Chapter 4 It’s a mess

New York, Madison Square Garden.

The annual NBA draft is held here.

Since the distant beginning of 1949, the NBA draft has been held here.

Over the next 60 years, 8 of the 10 drafts were held here.

Who told the NBA headquarters to be close to here? The league president and a bunch of staff don't want to travel around.

Current league commissioner David Stern has been presiding over this momentous task for 25 years.

From the time the New York Knicks drafted Patrick Ewing with the first pick in 1985, everything went smoothly.

The only trouble he faces every year is listening to the huge boos from the audience after taking the stage.

This has become a repertoire of the demanding fans in New York, and Stern has to pretend to accept it calmly every time.

Adam Silva pushed the door open and said sternly: "Sachs! What's going on with you guys? Why haven't you sent the envelope over yet? The draft has already started!"

As soon as this name was read out, the whole audience was in an uproar.

Anyway, the president doesn't want to be scorned by these people in Manhattan, New York anymore.

Silva grabbed the envelope and muttered: "I really don't understand what you are doing, the candidate has been decided a long time ago..."

There was an error in the TV screen, showing footage of Griffin's college games, which had been prepared long ago.

And he was already scolding him in his heart, "MMP, you stinking New York fans, you are the ones who yell and boo if you don't do anything all day long. In the future, Madison Garden will not be the venue for the draft."

Got it!"

"With the first pick in the first round of the 2009 draft, the Los Angeles Clippers selected Stephen Curry from Davidson College."

Why did the Clippers select me with the first pick?

"I heard that Sterling hired a new general manager yesterday, a Chinese-American basketball affairs manager. Could it be that he just took office?"

Therefore, David Stern cannot understand what the Clippers team is working on.

Ayesha was also very happy. Firstly, she did not expect that her boyfriend would become the No. 1 pick. Secondly, he was selected by the Los Angeles team, so that the two of them could work and live in the same city.

The hosts of various TV stations were also confused. All the scripts they had prepared before were scrapped and everyone began to express themselves freely!

"The Los Angeles Clippers selected Stephen Curry with the first pick in the first round! God, this is a very, very unexpected selection. It's hard to imagine what happened to the Clippers management."

That is to say, starting from this year, the host venue of the NBA Draft will be moved to the home court of the New Jersey Nets, and later to Brooklyn.

This was the first time in NBA history. Stern quickly asked his staff to go to the Clippers working group to inquire about the situation.

The host of ESPN TV, who was covering the entire draft, saw Stern coming on stage and exclaimed:

Curry was finally convinced that Stern was reading his name, so he took the Clippers hat handed by the staff and stood on the stage to shake hands with Stern.

There is only 1 minute left until 6 o'clock when the reservation for the conference starts. Why haven't they handed over the envelope with their name on it?

Another minute passed, but still nothing. It had timed out and the draft hadn't started yet.

The rookies sitting in the small green room area under the stage suddenly became nervous.

This shabby Clippers team is really worrying. I heard that they changed to a Chinese general manager yesterday?

Is something going to happen in this draft? Stern was feeling uneasy. This was the first time in so many years.

That's the jersey number Blake Griffin wore at the University of Oklahoma. The Clippers have drafted him and the whole world knows it.

Ayesha looked at Curry with the most sincere eyes, and then nodded vigorously, "Yes, it's you, it's you!"

This is a standard response to boos.

The first person who was confused was Stephen Curry sitting in the audience.

Dell Curry hugged him and whispered: "Stand up, stand up boy, the Clippers have selected you!"

"Finally, David Stern finally showed up with the envelope. He was three minutes later than the scheduled time. Did something happen backstage?"

By the time Stern opened the envelope, he was ready to get up and go on stage.

At a young age, he felt that things were impermanent, which was not a bad thing for him.

The director immediately cut the camera and showed it to the draft, focusing on Blake Griffin sitting in the small green room area.

Now the CEO is late and in a daze. What happened to his kidney?

Stern paused for three seconds, cleared his throat, and then read:

At this time, in the Clippers' working group, player director Gary Sachs had just put down the phone, with confusion in his eyes.

"The possibility is very high. There is still no information about the new Chinese general manager. We only know that his name is Smart. But judging from this draft decision, he is not very Smart."

Stern was smiling, but he was thinking about changing the venue.

Then he opened the envelope and read out the name that everyone already knew.

His big eyes were full of confusion.

If Stephen Curry is confused, then Griffin must be even more confused.

Griffin's family has already looked at a house in Los Angeles and is preparing to live in Los Angeles for a long time.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be anything wrong with the No. 1 pick. Griffin's selection is a sure thing.

But what he heard was not his own name, and his mind went blank.

As he spoke, Sachs wrote a name on a card, stuffed it into a white envelope, and handed it to Adam Silva.

Faced with Silva's stern warning, Sachs quickly said: "Los Angeles has issued an order and we have made a decision."

The hissing in my ears didn't matter, it was the name in the envelope that mattered.

"Did some New York fans break into the back and change the Clippers' envelope with Patrick Ewing's name?"

Stern took the envelope and walked onto the stage, and the audience immediately burst into boos.

On the stage, Curry and Stern shook hands and took photos, then stepped off the stage to be interviewed by reporters.

I always thought that Curry would be selected by the Knicks and play in New York, but that would be a different story.

Because Clippers CEO Rosser proudly showed off the lining of his suit in front of the camera, which was embroidered with the fabric of the Clippers' No. 23 jersey.

Stern swallowed and paused. The hosts, commentators, and reporters all noticed Stern's abnormality.

You know, the Clippers contacted Griffin when they first won the No. 1 pick, saying they would definitely select him.

But when he opened the envelope in his hand, the smile on his face suddenly solidified.

"Let's look at the introduction of Stephen Curry...the video was put in the wrong place, cut shot, cut shot..."

Now that the Clippers have changed their mind, Griffin's heart was filled with mixed feelings, and his expression changed again and again.

Curry stood up, then turned around and asked his girlfriend Ayesha, "Ayesha, is that really my name you just read?"

"No! Don't go. Adam, go over! If they don't give you the envelope again, their first pick will be cancelled!"

"If you don't come up with a candidate, the league will cancel your first pick!"

When Rosser won the No. 1 pick, he showed the world his No. 23 jersey embroidered on the lining of his suit to show his determination.

For example, this year's No. 1 pick, the moment the Clippers drew the No. 1 pick on May 20, everyone knew that the first pick belonged to Blake Griffin.

He trotted all the way to the backcourt of the draft stage and handed the envelope to Stern breathlessly.

Stern had to turn sideways and put out his ears to pretend to listen, saying, "If you make it any louder, I can't hear you."

He looked confusedly at his father, Dell Curry, who was sitting next to him—his father was also an NBA player, played for the Hornets, and was an excellent shooter.

Because of Stern's late arrival, the boos were louder than before.

Stern stopped the staff, asked the league's vice president Adam Silver to question him, and dropped his harsh words.

Stern returned to the background, leaving five minutes for the second-overall Memphis Grizzlies to make a choice.

The atmosphere at the draft meeting suddenly became extremely tense and strange.

Because the Clippers changed their No. 1 pick, the entire draft plan and predictions were disrupted.

The draft offices of every NBA team are in complete chaos.
Chapter completed!