Basketball: Start with the Neuroknife: Chapter 2 Just try to do the best you can
Wilson Chandler stood up amid the shouts of David Stern, the agent beside him hugged him, the audience around him applauded, and he turned his head to look at Li Wan before going on the court, With a winner's smile on his face.
He won the battle for the 17th overall pick in the first round.
"fxxk!"
Arne Tyron cursed in a low voice, patted Li Wan on the shoulder, and walked out of the field.
Before the 20th pick in the first round, there was only one Lakers team that still had contact with him, and he had to do his best to get Li Wan selected in this pick.
But the Lakers…
"Will you choose me?"
Li Wan murmured softly.
The man who gave him the promise was Lakers general manager Kupchak.
But the Lakers also have head coach Phil Jackson in the draft this year.
Judging from the reports of the Los Angeles media before the draft, Phil Jackson and Kupchak have great differences in the selection. The "Zen Master" seems to prefer to choose a player at the 4th or 5th position to fill the interior.
Li Wan's expression became a little serious. If it really fell to the 20th pick in the first round, the evaluation results of the system would be terrible...
"BOSS, the Knicks didn't choose Li Wan..."
At the same time, in the backstage of the Lakers’ lounge, Kupchak saw Chandler on stage, and immediately called the Lakers’ owner, Old Buss.
"Then we choose!"
The unmistakable voice of old Bass came from the phone. It was his idea to choose Li Wan.
Kupchak hesitated: "Didn't you agree to Phil..."
"That's when the Knicks chose Li Wan. Now they don't have a choice, so it doesn't count..." There was a slight silence on the phone, and then he said, "Anyway, you choose first, and we won't know Phil after the election. Attitude."
Kupchak knew as soon as he heard this that he was going to be a "scapegoat" again. But there is no way, who made him a wage earner!
—Damn, the phone doesn't work!
Arne Tyron went back and forth with another piece of bad news.
Marco Belinelli, who was selected with the 18th overall pick in the first round, had already completed a handshake photo with David Stern and walked off the court.
Next up is the 19th pick in the first round.
Running out of time.
With an apologetic face on Arne Tyron's face, he whispered, "Sorry, Lee."
In his opinion, Kupchak, like Thomas, changed his choice of targets.
Otherwise, it is impossible to make a phone call.
He goes through this kind of thing a few times a year in the draft, he's pretty sure.
Li Wan didn't speak, his eyes fixed on David Stern on the stage, and he couldn't help leaning forward again. Until the dust settles, there is still hope.
On the stage, under the spotlight of the audience, the backstage staff once again came on stage with an envelope. This was the 19th letter of the night.
David Stern put his hand on the golden glasses. He took out the card from the envelope. The name on the card made the corner of his mouth rise a little higher unconsciously.
It seems to be a choice that even he is very satisfied with.
Li Wan looked at David Stern, who was smiling even brighter than before the reading on the big screen, with unprecedented concentration on his face.
"In the 2007 draft, the 19th pick in the first round, the Los Angeles Lakers selected Li Wan, a freshman from Ohio State University!"
Got it!
Li Wan bounced up like a spring, and let out a heavy breath. The 19th pick in the first round was fortunately held.
"Sorry, man, for not getting the best possible outcome for you!"
There was a little surprise on Arne Tyron's face. He didn't expect it at all. He didn't expect a turnaround. Although Kupchak didn't answer his call for some reason, his choice did not change. It's just that he still has some regrets. They were once very close to the 17th pick in the first round.
There was a burst of cheers from the audience.
Although Li Wan is not as popular among American fans as in April, his popularity has already started. Even if many people don't know Li Wan, they know that he completed a three-point lore at the last moment of this year's NCAA finals, shattered Florida's dream of defending the title, and staged the "heroic dream" of a small person!
The big screen at the scene also played back this classic goal at this time, and the cheers on the scene were even louder.
"Congratulations, man!"
His college teammate, Daquin Cook, sat next to him, and after Li Wan hugged his agent, he ran to hug him.
"It's coming to you soon, Daquin!"
Li Wan saw the nervousness on his face and patted his shoulder.
Passing by the little green house that symbolized the geniuses of 2007, the people in Florida all cast hostile glances at him, and Noah even let out a clear cold snort: "Cut, what a good luck!"
The "Five Tigers of Florida" chose to stay in the team collectively last year in order to complete the defense of the school. All the way through, but because Li Wan only averaged 6.6 points per game and shot only 30% of his three-pointers, his dream was broken, and he was really embarrassed to lose. It hasn't slowed down until now.
Especially Noah.
Because Li Wan is the three-point lore completed in front of him.
"Thank you, I've been lucky, don't you know that?"
Li Wan's pointed eyes made Noah clench his fists.
"Dude, I knew you could do it!"
An iron tower-like man stood up and hugged Li Wan. His excited smile made the wrinkles on his forehead even more obvious. He looked at least thirty or forty years old.
Black people generally don't look old, except for Greg Oden.
This "Tim Duncan and David Robinson combination" in the eyes of the outside media is Li Wan's teammate at Ohio State University, and this year's No. 1 overall pick.
Beside him stood an equally excited black man, probably because he was standing next to Greg Oden, making him look small.
This is another Lee Wan University teammate Mike Conley.
Although he is not as tall as Li Wangao, he was the fourth overall pick in the first round of this year's draft. Was the first guard to be drafted this year.
Li Wan has had a deep understanding of how much pressure it is to stand beside these two geniuses in the past year.
"Welcome to the NBA, Li Wan."
The voice of the president of the alliance has a bit of the kindness of the uncle next door, and UU reading www.uukanshu.com makes people feel like a spring breeze. If only the tone of voice didn't seem so eloquent when calling the name.
Although Li Wan knew that he was the shape of a beautiful knife in David Stern's eyes, he still responded with a smile and thanked him.
Walking off the field, Li Wan was surrounded by a bunch of reporters.
"Congratulations, Li, you were selected by the Lakers with the 19th overall pick in the first round, can you tell me how you feel now?" A black reporter asked first. On his chest, the ESPN work card was slightly illuminated by the lights. Dazzling.
Tai Lun asked Li Wan about this question in a mock interview before, and he already had the answer: "Of course I'm very happy, but I'm just a little regretful that I couldn't be a lottery player, and I couldn't let my parents come here. on site…"
This answer is Li Wan's sincerity.
Then there are a few more enjoyable questions, but unfortunately not all reporters are prepared only for such questions. Seeing that the interview time was almost up, a blond female reporter suddenly spoke up, and her raised voice suppressed the questions of other reporters: "I heard that Lakers general manager Kupchak and head coach Phil Jackson had a 19th pick in the first round. There has been a big dispute over the choice of position, and the Zen master doesn’t seem to want to choose you, but rather an inside player…”
Li Wan frowned slightly as he looked at the expectant eyes of the female reporter.
From the current results, it seems that Kupchak has won...
It's just that for Li Wan, it is not a good thing to stand on the opposite side of the team's head coach before he enters the Lakers! But in the draft, he was the passive choice. Now that he has entered the Lakers, he can only take one step at a time.
After a brief silence, Li Wan said, "What I can do is to try my best to give a good performance..."