Originally, the logo man didn’t necessarily have to compete with the Lakers.
If the Lakers hadn’t traded the 16th draft pick, the logo man might not have chosen Zhang Yang at the 19th pick.
Given what the logo man knew about Kupchak from his team, this wasn’t something his protege would want to do.
Kupchak would definitely compete, but he wouldn’t engage in such mutually harmful tactics, and if Tellem’s hyping were ignored, the pick wouldn’t have risen so high.
Then it was those siblings who usually sparred non-stop but united against him, the logo man.
Then he just had to show his determination: 19th pick, add a second-rounder, do a favor, and he could get the Nets to help pick someone at the 15th spot.
That would be just before the siblings’ pick, which would infuriate them.
At the draft scene, Stern shook hands with Channing Frye, the 8th pick, while Dolan slammed the table for 2 minutes and 58 seconds and handed the backup envelope to a staff member in the last two seconds.
Unable to secure his own talented high school center, Dolan turned his attention back to Chicago, before he spotted Bynum’s talent, the other was his dream player.
As for Zhang Yang, Dolan didn’t even attend his trials; their team had Marbury and Jamal Crawford, and a bench full of players, no time to develop a guard.
Warriors’ general manager Chris Mullin struggled for a long time and finally handed over an envelope with Ike Diogu’s name to a staff member.
Mullin had already decided on Diogu early, he guessed it was Tellem’s hype, but the Lakers traded back a 16th draft pick, making it seem like Tellem wasn’t lying... Mullin had spent the last few minutes thinking about the next Kobe Bryant.
When the envelope was taken, Mullin felt a profound sense of loss.
He told his assistant and head coach beside him, "I really wanted to go crazy once, but if I used the 9th pick on a 17-year-old high schooler, spent 4 years turning him into an excellent player, then watched him leave, I’d go mad... I know this sounds foolish, but this is what happens every year."
The Toronto Raptors chose Villanueva, the Unibrowed Warrior, at the 10th pick, a player they had planned to pick from the start, a 211 centimeter power forward. Since they traded away Carter last December, they had been committing fully to building around Bosh... currently, Bosh is playing as a center, focusing on inside scoring, not floating around the perimeter.
The Magic picked Spanish center Fran Vazquez at the 11th spot. His performance in the 2004 Olympics left a deep impression on the Magic’s management. After Howard displayed his talent during his rookie season, the Magic planned to let go of Francis and Grant Hill to fully focus on building around Howard and Turkoglu. This versatile, able European white power forward was perfect to pair with them.
It’s worth mentioning that Vazquez didn’t come to the draft scene, he hadn’t even formally applied to enter the NBA draft, he was automatically eligible due to his age.
By the 12th pick, it was the Clippers’ turn, and the commentators perked up.
Would Baylor betray his old team?
In ’96, Baylor hadn’t picked Kobe at the 7th spot and was reportedly later scolded by Sterling.
Now, the Lakers responded to the logo man’s statement about picking Zhang Yang at the 19th spot, laying bare their intention to snatch Zhang Yang. Would Baylor cut in?
If he did cut in, a high schooler barely 17 years old getting picked in the lottery zone would be incredibly insane.
If Zhang Yang flopped, Baylor was likely to be fired by Sterling.
But if he didn’t intercept, and the Lakers spent a few years developing another superstar... no, even just an All-Star, Baylor was likely still to be fired by Sterling.
A Chinese high school student, so controversial, if he could grow into an All-Star, the commercial value would be incredible.
Although highly unlikely, it wasn’t impossible.
The commentators joked about the former teammate and old team competing, leaving Baylor in a no-win situation.
Soon, the Clippers’ pick was announced—they chose a Russian small forward named Yaroslav Korolev, who was little known in front of the TV screens, just 18 years old, playing in the Spanish Second Division.
The commentators were disappointed as the record for the youngest lottery pick would remain with Bynum at 17 years and 8 months.
But after mocking a bit, they professionally introduced the small forward and compared him to a pre-NBA Nowitzki... a technical European white forward, a Nowitzki template.
In the Clippers’ draft office, Baylor told the head coach, "We don’t need to get involved in that competition between those two teams; we haven’t even trialed that high schooler, so we shouldn’t take that kind of risk. Let’s pick the European forward you liked."
Dunleavy felt like retorting: are you pinning this on me? Who mentioned that high schooler?
But he felt Baylor was quite pitiful too, having been the Clippers’ GM for over a decade, yet his salary was still lower than his, the head coach’s.
Look at the masterminds, the logo man, nemesis Popovich, both earning millions of US dollars a year.
Dunleavy thought he might as well take the blame, he had already signed a four-year, 21 million US dollar renewal contract. What could Sterling do to him?
At the 13th pick, the Bobcats were up to select.
The commentators were less enthusiastic, and the audience in front of the TV were adjusting their spirits, waiting to see the competition between the Lakers and the Grizzlies.
The only ones tense were the players still unselected in the green room.