Champion, please stay!

Chapter 80, Question 78: Do you have some kind of grudge against the players from your year?
Yi Shui asked curiously, "Chalmers hasn't been drafted yet? The Heat didn't use the 31st pick to select him?"

Chalmers is a well-known role player. He remembers that Chalmers partnered with Wade in his rookie year and became a mature role player and starter as soon as he entered the NBA.

He dedicated his entire prime to the Heat... then at 30 his performance declined, and he was traded by the strategist for a second-round pick.

After Walsh put the note in an envelope and handed it to the staff, he replied, "The Heat don't have a second-round pick. Last year, the Heat wanted to draft Dae Quinn Cook as Wade's backup, but their draft position was too low. They used last year's first-round pick, plus the two second-round picks from last year and this year, to finally draft Cook."

I also heard that Riley wanted to draft Chalmers and trade back the 31st or 33rd pick from the Timberwolves, but McHale refused. The Grizzlies were willing to sell their second-round pick, but the Trail Blazers offered a higher price.

None of the players ahead of us drafted Chalmers, so we got a lucky break.

Yi Shui leaned closer to the screen to see the already selected second-round order.

The Timberwolves selected Nikola Pekovic with the 31st pick, the SuperSonics selected Walter Sharp with the 32nd pick, the Timberwolves selected Omer Asik with the 33rd pick, and the Trail Blazers selected Joey Dorsey with the 34th pick...

That husky picked two backup big men in one go? Oh, right, they used the 5th pick on Mayo, so they don't have Love anymore, so they're picking a few more big men to gamble on luck?
Looking at the more than 100 names of contestants still lit up, Yi Shui, who was just browsing casually, actually saw some impressive names that he hadn't expected.

Goran Dragic!

He hadn't noticed that Dragic was in the same cohort before, because all he remembered at the moment was the group from the joint tryouts.

However, choosing Chalmers is not a bad choice either; this final opponent is more mature and has a higher level of sophistication than Chalmers.

It seems that Dragic will need to be developed for several years, and he will only truly shine when Nash leaves the Suns and Dragic returns to the Suns for his second stint.

Chalmers was definitely stronger during his rookie contract period.

...

After chatting with Dolan, Walsh, and D'Antoni for a while, Yi Shui and Curry left the draft office and didn't talk much before leaving Madison Square Garden with their relatives and friends.

Their agents had already arranged a car to take the two, along with their respective relatives and friends, to have some fun...

The next day at noon, Yi Shui was woken up by a phone call from Bardner Stein and carefully moved away the long legs of the female student from Bardner College in New York.

After getting up and taking a shower, feeling refreshed, I put on my formal attire, went downstairs, got into the waiting car, and returned to Madison Square Garden.

Television and newspaper reporters were already waiting, and Yi Shui signed a rookie contract under the witness of the cameras.

Yi Shui had thought it would be a while before he signed the contract; in the past, the news he had seen about rookies officially signing contracts was always in July.

Like Curry, he didn't come today.

Before officially signing a contract, rookies only occupy the minimum virtual base salary. After signing, their salary cap is calculated based on their actual signing bonus.

Although the Knicks are currently in a bad state, Walsh is an ambitious general manager. Perhaps he doesn't have much room to maneuver this summer? After all, Thomas messed up their salary situation, and they still need time to clean it up.

Whether you sign early or late, it's all the same.

There were no issues with the contract; Dolan didn't make any excuses. This year's number one draft pick's starting salary is set at $400 million, with a maximum increase of 20% according to regulations.

The starting salary is $4.8 million, with a team option of $7 million in the final year, totaling $22.6 million over four years.

Guided by the TV station staff, and after the close-up shots were adjusted, Yi Shui quickly signed his name.

When he first met Curry last year, he saw Curry's incredibly ugly signature and started practicing his own. It's hard to say about his other characters, but his artistic cursive script of the two characters "易水" (Yi Shui) is exceptionally cool!

After signing his name, Yi Shui habitually tapped the button, and the system notification suddenly came through!
...

After completing the handshake, photo session, interview, and other procedures following the signing, Yi Shui went to the restroom and closed the stall door.

"You have joined the NBA as the number one draft pick, and have successfully achieved your wish."

"You have signed with the Knicks and become an NBA player. Your performance evaluation will be adjusted based on the game environment. Note: Your inherent strengths have not changed; the extent of the change in athleticism due to your body shape has not changed; the improvements you have made through training have not changed."

"Based on system calculations, your speed rating has been adjusted from 93 (slightly higher than 92 in NCAA) to 93 (slightly lower than 94 in NBA).
Your strength has been adjusted from 94 (NCAA) to 86 (NBA).
Your vertical jump has been adjusted from 93 (NCAA) to 91 (NBA).
Your flexibility has been adjusted from 92 (NCAA) to 94 (NBA);
Your stamina has been adjusted from 92 (NCAA) to 85 (NBA)...

Looking at the 'plunging' strength assessment, Yi Shui felt her heart bleeding.

He knew this didn't change his strength; the system even had a note about it. But seeing the numerical changes still pained him.

However, not everything has been reduced!

Strength, jumping ability, and stamina—the NBA's overall level is definitely higher than the NCAA's, and he showed varying degrees of decline in all of these areas.

However, his speed and agility, especially agility, dropped by 1 point after growing 1 centimeter at the beginning of the month, but now that he's in the NBA, his rating has increased by 2 points!

Speed. Yi Shui thought of the group of short, fast breakers in the NCAA. There were indeed a lot of players who were extremely fast, and these players raised the overall speed of the NCAA.

However, the teams led by those players are often not the top teams in the minor leagues.

