NBA: I am the god of basketball

Chapter 375: The 19 Draft and Los Angeles’ Contract Renewal

Perhaps it is God's will in the dark.

Although they failed to get Anthony Davis, the No. 2019 pick, the New Orleans Pelicans still relied on their stable performance and won the No. [-] pick in [-] with the last season record.

There is absolutely no suspense in this draft as to who will be selected with the No. [-] pick.

They made their choice eagerly without any hesitation.

"With the first pick in the first round, the New Orleans Pelicans choose Zion Williams, a forward from Duke University who is 1 meters tall and weighs 98 kilograms!"

When the chubby Fat Tiger walked onto the stage with a confident smile and amidst the applause of the audience, it seemed that another legendary superstar of the league was rising.

At least this is what Zion and the Pelicans management and even most teams in the league think.

With a strong body and excellent physical fitness, he can walk sideways in the NBA. For details, please see LeBron James.

However, in Wang Chao's view, in terms of attendance rate and contribution to the team, second pick Ja Morant is more valuable than Zion.

Of course, even before he traveled through time, Zion was only 23 years old. He still had a long career, and it was very possible that he could perform super well after getting rid of injuries.

After all, in games when Zion is healthy, he still has some dominance on the court. For example, in the 20-21 season, Zion, who was healthy for most of the season, played 61 games and averaged 27 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 rebounds per game. Assists, shooting rate as high as 61%.

That muscular body coupled with a weight that is heavier than more than [-]% of centers in the league makes Zion's impact quite terrifying.

In this regard, Ja Morant cannot compare with Zion at all, even if he can average 27+6+6 per game in the future.

Moreover, Zion has never played the dominant performance that people expected due to injuries, but Morant is not much better. If Zion has a physical problem, then Morant has a brain problem. Twice Because he blatantly showed off his guns during a live broadcast, he was severely punished by the alliance, and thus earned the title of Holy Lancer in the country.

But now, in the eyes of the management of each team in the league, Morant is indeed one of the best players in this rookie class besides Zion Williams.

Therefore, when the Pelicans selected Zion Williams with the No. [-] pick, the New York Knicks, who received the No. [-] pick, immediately selected Ja Morant.

The Memphis Grizzlies, holding the No. [-] pick, selected small forward DeAndre Hunter.

In the original history, the Grizzlies with the second overall pick selected Morant, while the Knicks with the third overall pick selected RJ Barrett.

But now the Knicks have a better choice. Although Barrett is also very good, he is obviously inferior to Morant, so there is no need to worry about it.

As for the Grizzlies, they are not very interested in Morant.

Just last year, the Grizzlies selected the ball-carrying core Luka Doncic. Although he is a swingman, Doncic's playing style is actually more like a point guard. Similar to James, he needs to hold the ball for a long time to perform. Show true strength.

Therefore, the Grizzlies do not need a point guard Ja Morant who also needs to hold the ball, and even Barrett is not very interested.

Barrett has good personal abilities and comprehensive skills. He can break through with the ball and shoot from the frame. In the future, he will also be an excellent player who can stably contribute 20+ per game.

But what the Grizzlies hope to get more is a functional 3D player who can make up for Doncic's defensive shortcomings and a good partner.

At this point, De'Andre Hunter, who should have been drafted fourth overall, is the better choice.

Although Hunter is not flashy, he is an excellent 3D player who has the characteristics of off-ball offense, three-point shooting and defense. He is the most suitable for ball-handling players such as Wang Chao, James and Doncic. A player with a core style of play.

Relying on the draft, the Grizzlies' overall strength is also getting stronger little by little.
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Wang Chao and the Clippers are not just spectators in this draft.

The Clippers have a lot of draft picks this year, including the first-round pick they got from the Nets in the trade for Chris Paul and a second-round pick they got from the Pistons in the trade for Blake Griffin, plus the Clippers' own first-round pick. Round and second round, as many as four picks!
However, the Clippers and the Nets ranked 29th and 30th respectively in the first round due to record.

The Pistons' second-round pick has little value.

Especially when the Warriors selected Jordan Poole with the No. 20 pick in the first round, just like in the original history, there were even fewer high-quality players for Wang Chao to choose from.

