Reform is like a knife, clean and sharp, but it will cause pain; reform is also medicine, although it is bitter, it focuses on the future. When corruption prevails in the league, fair competition and healthy competition are threatened; when fans complain and game ratings plummet, NBA officials realize: It’s time for reform!
The reform started with the draft system. In the 2017 off-season, driven by President Xiao Hua, the NBA Board of Governors passed a plan to change the lottery drawing method. The new plan greatly reduced the number of bad balls. The probability of the team getting a good pick!
On May 15, 2019, the annual NBA Lottery draw was held in Chicago. This was also the first year that the new draw method was implemented! NBA Vice President Mark Tatum walked up to the podium with a smile. In his hand was a thick stack of envelopes, which contained signs with the team logos of each team, and 15 lottery team representatives (due to the different ownership of the draft picks). It was confirmed that representatives from the 76ers and Celtics were present) were arranged on the left and right sides behind the rostrum. Mourning, a veteran of the field, was relatively calm, while Kuzma was a little shy. I used to joke that I was the most fashionable among the representatives, but when I actually came to the scene, it was really not a good thing to have so many pairs of eyes staring at me!
The lottery results were announced from back to front. The Celtics, Heat and Hornets did not create miracles. The eleventh pick should belong to the Lakers according to the probability ranking, but Tatum raised it. The new president Rosas showed an envious expression on the Timberwolves' sign. He realized that the Lakers had successfully grabbed the top four picks! The camera panned to Kuzma. It was obvious that the young man knew that he had got a big deal. He originally wanted to remain serious, but finally couldn't hold back his joy. He lowered his head and grinned!
Tatum continued to announce the lottery results. The Wizards got the ninth pick, which means that the Grizzlies and Pelicans also entered the top four. There is only one seat left in the top four, and the team with the highest probability Getting more and more nervous, they were praying silently: Don’t call your team’s name! The Hawks and Bulls continued to pick out the picks of each team one by one, and finally came to the sixth pick. The Suns' sign was raised. The probability of getting the No. 1 pick was originally 14%, but they were squeezed into this position. Ayton frowned slightly, his expression was extremely complicated, a bit incredible, and seemed to have a bit of pity and regret!
In the end, the Pelicans got the No. 1 pick, and the No. 2 pick went to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Knicks kept the No. 3 pick. Although they were not satisfied, at least they did not fall out of the top four. The Lakers made a strong counterattack to win seven games. Ranked 11th, with the probability of the No. 1 pick ranking 11th, he got the fourth pick! There are three teams advancing to the top four with a low probability, which shows that the reform has begun to bear fruit! Xiao Hua should be smiling with satisfaction!
One thing is for sure, no matter who the No. 1 pick is signed to, it will definitely be Zion Williams! Compared with other rookies, he has a crushing advantage! The result of this draw also brings more variables to the off-season!
The Pelicans get the No. 1 pick, where will Davis go? There are three solutions:
The first is to promote the combination of thick eyebrows + Cai En. The thick eyebrow is already 26 years old and has officially entered the peak period of his career. The reason why he is clamoring to leave is because he does not want to wait and wants to win now. Zion is very strong, but can he adapt to the NBA and fulfill his talents here? No one can guarantee that this will take time to prove, and the thick eyebrows are not willing to wait, so this combination will most likely not appear;
In the second option, the Pelicans use the No. 1 pick in exchange for stars who have proven their strength, giving Davis' hope of winning convinced him to stay.
There are two difficulties with this method: First, the two sides have been so tense before, Davis already hates this team, and even if there is a suitable new player, he may not be willing to stay; in addition, there are stars who can impress Davis. There are only a handful of them, and even fewer other teams are willing to put them on the negotiating table;
The third option is to use Davis with big eyebrows in exchange for young potential stocks and draft picks, and focus on Zion is rebuilding, and Griffin, the team’s new vice president of basketball operations, is an expert in this area. Taking all things into consideration, this is the most likely and reliable option!
Gasol was sent away in the middle of the season in exchange for the younger Valanciunas. This deal did not help the team win more wins. Gasol played in 53 games. , 21 wins and 32 losses; Valanciunas played in 19 games, 8 wins and 11 losses. This result was within the Grizzlies' expectations! The reason for this is because the combination of Xiaojia and Grizzly Bear is no longer possible!
