The Godfather of Basketball

"With the 30th pick in the first round of the NBA in 2018, the Brooklyn Nets chose Mitchell Robinson, a 2.16-meter center from Florida."

Because Robinson neither participated in the NCAA nor participated in other leagues, Xiao Hua's broadcast seemed very fresh and refined.

When Robinson arrived at the scene, his expression was not very excited, but he could still see a trace of disbelief from his eyebrows.

A person who can leave school to practice for a year to participate in the draft has extremely strong self-confidence, but because of his strong self-confidence, he was not selected until the end of the first round, and he must be suffocating in his heart.

Tang Tian couldn't help but smile when he saw this.

All in all, among the three rookies selected this year, two were dissatisfied with their picks, one drew criticism because their picks exceeded expectations, and the three were all those who held back their energy and wanted to prove themselves.

Leaving aside the regular season, this year's summer league must have been watched.

The first round of the draft is over, and the Nets' draft task this year is basically almost completed.

For the remaining 60 picks, Tang Tian asked Jones to sell them for money.

"Aren't we considering trading or buying a second-round pick?" Jones asked one more question when he saw that Tang Tian was about to withdraw early.

Tang Tian shook his head.

Mitchell Robinson was a second-round pick in his previous life, and another man named De'Anthony Melton had a similar encounter with Robinson. He didn't play in the draft for a year in college, and he was also a very talented bead.

But the Nets already have enough players. As the defending champions, they rarely have draft picks. It's rare for the Nets to pick 3 rookies for two consecutive years, including 2 lottery picks.

In other words, no matter how many people are selected, they will sit on the bench and make the team lack game experience.

And with the experience of the past two years, it is estimated that other teams should weigh it when they trade with them.

After all, they are about to become the public enemy of the alliance just like the Warriors.

The second round of the draft continued. After Tang Tianxia met Robinson face to face, he led the draft team to withdraw early.

After finishing the draft, their next focus was to renew George's contract.

The rules of the league are that free agents cannot be negotiated and signed before the free market opens, but this kind of thing cannot be stopped. After all, the legs grow on the players themselves. As long as it is not disclosed, everything is within the rules.

Tang Tian and Jones have met with George one after another. Judging from George's feedback, he has a strong tendency to reach a contract extension with the team.

In the past year, he has experienced a lot. The experience of winning the championship in the end is something he has never had before. It is perfectly normal for him to want to stay and continue to create a dynasty.

Although it has not been made public, George is completely open to staying with the Nets on a long-term contract.

George is a must for the Nets to renew his contract. After all, any renewal is a maximum salary. Other free agents need to watch the market, and they can only watch it after July 1.

Everything is moving in a positive direction, and the Nets are waiting for the door to the free market to open.

Prior to this, like last year, the league held its second league awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Tang Tian attended the awards ceremony with Mitchell and Jimmy Butler.

Mitchell was shortlisted for Rookie of the Year and Butler was named Defensive Player of the Year.

The Nets ranked first in the regular season last season. It stands to reason that there should be an MVP nomination. Irving's data is also enough to be selected, but because Irving missed more than 20 games, plus the candidates Anthony Davis, James and Harden's performance is very impressive. This time, no one from the Nets was selected as an MVP candidate.

This is also the disadvantage of team basketball. In this kind of award selection, it will not have an advantage because of the data.

But Owen himself doesn't care. For him, winning the championship this season is more important than any other honor.

Compared with last year, the awards ceremony was much more formal, the stage was much bigger, and the atmosphere was much stronger.

Xiao Hua's move is not bad, effectively increasing the NBA's influence and attention.

The first prize draw is the best rookie.

Simmons, Mitchell and Tatum were shortlisted.

The trio were also the best-performing rookies of the last draft class.

Especially Simmons and Mitchell, the two staged a rare entanglement in the playoffs, and they are also the two most likely to win the award.

Simmons has an absolute advantage in regular season statistics, but in terms of playoff performance, Mitchell is obviously the better one, let alone his performance on the stage of the finals.

In previous years, the best rookie was examined in the regular season, but in fact there was no explicit regulation. After the award ceremony was restructured, it was not ruled out that the voters would also include the performance in the playoffs.

Everything is possible until the results are in.

After the highlights of the three-person match were broadcast on the spot, Xiao Hua also got the envelope with the results in his hand.

Seeing Mitchell's slightly nervous expression, Tang Tian reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

He knew that Mitchell had high spirits and was very concerned about this award.

"The NBA rookie of the year 2017-2018 is...Ben Simmons."

Xiao Hua paused after reading this, and Simmons stood up with a long breath, turned around and hugged his girlfriend Kendall Jenner beside him.

Mitchell froze and clenched his fist unconsciously.

Or Simmons?

When Tang Tian heard the result, a wry smile appeared on his face.

After all, this is the second awards ceremony, and the league's awards are still in accordance with the established selection practices in the past. Simmons' performance in the regular season is historical. As far as the regular season is concerned, there is no suspense for him to win this award.

It's a pity for Mitchell, he really played like a super rookie in the playoffs.

"With Donovan Mitchell, they shared the honor."

What everyone didn't expect was that Xiao Hua paused before saying the following.

This turned out to be a shared best rookie!

Tang Tian was also surprised, but immediately smiled and patted Mitchell on the shoulder to signal him to get up.

At the beginning, Hill and Kidd shared the best rookie, and now Simmons and Mitchell share it. History is really repeating itself.

Mitchell's expression also changed. After hugging Tang Tian, ​​he stood up with a smile, greeted his teammates, and trotted onto the stage.

There was a burst of applause from the audience.

This award was presented with great joy.

Mitchell took the stage and hugged Simmons, then took the trophy from Xiao Hua, and the two raised it together.

Although there are many grievances and grievances between the two, and they have not reached the point of reconciliation, but at this moment, they are both the owners of this honor.

Tang Tian also smiled.

This is a positive change in the league and an affirmation of Mitchell's performance. It is a good thing for Mitchell's future development and the Nets.