Capítulo 108: The Heart of Playing the Talent Show Is Dirty
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Even though Curry did not come for the tryout, which would be a huge risk, Presti was determined to use the third pick on Curry.
This is also consistent with his character.
In Liam's previous life, the Thunder entered a rebuilding period after trading Westbrook.
Presti kept taking on junk contracts, hoarding draft picks, buying out high-paid veterans, and then hoarding draft picks again... Even after renewing Alexander's contract with a maximum salary, he was still hoarding draft picks.
At the craziest time, he once had 18 first-round picks and 18 second-round picks!
Presti is such a person. He has great confidence in his judgment of people. As long as you give him a draft pick, he dares to choose an MVP for you.
What's more, with Durant and Westbrook as the guaranteed picks, and only a third pick, Presti decided to bet on Curry.
While he and Brooks were discussing, Larry Riley finished his interview and left. When the reporter saw the two of them, his eyes lit up and he immediately came over to greet them:
"Mr. Presti, the Thunder already has two new outside stars in Durant and Westbrook. Will you use the No. 3 pick to select an inside player?"
Presti smiled and said, "Thabit is a beastly center. His talent is mouth-watering. I am optimistic about his future development, but we have the No. 3 pick and can only choose after the Clippers and Grizzlies. The initiative is not in the hands of the Thunder."
Brooks next to him curled his lips. Presti had said more than once that Thabeet would definitely be a dud in the future. This kind of big man who only had a body was destined to be eliminated by the league. The future belonged to outside stars. But he turned around and praised Thabeet highly.
The heart of playing the draft is dirty; I'd better be a good head coach and not get involved in this.
Brooks figured it out. It doesn't matter who Presti chooses. He already has Durant and Westbrook.
With the combination of these two, and some role players, even if Presti chooses Curry and Curry is really seriously injured and does not play a single game in the new season, he has the confidence to lead the Thunder into the playoffs!
Brooks waited for a while; Presti finished the interview, and the first day of the rookie physical examination was completed. The two left the United Center and returned to the hotel where they were staying.
Presti said goodbye to Brooks and returned to his room.
He stood in front of the window, pondered for a while, took out his cell phone, and called Jeff Austin.
It is easy for NBA general managers to get the contact information of an agent.
Presti waited for a moment, and then the phone was answered: "Hello, this is Jeff Austin."
He said calmly, "Mr. Austin, I'm Sam Presti."
There was a noise from the other end of the line, which seemed to be the sound of a door closing, followed by Jeff Austin's respectful voice: "Mr. Presti, do you want to talk to me?"
For agents, there is no need to add prefixes or suffixes. They know the names of every general manager and head coach clearly in their minds.
"I want to invite Steph to come to Oklahoma for a tryout," Presti said.
"I'm sorry, Stephen will not be participating in any tryouts due to personal reasons," Jeff Austin said without hesitation.
"I promise you, as long as the tryout results satisfy me, I will use the No. 3 pick to select Stephen." Presti increased the stakes.
"Mr. Presti, I believe in your promise, but Stephen will not participate in any tryouts, and that will not change." Jeff Austin said politely but firmly.
"What if I insist on choosing Stephen?" Presti asked tentatively. Jeff Austin responded quickly:
"If the Thunder draft Steph, he would love to play for the Thunder."
"Okay, I understand."
Presti hung up the phone and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
It seems that Curry is really injured...
He knows his own business. Although he has the No. 3 pick, the Thunder has Westbrook, who plays the same position as Curry, and their market is small. Their record in recent years has been poor, which actually has little appeal to Curry.
But Jeff Austin did not reject his temptation, but gave positive feedback, which made Presti certain that Curry must be injured; otherwise, Jeff Austin would not have accepted everyone who came.
In the draft, the higher the pick, the better. First, Francis refused to play for the Grizzlies, and then Rubio would rather waste two years in Europe before reluctantly going to Minnesota. They were all selected with high picks but had no intention of playing for the team that selected them.
