The rest is just noise

"Today is your most special day of the year, and you are about to usher in the most special moment in your life. Let us guess who will be No. 1, Allen Iverson? Marcus Camby? Ray

·Allen? Stephon Marbury? This is something you will remember for the rest of your life. You want to hear your name called on this night, so when that moment comes, you need to be grateful because you lived up to the talent God gave you.

Your life will never be the same, kid, and your NBA dream has come true."

TNT specially hired a comedian to make a short film before the draft.

In the clip, the tragic actor speaks softly to this year's rookies.

At present, the Lakers are not sure whether the Tragedy Master will continue to play, and he himself is also seriously considering this matter.

However, nothing in the world is as important as the draft held today at the Continental Airlines Arena (hereinafter referred to as CAA) in New Jersey.

All parties are looking forward to it.

On the Lakers side, they invited Johnny Buss, the eldest son of the Buss family, to go to the CAA site as the team representative.

The forum draft war room is tentatively scheduled to be in the president's office.

Two hours before the draft started, Louis came here to prepare.

Then, (Chick) Hearn, Jim, Jenny, West, Kupchak, Old Buss and others came to the office.

"Any news?"

Jenny said the right nonsense: "If nothing else happens, San Antonio will select Allen Iverson with the first pick."

That's a good point, but Louis wants to know some news that people on Earth don't know.

Jim said sarcastically: "Then I guess Toronto will use the second overall pick to select Marcus Camby."

"That's not necessarily true," Zhao Yuanzheng reminded Buss, "Toronto has P-J Brown, and Marcus Camby is not the player they urgently need."

Kurt Laimbeer, who had a fight with Zhao Yuanzheng last year, said with a sinister smile: "Really, Coach Zhao, you are talking about teams like the Toronto Men, who will consider team fitness when drafting.

?"

Zhao Yuanzheng retorted with reason: "If it were a normal draft, they might choose the most talented players, but there are many talented players in this draft, and they can choose the players that suit them best. I even think

, they might trade the No. 2 pick."

Louie interrupted their argument: "I just want to know what's going on in San Antonio."

West said what he knew about the situation: "They seem to be focused only on the No. 1 pick."

Is it really that simple?

At this time, the phone in the office rang.

Louis picked up the phone and asked: "Who is it?"

"Louis, it's me, Elgin!"

"Elgin?" Louis asked, "What's the matter?"

Baylor said straight to the point: "You have too many draft picks, do you want to give me one?"

"Okay, I can give you the 19th pick in the first round, but you have to give me Doug Christie."

"It's a beautiful idea, how can I possibly get Doug with pick No. 19?"

"So, let's stop thinking about good things." Louis said directly, "There is no such thing as pie in the sky."

Belle then chatted with Louis for a few words.

He was very annoyed with the price of this year's draft picks. Draft picks in previous years were not of such high value.

While chatting, Louis noticed something.

Baylor wants Atlanta's eighth pick in the first round, but San Antonio also wants it, and the two sides are in a tug-of-war to see who pays the highest price.

"Actually, we don't need such a high pick. A pick at almost tenth position is enough." Baylor lamented, "But it's really not that simple."

"It's not like you don't know the intensity of the hype surrounding this year's draft. This is normal."

"I just don't understand how a group of players who have just proven themselves in college can have such a big gimmick. It's really crazy!"

Louis hung up the phone and began to think about countermeasures.

The Knicks are different from the Spurs. They are not determined to get the eighth pick, while the Spurs are determined to get the eighth pick.

What can they do with the No. 8 pick?

Selecting Kobe with the No. 1 pick would be too shocking even for a time traveler.

If it were selected with the eighth pick, others would say it was a huge gamble, but considering the bet the Lakers made on Kevin Garnett last year, it may not be impossible to succeed.

With Popovich's current reputation in professional basketball, it is impossible for him to select Kobe Bryant with the No. 1 pick.

The only industry insiders with enough reputation to support this choice are Louis and Auerbach.

Therefore, the Spurs will definitely trade for the eighth pick at any cost.

Once they succeed, if the Lakers don't make changes, they can only watch as Kobe and Iverson join forces.

"Sir, what's wrong with you?" Bass asked.

Louis said: "I just heard the news that San Antonio is actively seeking the eighth pick."

West became nervous: "Is the news true?"

"Do you think Elgin would lie to me?"

"It's probably not necessary."

Bass asked keenly: "Will this affect our draft plan?"

Louis laughed and said: "In the entire draft, the only ones who might choose Kobe with lottery picks are San Antonio and us."

"Coach Lu, is there a possibility that the Spurs are actually interested in Corey Kittles?" Rambis said, "To be honest, using the lottery pick to select a high school student who has not yet developed well is not a good idea.

It's a very big risk, and I don't think the Spurs are willing to spend such a high price to do it."

Jenny then added: "Kobe may be a one-in-a-million genius, but absolutely no team is willing to use the top eight picks to select him."

Louis looked at West, wanting to hear his opinion.

The talented man like LOGO also hesitated at this moment.

"Is it possible that... San Antonio's optimism about Kobe... is a smoke screen they put out?" West said, "They just want to lure other teams to draft Kobe to ensure that their goals are safe."

