Almighty Athlete Chapter 38: Rookie selection

Round draft picks are a distant term for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers’ last round of draft picks dates back to the 2oo9 nBa draft. In the regular season, the Lakers’ 65 wins and 17 losses Second in the league, so the Lakers finally got the No. 29 overall pick. "Hunting" ΔΩ" WWW. "LieWen. CC

The Lakers just defeated the Magic in the finals to win the championship, and reached the finals for two consecutive years, so in terms of lineup, the Lakers are very neat, there is no need to adjust, a 29 The rookie in the pick, even if he came to the Lakers, could not play, so the Lakers simply traded with the Knicks, used this pick to choose Tony Douglas, and then switched from the Knicks to a second-round pick and several. One million dollars, in fact, means that the Lakers helped the Knicks choose a Douglas.

Large people like the Lakers rarely train their rookies. They are more willing to directly recruit famous superstars, mess with high-ranking rookies and then train themselves, which is a must for the Lakers. Since the beginning of the 21st century, among the rookies selected by the Lakers, only Bynum has won the Lakers' second contract. For example, Farmar, who can stay in the Lakers for four years as a rookie, is already rare. The rest of the rookies said goodbye to the Lakers two years ago.

Since 2o1o, for the nBa draft for four consecutive years, the Lakers are basically spectators because they only have the second round of draft picks. In order to get Gasol, the Lakers sent 2oo8 and 2o1o round picks. Then in the 3o trade of the Lakers, Rockets and Nets in 2o1o, the Lakers sent 2o11 round picks to get the veteran Joe- Smith; the Lakers' 2o12 draft pick was exchanged from the Cavaliers for guard Sessions to replace the "old fish" Fisher; the year when F4 was formed, in order to get Nash, the Lakers will 2o13 and 2o15. The draft picks trade of the year was given to the Suns. In the same year as the Howard deal, the Lakers also traded the 2o17 draft picks to the Magic.

The rotation of draft picks for superstars belongs to the team’s future in exchange for the team’s present. This seems to be a loss at the time, and many people even think that the Lakers are making a lot of money. In the calculation of Little Bass, the Lakers first set up an "F4", won the championship, and then renewed Howard. Then Nash and Kobe retired. The Lakers used Howard as the core, and partnered with Gasol to form a double tower, and recruited another one. Superstars still have the strength to win the championship.

As for the issue of round picks, as long as the team maintains a good record, then it will not be possible to get high draft picks. The draft picks are not as valuable as the 20th place.

It’s just that Bath Jr. played the wrong card, the Lakers didn’t win the championship in F4, Howard went to the Rockets, Nash was injured year after year, Kobe also reached the end of his career, then Gasol joined the Bulls, and the Lakers fell completely. Being a fish-bellied team, and without a draft pick in his hand, he lacks the chips to trade big-name stars.

However, because the rules of the league also prohibit any team from trading their next two consecutive draft picks, it is said that one of the draft picks is "protected", so the team sells it every other year. Draft right.

Take the 2o15 draft pick traded by the Lakers to the Suns as an example, it is the top five pick protection, so as long as the Lakers can draw the top five, you can leave this pick, the Lakers were very lucky, Draw the second spot, and then decisively chose De Angelo Russell, missing the future stars such as Polbergis, Myers Turner and Devin Booker.

Although the Lakers have left the 2o15 draft pick, the Suns will not lose money. This draft will be postponed to 2o16 and then handed over to Tai*. According to the contract at the time, 2o16 and 2o17 were the top three protections. , 2o18 is unprotected, that is to say, as long as the Lakers have picked the top three picks in 2o16 and 2o17, the Lakers can also stay in the draft. If they stay in these two years, then the Lakers’ draft in 2o18 It must be given to the sun.

In 2o16, because the Lakers had a bad record, good luck, and won the list, they retained the draft again.

But by 2o17, if the Lakers still want to retain the draft pick, they must continue to squabble, and try to draw the top three again, so as to preserve the 2o17 draft pick, so the Lakers trade away the team's top scorer Louis -Williams, make the team worse, and strive to count down the league.

At the same time, the Lakers still owe the Magic a round of picks in the Howard transaction, so if the Lakers can't keep the 2o17 draft, they need to send another 2o19 round to the Magic. The reason it is 2o19 instead of 2o18 is also because the league does not allow a team to have no consecutive draft picks for two consecutive years, so it is necessary to avoid 2o18.

......

2o13 is considered a small draft year, and the upcoming 2o14 draft is considered a draft year. The quality of rookies participating in the draft has greatly improved compared to last year.

Andrew Wiggins from Canada is not only the best high school student of the year in 2o13, but also elected Mr. basketball in the United States. Many experts even believe that Wiggins will become the second LeBron James.

