The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 25 Flag

Madison Square Garden, Phoenix Suns’ draft room.

The Suns held the 14th pick, with five minutes to consider their decision.

General Manager Steve Cole furrowed his brow.

His reaction wasn’t due to the choice at hand but because of the phone call he had just hung up.

This year, the Suns’ top draft target was Curry.

They had been striving to strike a deal with the Timberwolves, but none had been successful.

And just as he was preparing to settle for the Warriors, the Warriors outright snatched Curry away.

It was unexpected because Curry’s agent had even warned the Warriors not to pick him.

That led Cole to believe that the Warriors might be looking to inflate the price by using Curry to acquire some assets.

So, before the New York Knicks got the chance, he immediately contacted the Warriors’ General Manager Larry Riley.

After several rounds of negotiations, even putting all-star Stoudemire on the table, the Warriors still refused.

He couldn’t understand why, especially since they already had Monta Ellis!

"Steve, just pick Hansen," Head Coach Gentry tried again to persuade him, "He can bring us real defensive quality in the backcourt, and he has the three-point ability we need."

Before coming to the draft, he had already given Cole his suggestions.

"Alvin, I’ve told you I’m not crazy, I can’t possibly use a lottery pick on a player from the second-tier league!"

Cole’s tone wasn’t friendly as he wanted to focus on making a final effort to discuss the 14th pick and a future first-rounder with the Warriors.

"We could trade down our draft pick," Gentry was really fond of Hansen.

"I tried, there are no good opportunities," Cole said before signaling to Gentry to be quiet and dialing Riley’s number again.

It wasn’t that he was trying to appease Gentry; he had indeed tried everything.

From the 20th to 25th picks, only the Blazers’ 22nd pick was on the market, but that had already been traded.

As for 25th to 30th, based on the intel he had, Hansen wouldn’t fall that far, rendering any trade pointless.

...

"You mean the Grizzlies have already traded for the Timberwolves’ 18th pick? And they’re planning to pick me with that?"

Hansen was shocked when Thomas finished speaking.

Although the Grizzlies had promised to pick him before the Thunders, he had never expected a direct jump into the top 20.

Because from what Thomas had said earlier, he thought the Grizzlies would trade for the Blazers’ 22nd pick.

Wallace, this was true love!

"It’s a long story," Thomas said.

As Thomas explained, the Grizzlies’ initial target was indeed the Blazers’ 22nd pick, but they got into the action when they found out the Thunders were in talks with the Timberwolves for the 18th pick.

However, it wasn’t just them interested in that pick – the Nuggets were too.

The Thunders and Grizzlies were targeting Hansen, while the Nuggets were after Ty Lawson.

That left the Timberwolves thrilled.

In this draft, they had picks 5/6/18/28, too many even for rebuilding through the draft.

So they tried to put the 18th pick on the market, but didn’t expect it to be so popular.

Therefore, the Timberwolves successively made demands, roughly one unprotected future first-round pick plus a promising rookie.

For an 18th pick in a weak draft, this was pure price gouging.

The Nuggets were the first to drop out.

Then, the final offers received by the Thunders and the Grizzlies were: for the Thunders, a 2010 first-round pick + DJ White; for the Grizzlies, a 2010 first-round pick + Darrell Arthur.

In the end, the Grizzlies agreed while the Thunders decided to pass.

DJ White?

Hansen went through his memory, finding no information about this person.

Actually, if he had to choose between the two teams, he would lean more towards the Thunders.

After all, Memphis was just too... that.

And he wasn’t worried about the Thunders stifling his future, Harden was the best example of that.

Perform well, and use Oklahoma City as a springboard.

But he didn’t expect the Thunders would pass on him for someone he had never heard of.

Even if it came with Ibaka, he would find the Thunders’ choice understandable.

Unable to help himself, he pulled out his phone to search, finally coming across some information on White.

The Thunders’ 29th pick of 2008? A power forward?

That did surprise him because the Thunders’ 24th pick of 2008 was the power forward Ibaka.

Missing five months of the rookie season due to a jaw injury, then only playing 8 games, averaging 8.9 points and 4.6 rebounds.

Well, Grizzlies it is then.

Hansen couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

At least the Grizzlies were the team willing to give their all for him, and going to the Grizzlies would give him more opportunities.

