So I am the god of basketball?

With Tim Duncan's results, the suspense of the 97 draft has been reduced by more than half.

In the eyes of outside experts, the 97 draft was called the "big draft year" entirely because of Tim Duncan.

The reason why the league has started a craze for bad games is entirely because of Tim Duncan.

After him, the Nets, with the second pick, took Van Horn, known as the "Second Generation of Larry Bird."

The "Cardinal" worked hard to promote it for such a long time, and the Nets finally believed it.

But it doesn't matter anymore, because the one the "Cardinal" expected to choose is no longer available.

With the third pick in the first round, the Celtics ended up with the same choice as their original choice:

"Late bloomer" Chauncey Billups.

It is worth mentioning that Tim Duncan was at his peak when he debuted, but other players who have made a name for themselves in this draft are basically "late bloomers."

This is true for Chauncey Billups, this is true for Tracy McGrady, the "legacy" of the second round, future "Most Improved Player Award" winner Bobby Simmons, and the future Stephen Jackson of the Warriors, the same is true .

After a period of tempering, they have gradually grown into powerful players in this league, and even "superstars" and "finals MVPs".

In terms of final success, the "97 Draft" is worthy of being the "big draft year".

It's just that the success rate is a little small.

In addition to the above players, Tony Barty may be a little famous.

Others who have gained a foothold in the league are almost all marginal rotations of each team.

Meng Lang watched as rookies were selected with high picks one after another, and soon they reached the ninth pick in the first round.

As another "genius high school student" produced by the ABCD camp, Tracy McGrady became famous in the ABCD camp, and then became the "No. 1 high school student in the United States" in just one year and announced his participation in the draft. Later, it attracted countless attention.

In the end, he was selected by the Raptors with the ninth pick in the first round, setting a new record for the highest pick among high school outsiders.

But the next second after he finished taking a photo with David Stern despite his sleepy appearance, real-time trading was played on the big screen:
The Chicago Bulls traded Scottie Pippen for Tracy McGrady.

This caused the whole audience to be surprised.

You know, the scene was Madison Square Garden in New York, where there were a bunch of unruly New Yorkers. They had seen a lot of fun and things in their lives, but this was the first time they had seen something like this.

This is Scottie Pippen!

Although his performance in this year's finals was not very good, exchanging him for an 18-year-old high school student...and a high school student who has not woken up...is this a bit excessive?

This is even more shocking than Los Angeles exchanging two talented players for Kobe!
When Pippen learned about this, he was also angry: "This damn guy!"

Once again, he felt that his self-esteem had been stepped on.

What the hell, even if they just sent him abroad, they actually exchanged him for an 18-year-old high school student. He is the "skinny second" and a member of the "Dream Team". Do you still want this old face?
Jordan was also very angry. He immediately called Klaus: "Is this your choice? An 18-year-old high school student? Tell me, how old am I now? Do you want me to give it to you?" Is he a nanny?"

The more he asked, the angrier he became. At the end of the question, Jordan's tone even turned frosty.

Klaus is very used to chatting with Jordan like this: "Michael, I have already said that I will bring back a guy of high quality, but whether this guy can become your helper as soon as possible depends on you and Felipe. How Jackson trains him is beyond my control. I'm just a general manager. I think he can become the second Scottie, or even better than him. As for whether he can become such a guy, it's still up to him. It depends on what he went through while growing up!”

"...Damn guy, I wish you can see the sun tomorrow!" Jordan hung up the phone angrily. He called for his agent, "Listen, call that little brat later. I hope to see him in the arena in two days!”

"By the way, let's inform Tim and ask him to stop being idle and quickly formulate a training plan for this little brat..."

The place was extremely busy because of this transaction, and as the central vortex of this transaction, Tracy McGrady walked down from the stage with a confused look on his face.

It wasn't a huge surprise for him to be drafted by Toronto, which was also one of the teams that tried him out.

But the joy of being selected by Toronto had not dissipated, and he was immediately sent to the Chicago Bulls...

Is this the NBA?
Someone told him that the NBA is a business, but he didn't have a clear idea. Now he feels it deeply.

I actually swapped teams with Scottie Pippen?
I actually went to the Chicago Bulls and was about to become Michael Jordan’s teammate?

Although McGrady’s idol is “Penny” Hardaway, isn’t Hardaway’s idol Michael Jordan?
Become teammates with your idol’s idol…

This was somewhat of a dream, and it also made McGrady realize that he had really entered the NBA as a high school student...

I succeeded?
But before he could feel joy again, the phone calls came one after another, first from Klaus: "Man, you are welcome to join the Bulls, and I wish you good luck!"

There was still some helplessness in his tone.

Then came the call from Michael Jordan's agent: "Man, get ready, come to Chicago in two days at the latest, Michael wants to see you!"

The unquestionable tone made McGrady frown, but Michael Jordan's reputation made him dare not disobey.

That guy is probably the only one in this league who can constantly butt heads with Jordan.

As for others, even now, when Michael Jordan's "godhead" is broken, he is still the mountain that most people in the league need to look up to.

McGrady also needs the same...

Meng Lang watched Tracy McGrady disappear from the TV screen and was stunned for a moment. He really didn't expect that this trade rumor that had been there before would actually become a reality this time... He couldn't accept it a little, but after thinking about it carefully Think about it, when Michael Jordan was 01 years old in 38, he dared to choose an 18-year-old "number one pick" to assist him. Why doesn't the 35-year-old Michael Jordan dare to choose an 18-year-old high school student to train him again?
Moreover, although McGrady's original growth rate was very slow, that was also because the Raptors did not pay enough attention to him. ——This is also the reason why McGrady will leave Toronto.

The Bulls certainly won't develop him that much.

After all, they paid for Scottie Pippen!

