Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

In 2001, the NBA's attitude toward high school players had greatly improved.

This is also thanks to the very good performance of high school players who have entered the NBA in recent years, which has reduced people's prejudice and discrimination against high school players.

Among the high school players who have joined the NBA in recent years, many star players have been born.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to two consecutive championships and is the most popular star in the league; Garnett has been regarded as the league's number one power forward for two consecutive years; Tracy McGrady's explosion last season allowed people to see the potential of a superstar. figure.

In addition to these three star-level players, Jermaine O'Neal, who has not had many playing opportunities before, also recorded a near-double-double this season, and Rashard Lewis, after two years of hard work, has also secured his position. Supersonic position.

Sports have always been a world of the jungle, where winners and losers are the real winners. As long as you can achieve good results, you can be recognized no matter where you are from.

Moreover, these high school players were only 17 or 18 years old when they entered the NBA. Compared with those players who entered the NBA in their junior and senior years, high school players obviously have higher growth potential and greater plasticity. .

It can be seen from the data that when high school players first enter the NBA, their statistics are often relatively low in the first year, but after two or three years, when they adapt to NBA games, their statistics will begin to grow rapidly.

For many teams in the rebuilding period, their rebuilding process often takes several years, so there is plenty of time to wait for young players to grow into stars.

Precisely because there have been many successful cases in the past few years, after entering the 21st century, the NBA no longer excludes high school players.

Many teams regard high school players as an investment in the future, or simply as a scratch-off ticket. Whether they pick Kobe Bryant with the 13th pick or Tracy McGrady with the 9th pick, it is a huge profit for the team. Pen!

And in 2001, the first high school champion in NBA history was about to be born!

From the perspective of future generations, 2001 was definitely a big draft year.

Players participating include Arenas, Zach Randolph, Joe Johnson, Shane Battier, Jason Richardson, Gerald Wallace, Richard Jephson, Brand Haywood, Local North American players such as Dalembert are participating, as well as international players such as Gasol, Parker, Okur, and Radmanovic.

However, this year's top pick has locked in the so-called "three treasures of high school" members in advance, namely Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler and Kwame Brown.

It can be seen that the NBA still prefers big players.

In fact, in terms of strength, Gasol can definitely become the number one pick. At that time, Gasol, known as the Spanish genius, was already quite influential in the European arena.

It's a pity that Gasol is not an American, so he fell to the third pick.

The "Three Treasures of High School" can be regarded as the popular candidates for the No. 1 pick in the draft. They must be players with excellent strength and potential. If you look back at the draft reports of these three people that year, it is indeed the case. They are all super players. Superstar template.

Perhaps the scouts at that time were also blinded by Kobe, Garnett and others, believing that players who were dominant in high school could eventually grow into star players after entering the NBA, even if they had a brief period of discomfort.

As the capital of the United States, Washington has a very good sports atmosphere. But in this city, the Wizards are not the most popular team, and they can't even make it into the top three.

The number one sport in the United States is football. The Washington Redskins are a veteran team in the NFL. Their popularity is naturally much greater than that of the Wizards. It can be said that the Redskins are the most popular team in Washington.

In addition, the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball and the Washington Capitals of ice hockey both have a competitive relationship with the Wizards.

Even in basketball, the Wizards are not the only ones in Washington. The two strongest teams in the NCAA, the University of Maryland and Georgetown University, are both in Washington. With Americans' love for college basketball, the popularity of these two college teams, Even above the Wizards.

Therefore, the Wizards' market has always been relatively stretched.

Of course, the main reason is the team's poor performance. If the Wizards can win several championships, the ball market will definitely not collapse.

A few years ago, the Wizards traded for Webber, hoping to improve the team's record.

The arrival of Webb did help the Wizards taste the playoffs. However, the NBA at that time was dominated by Jordan. In front of Jordan's Bulls, any team could only surrender obediently.

In the 1998 season, the Wizards traded Webber away, and the team fell into a trough again.

Since the NBA is owned by Jordan, the owner of the Wizards made a decision to invite Jordan over.

Selling 5 shares to Jordan for 20 million U.S. dollars is definitely a fire sale, but as long as Jordan can come, the 20 million U.S. dollars will not be a loss.

And Jordan was not willing to just be a player. He always wanted to own a team and be the owner of the team. This was no secret in the NBA at the time.

So the Wizards hit it off with Jordan and completed the deal.

With Jordan's blessing, the Wizards, a relatively diverse market, also instantly gained media attention. Everyone began to care about the Wizards' next operation and wanted to see how the Wizards could attract people under Jordan's operation. How many stars have joined.

Moreover, this year's Wizards also won the No. 1 pick, which is even more interesting.

In the Wizards' training hall, many young rookies are undergoing trial training here.

Originally, in a market as diverse as the Wizards, probably no well-known rookies would be willing to try out. Excellent players all hope to go to a big market so that they can make more money; or to win a championship. A strong team with great strength will try to win the championship trophy first.

