Sports Medicine Master System

With the 11th pick, Oden and his Nicks scout, Mulin, quickly made their choice.

Jeff Teague, also from Indianapolis.

He was the same age as Oden, born in ’88, and from Pike High School. Both of his parents were athletes, and he and his brother were basketball prodigies who became famous at a young age.

Now a sophomore, he was already averaging 17 points and 3 assists per game. He was an extremely fast, offense-oriented point guard.

From a distance, Presti gave Mulin a second look.

’Once they picked the eight-million-dollar Jeff Teague, they could only choose one more player from the lowest tier. The key question was, by picking Jeff Teague, weren’t they worried about him stealing Oden’s spotlight? He’s a top high school player, too. Would he really be content to play second fiddle to Oden?’

In Presti’s own opinion, if they were to follow the show’s formula, Oden, in particular, should have picked two of the worst players.

’If your teammates aren’t scrubs, how can you highlight how good you are? The stronger your teammates, the more incompetent you look, and the more easily your weaknesses are exposed, which affects your future draft stock. It’s a shitty way to make a choice, but this is a TV show, and that’s the optimal strategy.’

And soon, with the 14th pick, Rose made what Presti considered a wise choice.

He chose a player worth only three million dollars, deliberately passing on a higher-value pick.

Presti glanced at Karen, the scout for Rose’s team, who was from the Lakers.

’The Lakers’ management has always had good judgment. They’re smart. Rose is a fast player with an explosive offense. You have to give him the green light to shoot and let him rack up points.’

His choice stunned many people in the audience.

Even the host, Ryan Seacrest, looked confused and repeatedly asked Karen if she had made a mistake.

In the middle of the stage, Chen Yu couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at Karen.

’Looks like she figured out the game and made the most appropriate choice.’

Sighing to himself, Chen Yu passed the choice to the next pick, Nolan Smith.

The scout partnered with Nolan Smith was from the Pacers. His expression, which had been one of absolute confidence, now looked as if he’d seen a ghost as he frantically flipped through the player list in his hands.

At that moment, the expressions on all the scouts’ faces were a sight to behold.

Some looked shocked, as if they’d never imagined such a move was possible.

The quick-witted ones had already had a sudden realization and started flipping through their player lists.

As for those who had already made their picks, they were all kicking themselves, their faces twisted with regret, looking as disgusted as if they’d swallowed a fly.

Of course, a select few still looked completely confident, clearly having seen through the producers’ intentions long ago, just like Presti.

A full five minutes passed before Nolan Smith finally made his choice.

A power forward valued at four million dollars.

The large group of players sitting in front of the stage were now also bewildered.

Especially the high-value players; every one of them was frowning, not understanding what was happening.

In a corner of the stage, Jordan looked puzzled. "What are they doing?"

His question, in turn, took the others aback for a moment.

George Gervin frowned and asked back, "Michael, what do you mean by that?"

His confused look made Jordan exasperated. When the others revealed the same puzzled expressions, he grew even more confused, pointing at the stage and saying, "I mean, why are they picking such weak players? They’re passing on a whole bunch of high-value players to pick weak ones. It doesn’t make sense."

Wes Unseld chuckled lightly. "Michael, shouldn’t they be making this choice?"

Having been in the Bullets’ management and served as head coach for a few years, he could see through the producers’ little schemes and tricks.

He just hadn’t expected Jordan to not have figured it out.

"Fack." After hearing Unseld’s explanation, Jordan immediately understood.

When it came to playing basketball, he was a god. When it came to using his brain, he wasn’t stupid either.

How could someone who reached the absolute pinnacle in one field be stupid?

He simply hadn’t even considered thinking in that direction.

Now that he understood, he put on a disdainful expression and sneered, "This is so boring. Only the weak resort to such petty tricks. True champions never complain about their circumstances. The stronger my teammates, the happier I am, because I’ll just be even stronger than them."

Owen almost felt like applauding him. To be able to say something like that with such righteous confidence without making people want to punch you—that was probably a feat only Jordan could pull off.

This change directly influenced the subsequent picks.

The 17th pick, Durant.

Presti, who had long prepared multiple contingency plans, gave Durant a slight nod and made the choice.

DeAndre Jordan from Eppingson High School in Texas.

Born in ’88, his mother had also been a basketball player. Of course, like many NBA players, his father had abandoned him and his mother early on.

He was currently 6-foot-9, a little over 220 pounds. He was tall, strong, athletic, could run and jump, and had an excellent wingspan.

In terms of physical talent alone, he was top-tier.

But his skills were too raw.

Last season, as a freshman, he averaged 8 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

You could tell from his stats alone that he was a guy with all body and no skill.

And I mean absolutely no skill whatsoever. During the open tryouts, he couldn’t even hold onto the ball when facing Milicic.

But that was fine. He had talent.

So even though his abysmal skills affected his price tag, the show’s producers still valued him at seven million dollars.

