Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 217 217. Layout: The Talent Show Begins (3.4K words for subscription)

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, time came to June 6, and the 28 NBA Draft officially kicked off.

This year's draft is still held in the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York.

Every year in the draft, it means that a group of talented players will enter the league. The replacement of the old and the new has always been the principle of competitive sports that has not changed for a century.

And as the training measures become more and more perfect, the development environment for rookie players is much better than that of the older generation of players.

Although the quality of the players is not necessarily better than in those years, the physical fitness of the players is getting better and better.

A decade ago, jumping from the free-throw line would have been considered a feat in the NBA, but it's not a shocking thing these days.

It will be very difficult for players to stand up with flashy dunks.

There are many players who are favored in this year's draft, but there is no objection to the position of the No. [-] pick.

In previous years, the possible candidates for the No. [-] pick were all fiercely contested. Before the draft actually started, few players could lock in the status of the No. [-] pick in advance.

Even if they have a certain advantage in the competition for the No. [-] pick, the gap with the players behind them is very small, and it is difficult to complete the crushing without any suspense through talent.

But this year's draft is a surprise, because no matter which team gets the No. [-] pick in the lottery in May, the No. [-] pick in this year's draft will definitely be that man.

It is Greg Oden, a center player from Ohio State University!
As early as in high school, Oden was called a once-in-a-century genius by the football world.

In 2005, Oden shared the Parade High School Player of the Year title with Monta Ellis.

And won the title of Mr. Basketball in 2005, becoming another high school senior who won this honor after LeBron James.

In 2006, Lawrence North High School became the first team in Indiana history to be selected as the No. 1 team in the national high school strength list selected by USA Today and Sports Illustrated.

Oden was also selected to the McDonald's All-American High School All-Star team in 2006. Oden showed his dominance early on, so much so that he got the nickname "The Great".

Entering the university Auden did not live up to the title of "The Great".

He is extremely precocious on the court, averaging 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game in his freshman season, all three of which are the highest in the team.

Throughout his freshman year, Oden scored double-doubles 14 times, scored 5+ points in a single game 20 times, and blocked 17+ blocks in a single game 4 times. These are all real game dominance.

Unfortunately, injuries have been entangled with Oden since college, which also made Oden undergo many surgeries at a young age to treat his ligament strain.

However, although injuries have brought a lot of trouble to Oden, they still can't stop the "Emperor from going out."

In the Sweet Sixteen game against Tennessee, Oden blocked the opponent in the last minute.

8进4的比赛打孟菲斯，奥登拿到19分、9个篮板，孟菲斯的两个内线犯规7次。

In the semifinal against Georgetown, Roy Hibbert had nothing to do in front of him and only got 6 rebounds.

In the finals, Oden single-handedly blew up the inside twin towers composed of Noah and Al Horford, shocking the entire NCAA in one fell swoop.

You must know that Horford and Noah are both inside killers in NCCA, and they both locked in the lottery position in the pre-draft predictions.

Among them, Al Horford is locked in the top three, and he can be called a representative of extremely talented inside players.

But even though the twin-tower lineup composed of Horford and Noah is very strong, it still looks vulnerable to Oden.

It seems that the gap between these three players is so different that it is a tragedy to participate in the draft in the same year.

Oden can still lock the No. [-] pick without any suspense in the case of injuries, which is enough to prove the potential hidden in Greg Oden.

However, I am afraid that no one except Luke knows how miserable Oden's next NBA career will be.

In his rookie season, he was reimbursed for the season without playing a game. In the next two seasons, Oden only played 82 games for the team, which is a complete season.

Afterwards, Oden faded out of the league due to injuries and did not join the Heat until the 13-14 season with a basic salary contract. However, he also only played 23 games for the team, with very little playing time, and his personal contribution was also worthless. Mention.

甚至在2015年奥登不得不远赴中国来到CBA打球谋生，为CBA江苏队效力期间，奥登一共代表江苏队出战25场，场均出场26.3分钟只能得到13分12.6个篮板以及2盖帽。

It's ridiculous that the basketball genius who was called a once-in-a-century basketball genius couldn't play a dominant role in the CBA arena.

No one thought that the CBA would be the swan song of Oden's career. Since then, Oden has officially bid farewell to the 5V5 basketball league.

You can only play a dozen 3V3 half-court confrontations in the BIG3 league.

Thinking of this, Luke, who was sitting in the room at this moment, sighed, only feeling that the good fortune was too tricky.

It takes a long time to witness a player's rise, but it only takes a moment to witness a player's fall.

Before the start of the draft, Oden, who was sitting off the court, undoubtedly became the focus of the audience, and even Chris Wallace, who accompanied Luke, looked envious, "How great would it be if we could get the No. [-] pick? Well, if Greg is selected, there is no fear of the team having no future."

Luke just smiled lightly at this, and didn't answer Chris Wallace's words.

In this year's draft, the Grizzlies have a total of two draft picks, namely their own fourth pick in the first round, and the 48th pick in the overall round that they just bought from the Lakers not long ago.

