I'm not really a role player

Chapter 186 Happy Fishing KD
Seattle, Key Arena.

The Sonics defeated the Lone Ranger at home and ended the season with a victory.

Xiao Du waved towards the sidelines, but he didn't get any response, so his whole body drooped.

It's like, the Sonics didn't win this game, and it wasn't the final game of the season.

Although the key arena was rarely full, the more than 7000 Seattleites in the audience just quietly watched Xiao Du, Nick Collison, and Luc Crednor leave the field one by one.

Announcer announces: "The NBA has left Seattle forever!"

In sharp contrast to Miami, a defeat, but the American Airlines Arena burst into applause.

"This damn, tough season is finally over!"

The rot is over, and the next is the harvest season.

"Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose, or how about OJ Mayo?"

"OJ Mayo first ruled out that his growth is not as expected. I prefer Derrick Rose. Together with Dwyane, he can become the best backcourt in the league."

"Don't overlook Michael Beasley, he reminds me of Kevin Durant."

"No, Michael Beasley is far worse than KD, Kansas State University is out in the top 32!"

"That's because KD has Sheldon and Michael Beasley has only himself."

"..."

March Madness is also over, and the results of the University of Texas are the same as in the previous life, and the quarterfinals are eliminated.

Although there is an extra Jimmy Butler, the ending has not changed in any way.

They are assigned to a division with the University of Memphis, and the quarterfinals will inevitably meet.

In a battle considered to be comparable to the finals, the University of Memphis broke through from the South Division thanks to Derrick Rose's consecutive breakthrough and 3-point performance in the last 7 minutes.

The intensity of the two semi-finals is far less than this quarter-finals. The opponent of the University of Memphis in the semi-finals is UCLA, and the other side is Kansas vs. North Carolina.

The two semi-finals ended in crushing. Memphis crushed UCLA, and Kansas also crushed North Carolina.

The two teams met in the finals. In regular time, Kansas tied the University of Memphis with a three-pointer from Mario Chalmers.

In overtime, Kansas performed even better, and they won the much-anticipated final.

The team defeated the Super Giants, and Mario Chalmers was elected as the MOP of the Final Four, but the focus of people's attention is still Derrick Rose.

This is when it comes to the draft. Among the NCAA superstars who were focused on before the season, the only one who really made his worth in the end was Rose.

Beasley was out in the top 32, and in the top 64, Beasley defeated USC, where Mayo is located.

Love's UCLA was crushed by Rose's University of Memphis, and Westbrook on the same team has also decided not to participate in this year's draft.

Although Westbrook has secured the starting position at UCLA, his performance in the first half of March Madness was really not good.

In the round of 64 against Mississippi Valley State University, he only scored 6 points on 2 of 9 shots.

In the round of 32 against Donald Sloan and DeAndre Jordan's Texas A&M University, he made 6 of 2 shots and scored only 5 points.

In the round of 16 against Courtney Lee's Western Kentucky University, he made 13 of 2 shots and scored 14 points on free throws.

Until the quarter-finals, against Xavier University, he rebounded and scored 17 points, and against the University of Memphis in the semi-finals, he scored 22 points against Derrick Rose.

In the two games, Westbrook finally played his worth, and the draft market also rose as a result.

But... Even with the rise, Westbrook's draft market is still hovering outside the lottery.

Li Ke sent a text message: "See you at the draft?"

Westbrook replied: "No!"

"Why are you running? You already have a mid-first-round pick. No matter how hard you try in the draft, the lottery won't come in handy?"

Westbrook is still very stubborn: "No, what I want is the lottery quotes before the draft trial."

This is very subtle. If Westbrook does not participate in the 08 draft, who will the Thunder draft?
Li Ke thought of one person—Jimmy Butler. ,

It was also Li Ke, and Jiba's career had some deviations. In the first season after he was promoted to a junior college, he played his worth.

He didn't enter the lottery, but like Westbrook, he got a mid-first-round pick.

With the same team positioning and even a higher tactical status, Jiba’s performance and evaluation are not as good as Li Ke’s. A comment from the local media in Austin explains the reason——

"Derrick Rose led the University of Memphis to the Final Four by scoring 3 points in three minutes in the last quarter, and Mario Chalmers pulled Kansas back from the cliff with a three-pointer..."

