Chapter 387 386. The Draft (Part )
Zhang Yang continued to devote himself to training. Recently, his training content has become three-point and counterattack training according to the standards of the International Basketball Federation.

Besides training, he watched the videos that the men’s basketball coaching staff brought to him when they came to communicate, and got familiar with the playing style of his teammates who would soon compete in the Olympics together.

He could accept the fact that watching videos was boring because he usually did these boring things.

But there are only four head coaches in the coaching staff, and the entire coaching staff has 4 people, almost catching up with the number of people on the roster. He couldn’t even remember all the names after meeting them once.

Fortunately, the information left by the coaching staff includes the resume of each coach and photos.

Well, he was very curious. With so many coaches, how many of them could be used was secondary. The key was whether there was enough room on the bench?
A few more days passed, and it was June 6th. At night, Zhang Yang, his parents, and his brother sat in front of the TV to watch the sixth match of the finals.

In the first game, the Lakers may have rested for too long and were slow to get into shape. They were defeated by the Bulls 73-86 on the road.

In Game 2, the Lakers had a bad start in the first quarter, trailing the Bulls by 21 points at 29 to 8, but they started to run wild in the second quarter, scoring 24 to 18, narrowing the gap to two points entering the second half. The third quarter entered Kobe time, with Kobe scoring 16 points in a single quarter. His teammates defended with all their strength, worked together, and scored 27 to 19, overtaking the Bulls by 6 points entering the final quarter.

就在所有人都认为湖人队要抢走一个主场优势的时候，末节姚明、辛里奇、本-华莱士、罗尔-邓四人携手大爆发，姚明6投4中加上4中3的罚球单节11分，辛里奇官方暂停前后连进两个三分球单节拿到9分，罗尔-邓顶、本-华莱士协防，把科比从第三节单节8中6防到末节单节6中2……

In the final quarter, the Bulls scored 32 to 20, completed a comeback, and held on to their second home court with 98 to 92.

Although they lost G2, the Lakers also found their game feeling. The media analyzed that the Lakers were in a sluggish state in the first game, which made it difficult to start and go through the playoffs. They fought for 6 games against the Nuggets in the first round, and entered the beating mode against the Jazz in the second round, winning 4-1 easily. They even swept the Western Conference Finals. The rest time from the end of the Western Conference Finals to the Finals was too long.

After returning to their home court, the Lakers defeated the Bulls 3-89 in G82 and 4-91 in G79. Just when people thought that the Lakers were going to win the decisive battle at home and go on the road with a score of 3-2, the two teams went into double overtime in G5. In the end, the Bulls relied on the advantage of their lineup depth and scored 7-3 in the second overtime, narrowly beating the Lakers 113-109 and winning the decisive battle away from home.

Zhang Yang watched the live broadcasts of these games. When he talked about these games with his parents and the team trainer, they all believed that the biggest flaw of the Lakers when playing against the Bulls was the lack of impact on the front line.

This is also the biggest disadvantage of the Bobcats when they played against the Bulls in the regular season.

Facing the inside combination of the Little Giant + Big Ben, there is also Luol Deng on the front line. No matter how strong the outside impact is, he can’t score many points. But they are indispensable. Like their Bobcats, they use Hill and Alan Anderson to attack the basket. Yao Ming can easily defend it by standing there, and they don’t even need the help of the two forwards to intercept. The two forwards can do more on the defensive end.

The Lakers are in a similar situation. Ariza is still in his developmental stage, and the only small forward who can play is Luke Walton.

Zhang San and Kobe have the conditions to attack the basket, but it is hard to say how effective it will be, and playing like that is not good for the overall offense. Both of their teams have the characteristics of triangle offense, and the best moving area in their tactics is from the elbow area to the long two-point area.

Watching the live broadcast of this year’s finals, Zhang Yang discovered one thing – the low ratings of the 05 finals had nothing to do with defense or whether the game was good or not, but simply because it was a showdown between Larry Brown and Popovich, the master and his apprentice.

