I'm not really a role player

Chapter 259 Focus: 09 Draft
Bobcat training hall, the sky outside the window is slightly bright.

On the court, Li Ke hugged two medicine balls and ran around in circles humming.

Tim Graver on the side was a little off. He pinched his watch and stopped after half an hour: "Okay, Sheldon, let's stop here."

With his feet heavily on the floor, Li Ke stopped slowly, with his hands on his hips.

Tim Graver handed over a clean towel, and suddenly said: "The season is over, Sheldon, you don't need to work so hard anymore."

Li Ke took the towel, wiped off the sweat all over his body, and nodded: "I know, I'm going to go out for a walk after the draft."

"No, I think you have to rest now. This season, you have maintained high-intensity training and high-intensity competitions. Your body has reached a critical point, and your spirit is already quite tired. In this state, no matter how much you practice, you can't practice anything."

"Is that so..."

Li Ke trusted Tim Graver very much, so he hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "OK, Tim, then from tomorrow onwards, the breakfast club training will be suspended..."

Tim Graver smiled, but Li Ke turned around: "But your vacation hasn't started yet, emmm, I need you to stay and continue to help me with some less intense training."

"I knew it." Tim Graver had an expression that had seen through everything: "Tell me, what do you want to practice?"

"penalty."

"Free throws? I still need to practice this thing? However, with a 66.5% free throw percentage, I really need to practice."

"Do you have any good ideas?"

"Let's adjust the free throw posture first. Generally, the mid-range shots are good, but the free throws are bad. The root cause of the free throw is the free throw posture."

"..."

"OK, let's go here, see you in the afternoon."

After talking about free throws, Li Ke thought of Boss Qiao in the office next door, waved his hand, and left first.

……

A moment later, Li Ke, who was covered in stinky sweat after washing off, appeared in Bobcat's office after being extremely refreshed.

Here, he met the leader Joe, the team's President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins, the general manager Rich Joe...

The three cores of Bobcats' management all sat in front of Li Ke. With Li Ke, the four began to discuss plans for the new season.

Li Ke knew very well what the scene in front of him meant.

This means: Li Ke has become the kind of player who can interfere and interfere with the team's transaction signing and operation.

But in fact, since Lao Ai's transaction, Li Ke already had the basis to interfere with the team's operations.

After winning the championship, the foundation is solid, and Boss Qiao is more and more willing to follow Li Ke's suggestions, because almost every piece of Li Ke's suggestions is correct.

In his rookie season, it was Li Ke who proposed to trade Lao Ai. Although the follow-up Lao Sha was the free play of Joe's boss, Li Ke's analysis was indispensable.

Winning the 2008 O'Brien Cup proved Li Ke's success.

In the season that just ended, Li Ke also suggested that the team win DeAndre Jordan in the second round.

DeAndre Jordan, who averaged 6.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in his rookie season, also proved the success of the Bobcats' choice.

There are also some failed transactions, such as Lagalondo, who was once listed as the first choice for point guard signings by Li Ke. After transferring to the Thunder, he almost played the data of a Jason Kidd-style All-Star point guard.

And Kyle Lowry, although there are not many opportunities after joining the Rockets, anyone with eyes can see the potential of defense, organization, and three-point shooting.

So, at the end of the season, Boss Joe recruited Li Ke. He was very interested in Li Ke's suggestion of focusing on the draft.

"Almost all draft experts, most NBA executives, and data analysts believe that this year's draft is a small year."

Rich Joe actually disagrees with focusing on the draft. He even believes that the Bobcats should start from the free market.

After all, they expired a big contract of 2000 million US dollars from Lao Ai, and instantly cleared a huge amount of salary space.

Although there are no big fish in this year's free market, in Rich Joe's view, the Bobcats don't need to introduce any big fish. For some small repairs in some positions, the Bobcats next season will still be one of the league's top players.

"We already have Jared Jack at the point guard, Shelton at the shooting guard, Gerrard at the small forward, and Shaq and DeAndre at the center. Therefore, we need to focus on signing power forwards. My suggestion is to explore the possibility of Carlos Boozer jumping out of the contract, or try to win Rasheed Wallace whose contract has expired."

"Or we still need a sixth man, Ben Gordon would be a good choice..."

