Overseas markets, China is a major player and will only grow bigger, which is why Stern specifically mentioned it to Xiaohua.

He didn't know if Xiaohua had really changed his mind, but at least the signals looked positive.

This year's draft was on June 26th, and the location was the same as last year, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

With top rookies like Embiid and Wiggins, this year was also recognized as a major draft year.

Except for the Spurs and Heat who were playing in the Finals, the other teams had already started preparing.

The Pelicans were one of them.

At Tang Tian's suggestion, after Demps maneuvered a bit at the draft, he reached a trade with the Clippers on the day before the draft, the first moment draft rights could be traded.

The Pelicans sent Austin Rivers and a 2015 second-round pick to the Clippers in exchange for their first-round pick this year.

The Clippers had the fourth-best record in the league last season, and their draft pick was locked in at 27th overall this year.

The trade value of this pick was obviously not high.

Moreover, the Clippers' roster was stable, and Rivers wasn't good at using rookies, so instead of picking a late-round rookie, they preferred someone who could contribute right away.

Little Rivers had one year left on his contract, which was low risk, and more importantly, the Clippers' head coach Rivers was Little Rivers' dad.

This was also an important reason for the trade.

After the trade was completed, the Rivers father and son became the first father-son duo to play for the same team in the NBA!

On June 28th, the 2014 NBA draft arrived as scheduled, and the draft teams from each team arrived at the Barclays Center one after another.

Walker came to the draft site as he had in the past two years, this year his little brother Napier was participating in the draft!

But this time he was with Lamb.

As for Tang Tian, he went to the Pelicans' draft office with Demps!

Tang Tian joked that if he led the team into the playoffs, he would have a say in management, and the Pelicans didn't take it as a joke, they made it happen!

And they made it happen without any concealment.

Tang Tian entering the draft office was inevitably seen by people from other teams, and they all showed surprised looks.

A player entering the draft office, this was really rare.

Popovich even greeted Tang Tian.

Tang Tian also saw Cuban, whose face was full of smiles.

After the draft teams from each team entered the draft office, the curtain of the draft officially opened.

Stern retired last season, and this time the person announcing the draft became Xiaohua, which was also Xiaohua's first draft.

Xiaohua was all smiles, this season began, he was finally completely free.

What greeted him was a sky of boos, much louder than the boos Stern used to receive.

It was obvious that fans were dissatisfied with Xiaohua's performance last season.

Xiaohua's face didn't change, and when the boos subsided, he began his opening remarks for the draft.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Barclays Center in New York, Brooklyn Night...

The first pick in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft belongs to the Cleveland Cavaliers, they have five minutes to consider."

When Xiaohua announced the first pick, there was another boo from the audience.

Obviously, the previous discussion among fans that the Cavaliers had inside information in the lottery had not diminished with time.

This year's top pick was originally Embiid, but Embiid underwent surgery for a stress fracture in his right foot before the draft, which required 4-6 months of recovery time.

This made Wiggins the biggest favorite.

Wiggins was bursting with talent, and was hailed as the next James, without Embiid's competition, he basically locked in the top pick.

And more importantly, the Cavaliers were also short of players on the front line.

Five minutes later, Xiaohua came out again and announced the Cavaliers' choice.

"With the first pick in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers select Andrew Wiggins, a 2.03-meter small forward from the University of Kansas."

No suspense.

Andrew Wiggins became the top pick in the 2014 draft.

Wiggins had a big mouth, and was caught by reporters grinning after he came on stage, which looked quite comical.

Tang Tian watched this process in the small room of the draft office.

Wiggins' talent was undeniable, but his professional attitude was a big problem, putting goji berries in a thermos cup, and doing it for n seasons.

But he was quite curious, the Cavaliers chose Wiggins as they did in history, would James go to the Cavaliers after winning the championship? Would the Cavaliers still use Wiggins to trade for Love?

History had changed, so guessing these things was really interesting.

The Bucks had the second pick, and they chose Jabari Parker, the second-best player after Wiggins.

Parker averaged 19.1 points at Duke University, and set several records for Duke freshmen in scoring, rebounding, and double-doubles.

The Bucks' choice was not surprising, and it was the same as in history.

The third pick was next, belonging to the Mavericks.

This choice aroused Tang Tian's curiosity.

Historically this pick belonged to the 76ers, now that it was with the Mavericks, Tang Tian didn't know who they would choose.

Would they gamble on Embiid like the 76ers did, or would they choose the more stable Aaron Gordon or Randle, it was really hard to say.

Xiaohua appeared on the front stage for the third time.

"With the third pick in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft, the Dallas Mavericks select... Joel Embiid, a 2.13-meter center from the University of Kansas."

Embiid!

Cuban really knew basketball, and was willing to gamble.

History had undergone a major change here, and the Mavericks would become a competitive powerhouse in the future.

Now it depended on whether Embiid's injury recovery was the same as in history.

Under the butterfly effect, no one knew whether Embiid's injury recovery would be the same as in history.

If he could play ahead of schedule, then Embiid + Nowitzki, plus a third giant and some role players, the Mavericks would definitely be a strong team.

The fourth pick belonged to the 76ers, Embiid was intercepted, and who they would choose was also curious.

Xiaohua appeared on the stage for the fourth time.

"With the fourth pick in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select Julius Randle, a 2.06-meter power forward from the University of Kentucky."

Randle was talented, and his draft prospects were originally high, but a poor performance in the NCAA tournament caused him to fall to the edge of the lottery.

Even the pre-draft predictions were around ninth or tenth.

It seemed that the 76ers knew more about him than most teams.

After that, the Magic selected Gordon with the fifth pick, and the Jazz selected Exum with the sixth pick, which were basically the same as in history.

The Bobcats also selected Napier with the 24th pick, and he was traded to the Heat.

When the selection came to the 27th pick, it was finally the Pelicans' turn.