The rest is just noise

"Pour me a Coke, thank you."

Cavaliers general manager Harry Weltman almost broke the news when he heard that Louis was still in the mood for a drink.

Originally, he wanted to force Louis to make a quick decision by using the trick of immediately choosing the knight's turn. However, the other party looked like a dead pig and was not afraid of boiling water, and would not trade without getting any sweetness.

"Little Lu, what else do you want?"

Weltman wants to get an immediate player, and if Bill Cartwright recovers well, his ability should be able to surpass that of the ninth overall pick and every big man after him.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Sampson successively played dominant performances in the Finals.

The wise saying that whoever wins the center wins the world has spread again, and teams without an inside man want to find a good inside man for themselves.

The Knicks have a broken inside lineman, and now that they have acquired Ewing, they probably won't want to keep Cartwright.

Weltman didn't expect that Louis wouldn't listen to him at all.

"Harry, you should know that what we want most right now is the draft picks. If you can give me a few more picks on the basis of the ninth pick,"

"impossible!"

Weltman hung up the phone angrily.

"Hello? Hello?" Louis stared at the phone and said helplessly, "Are you so rude?"

Wu De asked: "Dead?"

"Um."

It is understandable that the Cavaliers reacted violently. If the Trail Blazers have Walton's PTSD and Louis has Zhou Qi's PTSD, then the Cavaliers definitely suffer from a kind of PTSD called Ted Steppi.

To this day, they are still paying their debts for the sins Stepi caused.

The key words of Steppi's ptsd are junk contracts and draft picks.

He spent several years destroying the future of the Cavaliers, causing the Cavaliers' management to have a ptsd reaction whenever they heard that the other party wanted draft picks in a trade.

Louis believed that Weltman would call again after he calmed down.

About a minute later, Weltman called again.

"Little Lu, anything but draft picks."

"It seems we have nothing to talk about."

Just when Louis was about to hang up the phone, the other party said nervously: "I have a compromise!"

"Oh, tell me." Louis reminded, "It will be the Cavaliers' turn to make a choice soon, right? You have to hurry up."

"We can't give you the first-round pick directly, but we can activate the first-round pick swap option!"

"This seems to work indeed."

"How's it going, little Lu?"

"I like your proposal very much. If that's the case, I hope to be eligible for the first-round pick exchange between your two teams in the next two years. What do you think?"

"I cannot accept your proposal!"

"Don't get excited, this is your only way to get Bill Cartwright. If you don't accept it, we'll stop here." Louis couldn't help but laugh, "I'll say it again, Bill is now at 100 health."

For five seconds of silence, Weltman seemed to be struggling.

In terms of record, the Knicks were on par with the Cavaliers last season, but they will have Ewing next season.

However, can it really change the world if it's just an Ewing?

Look at Olajuwon's situation in the Rockets. Without help, he would be no better.

Besides, Bernard King has already been reimbursed.

"Harry, this is not unacceptable!" George Karl, the head coach of the Cavaliers, not only did not realize the danger, but also spoke enthusiastically and gave decisive suggestions, "Little Lu traded almost all the capable players in the Knicks.

He went out to trade for draft picks. He thought he controlled the future, but the actual situation is that the Knicks' immediate strength is very weak. Next season, they will definitely still be seventh from the bottom. As long as we strive to get out of the lottery, we can be a relatively reliable player.

Swap the first-round pick with them!"

Weltman was moved by what he said: "Are you sure Ewing can't make them competitive again?"

"At least not in the next two years." Karl said firmly.

Hearing this, Weltman had a plan and said to Louis: "Little Lu, okay, I accept your proposal, but you need to give us the right to exchange first-round picks for the next two years."

"Isn't that right, Harry? Do you really think we can't be competitive in the next two years with Patrick Ewing?"

Louis suspected that there were Japanese relatives in Weltman's family. They were betting on the team's luck, and whoever was more competitive would work for him.

"Little Lu, do you agree or not? Give me a happy word!"

From the Cavaliers' perspective, this is equivalent to trading the ninth pick for Cartwright and lottery picks for the next two years.

But the same is true for the Knicks. The Cavaliers' draft picks in the next two years will definitely be lottery.

Both parties feel that the other party will work for them.

To Louis, the knight was seeking death.

Although it is still far from winning the championship, it is very easy to escape the lottery ranks, and it is difficult to say for the Cavaliers.

