Chapter 6 The Draft

June 25th, Charlotte. When David Stern appeared on the stage on time, the boos he received were even louder than last year.

Because the NBA lockout was imminent, this year's draft was deliberately arranged by the league to be held in the relatively quiet Charlotte.

But...

Before Ewing uttered that idiotic remark, fans felt they had to do something to help the players!

Stern was long accustomed to the boos.

Boo away, anyway, even if you boo until your throat is hoarse, I am still a president without feelings.

"Tim... Duncan."

At the draft site, as part of Mcgrady's entourage, Su Feng and Kobe were seated not far from Duncan's table.

See, Duncan, with the same neat buzz cut as himself, wearing a khaki suit, was sitting there blankly.

From time to time, Duncan would scratch his head.

Beneath that seemingly calm face, the 21-year-old Duncan was actually a little nervous.

Right now, he really was just a "rookie."

Therefore, when he noticed Su Feng was looking at him, Duncan flashed Su Feng a "wicked" smile.

"Quick, Kobe, punch me!"

Su Feng, who was about to collapse on the ground laughing, hurriedly sought help from Kobe.

How could Su Feng, who had already become a "phenomenon," allow his persona to collapse on this night?

Bang—!

Kobe had no intention of refusing Su Feng's request.

"Need another punch?" Kobe added, still feeling unsatisfied after punching Su Feng.

"Enough... enough!"

Covering his stomach, Su Feng said, his face flushed.

Do you know what it feels like to be punched hard in the stomach?

Even if he were Iron Man, Su Feng also had his weaknesses!

About five minutes later, Su Feng finally caught his breath.

At this moment, on the stage, Stern had already opened the envelope for the New Jersey Nets, who had won the first overall pick.

"With the first pick in the first round, the New Jersey Nets select, from Wake Forest University..."

"—Tim Duncan!"

There were no surprises, no suspense.

In Su Feng's opinion, unless the Nets' general manager wanted to be sent to a mental hospital, Duncan would be the number one pick this year, no matter how many times they re-drafted.

"The Nets?

According to the progression of history, if the Nets get Kidd in the future, then the Nets will be a really tough opponent," Su Feng thought to himself.

But if that's the case, then little Duncan, you'll have to live in the shadow of Su - Senior - Feng in the future!

Looking at Duncan wearing the Nets' cap, Su Feng felt a bit "happy."

Because in Su Feng's view, Duncan's troubles were just beginning with the Nets, and in this life, Duncan's first few seasons would definitely be limited by the Nets' group of CBA teammates and the little genius Calipari.

Just as Su Feng was feeling "sad" for Duncan, Stern announced the Celtics' draft results.

The Celtics used their second overall pick to select the "Bird successor"...

...Keith Van Horn.

Van Horn, wearing the Celtics' cap, was particularly happy. In his mind, he had already imagined himself playing under Auerbach.

Especially when he saw the Celtics' war room cheering for "selecting him," Van Horn even wanted to shout:

I was born a Celtic, and I'll die a Celtic!

"After the trade is completed... help me make a call to Keith's agent."

Boston, Auerbach, who didn't go to the front line, said to Miller Karl sitting next to him.

"No matter what our purpose is, this child is innocent."

Auerbach added when he noticed the confused look on Karl's face.

"Miller, remember... in this league, you can use conspiracies and tricks, and you can use any means necessary.

But the greatness of the Celtics is built on the players who are willing to give for the Celtics.

Therefore, Keith can also be regarded as our child, and I will personally apologize to him."

Patting Miller Karl on the shoulder, at this moment, Auerbach was like a king, instructing his successor about something...

"Teacher..." Karl choked, and in a trance, an unspeakable emotion rushed to Karl's heart.

Back to the Charlotte scene, the San Antonio Spurs used their third overall pick to select Chauncey Billups.

In fact, Popovich had tried to find the Nets to trade with as early as when the draft results were announced.

However, the answers he received were all without exception:

Want Duncan?