A player like Iverson is one in a thousand, you might not find even one in 1000 players of the same size.

Agility: A group of young people around 20 years old are definitely not as agile as those in professional leagues. Even in the NBA, where elites gather, everyone has to sacrifice agility in order to improve physicality.

Yi Shui felt that the changes in his physical attributes were not too bad. In the NBA, he was still a powerful small forward with top-notch running and jumping agility, first-class strength and stamina, and maxed-out static physical attributes.

The decline in his basic skills, such as shooting and passing, was less severe than he had imagined.

"file:
Name: Yi Shui, English name: Brook, Team: Knicks.

Age: 21 (June 6, 1987).

Height: 203 cm, Wingspan: 220 cm, Weight: 97 kg. Performance Assessment (NBA, 0-99):
Overall physical fitness 91 (top): Speed ​​93, Strength 86, Jumping 91, Agility 94, Stamina 85.

投篮基本功83（一流）：远距离82（左侧底角74、左侧45度角84、顶弧76、右侧45度角87、右侧底角75），中距离76，近距离90。

Basic passing and ball control skills 83 (first-class): ball control 88, passing 79.

Skills: Iron Wall, High Tower Sniping, Sky Cover, Transfer Station.

Talents: Angled genius, rhythm-setter, and a guardian under the basket.

Special Cards: Secondary Development (In Use, 12/20), Power Metamorphosis (In Use, 15/30).

His ball handling dropped by 4 points and his passing dropped by 5 points, which is still acceptable. Compared to other NCAA-level assessments, he is still at a level where he can control the ball, drive and dish to one-on-one players, and assist in passing and playmaking. It's not too bad.

His shooting rating was much better than he had expected!

After the finals of 3rd Madness, he trained hard for almost two months, putting in almost all of his training cards.

The 'power transformation' was also extremely restrained. There were about 50 days of full-load training over two months, but only 15 days were spent advancing the transformation progress.

The improvement after adapting to the new three-point line is significant.

I'm not sure about my accuracy, but I'm sure I'll take every shot from beyond the three-point line.

He has accurate aim in two areas, especially the right 45-degree angle, where he dares to pull up and throw even when facing the defense.

However, the bottom angle and top arc of the two wings, which are not very accurate, are actually around 75!

China Investment Corporation's overall rating has risen by 5 points, from 71 to 76!
Oh! By the way, the NCAA's three-pointers are now counted as long-range shots!
In the NCAA, long two-pointers are counted as mid-range shots now.

If I could only shoot from the free-throw line and the 45-degree angles on the wings, my mid-range shot rating would likely have increased even more.

...

Yi Shui was very busy for the next few days.

NBA training programs, promotional events with contracted brands, and various interviews in China and the US.

By July 5th, the Knicks' Summer League team assembly day had arrived, and Yi Shui had finally finished dealing with these miscellaneous matters.

But before they could even catch their breath, something new happened.

Shen Zhiyu was chosen as the domestic agent after multiple rounds of interviews with Battultan and with Yi Shui also participating in the meeting.

They have their own domestic team, maintain long-term cooperation with well-known stars such as Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and Ray Allen, have abundant resources, and enjoy a good reputation.

The key point is that after a detailed investigation, Bartelstein determined that he did not have the kind of 'special background' that Yao Ming's team had.

Shen Zhiyu brought news from the Basketball Association: "Brother Shui, Gong Luming, the team leader of the men's basketball team, has officially extended an invitation to you on behalf of the Basketball Association, hoping that you can participate in the men's basketball team's final training camp starting on the 12th."

Back in April, after the first domestic broadcast of the NCAA finals and Yi Shui's team winning the championship, domestic media outlets kept calling on the Chinese Basketball Association to have him represent the national team.

However, the Blues Association's response has consistently been that it is "under internal discussion."

With just over a month to go until the Olympics, finally some definite news has arrived!

However… Yi Shui asked, “Brother Shen, is this your own embellished version, or the men’s basketball team leader’s original words?”

Shen Zhiyu: "Of course, that's what he said. Coach Gong's attitude was actually even more sincere."

Yi Shui asked, "If it's an invitation, does that mean I can refuse?"

Shen Zhiyu: "Of course you can, but don't you want to participate in the Olympics? The Olympics are held on your home turf, and you might only have this opportunity once in your life. It would be a pity to miss it, and it would also greatly help increase your commercial value."

Yi Shui looked around and said, "Of course I want to participate. I've been waiting for their news for a long time. I'm just curious, when did those officials become so easy to talk to?"

Shen Zhiyu, like Yi Shui, looked around and whispered, "Who doesn't know what kind of people they are?"

If you have domestic basketball experience, even if it's just youth training team experience, they will try to find a way to control you.

But you have absolutely no connection with the domestic professional competitions and training system!
You had just started to make a name for yourself in the province when the NCAA took you away. I think you're so lucky that they didn't have any room to interfere.

As I always say, the Olympics are happening right on our doorstep!
They need to ensure good results, otherwise they might lose their official positions.

Yao Ming is currently recovering from a serious injury and has just started rehabilitation training. It's hard to say how much of his condition he can regain. They definitely want you to participate even more than you do..."

Yi Shui really wanted to play in the Olympics, but he didn't make a decision yet. He first called Bartelstein.

Shen Zhiyu had already told Bartelstein about this before he found Yi Shui.

Bartelstein's answer was concise: "GOGOGO, I have to participate!"

He then called Walsh, who replied, "Of course I'll participate!"

Yi Shui asked, "I'm not playing in the Summer League? I don't need to prove my ability through near-NBA level competition?"

After a few seconds of silence, Walsh replied, "Brook, what grudge do you have against those players from your draft class?"

(End of this chapter)