Chapter 260: Draft, as Big as Being Intercepted by the Bulls

At 10 a.m. on the 12th, the Knicks officially announced that Oakley's contract has ended and he will choose to enter the free market.

Veteran Buck Williams announced his retirement after his contract ended.

At the same time, Alan Houston and John Starks, whose contracts have not yet ended, applied for trade and put themselves on the shelf.

In addition, Larry Johnson, Charlie Ward and Chris Childs, who did not want to leave, were put on the shelf by the management.

In addition to Oakley leaving the team for free and Old Buck retiring, five people from the Knicks' championship lineup are on the shelf, and a total of seven people are leaving, which symbolizes that the Knicks will undergo a major purge.

However, the Knicks have not become a player supermarket, because the transaction value of these five people on the shelves is not very high, and they cannot trigger frantic buying by other teams.

On this day, the most popular one was the Jazz. The Knicks' limelight was stolen by the Jazz. Because the Jazz announced their reconstruction, both black and white were put on the shelf at the same time.

This news quickly spread throughout the alliance, causing shock.

Both Adidas and Reebok have a headache. Because the Jazz have disclosed their reconstruction matters so early, trading Malone to the Lakers will encounter a lot of resistance. There will definitely be teams competing with the Lakers for the postman, which means they are likely to A greater price needs to be paid.

But they had no ability to stop Jazz from making this matter public and could only respond passively.

Salt Lake City, John Stockton was shocked that the team put him on the shelf without notifying him?

This was a huge blow to him. He had long been prepared to stay with the Jazz forever, and now, he was betrayed by the team.

"Why?"

Frustrated, he called General Manager Ham.

"John, please understand the team's difficulties. If the postman is leaving, this team must be rebuilt. We need chips for rebuilding. You don't want this team to be completely destroyed, right?" Ham said.

"What if I choose to retire?" John Stockton said coldly.

Ham took a breath. If that happened, the Jazz would encounter great difficulties. He forced himself to calm down and sighed: "John, you can choose to take revenge on the team. I won't blame you, and neither will the Jazz fans." I'll blame you. I'm sorry, it's the team that's sorry for you."

"..."

John Stockton sighed deeply in his heart,

Hang up the phone.

He absolutely does not want to see the team he has played for for fourteen seasons lose hope of rebuilding, and in that case he will be sorry for the fans who support him.

Knicks, Neil Grant immediately became excited after hearing the news about the Jazz.

He has never been satisfied with the point guard position.

Although Zhao Dong can definitely play point guard, his favorite thing is offense. The team still needs an orthodox point guard.

Billups is far from mature, but next season will be a critical season for the defending dynasty, so he hopes to trade a capable No. 1 position.

This position is very important. Trading Stockton will inevitably take away a lot of Feilong's ball rights, and his consent will definitely be required.

"Feilong, we want to trade John Stockton, what do you think?" He immediately made a phone call.

"You decide." Zhao Dong had no objection.

But he felt that this deal was impossible to succeed. The Jazz were the Knicks' mortal enemy. How could they possibly trade Stockton to New York?

Sure enough, just ten minutes later, Grant called and told him in a disappointed tone that the Jazz directly rejected the transaction.

At the Knicks headquarters, Nelson and the coaching staff have no time to go on vacation. The team is almost rebuilding, and they are considered the busiest people.

They first need to determine the type of team for next season, and then make transactions and reinforcements accordingly.

Of course, Nelson has been thinking about this issue and already has an idea in his mind. Now it is just finalizing.

Outside shooter, accurate shooting, good mobility, and good outside defense.

For such a pitcher, Zhao Dong will get a lot of open opportunities after attracting double-teams in the low post, or rushing in to compress the opponent's defense. He does not need the ball, but he can adapt to many tactics.

Inside, Ben is developing well and will be the main center for next season, but he needs to be equipped with a partner who can stretch.

This kind of inside combination can have a certain ability to protect the basket and rebound, and can also open up the opponent's inside defense, allowing the outside to have a lot of room to break through.

Danny Fordson actually meets this requirement. He just needs to improve his shooting ability, but he still needs to make secondary preparations. What if Fordson can't play?

Of course, there is really no other way, and the inside combination of Ben and Fordson can also make do.

On the outside, there is a good guy now who is easy to get. This is the madman who was suspended for the entire season by the Warriors.

Grant was about to contact the Warriors when he suddenly remembered his phone call. After the call was connected, what a coincidence, the Warriors called.

"Nyle, give me Alan Huston and John Starks, and I'll give you Madman."

"John Starks is okay, Alan Houston is not, Madman isn't worth that much."

In the end, because the Warriors are a fire sale madman, the chokehold incident caused the madman to have no team willing to take him, so the deal was quickly reached, Starks plus Chris Child, the trading madman.

Of course, this is just a negotiated, official deal, and the trade window needs to be opened after the draft.