This year’s finals were entertaining, but only in the one-on-one performances of Yao Ming and Kobe. In other aspects, it was not much better than the 05 finals, with defense playing a key role throughout.

In other words, the rules have changed. Defense at the free throw line and above the extended line is no longer allowed with hands. The conditions for breakthroughs, high-post shots, and pick-and-roll offenses are better, so the score is not so ugly.

At 9 o’clock in the evening, the live broadcast began.

In the first quarter, the Lakers, who were trailing by a large margin and playing away from home, took the lead 23-21. Kobe played very well with the defense, Kidd organized the offense, and Garnett responded and coordinated.

In the second quarter, the Bulls responded with a 24-20 score and entered the second half with a two-point lead over the Lakers at 45-43.

In the third quarter, Kobe made another effort, making 9 of 5 shots, including 4 of 2 three-pointers. He scored 12 points in a single quarter without any free throws, leading the Lakers to a score of 26 to 19 and a 5-point lead.

But in the final quarter, the Lakers wilted. Apart from Kobe Bryant who scored 8 points with 3 of 9 shots and Vujacic who made a three-pointer, only Kidd made two layups. Garnett, Kwame Brown, Ariza, Luke Walton, Fisher, Turiaf… and other players all scored zero points, and all their 8 shots were missed!
公牛队扛住了科比下半场狂轰21分的压力，辛里奇末节4分4助攻、姚明7分、罗尔-邓4分、本-华莱士2分6板，还有接应的杜洪、诺西奥尼、乔-史密斯各进了1个三分球……

As Kobe’s unwilling long-range shot from half court flew out of bounds, the final whistle sounded.

The Bulls scored 26 to 16 in the final quarter!
姚明22分6板3助攻1盖帽、本-华莱士8分13板2盖帽、辛里奇16分8助攻、罗尔-邓13分7板2助攻1抢断2盖帽……90比85，公牛队险胜湖人队，大比分4比2击败湖人队赢得总冠军！
Zhang Chen started cheering after Joe Smith’s wide-open three-pointer sealed the victory.

Zhang Yang complained to his mother: “When I won the championship, my dad wasn’t that excited even when he was sitting on the sidelines.”

Yang Jing saw that her eldest son was jealous and couldn’t help laughing. Seeing that her eldest son looked resentful, she tried to control her laughter and said to him in a calming tone, “Your father wanted to save face outside and pretended to be serious. That night when he returned to the hotel, he took out the wine he had secretly brought to San Antonio and drank most of it. He was very happy.”

Zhang Yang’s resentment was finally alleviated.

Yang Jing continued, “He is just like you. They both like big centers. He made a bet with Mr. Tang, who is a die-hard fan of the Lakers. Your dad supports Yao Ming. If Yao Ming wins, your dad will be so proud when he goes to work tomorrow.”

With this said, Zhang Yang could understand that a man’s happiness is just that simple.

Andy Tang was Zhang Yang’s physical education teacher when he was a child. He was Chinese and, due to his family education, was not much different from overseas Chinese. He had a good relationship with Zhang Yang’s family. After his father persuaded Hu Si to invest in opening a store, Andy Tang was the first to invest in support, but initially he only invested in dividends and was not responsible for operations.

After Zhang Chen shifted his focus to Charlotte, the business at Yinshan was handed over to Andy Tang. Later, affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, at the suggestion of Zhang Yang, the business model there was adjusted to a membership system, and it changed from volume to business specifically for wealthy people, and it made more money. Andy Tang was not so busy at work and often came to Charlotte to watch Zhang Yang play games.

Zhang Yang was chatting with his mother when the TV camera turned to Stern who was on the court.

Zhang Chen: “Wife, Yang Yang, do you think Yao Ming can win the Finals MVP?”