Rich Joe talked eloquently, but Li Ke suppressed his hand: "The free market and the draft are not in conflict. A lottery rookie will only take up $400 million in salary space, which will not affect the signing of the free market at all."

"Moreover, I have a different opinion from those draft experts. This year's draft is an absolute big year, even comparable to the 96 draft and the 03 draft."

Li Ke's words sounded a little hilarious to Rich Joe and Rhodes Higgins.

But Boss Joe became interested and said, "So, Sheldon, who do you think can become Kobe, LeBron, AI, and Dwyane Wade in this year's draft?"

"The No. [-] pick, Blake Griffin, will definitely not be a parallel importer. Of course, we can't pick him. The top three picks in the draft, Russell Westbrook and James Harden will also be future superstars. There are also popular rookies in the lottery area. Stephen Curry also has the strength to become a superstar."

"In addition, there are players such as DeMar DeRozan, Tyreke Evans, Ricky Rubio, Brandon Jennings, Ju Holiday, Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague, etc., who also have the potential to become star players."

"Are you optimistic about so many players?"

"That's right, Michael, believe me, we only need one top lottery pick, and we have a team that can create a dynasty."

Li Ke bragged a lot. He knew that Boss Joe liked it. Especially, he immediately blew: "Think about it, Michael, in your career as a player, you have a Bulls dynasty, and as a team owner, you can still have a Bobcats dynasty..."

At this point, Boss Joe has already made up his mind.

"Is it a top lottery pick? Considering that this year is a small draft year, it shouldn't be difficult."

Indeed, as Boss Joe expected, although the lottery pick is valuable, if it is a lottery pick in a young draft year, the Bobcats still have a good chance of getting it.

Of course, before the draft lottery is used, it is empty talk to say these things.

"Talk about AI, is the team really not going to renew his contract?"

Li Ke suddenly mentioned Lao Ai, emmm, to be honest, he was also a little uncertain whether to keep Lao Ai.

But there must be some discussion, so Li Ke brought this matter to the table again.

Rod Higgins knocked on the table:

"Is his divorce case over?"

"It's over."

"Without the influence of off-court incidents, he should still be able to play at the level of the answer, right?"

Rod Higgins said half-guessing and half-analyzing: "In addition to his poor performance at the end of the season, if the contract is renewed, the asking price for the new contract should not be high?"

However, Boss Joe shook his head: "I have already decided to give up AI."

Later, he gave the reasons: "First of all, his problem is not only the off-court divorce lawsuit. Sam told me that this season, he violated the team's tactical arrangement many times. Secondly, his position in the team is very embarrassing. He is less than 1 meters tall. He has no organization when playing point guard and no defense when playing shooting guard..."

"Finally, if he is kept, he probably won't be the starter in the new season. I asked him, and he said that if there is no guarantee of starting, he would rather leave."

There are good reasons, and Boss Joe has clearly made a decision.

Therefore, neither Rich Joe nor Rod Higgins expressed any objection.

But Li Ke, he thought he should talk to Lao Ai.

"Then let's make a summary. The focus is still on the draft. We need a top lottery pick, preferably the top five in the first round. We can't give up in the free market. As Rhodes said, Rasheed Wallace is a good player. His asking price should not be high. We can give it a try."

……

It was already the second day after the Bobcats management meeting. Tim Graver finally took a vacation because Li Ke contacted Ai and learned that Ai left Charlotte as soon as the playoffs were out and is now in New York.

When Li Ke called, Lao Ai was still very enthusiastic, and warmly invited Li Ke to go to New York.

Li Ke hesitated for a moment, then accepted the invitation.

At noon the next day, he had already appeared in New York, in front of Lao Ai.

This is a nightclub in New York that caters exclusively to celebrities and has great privacy. Although the sky is still white, the dark interior is already in full swing.

Li Ke walked into this nightclub, the loud heavy metal music made him feel harsh, and couldn't help frowning.

Led by one of Lao Ai's followers, Li Ke sat in front of Lao Ai.

"Sheldon, I've been looking for you for a drink countless times, and you finally came here once!"

A glass of spicy and tangy whiskey was stuffed into Li Ke's hand, with a ding sound, Lao Ai had a forcible clink with Li Ke, and then drank it down.

Li Ke hesitated for a moment, then took a sip slowly.

Lao Ai didn't take it seriously, and put his arms around Li Ke: "Do you want to find some girls for you?"