However, because of Jordan's joining and the No. 1 pick, the Wizards became a favorite among rookies.

The title of No. 1 pick is still very attractive. The No. 1 pick selected by Jordan holds the golden key to enter the NBA.

On the side of the court, Jordan was sitting in the front row of the bench, looking at the rookies on the court who were trying out, holding a notebook in his hand, and recording something from time to time.

Whether it was scouts or reporters, the focus was not on the court, but on Jordan.

Which player Jordan looks at, reporters will focus on. If Jordan writes a few words in his notebook, a reporter can write a piece of news about Jordan paying attention to a certain rookie!

Kwame Brown and Tyson Chandler are also among the players on trial.

The Wizards staff walked up and said to Kwame Brown: "Kwame, wait a minute, we are going to arrange a one-on-one duel between you and Tyson Chandler!"

"One-on-one?" Kwame Brown suddenly frowned, with a very repulsive expression on his face.

Kwame Brown is a popular candidate for the No. 1 pick. It is normal for such a player to refuse some trial training projects that he does not like. There will even be many outstanding rookies in the future who are not even willing to participate.

The more trial training programs there are, the easier it is to expose one's shortcomings, although one can showcase one's strengths. Therefore, facing trial training, the attitudes of popular players and players who are not interested in the draft are completely different.

Popular players want to participate in as few workouts as possible to avoid exposing too many weaknesses. Because as favorites, they will be selected with high picks. If too many shortcomings are exposed, it will lower the draft picks.

Players who are not interested in it hope to participate in more trial trainings in order to show their strengths to the team. If they perform well in any trial training and are chosen by a certain team, they can at least find a job in the NBA. job.

What's more, this kind of one-on-one duel is a comprehensive examination of the players' abilities, and it is easier to expose their shortcomings. For potential candidates for the No. 1 pick, winning will not improve the draft. Should the player be the No. 1 pick? The No. 1 pick, if he loses, will be lowered in the draft and become the No. 2 pick or No. 3 pick. This is more or less worth the loss.

Therefore, Kwame Brown was very unhappy about the one-on-one duel.

The staff of the Wizards also saw that Kwame Brown did not want to participate in the one-on-one duel, so he continued: "This one-on-one duel is Mr. Jordan's request. If you refuse, I think Mr. Jordan will Will be very disappointed with you!”

Hearing that it was Jordan's request, Kwame Brown nodded and agreed even though he was full of dissatisfaction.

The situation is similar on Chandler's side, and he doesn't want to go one-on-one with Kwame Brown.

But after learning that this was Jordan's request, Chandler did not dare to refuse and immediately agreed.

If it were anyone else who dared to make one-on-one demands on the two top pick candidates, they would have been kicked away long ago!

But Jordan is different. Jordan's words are like an edict in the NBA. I guess if Jordan asked the players to take off their pants and run naked on the court, some people would do it.

If nothing else, at the very least, news like "A certain player ran streaking on the court at Jordan's request" will definitely become popular in major media across the United States. By then, he will be nicknamed "Streaking Brother" and go on all kinds of gossips. Shows can also receive a lot of advertisements.

The result of this one-on-one duel was Kwame Brown beating Tyson Chandler.

At this time, Kwame Brown was slightly taller than Tyson Chandler, physically stronger, and technically superior. Tyson Chandler was completely beaten and had no temper.

Jordan on the sidelines nodded with satisfaction. He had already decided to appoint Kwame Brown as this year's No. 1 pick.

Although he reluctantly participated in the duel, Kwame Brown was still in a good mood after defeating his biggest competitor.

Kwame Brown returned to the hotel where he was staying. As soon as he entered the lobby, he saw a bald man walking forward.

"Hello, Mr. Brown, my name is James Bond, CEO of Feiyue Sports. Are you interested in chatting with me?"

This bald man is James Bond.

Although Kwame Brown doesn’t know James Bond, he is no stranger to Leap Sports.

Now that the CEO of Feiyue Sports came to visit him in person, Kwame Brown knew with his buttocks that he was here to talk about advertising endorsements!

At this moment, Kwame Brown couldn't help but think of the story of Nike and Jordan.

At that time, Phil Knight, the president of Nike, personally approached Jordan and persuaded Jordan to become the spokesperson of Nike, and then there was the glory of Nike for decades to come.

Now, Kwame Brown feels the same script has fallen on him.

Kwame Brown doesn't care if Feiyue Sports can be as brilliant as Nike. What he cares about is that he can copy Jordan's success and become the first person in the NBA!

In the NBA, countless point guards have dreams of becoming the second Jordan, and Kwame Brown, an inside player, also has the same dream.

The news that Feiyue Sports was in contact with Kwame Brown spread quickly.

Soon, revelations from so-called "sources" appeared in the media. According to "sources", Feiyue Sports is very fond of Kwame Brown, believing that Kwame Brown has a strong body like Karl Malone, solid skills like Larry Bird, equally comprehensive Chris Webber, and Jason Kidd. ’s organizational skills, Tim Duncan’s calmness and maturity, and Michael Jordan’s leadership qualities.

