The Whip of the God of Basketball

"Good evening, everyone, I'm Mike Trick, and I'm here tonight with Jay Bilas, Greg Anthony, Thomas and David Aldridge in the outfield. Tonight’s NBA Draft.” At 7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN TV has started live broadcast of this draft. ESPN's black anchor Mike Trick, wearing glasses, was seriously analyzing the basic situation of this draft on the studio stage.

"There are three very noteworthy aspects of this draft. First, the top three rookie candidates are all between 18 and 19 years old, which is the youngest in the entire NBA history. Second, this is an international This is the most comprehensive draft, with a total of 14 international players participating in this draft. Third, this draft may have unparalleled depth. We must not only pay attention to the previous drafts, but in fact all players from 10 to 20 will participate in this draft. It’s worthy of our attention.” While Trick introduced it, the three highlights of this year’s draft were also printed on the television screen.

Young, international, and in-depth, this is undoubtedly an exciting draft event. The camera keeps switching between the hosts, guests, and rookie college scenes, and everyone is expressing their own opinions. At the draft, two reporters from ESPN interviewed TJ Ford and Kirk Hinrich respectively. The two young people seemed to have not adapted to such a big scene and the camera. TJ Ford repeated the words "believe, every-year", "every-time" and "confidence" in his mouth.

And Kokosinrich sat in front of a female reporter wearing a tube skirt and low-cut top, with his head lowered like a shy little boy - his hair was curled up on his forehead due to excessive sweating.

The reporter also interviewed Marquette University's super guard Dwyane Wade. Although Wade is not particularly optimistic due to height and knee problems, in the eyes of some professional scouts, he may be the best player in this NBA draft. The best player besides LeBron James, if he were two inches taller, he might be able to compete with LeBron James for the No. 1 pick.

Compared with Ford and Hinrich, Wade seemed more calm, and there was already a hint of superstar style between his brows. However, the reporter did not interview him for a long time. After saying a few words, he handed the microphone to TJ Ford. On the lips. In pre-draft evaluations, TJ Ford was said to have "the ability to predict the court like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird," but he is just a 6-foot-tall sophomore point guard.

In this way, the draft slowly kicked off. There were still about fifteen minutes before David Stern came on stage to announce the official start of the draft. At this time, ESPN TV began to introduce the popular No. 1 pick in this draft, or rather The definite candidate for the No. 1 pick, LeBron James.

This high school player from Akron has become well-known throughout the United States in recent years. People like Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber and others have come to watch James play. Before he even played a game in the NBA, this 17-year-old boy had signed a huge seven-year, $90 million contract with Nike, which was unprecedented in the entire history of the NBA.

The TV screen began to play footage of James' high school game. After a while, the camera showed Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund. The old man looked a little excited, but he tried his best to suppress it. Facing the reporter's interview, His voice was trembling slightly. This may be the most important draft and the most important pick in the history of Cleveland sports.

In fact, there is no suspense about the choice of the No. 1 pick, because behind the lens of the reporter interviewing Gund, there is a jersey hanging, which is the Cavaliers' No. 23. The name printed on it is "JAMES", so this time The suspense of the draft is not the No. 1 pick at all, but who will be ranked behind LeBron James.

By 7:30 in the evening, the rain in New York had stopped. It was not completely dark yet, but the drama of the NBA Draft had already begun. David Stern walked up to the main podium as usual and said as usual: "Good evening, welcome to the 2003 NBA Draft. Thank you to the fans in New York and thank you for watching on ESPN. Viewers of the show, thank you for your continued support of the NBA. The first pick in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft belongs to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who will have five minutes to make their choice."

After saying this, Stern walked off the podium. In fact, everyone knows that for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it does not take five minutes to select their favorite player with the first pick, they only need one second. , the remaining 4 minutes and 59 seconds are a waste of time.

Sure enough, five minutes later, when Stern came back to the podium, the audience, managers and fans even began to applaud in advance. This was a choice without any suspense, just like the Magic selected O'Neal in 1992 and 1997. The Spurs chose Duncan.

"The Cleveland Cavaliers selected LeBron James from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School!" When Stern read out the name, huge applause finally broke out in Madison Square Garden. LeBron was wearing a white suit. -James stood up from his seat, came to the podium and shook hands with Stern. This was the choice that everyone expected, this was the moment that people were looking forward to.

"This is the least suspenseful five minutes of this draft. We knew the result even a month ago. There is no suspense. The whole world knows the Cleveland man's choice, the son of Ohio. Next, the real suspense comes. Here we go, how will the Boston Celtics, who unexpectedly won the second pick, make good use of their pick." Like everyone else, the host knew that the No. 1 pick had already been settled. While the reporter was interviewing James, he turned his attention to On to the next choice.

……………………

Before the draft officially started, Danny Ainge was interviewed by ESPN reporter Aldridge. When asked how he would choose, Ainge played a word game. He said: "We will choose with the second pick. Go ahead and take the second best player in this draft, no question about it."

This is meaningless nonsense. Everyone knows that everyone wants to pick the best among the rest, but how each team views those players is completely different. There is no suspense that James will stand out in this year's draft, and the rest But it's a battle between the heroes. Each team will not only consider the potential of the players, but also make choices based on the needs of their own team.

However, Ainge did not intend to hide it, because until five minutes before Stern walked to the podium, Ainge could not determine whether the transaction between the Celtics and Timberwolves could be completed. If it could be completed, who should they choose? If it could not be completed, who should they choose? Who should be chosen? This just makes Anji's head big. As a general manager, he felt for the first time that he was like a blind man in a transaction, and the walking stick was nowhere to be found.

Watching James being elected as the No. 1 pick, it was the Celtics' turn next. Ange was restless in his seat. Judging from the conditions given by the Timberwolves, they wanted Milicic, but if the Timberwolves did not agree with Kai If the Celtics trade, then choosing Milicic would be a waste for the Celtics. Angie is more inclined to choose Dwyane Wade from Marquette University.

"Fuc-k, fuc-k, fuc-k!" Ainge cursed in his mind. He had never felt so useless. You know, in the draft a year ago, he was sitting in Boston strategizing. Now he just Being able to come to New York is like an ant on a hot pot.

"Hello, Danny, can I do a short interview with you?" At this time, a reporter appeared out of nowhere and sat next to Danny Ainge. It was impossible to choose the time for interviews at this time. Stern They all came back to the podium.

"No, no, no, I don't have time, wait and wait..." Angie refused decisively. Stern had already announced the Celtics' five-minute option, and the reporter didn't know where he came from. Angie I don't know him at all, he must be a reporter from some tabloid.

At this time, the reporter's hand holding the microphone loosened slightly, and a small note appeared in his palm.

Anji noticed the note, and he felt excited. He secretly took the note, and the reporter walked away pretending to be resentful.

Angie gently opened the note. There was only one word on it, "Darko".