Chapter 48 The draft begins, Chen Yan's place is...
As soon as the draw ended, news from various sports media also followed.
"Chen Yan has secured the first pick in advance, and the new Eagle King is about to be born!"
"Multiple teams rush for it! Chen Yan locks in the top three picks in advance!"
"The Rockets are interested in Chen Yan to form a Chinese inside and outside combination!"
"Chen Yan may lose the draft! Many CBA teams have extended olive branches to him!"
Some of these reports are well-founded, some are unreasonable, and some are just nonsense for the sake of traffic.
Chen Yan didn't have time to read these news reports. His trial training trip had already begun.
On May 28, Chen Yan came to Atlanta, and the Hawks were his first stop for trial training.
The team already has two star-level outside players in Joe Johnson and Bibby, but what they lack is an inside pillar player, and Oden fulfills all their fantasies about an inside player.
The moment they got the No. 1 pick, everyone on the Hawks team had already decided to take Oden.
Until they saw Chen Yan's performance in the trial...
The emergence of Chen Yan made head coach Mike Woodson and general manager begin to waver.
Just like Barkley once said during the commentary, selecting Chen Yan is equivalent to directly selecting an All-Star on the spot, plug and play.
Moreover, Chen Yan has no history of injuries, so the risk is much less than that of Oden, who is full of injuries!
The Atlanta Hawks are in a dilemma. Should they stick to their original intention of drafting Oden or should they change their plan halfway and take Chen Yan? Or should they be bolder and take Durant?
Sometimes having too many choices is a worry.
The Atlanta Hawks' happy worries will probably last until the draft...
Then Chen Yan successively participated in trials with the Mavericks, Suns, SuperSonics, and Celtics.
For a talented and popular rookie like Chen Yan, every team is actively showing favor to him before the draft begins.
Chen Yan did not go to the joint trial training. He never likes to do meaningless things.
The combine is for players who are trying to get into the first round, trying to get drafted.
But Durant went, and something embarrassing happened.
Durant failed even once in the bench press session, setting the worst record of 0 bench presses in rookie history.
Moreover, his expression was very struggling, and everyone who saw it laughed.
One strength coach laughed so hard that he sprayed water on the spot, which made Durant very embarrassed. On the way home, he ate five packs of crispy noodles to ease his mood a little.
After returning to the room, Durant immediately called Chen Yan to complain: "Chen! The most regrettable decision I have ever made in my life is to participate in the joint trial!"
"I told you a long time ago that joint trials are meaningless..."
Chen Yan sighed, Durant was really stubborn and had to participate in all the trials. Based on his past experience, he would definitely be in the top three even if he did nothing.
"KD, don't take it to heart. Those NBA teams won't reject you just because you can't push a barbell. They want to select players, not fitness coaches."
Chen Yan doesn't like to comfort people, but if Durant's fragile and sensitive character is not comforted, he will probably have insomnia all night tonight...
In fact, Durant's overall personality is quite good, restrained, upright, true-hearted, and very considerate of the people around him, but he is a little too concerned about the outside world's opinions.
After the players finished their trial training, each team also started setting off smoke bombs!
The Trail Blazers said they have no interest in Oden at all and will try their best to get Chen Yan and Roy to form a double gun!
The Celtics said that they are actually interested in Horford, and even if they hold the No. 3 pick, they will not choose one of Chen Yan, Oden or Durant.
The Eagles are even more exaggerated. They said they haven't decided who to pick yet, but they don't rule out the possibility of trading the No. 1 pick!
The draft is a war, and no team will reveal its cards in advance.
Fans also said they are looking forward to the draft day, which will be chaotic and exciting!
June 14th, local time in the United States, is the day when G4 of this year’s NBA Finals begins.
There was no suspense in this year's finals. James was no match for the veteran Spurs and was swept out.
After the sweep, Duncan also said the classic saying to James: The future is yours.
This sentence sounds encouraging, but in fact it is killing James' heart.
Duncan is indeed a master of psychology...
The time has quickly come to June 26th, two days before the 2007 draft!
Chen Yan and Bill Duffy arrived in New York ahead of time. Today, Bill Duffy gave Chen Yan a big surprise and took his parents to New York at his own expense!
This was the first time for my parents to go abroad. They behaved like children when faced with all the new things around them. This time, they even brought the most formal clothes in their wardrobe to New York.
tv5 will broadcast the entire event live, it will be on TV, and it will be on CCTV, so why don’t we get confused?
After taking a day off and adjusting to the jet lag, Chen Yan took his parents to New York for a stroll.
The Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Central Park, Times Square and other iconic attractions cannot be missed. Chen Yan even took his elders to watch an opera on Broadway.
Bill Duffy has arranged his schedule in advance, and as he said when he signed the contract, he will help Chen Yan take care of everything outside the court!
June 28, Madison Square Garden, New York!
The much-anticipated 2007 draft is finally here!
Many fans have arrived at the entrance of Madison Garden in advance to catch a glimpse of these future NBA superstars!
Chen Yan's appearance caused quite a stir. "March Madness" has made fans across the United States aware of this Chinese player.
After waving hello to the fans, Chen Yan walked into the small green room with his agent and parents.
The so-called little green room is not a room, but a front row seat at the draft.
