noveldrama
Chapter 872 872 538 Playing with the Tides_3
Chapter 872 872 538 Playing with the Tides_3
?Chapter 872: Chapter 538: Playing with the Tides_3 Chapter 872: Chapter 538: Playing with the Tides_3 In other words, the teams from last year’s draft will once again reap a lottery pick.
The 2011 lottery pick might be the least valuable in history.
Because many players chose to return to college to prepare for the 2012 draft.
The lockout threw everything into chaos.
Teams didn’t have enough time to scout rookies, and the rookies were also worried that the league might pull something unexpected.
Unless they could guarantee a high draft position, those not satisfied with their prospects decisively returned to college.
Soon, the lottery drawing results were out.
This time, no one could outdo Washington in the misery competition.
The Wizards got the number one pick of 2011.
Following the Wizards, the next few teams were the Cavaliers, Bucks, 76ers, and Raptors.
The Wizards gambled everything, striving to keep North Carolina’s top player Harrison Barnes in the draft.
For Barnes, if he had a chance to be the NBA number one pick, he certainly wouldn’t choose to go back to playing in the NCAA.
In this regard, D.C. showed enough sincerity, ensuring that they would choose Barnes with the number one pick.
Afterward, the Cavaliers struggled with the second pick.
They really liked Irving.
Deep down, they felt Irving was the most talented player in this draft, but unfortunately, they already had John Wall.
As a point guard, Wall seemed far sturdier than Irving and more suitable to be cultivated as the core player.
Therefore, Irving had to be passed over, and the Cavaliers needed to find another good match.
The Bucks weren’t optimistic about this draft and were inclined to trade their lottery pick.
The Raptors set their sights on the Swiss player, Space Easy’s Jan Vesely, among the lotto picks.
Irving worked out for the clubs with the top five picks but didn’t receive any draft promises.
This supposed number one pick point guard made up his mind, he would return to the NCAA, he wanted to prove he had the potential for a top-three pick.
Irving withdrew from the draft.
Since he hadn’t signed with a professional agent, this role was filled by his family, so the NCAA considered him still eligible to play college basketball.
This was another impact of the lockout.
The one who should have entered the NBA grandiosely as the number one pick, Irving, mistakenly started preparing for next year’s draft.
Besides Irving, there were others who decided from the start not to participate in this draft: Brandon Knight, Klay Thompson, Tobias Harris, and Reggie Jackson.
Most of these were sophomores and juniors. The NBA’s tumult the past year gave them a great sense of insecurity, this unstable feeling left them with no desire to even attempt this year’s draft, betting everything on next year.
With many draft-forecasted leading players withdrawing, this year’s draft expectations fell close to the 2000 draft.
An NBA executive, who requested anonymity, pessimistically told the media, “If this draft produces one All-Star, it will be a success.”
Even with such low expectations, teams were still nervously preparing for the draft.
Especially the strong teams.
Regardless of the depth of talent in the draft class, they had to go all out; this was a rare opportunity to strengthen their teams.
However, it was nearly impossible to fill a year’s gap in just one month.
The Supersonics were earnestly picking talent.
In the midst of busyness, Sam Presti received a call from Yu Fei.
Yu Fei hoped that the team could try to acquire the signing rights to Patrick Beverley.
This was a player that Presti had to look up online to recognize.
After figuring out Beverley’s background, Presti started to struggle.
In terms of price, Beverley was cheap.
He was a second-round pick in 2009 but hadn’t yet played in the NBA because the Lakers had chosen him.
The Lakers decided to let him develop elsewhere.
“Let develop” is a euphemism; about one in every ten players left to develop elsewhere ever touches an NBA floor.
Moreover, most are weeded out by the harsh competition after their brief NBA experience.
Because the ones truly worth cultivating are usually not left out of the NBA’s system.
So to say, Beverley wasn’t worth much.
However, the Supersonics and the Lakers had a history of bad blood, making a trade difficult.
That being said, Presti still pursued his goal in a roundabout way.
After all, for the Lakers, Beverley was indeed an inconsequential player.
Hence, Presti reached out to his former employer, the Spurs.
Nobody knew exactly what the negotiation process between them was like.
In the end, the Spurs bought Beverley’s signing rights from the Lakers with cash.
Then, on the eve of the draft, Presti traded this year’s and next year’s second-round picks to the Spurs for Beverley.
Presti’s move was likewise criticized by the outside world.
It brought back memories of how Presti had acquired Danny Green last year.
Due to the lockout, Green played in China in the CBA last season.
As a foreign player, he was let go mid-season by the CBA.
Despite averaging 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists with a three-point shooting percentage of 46%, his stats were only slightly better than those of the domestic players with national team experience.
And this slight edge was not what CBA teams wanted to see in a foreign player.
They hoped Green could average 30 or more points like most CBA foreign players.
Green couldn’t do it, so he was let go.
Therefore, this was a player who couldn’t make it in the CBA, and those concerned about the Supersonics were already sensing trouble.
Now, just as everyone had digested the news about Danny Green, Presti brought in another ’09 second-round pick who hadn’t yet played in the NBA.