The small teams in the league are actually very pitiful. Not only are the stars unwilling to go there, even the rookies who are just starting out look down on them.
Many small teams have been in decline for more than ten years and finally selected a super genius, thinking that they can turn things around, but they are simply unable to assemble a championship lineup for the genius. When the newcomer grows into a superstar and sees that there is no hope of winning the championship, they often choose to leave.
The most prominent examples of this are James and Durant.
Jeff Austin's promise made Presti think that he was infinitely close to the truth of the matter, and he began to spread the word that the Thunder was very interested in James Harden.
A reporter asked him what he thought of Curry, and he replied that he had never met Curry and didn't know anything about him, and that the Thunder had not tried Curry and would not use the No. 3 pick on him.
Donnie Walsh's progress was also not slow. He negotiated a deal with the Timberwolves, exchanging the No. 8 pick and Wilson Chandler for the No. 5 pick.
He originally wanted to continue trading up, but there were not many players on the Knicks that were worth looking at.
And Curry didn't participate in any team's tryouts, so Donnie Walsh estimated that the No. 5 pick should be enough.
Judging from the information released now, the Clippers have already reserved Griffin; this is a foregone conclusion. A piece of news will be revealed every day between the two, just like a couple in the honeymoon period of love; they are so in love with each other that no one else can interfere.
The Grizzlies seemed interested in Curry, but after Curry refused to participate in the tryout, they turned their attention to Thabeet.
No one knows what the Grizzlies management was fed. They already have a Marc Gasol who averaged 11+9 in his rookie season and showed great potential, but they insisted on picking a dark and tough guy who can do nothing but dunk. It can only be said that stupid people did stupid things.
The Thunder are very interested in Harden. The media is full of Presti's praise for Harden. According to insiders, Harden's performance in the tryout in Oklahoma was perfect, and Brooks was very satisfied with him.
Then there are the Kings, who have a soft spot for Tyreke Evans and are not a threat.
They Are All Smart People
Donnie Walsh thought about it carefully and found that Curry was almost a sure thing for the Knicks.
He felt relieved and began to publicly express his appreciation for Curry.
In this regard, the outside world generally believes that Donnie Walsh has inherited the "assassin" will of his predecessor, Isaiah Thomas, and specializes in backstabbing his own boss.
Donnie Walsh did not choose among so many young talents but only focused on a newcomer who was rumored to be seriously injured. He must think that his job is too comfortable and wants to find something to do.
James Dolan also habitually played micro-management and personally asked Donnie Walsh about the matter.
Donnie Walsh and D'Antoni came on the scene together and explained that the Knicks would prosper if Curry was selected but would perish if Curry was not selected. Only then did James Dolan reluctantly agree with his approach.
After sending the boss away, Donnie Walsh couldn't help but complain to D'Antoni:
"Isaiah Thomas made so many stupid moves, but the owner still believed in him. I worked hard and devoted myself to the team's revival, but he actually wanted to interfere in the draft. I think our future in New York is in jeopardy."
…
Before we knew it, time had passed, and there was only a week left until the draft.
While the teams were scheming for the draft, Jeff Austin was also busy.
Although he did not take the initiative to contact the team, Curry's draft prospects gradually became clear through contacts with general managers of different teams.
He was sitting in Curry's house, holding a notebook in his hand, discussing the draft with Liam and Dell.
Jeff Austin opened his notebook, looked at what he had written, and said:
"After the San Francisco Chronicle revealed that Stephen would not participate in the draft, eight teams contacted me one after another, all to test Stephen's situation. The Grizzlies, Kings, and Timberwolves were not very interested in Stephen, while the Raptors, Bobcats, and Pacers were ranked later in the draft. They promised that if Stephen's ranking dropped, they would definitely choose Stephen, and the Pacers were the most sincere."
"There is also the Knicks. Donnie Walsh has publicly expressed his admiration for Steph and has repeatedly hinted that Steph did not participate in the tryout because he reached an agreement with the Knicks, probably to make other teams give in. He also traded up to the Timberwolves' No. 5 pick, and it seems that he is determined to use the No. 5 pick to select Steph."