Originally, if the other party bargained, he might just exchange the first-round pick next year. Unexpectedly, the other party was more greedy than him. Not only did he want Cartwright, but he also tried to earn lottery tickets for nothing in the next two years?

Then let's do it according to our abilities.

Louis happily accepted the other party's proposal: "We have a deal, Harry."

"Tell me now, who are you going to pick with the ninth pick in the first round!"

"No, Harry, please follow the rules and send a fax to the alliance for confirmation first."

After that, Louis hung up the phone.

DeBusschere clutched his chest, and the executive and president looked at him.

"I've got it," Louis said.

Wu De patted the table excitedly: "Okay! What did we get?"

"A No. 9 pick and two first-round picks with top-10 potential."

Kruger asked unexpectedly: "Are the Cavaliers so crazy for a guy who is just recovering from a serious injury?"

"It can't be said to be crazy. Both the knight and we are betting on the future, but I know where the future is. The knight can only pray to God." Louis said confidently.

DeBusschere asked: "Ninth pick, who do we pick?"

"You send a fax to the alliance first."

Among the remaining players on the draft list, those worthy of being selected with the ninth pick are: Schrempf, Oakley, and Joe Dumars.

In fact, the only people Louis originally wanted to choose were Oakley and Malone.

This shouldn't even be a multiple choice question.

You know how to choose between the top 30 superstars in history and top blue-collar workers, right?

What's more, the Knicks still have Stockton. If Malone is drafted and the pick-and-roll system is copied, the Knicks won't have to worry about their competitiveness in the next 20 years.

This is the best option if the Celtics and Jazz don't interfere.

In terms of style of play, there is no conflict between Malone and Ewing. They can both open up and shoot. Moreover, a fourth position and a fifth position are just right. However, if Ewing is to grow smoothly, Louis needs a rebounder.

, a super hitter, a person who can hide Ewing in a brawl and let his talents shine without letting him fall into the shadows. From this aspect, Malone only meets the needs of rebounding.

Now that Malone can no longer get it, he has to pay more attention to Ewing's future.

What sparks will Stockton have with Ewing?

Louis has made his decision.

After a while, the call came from the Cavaliers.

"Little Lu, it's time." Weltman asked, "Who do you want?"

"Charles Oakley." Louis said the name.

On the other end of the phone, Harry Weltman was even happier.

Who did the Knicks choose? He had never heard of it.

Oakley is not a popular candidate in this draft because he plays in the second-tier league. With the intensity of the second-tier league, no matter how he plays, he will be discriminated against and looked down upon.

But Louis can't bet on Oakley's pick falling, because the Bulls have the 11th pick in the first round. If he doesn't select Oakley with the ninth pick, the Bulls will definitely use the 11th pick in the first round.

In front of the TV, David Stern announced the Cavaliers' selection.

Oakley, who didn't know what happened, could only follow the normal process and thanked God, his family, and the Cavaliers for selecting him. He would try his best.

Looking at him in a suit and leather shoes, he looks like an honest and good-natured guy. In fact, the number one villain in the 1990s and the King of Fighters is a pantheon-level thug in the entire history of basketball. Don’t take that kind of name from James, who boasts a shocking reputation.

Johnson came to call for a formation. Oakley was the kind of ruthless guy who knew how to fight and dared to fight. He had been in the league for twenty years and had countless fights without encountering an opponent.

One of the stories that left the deepest impression on Louis was in 2001, when Tyrone Hill, who was playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, followed the team to an away game in Toronto. Without any warning, Oakley walked straight to the 76ers while the two teams were practicing.

In front of the player Tyrone Hill, he slapped him in the face. The cause of the incident was that Hill owed money and refused to pay it back, so Oakley slapped him to deepen his impression.

"Lu, now that we've reached a deal, why don't you look happy at all?" Kruger asked.

How can they understand? Louis sighed softly: "Because you don't know what I missed."

After Cartwright was traded, the Bulls didn't call again.

The first round between Jerry Kraus and Louis was a familiar one.

Klaus at least knew that Louis was not the kind of person who was easy to fool, and Louis saw how cunning Klaus's trading methods were.

He likes to play with the chain, one link after another.

He trades with a, but he doesn't really want a's thing, because he knows that b wants a's thing, so he first trades a's thing into his hands and then talks to b about what he really wants.

This is a real deal maker.