Champion, please stay!

Chapter 77, Section 75: The Draft
Madison Square Garden at this moment truly resembles a basketball mecca.

The draft candidates were surrounded by spotlights, welcoming what might be the most watched night of their basketball careers.

Another location within Madison Square Garden, Donnie Walsh's office, is also bustling with visitors.

In the month following the joint trial training, Walsh received countless inquiries.

Some offered very tempting deals, and some of them even appealed to Walsh and Dolan.

But whenever they saw the person who spent every day in the training field participating in the draft, they lost all other thoughts.

Some of them are clearly just trying their luck.

After all, the Knicks' previous general manager was notoriously incompetent, throwing away any worthless contracts in exchange for some young, promising players.

Unfortunately, Walsh took over as CEO at the end of last year. After the season ended on April 16, Walsh fired Isaiah Thomas, who was also the general manager and head coach, and took over as general manager himself, wielding all the power.

Even now, with the management teams of all 30 NBA teams gathered at Madison Square Garden, a few teams are still unwilling to give up and want to try again.

Being in the same alliance, they can be seen as colleagues in different and competing departments. Today they ask you for help, and tomorrow you will ask them for help. Walsh could not refuse the meeting requests, so he could only receive them one by one.

With the draft just around the corner, Walsh knew that the teams coming to his door today were really bringing out their best assets.

For example, the Grizzlies traded away Gay and the 5th pick.

In a different draft year, a prodigy whose talent has already begun to materialize and who can average 20 points per game in his second year, plus a top-five draft pick, would definitely be a shoo-in for the number one pick.

But Walsh still decisively saw the guests off.

The Bulls' core assets are the backcourt duo of Hinrich and Ben Gordon, both in their prime.

Last summer, the Bulls and Lakers had already agreed on a trade involving Kobe Bryant, with these two players being the core assets. However, Kobe ultimately exercised his veto power...

In addition to these two, the Bulls also gave this year's 10th pick, Terrence Thomas, the 06 "Little Garnett" who is still in the lottery.

While this offer isn't as substantial as the Grizzlies', it's still quite generous. Currently, people's impression of the Bulls' young talents is still stuck in the 06-07 season.

Teams like the Pistons desperately wanted Ben Gordon, the 'Jordan off the bench'.

But the Bulls wanted the number one draft pick and kept Luol Deng...

Walsh was puzzled, but he didn't think much of it. He wasn't planning on making a deal anyway, so he just saw the guest off.

However, there were still offers that shocked him.

During the meeting, the fortune teller mentioned a name—Dwyane Wade.

At 26 years old, he's already a Finals MVP, a multiple-time All-Star, and a member of the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team...

Seeing that Pat Riley's eyes were bloodshot and that he was clearly gritting his teeth when he said Wade's name, Walsh knew that the other man was not joking.

He couldn't make the decision on his own, so he dialed the stadium's internal phone line.

If another management team had made such an offer, Dolan might have actually hesitated.

But Pat Riley...

Dolan yelled into the phone, "Get him out of here!"

After politely seeing Pat Riley off, Walsh waited for a while.

Seeing that no one was coming, he prepared to go to the draft office to meet the owner and head coach.

Just as he was about to get up, there was another knock on the door. He could only straighten up and reply, "Come in."

Upon seeing the newcomers, Walsh immediately abandoned his carefully constructed air of authority, leaned back in his chair, and said, "Why are you here again? What can you possibly offer? Danny? Are you willing to give it up?"

Big Bird sat down casually and replied, "You're right, it's Danny. Let me just tell you, I think Brook is already stronger than Danny."

Walsh: "Oh, it seems you really think highly of Brook. Danny was averaging almost 20 points per game last season, right? Knowing him as I do, he'll definitely be even stronger next season."

22 points per game? 25 points, it's all possible.

Since you think so highly of Brook, then you know that no one has a chance to get Brook; he'll be traded for Danny. Even though Danny was the player I personally drafted, that's all I can say.

Big Bird curled his lip and replied, "I know you won't agree, but our boss is eyeing the economic benefits that Brook will definitely bring. I'm just carrying out the work assigned by the boss."

Walsh: "Is the work finished? Shall we go to the draft office together?"

Big Bird shook his head, saying with dissatisfaction, "His assigned work is finished, but mine has only just begun... I heard you're selling Randolph? Why didn't I receive any inquiries from you? You're my mentor! You're starting to reject me just because I changed companies?"

Walsh frowned and said, "You've taken a liking to Randolph? I advise you to give up that idea. He's difficult to manage and will ruin your current good momentum."

After all, it was his former employer. Walsh wouldn't do something like aiding the enemy, but he also didn't want to betray his former employer.

Anyway, a player of Randolph's caliber, no matter how many bad deeds or how bad his reputation, will never have trouble being sold.

