The longest river

Chapter 44 On the Eve of the Draft
Yang Shuai's trial training in the west went quite smoothly.

Moreover, when Yang Shuai came to Phoenix for a tryout, Barkley even made a special trip from next door to see him.

Although this guy has a big mouth, the fact that he still remembers him after so long shows that what he said to him back then wasn't just polite talk.

As the trial training continued, Yang Shuai became more and more adept at it.

Although the trial training methods of each team are not exactly the same, they are largely similar.

Moreover, the trial players, regardless of their skill level, tend to play selfishly and basically won't pass the ball unless absolutely necessary.

Therefore, Yang Shuai will take advantage of his strengths and stand at the three-point line when he is not in possession of the ball, whether it is three-on-three or five-on-five. This will make him the first choice when his teammates are forced to pass the ball.

Once he gets the ball, he can decide what to do.

After finishing his tryouts in the Western Conference, Yang Shuai returned to Cleveland.

By this time, it was already early June, and the trial training of each team was gradually coming to an end.

At this time, the NBA released the first list of players for the Green Room, which consisted of 13 people, including Garnett.

In previous media predictions, Garnett was considered an unlikely rookie to fall out of the top ten.

For a high school student to make such a prediction is enough to demonstrate Garnett's exceptional talent.

Of course, the priority given to tall players in the draft is also evident.

Yang Shuai was not on the list, which was expected.

Although he performed well during the trials, the negative buffs on him will not disappear.

No Asian player has ever been able to establish themselves in the NBA, and no high school perimeter player has ever proven themselves, let alone Yang Shuai, who combines both.

Yang Shuai didn't care. Since he had chosen to participate in the election, there was no turning back.

Moreover, after the tryout in Chicago, he also believed in Fraser's abilities.

After returning to Cleveland, Yang Shuai participated in the final stop of his tryout with the Cavaliers.

Yang Shuai trained with the Cavaliers for so long, so the Cavaliers are probably the team that knows him best.

Moreover, the Cavaliers are the best fit for Yang Shuai.

17th pick, midway through the first round, and playing for his hometown team again.

Fraser arranged this as the last stop so that Yang Shuai could complete the tryout in the best possible condition and be selected by the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers were eliminated in the first round of this year's playoffs, losing 1-3 to the Knicks. After losing Daugherty and Nance, they are in dire need of fresh blood.

So it's not just Yang Shuai's team that values ​​this; the Cavaliers do too.

In addition to head coach Fratello and general manager Wayne Embry, team owner Gander was also present.

Moreover, they arranged a separate trial, with only Yang Shuai participating.

Yang Shuai completed a perfect trial training session.

He was asked to run back and forth on the court and make all sorts of shots, layups, or dunks, and he made almost all of them.

His talent has made the Cavaliers' management eager to get involved.

After completing those off-ball workouts, Fratello even brought in Cavaliers player John Williams, nicknamed "Hot Stick," for a one-on-one match.

Williams is 2.11 meters tall, has a wingspan of 2.15 meters, and weighs 98 kilograms. His static attributes are not particularly outstanding, but his dynamic talent is very strong. As a big man, his speed and jumping ability are excellent. He is the kind of guy who can fill the stat sheet on the defensive end.

This is why, despite his relatively light weight, he was able to become the Cavaliers' starting power forward.

The Cavaliers brought in Williams to test Yang Shuai's ability to deal with larger players.

After all, Fratello had already seen him go one-on-one with Jim Jackson when facing players in the same position.

To everyone's surprise, Yang Shuai performed even better against Williams than he did against Jackson.

Besides Yang Shuai being a relatively flexible swingman, another important point is that Williams is like a weaker version of Garnett.

When Yang Shuai played with Garnett, the two would often practice their skills together in private, so he is quite experienced in dealing with such inside players.

Gander couldn't help but wipe the corner of his mouth as he watched.

Putting aside the fact that Yang Shuai had previously helped Cleveland High School win its first state championship, which gave him a strong fan base and greatly benefited the team's ticket sales;

The reason Stern went to great lengths to try and open up the Asian market was because the NBA was struggling in the United States and remained at the bottom of the four major sports leagues.

Broaden your horizons and think long-term; overseas markets are a breakthrough point.

Businessmen talk about money, and if the Cavaliers can really draft Yang Shuai, it will obviously be very beneficial for him.

Just after Yang Shuai finished his workout with the Cavaliers, ESPN released its final draft predictions, and Yang Shuai was projected to be selected 27th overall by the Phoenix Suns.

In those days, there weren't many websites predicting the NBA draft, so ESPN was basically the authoritative source.

Yang Shuai received an overall score of 90, with basketball IQ and shooting scoring 9 points, body size, athleticism, and potential scoring 8 points, and the lowest score coming from "immediate impact" at only 5 points.

