The rest is just noise

The chips Louis exchanged for Sam Bowie were the 27th and 25th picks (from the Pistons) in the first round of 1989, the 1991 first-round pick plus Song Tao.

Song Tao was requested by the 76ers.

The Knicks have attracted a wide range of markets in Greater China because of their Huazi, and they also want to take a bite.

The reason why Louis agreed is that starting next year, FIBA ​​will officially lift the ban on professional players. In other words, even if Song Tao is a professional player, he can still play for the national team with a contract.

Moreover, he himself also wanted to venture outside.

He has been Ewing's substitute for three years now. He has developed skills and won a championship. He has no worries and just wants to establish himself in the league with his own strength.

No one wants to be said to be a connected person.

As long as he stays with the Knicks, he will never be able to take off this hat.

Therefore, Louis did not reject the 76ers' proposal and sent him and three first-round picks to Philadelphia in exchange for Sam Bowie, the most famous parallel import in history on the main world line.

Nausea Klaus is the most important factor in Louis's replacement, and enhancing the depth of the inside lineup is also one of his purposes.

In the past two years, due to the expansion of four teams, the Knicks have lost four strong players in vain. They are in great need of reinforcements.

Louis appreciates Bowie's comprehensive skills. His defense is very good, his rebounding is above the standard, and he has brilliant support.

Jack Ramsey was right, there was a bit of Bill Walton in Bowie.

It's a pity that he is an old Wharton.

An old Walton cannot support a strong team inside, but as a substitute for a championship team, he is very suitable.

As long as he is healthy, he can do better than Wharton during the Green Kai era.

Upgrading Song Tao to Bao Wei is undoubtedly a huge reinforcement.

After the trade, the Knicks' remaining opportunity to recruit was the 1989 draft.

June 27

draft day

As in previous years, the draft was held in New York.

This year, Baylor did not go to the draft. On behalf of the Knicks, former general manager Dave DeBusschere and chief assistant Tomjanovich, who currently have a vacant position with the Knicks, were present to hand over the draft selections.

After all, Baylor is now a legitimate general manager, no longer the deputy he was in the past, so it would be inappropriate to go to the scene again.

What team would send the top management figure like the general manager to the scene?

The answer is teams with top-five picks, or lottery picks.

For a strong team like the Knicks, let alone the lottery, when Ewing and Wilson were selected, Louis didn't even go there.

There is a special situation today.

Baylor came to Louis specifically in advance and said: "The European from Yugoslavia is coming."

"Which European?"

Louis didn't react for a moment.

"Mozart on that court! That Tirachan Petrovich!" Baylor didn't even remember the name, but Louis reacted.

"Drazen Petrovich?"

"Yes!" Baylor nodded heavily, "Next year, FIBA ​​is going to lift the restrictions on professional players participating in international competitions. There are many overseas players who want to challenge the NBA."

Louis gradually remembered something.

In 1986, the Knicks selected Petrovic in the first round.

Many people were puzzled by this choice at the time. Later, because the players selected by the Knicks all played well, no one mentioned that Louis wasted his first-round selection of overseas players.

Now that FIBA ​​has unchained professional players, Petrovic, who has been invincible all over the world in Europe, of course wants to challenge the NBA.

The Knicks have exclusive rights to sign him.

"What do you think about this matter?" Baylor asked.

Louis had to think about this matter seriously. In his impression, Petrovic was also a player who died young.

But he did not remember how Petrovich died.

In other words, he didn't know at all.

Not knowing is scarier than not remembering.

If he doesn't remember, it means that he has heard about it at least, but he just can't remember it suddenly. Maybe he will remember it one day.

But if you don’t know, you have absolutely nowhere to start.

In addition to the fact that Petrovic died young, Louis also knew that he had made a name for himself in the NBA and had a rivalry with Jordan.

Judging from his game characteristics, he is a pure scorer, but he is not suitable for the current Knicks.

So this turned out to be a problem.

Louis knows that Petrovic will shine in the NBA, but he may die suddenly in the future. Even if he escapes, he is still not compatible with the Knicks at this stage.