Then use Su Feng to trade for him.

Obviously, using Su Feng to trade was just a way for the Nets to搪塞 (tang sai - fob off) the Spurs.

After all, who didn't know that Su Feng right now could be traded for most of the star players in the league?

The helpless Popovich didn't want to give up, so he really asked the 76ers...

How can I get Su Feng?

Then, his mentor Larry Brown told him with a smile, want Su Feng?

Then use Duncan to trade for him!

Popovich: "..."

No, are you guys teaming up to mess with me?

I'm so... my mentality is collapsing!

The anxious Popovich couldn't eat for several days in a row.

It wasn't until he saw the Celtics, who were in the same boat, that Popovich's mood improved a little.

Forget it, maybe...

The Nets are just destined to have this fate...

...right?

The draft continued.

With the fourth overall pick in the first round, the Grizzlies selected Antonio Daniels, a decent defensive-minded guard.

With the fifth overall pick in the first round, the Nuggets selected Tony Battie, an inside player who was good at high post jump shots.

And with the sixth overall pick in the first round, which was a bit different from Su Feng's memory, the Celtics used this pick to select Tim Thomas.

This was a talented forward who had participated in the McDonald's All-American Game with Su Feng and Kobe, with outstanding physical qualities and good at floating and shooting.

In Su Feng's previous life, Thomas would have been traded to the 76ers for Van Horn, but in this life, he was selected by the Celtics.

Van Horn + Thomas...

Tsk, in Su Feng's opinion, this season, the Celtics' interior defense is simply too beautiful.

Eating, sleeping, and brushing the Celtics, there's no way around it, the Celtics right now are just being bullied by everyone, right?

Next, with the seventh overall pick in the first round, the Raptors, who got this pick in this life, were just as Su Feng had guessed. With John Davis already signed, Davis and the team's front office hit it off.

The Raptors, with this pick, selected Tracy McGrady.

"Now, my draft position is higher than both of yours." At the moment he put on the Raptors' cap, Mcgrady said to Kobe and Su Feng with a smile.

Su Feng, Kobe: "..."

To be fair, if it wasn't to give Mcgrady face, Su Feng and Kobe really wanted to jump up and kick Mcgrady.

'Practice hard in Toronto, Tracy. My decision one in the future will depend on whether you can play my Pippen!' Looking at Mcgrady walking onto the stage, Su Feng jokingly thought in his heart.

After Mcgrady was selected, there wasn't much excitement to watch at the '97 draft.

Kelvin Cato was selected by the Mavericks with a traded 15th overall pick in the first round. This guy was a decent meat shield. Su Feng had assisted Yao Ming in his previous life.

And the 76ers used the 16th overall pick in the first round to select Scott Pollard, who was also a meat shield type inside player.

In the second round, Su Feng's future Pippen, "Martial Saint" Jackson, was selected by the Suns, just as Su Feng remembered.

The reason Jackson's draft position fell so low was related to his personality.

Most NBA teams were scared away when they saw his record of bad behavior.

In fact, in terms of talent alone, Jackson was the best of this year's perimeter players, except for Mcgrady.

He had performed a gliding dunk one step in front of the free-throw line in high school.

Jackson, with his outstanding strength and jumping ability, was destined to be out of touch with the NBA before he experienced that period of wandering overseas.

To be honest, compared to 1996, if it wasn't for Duncan and Mcgrady holding up the fort, the quality of this year's rookies was really quite average.

The 76ers selected a player in the second round whose name Su Feng couldn't even remember. If Su Feng guessed correctly, I'm afraid the two rookies the 76ers selected this year...

...are all for trading.

On the 25th, after the draft ended, Mcgrady prepared to go to Toronto to take a look at houses first.

Su Feng advised him not to waste money, after all, Mcgrady would also be a master of not managing money in the future.

"Su, what kind of coach is John Davis?" Before parting, Mcgrady asked Su Feng for advice.

"In my opinion, John Davis is a coach no less than Phil Jackson," Su Feng said after thinking for a while.