When the head coach of this team was Fizdale, Gasol had a disagreement with the head coach. Fizdale left Gasol alone in the crucial fourth quarter of a game. What he did on the bench became a reminder to get out of class. In other words, at that time, the Grizzlies still had hope, and they were still willing to stand behind Xiaojia! Bickerstaff took over at the critical moment and became a regular in the summer of 2018. The healthy Conley and the healthy Gasol still couldn't get results, so the above transaction happened!
As for Bickerstaff, he was dismissed as soon as the regular season ended this season, and it was less than a year before he became a full-time player. Some people speculate that he failed to perform well, especially since this year's draft picks are only top-eight protected. , even though he had to be sent to the Celtics if he fell out of the top eight, he still persisted in winning in the last game of the regular season. This move completely angered the senior management! In fact, if not for the blessing of the goddess of fate and the second pick, the draft pick would really belong to the Celtics!
When it comes to the Lakers, you have to mention James, and when you mention James, you have to mention the championship! The reason why Magic and Walton were dismissed is very simple. The results were lower than expected and there was no hope of winning the championship! After missing out on Monty Williams and having a falling out with championship coach Tyronn Lue, amidst the criticism from the outside world, the management quickly cut through the mess and finalized the Pacers coach Vogel, who once led the team against James! Can Vogel save the Lakers? Before answering this question, we must first look at who the team can find? Can you take advantage of tens of millions in salary space?
As can be seen from the chart above, the Lakers ranked 11th in probability in this draw. In other words, the team did not expect Kuzma to bring good results to the team at all. News, but the good news has indeed arrived, no wonder Kuzma would snicker! In addition to attracting superstars like Durant and Leonard to join, trade negotiations with the Pelicans are still one of the ways to strengthen!
Didn’t it mean that the two sides have stopped talking? We must believe in a truth: There is no business that cannot be negotiated, it just depends on whether your bargaining chips are enough! Last season, the Lakers' bargaining chip was only young potential stocks, so what about this year's No. 4 pick? Under the constant pressure of Davis, if the Pelicans can't find a better trading plan, they may of course take advantage of the Lakers!
Originally, the Knicks had the highest probability of getting the No. 1 pick. The last time they got their wish was 34 years ago. As the representative of the lottery, Ewing originally hoped to bring good things to the team. It was a pity that they missed out on the No. 1 pick in the end. This also meant that they would miss Zion. There was news that Zion had even been prepared to join the Knicks before, but now it seems that he can only go to New Orleans!
The Knicks’ 19-20 season salary book currently only has 36 million US dollars, and the remaining space is enough to absorb two superstars at the same time. Irving and Durant are their dreams. If they can get the No. 1 pick, If we can bring Zion to New York, we will naturally be much closer to our dream, but now it seems that the difficulty of attracting superstars to join has increased several times!
I still remember that in 2009, the Knicks, holding the 8th overall pick, watched helplessly as the Warriors snatched away their favorite Curry with the 7th overall pick. At that moment, I seemed to be able to hear The wail of New York.
Today, Curry has grown into the league's top star, and the Knicks' pain can be imagined! Later, he finally managed to train Porzingis, but as a result, he was unwilling to stay in New York and insisted on leaving. Although Smith was exchanged for him, it was not enough to make up for the loss! To make a vivid metaphor, Smith and Porzingis are like DeRozan and Leonard. There is a gap!
Missing Zion this time, I wonder if the future will be as heartbreaking as missing Curry!
James’s departure took away popularity, championships, and endless wealth! In the past, Quicken Loans Arena was bustling with traffic; today, Quicken Loans Arena is empty! The youngster Sexton is good, but it is difficult for him to become a traffic star, and he cannot lead the team into the playoffs. He originally wanted to complete the reconstruction with a good pick, and the probability of the No. 1 pick was 14%, but he fell to the fifth overall pick! Little Gilbert came here again to represent the team, but could only watch the original Uncle Griffin bring the No. 1 pick to the Pelicans. The pace of reconstruction is delayed, and next season will still be weak!
The Suns at least have Ayton and Booker, and the Hawks have Trae Young. Youth represents the future, and youth represents hope! The Bulls, the hosts of today's ceremony, looked at the No. 7 pick in their hands and said silently: See you in the front row of the lottery for next season's draw ceremony!
Jazz center Gobert tweeted immediately after the lottery ceremony: We just witnessed the end of the mess. We should be happy about this!
Gobert wrote the voice of NBA players and Xiao Hua! I believe that this is just the first step in NBA reform, and the league will promote more reforms in the future, such as playoff ranking issues, too many back-to-back games in the regular season, referee standards, player salary issues, player teaming issues, etc. wait! As an NBA fan, I feel happy to see the league moving in a good direction!