"Latrell, you are going to the Knicks next season. The deal has been negotiated."

"Nix? Feilong?"

"Yes, Feilong's team. Listen, Latrell, if you go to the Knicks, don't mess around. If you offend Feilong, it's over."

The madman ended the call with his agent, feeling a little confused.

He has been suspended since the chokehold incident and has lost $6 million in salary to this day.

He doesn't know what he will face when he goes to the Knicks next season. What if he offends that violent maniac Feilong? Will he be beaten to death?

At this time, with the support of Adidas and Reebok, the Lakers are leading a multi-party transaction.

In order to get Postman Malone and because he wanted to help Kobe Bryant ascend to the top, Jerry West decided to use All-Star shooting guard Eddie Jones as the core trading chip.

The bargaining chip the Jazz want is at least two lottery picks.

The Lakers don't have that, so more trades are needed.

Then Jerry West's phone rang.

"Shaq, aren't you on vacation in Miami?"

"Yeah, I'm right on the beach. Jerry, don't you want to say something to me?"

"Haha, Shaq, I'm getting you a good helper. He still has at least two or three years of his prime."

"Yeah, yeah, my agent heard about it, and it's a great idea, but Jerry, do we have room for the mailman?"

"Yes, there is no room for it, but Adidas will support us, and the Postman will join with a veteran's minimum salary. This is what we have already negotiated."

"Oh, that's crazy, haha!"

O'Neill, who was lying on the beach chair, suddenly started dancing, and then with a bang, the chair turned over and he was in a mess.

"Careful, Shaq, never tell."

"OKOK..."

O'Neal agreed repeatedly, but then whispered: "Jerry, I have something to talk to you about, about that guy Nick..."

…

On the 18th, Vince Carter came to New York Feilong Sports Company and officially signed a contract.

Zhao Dong and Lindsay attended the signing ceremony.

Also signing contracts at the same time was Da Zhi.

Zhao Dong gave Da Zhi a sneaker contract, the same as Hu Weidong's.

"boss."

When he saw Zhao Dong, Carter quickly greeted him.

"You don't need to call me that in the league. I only have one identity there, a player. You can call me Zhao Dong, or Feilong." Zhao Dong smiled.

"Okay, boss." Carter smiled.

"Shoes, are you satisfied?" Zhao Dong pointed to the sneakers on Carter's feet.

"It's great, I'm very satisfied, it's the coolest shoe I've ever seen." Carter said excitedly.

"How is the performance?" Zhao Dong asked with a smile.

Carter immediately said excitedly: "It allows me to jump higher, and the cushioning performance when landing is super good. It protects my ankles better. Other properties are also very good, such as the grip, which can save me from Slip, start faster…”

"Glad you like it."

The super contract worth tens of millions of dollars suddenly made Vince Carter's reputation even higher.

The 24th, draft day.

Zhao Dong took Da Zhi and Wells to Madison Square Garden to watch the excitement.

He asked Wells to sign Da Zhi to save Da Zhi from finding some unreliable agents.

There are still many good players this year, such as Al Harrington, Rashard Lewis, Alston, Mobley, etc. These people have all fallen to the end of the first and second rounds. The Knicks have a chance to select them. of.

However, Grant has promised him to use the late first-round pick to select a big player, and there is only one late second-round pick left, which is of little value, so this year's draft is not as good as last year's for the Knicks.

He walked around the green room in front and saw Vince Carter, Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki, White Devil Mike Bibby, White Chocolate, Larry Hughes and other guys who would become famous in the future.

"Vince, I have a suggestion for you, protect yourself from now on."

Arriving in front of Carter, he said seriously: "You are flying in the air to play ball. Before landing, be careful that there are other people's feet waiting for you below."

"..." Carter was startled.

"From now on, develop a habit in training. When you land, spread your legs." Zhao Dong added.

"OK, I will do it, thank you, boss." Carter said gratefully.

"Hello, rookies."

Zhao Dong said hello to the other rookies in the green room.

Some of them are also players signed by Feilong Sports, such as White Chocolate and Mike Bibby.

"Hello Feilong."

"Feilong, it's great to meet you. I'm your fan."

"Feilong, I'm a fan of Silver Demon."

"Good day, boss."

All the rookies stood up one after another and started shouting.

After a haha, Zhao Dong said with a smile: "Okay, you are so enthusiastic. When I meet you next season, it will be hard for me to teach you a lesson."

"..."

When the rookies were stunned, they immediately remembered Tim Duncan, Zhao Dong's coach this season.

The top three lottery picks this year are the Clippers, Grizzlies, and Nuggets.

After leaving the green house, Zhao Dong took a few steps and bumped into Jordan and Phil Jackson.

"Do you still have a spot to sign?" Zhao Dong asked in surprise.

"Of course."

