Bishop of the Abyss

Chapter 259 259. Draft Conference (2), Layout of the Trading Market
The Grizzlies selected Roy Hibbert with the 12th pick in the lottery in the first round, which made the outside world pay more attention to the player Hibbert.

At the same time, a lot of work has been done on Hibbert's data investigation and talent calculation.

As we all know, since Luke entered the league, he has never looked at the draft.

All the players who were picked by Luke were worth a lot. It is hard for the outside world not to pay attention to such a terrifying success rate.

What's more, although the Grizzlies set off a small ball frenzy last season, overall, the league is still in the era of big centers.

The league's demand and emphasis on center players is far greater than that of guards.

Hibbert's height of [-] meters has attracted much attention in this draft, but now he has been picked by Luke himself in the lottery area, which undoubtedly greatly increases the attention of the outside world to Hibbert.

This year's draft will be broadcast live to as many as 203 countries and regions around the world through ESPN TV station in the United States.

And when Hibbert was picked by Luke himself with the 12th pick in the first round, the current discussion on Hibbert is even greater than that of the top pick Rondrick Rose.

And the Grizzlies already have Marc Gasol with outstanding ability at the center position. As a rookie who is only a second-year rookie in the new season, the name Marc Gasol has successfully squeezed into the ranks of the league's top centers.

Although the outside world does not know what kind of personal performance the big center Hibbert, who was personally selected by Luke, will play in his rookie season.

But judging from Marc Gasol's ability to help the team win the championship last season, Hibbert will most likely serve as Marc Gasol's substitute in the new season.

This kind of behavior made many people call it a waste of talent.

Some teams plan to contact the Grizzlies as soon as the draft is over to see if they can get Hibbert from the Grizzlies through a trade.

To be selected by Luke so high in the lottery, Hibbert's talent is absolutely beyond doubt.

However, a player with such a high talent can only serve as a substitute for the Grizzlies. This really makes many teams lament the waste and feel jealous.

If you want to trade Hibbert to your own team, at least half of the league's teams are willing to build a team around Hibbert.

Even though Hibbert hasn't proven himself in the NBA, Luke is the best Bug to prove a rookie player.

Next, the Blazers selected Brandon Rush with the 13th pick in the first round, a player with a very domineering name.

Rush, shit, the name is so ostentatious that even Luke couldn't help but look up.

With the 15th overall pick in the first round, the Suns selected Robin Lopez, who is the twin brother of Brook Lopez, the No. [-] pick this year.

However, although the two players are both named Lopez and are still twins, their playing styles on the court are quite different.

Compared with his elder brother who has excellent low-post skills on the offensive end and a soft shooting touch, his younger brother Robin Lopez is a reckless man.

Speaking of defense and passion, younger brother Robin Lopez is better than his elder brother, but his ability to protect the frame is not as good as his elder brother.

Defense and frame protection are two concepts. Although Daluo has poor defensive ability, he is a good player in blocking shots.

With the 16th pick in the first round, the 76ers chose Maris Speights, an inside player with fairly good offensive ability, but it was only good.

Speights is well-known by more fans because he followed the Warriors to win the championship ring. Otherwise, players like Speights would be inconspicuous in the NBA.

As for the 17th pick in the first round, the Raptors, who should have chosen Roy Hibbert at this position, seemed very annoyed at the moment.

Before the start of the draft, the Raptors tried out Roy Hibbert, and the management was very satisfied with Hibbert's strength, and even negotiated a deal with the Pacers in advance.

I plan to use Hibbert as the core bargaining chip to trade the former All-Star player O'Neal.

In the end, he was robbed early by Luke with the 12th overall pick in the first round, which made the Raptors both annoyed and disappointed.

The annoyance is that the deal with the Pacers about O'Neal is likely to fall through, and the disappointment is that Hibbert was selected by Luke in advance, which shows that Hibbert must have great potential.

The Raptors, who originally planned to choose Hibbert, could only watch the basketball genius pass by him. This feeling is really uncomfortable.

In the end, the Raptors could only pick Jason Thompson, who had fallen in the draft, an inside player with a height of [-] meters and [-], who can play both positions of center and power forward.