But he is Wang Chao after all, and even the bottom draft pick in the first round can still make a difference!
With the No. 20 and No. 29 picks in the first round, after seeing the San Antonio Spurs select small forward Dylan Windler, Wang Chao was stunned, and then directly used the bottom pick No. 30 and No. [-] to select consecutive Keldon Johnson and Kevin Porter Jr.

Keldon Johnson, 1 meters tall, serves as a small forward. He is a player who purely focuses on off the ball. He is also very active in defense and dares to play hard.

Johnson, who was originally selected by the Spurs, experienced a long-term benching in his rookie season. He began to be discovered by Popovich and his tactical status continued to improve. Finally, in the 22-23 season, he averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Star level data.

Of course, let’s not mention the Spurs’ record under his leadership.

Ranked last in the Western Conference and second in the league, they successfully won the most statically talented player in history, Bunyama.

The Spurs' record does not rule out the possibility of actively failing like when they acquired Duncan.

But no matter what, a player at the end of the first round can average 20+5 per game within four years of his rookie contract. He is definitely a very high-quality player. Coupled with his attributes as a 3D player, he cannot be missed.

As for the other choice, Kevin Porter Jr. is not bad either.

Kevin Porter Jr., who is 1 meters tall and serves as a shooting guard, also averaged 93 points, 22 rebounds and 23 assists per game for the Rockets in the 19-5.3 season. Then the Rockets gloriously tied with the Spurs. , ranked above the Spurs based on the relationship between wins and losses.

This player has a relatively unruly personality and is a well-known thorny player. He has been involved in various scandals and scandals off the court. Zion's subsequent love affair is nothing compared to it. After the Cavaliers found that there was no way to tame this thorny player, they chose Trade him to the Rockets.

Kevin Porter Jr., who came to the Rockets, was also trouble-free. He once refused to play because of the distribution of ball rights and wanted to force the team. However, although this guy jumped very fast, he also knew how to assess the situation. When he found out that the Rockets were resolute, he made a decisive choice. He compromised and played his career masterpiece with the Rockets, and his value skyrocketed.Regarding Kevin Porter Jr.’s problem with his head, does Wang Chao need to be afraid?
As the NBA's currently recognized biggest ball tyrant, in front of Wang Chao, both the management, coaching staff and players must behave themselves and speak softly, even the team owner is no exception.

After all, Wang Chao is currently worth more than most team owners. This is without Wang Chao announcing his latest net worth. With an asset of 300 billion, looking at the NBA, only Ballmer, the owner of the Clippers, can Stabilize one end.

Of course, for NBA players, the more important thing is definitely their status on the court.

Ten-time champion Wang Chao has been in the league for more than ten years and has received countless honors. He is truly the No. 1 player in the league.

There are really not many people who dare to be arrogant in front of him. Even those who can be his opponents are only a few superstars such as James, Curry, and Durant.

Therefore, even if he borrows some courage from Kevin Porter Jr., he will not dare to make any mistakes when he comes to the Clippers.

As for the two second-round picks of the Clippers, they are not worth mentioning. The second-round picks of the 19th class were players who had not yet achieved their worth before Wang Chao passed through. There are a few relatively famous ones, such as the 2-meter tall player. Bol Bol, who is tall, and Horton Tucker, who has outstanding static talent, are not outstanding players.

Anyone could be selected in these two second rounds, but Wang Chao didn't bother to pick and just let general manager Jerry West do what he wanted.

The acquisition of Keldon Johnson and Kevin Porter Jr. can be regarded as the low-level replacement for the Clippers who are about to lose Tobias Harris and Brogdon. These two rookie players are definitely not as good as the former. But after a period of accelerated growth with the help of sparring potion, it is not a big problem to be qualified for the starting position of the team.

It's just that the Clippers' lineup has declined in depth, and their weakening will be an unstoppable reality.

Wang Chao will not have too much pressure. After all, with Harris and Brogdon leaving the team one after another, the team can still retain several main players such as Gallinari, Lopez, Lu Wei and Harrell.

The new generation also includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the newly drafted Johnson and Porter.