His draft comparison was Drexler.

Around the same time, the league announced a second batch of invitees to the Green Room, this time for a total of five people. Yang Shuai's name was still not on the list.

This year's NBA draft was held in Toronto, the capital of Ontario, Canada.

The reason for doing so is that the league added two Canadian teams, the Raptors and the Grizzlies, last season, and this was their first draft since entering the NBA.

Before heading to Toronto, Lin Xiulan took Yang Shuai to a plus-size suit shop on Euclid Avenue to have a suit custom-made.

Yang Shuai chose white, even though Lin Xiulan said that a lime-colored suit would look better, Yang Shuai still preferred white.

This suit has a special feature: a Chinese national flag is embroidered on the collar.

This is Reebok's intention. One of the important factors that led them to choose Yang Shuai is the potential Asian market, and the Chinese market is the largest among them.

If it were another Asian player, they might be resistant to this behavior, since they were born in the United States, but Yang Shuai is Chinese, so he would only be happier about it.

The day before the draft, Yang Shuai received his suit and then boarded a plane to Toronto with Rondo's family and Johnson.

Fraser is already in Toronto because he has to deal with other rookies.

Cleveland and Toronto are very close; they arrived in Toronto in about an hour.

Toronto's scenery is much better than Cleveland's. The towering maple trees lining the roads offer a unique beauty, and it's also much cleaner than other American cities.

Since all the rookies were arranged to stay at the same hotel, Yang Shuai went straight to find Garnett after he arrived.

He was shocked when he saw Garnett in the room downstairs.

This guy's eyes were bloodshot, like a wild beast that could go berserk at any moment.

"Have you not slept for days?" Yang Shuai couldn't help but ask.

"Three days?" Garnett seemed to have forgotten how long he slept; even when he did, he wouldn't sleep for long before waking up.

"I've tried my best to ignore the media, but people around me keep talking about it. They say I'll be selected fifth overall, that's crazy." Before Yang Shuai could ask any further questions, Garnett was already talking to himself.

Yang Shuai felt that Garnett really needed a good night's sleep, but it was clear that he couldn't.

"Is your suit ready?" He could only change the subject and talk about other things.

Sure enough, Garnett smiled when he heard about the suit.

He took out the registered suit from the closet in the room; it was a gray double-breasted suit.

Upon seeing this, Yang Shuai was glad he hadn't listened to Lin Xiulan's advice about the suit, otherwise he would have ended up wearing the same outfit as Garnett.

“This suit is amazing. The sleeves go all the way to the wrists, the cotton fabric feels so soft against the neck, and the trousers are right up to the shoes. It’s completely different from those camphor-smelling heart-shaped suits,” Garnett said, pressing the suit against his body.

"Maybe you'll be able to fall asleep wearing it," Yang Shuai joked with a smile.

However, his smile quickly faded as Garnett pulled out a silk tie with a triangular pattern.

He gently stroked his tie, saying with a look of rapt delight, "This is the lucky tie my girlfriend picked out for me on Saks Fifth Avenue."

"What's your lucky gift?" Garnett seemed oblivious to Yang Shuai's change in mood.

Just as Yang Shuai was about to say that he didn't have a girlfriend, Garnett's room phone rang.

He answered the phone. Yang Shuai couldn't hear what was being said on the other end, but he could hear what Garnett was saying.

"What are you talking about? The draft hasn't even started yet, where did this good news come from?"

"What's wrong? What are you talking about?"

Then, Yang Shuai saw a glint of light flash in Garnett's bloodshot eyes, as if something was about to burst out of them.

Garnett hung up the phone, looking excited, thrilled, and even proud.

"What's wrong?" Yang Shuai didn't understand. Could it be that his girlfriend told him she was pregnant?

"Old Wolf told me that my SAT and AP scores came out, and I passed! Now all the universities can recruit me!" Garnett was as excited as a madman.

Yang Shuai was stunned when he heard this. "Your timing is really unique."

So, will you withdraw from the talent show and go to college?

The NBA rules were not yet perfect at that time, and there was no so-called withdrawal deadline. However, Garnett had already appeared in Sports Illustrated, so if he withdrew, it would definitely be big news.

"Damn, it's too late!" It was clear that Garnett would still prefer to go to college if given the chance.

He then looked at Yang Shuai: "We all need to go to a damn college, to the NBA, that's the college we should be going to!"

Yang Shuai nodded vigorously.

Tomorrow, for better or for worse, they will all become NBA players.

-Dividing line-

①: The area in front of the draft stage is named after the green curtain that was used to cover it in the early days. Players selected for the Green Room are generally voted on by the general managers of each team in the league, and the league decides on the selection intentions of the teams holding high picks before the draft. Invited players can be accompanied by family and friends to the draft.

(End of this chapter)