Yang Jing: “It’s hard to say. Hinrich averages 18+7, which is about the same as Billups 4 years ago, so he has the conditions to win. Ben averages 6+12+3, the probability is a little lower, but it’s also possible. Yao Ming averages 23+7+2+2, which has an advantage, but not much. He has always been at a disadvantage in winning awards, so it’s hard to say.”

Zhang Yang: “I think Stern will definitely give the award to Yao Ming.”

Zhang Chen thought about it and agreed: “I also think that Stern will give this award to Yao Ming.”

Yang Jing: “Why?”

Zhang Chen: “If Stern can control it, as long as Yao Ming performs well enough, he will give him the first team. However, the best lineup is controlled by the media. Now there is finally an award controlled by the league, and Yao Ming is qualified to win it. He will definitely give it to Yao Ming… There are less than two months left before the Beijing Olympics!
Yang Yang and Yao Ming, two NBA FMVPs, will lead the Chinese men’s basketball team to compete in the Olympics. If they can achieve a breakthrough in performance, the enthusiasm for basketball in China will rise to an unprecedented level, and more sports resources will be allocated to basketball, promoting the development of domestic basketball and further expanding the basketball market.”

Just as Zhang Chen and his son Zhang Yang had guessed, Stern couldn’t wait to read out Yao Ming’s name.

姚明场均23分7.3板2助攻2.2盖帽，率领公牛队4比2击败湖人队夺冠，拿下总决赛MVP！

…

After the live broadcast ended, Zhang Yang called Yao Ming immediately, but no one answered. He thought Yao Ming would call him back the next morning as he was busy after winning the championship. Unexpectedly, he got his call back ten minutes later.

When Zhang Yang offered his congratulations, he heard the hearty laughter from the other side, and in his mind he imagined how much Yao Ming’s laughter deserved a technical foul.

In the following days, Zhang Yang felt what Yao Ming felt last year. Seeing another domestic player reach the top of the season and enjoy the glory and the spotlight, that feeling was very sour.

However, being happy for the other person also comes from the heart, and the two are not contradictory.

He could only turn his sour energy into motivation and concentrate on honing his techniques and basic skills.

It is June 6th. Zhang Yang has finished his post-season training, packed his luggage and is heading to New York. He will accompany Ronaldo and Erha to attend the draft tomorrow, celebrate the day after tomorrow, return to China on the 26th and gather on the 29th. He went back early to adjust to the jet lag and adapt to the climate.

After more than a month of hard training, his mid-range shot… is still stuck at 89. It’s an improvement, and the relatively weak areas have improved significantly, but the already good areas still need to be polished.

It was three points, two consecutive increases, reaching 91.

The mid-range shot in the training is far ahead of the three-point shot because before his last training, he mainly practiced the mid-range shot, which was reflected in the training before that, when he mainly practiced the mid-range shot. Before the last training, he had already started to focus on practicing the three-point shot. In the last training, the improvement in the three-point shot was far greater than that in the mid-range shot.

However, his own growth process is completely different from that in his experience. If he makes adjustments as needed, the situation will naturally be very different.

His strength increased by 1 point to 86, his stamina also increased by 1 point to 92, and his layup also increased to 92. He estimated that as his strength reached his upper limit of 89, his layup limit would also increase to 93 when he was twenty-four or twenty-five years old.

However, when he took the initiative to recall his training memories, he saw that when he was twenty-four or twenty-five years old, he weighed about 96 kilograms, nearly 3 kilograms heavier than now. He estimated that even if his body was fully developed, he would not be able to reach the theoretical maximum of 89 if he did not continue to improve his strength talent.

As for gaining weight and increasing strength, he has no plans to do so for the time being. The need to gain weight during training is because he started out as a defender, first entering the best defensive lineup and then the best lineup, and is very vulnerable to confrontation.

Here he started as a scorer, and in his sophomore year he was even used as a corner player on the defensive end.