"Think about the defending champion University of Texas. Compared with last year, are they really just missing a KD?"

"Jimmy Butler filled Shelton's defense, but Sheldon's more important, undoubtedly, is his clutch ball."

Even so, Jiba chose to participate in this year's draft.

There is no way, Jiba's economic situation is too bad. It is impossible for him to learn from Westbrook and die at a higher draft market, so he can only choose to participate in the draft.

"It depends on whether Sam Presti has that vision."

Looking at the 08 draft, without Westbrook, Sam Presti really doesn't have so many choices.

Rose must have gone to the Bulls. This is arranged by the league and has nothing to do with the draft.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see Mayo's problems. Chris Wallace of the Grizzlies is not a discerning person, but Sam Presti should be.

As for Beasley, after Ross, Beasley must be picked away. Even if the Supersonics are lucky and get the top two picks again, they will not choose Beasley, because Beasley is in conflict with KD and Jeff Green. No team will be stupid enough to hoard three potential rookies at the forward position.

The same is true for Love and Gallinari. The Thunder can only choose Eric Gordon and Jimmy Butler...

"Yuan Deng is definitely not as good as Jiba, but judging from the current situation, Yuan Deng's draft price is higher..."

……

Still in Seattle, Xiao Du was a little sad after the game, but when the team's press officer brought a copy of the season's technical statistics, Xiao Du immediately put the sadness behind him.

“出场80场，场均21.3分4.4个篮板2.8个助攻1.0个抢断0.9个盖帽，KD，你的最佳新秀稳了！”

Xiao Du shook his head in embarrassment at the compliment from the team press officer: "No, no, then you haven't seen Sheldon's data."

This season, Li Ke also played 80 games. Unlike Xiao Du who missed two games due to injury, the two games he missed were all suspended after punching Artest.

Averaged 20.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.5 blocks per game, five statistics, compared with KD, the advantage is only one steal.

But Li Ke's 46.8% shooting rate is much higher than Xiao Du's 42%, and the team's performance is also far better than Xiao Du's.

Speaking of which, the ownership of the best rookie is really a little suspenseful.

Although Li Ke's efficiency is higher, Xiao Du's five stats are better. Generally speaking, these five basic stats have a higher priority in the selection of the best rookie.

Xiao Du thought about it, and his first reaction was: "I'm afraid I will share this trophy with Sheldon again."

……

In Charlotte, Li Ke, who is preparing for the playoffs, also got his statistics this season.

Speaking of which, in the first half of the season, Li Ke's five basic statistics were not weaker than Xiaodu's. At that time, his scoring was higher and his assists were equal to Xiaodu's.

But the arrival of Lao Ai and Shark inevitably took away his ball and shot rights, and the decline in data was predictable.

But even so, after the decline, Li Ke's scoring average was only 0.8 points lower than Xiaodu's.

"A trophy, owned by two people, should be the ending again."

Perhaps because of a tacit understanding, Li Ke also thought of the ending of sharing the best rookie.

Li Ke had no objection to sharing, but thinking of this, he couldn't help but want to stimulate Xiao Du.

So I took a photo with my mobile phone that was not clear but enough to prepare for the playoffs. After training, I found a computer and posted it on Facebook and Twitter.

"Happy Fishing, KD!"

In Seattle, Xiao Du, who was really planning to go on vacation, saw Twitter and Facebook, his face darkened, he had no choice but to cancel his vacation plan.

But at this time, the phone rang. It was Ty Lawson, who just announced his withdrawal from the 08 draft two days ago.

"What are you still dawdling on, hurry up, let's go, the girls are already waiting on the yacht!"

"It's here!"

My heart is full of enthusiasm, fishing?That's right, go fishing!
Xiao Du, who carried his schoolbag on his back, walked out of the house resolutely.

……

From the end of the regular season to the start of the playoffs, both the Bobcats and Cavaliers have three days to adjust their status.

The training day has long been packed, and even the old shark can no longer complain of suffering and tiredness.

After all, the playoffs are coming, if you don't work hard at this time, don't you wait until you are out of the playoffs and then regret your hard work?