And the 18th pick was not low at all; it was almost into the lottery.

At that moment, Stern once again stepped from behind the scenes to the forefront.

He was about to announce the 16th draft pick, which belonged to the Chicago Bulls.

"2009 NBA first round, the 16th pick, the Chicago Bulls select... Hansen, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard from Barry University."

Huh?

Hansen was still contemplating when the sudden result yanked him back to reality.

What’s going on?!

It wasn’t just him; even Thomas beside him was stunned.

With his network and abilities, he hadn’t had any advance notice that the Bulls were going to pick Hansen!

It wasn’t until his parents turned to ask if he had just been selected that Hansen stood up.

By that time, a staff member was already approaching with a Bulls cap prepared for him.

Hansen took the cap, put it on, embraced his parents and Thomas, and then headed toward the main stage, guided by the staff.

The spotlight shone on Hansen, causing a stir in the venue.

Especially the Bulls fans present at the draft, they were all puzzled.

Hansen’s latest draft prediction had him at a high of the 36th pick by the Grizzlies. How did the Bulls just grab him at the 16th?

Did they pick the wrong person?

Hansen only snapped out of his daze then.

Was it the Bulls who had chosen him? Or was it that another team had made a trade with the Bulls so that the Bulls would pick him on their behalf?

After listening to so much from Thomas, he felt the latter was far more likely than the former.

Because the Bulls already had too many guards – Rose, Hinrich, Salmons, and if you included Ben Gordon, who was still in contract negotiations, picking him too...

Playing basketball wasn’t like playing Mahjong, where you need a full table to play.

But if it was a trade and he was picked on behalf of another team, then it was like when the Hornets picked Kobe, entirely unpredictable.

He had already stepped onto the main stage, and Stern extended his hand with a smile.

"Congratulations, the 6th player from East University to join the NBA."

As a League President committed to globalization, Stern had invested more in the overseas markets than any of his predecessors.

And as current overseas markets went, East Market was naturally of the utmost importance.

So, seeing another East University player get drafted, and in such an advance position at that, his smile was genuinely heartfelt.

Hansen could fully feel Stern’s sincerity and, pushing all other thoughts aside, he took a photo with Stern.

During the photo op, he also revealed the East University flag displayed inside his suit jacket.

Before coming to the draft, the considerate Thomas had suggested he do something special to make a stronger impression, and the first thing that came to Hansen’s mind was this.

Since he was from the NCAA system, his draft announcement only mentioned his college, not his country, so this seemed best.

After leaving the main stage, there was a routine interview where reporters interviewed each new draftee.

The reason it was called routine was that the questions were mostly similar – feelings about being selected, satisfaction with the results, and...

"What changes do you expect to bring to the Bulls?"

"Everyone knows about Michael Jordan and his Bulls Dynasty, but I understand that the current Bulls team is very different; they are young and energetic like me, and I am very much looking forward to joining them."

Hansen kept his answer as concise as possible because with the uncertainty, he didn’t want to make a serious blunder.

After the interview, he was supposed to go for an exclusive interview with the East University media.

However, at that moment, he saw Thomas quickly walking toward him.

From Thomas’s expression, Hansen knew his guess might be right.

"It’s not the Bulls." Sure enough, Thomas’s words confirmed his suspicion.

"The Thunders?" Hansen thought it might be a complex series of trades where the Thunders knew the Grizzlies had an insider, so they deliberately put out false information to mislead the Grizzlies, then made an earlier trade to preempt them.

Thomas shook his head.

"No? Then the Heat?" Hansen puzzled, realizing he might have guessed wrong, but if it was someone else, it could only be Riley, the "Divine Calculator."

"Riley did indeed try hard to trade up, but the Heat didn’t have good assets, and he only managed to make a deal with the 22nd pick Blazers," Thomas shook his head again.

Is there another mastermind?

Hansen was totally at a loss now.

It couldn’t be the Magic, could it?

Just like truly smart people don’t always seem so astute, could the one with the real plan have appeared the least interested?

"It’s the Cavaliers." Thomas didn’t let Hansen keep guessing.

"What did you say?!"

Hansen burst out in Chinese, his face a portrait of shock.