The team tried their best to find players to help him share the defensive pressure. They gave training resources to Alan Anderson, who was mediocre in talent but had a positive defensive attitude and good basic skills. They signed Hill to a large extent because of his rich defensive experience and health. They added a draft pick to get back Pietrus because of his defensive combat effectiveness. Although Afflalo was selected in the draft because of the “high school teammate relationship”, it was also largely because of Afflalo’s defensive performance in college…

At around 10 o’clock in the morning, the car sent by Jordan arrived. Zhang Yang went to the airport and boarded his boss’s private plane.

Except for England, everyone else on the coaching staff boarded Jordan’s plane, and Jordan himself also went to New York.

They had lunch on the plane. Jordan brought his chef with him and opened a bottle of red wine from his collection.

At the beginning, Zhang Yang and the coaching staff felt that eating with Jordan was troublesome and too particular, but after a long time they got used to it and thought that this fat guy really knew how to enjoy himself.

Then enjoy it together.

During the meal, Zhang Yang asked curiously, “We only have one 58th pick, and Michael, you’re going with us.”

Jordan: “In the draft, even the last pick should be taken seriously. What if you are lucky enough to draft a player like Ginobili?” Zhang Yang didn’t want to be rude, but he couldn’t help saying, “Everything is possible in dreams.”

Bald Qiao’s eyes widened: I will make things difficult for you when you renew your contract!
Uh…you are not allowed to burn incense to Lord Guan!
Randy Brown started to speak up for his big brother and boss: “Although we only have the 58th pick, it doesn’t mean we can’t get other picks. We have a lot of high-quality chips. The draft resources this year are too good. At this time, it’s hard to change a high first-round pick. It costs too much and it’s not worth it. But the last pick of the first round or the first round is still okay.”

Carlisle echoed, “We have some favorites. If other teams don’t choose them and they fall behind, we need to make a decision immediately. It will be more convenient for Michael to be on the scene.”

Zhang Yang nodded and understood.

Jordan is a man who loves power very much. It seems that he has assigned many positions within the team and decentralized power, but he only gave them the right to make suggestions. Of course, he will adopt most suggestions as long as they are reasonable, but the decision-making power is always firmly in his hands. He is in charge of everything from trades and draft picks to logistics and procurement.

Bickerstaff suddenly asked, “Jack, do you have anyone you want to choose?”

Jordan and the coaches looked at Zhang Yang when they heard this. They really cared about Zhang Yang’s opinion. They said that they attached great importance to the 58th pick in the draft, but if Zhang Yang wanted to choose someone he knew, even if he was worse, they would consider it.

Zhang Yang knew what they meant. He recalled the top 100 players in the prediction list and the only player with that name that he remembered. He said, “I want to choose Chris Douglas-Roberts, but I can’t. He predicts that he will be picked in the first round. If he falls to the second round, it won’t be too low.”

Bickerstaff nodded. “Roberts is very good. His athletic ability is a little mediocre, but his basic skills are solid. His static physical condition is as good as yours, Jack. He performed very well in the Madness March. I remember that he averaged 6 points in 23 games, which was higher than Rose. He was the second biggest contributor to the Memphis Tigers’ entry into the finals. He also performed well in the joint training and Michael’s training camp.

But we have plenty of players like him in our team. Alan is no worse than him, and Aaron is more talented. Is there anyone else you want to choose?”

Bald Joe: Wait, aren’t we using the 58th pick as a bargaining chip to deepen our relationship with this guy? Bald Joe seems to be really asking this guy for his draft opinion?

Ka Tu was also puzzled at first, but he remembered a topic he had discussed with Bi Tu before – Zhang San has a very sharp eye for talent.

After the 06 and 07 drafts, Bickerstaff chatted with Zhang Yang to predict the performance of the rookies. At that time, Bickerstaff didn’t pay much attention to it, but during the just-concluded 07-08 season, Bickerstaff suddenly discovered that most of Zhang Yang’s predictions were correct in those two times!
Carlisle and Bickerstaff analyzed the situation and couldn’t understand why a young man like Zhang Yang had such a good eye for draft picks.