It was already the second day after the end of the regular season. Li Ke got up early, brushed his teeth, took a shower, had breakfast as usual, and then appeared in the apartment training hall to receive training from the breakfast club.

Boss Joe soon showed up, as did David Falk.

In the past, the core three members of Michael Jordan's team gathered together, just watching Li Ke silently holding two medicine balls, doing continuous lateral movement.

In the entire training hall, there was only Li Ke's heavy breathing.

After more than ten minutes, Tim Graver stopped Li Ke: "Take a break, Sheldon."

Li Ke immediately dropped the two medicine balls in his hand, and the medicine ball hit the floor hard. Boss Qiao felt distressed: "Hey, Sheldon, be careful, don't damage my floor."

"No, Michael, your floors are strong."

Li Ke took the towel carelessly, wiped off his sweat, and then asked rather strangely: "By the way, David is here, why didn't you two communicate and have a conflict?"

"He's worried about your playoffs." David Falk shrugged. He was referring to Old Joe.

Li Ke smiled: "There is nothing to worry about. Half a season ago, who would have thought that the Charlotte Bobcats would make the playoffs? But now, not only have we made the playoffs, but we are also fourth in the Eastern Conference. This has exceeded our expectations. Every step of the way, we are breaking our expectations!"

Old Qiao felt that what Li Ke said made sense, so he nodded.

But then, Li Ke turned his head to look at David Falk: "By the way, David, it's the playoffs, and AJ's bonus should be credited, right?"

The nodding old Joe suddenly paused, his face darkened, and his eyes rolled.

Now, he regrets the sneaker contract he gave Li Ke a little bit. With the addition of various reward clauses, the money Li Ke got may be higher than the amount on the surface of the contract.

But in turn, Old Joe is also comforting himself: the more bonuses he gets, the more I earn.

That’s the truth, let’s talk about selling shoes. After all, Li Ke hasn’t released his signature sneakers yet, so he said that the reward for reaching the playoffs is 100 million US dollars, which is not too much. After reaching the playoffs, the Bobcats earn a little from tickets, broadcasts, bonuses, etc., and the money will come back.

The breakfast club lasted until after 7 o'clock. Li Ke, who was sweaty all over, went back to take a shower, and then set off for the Lynx training hall.

He didn't drive his own car, but sat in Old Joe's Maybach at Old Joe's invitation.

Along the way, Li Ke saw many billboards of Bobcats.

The publicity for the playoffs started very early. As early as the Bobcats had just finished the last game of the regular season, the tickets for the first game of the playoffs were sold out.

This is why Old Joe is worried about the playoffs.

The Charlotte Bobcats' first playoffs, good or bad, everyone will be satisfied.

But as the owner of the team, Old Joe just has a mentality of worrying about gains and losses.

If you play one more game, you will sell tickets for one more game, earning an extra $500 million or more.

For a team in a small market, the first thing to consider is to make money.

Speaking of which, although they have made it to the playoffs, whether the Bobcats will not lose money this season is still an uncertain factor. The main reason is that although the introduction of Lao Ai and Shark has improved the team's record, the expenses have also increased accordingly.

Lao Ai's salary of more than 1900 million U.S. dollars, plus Lao Sha's salary of 2000 million U.S. dollars, are all real deals.

For the two transactions, how many transaction exceptions the Bobcats send out means how much more the Bobcats spend.

The original loss was more than 1300 million U.S. dollars, but the current loss is actually even higher, pointing to a return of the playoffs!
Seeing that he was about to reach his destination, Old Qiao said:

"Sheldon, tell me, where do you think we can go?"

"Huh? Where did you hit?"

Li Ke was actually a little puzzled by Old Qiao's question and this question, but after thinking about it for a while, he knew that Old Qiao wanted to take a reassurance, so he told the truth:

"It's not very difficult to pass the Cavaliers. In the second round, the opponent will most likely be the Celtics. We have the strength to fight, but..."

Old Qiao interrupted Li Ke: "Needless to say the Celtics, they are very strong, I know, but the Cavaliers, are you so confident?"

"Of course, this year's Cavaliers are too bad!"

(End of this chapter)