Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 156 The 28-Card and the God of Holding His Urine
June is drawing to a close, but NBA teams are showing a greater sense of urgency than ever before.

Because the draft is coming soon.

Compared to the unpopular 2009 NBA Draft, this year's 2008 draft class is not much less impressive than last year's.

Derrick Rose's performance at the 2008 NCAA March Madness helped him secure the number one draft pick, making him the second Chicago-born prodigy after Kevin Garnett.

The Bulls originally had no chance of getting him, but Kobe's early-season trade saga caused internal turmoil within the team. Even so, the Bulls' final ranking wasn't too low, and their chances of getting the number one draft pick were only 1.7%.

As is well known, the NBA lottery is always fair, just, and transparent. So when Akron produced a once-in-a-decade chosen one, the Cavaliers "coincidentally" got the number one pick; after this chosen one left the team, they were lucky enough to get the number one pick three more times in four years.

Anthony Davis designated the Lakers as his next team, and the Pelicans were lucky enough to win the Zion Williamson Trophy; the Spurs were the only team Wernborg and Yamaguchi desired, and this team, which only tanks once every twenty years, also happened to win the number one draft pick. And then there's Cooper Flagg. Please believe me, all of this is a coincidence; there was absolutely no behind-the-scenes manipulation.

The NBA is simply blessed by the god of storytelling, always managing to send the most suitable people to the teams they deserve at the most opportune time.

Because the Grizzlies completed their rebuild, the lottery teams in 2008 were slightly different from those in Xu Ling's previous life.

The teams that drew the top two picks remain unchanged: the Bulls and the Heat.

But the team that drew the third pick was the SuperSonics—the last time the team would appear under the name SuperSonics in NBA history.

The Knicks won the fourth pick.

The Clippers won the fifth pick, while the Lakers, who were eleventh in the Western Conference, only had the thirteenth pick.

The following teams were the Timberwolves, Bobcats, Bucks, Nets, Kings, and Pacers.

The Grizzlies made the playoffs, and their draft position is fixed, with only the 21st pick in the first round (the second-round pick has been traded).

In the past few days, Jerry West has been giving extensive tryouts to players who were late in the first round of the playoffs.

One serious problem exposed in the playoffs is the Grizzlies' severe lack of interior defense.

He was blown out by David West in the first round, and then by Tim Duncan in the second round.

These Western Conference playoff teams all have stars in their frontcourt. If they continue to rely on Milicic, Warrick, and Radmanovic, they will suffer from a weak frontcourt again next year.

Moreover, Theo Ratliff, who was signed at the trade deadline, is confirmed to be leaving the team.

Ratliff played a role in the playoffs, but the Grizzlies are not yet strong enough to contend for the championship, and his preferred destination is the Dallas Mavericks, as he is determined to win a title.

Although Pau Gasol's brother Marc Gasol has stated that he will join the NBA next season and is also a player that Xu Ling favors, West does not believe that a white center selected in the second round can bring about any qualitative change.

They absolutely need to add this to their draft.

After several days of tryouts, many big men came into West's sights.

Masley Speights from the University of Florida, Roy Hibbert from Georgetown University, DeAndre Jordan from Texas A&M University, and Javier McKee from the University of Nevada.

Speights plays like David West, Hibbert is reminiscent of the cornerstone super centers of the 90s, and Jordan and McGee possess immense raw talent.

The biggest problem is that these players are all drafted at a higher rate than the top 20 in the first round.

The Grizzlies would have to make a trade to acquire one of them.

However, West has been through dozens of drafts, and he knows that every year some promising players fall to positions that don't belong to them for various reasons.

So, maybe something good will happen if we wait a little longer.

Then, Grizzlies head coach Marc Jaffaroni returned from Los Angeles.

He spent a few days with Xu Ling, and in his words, they talked about many personal topics. Their relationship had undergone a significant breakthrough compared to the purely businesslike interactions during the season.

Jaffaroni believed that his position had become more secure with Xu Ling's statement.

West casually asked, "Mark, what's Eli's opinion on the draft?"

Typically, players are not involved in the team's draft process.

Unless the team gets a very high draft pick, the player may need to make a statement about who he wants to be teammates with.

However, this also depends on the person.

For example, Jordan once hoped that Krause would draft more North Carolina players, but Krause never listened to him.

Even someone as great as Jordan couldn't influence a team's draft, and a legendary GM like West, who had already established his position, certainly wouldn't take the opinions of his players seriously.

He was just asking casually.

“Eli does have some opinions,” Jafaroni chuckled. “He likes Derek Ross.”

A hint of amusement flashed in West's eyes. Happiness was a rare emotion for him. Hearing the head coach's words, he simply said, "Maybe we need Kevin Love more."

Unfortunately, Love, as a great white basketball prospect, had already secured a top-five pick in this year's draft.

This is considered "unreachable" for the grizzly bears.

The only thing they might get from Löw is to trade Xu Ling.

“However, Eli does have other ideas.” Jaffaroni relayed Xu Ling’s words, “He saw an international player named Sergi Ibaka online. He is very athletic, has great talent, and is currently playing in France.”

West had a sudden thought.

Ibaka?
The Grizzlies' scouting department has historically had limited interest in international players. West had heard of Ibaka, but his impression was vague—this young Congolese from afar seemed out of place in his preferred player selection system.