The Lakers have a total of three draft picks this year, including one first-round pick and two second-round picks. The 48th pick in the overall round is too late. Whether it is player selection or trading, the value is not very great .

However, the value of draft picks also lies in whether they can choose their favorite players. For this, Luke has his own arrangements for these two draft picks this year, and will even directly affect the overall operation of the Grizzlies offseason.

As league president David Stern gave a stinky and long "hypnotic script" on stage, the draft finally officially started under the excited expression of the Blazers management.

The first pick in the first round, the Blazers, who held the No. [-] pick, unsurprisingly chose Greg Oden, which aroused the envy of other teams in the league.

With the second pick in the first round, the Sonics chose Kevin Durant, who has a slightly lower reputation than Oden, and there is no objection to this choice.

After all, Oden and Durant are the most potential talents in this draft. No matter who the team holds the No. [-] pick and the No. [-] pick, these two will definitely be selected in the top two picks.

Durant's official height is [-] meters, and he has an excellent shooting wingspan. Apart from being a little thin and his confrontation ability makes scouts question, Durant basically has no flaws.

During college, Durant was selected to the All-American First Team together with Oden, becoming the first player to be selected to the All-American First Team as a freshman since 1990.

They are the third and fourth players to receive this honor respectively.

The Eagles chose Al Horford with the third pick in the first round. Although Al Horford was blown to pieces by Oden during college, Horford is still a rare talent in this year's draft.

Moreover, Horford has a very high basketball IQ, and as an inside player, he has excellent coping skills, which also makes Horford very popular among scouts.

When the option came to the Grizzlies with the fourth overall pick in the first round, everyone's eyes were on the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies have always been a non-existent team in the league, but because of Luke's arrival, the Grizzlies instantly became the center of attention of the entire league.

Everyone knows that what Luke is best at is building teams, and the annual draft is also where Luke shines the most.

Everyone at the scene wanted to see which player Luke would choose as the fourth overall pick in the first round. If nothing else, the player who was selected by Luke with such a high pick will definitely do something in the future.

As the atmosphere gradually quieted down, league president David Stern announced the result with a smile on his face.

The player selected by the Grizzlies with the fourth pick in the first round is Mike Conley from Ohio State University!
Stern's voice made everyone at the scene unconsciously look for Mike Conley. When everyone turned their attention to Conley, Mike Conley sat in a chair and fell into a daze.

It seemed that even Conley himself didn't believe that he would be chosen by Luke himself.

Mike Conley is 1.8 meters five and weighs 79 kilograms. He has a standard point guard figure.

Conley is not a star in the true sense, but Conley is one of the most consistent players in NBA history.

In 2019, Mike Conley became the scoring leader in the history of the Grizzlies. For Conley, a player whose scoring ability is not explosive, the scoring leader in team history is enough to prove Mike Conley's stability.

Mike Conley has only been selected to the All-Star team once in his career, but the good guy Conley has won the Sportsmanship Award three times in his career.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Mike Conley is the favorite teammate of all super giant players, because Mike Conley has no utilitarianism at all, and it is always difficult to quarrel with Conley as a teammate.

Mike Conley has only been selected to the All-Star team once in his career. The main reason is that Mike Conley has a stable style of play. His personal data is controlled at around 16 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists all year round. The data occasionally fluctuates, but there is not much difference in performance every season.

In his peak season, Mike Conley also averaged 21.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Conley is a typical player who does not seek merit but seeks no faults.

The reason why Luke chose Mike Conley with the fourth pick in the first round is mainly because Conley's draft prediction is extremely high, which will play a vital role in the next operation.

That's right, Luke won Mike Conley with such a high pick mainly because he wanted to trade Conley as a bargaining chip.

The Grizzlies now have Kyle Lowry at the point guard position. Although Lowry averaged only 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game in his rookie season, Kyle Lowry's potential is also worth developing.

Kyle Lowry's personal ability is not necessarily better than Mike Conley, but Mike Conley's current transaction value is far greater than Lowry.

If the Grizzlies use Conley as a bargaining chip, they only need a little manipulation to trade a star, but the value of Lowry is only clear to Luke himself, and it is difficult to use it as a bargaining chip.

Luke, who knows this well, naturally knows how to maximize the value of the chips.

Kyle Lowry and Conley are both 1.8 meters tall, and it is difficult for them to play in the first and second positions at the same time on the same team.

Not choosing Conley is Luke's loss, and choosing Conley means that Conley will inevitably become a high-quality bargaining chip when the team operates during the offseason.

Luke already had an idea in his head, and sent Chris Wallace to spread the word long before the draft.

It is foreseeable that this summer the Grizzlies will inevitably usher in earth-shaking changes, and the entire team will face a reshuffle.

At that time, Luke is confident that the Grizzlies' new lineup will shock everyone's jaws.

More confidence to make the Grizzlies from the bottom of the league last season to become the darkest dark horse on the league's championship road.

　The same two big chapters today, asking for a monthly ticket, asking for a recommendation ticket, asking for support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)