point guard, Baron Davis, who has not yet grown a beard.

The Clippers chose Lamar Odom, who claims to be able to play five positions, for fourth place.

The fifth Nets chose insider Jonathan Bender. In Yang Rui's previous life, this pick was traded by the Raptors, and then sent to the Pacers in a circle.

If you want to say who is the most regrettable rookie this year, it is undoubtedly Bender. He is 213cm tall and weighs 104kg. He is super talented, can jump and dunk from the free throw line, and can also shoot mid-to-long distances.

But Bender struggled with his knees throughout his career, and when he retired in February 2006, he could barely walk up stairs alone because he had lost most of the cartilage in both knees.

At this time, Bender was favored by everyone, and the Pacers were going to negotiate with the Nets to change him to the team.

Szczerbiak, Hamilton, Andre Miller, Sean Marion and other strong players have been selected one after another, which has not changed from Yang Rui's previous life. The teams have identified candidates long before the draft.

Artest, whom Yang Rui valued, joined the Bulls with the 16th pick. This pick was specially bought by the Bulls. Unless it is higher than this pick, it cannot be cut.

The 24th Raptors selected Kirilenko, and history has been changed again. Kirilenko has been the boss of the Jazz for several years. Without him, whether Malone can endure the Jazz until 2003 is a question.

Power forward Scott Padgett was selected 27th overall by the Jazz. Glenn asked anxiously: "Who is the second choice? It's up to us."

"Jumein Jones, that's it."

In Yang Rui's previous life, the Eagles selected Zhu Meiyin at No. 27, and then sent him to the 76ers. He used the draft pick that originally belonged to the Blazers, and traded it from the Raptors.

Zhu Meiyin is 203cm tall and weighs 100kg. He is fast and bounces well. He is a swing player in positions 3 and 4. In his NBA career, he made 35% of his three-pointers, and in the 2005-06 season he made a total of 115 three-pointers, a career high. However, he has only 7 years of NBA career, and his golf quotient is average.

Now, Jones is one place lower than in the past. From the perspective of immediate combat power, he is better than Padgett and has much stronger physical fitness.