Chapter 596: 430 Chapter 596: 430 The 2008 NBA Draft was initially all about Michael Beasley.

Before the college season started, Beasley was the unmovable top pick candidate. Then Derrick Rose shifted the top pick candidate with his great freshman season, profoundly impacting the 2008 NBA Lottery Draft.

Rose was from Chicago, and Chicago had been lacking a figure to revitalize the city’s basketball scene since Jordan’s retirement.

Every ten years comes a cycle, and Rose was supposed to be “the one.”

Therefore, there was a force in the air that insisted the Chicago Bulls had to draw this year’s top draft pick.

Months ago, the Chicago Bulls drew the number one draft pick with the second-lowest probability in history. You have to believe in the League’s fairness and justice; it was certainly not to give the Windy City’s son a LeBron James-like hometown start, just like the chain reaction Yu Fei triggered in Seattle. It was pure luck; the Bulls were just fortunate, you have to believe that.

However, besides the ownership of the top pick, there were some differences with the second and third picks.

The team that drew the second pick was the Portland Trail Blazers, while the team that drew the third pick was the Memphis Grizzlies.

This would change many things.

June 25, 2008
NBA Draft Day
On this day, Yu Fei organized a barbecue party at home, inviting Roy, Brown, and Posey to watch the NBA Draft together.

Roy, eating barbecue, casually asked, “Do you guys know who the team is going to pick?”

Posey, having realized his dream earlier this year, had entered sage mode and didn’t care.

“Anyone’s fine, right?”

“Not necessarily,” Brown said. “They’ve got to pick some good prospects, or else I’ll have to play such long minutes in the playoffs every year. I can’t stand it.”

This is called being shamelessly ungrateful, but no one would call out this already inflated egomaniac.

Before ESPN’s draft show started, draft expert Andy Katz excitedly stated that Chicago would definitely choose Derrick Rose as their top pick.

“Ah ha, how fresh,” Brown said sarcastically. “It’s like saying the sun is going to rise as usual tomorrow.”

Before the draft officially started, an ESPN program showed an old photo of Stern with a mustache, indicating to fans that the NBA Draft had accompanied them on TV for 25 years as an annual program.

It was a generation’s time, during which many things could happen.

However, when Stern appeared on the live broadcast tonight for the first time, he looked as if he had done after every public appearance since the Donaghy era, giving Fei the same sense of resignation as Zhou Chaoxian in “Black Gold” with “if it can’t be done, don’t bother,” when would they see Stern throw Donaghy off a plane to prove the League and the criminal world were incompatible?

Subsequent events had no suspense, as David Stern announced that the Chicago Bulls had chosen Derrick Rose with the first pick. The camera cut to the Bulls’ draft war room, where they awkwardly clapped in celebration.

What was interesting was ESPN’s interview with Rose.

Gregg Sager asked him three questions.

“What are your goals for your rookie season?”

“To become MVP.”

His response broke Posey out of his sage time.

“That’s so arrogant?” Posey said. “Is he serious?”

Sager then asked, “Who is your favorite NBA player?”

“That’s two questions, if you’re asking about retired players, I would say Michael Jordan. If it’s active players, my answer is Frye.”

“Who do you most want to face off in the NBA?”

“Frye,” Rose added. “As a Chicagoan, I prefer MJ.”

The atmosphere at Yu Fei’s home was cheerful.

Roy said to Yu Fei, “Next season, when we play the Bulls, I’ll remind you of this.”

“No need, he has a good memory.” Brown said with a laugh, “Right, Big Fei?”

Yu Fei smiled, “Do you guys really think I’m so narrow-minded? He did say he likes me.”

“But he likes MJ more.”

Yeah, why did he have to like MJ more? Apart from being from Chicago, couldn’t he like me more?

That’s a question that can be asked in person next season.

Afterward, the Trail Blazers’ second pick choice was no surprise at all.

Michael Beasley was selected.

ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy said, “Michael Beasley reminds me of Derrick Coleman and Roy Tarpley (Roy Tarpley C/PF).”

Moreover, Van Gundy said this as a compliment.

You only need to know that Coleman was “praised” by Karl Malone like this: if he worked as hard as I do, he would be the best.

And Tarpley was even banned for life by the NBA due to drug abuse.

So, it was like an evil prophecy, hinting at Beasley’s career prospects.

However, the worst thing might be that Beasley couldn’t even reach the heights of these two players. It wasn’t just his lifestyle that fundamentally shook his draft stock, but his talent.