Coupled with the fact that the upper and lower limits of leading a team are ridiculously high, I basically still have to defend the title and win the championship.

Wang Chao thinks so, but others don't.

Whether it is the Clippers management, other teams in the league, and all media, they are all staring at the Clippers.

When the free market officially opened on July 7, the league began a frantic rush to grab the Clippers.

In just a few hours, two Clippers players whose contracts expired officially announced that they would join other teams.

Tobias Harris joined the Philadelphia 4ers for 1.4 million U.S. dollars in four years and officially joined the ranks of Mr. Billionaire. The starting salary of the new contract next season is 76 million yuan. As a player who has never been selected to the All-Star or All-NBA Team player, this is definitely a very generous maximum salary offer.

Faced with such a high salary offer, the Clippers immediately gave up matching Harris' contract and let Harris go for nothing.

Less than a few hours after Harris left the team, Brogdon was poached by the Indiana Pacers with a four-year, $4 million contract, becoming the second player of the Clippers to leave the team.

This is also an offer that the Clippers can't match, so they can only let him go for nothing.

If Wang Chao chooses to leave this summer, the Clippers may choose to match the contracts of Harris and Brogdon at the same time, at least retaining the team's current combat capabilities.

But after knowing in advance that Wang Chao would stay on the team, the team's salary space was completely unable to support the renewal of these players.

After letting two players go, the Clippers' third player, spatially functional insider Brook Lopez, has also been spotted by other teams in the league.

It was the Milwaukee Bucks who took a fancy to Lopez.

The technical characteristics of Antetokounmpo Antetokounmpo determine that there must be a shooter-type insider who can open up the space and create enough space for Antetokounmpo to attack the basket.

The Celtics will definitely not let go of the same type of Al Horford, so they can only target Brook Lopez.

But of course Wang Chao will not let anyone go. Space-type insiders are very popular no matter where they are. With Lopez here, Wang Chao will also be very comfortable playing.

In fact, speaking of it, the most useful center in the next few years will definitely be Nikola Jokic. In terms of shooting percentage and production from beyond the three-point line, Jokic is even higher than Lopez and Horford. It is completely comparable to the top inside shooters Towns and Embiid.

Of course, while Jokic's accuracy on the outside is exaggerated, he is not soft at all on the inside. Various inside hooks and layups are endless. Coupled with his ability to organize and support, in addition to his slightly slower pace, defense Apart from a slight lack of ability, there are almost no flaws.

However, the Nets obviously have no idea of ​​​​trading Jokic at the moment, and Jokic is also a player who needs to hold the ball to achieve maximum effect. There will be conflicts in the same team as Wang Chao, but he is not as good at contributing on the defensive end. The Lopez is good quality and affordable.

Therefore, the four-year 4 million contract provided by the Bucks to Lopez was matched by the Clippers without hesitation. In the end, Brook Lopez completed the contract extension with the Clippers for 7200 years and 4 million US dollars, with an average annual salary of 8000 million. It is slightly lower than his annual salary of 2000 million a few years ago, but Lopez is already 2200 years old after all, and he even had no ball to play before.

This season with the Clippers has made all teams in the league realize his strategic value, but the 2000 million standard is already the limit.

Even this price is regarded as a relatively high premium contract by many teams in the league. Maybe two years later, the 34-year-old Lopez's condition will decline significantly, and this contract will become a garbage contract.

After renewing the contract of the first player, the outside world was still observing the Clippers' next actions, but after waiting for several days, the Clippers still made no move, did not sign players, and did not make any trade reinforcements. They were completely lying. Flat appearance.

This makes people wonder, are the Clippers starting to feel at ease after successfully winning the first championship in team history?
While the Clippers were flat, trades and reinforcements by other teams in the league were continuing.

Players whose contracts have expired have re-signed big contracts, and those super strong teams, limited by salary space and unable to acquire stronger players, will also use the attractiveness of the team's lineup to attract some veterans to join.

The teams that really make big moves are those teams that are ranked no higher in the league in terms of strength. Although there are superstars in the team, the number of stars is small and it is difficult to achieve success, such as the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.

The two teams made big moves in the offseason.

(End of this chapter)