Jordan said coldly: "You don't need to care about this."

"Who did you sell the lot in exchange for?" Zhao Dong asked curiously.

"What does it have to do with you?" Jordan said angrily.

Next, the Clippers selected center Michael Olowokandi with the No. 1 pick, the Grizzlies selected Mike Bibby with the second pick, and the Nuggets selected Reeve LaFrentz with the third pick.

The Raptors selected Antawn Jamison with the fourth pick, and the Warriors selected Vince Carter with the fifth pick.

The two teams then swapped, with Jamison and Carter swapping teams before their hats were even hot.

In fact, the Raptors knew that the Warriors wanted to select Jamison, so they intercepted Jamison. During the transaction, the Warriors also offered some cash in order to get Jamison.

Da Zhi sat safely next to Zhao Dong, waiting for his first-round pick No. 29.

At this time it was the turn of pick No. 27, and Phil Jackson handed over the envelope.

They obtained this pick in exchange for two role players. Their original pick was No. 24, which was used to trade Ewing.

"The bull has been chosen..."

After Stern read this, he raised his head and glanced at Phil Jackson and the Bulls, then at the Knicks, and then continued to read: "Wang Zhizhi from China."

"yeah!"

At this time, Da Zhi's family in China, as well as his friends and teammates, began to cheer.

"Grass!"

Zhao Dong cursed.

"..."

Da Zhi was also confused.

"Brother Dong?"

He looked at Zhao Dong blankly.

Over there, Jordan looked over here with a somewhat proud expression on his face.

"It's okay, it's okay. It's not bad to go to the Bulls. They are basically rebuilding. With your ability, you might be able to make the starting lineup."

Zhao Dong analyzed it and then warned: "It's your psychological quality. Jordan is a very harsh person on his teammates. You must be mentally prepared."

DaZhi nodded. After all, he had played in the professional league for two years and was no longer a rookie. He gradually felt calmer.

"Go up first."

At this time, Stern read Da Zhi's name again, and Zhao Dong quickly pushed Da Zhi.

"Welcome, Wang, I hope you have a pleasant career in the NBA." Stern smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. Stern." Da Zhi said in English.

“Damn, who do we choose?”

But the Bulls' interception caught Grant a bit off guard. Because he had to choose a big one, he was not prepared at all.

It's not like they were completely unprepared. The Knicks' scouting system is still good, but they just didn't know who to pick for a while.

"Nair, let me give you a few names. I think they are good." Zhao Dong said when he saw Grant and Nelson discussing draft targets.

"OK, Feilong, the Hu and Ben Wallace you recommended are both good, please tell me." Grant nodded.

Zhao Dong mentioned the names that fell to the second round and the end of the first round. Grant thought about it and decided to choose Cuttino Mobley, because the team basically has to go outside and needs a lot of outsiders.

In this way, Mobley, who originally fell to the twelfth pick in the second round, was selected in the first round at the 29th pick.

After the draft, Zhao Dong stood in the way of Jordan and Phil Jackson.

"What do you want to do?" Jordan said dissatisfied.

"Tell me, why did you choose my people?" Zhao Dong said unhappily.

"Feilong, who to choose, this is our right." Phil Jackson smiled.

"I know that. But what I want to know is, what do you see in him? He has not participated in any training camps, let alone tried out with the Bulls."

Zhao Dong said unhappily.

Phil Jackson smiled and said: "Feilong, if you want to get the king back, it's not impossible."

"damn it!"

Zhao Dong was really angry. He was a bastard. It turned out that the Bulls chose Da Zhi as a bargaining chip and did not really want Da Zhi.

"Mr. Jackson..."

Grant walked up and said coldly: "Who do you want? Danny Fortson?"

"Yes."

Phil Jackson nodded without hesitation.

Grant and Zhao Dong looked at each other and felt that things were getting difficult.

"Feilong, let's go first." Grant said.

Zhao Dong nodded, took the Bulls hat from Da Zhi before leaving, and threw it to Jordan.

After taking two steps, he stopped and looked back, pointed at Phil Jackson, and said: "Coach Jackson, Danny Fortson, you don't have to think about it. Neither the Knicks nor I will accept this kind of deal that is almost blackmail."

After finishing speaking, he strode away.

Phil Jackson and Jordan looked at each other. Several media reporters came over at this time. They couldn't say anything and left suddenly.

After leaving Madison Square Garden and getting in the car, Phil Jackson said: "Michael, if the Knicks don't agree, Wang is still available. The No. 27 pick in the first round will not suffer."

Jordan nodded and said: "I hope he can help us on the bench."

The reason why the two chose Da Zhi was because they saw that during the finals, Zhao Dong kept Da Zhi and Dayao by his side. Dayao and the others knew that Da Zhi also performed well in the Atlante Olympics, so they investigated Da Zhi. information, and that’s how we came up with this plan.