Especially since the leader of the Bulls is Michael Jordan, he was even more disallowed to choose Tracy McGrady and didn't focus on developing this guy!
Not only will he not ignore Tracy McGrady, but he will also have to "remove the seedlings and encourage them to grow"!
But don't say that Jordan wasted rookies, let alone use Kwame Brown as an example.

If Jordan wasted rookies, it would be impossible for players like "Cobra" and Pippen to grow up. On the contrary, in the Bulls, rookies who need to get the ball have plenty of opportunities to get the ball, especially Jordan at this stage.

As for Kwame Brown's demise, in addition to Jordan's oppression, there is another problem, that is, he also has a big problem himself. One is that his soft basketball talent is not enough, and the other is that his mental quality is not enough.

Although McGrady is not very strong in terms of psychological quality, he is definitely not worse than Kwame Brown. Anyway, he can be compared with Pippen on the same level.

In other words, McGrady will probably grow faster in the Bulls.

And with the assistance of the younger "Pippen", Jordan will definitely be able to make a comeback in two years at most... It is basically impossible to expect his condition to decline significantly. He came back for the third time in his career. He broke his ribs before coming back and suffered from various injuries, but he was still able to average 20 plus points per game. In the current situation, there is a high probability that he will not retire in 98. This state will only be maintained very well. Even if there will be some decline, there should be no problem at the "super giant" level.

Plus his "big heart".

Although Meng Lang doesn't want to describe it this way, it is really not an exaggeration to say that Jordan and McGrady two years later are a combination of "a slightly weakened version of Kobe" and a "scoring-enhanced version with reduced physical fitness" Pippen...

Yes, there was a combination of Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson just now, and now there is such a "double gun" in the backcourt, and it has proven that it can win "three consecutive championships" Double guns in the backcourt."

Meng Lang's sense of urgency suddenly rose.

Originally, he didn't intend to force Kobe too much.

but……

In this current situation, Kobe's growth must be put on the agenda.

How should I deal with him?
Should he use the "Breakfast Club" trick, or should he use the "666" trick he invented on him first?

At this time, Kobe, who was training in the arena, sneezed suddenly and felt a chill on his back, as if he was being targeted by something strange.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have watched Sadako sleep last night."

Kobe was not a sensitive person, so he muttered something and returned to his personal training.

In this way, the 97 draft came to an end, and the Philadelphia 76ers became the "biggest winners" of this draft. Philadelphia's major media also confidently shouted: "Philadelphia's renaissance is not far away!"

The person who gets the most attention is naturally Tracy McGrady.

As a man who has just replaced Pippen, the outside world now wants to see how good he is.

Chicagoans' attitudes towards him are polarized. One side believes that he will delay Jordan's final peak period, while the other side believes that he will become Jordan's second "Pippen".

McGrady has heard all these sounds.

But he himself didn’t know what his future self would look like. He had no time to think about it. Instead, he was thinking about what Michael Jordan would say to him when he saw him later.

The anxious moment soon came, but McGrady did not see Michael Jordan, but a middle-aged man covered in tendons. He introduced himself: "Hello, Tracy, my name is Tim Grover, and I will arrange all your special training this summer!"

Of course he knew Grover's name, and having such a trainer was naturally a beneficial and harmless thing for him. But he hasn't figured out what's happening yet. Tim Grover saw his doubts and just said lightly: "This is Michael's arrangement. We work together. As soon as this summer ends, he will test the results. If you want him to You have a good impression, then buddy, I hope you can complete all the tasks I have arranged for you! That is the basic condition to satisfy him!"

Just from such a conversation, McGrady felt full of pressure and how troublesome it would be to get along with Jordan.

But he didn’t seem to have the right to say no. Years later, when he recalled this past event, he was still full of regret: “At that time, I was an eye-catching newcomer, and Scottie and I were swapped. This is not the case in the NBA. It’s unique in history, but Michael makes me feel like... he’s the king of Chicago!”

At the age of 18, Tracy McGrady probably understood what it was like to be the king of a city...

Meanwhile, Scottie Pippen rushed to Toronto with his luggage.

When he stepped on the plane, he didn't even look back. Now he only hates this city and doesn't have the slightest memory of it. Because Klaus trampled on his last bit of self-esteem.

His wife turned her head and glanced. She didn't want to go to that cold place in Toronto, but Pippen went, so she had no choice but to go there. She couldn't even survive the separation. Because she has to wait two or three times a night to be satisfied.

Getting on the plane, Pippen looked sad.

In fact, he doesn’t want to go to Toronto.

However, when the plane landed smoothly in Toronto, what he saw were Raptors fans who spontaneously came to pick him up.

Although the number is not very large, there are only about a hundred people.

Because in the icy and snowy "Northland", people here prefer ice hockey rather than basketball.

But it was enough to surprise Scottie Pippen.

It wasn't like he hadn't experienced such affection in Chicago.

But in Chicago, the center was always Jordan.

Their love for Pippen is based on his ability to help Jordan.

Not only did he not perform well in the finals, he immediately became a "thorn in the flesh" of the Chicago media and fans. This city, where he had not played a single game, had already become a "thorn in the flesh" when he first arrived. Gave him warm kindness.

Especially now that he is at the lowest point of his self-esteem, it is even more useful to him.

The city looked icy and snowy, but here, Pippen felt much warmer.

This is not surprising, it has only been a few years since this city had an NBA team?

Pippen is not a big figure in the United States, but in Toronto, he is an absolute "basketball star". He has won 4 championships and is a member of the "Dream Team" in the United States. His resume is strong enough to explain everything. Enough to earn him star-like treatment.

"Larsa, are you ready? We are about to officially start the next stop of my career!"

After this season, I must get a big contract! (End of chapter)