Having gotten the 17th pick, Presti hadn’t been very confident he could select him.

Now, because of the shift in strategy, he had actually slipped all the way to Durant. What was there to even consider? They just had to pick him.

In Presti’s contingency plan, he was the first choice for an interior player.

Outstanding physical talent, able to bang in the post and protect the rim, guaranteeing a high floor for the team.

Most importantly, his lack of skill, which was a weakness, actually became a strength in Presti’s eyes.

’If you can’t score when we give you the ball, then we just won’t give you the ball. You can just focus on being a blue-collar center and help Durant rack up points.’

"Kevin, for the second round, let’s go with who we discussed before: Willie Warren or Ammon Johnson."

Both were guards in the three-million-dollar tier.

At this age, the distinction between a point guard and a shooting guard wasn’t that clear.

The two choices Presti provided were both undersized players with limited scoring ability.

The reasoning was the same: just pass the ball and then watch Durant go off for 30 or 40 points.

Durant nodded, but he couldn’t help sighing internally.

He still felt this was too selfish.

After a moment’s hesitation, the face of someone with double eyelids and big, clear eyes inexplicably popped into Durant’s mind.

’The guy was always hanging around, and they’d even fought before. How could Durant not remember him?’

"Sam, can we pick James Harden?" Durant asked softly.

Presti was slightly taken aback, then smiled and nodded. "Of course we can."

’What’s the difference who we pick?’

Durant felt a little better.

’I drank his sports drink, after all. Can’t just drink it for free. And during that last fight, Beasley took on two guys, and my only ’victory’ was getting on top of Harden and pinning him down. Plus, DeRozan had personally asked him to do it. Durant really couldn’t bring himself to refuse.’

Chen Yu glanced briefly at Durant’s choice before looking away.

His main focus was on Curry.

Chen Yu’s gaze fell on Curry and his partnered scout, Negro.

Chen Yu had specially assigned Negro to him.

Having run around everywhere with Chen Yu to prepare for the show, Negro was crystal clear on its underlying purpose.

Now it was time to see how Negro would help Curry make his selections.

Chen Yu actually hoped Curry wouldn’t pick two weaker teammates, for two reasons.

The first reason was simple: Curry himself was pretty weak.

At his height, it was really hard for him to score a lot in one-on-one situations; he was too easily targeted.

He absolutely needed a good teammate to help share the pressure and for them to elevate each other. Only then could he play to his strengths.

Secondly, while Chen Yu had created this strategic dilemma for the sake of the show’s entertainment value, deep down, he actually held another expectation for these young men.

Finding two scrub teammates, racking up points for yourself, and gaining attention—that was the easy path.

But it was like taking a shortcut.

A true champion, while being strong themselves, also makes their teammates stronger.

Because you are a team. They are your teammates, not your stepping stones.

Given the chance, you should be leading your teammates to train hard, improve their skills, and then win games together.

That kind of victory would help them go further when they eventually made it to the NBA.

It’s easy to become a star, but winning a championship is the truly difficult thing. It was just like when O’Neal was being recruited, Hardaway could say without hesitation that he was willing to be the number two and would always pass to him first.

So in Chen Yu’s mind, this was a test.

For a fifteen or sixteen-year-old kid to make a choice in the face of temptation, a choice that stays true to their original passion—that was truly no simple test.

Evidently, many of the players present had not been able to resist this temptation.

The 21st pick, Stephen Curry.

Negro had clearly prepared a plan. He exchanged a glance with Curry and immediately made the selection.

Javier McGee, born in ’88, from the East Coast seaside city of Providence.

Unsurprisingly, he also came from a single-parent home.

It’s just that his deadbeat father was a bit more notable. In the ’85 draft, his father, George Montgomery, was selected by the Pioneer with the 39th overall pick.

But getting drafted was one thing; with his limited talent, he ultimately never made it into the NBA.

In comparison, his mother was actually more accomplished. She won an Olympic gold medal with the United States Team in ’84 and went on to play in the WNBA.

Thanks to their excellent genes, Javier McGee was also the kind of player whose talent was blindingly obvious.

He was 6-foot-10, could run and jump, and had monstrously long arms.

Last season at Providence Christian High School, he averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds as the team’s core player.

But just like DeAndre Jordan before him, he was a raw player who relied entirely on his physique.

You couldn’t completely blame him for not working hard, though. According to the information Chen Yu had, the kid had ADHD, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, which gave him a significant attention deficit.

This resulted in poor self-control, making it difficult for him to focus on any one thing. Under these circumstances, asking him to quiet his mind and polish his skills was obviously asking a bit too much.

Chen Yu looked at Negro.

’His choice isn’t bad. McGee could score with his body, relieving pressure on Curry. With his outstanding athleticism and huge frame, he could also provide Curry with sufficient screens. But with his eight-million-dollar price tag, their next pick would be very limited.’