"No, Alan."

"Don't call me Aaron, call me Ezer..."

"Ezell?"

"That's right, Allen is my father's name, Iverson is my mother's last name, and Ezer is my real name."

Li Ke seems to have heard the hint in his brain: Lao Ai's friendship is at full value...

After gulping down the whiskey in his hand, Li Ke listened to Lao Ai continue to say:
"I know why you are willing to drink with me. Are you trying to persuade me to stay in Charlotte?"

Li Ke nodded. He really had this idea. Lao Ai still had fuel in his fuel tank. As long as he was willing to play as a substitute, a Super Six would not be able to escape.

"Don't even think about it, Sheldon, my Charlotte career was over from the time we lost to the Magic in the playoffs with nothing to fight back."

"I know how much energy I have now, and I also know that if I stay in Charlotte, I have to accept the role of a substitute. I don't want to be a substitute, so I have decided to leave."

"It's okay to tell you in advance. I have already contacted Ed Stefanski. Next season, I will return to Philadelphia."

"I will retire in Philadelphia, and I hope we can meet in the playoffs next season."

Ed Stefanski is the current general manager of the 76ers. A celebrity with fuel in the tank hopes to return to his home team. After the last season of his career, Ed Stefanski will not refuse.

Or even if he wants to refuse, the boss of the 76ers will not allow it. All fools know how much the 76ers can earn from tickets, broadcast fees, and advertising revenue when the Son of Philadelphia returns and finishes his farewell season.

……

On May 5, the East and West finals will be played.

At the same time, the draft lottery ceremony also began.

Li Ke, who is still in New York, pays attention to the resolution of things first.

On the Eastern side, after he was eliminated by the Magic, one spot was determined in the Eastern Conference finals, and the other spot was decided between the Celtics and the Cavaliers.

Unlike the 1-4 defeat by the Bobcats, the Cavaliers survived one more game under the Celtics, and were also declared out with a total score of 2-4.

As a result, the two teams in the Eastern Conference finals were determined, the Magic vs. the Celtics.

In the West, the Lakers defeated the Jazz, the Hornets defeated the Nuggets, the Mavericks defeated the Spurs, and the Rockets defeated the Trail Blazers. Except for the Mavericks, the remaining three first-round playoff games were all up and down.

Then came the second round. The Lakers and the Rockets fought seven games. In the first three games, the Rockets once had the advantage and took the lead with a total score of 2 to 1.

But Dayao retired from injury in the fourth game and announced that he will be reimbursed for the season.

Only the Rockets of Billups and Richard Hamilton were left. Although they won another victory tenaciously, the series entered the tiebreaker.

But in the end, the hard power is far inferior to the Lakers, and the Rockets, which only rely on this breath, still lost the tiebreaker.

On the other hand, the Hornets also fought the Lone Ranger in seven games. Paoge's Western Conference Finals curse began to take effect. In the tiebreaker, the driver suddenly descended from heaven and scored 44 points and 13 rebounds alone, leading the team to win this round of the series.

The Western Conference Finals became the Lone Ranger vs. Lakers.

The Eastern and Western finals began, but Li Ke had roughly guessed the matchup in the finals.

"If KG is not injured, the Magic should not be the opponent of the Celtics. There is a high probability that the Lakers will fight the Celtics in the finals. The Yellow-Green battle, which is a year late, will eventually be staged."

Although in Li Ke's view, there is nothing to watch in the East and West Finals, but his TV program is still locked on TNT Sports Station, and it is locked on the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and the Magic.

Halfway through a game, the results of the draft lottery are already out.

"It's no surprise. The Clippers are the No. [-] pick, but the Pistons are the No. [-] pick. Although they were cheated by the Rockets, this season's poor performance is still effective."

"The third pick is the Grizzlies. After the Grizzlies, they are the Kings, Wizards, Timberwolves, Warriors, Knicks, Raptors, Bucks, Nets, Thunder, Pacers and Suns. The general change is that the Thunder went down and the Pistons went up."

"So, the lottery pick we have a chance to get is ... the fifth pick in the first round of the Wizards, the eighth pick in the first round of the Knicks?"

Li Ke guessed, and he could only guess. The specific operation still had to be handed over to Boss Joe, Rod Higgins and Rich Joe.

(End of this chapter)