It is worth mentioning that Jason Thompson can be regarded as a real "CBA star". He once won the CBA rebounding champion in the 18-19 season, and helped Guangdong Hongyuan team successfully win the championship trophy in the 20-21 season.

However, although Thompson can kill all directions in the CBA, in the NBA, Thompson is a younger brother.

Although he averaged 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1 block per game in his peak season, it is obviously not enough compared to Roy Hibbert.

With the 18th overall pick in the first round, the Wizards chose McGee, who has all the top matches in history below his head.

For the player McGee, even Luke had to look up.

Before the start of the draft, Luke also thought about selecting McGee with the 12th pick in the first round. After all, McGee's physical fitness is the top existence in the NBA.

Even "Warcraft" Howard can't compare with McGee in terms of physical fitness.

Some media in later generations compared McGee with "Basketball Emperor" Chamberlain, and found that McGee's physical test data was more terrifying than Chamberlain back then.

However, considering McGee's various confusing behaviors on the court, Luke reluctantly gave up this idea.

For some reason, McGee has difficulty concentrating on the court for a long time, which makes McGee often make some poor court choices.

More often, McGee plays instinctively on the court instead of choosing to read the game. This kind of player is destined to be difficult to become a star. Even with excellent physical fitness, McGee can only act as a blue-collar.

And the playing time arranged by the coach should not be too high, otherwise the coach will be so angry that he will have brain congestion when he sits off the court, and he will be carried out of the court by the team doctor on the spot.

With the 22nd overall pick in the first round, the Magic chose "Xiao Li Feidao" Courtney Lee, an excellent 3D who was born in the wrong era. There is no need to worry about the free market.

Next, with the 24th overall pick in the first round, the Thunder chose the "Twenty-Eight Card" from the Congo.

Judging from the strength of the players at their peak, Ibaka is definitely the most dazzling insider in this draft. His excellent lateral speed and ability to assist in defense allow Ibaka to become a mountain on the defensive end.

And on the offensive end, Ibaka also developed his shooting ability in the later stage, which can be regarded as excellent offensive and defensive.

However, Ibaka's performance in the early stage of his career was very average, and even his body looked very thin. This also made the Thunder make a decision to let him stay in the Spanish League to continue sharpening after selecting Ibaka, instead of directly recalling the league.

Ibaka's growth cycle is too long. For the Grizzlies who are eager to win the championship, Ibaka is not a good choice.

At least compared with the two center players Hibbert and the Great Pyrenees, Ibaka, who needs time to grow, is not suitable for the Grizzlies.

Following the completion of the Thunder's 24th pick in the first round, the scene once again fell into silence, and everyone's eyes were on the Grizzlies' room in unison.

Because of the next 25th pick in the first round, it was time for the Grizzlies to choose players.

Everyone wants to see which player Luke will select with the last pick in this draft.

The No. 20 fifth pick in the first round can be said to be high or low, but if it is placed in Luke's hands, this is definitely a pick that can produce miracles.

At the same time, the rookies sitting off the court who have not been selected by the team also began to become nervous.

Especially the few people who were predicted to be around 25 before the draft, all of them stretched their heads, eagerly waiting for the Grizzlies' choice.

Even if the defending champion Grizzlies are not a team that is particularly friendly to rookies, in such a championship team, the playing time and training of rookies will definitely be greatly reduced.

But if the head coach of this team is named Luke, then these problems are not a problem at all.

There is no rookie who does not want to be selected by Luke himself, and be picked by Luke in the draft. The shock brought by this news is far greater than the series of promises made by other teams.

In an unusually quiet atmosphere at the scene, league president David Stern announced the selection of the Grizzlies with a smile on his face.

With the 25th pick in the first round, the Grizzlies selected Nicolas Batum from the French League.

Batum is a striker with a very high golf quotient, and his performance on the court is very comprehensive. He was once called "French Pippen" by fans.

Batum is 90 meters tall and weighs [-] kilograms. He can play both small forward and shooting guard positions.

Although Batum's scoring ability is not explosive, Batum's real strength lies in his ability to score and organize. In a sense, the nickname "French Pippen" is indeed very appropriate.

In his peak season, Batum averaged 15.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game, which is definitely very comprehensive.

However, Batum is not an immediate player. Like Ibaka, who was selected by the Thunder, he needs a long growth cycle to gradually reach the peak.