After Zhao Dong left the scene, several people discussed the change.

Nelson has a good feeling about Da Zhi. He likes this kind of inside line that can be pulled out to shoot. It is a pity to say: "If Wang enters our lineup, there will be more tactical changes. The Bulls did a nasty thing. "

Da Zhi's mood was a little uneasy. Zhao Dong saw it and said: "It's okay. Even if you go to the Bulls, with your current strength, you can still play. The current Bulls, like the Knicks, are basically rebuilding. There are many Chance."

"I understand, Brother Dong." Da Zhi said.

Zhao Dong thought for a moment and then said: "Stay there for a while. If it doesn't work out, they won't be able to force you to stay if you apply for a deal."

"Don't worry, Brother Dong, I can adapt." Da Zhi said.

Zhao Dong nodded.

Da Zhi in this life is indeed different from the previous one. His strength has improved a bit, and he has adapted to NBA training and competition in advance. I heard that there is no big problem with English. It should be possible to get a chance to play in the Bulls.

After the draft, Zhao Dong had nothing to do in the United States and was ready to return to China.

"Feilong, are you preparing to participate in the World Championships?" Wells asked when seeing him off.

"Yes."

"Oh, there is a question. If the league is really shut down, players will probably not be allowed to play international games. Have you considered it?" Wells asked.

Zhao Dong was startled, this was indeed a possibility.

The league is shut down. If you have a contract, then the contract will be gone during the lockout. Players are not restricted and can play wherever they want.

But in fact, the players are on the weaker side and the league does not allow it. If the players insist on playing, the consequences may be very detrimental to the players.

In fact, not a single NBA player participated in the US team at this World Championships. On the surface, the players refused, but in fact, the league did not allow it. The players had no choice but to choose not to participate in order not to offend the league.

"Linge, once the league is suspended, send me a statement immediately announcing my retirement." Zhao Dong smiled.

"Uh, okay, okay."

Wells nodded helplessly.

Later, Zhao Dong and Lindsay returned to China, and Da Zhi temporarily stayed in the United States. They went to Chicago with Wells to discuss the contract.

After returning to Beijing and staying at home for two days, Zhao Dong and Lindsay went to Feilong Sports Company.

"Director Zhao, Mr. Lin, some executives used to push for listing in the United States. Now the voice is getting louder and louder. Almost all executives agree to go public in the United States."

Arriving at the top floor of Feilong Building, a floor that belonged exclusively to Zhao Dong and Lindsay, general manager Chen Jian began to report on his work, of which the listing was the focus.

"What's your opinion?" Zhao Dong asked.

From Chen Jian's words, he heard a question. Whether to go public or not is no longer among the executives' considerations. The company must go public. The question is where to go public?

Haha, these executives really don’t regard themselves as outsiders.

Chen Jian obviously thought a lot about this issue, and immediately said after hearing this: "The company's sales are very good now, both domestically and in Asia and the United States.

We basically occupy the entire basketball shoe market in China. We also have 50% of the market in Asia, and we account for 25% in North America. The bad thing is Europe. It’s not doing very well right now because that’s where the football market is.

Our operating funds are also sufficient, and the need to go public is not great. The only thing to consider is the wishes of the executives. "

"I'm asking for your opinion."

Seeing that Chen Jian didn't answer his question after talking for a long time, Zhao Dong asked again.

Chen Jian smiled awkwardly and said, "I support going public in the United States."

"What's your reason?" Zhao Dong asked.

"Maximize the benefits."

Chen Jiandao: "The domestic secondary capital market is far from mature. If we go public there, we can..."

"I'm asking what are your reasons for supporting listing? Is it just the willingness of those executives to go public? What about your personal wishes?"

Zhao Dong asked with a frown.

Chen Jian quickly said: "In just one year, the company has developed so well. I think entering the secondary capital market is a natural and necessary step. In addition, an international enterprise can only be listed on a very open capital market. , is the most correct behavior. Of course, I personally support the listing behavior."

Zhao Dong nodded, he understood Chen Jian's attitude.

In fact, he is not very opposed to listing in the United States. After all, this is just a sports brand, not a technology company.

However, if it is listed in the United States, the company will definitely be interfered by capital in the future, which is something he does not want to see.

Moreover, he has no shortage of working capital and no urgency to go public.

He and Lindsay have already discussed that the company will not go public for the time being, and the incentive system for promoting dividend equity among the senior management will not be implemented within three years, and will be discussed again after three years.

The company is only a year old and has done nothing. It relies on his influence and Silver Demon to develop. These executives are thinking too much about equity.

There is no equity incentive system in China at present. The reason why these executives instigated this matter must be someone behind the promotion, and it is even less likely that he will do what they want.

Even if an equity reward system is implemented in the future, they will only be eligible after they have achieved results. Otherwise, why should they be given dividends?