Chapter 1565 1564. The 08 Twins Being Targeted
794969 superstar value...
The reward of 10,000 superstar points for one team and one defense is a regular reward. Unexpectedly, he unexpectedly received a reward of 50,000 superstar points, won the best defensive player, and eliminated the Bulls. After Liu Mang was surrounded by reporters and asked questions for a long time.
After looking at the star value of almost 800,000, Liu Mang felt that he might have a chance to take a step further before the Olympics.
Even a small improvement is not easy for him now, so he must seize any opportunity.
On the night when the Hawks eliminated the Bulls, in the Battle of Tianwangshan between the Magic and the Raptors, the Magic defeated the Raptors away from home and tied the score to 3-2. However, Liu Mang won the best defensive player award. For the second time in his career, Carter scored 50+ points in a single game in the playoffs, scoring 53 points to set a new personal playoff scoring record and beat his old club. This incident did not make the headlines...
On May 16th, the day after the Hawks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, the league did not schedule a game on this day. The fifth series of the Lakers and Jazz, and the sixth series of the Magic and Raptors will all start on the 17th. .
Today the league arranged the draft lottery!
From the Trail Blazers, who ranked 14th in the league without making the playoffs with 50 wins, to the Timberwolves, who had the worst record, a total of 14 team managements sent people to participate in the lottery.
Two super talents, OJ Mayo and Michael Beasley, entered the draft after their freshman year. This draft lottery also attracted much attention...
…
…
"No. 10? Not bad. I didn't expect the Pacers to get the first pick. I don't know who Bird will pick." Price found it very interesting.
Price was relieved to see that the Pistons did not pick the top three picks. The Pistons' first-round pick this year was from the Hawks, but with the protection of the top five picks, the Pistons ranked tenth from the bottom in the league. It's just that the fourth and fifth picks are impossible, and only the top three picks are protected. Obviously the Pistons didn't have such good luck and didn't get the top three picks.
However, the two teams with the worst records, the Timberwolves and the Heat, failed to get the No. 1 pick. The Pacers, the third-to-last pick, got the No. 1 pick.
The Heat got the second pick, the Grizzlies got the third overall pick, the last-place Timberwolves only got the No. 4 pick, the Celtics got the No. 5 pick, the SuperSonics got the No. 6 pick, and the Knicks got the No. 7 pick. , the Clippers got the 8th pick, the Knicks got the 9th pick, the Kings got the 10th pick, the Pistons got the 11th pick, the Wizards got the 12th pick, the Warriors got the 13th pick, and the Trail Blazers got the 14th pick. Lot number.
Since the Pistons were a possible first-round pick, Liu Mang and the management watched the live broadcast of the lottery together in the arena. Fortunately, the Pistons did not get the top three picks, and the Hawks did not expect the Pacers to be so lucky. good.
"If they choose Mayo and Beasley..." Liu Mang also found it very interesting.
However, Yi Jianlian did not participate in the election, which made Liu Mang, who got the No. 10 pick, a little melancholy...
Just then the phone rang in Price's office.
I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was indeed Larry Bird.
After some pleasantries, Bird lost his composure and asked, "Are you sure Westbrook is the best among this rookie class?"
There is no way, the Pacers got the No. 1 pick, Larry Bird is very hesitant now, Beasley's freshman performance swept the entire NCAA, but there is a character problem, Mayo is a super talent second only to Beasley in the NCAA this season .
But Price's target was Westbrook, the defensive point guard who was projected to be the ninth overall pick.
Westbrook's defense in the NBA can't be said to be bad, but it can't be said to be very good either. However, during the NCAA period, Westbrook's defense was one of the best in the country at the time.
Liu Mang feels that the main purpose of the Thunder, which was still called the Sonics when they drafted Westbrook, was to select a Payton-type perimeter player for Durant. Westbrook was in the low post when he was in college, and he was also defensive. He was not unique either. With Darren Collison and Love on the bench, and Jrue Holiday on the bench, Westbrook University can only show off its defense and passing.
Of course, the defense is not as strong as Payton's college days. At that time, he was basically regarded as a poor man's version of Payton.
It is estimated that even the Thunder, who originally selected Westbrook in time and space, could not have imagined that the third-leading player of the UCLA Bruins, a team based on defense in college, would become an MVP in the future. Nor could they have imagined that Westbrook's playing style after entering the NBA would be completely different from that in the NCAA. no the same.
Who knew that Westbrook would go to the NBA and become the scoring leader, assist leader and triple-double leader... and he was the fifth guard in NBA history to average double figures in rebounds per game in a single season.
Hearing Bird's doubts, Price picked up the phone that was put on speakerphone, held the mic, and asked Liu Mang with his eyes.
Liu Mang responded softly: "Derrick Rose."