The reason why Luke chose Batum in this position is only because there are not many players worthy of Luke to choose after that.

The only one with outstanding ability is Montenegro center "Big Pyrenees" Pekovic.

However, due to his slow moving speed, Pekovic's predicted pick before the draft was too low. Even if Luke picked him up early in the first round at No. Thom better deal.

That's right, in Luke's team building plan, Batum will become an important bargaining chip for the Grizzlies to seek deals this offseason.

Although the Grizzlies do lack people at the forward position, Batum needs a long growth cycle to contribute to his impressive field ability.

Right now, the Grizzlies don't have much time to train Batum. Instead of staying half-dead in the Grizzlies, it is better to take advantage of the upsurge of the draft and use Batum as the main bargaining chip to try to find a new player. An excellent outside star, he replaced Mike Miller last season as the best sixth man.

Batum's predicted pick in this draft is already around 25th, and he is a rookie worthy of the team's patience.

Now Batum is labeled as being selected by Luke himself, which makes Batum's transaction value rise like a rocket.

As long as Luke publicly announces his willingness to take out Batum for a trade, hoping to get an immediate player who can help the team win the championship next season, all the poor teams in the league will definitely go crazy.

No one wants to pass up the chance to get a rookie player from Luke, especially on a team that's already planning to suck.

Compared with immediate players, what these teams need more is draft picks and rookies worthy of training.

Once you can pay the immediate combat power in the transaction to acquire Batum, a rookie with outstanding potential, this is definitely a win-win deal.

However, although Batum was planned into the trading plan in advance before being selected by Luke, Luke does not intend to disclose the news that the team intends to trade Batum now.

Instead, they have to wait until the summer league starts in early July, and use the strength of the whole team to help Batum play outstanding personal data, and strive to maximize the value of Batum's trade.

Due to Chris Paul's deal, nearly ten teams in the league plan to fail next season. For the Grizzlies who need immediate combat power, there are still many potential next homes for Batum.

Luke doesn't have to worry about Batum's market conditions at all, he just needs to patiently select the best players from many teams.

After all, once Batum is traded and left the team, the remaining players in the hands of the Grizzlies are basically unshakable.

Batum is the most attractive trading chip for the Grizzlies right now. Luke must make good use of this opportunity and try to improve the Grizzlies' strength next season to another level.

As for the vacancies in other positions, they can be strengthened through free market signings. In addition to the title of the Grizzlies defending champion, which attracts stars to join with a salary cut, Luke's golden sign is even more useful than the defending champion.

Many players have had a second career under the hands of Luke. For those players who are currently at a low point in their careers but still hope to chase big contracts, playing for Luke is definitely the fastest shortcut to return to the top.

As the Grizzlies used the last pick in this draft to select Nicolas Batum, the outside world's attention to Batum instantly rose to the peak.

Although Batum was selected by the Grizzlies in this position, he definitely does not have the potential of Roy Hibbert, the 12th overall pick in the first round, but being recognized by Luke already represents that Batum is a player worth cultivating. rookie.

Given the chance, no team wouldn't want to get a rookie like Batum.

Right now, there are already many teams that seem to be ready to move, planning to get in touch with the Grizzlies as soon as the draft is over, and strive to win one of Hibbert and Batum.

The Grizzlies' trade for Chris Paul from the Hornets has already shown the team's ambitions for next season.

No general manager who can serve in the NBA is a real idiot.

Everyone is very clear that what the Grizzlies need more is immediate players who don't need to be trained, so as long as the chips are attractive enough, no deal is impossible.

With the opportunity to gather Luke's wool, Hibbert and Batum are like two pieces of fat thrown into a pack of wolves.

The draft is not over yet, but secretly the league has already been surging, and various teams are competing in private, hoping to be ahead in the trade with the Grizzlies.

After selecting Nicolas Batum, this draft has nothing to do with the Grizzlies.

Luke greeted Chris Wallace and D'Antoni, and then left the scene first.

As for the choice of the next teams, Luke is not interested at all, because there are only a few players left who can play well in the future, such as George Hill, Pekovic, and Jordan.

But these few players have not changed the ability of a big team, and being selected by the team is at best the icing on the cake.