Usually only lottery picks are invited to enter this area.
"Kakakakakaka!"
Chen Yan, who appeared in a Chinese red suit, stole everyone's attention when he appeared, and the cameras took pictures like crazy!
This suit was customized three weeks in advance by Bill Duffy, who believes that a good image in the draft is the beginning of a successful career.
As soon as he entered the little green room, Chen Yan saw Durant at a glance.
Durant's look today is very unique, with a gray suit, pink shirt and an orange tie. The ultimate color collision highlights his temperament!
"Oh! Which fashion gentleman is here?" Chen Yan walked up to Durant and gave him a hug.
"kd! I think you went to the wrong stage. You should not have come to the talent show but to Paris Fashion Week!"
"How's it going? Not bad!" Durant looked at himself for a moment, and it was obvious that he was very satisfied with his outfit.
"Not only is he not bad, he is so handsome!"
After the two hugged, Chen Yan looked around and found that they were all familiar faces.
Oden, Conley, Noah, Horford, Brewer, Nick Young...
Conley and Oden took turns to say hello to Chen Yan. The three managers are Bill Duffy. During this period, they occasionally trained together, had meals, etc. in private.
Noah, Horford and Brewer pretended not to see Chen Yan and turned their heads to the side.
They always believe that if it weren't for this kid, Florida would definitely be able to successfully defend the title this year!
At this time, the reporters' flashlights clicked again, and it turned out that it was Ah Lian who came in!
Soon, two Chinese players in the small green room said hello.
Yi Jianlian: "I've seen your highlights and you played very well. I like your style very much!"
Chen Yan: "I am also your fan. I grew up watching you play."
Yi Jianlian: "..."
They are both 19 years old this year, and Ah Lian is even one month younger than Chen Yan. To be fair, he calls him Brother Sheng, so it is a bit strange to hear Chen Yan's words.
"Viewers, we can see that Chen Yan and Yi Jianlian have arrived at the audition site!" Yu Jia raised his voice in the CCTV5 studio.
"Oh, these two people are chatting. This must be the first time they have met, right?" Zhang Weiping said from the side.
"Both of them seem to be in good spirits today. I hope both of them can get a high pick today and be selected by their ideal team!" Director Xu said.
The three commentators chatted one after another in the studio, just like normal chatter.
"Chen Yan is so handsome!"
"The red suit is too flashy. Ordinary people probably can't drive in this color."
“A-Lian is not bad either.”
"A-Lian is pretty good among athletes, and Chen Yan's looks can even compete in the entertainment industry!"
Domestic fans in front of the TV started discussing one after another. There is no game today and the draft has not officially started yet. The most discussed thing among fans is Chen Yan's suit and appearance.
...
...
At 8pm, the draft officially begins!
When David Stern walked onto the stage with a smile on his face, the audience burst into loud boos!
This is a reserved part of the draft. David Stern has long been used to it, and his ears automatically ignored the boos of the fans and started the opening remarks of the draft.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 2007 NBA Draft..."
After the opening remarks, David Stern slowly walked off the stage, leaving the Eagles five minutes to think.
Five minutes later, Stern returned to the stage. The difference from before was that he now had an envelope in his hand.
The moment the envelope was opened, the whole place fell silent.
"With the first overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NBA draft, the Atlanta Hawks selected..."
David Stern was very naughty and stopped suddenly when he said this.
The fans in the Madison Square Garden Theater had just booed fiercely, so he decided to whet the appetite of the fans.
Just when the fans were about to curse, David Stern read out the name on the envelope:
"Greg Oden!"
The Hawks directly locked up Oden. There was nothing to say. They lacked a reliable big man in their lineup. Chen Yan was already mentally prepared for the Hawks' choice.
After hugging his mother, Oden put on a Trail Blazers hat and walked onto the stage to shake Stern's hand.
Oden's arrival will make the Hawks' lineup more complete and make their young core lineup more exciting.
Chen Yan is also very curious about Oden's future. The reason why Oden was disabled in his previous life had a lot to do with the Blazers' veterinarians. Now that he has gone to the Hawks, maybe his career will be easier.
Soon, David Stern received the second envelope.
"With the second overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NBA draft, the Portland Trail Blazers selected..."
Chen Yan groaned inwardly, "Whoever goes to the veterinary team will finish."
"Chen Yan!"
After hearing David Stern pronounce his name, Chen Yan was stunned for a second before hugging his parents and agent.
He originally thought Durant would be the second pick. After all, KD has been famous for a long time, and the Trail Blazers already have Roy at the point position. Why choose him?
Play sixth man?
After receiving the hat with the Trail Blazers logo from the staff, Chen Yan walked onto the stage with a professional fake smile.
This is the basic quality of an actor...no, the basic quality of a player.
Then it was time to shake hands with David Stern and take a photo.
After the process was completed, David Stern said something in Chen Yan's ear, but the noise was too loud and he couldn't hear it clearly.
After stepping off the stage, Chen Yan was still a little confused. Is he really going to go to the Trail Blazers?
At this moment, Bill Duffy walked quickly towards Chen Yan and whispered in his ear:
"Chen, please don't talk to the media about the Trail Blazers later. There may be a deal about to happen!"