Price already had a tacit understanding with Liu Mang, so he organized his words and said, "I didn't expect you to be so lucky. In fact, besides Westbrook, there is another choice."
"Who? Mayo or Beasley?" Sure enough, Bird thought it was one of the two people he was talking about.
After all, these two have been famous for many years. Although their college record is not good, their strength and talent shown are the best.
"No, no, no, it's Derrick Rose."
"Ross?" Larry Bird looked at the draft predictions. Westbrook was ranked ninth. This choice was too nonsense. His teammate Kevin Love predicted that the pick would be higher than him. Rose was a little better, predicted to be sixth. …
But what he has in his hand is the No. 1 pick!
"……I see……"
…
Bird hung up the phone, feeling very anxious now.
If the Hawks had not had such exaggerated draft success experience in recent years, Larry Bird would not have bought out O'Neal and sent him to the Hawks in exchange for draft advice.
But Bird didn't expect that he would actually get the No. 1 pick!
At this time, Bird's own rational choice of Beasley or Mayo was completely different from the two people suggested by the Hawks.
Freshmen Mayo and Beasley have the ability to average 15 points per game in the NBA. That is to say, if they directly graduate from high school and participate in the draft, they will have the ability to be top-notch scorers in their rookie seasons. Rose and Wei in college. It was hard for Sbrook to see that they had such potential.
Normally, when you get the No. 1 pick, you just invite the most popular players and choose the one with the best combination of trial performance and expected talent.
But the Hawks don't seem to start from this aspect when selecting players. Granger, Rondo, Boozer and others selected by the Hawks performed very average in draft trials.
Trusting the Hawks' draft vision and making a sound choice based on rationality, these two options have a huge gap...
Larry Bird began to feel melancholy: "Too many choices is also a problem. If I had known I could get the first pick, I wouldn't have traded with the Hawks..."
…
"Ace, do you really think Rose and Westbrook are the two best players in this year's draft?" Price was also a little confused.
It feels like a lie.
"Westbrook is probably the best. I watched his performance in the finals. It was so good, even better than expected. His rebounding and passing will definitely surprise people. The company has discovered that there are many outstanding players in the future. "The point guard will probably be the first pick for many years to come," Liu Mang responded, telling him that he knew the point guard would sweep the draft.
This is not news, nor is it something that needs to be hidden. The best high school player has been a point guard for several years now.
Judging from the first season of the 2008 rookies entering the NBA, Mayo and Rose performed the best, ranking first among the rookies with an average of 18 points per game, and were the first to win the MVP, but it was Westbrook who had the last laugh, three consecutive games. Averaging a triple-double per game, although his shooting percentage and efficiency are appallingly low...
Moreover, Rose has not met Thibodeau, so he may not be able to unleash his potential so early, but he may be a little healthier...but it won't be that good. His change of direction breakthrough tortures his knees too much.
But there is no doubt that these two are the most successful future superstars among the 2008 rookies.
After hearing what Liu Mang said about the point guard era coming, Price asked curiously: "Ace, how do these two people compare with you?"
Regarding this question, Liu Mang's eyes flashed, and he said after hesitating: "Boss, if you ask this, I am very worried that I will spoil these two children next season. I will definitely tell the media this question you asked me."
"OH, NO! Ace, if you want to play with a rookie, don't involve me..."
…
…
In addition to the Pistons' No. 10 pick, the Hawks also have the Bobcats' No. 17 pick and the Magic's second-round pick No. 25.
With three draft picks, Liu Mang felt that it was enough for him to operate by himself.
As for the first few point guards... Liu Mang has no interest at all.
Drafting a combo guard to steal your job? Unless the head hits the Los Angeles rim.
Insider, still insider!
The strength on the outside has exploded, and what we have to do is to prepare for situations where a few veteran insiders may leave the team, someone may age, or there may be transactions.
After the draft lottery, the playoffs continue.
On the Magic team, after Milicic had a rare hard-fought game, he still couldn't match the overall strength of the Magic team. On the Magic team, except for Nelson, the other four starters were Carter, Turkoglu, and La Shim, Howard... Except for center Howard, who is not as good as Milicic, and during the period when Howard's physical fitness was on the rise, his role on the field was not much worse than Milicic's, while the other three positions all outperformed the Raptors.
And in the Magic's worst point guard position, the Raptors have no advantage. TJ Ford is nothing but fast.
The Magic lost two straight games. After being tied at 2-2, they did not give the Raptors another chance. They defeated the Raptors 4-2 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals again after 13 years!
Compared to the playoff showdown with Milicic, Liu Mang of course wants to play against Rahim more!
I have been waiting for this day for four years!
But the conference finals matchup in the Eastern Conference has come out, and in the Western Conference... the Lakers' series is like a bandage...