"Before each team's trial training, the league will also hold a joint trial training, but with this, we can skip this link and not participate in the joint trial training..."
Johnson shook his phone.
He was referring to the messages from eight teams with the top ten picks in this year's first round that have offered Woody a tryout.
"but……"
"Even so, we still have too many teams to try out!"
"There are 8 teams in total. Man, I took you to trial training with the Lakers before. If we go to these teams for trial training, there will be more trial training sessions, not less, especially for these talented players.
They are a great team and they don’t want their hard work to go to waste for a year!”
Woody showed a frightened expression.
That trial training really tired him out. If there were more formal training sessions than that day...
That is indeed tiring!
It doesn't matter if you're just tired, but the problem is that being tired can easily affect your condition, and you'll also have to travel during the trial training. Mental fatigue plus physical fatigue, under the "double pressure",
If his performance in any trial training is not good enough, with his popularity, doubts will immediately arise, which will affect his market price.
"So, man, we need to screen!"
After Johnson said this, he laughed.
Trial training invitations from the top ten teams, this is something that many rookies cannot ask for, and now they actually have to choose and reject the invitations from some of these teams.
He really deserves a beating!
But the thing about the draft is that the higher the popularity, the greater the momentum, and the greater the choice.
Woody's current momentum can be said to be on par with the "Peerless Twins". They have a choice, and Woody naturally has a choice too.
Johnson expressed his opinion: "Man, first of all, before choosing, what I have to say is that the No. 1 pick in the draft is an honor, but sometimes the draft pick is not critical. Choosing a team that is more suitable for you is the most important thing.
matter!"
"Some teams don't even know what their purpose is in selecting this player. Just like the 1999 Bulls, they took the hottest Elton Brand at the No. 1 pick, but the next year
They still used the No. 4 pick in the first round to select Marcus Fisher at the power forward position. In 2001, they used the No. 4 pick in the first round to select Eddie Curry, and even added Bran.
Germany, in exchange for Tyson Chandler... They are just hoarding insiders, but they have not considered how to develop this player!"
"For a team like this, we must be the first to pass!"
The reason is also very simple:
Woody is a high school student!
The atmosphere within the team is clear, the management's goals are clear, and the player training plan is clear enough. This is the most suitable environment for the growth of high school students!
Woody nodded in agreement.
But the most important thing is that the Cavaliers hold the No. 1 pick this year...
The reason...
"Then there is the team market... Wu, you are a Chinese player, and you are destined to be more attractive to the Chinese market than other players in the league. Except for Yao Ming, commercial endorsements from China will definitely consider you first, but you are not like Yao Ming.
You don’t have a fan base in China, so the city you join must not be too small!”
"And in terms of exposure, the bigger the city, the more developed the media industry. If you want to become a better player, in addition to your personal performance, you have to have the media pay for you!"
This is Johnson's second point of view. As a Los Angeles player, he understands the impact of the size of a city on a player!
The same 20 plus 10 player is a "super giant" in Los Angeles and an "All-Star" in Milwaukee...
This speaks to Woody's heart.
He came here for money, and only in bigger cities would there be a bigger market to support his ever-increasing "star disease"!
This is why he knew that the "No. 1 pick" belonged to the Cavaliers, so he didn't insist on becoming the No. 1 pick.
Not to mention whether he can compete with LeBron, Woody himself has no idea of playing for the Cavaliers.
After reaching agreement on these aspects, Woody and Johnson began to select teams.
First of all, Chicago was excluded. In the past five years, they have been crazy at the power forward position. Last year, they used the second pick to select Duke University's "genius guard" Jay Williams. There are too many new players in the team, and there are also
They are all high-draft rookies. The current winning culture of such a team is definitely not good. In such a team, Woody, who has only practiced for a year, is easily disturbed.
Then the Milwaukee Bucks were also excluded, and the reason for the exclusion was simple:
The city is too small!
The remaining 6 teams.
The Cavaliers hold the "No. 1 pick," and Akron is right next to Cleveland. This is called "geographical sentiment" in America. Johnson actually doesn't like the Cavaliers, but he must respect Woody's "second hometown."
Detroit is not a big ball market, but there is Ben Wallace who is very close to Woody, which makes it easier for Woody to integrate into the entire team. So even though it is a small ball market, in the hearts of Woody and Johnson, the priority
Very high!
The remaining four teams, the Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards and New York Knicks, are all real big cities.
Including Toronto.
Although it is not a big market in the NBA sense.
Because of Toronto's unique climate, people there prefer ice hockey, but it is a city with a population of several million and there is a market, but it just lacks enough stars to drive that market.
And since the addition of Vince Carter, the attendance rate at Canada Flight Center Arena has skyrocketed, ranking among the top ten in the league.
The biggest reason that really makes the Toronto Raptors a small city is that there is no ESPN there. In addition, for most American players, it is a matter of playing abroad. They need to apply for a passport and stay abroad at all times!
Woody has no worries in this regard. On the contrary, he has a huge advantage:
You have to know that 10% of Toronto's population is made up of Chinese. They will definitely go there spontaneously to watch Woody play!
Now that you are popular outside the court, are you still worried that no sponsorship or endorsements will come to your doorstep?
In this way, Woody and Johnson finalized the team that would be preparing for trial training next, and Johnson began to contact the other party to confirm the time.
On May 17, Woody and Johnson officially embarked on the road to trial training.
Their first stop is the Cleveland Cavaliers, who hold the "No. 1 pick".
What’s interesting is that on the afternoon when Woody and “Magic” Johnson arrived in Cleveland, the league issued a ticket to the Cavaliers because someone reported that the Cavaliers management had tried out LeBron James in advance and gave the latter
Made a promise.
In the NBA, early contact with rookies is illegal, so the league fined the Cavaliers 100,000.
"It seems that the LeBron James team is very afraid of us!"
As soon as they arrived in Cleveland, the league issued a fine, neither early nor late. But at this time, Johnson would have been a "social butterfly" for so many years if he hadn't seen the fishiness involved!
"How about a showdown with your old teammates? We really have no interest in the No. 1 pick!" Johnson joked on the way to Quicken Loans Arena.
Woody smiled, said nothing, and turned to look out the window.
Akron is about a 45-minute drive from Cleveland, which is not too far. When he looked in the direction of Akron, he felt like he could see the sky above Akron.
After staying in Los Angeles for almost two months, the prosperity there broadened Woody's horizons. When he returned here, one thing he was sure of was that Cleveland could not accommodate his "star disease"!