However, Carlisle did not care about it, as it was just a casual chat in his spare time. But now he discovered that Bickerstaff did not not care, but wanted to take advantage of Zhang Yang’s ability in this area.

It doesn’t matter why you have such vision, what matters most is having talent.

Bickerstaff asked seriously, and Zhang Yang also took it seriously. He recalled a person and said, “We lack a center who can play fast and defend at the same time, right?”

Carlisle responded, “That’s right. The players in our second lineup don’t fit our system. Kendrick must be kept because he’s needed to replace Yao. Nazr’s athletic ability is good enough, but he can’t adapt to offensive basketball and is more accustomed to playing traditional positional defense. I thought he would adapt better after the playoffs when the pace slows down, but it still doesn’t work. I can only let Emeka play center more in the second lineup, but Emeka has lost a lot of weight, and sometimes he suffers when he plays center… Jack, do you have someone you like in this regard?”

Zhang Yang nodded, without keeping the secret, and said directly: “DeAndre Jordan.”

Jordan finally seized the opportunity and started to criticize directly: “Are you stupid because of losing in the playoffs? He is a member of the Little Green Room and a favorite in the lottery. What should we choose? Use Paul as a bargaining chip to exchange for draft picks? Or use Mike and Raymond?”

Zhang Yang asked back: “If you were given the 14th pick, would you choose DeAndre Jordan?”

Jordan thought of DeAndre Jordan’s tryout and blurted out, “Of course not. Only a fool would choose him. Didn’t you see his performance in the tryout? He was beaten by the slow and skinny Koufos. He didn’t score a single goal on offense. He was either blocked or made turnovers. Not to mention a lottery pick, I wouldn’t even choose him in the first round… uh…”

Qiao Tu: (ー_ー)……∑(Дノ)ノ……(ω)
Zhang San: (￣^￣)
Jordan didn’t want to admit that he was indeed tempted, but he still said, “Even if he falls down in the draft, do you think he can perform well if you choose him? Maybe you don’t know that he was beaten by Love in the joint tryout, by Hibbert in the tryout with the Pacers, and by Koufos in the tryout with the Jazz… Many of these people who beat him have never even heard of their names, right?”

The more Jordan spoke, the more determined his tone became, as if he was certain that choosing Jordan Jr. would be a waste of the team’s trading resources.

Zhang Yang was not polite and said, “He reminds me of an old friend of yours, Michael.”

Jordan: “Who?”

Zhang Yang: “Kwame Brown.”

Jordan: “…Speak to me properly!”

Zhang Yang: “Humph!”

Jordan: “…”

It’s okay to others, Jordan is not a very kind person, but towards Kwame Brown, he always feels a little guilty, even if it’s not much, but it is there.

When he bought the Bobcats, he thought that if Kwame Brown couldn’t find a job one day, he would help him out, sign him back, and give him a chance. Now Kwame Brown is playing well under the coaching of Kobe and Garnett, and he is happy for him…

Bald Qiao: Damn Zhang San, he has no moral principles and stabbed me in the spine!
After Zhang San and Bald Qiao started to bicker with each other, Bald Kawhi Leonard and Bald Bi changed seats and sat together to seriously discuss the possibility and feasibility of selecting Jordan Jr., so as not to be disturbed by those two guys.

They had seen Jordan at the joint tryout and Jordan training camp, but were not impressed. And because Jordan’s draft expectations were so high, they did not pay too much attention to him, nor did they consider whether he was suitable for their Bobcats.

After a discussion, Carlisle said, “Judging from his characteristics, Jordan is indeed suitable for us, but the risk is too great. Bernie, should we take a gamble?”

Bickerstaff rolled his eyes at Carlisle. This old man, are you throwing the responsibility to him? He’s getting smarter and smarter!