Bird laughed and said, "Whether the players obey the rules or not is a problem for the management and head coach. Do you think Ron Artest or Stephen Jackson would be easier to manage than Randolph?" Walsh thought of that Pacers team full of unlimited potential, but unfortunately, it was ruined at Auburn Hills. That was the closest he ever came to a championship as a manager!
Seeing that his old partner no longer objected, Bird said, "I know you have another rookie you really like, but you couldn't trade for the right draft pick. This year, every team is treating lottery picks like treasures, but I can give them to you..."

...

Yi Shui arrived at the audition venue and sat down at his assigned table.

He remained calm in the spotlight, but was actually quite excited, after all, it was a once-in-a-lifetime talent show.

However, looking at Calhoun, Clark, Jerry Cook, Robinson, Yad, and Johnson Bird around the table, Yi Shui felt a little regretful.

When he was selected for the Green House, he called his parents, but they were unwilling to come.

It was mainly his father's idea; he didn't want to appear on television, fearing it would affect his teaching work.

After he became famous in China, his father was harassed and became a 'celebrity' at school, which he disliked.

Also, he's currently preparing for his final exams, and his parents teach the second year of high school, so they're not here right now.

Fortunately, his parents promised to come visit during the summer vacation. Although they weren't coming today, they had already applied for his passport when he called home. So he wasn't too disappointed; it was just that his 'first' meeting with his parents was postponed.

It would be better to buy a house before my parents arrive, as it's not ideal for them to stay in a hotel when they come.

As early as the beginning of the month, Bartelstein had already started planning for him to buy a house, selecting suitable residential areas throughout New York for him to choose from.

Yi Shui was almost deterred by the high housing prices in New York – the financial crisis! And they're still so expensive!
But Bartelstein told him, "You have to do something to reassure the team, and buying a house is the easiest thing to do... and now is the cheapest time to buy a house in New York in a decade."

With a well-reasoned argument and an enticing appeal, Yi Shui has already started looking for a house.

Soon, it was almost 8 o'clock, and the draft began. Stern came on stage and started his annual rambling session, which caused... the fans who had come to watch to cheer loudly!
This is different from what Yi Shui remembered. Shouldn't Jews be booed to death?

Then he heard “BIG-YI”, “Brook”, “BIG”... It turned out the Jewish guy had benefited from his fame.

Stern is a professional; after delivering a long speech, the clock struck exactly 8:3, and he announced that the Knicks would have three minutes to make a decision.

The big screen started playing highlights of the popular contestants' matches.

Hearing the fans chanting "BIG" louder and more uniformly, Yi Shui, who was originally very confident, couldn't help but feel nervous.

As the saying goes, there's always a chance of something going wrong.

After all, that's James Dolan, notoriously unreliable.

I glanced at the carefree head coach, the 'lonely old man' Clark, the professionally-minded Jerry Cook, the two heartless brothers, and the little devil who was completely oblivious to his older brother's emotional changes...

If he misses his parents, he should threaten suicide to force these two teachers to come over and turn them into internet celebrity teachers!

Yi Shui had never felt that 3 minutes had been so long, not even when he was fighting the Villanova Wildcats to the very end and was wearing down his energy.

Finally, the staff brought the Knicks' envelope to the stage, and Stern opened it.

Yi Shui, who was keeping a close eye on Stern, noticed that the Jewish man seemed to breathe a sigh of relief before he forced a big smile.

Without time to think, Stern began his announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks selected... Brooke Yi, Yi Shui, a Chinese player from the University of Connecticut Huskies!"

Yi Shui let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair.

He realized for the first time that his name sounded so beautiful!

He was glad that his forward leaning motion wasn't too big, otherwise he wouldn't have looked cool enough, and who knows how many cameras were pointed at him!

At this moment, he wasn't as excited as he had imagined; instead, he felt a sense of relief.

He caught his breath, stood up, and hugged the six teachers and friends who had gathered around him.

The others were much more excited than Yi Shui himself. The Husky team's first-ever NBA number one draft pick! Surpassing Okafor's record for the highest draft pick!
After the hug, Yi Shui and his teachers and friends raised their glasses in celebration and took a small sip.

After a brief celebration, Yi Shui accepted a Knicks cap from a staff member, walked onto the stage, shook hands with Stern, and took a photo.

At this moment, Yi Shui felt many things: a strange sense of satisfaction, the joy of the fans in the stadium, and the envy and jealousy of the others in the small green room...

Renowned sports commentator Richardsa Jean Thompson invited Yi Shui to the side stage for an interview.

"Congratulations on becoming the second Chinese player after Yao Ming to be selected as the first overall pick. Do you have anything to say to the viewers in front of the TV? I believe that not only in the United States, but also in China, all fans are focused on you at this moment."

The female reporter practically had "The Jewish guy assigned me an interview assignment" written all over her face.

Yi Shui replied, "To get to this point, there are many people I want to thank: my coach, my teammates, without whom I would not have won the NCAA championship; my agent, who took care of all the miscellaneous matters for me, allowing me to focus all my energy on training amidst the noise; and most importantly, my parents who live far away, it is their unwavering support that has made me who I am today."

However, if you only ask me what I think about being selected first overall... for me, it's just going through the motions.

(End of this chapter)