Under the leadership of David Stern, the audience burst into loud but not intense applause.
"It seems that there will be another competitive team in the NBA this year! But we also hope that a strong New York Knicks team can appear in the league, because this will make our competition more intense.
Be more competitive and appreciative!”
After speaking for a while, David Stern turned around and said with a smile: "Liu, can you tell me the target of the Knicks' first round selection this year?"
"Mr. Stern, I would like to answer you, but I don't know. Because when I signed with Coach Brown, I already promised him that he would be responsible for the introduction of every player in the Knicks! And
I'm only responsible for paying!" Liu Dong said with a smile.
"Wow, it seems that Larry Brown finally got lucky. He met a generous boss!"
Immediately, Larry Brown's smiling face appeared on the big screen on the rostrum!
From the confident expression on his face, it seemed that what Liu Dong said just now was correct.
"Can you please tell me how much transfer fees the Knicks are going to spend on player acquisitions in the new season?" David Stern seemed to be trying to get some information out of Liu Dong's mouth.
However, although Liu Dong is young, his mouth is tighter than he imagined.
"It all depends on Coach Brown. As long as the player he likes is willing to come to the Knicks, money is not an issue!"
Liu Dong's confident and high-spirited words attracted more and more people in the audience to pay attention to him.
A boss from China is not scary, but a boss who dares to delegate power and is not short of money is an enemy truly worthy of attention.
No strong NBA team wants to have a stronger contender for the championship ring during the playoffs!
"Liu, could you please tell me about your occupation?" Stern asked again.
"Everyone has guessed my occupation, yes, it is a businessman! If you want to know more about me, you might as well read the "Times" in January of the next few years."
When Liu Dong finished speaking, especially after the words "Times" came out, the whole audience was in an uproar, because everyone knew the weight of this American magazine, and the people who could be included in it were undoubtedly real people from all walks of life.
Top elite!
But seeing Liu Dong swearing in front of so many people, no one could refute him because he was Chinese and so young!
Seeing that the topic Liu Dong had stirred up was already widespread and sensational, considering that it was now the NBA draft and business could not be delayed, so after asking Liu Dong a few more innocuous topics, David Stern announced
The show continues!
But people's curiosity about the Knicks' new owner has clearly outweighed attention to the draft.
The Chicago Bulls, who got the second pick in the next draft, selected point guard Jay Williams from Duke University, a famous basketball school!
This 6-foot-2-inch black guy, who averaged 25.7 points per game and 6.5 assists per game in the 6 games of the National Collegiate League Finals, was the hottest pick in the 2002 NBA draft. If not
Because of the addition of Yao Ming, he is definitely the No. 1 pick in 2002!
After the Bulls, it was the turn of the Golden State Warriors, who got the third overall pick. They also chose Dunleavy Jr. from Duke University, who can play the third and fourth positions!
Following closely, the Memphis Grizzlies, who got the fourth pick, selected Drew Gooden from the University of Kansas, who can play both the power forward and center positions!
With the fifth pick, the Denver Nuggets selected power forward Nikoloz Skitishvili from Georgia. The Nuggets got what they wanted and got the guy known as the 'Nowitzki Second'.
Unfortunately, it turned out later that this guy was an out-and-out parallel import!
With the sixth pick, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected DaJuan Wagner from the University of Memphis. His 100-point record in a single game in high school made him famous. His extraordinary speed and strong scoring ability were often compared to those of the time.
Comparison of Allen Iverson in his prime.
It's a pity that this promising new generation is like a flash in the pan, disappearing in just two years!
When the New York Knicks made the selection with the seventh overall pick, the atmosphere in the audience instantly went silent!
Because of Liu Dong's previous accident, everyone is now curious about which player the New York Knicks, with a Chinese owner, will choose!
As the newly appointed coach of the Knicks, Larry Brown straightened his suit and walked up to the front desk unhurriedly under the attention of everyone. After a quick glance at everyone in the audience, he unfolded the document in his hand.
Then he said slightly louder: "The New York Knicks select Cypress Creek High School's Amar'e Stoudemire!"
After Brown finished speaking, in the green room not far away, a tall black man with a slightly thin face suddenly clenched his fists, his face full of uncontrollable excitement.