But he is older than Baldy, so it is only right for him to take some risks for his successor. He said: “The risk is indeed very high. If he doesn’t play well, we will both lose. In order to make room for him to grow, he will take up quota and playing time, causing us to miss the opportunity to recruit players this summer and waste trading chips. But if he can perform like Maxiell and Bass, we will make a lot of money!
But we can’t make a decision now. We still have to see how Jordan’s draft situation turns out. If no team chooses him in the first 20 picks in the first round…”

Bickerstaff said as he stretched out his right hand towards Carlisle and shook it.

Carlisle was very satisfied. It was great to have a boss who was almost old enough to do whatever he wanted and who was extremely bold!

…

After arriving in New York, Zhang Yang did not stay at Jordan’s house. He said goodbye to the management and coaching staff and came to the hotel where Harden and DeRozan were staying.

After Zhang Yang arrived, Harden couldn’t wait to pull him and DeRozan to the room and change into their newly bought formal suits. DeRozan was reluctant but put on the suit honestly.

Zhang Yang raised his thumbs with both hands: “Handsome, good taste, but this dress is not cheap, right?”

Harden: “My mom maxed out her credit card to buy it for me!”

DeRozan: “I shouldn’t buy clothes like this. Our two families are not rich. I can just wear my dad’s suit. It looks almost the same as a new one.”

Zhang Yang: “It’s just a small matter. Being handsome is enough. When you are selected and signed, you can withdraw your salary in advance. Just pay it back.”

Harden: “Yes, that’s what my mom said, save your face first!”

DeRozan thought so too. When he announced his candidacy and predicted the lottery zone, everything in his life went smoothly…

After trying the clothes on Zhang Yang, Harden and DeRozan took them off immediately, hung them up carefully, and took Zhang Yang to see their parents and agents. The two families agreed to treat Zhang Yang to a meal to thank him for taking care of their children over the years.

Zhang Yang would naturally not refuse. Only when there is a give-and-take can a relationship be maintained for a long time.

He would not ask for anything in return for such a small matter, but given the personalities of Harden and DeRozan, if they took advantage of him and didn’t return the favor, the two brothers would become estranged from him.

At the dinner, Zhang Yang met Daluo Erha’s agent.

Harden finally chose to sign with Pelinka for stability. Pelinka’s ability in contract negotiation is among the best among all agents.

Zhang Yang has never met DeRozan’s agent, but he remembers the name – Sam Goldfield.

This is a rare case of an agent taking the initiative to terminate the contract with an NBA player.

Here’s what happened. One year in the future, Godfield took great pains to help the Assassin Thomas get a four-year, $4 million contract from the Celtics. When he excitedly told Thomas the news, Thomas refused and, without his knowledge, publicly told Ainge to prepare a truckload of money, which was a billion-dollar contract.

This request was rejected by Ainge and he was sold as a bargaining chip. Later, Isaiah Thomas only received a minimum salary. Goldfield angrily terminated the contract with Isaiah Thomas. After receiving the minimum salary for two years, Isaiah Thomas began to gradually move away from the NBA, and moved between the Development League and the 10-day short contract.

From what we know, DeRozan’s agent is quite capable and he doesn’t need to worry.

At night, the three brothers squeezed into a room to play games. Zhang Yang looked at the new game console that Harden took out and a bunch of game discs… It seemed that he really maxed out his credit card.

Just like when they lived together at the end of the season, Zhang Yang decisively warned Harden.

Harden: “Yes, yes, I know. After getting the contract, you can spend money, but you can’t invest recklessly and don’t be cheated. You have said it many times, and I remember it. I just want to buy all the things I wanted but couldn’t afford before.”

DeRozan: “James, although Jack is not much older than us, he entered society earlier and knows more. You have to listen to what he says! Don’t be impatient!”

Erha looked aggrieved: “I know, you are being mean to me again!”

Daluo, Zhang San: “…”

(End of this chapter)