In Su Feng's previous life, Mcgrady's jealousy was also a key factor limiting Mcgrady from going further.

In this life, after being enlightened by himself two years ago, plus being able to meet a coach like Davis in his rookie season, in Su Feng's opinion, Mcgrady's achievements...

...might be able to go to the next level.

According to the agreement of the Three Great Iron Kings, Mcgrady would fly to Philadelphia after signing with the Raptors, and then go to China with Su Feng and Kobe.

Su Feng was very curious, what kind of story would happen if Tracy met Yao Ming at this time?

In short, the 1997 draft was very different from Su Feng's previous life, but not having to worry about the Spurs, that troublesome opponent, was also a great blessing in Su Feng's opinion.

Look, even God is helping Su Feng to dismantle the Spurs.

By directly dismantling the cornerstone of Duncan, Su Feng thought that even Popovich wouldn't be able to make it work.

'Wait to be head-patted by me! Duncan!'

On the plane back to Philadelphia that day, Su Feng slept so sweetly, but after the plane landed, he was so angry that he wanted to slap himself...

……

Bang—!

On the morning of the 26th, Kobe, who was waiting for Su Feng to cook...

...was about to die of anxiety.

No, bro, can you fry the steak first?

Ever since he saw the news in the morning, Kobe didn't know why, but Su Feng had been pacing back and forth at home, smashing things and throwing cans.

Could it be that Su Feng was not satisfied with the 76ers' trade?

But in Kobe's opinion, there was nothing wrong with the 76ers using two rookies to trade for Eric Snow...

Last season, when playing against the Sonics, Kobe had matched up with Snow, and at that time, he thought Snow's defense was pretty good.

"Su... could it be that he has a grudge against Eric?" Kobe thought to himself.

Okay, if that's the case, then in Kobe's opinion, he should hurry up and order takeout.

Otherwise, with Su Feng's meticulous personality, when would they be able to eat this meal?

Crazy!

Su Feng felt that this world was too crazy.

Because the Nets and the Celtics had officially completed the trade.

Tim Duncan will be sent to Boston, and the Nets will get Van Horn, Thomas, and Walker in exchange.

Duncan of the Nets is not scary...

After all, the front office of the Nets has limited IQ. Even if they can form Kidd + Duncan in the future, they will have to wait several years...

But in this era, Duncan of the Celtics is even more terrifying than Duncan of the Spurs!

Do you know how exaggerated this guy's speed was before his major injury?

In the 98/99 season, when the Spurs won the championship, even O'Neal could only be impotently furious under the siege of Duncan and Robinson.

Even in the 99/00 season playoffs, many people thought that if Duncan hadn't been seriously injured, it was another matter whether OK could get past the Spurs.

Do you know that in Su Feng's previous life, from the 98/99 season to the 06/07 season, except for a Pistons in the middle, O'Neal and Duncan swept 8 of the 9 championships in these 9 seasons.

The Celtics have traded for Duncan, so next, Auerbach will definitely come out of retirement.

And once Auerbach comes out of retirement, the Celtics' period of turmoil will not occur.

Although in the short term, it is unlikely that the Celtics will form a lineup stronger than the Spurs in this period of Su Feng's previous life, but...

How can the Celtics' rebuilding speed be compared to the Nets?

Why doesn't Stern want to see the combination of Auerbach + Duncan?

Because...

As long as the Celtics can gather the chips, Auerbach's disciples will give the Celtics the green light.

And after the Celtics complete their formation, they will inevitably become Su Feng's future confidant.

In Su Feng's previous life, because Duncan and O'Neal were both in the West, as long as Su Feng stayed in the East, he could wait for these two to play a round first, but now...

There are the Celtics in the East, and the Lakers in the West...

Plus the 03 generation who will soon join the league, for some reason, Su Feng always feels that his previous nickname "the.king" is simply poisonous!

Is he really taking the script of his successor?