Moreover, Kwame Brown is still a high school player. He is so young and will definitely become the ruler of the NBA in the next fifteen years!

This bragging is a bit big, more than exaggerated, it has reached the level of shamelessness.

But this kind of news that touches on the hot spots of star players is what the media likes to report the most.

Even if you praise Brown as a very good rookie, after all, you haven't entered the NBA yet, how many people know you? Just by reporting Kwame Brown’s name, a few viewers would pay attention to the news.

Taking advantage of the popularity of the stars, the situation is different. Karl Malone and Larry Bird are all famous players in the NBA. Kidd is currently the number one point guard in the NBA. What’s more, Jordan’s name is known to everyone. When you mention the names of these big-name stars, Only readers will pay attention to this news.

Overnight, Kwame Brown was praised all over the place. Before he even entered the NBA, he seemed to have become an epic superstar!

At the same time, other sports brands have also taken action, just because Feiyue Sports is very interested in Kwame Brown.

Feiyue Sports' vision in selecting spokespersons has long been confirmed. Currently, Feiyue Sports has not failed in selecting spokespersons. Nowadays, all sports brands in the United States know that any young player who is favored by Feiyue Sports will definitely become a star.

What's more, there are two high school players, Kobe and Tracy McGrady, as precedents. This shows that Feiyue Sports is unique in selecting high school players.

Now Kwame Brown, who is also a high school player, has been spotted by Feiyue Sports. Doesn’t it mean that Kwame Brown will become the next superstar!

Since then, other sports brands have also begun to contact Kwame Brown.

At the Nike headquarters, Dyson also immediately learned about Feiyue Sports’ contact with Kwame Brown, and also learned that the president of Feiyue Sports went to meet Kwame Brown in person.

"It seems that Feiyue Sports is very interested in Kwame Brown. Will he be the next superstar?" Dyson said.

"Mr. Dyson, according to the news we have received, many sports brands have begun to contact Kwame Brown. If we want to sign Kwame Brown, it is best to do it as soon as possible." The assistant said.

"Don't be anxious yet. The Wizards have just completed a trial training with Kwame Brown. Jordan should have a better understanding of Kwame Brown's situation. I think we should ask his opinion first before making a decision!"

After Dyson finished speaking, he took the phone and dialed Jordan's phone number.

"Hey, Michael, is it convenient to talk now? There are some things I want to talk to you about."

Dyson is a veteran of Nike. He has known Jordan for many years, so he can easily contact Jordan.

Dyson asked Jordan directly if the Wizards would select Kwame Brown with the No. 1 pick.

Ordinarily this should be something that needs to be kept secret, but Jordan and Nike originally wore the same pair of pants, so Jordan did not hide it. He directly told Dyson that the Wizards would use the No. 1 pick to select Kwame Brown.

Dyson then asked Kwame Brown about his strength and whether he really had unlimited potential as rumored in the news.

This question is really difficult for Jordan. As the best basketball player in the world, Jordan naturally knows that those words in the media are all bragging!

Karl Malone's strength, Larry Bird's skills, Chris Webber's comprehensiveness, Jason Kidd's organizational skills, Tim Duncan's calmness and maturity, Kwame Brown has none of these things!

Not to mention my leadership qualities. Apart from me, Michael Jordan, who else in the world has that?

But Jordan can't say that Kwame Brown is a rookie. Otherwise, if he chooses a rookie as the No. 1 pick, wouldn't it look like he has no vision?

So Jordan had no choice but to bite the bullet and praise Kwame Brown.

However, Jordan's praise for Kwame Brown strengthened Dyson's determination to sign Kwame Brown.

"Nike signs Kwame Brown for $80 million!" 》

The day before the draft, this news appeared in the American media, as if to tell the United States that Kwame Brown has locked up the No. 1 pick in this class.

Li Weidong looked at the newspaper in his hand with a deep smile on his face.

"80 million US dollars, I hope Nike can remember it for a long time in the future!" Li Weidong sighed lightly, and then called James Bond.

When James Bond appeared in front of Li Weidong, he had an unhappy expression on his face.

"What's wrong? You look like you're in a bad mood!" Li Weidong said.

"We were ridiculed by several tabloids!" James Bond continued; "Some local newspapers in Los Angeles said that we made a major mistake in not signing Kwame Brown. The tone seemed to say that we missed a hundred million. !”

"Maybe Kwame Brown is a parallel importer? We will have saved 100 million by then!" Li Weidong then asked: "Has Arenas been contacted?"

James Bond immediately replied: "Although I have not contacted him personally, I have contacted his coach, and I can contact him personally through the coach."

Li Weidong said: "I estimate that Arenas will be selected in the early second round. After the draft results come out, we will immediately tell Arenas that we are willing to give him a long-term endorsement contract!"

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