The only thing that makes Luke feel pity is that the Grizzlies are no longer short at the center position, otherwise it would definitely be a good choice to win the "Big Pyrenees" Pekovic.

You know, the "Big Pyrenees" in his peak season may average 17.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, and his shooting percentage is as high as 54.1%, which is definitely a real low-post killer.

Although Pekovic weighed only 110 kilograms, at the time, he was unanimously considered by the media to be the most powerful center player after "Shark" O'Neal.

It's a pity that the advent of the small ball era has made it impossible for a clumsy center like Pekovic to survive. He had to disappear after only six seasons in the league.

After all, a center like Pekovic has no possibility of transformation. Once the mainstream style of play in the league is getting closer and closer to the outside line, what Pekovic can do is to sit on the court and wave towels wildly.

The reason why Luke did not choose Pekovic, but valued Roy Hibbert more, is because Hibbert is a player who combines offense and defense.

In terms of low-post offense alone, Hibbert is definitely not the opponent of the Pyrenees, but if defense is added, Hibbert is definitely much better than the Pyrenees.

It's hard to imagine that a pure low-post center like Pekovic only blocked 0.7 shots in the highest season in his career, and even only 0.1 shots in the lowest season, which can be called basically no defense.

However, blocking shots has always been the shortcoming of European centers. Compared with defense, European centers have more advantages on the offensive end. As for Gasol, it is completely a surprise.

After Luke left, Wallace and D'Antoni watched the next draft on the spot.

The Spurs selected George Hill with the 26th overall pick in the first round, the Timberwolves selected Pekovic with the [-]st overall pick in the second round, and the Heat selected Mario Chalmers with the [-]th overall pick in the second round, the MOP winner of this year's NCAA Finals .

With the fifth pick in the second round, the Clippers chose Jordan Jr., but due to the Grizzlies' birth, it is difficult for the Clippers to get Chris Paul again in this life.

Without the help of Chris Paul, Jordan would definitely be much worse.

With the seventh overall pick in the second round, the Bucks chose Mbah a Moute. If the middle word is replaced with Fei, Luke will choose to go even if he kneels.

With the 11th overall pick in the second round, the Pacers chose Jawai, who weighs 130 kilograms, and is the heaviest player in this draft
Even if you look at the entire league, it is second only to a few players such as O'Neill and Diop.

With the 13th pick in the second round, the Kings selected Patrick Ewing Jr., the son of "Gorilla" Ewing.

Little Ewing was able to be selected in this year's draft because he borrowed the face left by his father in the NBA.

Otherwise, with little Ewing's personal strength, even if he participates in another hundred drafts, he will only fail.

He averaged 0.4 points per game in his career. It has to be said that most of the tiger fathers are dogs.

With the 15th pick in the second round, the Spurs selected "Nash Jr." Dragic's younger brother, Goran Dragic.

Although both of them are called Dragic, their personal abilities are one in the sky and the other in the bottom, and they are not at the same level at all.

With the 28th pick in the second round, the Lakers chose a guard with the same name and surname as the infamous referee Joe Crawford.

It's a pity that after entering the alliance, not only did this name bring no benefits, but only resentment.

Sometimes when someone scolds me wrongly, I can only silently wipe away my tears, and then continue to be scolded the next day...

Until the 30th pick in the second round, the Hornets chose Eldon, and the 2008 draft officially came to an end, and each team had their own plans for the next step.

For the Grizzlies coach Luke, the end of the draft not only did not let him breathe a sigh of relief, but he also had to plan ahead for the trading market that will open in July.

Batum, a chip with significant trade value, will be at the top of Luke's trade quest in July.

Even if Luke has negotiated many heavyweight deals in his coaching career, he dare not take any deal lightly.

As a commercial league, the NBA has only interests, and no team is willing to do charity.

Every negotiation is a battle of wits and courage, but Luke always has high-quality trading chips in his hands, which allows Luke to always dominate.

Whether Batum can surprise the Grizzlies this summer, Luke can't jump to conclusions.

However, regarding this deal, Luke has his own bottom line. The Grizzlies can even come up with other high-quality chips other than Batum, but the goal they pursue must be a star.

Whether it is a second-rate star or a third-rate star, Luke must see the sincerity of the opponent on the premise of being able to integrate into the Grizzlies tactical system.

(End of this chapter)