West has always adhered to an almost obsessive talent selection philosophy: he believes in seeing things for yourself. Edited game footage on a computer screen can never replace live observation. He needs to be in the noisy arena, witnessing firsthand the expressions of players in adversity, capturing their exuberance in success and their instinctive reactions when frustrated.

Those unedited, authentic moments are the key to judging a player's true nature.

Despite his doubts, West still pulled up Ibaka's game footage that night.

When the figure on screen displayed astonishing leaping height and cheetah-like lateral speed, he unconsciously leaned forward—the young striker's exceptional athletic talent shone brightly through the screen.

He also noticed the scouts' concerns about Ibaka.

He's from Congo, and his age may not be accurate, but that doesn't stop him from being one of the most worthwhile first-round picks to invest in this year's draft.

West watched a lot of Ibaka's game footage, but still couldn't make a decision. The Grizzlies didn't make any draft commitments to anyone because the 21st pick was too risky.

Any player they fancy could be snatched up first.

November 27st

The NBA draft kicked off at Madison Square Garden.

The Bulls' selection of the first pick and the Heat's selection of the second pick were not surprising at all.

Rose and Beasley remained the top two picks in this year's draft.

The butterfly effect of the time traveler began to emerge.

The SuperSonics were supposed to use the fourth pick to select Russell Westbrook this year, but they traded Ray Allen to the Celtics for Mike Conley last year.

This makes it impossible for them to pursue a second raw point guard who needs significant development in the draft.

They turned their attention to the paint.

Kevin Love is almost synonymous with everything beautiful about basketball.

Selflessness and friendliness can make teammates better.

However, choosing him with the third pick seems a bit excessive.

The SuperSonics and Clippers then swapped draft picks, with the Clippers sending out two second-round picks and using the third pick to select OJ Mayo, while the SuperSonics used the fifth pick to select Kevin Love.

Caught in the middle, the New York Knicks used the fourth pick to select Danilo Gallinari.

Next, it was the Timberwolves' turn to make a choice. They had the sixth pick and wanted a guard the most, so from the outside perspective, their choice was simple.

The options are either an uncertain combo guard like Russell Westbrook, or a certain undersized shooting guard like Eric Gordon.

The Timberwolves dislike inconsistent players, so they selected Eric Gordon.

The Bobcats had no intention of selecting Westbrook afterward, as they didn't have high hopes for the physically imposing player's future and opted for DJ Augustin as originally planned.

The Bucks have no shortage of players at the point guard and shooting guard positions, and Westbrook is once again being sidelined.

When it was the New Jersey Nets' turn to make a selection, they faced a difficult situation. At this point in the draft, the most outstanding talents had either already been selected or had significant flaws. Westbrook was the kind of player who seemed unlikely to develop the skills required for a guard in the NBA.

In this situation, they would rather put their hopes on an inside player like Brook Lopez.

Westbrook, who was ranked in the top nine on various mock drafts before the draft, has fallen all the way to the tenth pick. The Kings failed to recognize his talent, but the Lakers, who had been waiting patiently, made their move at this time. They firmly believed that Westbrook would not fall to the thirteenth pick and that if he continued to fall, the teams behind him would not miss him.

So the Lakers used their 13th pick, plus Mike Miller, to successfully trade for the 10th pick from the Kings and select Russell Westbrook.

After that, the draft continued, but no major changes occurred.

The Grizzlies are also one of the teams waiting for the draft.

They held onto the 21st pick until David Stern called.

Wes looked closely and found that DeAndre Jordan, whom they had previously selected, was still sitting in the little green room.

Before the draft, many media outlets predicted that DeAndre Jordan would be selected in the lottery. However, as the tryouts unfolded, NBA executives discovered that he had nothing but talent.

In his freshman season, he averaged 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block per game. He rarely made moves under the basket, had clumsy footwork, and was prone to traveling violations. His free throw percentage was only 44%. He was a good rim protector but jumped too much. Moreover, he was openly betrayed by his college coach, who went around saying that he was immature and had a problem with his professional attitude. His workout results were only average.

Due to a number of factors, DeAndre Jordan's draft stock has plummeted. The Grizzlies want a big man, but they need a big man who can actually make a difference. If they draft a big man just for the sake of having a big man, the consequences will be dire.

West hesitated at the last minute, the image of Ibaka flashing through his mind.

The Grizzlies activated Plan B, sending their 21st overall pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for the Jazz's 23rd overall pick in the first round and 23rd overall pick in the second round.

The Grizzlies selected Serge Ibaka with the 23rd overall pick in the first round.

When Xu Ling, who was far away in Los Angeles, heard the news, he remained quite calm. After all, the team's roster was full of promising players, and choosing anyone would be a sure win.

Since the final result was Ibaka, it's naturally something to be happy about—it shows that Jerry West did indeed listen to his advice and approve of the choice.

Then, the team selected Bill Walker in the second round, which made Xu Ling chuckle. This guy's most famous act during his school days was that he couldn't hold his urine during a game, so he asked a teammate for a towel during a timeout, stuffed the towel into his private parts to drain the urine, and then continued playing.

"Look," Xu Ling tweeted, "we picked a tough guy whose bladder is so tough!"

(End of this chapter)