As a high school student, Amar'e Stoudemire's participation in the draft was very risky. After all, high school basketball and the fiercely competitive NBA with so many strong players are completely different concepts! So even Amar's outstanding performance in high school
Lei was also extremely worried, but now he can finally feel relieved!
However, Jerry Colangelo, the general manager of the Suns, was not very happy at this moment. When Amar'e Stoudemire went to the Suns for a tryout, when he saw him, he seemed to see Kobe Bryant back then.
.So, the Suns’ choice this year is high school student Amare Stoudemire!
But unfortunately, the Suns were ranked behind the Knicks in the pick, and they could only watch helplessly as the other team picked away their favorite players!
When Larry Brown put the red hat representing the New York Knicks on Amar'e Stoudemire's head, Liu Dong felt relieved. Although he didn't get Yao Ming, both goals were not in vain after all.
.
Next, the Los Angeles Clippers, who were ranked second, selected University of Maryland's brutal power forward Chris Wilcox with the No. 8 pick!
The Suns, who hold the ninth pick, can only choose their second favorite target, power forward Nene Hilario from Brazil!
Judging from the selections of the twelve teams in the lottery, it is obvious that they prefer inside players, except for Jay Williams, who was selected by the Bulls with the second overall pick, and Fred, who was selected by the Pacers with the 14th overall pick.
Except for Jones, who is a backcourt player at position 1, the others are all frontcourt players at positions 5 and 4!
Even Jared Jeffries, who was selected by the Wizards with the 11th overall pick, can play both the 3 and 4 positions!
The popularity of frontcourt players can also be seen in the lack of outstanding frontcourt players in the NBA today! In the 1990s, 'Big Dream' Olajuwon, 'Iron Tower' Patrick Ewing, 'Shark' O'Neal, and 'Navy'
General David Robinson, four major centers competing for glory, power forwards Karl Malone and Charles Barkley, superstars competing for glory, the era of abundant internal talents will never be seen again in the new century!
Since Jordan, excellent backcourt players have become the mainstream in the NBA, and there are fewer inside players who are willing to do dirty and tiring work!
I have to say that compared to the glory of the 1980s, today's NBA has become a lot more flashy after making further progress in business. In terms of pure competitiveness, it has fallen behind the NCAA!
After all 29 teams have finished naming the players they are optimistic about, the first round of the draft will be completed!
Of course, there are basically only a few new-generation talents left who are worthy of attention. Although it cannot be said that there are no outstanding talents in the second-round picks, there are powerful players like Lewis, Arenas and Michael Reed.
After all, they are in the minority! Everyone basically comes with the purpose of selecting role players.
But what makes Liu Dong and Larry Brown regretful is that Carlos Boozer, whom they were optimistic about, was picked up by the Cleveland Cavaliers who were just ahead of them!
With only one pick difference, the players you are optimistic about become the prey of others. This feeling is indeed quite frustrating!
But what's even more frustrating is that Juan Carlos Navarro, whom they were optimistic about and planned to select without Boozer, actually refused to accept the invitation. At the invitation of his old club Barcelona, Spain, he actually gave up the draft.
!
Larry Brown, who had failed in his two second-round picks, quickly discussed with Liu Dong and chose Luis Scola, who is also from Spain.
The reason why I chose him is mainly because he is physically strong and 6 feet 9 inches tall. He is very flexible when fighting in the paint. He can also play post-up and complete some small forward actions, and can serve as the 4th and 5th positions.
.
In addition, Luis Scola has the unique skills and court vision of European players. He has excellent ball control skills and is also excellent in passing at high positions. He is qualified for the No. 3 position!
Although he is not top-notch in every aspect, when these advantages are put together, he becomes a versatile player who can play from the 3rd to the 5th position! And he has certain abilities no matter which position he plays. Such a player
It's valuable in any team!
After his team's two draft spots were used up, Liu Dong also lost interest in what happened next.
After taking the opportunity to explain things to Tim Thomas and Larry Brown, he left quietly! He was too lazy to deal with the media interviews that were eyeing him, and he didn't want to be exposed too much in front of the camera.
If it had been known that David Stern would take the stage after the Rockets draft, then Liu Dong would definitely not be present at today's draft.
Of course it makes no sense to say this now!
…………………………………………………………………………………… (To be continued.)
ps: Thanks to the book friend "Wuhen 1924" for supporting me with two monthly passes, thank you very much!