From his senior high school year to his entire freshman college season, Beasley’s listed height was six foot ten (208CM), which out to be a blatant lie exposed at the training camp, with Beasley’s actual height being only six foot seven inches (201CM).

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This meant shifting from the ideal size of a power forward down to that of a small forward.

“When I see him, it’s like watching the Titanic set sail,” Posey entered sage mode once again, “There’s not a speck of light in this kid’s eyes; he’s bound for failure.”

Yu Fei couldn’t help but to argue, “What about T-MAC? He doesn’t have ‘light’ in his eyes either.”

Posey thought for a moment, “That’s exactly why he’ll never make it past the first round.”

Then, the Memphis Grizzlies, holding the third pick, didn’t need to go through the complicated trade of the past life to select O.J. Mayo, the so-called heir apparent to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

Despite the tempting title, for Mayo, this was already a “demotion”; he was once touted as the fusion of Kobe and LeBron, but as years passed, everyone realized he had just peaked too early, so expectations were lowered.

Next, the Miami Heat, with the fourth pick, selected Kevin Love from UCLA.

It was another attempt at tactic and strategy revolution by Riley.

Last season, on the trade deadline, he sent Marion to Seattle and got Rashard Lewis in return, contributing to the Supersonics’ championship win, while the Heat tanked after Wade’s season-ending injury.

Riley had been gathering a host of shooters on the team, preparing for a robust comeback with Wade the following season.

In the entire lottery area, the person most deeply affected by the time traveler’s effect was Russell Westbrook.

Apart from Sam Presti, not a single GM considered Westbrook as one of the top five picks of the 2008 NBA Draft. In fact, Presti only viewed Westbrook as the second choice after Derrick Rose.

But others didn’t see it that way.

To other lottery holding teams, Westbrook was like the guard version of DeAndre Jordan, as a guard tall and strong, with beast-like athleticism and physicality, but at UCLA he played as a shooting guard, and was believed to lack the court vision and playmaking ability of a point guard.

He had a 10% chance of becoming a taller, stronger Kevin Johnson but a 90% chance of turning into Shannon Brown.

Investing a top-five pick on him was simply madness.

Thus, Westbrook wasn’t selected until the eighth pick, by the Timberwolves.

Kevin McHale said, “I appreciate his energy and audacity as a player.”

As the draft continued beyond the lottery, in the Supersonics’ draft war room, Sam Presti found that there were still people left in the green room who hadn’t been selected.

DeAndre Jordan was being overlooked.

At that moment, Presti remembered Yu Fei’s advice.

Back then, Presti thought DeAndre would be a surefire lottery pick, even though he was extremely raw on both ends of the court, his physical qualities and athletic talent were just too impressive.

It could be said, he didn’t play basketball very well, but he could run and jump, and those two things alone could get him a spot in the NBA.

Even though the draft had reached past the fifteenth pick, Presti still couldn’t believe they would have a chance to pick DeAndre.

Then, the twentieth pick passed.

DeAndre was still there.

Was there some major, undisclosed issue with him?

Presti immediately used his network to inquire about DeAndre’s situation and found that teams doubted his ambition; they felt he lacked the necessary drive, had a poor relationship with teammates and the coaching staff in college, and played only 20 minutes during the entire March Madness.

Raw skills, poor temperament, and lack of ambition.

These factors indeed could turn an immensely talented player from a pride of heaven to a pariah of the streets.

But then the twenty-fifth pick passed, and he was still there!

???

Presti started to feel perplexed.

If weak teams were hesitant to take such a risk, that was one thing, but had strong teams gone mad as well?

To select the draft class’s most athletically gifted big man with the last first-round pick, was there any need for hesitation?

When the Spurs used the 27th pick of the first round to select George Hill, the choice came to the Supersonics.

In the green room, only one person remained–it was DeAndre Jordan.

Presti hesitated for just a second between Jordan and Donte Greene.

“We’ll use the 28th pick of the first round to select DeAndre Jordan!” Presti instructed the front, “Repeat, DeAndre Jordan!”

“From Texas A&M University, DeAndre Jordan?”

“Yes, DeAndre Jordan!”

After that, everything fell into place.

“In the 2008 NBA Draft,” David Stern purposefully announced, “world champion Seattle Supersonics select DeAndre Jordan, from Texas A&M University, with the 28th pick of the first round!”

At that moment, fans of the Supersonics in front of their televisions felt an indescribable comfort throughout their bodies.

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This felt just right.

Wait, who did we just pick?

Never mind, it’s not important.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are your 2008 world champion Seattle Supersonics!

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