Chapter 30 Intercept!
Therefore, after the draft tryouts of each team were over, the NBA headquarters gave the Chinese media a special area and benefits during the draft. At the time of tomorrow's draft, if the NBA TV and Xinhua News Agency want to interview any player, they will fully cooperate and bring the person to the venue. If they want to interview any team, that team will absolutely fully cooperate.
Of course, the message Xu Jicheng revealed to Zhang Hao was that they had been looking for Zhang Hao for a long time. He didn't say anything else. The only thing he said was that the league officials attached great importance to him in this draft.
Zhang Hao is already quite experienced in facing reporters. During his previous tryouts, there were several reporters interviewing him at each stop.
However, Zhang Hao was still surprised that the two major domestic media giants came together. Combining the things he learned, he speculated that so many teams invited him to try out, in addition to his personal performance in the dunk contest and the Adidas training camp, could it be more because he is a Chinese player?
Although it is not known how much positive impact this condition will have on his draft, he is definitely enjoying the benefits.
Originally, due to the times, Zhang Hao didn't think he could get any benefits because he was a Chinese player. In those days, the NBA overseas market was still undeveloped and he couldn't enjoy the benefits brought by the market. But now it seems that he should be able to enjoy some benefits.
The editors-in-chief and chief editors left after meeting Zhang Hao. They came today to discuss cooperation with the NBA officials. After the negotiation, they came to visit the work area arranged for them by the league and happened to meet Zhang Hao.
Originally, an interview with Zhang Hao was scheduled for tomorrow, but those "officials" would not show up in person.
In China, the person in charge of a subdistrict office has official authority...
Zhang Hao was actually thankful for this. Athletes like them usually come into contact with the media, and they are actually in contact with those people working on the front lines. It is best not to have any relationship with those officials. It is not good to make enemies with them, and it is not good to make friends with them either. It is best not to know them.
"Aix, this is the phone number of my office in the United States. This time we came here not only to report on your draft, but also to establish our first office in New York to cooperate with the NBA. This is my phone number in China..."
Xu Jicheng was really exhausted recently. He was the first to report Zhang Hao. Later, Zhang Hao became famous. The officials of the Sports News Department of Xinhua News Agency thought that he had a way to contact Zhang Hao, but he really couldn't. He didn't leave any contact information last time. There weren't many ways to contact a person these days...
This time, Zhang Hao also gave Xu Jicheng the address of his apartment and the public telephone number of his landlord's wife, and he would update it if there were any changes in the future.
Although the interview was scheduled for tomorrow, since they had met now, Xu Jicheng also took the opportunity to interview him in order to add some material to his new book.
Xu Jicheng mainly asked Zhang Hao why he came to the United States to study in high school, his previous basketball experience, etc.
Zhang Hao also answered briefly and did not reveal too much about his family. He said that his father liked basketball, and that he came to the United States after being spotted by the coach of Inglewood High School after participating in an unofficial youth basketball game.
Later on, we naturally talked about tomorrow's draft.
"As a high school student participating in the draft, I learned during the interview that some teams have the idea of selecting you, but they think that since you are still a high school student, the risk is too great. This should also be a risk for you. Do you think you can be selected tomorrow?"
This problem is the dilemma Zhang Hao is facing now. Indeed, for a high school student to participate in the draft is a risk, and a huge risk, both for the team and for him personally.
"I am very confident in myself, but I can't control how they choose. I can only say that I am ready to step onto the NBA court..."
The impromptu interview ended quickly. Xu Jicheng added a paragraph in the special chapter "Dreaming of NBA" in his book "NBA 50 Years": He is not as overly modest as domestic athletes. He is full of confidence, but also very polite...
The interview with domestic reporters was just a small episode for Zhang Hao and would not have any impact on his draft tomorrow. Although he felt that he should have enjoyed some benefits as a Chinese player, the Chinese market has very little impact on NBA teams at this time, so little that most teams don't care at all and are willing to give him a tryout opportunity, but that's all.
The night before the draft passed uneventfully, with nothing special happening, just like when Zhang Hao was trying out for the draft.
The next morning, Zhang Hao woke up early and saw the subtitles flash by saying that he had 365 days left to live. He knew that a new day had begun.
Tonight's draft will determine his future fate!
…
…
At 8 p.m. on June 27, 1995, the NBA Draft began on time at Madison Square Garden in New York.
It was big news at the beginning, when the Warriors actually selected Joe Smith, and the Nuggets traded for the Clippers' No. 2 pick and selected Antonio McDyess.
Zhang Hao was sitting in the player's lounge... He was not invited to the scene. The NBA invited a total of 16 players to enter the "Green Room" this year. These Green Room members were voted by the managers of NBA teams, and he was not included.
Only players in the green room can enter the draft site to wait, and they can also bring family and friends to the scene.
High school student candidates like Zhang Hao don’t receive such good treatment, and not only him, but also the skinny guy next to him.
"What the hell are you doing here to join in the fun? I hope you can be selected, otherwise your crying will be useless..." Garnett's mouth is always unclean, but this time there is a hint of worry in his tone.
The reason why Garnett chose to skip college was not that he didn't want to go to college, but that he couldn't get into college because of his poor grades. Of course, he didn't have the money to study even if he was admitted. Predicting that he would have a draft pick, he had no choice but to participate in the draft. He initially thought he could enter the lottery zone, thank God, and he didn't expect McHale to promise to select him with the 5th pick.
But he felt that it was irrational for Zhang Hao to skip college and participate in the draft.
