start with scouting

Chapter 91
After chatting with Westbrook, Su Yang returned to the office.

The draft just reached the eighth pick in the first round. The Bucks chose Joe Alexander, known as the "Chinese boy", and sent the United Arab Emirates and Bobby Simmons to the Nets in exchange for the Nets giant Richard Jefferson. It's a big deal.

Because of this deal, Jefferson also specifically asked who Ah Lian was, feeling that it would be insulting to trade with Ah Lian.

When Presti saw the news, he asked Su Yang with a smile: "As a Chinese player, do you prefer YI or Alexander?"

Su Yang bluntly said that the Arab League mainly suffers from the loss of language communication. In terms of level, it still beats Alexander.

In his view, the Bucks' selection of Alexander is a common gamble in the NBA draft: there will always be a team, in the lottery pick, choose a non-black player with a certain reputation, and expect them to become Dirk Nowitzki or Bird, but those guys ended up being Adam Morrison, Joe Alexander, Hansbrough, Fredette...

Between jokes, the first round of the draft went to the 11th pick, and the Pacers chose Jerry Bayless.

"We were targeting him initially," laughs Presti, "until we discovered the talent in Russell."

Su Yang replied, "Many previous prediction lists believed that the Supersonics would choose Jerry Bayless with the fourth overall pick, because Bayless claimed to be second only to Rose among point guards in the 08 class, and his physical fitness and scoring ability are very good." powerful.

The major lists believe that even if Jerry Bayless is not selected, the Sonics will choose the All-American Love or Gordon.

In the end, Westbrook, who has average statistics and reputation, was chosen, which really surprised many people.

Not only fans, even many professional scouts can't figure out what qualities the Supersonics like in Westbrook.

"I have asked Russell to adjust his shooting. If he implements it carefully, his performance in the summer league and preseason will be relatively poor, and even the regular season will be mediocre. There will definitely be many doubts at that time. We must firmly support him..."

Su Yang briefly explained the plan against Westbrook, and Presti promised to support him after listening.

While talking and laughing, the draft continued.

The king chose Thompson with the 12th overall pick. He is a strong man and the future CBA rebounding champion.
The Raptors selected 'Gao Yuanyuan' Roy Hibbert with the 17th pick and sent them to the Pacers on the spot.

According to the plan, the Supersonics chose Serge Ibaka with the 24th overall pick, and decided to stay in Spain for a year to practice, mainly because there is no shortage of power forwards, and they don’t have enough ball rights when they come here, and they don’t bother to spend money. Buy out the contract.

Immediately afterwards, the Rockets selected Nicolas Batum at the 25th overall pick, and then made another trade in exchange for the 27th overall rookie Darrell Arthur, and by the way, another 36th overall option. to bang.

"Why did the Rockets take the initiative to send Batum away? We have investigated that player. He has a high IQ, and his role is definitely much higher than that of Darrell Arthur. Is it just to earn a second-round pick, or is there a follow-up transaction? "

Seeing the rocket's series of subtle operations, Presti looked puzzled and frowned slightly in thought.

"It should be used to exchange Dante Green of the Grizzlies. The Rockets want to strengthen the small forward..."

As a former hard-core fire secret, Su Yang remembers very clearly that the Rockets traded Arthur for Dante Green, and Dante Green scored 40 points in the summer league, helping Morey successfully deceive the Kings management, and then traded for Artest ster.

As of the acquisition of Artest, the Rockets' operations were very successful. Unfortunately, Artest did not renew his contract.

In the blink of an eye, the first round of the draft was over.

As Su Yang predicted, Jordan hadn't been selected yet, and Presti began to prepare.

Su Yang mentioned Dragic's name again, then left the office again, and hurried to the scene of the draft.

Compared with the huge crowds before, more than half of the fans at the scene have left, and there are very few fans who care about the situation of the second round.

The ESPN analysis desk was also replaced by another wave of people, and the topic was which team made the most mistakes in the first round selection.

Several guests also mentioned that the Supersonics chose Westbrook, thinking that it was an extremely risky choice.

Su Yang listened and waited, and Adam Silver, the vice president of the league, came out and announced that the Supersonics had chosen Jordan.

The on-site camera lens and lights immediately focused on Jordan, and Jordan stood up with a happy face, as if he was not angry or annoyed at all because he was the last player selected in the small green room.

"It really is a lot of fun to be a fool..."

Su Yang felt emotional, and saw Xiao Qiaodan rushing to the stage, shaking hands with Xiao Hua excitedly and taking a photo.

ESPN interviews followed, official questions, official answers, no one really cared what was said.

At the end of the interview, Little Qiaodan walked towards Su Yang quickly, waving and smiling in greeting from afar, like a fool.

"Coach, what do I need to do, I'm ready!"

At this moment, Jordan is a very good boy, not the court bully who risked the injury of his teammates and forcibly grabs his teammates' rebounds, nor is he the court old bastard who does not work hard, and probably wants to sign a contract.

After all, the chances of signing a second-round pick are relatively low.

Seeing that Jordan was full of fighting spirit, Su Yang said with a smile: "This summer, you should focus on practicing screen positions and free throws, especially off-ball screen positions. I will design cooperative tactics for you and Durant, so that the front will miss you. The team regrets..."

"That's it?"

Little Jordan showed doubts on his face, and quickly hid a little disdainful expression, as if he thought it was easier to cover up.

"Don't think it's going to be easy..."

Covering position requires long-term learning and practice. Some players do poorly, just double-team their teammates, or have no delay effect, while some players do well, and it directly evolves into a classic tactic, such as the 07 finals. Lecho suddenly changed direction on the way to cover, which caught the Spurs on the spot and let the whole world discover its power.

Su Yang waved his hand: "I will decide whether you will start or be a substitute based on the quality of your preseason coverage."

Hearing that he had the opportunity to start, Jordan's eyes widened immediately, and then he nodded repeatedly to express his understanding.

The second-round pick may start in the first year, which is an excellent opportunity to show his worth, how dare he underestimate the cover.

"Go, don't let me down..."

Su Yang patted Xiao Qiaodan's junior, signaled him to accept media interviews, and returned to the office himself.

The Sonics then chose three more players, and Predisti made some manipulations and switched to Kyle Waver.

Su Yang knew little about Kyle, so after a rough study, he decided to use him as the second backup shooting guard.

It's a pity that Dragic was not selected. Presti did not explain why, but only hinted that the Spurs wanted it.

Su Yang heard the words and thought about it. He guessed that it should be convenient for the Spurs. There is no need to trade up a few picks for Dragic, and then cut off the Spurs. Such an operation is laborious and hurts the relationship. It is really not very good worthy.

Besides, the selection of Dragic will also take time and cost to train, and there are enough young people.

Thinking of those, Su Yang didn't get entangled, instead he left the office again and accepted the interview as agreed.

The reporter asked how to evaluate the results of the Sonics draft. He bluntly said that Presti had nine points in the operation, because Presti selected an MVP-level point guard and the best defensive-level center.

After the news was broadcast, fans were quite shocked by his two predictions, but more curious about where the point was dropped.
-
PS: There is a bug in the previous article. The Thunder acquired Nenad Kostic after the start of the 08-09 season, so the protagonist should not think about contacting Kostic at the time point at the end of June. I checked the information today and found out that it has already get rid of.

(End of this chapter)