In Su Feng's previous life, James was forced to make decision one, and a big reason was because the Celtics and the Lakers, these two kings, beat James so that he couldn't see the future...

Try to imagine, in the next few years, there will be gatekeeper Bosses on both sides of the East and West...

And in this life, Jordan will probably not retire.

Head-patting Duncan, dunking on Shaq?

Maybe, in this life, he might really be given a sentence by these two: "The future is yours."

The only thing Su Feng can be glad about now is that the 76ers' lineup next season is very strong.

Because from Brown getting Snow, Su Feng knows that it means that this guy didn't treat himself as Prince.

Different from Su Feng's previous life, in this life, Brown brought Snow in advance precisely to liberate the "Ai-Feng" duo.

Putting Iverson at shooting guard, letting Snow fill in for Iverson, while allowing Su Feng to fully display his defensive talent and save some energy to play offense.

In short, Brown still has some tricks up his sleeve in terms of defense.

Therefore, in the short term, Su Feng's living environment is okay, and he even has a chance to slay the god again.

Because after bringing in Snow, the 76ers' defensive level...

...has gone up another level.

It's just that in the long run, there's really no future in playing under Brown.

So Su Feng has made up his mind that this time he will activate the eighth step of the fifth plan of the wandering blacksmith plan.

According to Auerbach's past operations, Su Feng estimates...

...at the latest in 99/00, at the earliest in 98/99 season, the Celtics will pull out a lineup that can be compared to the Lakers OK in Su Feng's previous life.

"So, being given an epic enhancement in 1999, is this where it's waiting for me?"

Although it's still Su Feng's own speculation, he always feels that in the dark, a big hand has already built a stage for him that is far more magnificent and spectacular than in his previous life.

Su Feng is not without thinking about "turning enemies into friends" with one of Duncan and O'Neal.

But if you know the rules of the NBA at this time, then you know that unless Su Feng can be shameless and only take the basic salary, otherwise...

He is destined to have a showdown with these two in the imperial city in the future.

First of all, in Su Feng's wandering blacksmith plan, it is impossible for the Celtics to trade for himself.

Because Brown is not really an idiot, and this Celtic team, after completing the big trade to trade Duncan, besides relying on Auerbach's connections to rob, they still have a hammer chip.

The 76ers' front office is not affiliated with the Celtics, and in terms of his trade value, unless there is a truly equal chip, the 76ers will never trade himself.

As for after the rookie contract ends?

Wake up... By the time Su Feng's rookie contract ends, the Celtics will probably have completed their rebuilding.

Su Feng will not do the stupid thing of lowering his reputation and joining on a reduced salary.

"So, Jordan conquered the 'Four Great Centers', therefore, if I want to become a god, I have to pass the Buddha-Shaq level first?" Su Feng silently looked up and asked the sky.

Su Feng decided to go to Iverson in a couple of days. No matter what, the wandering blacksmith plan is a matter for the future, and he must urge Iverson to study hard this summer.

Because if Su Feng remembers correctly, in his previous life, this summer, Iverson would be buried in a pit by his cronies...

At that time, Iverson would be found by the police to be hiding guns and drugs.

This incident would have a great negative impact on Iverson. For the entire summer, Iverson would be too busy solving this matter to train.

It wasn't until February of the new season that Iverson gradually regained his form.

Before returning to China, Su Feng decided to remind Iverson.

Because next season... there may really be a chance for Su Feng, the best chance to win a championship in the next ten years.

Being exploited by Brown is nothing in Su Feng's opinion, because if this guy wants to win the championship, he has to lick him and Iverson.

And Su Feng has prepared a lot of "traps" for Brown, just waiting for Brown to jump into them himself.

One black and one, in this era of competition for defense, the lineup of Ratliff, Big Ben, Snow and himself, this defensive ability is just ridiculously off the charts...

The defense of that Pistons team in the future may not be comparable to this lineup.

Therefore, it is still that sentence...

Su Feng must increase his strength training next.

Otherwise, this future will be too terrifying.