Jabari Parker, who won the best high school student of the year in 2o12, is also the fourth non-high school senior to win the award in history. The first three people are LeBron James and Greg- Oden and Brandon Knight. In his freshman year, Parker was successfully selected for the ncaa best team for a while. He was the only freshman player selected.

Cameroonian Joel Embiid, although he started professional basketball training at the age of 17, but his physical fitness is very perverted. As a big man, he has a soft feel and good agility, and was once considered a champion The popular candidate, even experts believe that Embiid's potential is better than "Thick Eyebrow" Anthony Davis.

These three players are always the top picks in other years, but now they are in the same year, so for the teams that have drawn the top three picks, no matter whether they choose any of them, they will make a profit. .

In addition, there are Dante Essam, Aron Gordon, Julius Randall, Marcus Smart, Noah Vonley, Doug McDermott Excellent players such as Special and Payton Jr. also participated in this year's draft. If these few rookies are placed in the draft year, they will have the strength to impact the top three.

Of course, these players are basically missed from the Lakers. They are all popular candidates in the lottery area, and the Lakers got the 21st overall pick this season.

Although the Lakers are eighth in the West, they have a record of 48 wins and 33 losses. If this record is placed in the East, it will be ranked third after the Pacers and Heat. In comparison, Eastern Raptors, Bulls and other teams have also entered the playoffs, and are ranked high in the Eastern Conference, all draft picks are before the Lakers.

However, at the level of the rookie in the draft year, the 21st pick still has a great chance to find a competent player. Even the rookies before the 4o pick can stay in nBa.

"My dear general manager, do you have any good suggestions for our draft picks this year?" Buzz asked.

"I have two options. The league has just announced the invitation list for the small green house in the draft. There are 21 players in total. They all have the potential to enter the lottery. I looked at the list of players. It’s a good newcomer. We happened to be the 21st overall pick, so my first plan was to choose a player in the small green house.” Kupchak said.

The small green house is equivalent to the "VIp room" at the draft conference. Before the start of the annual draft conference, some rookie players will be invited to enter the small green house. These invited talented players will sit in a green room during the draft, waiting for the president to call out his name. Being able to make the list means being optimistic about many teams and a great chance of becoming a high-ranked rookie.

There are also many cases of entering the green house but not being selected, which is more embarrassing. For example, Jordan, who was originally optimistic about entering the lotto area, was only in the second round at the 35th pick Selected by the Clippers. This thing made little Jordan unhappy for several years.

"Choosing from a small green house is indeed the most secure plan." Little Bath nodded and then asked: "What about the second plan?"

"The second option is to choose an inside player, a power forward or center, which will help us renew Jordan Hill. And if Jordan Hill fails to renew, we also have a substitute Plan." Kupchak said.

Kupchak used the old tricks of nBa. By choosing a rookie player in the same position, the price will be reduced to the player who is about to renew the contract. Sometimes the team will also sign some free agents in the same position to reduce the price of the players who are about to renew the contract. And some more conservative players will choose to reduce prices and renew their contracts.

For example, Jordan Hill wanted a big contract. At this time, the Lakers chose an inside player, which is to tell Jordan Hill that the Lakers have found someone who can replace you. If you know it, don’t ask for it. High numbers.

Everyone in the conference room nodded their heads and stood in the perspective of the team management. Everyone agreed with Kupchak's approach. Little Buzz even asked, "Do you have any suitable candidates?"

“Among the 21 players who entered the small green house, Adrian Payne and Nurkic are excellent inside players. In addition, Mitch McGary of the University of Michigan was once on the 2o12 National High School list. Ranked second, he is very good at rebounding and blocking shots. The only hidden danger is that he underwent a back surgery last year. Louisiana State University’s O'Brien can play both power forwards and small forwards. ncaa Southeast League First Team."

"In addition, Swiss player Clint Capella is also a good candidate. He played in the French LnB league last season, averaging 21.4 minutes, 9.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists. And 1.8 blocks, the best young player in the LnB league and the winner of the fastest progress award. These are our backup candidates." Kupchak introduced it again, and the others in the meeting room looked at the documents in their hands. View information about these players.

Among the players mentioned by Kupchak, Zhang Guan is most familiar with Capella. He replaced Howard as the Rockets center after Howard left the Rockets, and achieved very good data, although the card Pera has no offensive methods and free throws, but as a blue collar, he is still qualified, at least he can adapt to the Rockets offensive system.

With the Lakers' 21st pick, if you choose Capella, you will not lose money, and Capella will be considered a viable material. But the Lakers already have Whiteside, what Capella can't do, what White Circuit can do, what Capella can do, Whiteside can do better, instead of training Capella, It's better to train Whiteside to come to the bargain.

At this time, Zhang Guan suddenly remembered a name. He asked: "I know there is a Serbian inside player named Nikola Jokic. Has he also announced his candidacy this year?"