Rather than letting a good player waste time in his hands, Louis hopes to send him to a place where he can show his talents.

Louis thought of a perfect place to stay.

He still owes Lewis Shafir a favor, doesn't he?

Although trading to Cheeks was beneficial to the Heat, Shafir's trade attempt at any cost in order to gain his trust still moved Louis.

Anyway, he also promised to help the Heat reach the playoffs next season, so it's not a bad idea to give him a favor.

Before the draft, the Knicks and Heat reached a deal.

Louis sent the rights to sign Drazen Petrovic to Miami in exchange for Steve Kerr and the No. 1 pick in the second round.

Lewis Shafir should be proud. This is the worst deal Louis has ever made in his career.

Louis didn't keep Cole, he took Cole in exchange for the Utah Jazz's 26th pick in the first round.

After this operation, Louis suddenly had four draft picks in his hands.

The 14th pick in the first round, the 26th pick in the first round, the 1st pick in the second round, and the 27th pick in the second round.

Except for the 14th pick in the first round from the Spurs, the others are not high.

With Bowie joining, the Knicks have three spots left on their roster.

Four draft picks, Louis only needs three of them to make a difference.

This year, after the addition of the Timberwolves and Magic, there are a total of 11 lottery picks.

Starting from the teams holding the No. 1 pick, they are the Heat, Clippers, Kings, Hornets, Mavericks, Warriors, Cavaliers, Mavericks, Pacers, Timberwolves, and Magic.

The Heat face a tough decision.

Hank Gathers, whom they had already decided to select, underwent a comprehensive physical examination during the trial training and was found to have a heart problem that may be life-threatening. Although the doctor said that the condition can be controlled with medication, the medication will have certain effects.

side effects.

Now, the Heat are in chaos.

Other than a healthy Gaithers, there are simply no "sure picks" this year.

Before making his choice, Shafir called Louis three times and wanted to know if Danny Ferry could be the top pick.

"You might as well have picked Perrivis Ellison instead of him," Louis joked.

Ellison, as the favorite for the No. 1 pick, was looked down upon by Louis and Shafir.

Before Gathers ran for the election, the topic of the No. 1 pick in 1989 had been between "Ferry or Ellison", but Louis believed that neither of them had the potential to be the No. 1 pick. The former was a beggar version of Bird, and the latter was a 2nd pick.

Mi 06 is a center with good basic skills, but mediocre athletic ability, and has the deceptive nickname of "NeverNervous Pervis".

This nickname reminds Louie of the classic "Joe Barry doesn't care" time and time again.

So, Louis gave Shafir two choices.

Use the No. 1 pick to select Hank Gathers, conduct physical examinations for him every month to ensure his health, and believe that medical advancements will allow him to play better than Maravich, a legendary player who also has heart problems.

.

By exchanging draft picks with the Kings or Hornets, you can get a few more things. The important thing is to get their third or fourth pick, and then use that pick to select Glenn Rice.

In Louis' eyes, only two players in this class are safe.

One is Gathers, which requires careful maintenance and has a very high upper limit.

The other is Rice, a wing shooter that Louis is very familiar with.

Shafir didn't want to choose Rice to compete with Willie Anderson for playing time, so choosing Gathers and caring for him carefully was the only option before him.

This was the moment that changed history when the Miami Heat selected Hank Gathers with the first pick of the first round.

The Clippers almost happily selected Perrivis Ellison, who they believed was the real No. 1 pick in this draft, with the second overall pick.

When he was drafted by the Clippers, Perivis, who said he was never nervous, could clearly see the nervousness in his expression.

The Kings had no choice but to select Danny Ferry with the third overall pick.

The Hornets were the only team not affected by Louis. According to the main historical line, they selected Glenn Rice with the fourth pick in the first round.

Judging from the selection of the top four picks, except for the Kings, the other three teams are very happy.

But the four rookies who were selected, except for Gathers, all had serious expressions, as if something bad had happened, as if they had fallen into hell.