……

New York, Stern's mood was quite broken when he learned that the Celtics had traded Duncan away.

The chips offered by the Celtics were impeccable, and unlike the time Stern called off the Paul trade in the future, the Hornets were under the trusteeship of the league at that time.

In short, Stern couldn't use basketball reasons to prevent this kind of mutually agreeable thing.

The whole of Boston suddenly fell into a carnival.

Because...

Auerbach is back!

Only by experiencing the green terror can you understand Stern's mood at this moment.

No... Arnold, didn't you say you were about to die a few days ago?

Is there anyone like you who curses himself for a rookie?

But in fact...

What Stern doesn't know is that how distressed he is at this time, he will be how happy he is in a few years.

Because in Su Feng's previous life, Stern was also one of the masterminds behind pushing OK to disband.

But in this life, with OK having opponents, just the Lakers and the Celtics, these old rivals of fate, are enough to support the market after Jordan retires...

What's more, Stern still has Su Feng?

Fate is so interesting.

Just when you think the world is about to end, maybe fate will turn around and tell you that tomorrow will be sunny.

Boston, when Duncan arrived here, he saw Auerbach holding a plate in his hand.

In this plate, there was a piece of carrot cake, Duncan's favorite.

"Tim, now the Celtics are your team." Auerbach said, patting Duncan on the shoulder.

Duncan, who was a little overwhelmed, touched his head.

And then, Auerbach also told him that he had asked Bill Sharman to make the number 21 jersey available for Duncan.

Duncan, who had extremely high EQ, directly refused when he heard the words: "I... can wear other numbers."

"No, Tim, there's no need to wrong yourself. From now on, this is your home.

I heard that you like to go to away games with your family, is that right?" Auerbach, who had investigated Duncan in advance, asked.

Looking at the sincere Auerbach, Duncan really couldn't bear to deceive this 80-year-old man, so he nodded.

"No problem, I've already told the staff that next season, you can invite your friends and family to take the Celtics' private plane to away games." Auerbach said to Duncan with a smile.

"Is that... okay?" Duncan, who was still a rookie at this time, said in surprise.

"Of course, rest assured, in the Celtics, no one will treat you as a rookie.

Because you... are our legend!"

If you know Auerbach's past, then you know how high the EQ of this old man who was able to lead a group of black people to win the championship in the NBA of the white player era is.

If he didn't have personal charisma, how could a proud person like Bird cooperate with him to perform a big show of deceiving the world?

Soon after Duncan was traded to the Celtics, "Lord of the Rings" Bill Russell publicly stated in an interview:

Duncan's achievements in the future will definitely be far above him. If Duncan wants to wear his number six jersey, then just take it down from the dome of the arena.

More and more Celtics legendary Hall of Famers, under Auerbach's instruction, offered their blessings and praises to Duncan.

Before he had even played any NBA games, Tim Duncan was already able to compare to any star on this planet in terms of prestige.

As for the higher you hold it, the harder it falls?

That's impossible.

Because the person who was held up by Auerbach is called Duncan.

Philadelphia, when Su Feng saw this story of master-student affection that Auerbach and Duncan were staging, Su Feng always had a feeling that he was being targeted.

Look at the living environment of Duncan!

There's even no need for backstage, and Auerbach will come out to take care of everything for him.

Thinking about his hard work to defeat Jordan before achieving today's achievements, if it weren't for Kobe accompanying him, Su Feng was really afraid that he would run to Boston to beat Duncan up.

"Magic God Emperor Buddha Shark?"

"If that's the case..."

"Then let's just cut them all down!"

Self-pity has never been Su Feng's character.

He's not even afraid of the "Old Rogue," so in Su Feng's opinion, what does he have to fear that small Duncan and that tiny shark?

The future is too far away, Su Feng has always only fought for the present.

……

ps: 6500-word chapter brought to you! A Quiet is going out to accompany your sister-in-law to try on wedding dresses! A Quiet will try to come back and write the update tonight!