"Finally, it's the Thunder. I can't quite figure out Presti. He once tried to sound me out about Steph and invited me to a tryout, but after I turned him down, he didn't insist. From the latest news, I think his target may have turned to Harden, and Brooks is also optimistic about Harden... Of course, it's possible that Presti is just throwing smoke bombs."
Liam sat opposite him and said thoughtfully:
"So the Knicks will definitely pick Steph, and the Thunder's target is still uncertain, right?"
"That's right. We need the No. 4 pick as a minimum. If we want to minimize the risk, it's best to trade the Grizzlies' No. 2 pick." Jeff Austin nodded, feeling a trance in his heart.
He never thought that as an agent, he would plan the draft of his players together with the team owner.
This is... too much of a cheat.
"I thought that as long as we announced that Stephen would not participate in any tryouts, other teams would give up, but Donnie Walsh was so bold in taking the gamble, and Presti was so unpredictable... They are all shrewd people." Liam sighed.
He also didn't expect that even though Curry didn't go to the Knicks' tryout, Donnie Walsh still had a soft spot for him and even traded him for a draft pick.
As for Presti, who did not express a clear attitude, Liam was always on guard.
As long as Liam thought that this was the general manager who selected three MVPs, he would not dare to underestimate him.
Click.
At this moment, the door leading to the backyard was opened from the outside, and Curry and Butler walked in.
They were wearing practice uniforms, holding two basketballs, and were soaked to the skin.
Liam smiled and said: "You guys don't practice anymore?"
Butler came to Charlotte from Houston a few days ago and practiced with Curry.
Curry panted and shook his head:
"Huh... No, Jimmy is a lunatic. If I don't stop, he will definitely drag me to practice until night."
He put the basketball on the ground, picked up two bottles of energy drinks, and handed one to Butler.
Butler smiled naively, unscrewed the bottle cap, drank it in small sips, and was about to go upstairs.
He was just not good at interacting with people, but he was not stupid. Liam and the other two were obviously talking about serious matters, so he tactfully avoided them.
"Jimmy, have you thought it through?" Liam suddenly called him.
Butler stopped and nodded heavily:
"I've made up my mind. I'm going to sign up for this year's draft!"
"I have to remind you, if you stay with the Bulldogs for another year, you will have a good chance of making it to the first round, but if you participate in the draft this year, I can only select you with the second-round pick. The Warriors don't have a second first-round pick... even the second-round pick needs to be traded." Liam said.
"Boss, I just want to play for you." Butler said firmly, "I started as a substitute when I was young, and I didn't become a starter until I joined the Bulldogs. I don't care whether I am a first-round pick or a second-round pick. As long as I can play for you, that's enough. Besides, I still owe you a lot of money, so I have to make money to pay you back as soon as possible."
Butler will never forget that afternoon in Tombar.
He thought his basketball career was over, but Liam appeared in front of him, gave him a full scholarship, promised him a starting position, and gave him hope.
Now, Liam has given him another chance to enter the NBA. He has no other ideas but to play well and repay Liam.
Liam was stunned for a moment, then realized that Butler was talking about the living expenses he had transferred to him during that summer vacation.
He laughed and said:
"I had forgotten about this... Don't worry, I will give you a contract that is not inferior to that of a first-round pick, and it will definitely be enough for you to pay back the money."
Curry came over and asked:
"Boss, what about my draft?"
Liam smiled and said:
"The Knicks president is determined to select you, and the Thunder may also select you with the No. 3 pick... This is before you go to the tryout. If you go to the tryout, it's hard to imagine how many teams will compete for you."
"The Warriors only have the No. 7 pick. What if I get selected by another team?" Curry said nervously.
Before, he felt that it was good to play under D'Antoni. Although he would definitely lose a lot in the beginning, at least he could shoot three-pointers to his heart's content.
But compared with Liam, D'Antoni's reputation seems so thin.
End of this chapter
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