"You are talking about the star of hope in Serbia. Our scouts also paid attention to this player in the first half of the season. At that time, there was even an assessment that he would enter the lottery." After a pause, he continued: "But he has not played in the United States, but has always lived in Europe. For this kind of overseas players, before they do not score, our choice will be more cautious, and generally will not give them Very high order."

Kupchak is very euphemistic, but Zhang Guan understands that Kupchak does not think that Jitchie is worth a draft pick.

For overseas players who are not grown in the United States, if they have not played decent results, even if they participate in the nBa draft, it is impossible to get a high ranking. For example, Ginobili, was selected at the 57th round in 1999 in the second round. After being elected to the European basketball league mVp, he won 6nBa; and for example, Scola, the 56th round of the second round in 2oo2 was selected and won After joining the Spanish League regular season mVp twice, he joined the Rockets. There is also Gasol Jr., who was selected by the 48th pick in the second round in 2oo7. It was also after receiving the Spanish regular season mVp that he received the Grizzlies contract.

So young overseas players, if they have not played in the United States and have not scored in other professional leagues, that is, it is worth a second or middle draft pick, the nBa team chooses them and buys The nature of the lottery is similar.

And if you have already scored before participating in the draft, it will be different. Gaso in 2oo1 was already the star of the Barcelona team; Yao in 2oo2 had already dominated cBa; Bagnani in 2oo6 was already the first person in the Italian league, so they can all get high ranks and even Champion.

Jokic is only 19 years old this year, and has not yet made his mark in the European professional league. Although he has been regarded as the star of hope in Serbia, there are too many talented young people in the United States. In the eyes of the manager, Jokic is just a "lottery ticket", at most worth a second round. Not to mention the fact that even very good European players will not be convinced when they come to nBa.

Zhang Guan knows that Jokic should be the biggest "leak pick" in this draft. Jokic can get 1o points and 7 rebounds in his rookie season, and the figure in the second year was increased to 16 A double-double with 9 rebounds and 4.6 assists, which he averaged in 27 minutes per game.

Yo Jiqi's efficiency value reached 26.4 in the second year, which is equivalent to the most peak season of Love. Compared with the players in the same position, the efficiency value of the second grade Anthony Davis is 26.5, and the efficiency value of the second grade Anthony Downs is 25. However, the brother and the Downs are both champions, and they are both Among the top picks, Jokic is just a rookie in the second round.

Only Kupchak asked, "Are you very optimistic about this Serbian?"

"Yes." Zhang Guan nodded, then said; "I think he is the most underestimated one in this draft. The Zhang Guan young man is comprehensive and yet flexible, he can play high offense and can Playing low post, has excellent passing ability, the most important thing is that he has a good three-point shooting ability, this is a big man who can shoot three-pointers."

Zhang Guan said, deliberately glanced at D'Antoni, and D'Antoni really showed an interesting look.

A big man who can pass a three-pointer is obviously the person D'Antoni needs most, so D'Antoni coughed and said, "If possible, can I get a detailed scout report? "

"Yes." Kupchak nodded, and he saw that D'Antoni was quite tempted, so Kupchak then reminded: "An overseas player is really not worth us to use a round of draft picks. But we can try to trade from another team to a second round pick, which will cost some cash."

Kupchak said, looking at Little Bass, apparently asking Little Bass for his opinions.

It’s a loss-making thing to spend money on the second round of draft picks. 2o14 is another draft year, and the price of the pick will definitely be higher. The second round of the 4th position will be worth about 25 million US dollars, which is quite the value of the two veterans' base salary. So unless there is really a favorite player, otherwise the team will not spend the wrong money to "buy a lottery".

Little Bass thought for a few seconds~ IndoMTL.com~ Finally, he still put on a posture where you are happy and nodded in agreement. The Lakers, like the giants, always spend one or two hundred million dollars a year and spend two or three million to buy a lottery ticket. By the way, Zhang Guan is happy, not a loss. Anyway, as long as Zhang Guan is willing to continue to stay with the Lakers, the Lakers can earn these millions in minutes.

In terms of spending money, Bass is quite generous.

"Since this is the case, I will contact the team that intends to make the second round of draft picks and listen to their offer." Kupchak said.

"Mainly contact the Philadelphia 76ers. They have a pick this year, and they have the tenth overall pick, and they have five second-round picks, which means they have 7 draft picks this year. With so many draft picks, they can’t use them to sell them.” Zhang Guan paused, and then reminded: “We only need the 39th pick in their hands.”

Kupchak silently wrote a few pens on the notebook. He had originally wanted to mention a rookie named Jordan Clarkson, but since the Lakers are going to choose Jokic in the second round, then Ku There was no need to mention Clarkson anymore. This defender, who was originally worth playing for the Lakers, also passed the Lakers.