Zhang Hao didn't want to explain the reason and said, "Instead of worrying about me, you might as well tidy up your clothes. I guess you will be selected soon."
Garnett was very confident about being selected. Although he did not enter the green room, he had already received a commitment from a team.
Zhang Hao and Garnett don't get along well. Although they don't dislike each other as much as they did at the beginning, they are not the type who can chat with each other just by sitting together.
Instead, Pierce and Garnett, who came to join in the fun, started chatting.
"Kevin, what do you guys think? Go straight to the NBA after high school?"
"I have no choice. I didn't get into college, so I can only take a gamble. I don't know what that guy is thinking..."
The entire lounge was very noisy. There were several such lounges in Madison Square Garden . All of them were rookies participating in the draft. Almost all of them brought their friends, and some brought their agents. Garnett brought his agent, Fry Shell, whom he had just signed.
Zhang Hao ignored the trolls and chatterboxes around him and looked at the large color TV in the lounge, which was broadcasting the opening of the talent show live.
The camera swept across the members of the green room, including Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Joe Smith, Antonio McDyess, Damon Stoudemire... a total of 16 players.
After a while, Zhang Hao saw David Stern, whose hair was still gray, come on the court, and boos from the audience were heard on TV.
Zhang Hao didn’t know why, but New York fans seemed to particularly like booing David Stern.
When there are inside players, they are selected first. Joe Smith and Antonio McDyess were selected in the first two picks. The Warriors selected Joe Smith with the first pick, and the Clippers selected Antonio McDyess with the second pick.
Zhang Hao didn't have a deep impression of the latter, but he remembered that the former caused the Timberwolves, where Garnett was, to not have a first-round draft pick for five years.
Zhang Hao was expecting something good to happen to him at every pick and was watching the draft intently.
The players participating in the draft can be roughly divided into three types. One type is those like Garnett who have received draft promises.
One type is those who have no chance of being selected and just try their luck.
These two types of people have a very relaxed mentality, and they are the ones who bring about the noisy environment.
There is another category, people like Zhang Hao, who have a chance to be selected, and the chance is not low, but he is not sure when he will be selected, and he may also be eliminated. There are many people like him in their lounge.
When it came to the 5th pick, as Zhang Hao expected, Garnett did not show any surprise when he heard the exclamations of people around him.
Listening to discordant voices such as "That high school student was selected with the 5th pick", "Are the Timberwolves crazy?", etc., Garnett remained calm and even wanted to laugh out loud - envy, jealousy!
The Timberwolves had already made a promise during the tryout. Although Garnett was not surprised, he was very excited to be selected. When the staff came to take him to the site, he left a message to Zhang Hao: "I'm going to the NBA first and waiting for you."
Having said that, Garnett is not so optimistic about Zhang Hao's draft journey.
In other words, Garnett got the draft commitment from the Timberwolves, otherwise he would not be calm. His experience when trying out with multiple teams was actually similar to that of Zhang Hao. Because of their status as high school students, they were not taken seriously from the beginning. Sometimes, no matter how well he performed, those teams would have many concerns and turn a blind eye to his performance, let alone a player who plays without the ball like Zhang Hao?
Well, not only the fans and management of each team, but even other players who are participating in the draft think that the Timberwolves are crazy for choosing him.
Zhang Hao looked at Garnett's departing back. At this moment, he deeply felt the envy that was rising in him.
What else could he do? At this moment, he could do nothing but wait for his turn...
On the other side, at the draft site, the 76ers' draft office.
John Lucas thought Stackhouse, who was selected by his team, was a good choice, but he still couldn't forget the high school student who was too good at mid-range shooting.
Fortunately, their boss kept his word this time and got back the second pick in the second round. John Lucas hoped that Zhang Hao would not be selected before then.
In the Lakers draft office, the Grizzlies selected Bryant Lewis with the sixth pick, and the Raptors selected Damon Stoudemire with the seventh pick. The Logo man looked closer and closer to the 11th pick, and a smile appeared on his face.
He also hoped to be scolded at first, and then Zhang Hao played well and made a comeback to be praised by everyone...
Moreover, a team ahead of him selected a high school student, so at least he would not be scolded so badly by Los Angeles fans when he selected Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao's mid-range shot is an immediate advantage. The sharp eyes of the Logo man can see that Zhang Hao is one of the best mid-range shooters in the NBA. Even if he only has mid-range shots, he will be very useful. Moreover, Zhang Hao is only 18 years old! His athletic ability is so good.
The key point is that Zhang Hao has that mid-range shot. He has such a mid-range shot at the age of 18, and he develops other techniques around the mid-range shot... It is much easier to cultivate a comprehensive scoring method for a player who plays without the ball than to cultivate a core player.
Immediately afterwards, the Trail Blazers, who had the No. 8 pick, selected Sean Lespert.
One step closer to the 11th pick, Logo Man reached an agreement with the Bucks, who wanted a forward scorer. The Bucks helped him select Zhang Hao, and he traded for Ceballos after the selection.
Although the Bucks also felt that Logo Man was crazy, they naturally wanted to take advantage if they could, and they were quite impatient and couldn't wait to make the selection.
Three minutes later, David Stern came on stage again.
After another round of boos, David Stern opened the envelope with a smile... He was stunned for a moment, then his smile got bigger, and he seemed to be suppressing his smile. If you listen carefully, you can hear the excitement in his next tone: "Ladies and gentlemen, in the 1995 NBA Draft, the New Jersey Nets selected the ninth pick in the first round, a high school student from China, a talented forward from Inglewood High School in Los Angeles, zhānghāo..."