"Is this possible?"

West loves Kobe very much, but love has its limits.

If they decide that the Spurs want to draft Kobe, then in order to get Kobe, they have to move their pick to the top seven.

In this year's draft, the value of picks is mainly divided into two levels.

The first two gears are the only gear, and the third to sixth gears are the second gear.

The seventh overall pick is a very special position.

It can either draft any one of Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby, Sharif Abdul-Rahim, Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, and Antoine Walker.

, or you can choose the one with the best talent among these six people.

Although its value is not as good as the second-tier pick, it is infinitely close.

Any team that wants to get it will have to be prepared to bleed.

Others, including West, seemed unwilling to bear the higher price and cost compared to the risk of potentially losing Kobe.

To put it bluntly, no one has the foresight before and after, and no one knows how huge Kobe’s potential is.

West can guarantee that Kobe is the most promising player he has ever seen, but what is he willing to gamble for Kobe?

Is he really 100% convinced that Kobe can become a great player?

As long as you can't see the future, you can't 100% say it will work.

Louis took in all their reactions.

Old Bass said: "You decide the road."

"It's really interesting. You were the ones who set your sights on Kobe, you were the ones who invited him to try out, and you were the ones who begged me to select him. Now that things are uncertain, you are the first to waver." Louis mocked with a playful smile.

He said, "You can't do anything like this."

As soon as Louis finished speaking, he winked at little Bas.

Buss Jr. clapped his hands and stood up: "We can't sit still and wait for death. No matter what, we have to make sure that Kobe 100% becomes one of us!"

Old Bass was shocked by his son's courage.

Is this still the prodigal son who worries him about not being able to take charge of the family business?

What can you do if even Jerry West doesn't dare to vouch for it?

"Are you sure, Jim?"

Louis asked with a smile.

"Sir, you always taught me that those who cannot persevere cannot achieve anything. Regarding Kobe, I will definitely persevere to the end. I believe he will become our key player!" Buss said firmly.

Finally, Louis looked at West.

His meaning is very clear. Even the boss's precious son insists on it. Don't you have your own attitude?

I was so optimistic about Kobe at the beginning, why am I so hesitant now?

West felt an irresistible pressure invade his body.

He said helplessly: "I support Jim."

"Don't make it sound like you were forced. It was you who started this matter. If you hadn't guaranteed it, I wouldn't have taken Jim's recommendation seriously at all. He's not a professional. You're the one

To the person who guaranteed it." Louis still wanted to put the blame on West in the end, "Now we have to pay a greater price to ensure that we get Kobe. If Kobe can't do what we want in the future, I hope you can do the same.

Take responsibility like a man."

As the saying goes, if there is credit, it must belong to Bass, if there is fault, 90% of it is your LOGO man. Who asked you to wade into this muddy water?

So, what confidence does Louis have in getting the seventh pick?

it's actually really easy.

The team holding the seventh pick is the Detroit Pistons.

Their most pressing issue now is the quality of Glenn Robinson. Steve Smith's ceiling is limited, but as long as they work patiently, they can still turn the team into a playoff-level team.

This is also the most urgent thing for their general manager Earl Monroe right now.

Louis had worked with Monroe when he was the general manager of the Clippers.

It was also Louis' guidance that allowed Monroe to build the Clippers into a super battleship. He also left there immediately after the success and got a job in Detroit.

Now he has a problem, but it is difficult for one person to solve it. If the handsome and kind-hearted and loyal coach Lu calls him and wants to renew their relationship, what is the possibility that he will reject Louis?

This is Louis' confidence and the benefit of making many friends.

It can be said that in the professional basketball circle, Louis can do whatever he wants.

West was completely suppressed by Louis' aura, and Rambis and others who wanted to interfere did not dare to confront Louis head-on.

Everyone's attention gradually turned to TV.

On TNT TV, Ernie Johnson was explaining the background of this year's draft. His partners were Hubie Brown and Rick Pitino, who had just led the team to win the national championship.

When Ernie asked Pitino whether the large number of underclassmen entering the draft would affect their futures, after all, some players are not ready for professional basketball.

Pitino's answer can be said to be impeccable: "Ralph Sampson, Earvin Johnson, Yinsaiah Thomas, Benjamin Wilson, they all entered professional basketball early, this is not a problem

, as long as they are good enough, players will become talents on their own."

In addition, several people from TNT also discussed matters that the league and the union have not yet reached an agreement on.

If a consensus cannot be reached before July 1, the first month of the offseason will be in a state of suspension.

Then, the camera showed the draft scene. David Stern took the stage and gave an opening speech that would never change. He gave all parties five minutes, and then——

"In the 1996 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs selected... Allen Iverson from Georgetown University with the first overall pick!"

At this time, Iverson still looked like a spirited young man, with a cropped haircut instead of the crotch that later became popular in the league. He wore a suit honestly, not the street wear that made Stern issue a dress code to restrict it.

"I got it right!"

In the Lakers' draft war room, Jeanie Buss said happily.

His younger brother immediately mocked: "You are so awesome, sister, you can actually guess that the Spurs will select Allen Iverson with the first overall pick."

Louis told them to stop making noise, asked people to turn down the TV volume, and called Detroit.