LeBron James, your house got robbed.

Chapter 118 The 12-Year Draft (Part 2)

Chen Shuo watched Bill walk onto the stage and hug Stern.

At this time, Beal was not yet the "Big Beal" who would later drive Suns fans crazy.

During his college years, Beal was considered by scouts to be a "genius shooter" with a beautiful shooting form and a soft touch. His shooting motion was very fluid and did not require special time to adjust. He could release the ball quickly after receiving it.

Beal's skillful off-ball movement makes his catch-and-shoot threes and spot-up drives extremely effective.

Off-the-ball skills, readily available talent, and lucrative contracts—these factors are enough to tempt Presti.

During the playoffs, the Thunder's Big Three played together in the crucial moments, but it was still evident that all three needed the ball in their hands.

As the team's offensive weapon, Durant must have sufficient ball possession.

Westbrook and Harden need to share the remaining ball possession, which is why the Thunder have always kept Harden on the bench. By staggering the use of the two players, the conflict over ball possession can be alleviated to some extent.

During the process of the three getting to know each other, Harden made more compromises and tried many off-ball moves.

For a period during the Finals, Harden and Durant combined well on the strong side, reminiscent of Billups and Anthony, creating a good chemistry. However, Westbrook on the other side was completely lost.

Throughout his career, Westbrook has always been a player who needs the ball in his hands.

Presti couldn't possibly miss this problem.

Incompatibility between a team's strongest five players affects the team's ceiling.

Moreover, the Thunder are not only negotiating big contracts with Harden this offseason, but also with Spanish forward Serge Ibaka.

Serge Ibaka is the Thunder's defensive anchor, and his role is significantly more valuable than James Harden's at present.

At this point, Beal's four-year, $400 million annual rookie contract became incredibly valuable.

It's likely that Angie anticipated Presti's mindset before decisively making his move at this time.

Sometimes, understanding the other party's needs is essential to completing a transaction more effectively.

Even considering Harden's current level, this trade by the Celtics can be considered a robbery.

Chen Shuo was very curious about what other assets the Celtics had offered to persuade Presti to make up his mind.

It's important to know that in the original timeline, the Thunder had been negotiating with Harden until late September, and the trade only happened after the negotiations broke down.

In the 2012 NBA draft, the Washington Wizards selected 39 players with the 4th overall pick.

Dion Waiters

This choice also surprised Chen Shuo. Waiters' draft prospects were only 8-15. Originally, the Cavaliers were the unfortunate team that made them select Waiters with the 4th pick.

Chen Shuo originally thought that Waiters would fall back to his normal draft position, but unexpectedly, the Washington Wizards emerged out of nowhere.

Just then, Grant, who had been busy all along, finally got the details of the trade: "The Celtics acquired James Harden in exchange for the third overall pick and Avery Bradley."

Chen Shuo nodded slowly; that made sense.

After the Celtics' Big Three disbanded, Bradley was given ample playing time, and the second-year rookie put on a very impressive defensive performance.

He is basically the prototype of a 3D guard. On the defensive end, he uses a sticky, tenacious defense, and on the offensive end, he mainly focuses on shooting after receiving the ball and fast break layups.

The ability to switch between positions 1 and 2 perfectly suits the Thunder's backcourt needs.

After the Cavaliers won the championship, almost all teams in the league followed Chen Shuo's team-building strategy, using the physical advantage of long rotations to temporarily overexert themselves and improve defensive intensity, which is what the media has been talking about.

Chen Shuo's approach originated from Presti 25 years ago, and now it has been stolen by Presti 12 years ago, which can be considered a kind of cause and effect cycle.

Moreover, Bradley was the 29th pick in the 10 draft and has two years of bonus contracts remaining. It's no wonder that Presti would be interested in such a high-quality addition.

"Harris Barnes, I heard the Warriors also want to trade up to the No. 3 pick, they're also very interested in Beal."

Grant looked at the options on the screen.

Chen Shuo then snapped out of his daze regarding the Celtics' trade.

According to NBATV's draft results, the Trail Blazers selected Damian Lillard with the 5th pick from the Nets, while the Golden State Warriors selected Harrison Barnes with the 6th pick.

The draw for these two teams changed, but the result remained the same.

The screen focused on a tall, black man whose impeccably tailored suit couldn't conceal his explosive physical gifts.

"Thomas Robinson, before the draft everyone thought he would be selected in the top six."

Chen Shuo stared at the face for a while before he remembered that this was the 5th pick originally selected by the Kings, a top-notch athlete with rebounding prowess, explosive power, and immediate impact as a blue-collar player.

The Raptors and Pistons subsequently did not select Thomas Robinson, instead choosing Trent Ross and Andrew Drummond with the 7th and 8th picks, respectively.

Four teams from 5th to 8th in the draft each moved up one position from their original draft order, but their choices remained unchanged.

The next two picks, 9 and 10, both came from the Boston Celtics. The 9th pick belonged to the Timberwolves, while the 10th pick was the Celtics' own pick.

Chen Shuo focused intently on the screen, figuring out how the Celtics would use those two draft picks to reveal their strategy.

This choice took up almost all of the five minutes.

Stern finally emerged from backstage and stepped onto the stage to speak into the microphone: "In the 2012 NBA draft, the Boston Celtics selected a '7' with the 9th overall pick."

Thomas Robinson

Robinson quickly stood up, clearly relieved; this was a major event in their lives.

Chen Shuo's mouth was slightly open.

A hot rookie who slipped through the cracks?

That's a reasonable choice.

Jamison and Kaman both became free agents this season, and the Celtics do indeed need to add a center.

Anji misjudged the situation this time.

wrong.

The king's hat.

The number 9 contract has been traded again.

Chen Shuo looked at Grant, who didn't keep him waiting long this time, providing the details of the deal in less than a minute.

The Kings traded their first-round pick next year and their 36th-round pick this year for the Celtics' 9th pick, which they used to select Thomas Robinson.

Wang Guan probably thinks that drafting Thomas Robinson in the first round next year would be a worthwhile deal.

Neither Robinson nor the King were of interest to Chen Shuo.

What Chen Shuo was really concerned about was what the Celtics were thinking.

Grant glanced down at the message: "Dude, another deal involving the Celtics."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuo subconsciously turned to look at the stage. Stern's voice was calm but tinged with a hint of mockery.

"In the 2012 NBA draft, the Boston Celtics selected the 10th overall pick."

Austin Rivers

Chen Shuo shifted his gaze, staring into Grant's eyes, and said decisively, "Los Angeles Clippers."

Grant nodded in agreement with Chen Shuo's statement: "The Clippers used their 21st pick and the right to swap first-round picks next year as bargaining chips."

Grant gave him a knowing look.

Chen Shuo certainly understood the situation of the Los Angeles Clippers. With Rivers' reputation, he would probably soon be the general manager and coach at the same time.

In this situation, it's not hard to understand why someone would choose their own numbers.

After all, Americans probably don't know much about avoiding suspicion.

Moreover, Austin Rivers is indeed a promising rookie. His highlight performance, such as the game-winning shot against North Carolina on the road for Duke, is enough to put him in the NBA lottery.

However, the Celtics' strategy is worth pondering.

Ainge held back all his assets, probably to give Stevens some time to adapt to and try out the NBA environment before truly starting to build the team next season.

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