Chapter 11 The Draft

Five minutes later, Stern walked out from behind the stage again.

This time it was the Pistons fans' turn to be excited. Since the "Fabulous Five" disbanded, they had been in decline for too long. Now that they had finally drawn the second overall pick, they naturally hoped to select a cornerstone for the team.

The suspense for the first pick wasn't great, but there were many choices for the second pick.

Derrick Williams, Monroe, Kanter, and even Tristan Thompson and Walker were all potential candidates.

"With the second pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons select Greg Monroe, a 2.11-meter center from Georgetown University."

Tang Tian nodded when he heard the final result announced by Stern. It was reasonable.

Monroe stayed for another year, and he really deserved that pick.

The Utah Jazz, with the third pick, selected Kanter, making him the third overall pick.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, with the fourth pick, selected Derrick Williams.

Williams' expression was very unsightly. He was originally a top favorite for the first pick, and at the very least was a top-two pick on various prediction lists. He didn't expect to fall to fourth in the end.

But that's the uncertainty of the draft. The Pistons and Jazz both wanted to pick a big man, and Williams didn't meet their requirements.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, with the fifth pick, selected Tristan Thompson. Thompson, through outstanding trial training performances, ultimately earned himself a rocket-like rise in the draft.

"A trade has occurred. The Charlotte Bobcats possess the sixth overall pick." Just as the draft proceeded to the sixth pick, Stern's opening remarks were different from before.

The first trade of this year's draft had been made.

On the rolling screen in the background, the detailed content of the transaction was displayed.

The Charlotte Bobcats sent their starting point guard DJ Augustin and this year's ninth pick to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for the sixth pick and Jarrett Jack.

Augustin, as a third-year player last season, averaged 14.4 points and 6.1 assists, and had grown. The Bobcats using him to trade for the sixth pick at this time clearly meant they were aiming to select a point guard.

Walker, Knight, and Fredette were the most likely candidates to be selected.

"With the sixth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Bobcats select Kemba Walker, a 1.85-meter point guard from the University of Connecticut."

Walker breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his name called.

The sixth pick wasn't bad, especially since all four teams other than the Cavaliers selected big men. Being selected at this position meant he was the second-best point guard in this year's draft after Irving.

Walker got up and hugged Calhoun first, followed by his parents and other relatives and friends, and accepted the Bobcats hat handed over by the staff.

Before going on stage, Walker specifically looked in the direction where Tang Tian was sitting and winked at him.

Tang Tian smiled when he saw Walker's look.

It seemed that Jordan valued Walker quite a bit after watching UConn's game against North Carolina. He was afraid of being sniped by other teams, so he would rather trade Augustin to select Walker.

However, this may also be related to Walker's performance in the trial training. Procopio's guidance still allowed Walker to make considerable progress.

When Walker took a photo on stage, he revealed the red jacket he was wearing inside, causing a cheer from the audience.

When he stepped down, he pointed to the jacket towards Tang Tian.

Tang Tian also smiled and revealed his red jacket.

The two could be said to have matched their code.

After Walker stepped down, he was guided by the staff to the media room for interviews.

The Washington Wizards, with the seventh pick, selected Brandon Knight and traded him to the Detroit Pistons for Ed Davis (7th pick in 2010, averaging 9.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in his rookie season), Austin Daye, and a future second-round pick.

When it came to the eighth pick, a three-way deal appeared on the scene, and it was also related to the Bobcats.

The Milwaukee Bucks sent Corey Maggette, John Salmons, and this year's 10th pick to get Beno Udrih, Stephen Jackson, Shawn Livingston, and the Bobcats' 19th pick.

The Sacramento Kings sent Beno Udrih and the 8th pick to get John Salmons and this year's 10th pick.

The Charlotte Bobcats sent Stephen Jackson and Shawn Livingston and the 19th pick to get Corey Maggette and the 8th pick.

The Charlotte Bobcats selected Bismack Biyombo, a 2.06-meter power forward from Congo with the eighth pick.

The Toronto Raptors selected Valanciunas from Europe with the ninth pick.

The Sacramento Kings selected Jimmer Fredette with the tenth pick.

There were only fourteen lottery picks in total. With the draft proceeding here, there were only the last four lottery spots left.

And in the little green room, there were still seven people sitting, which meant that at least three of them would fall out of the lottery.

It was a cruel thing. Rashard Lewis was also there back then, and he wasn't selected by the team until the second round. Sitting there until the end would definitely be mentally devastating.

"With the 11th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors select Klay Thompson, a 2.01-meter shooting guard from Washington State University."

Thompson had been sitting in the little green room long enough. He took a long breath when he got up, smiled and hugged his relatives and friends, and then took the Warriors hat from the staff and went on stage.

With Thompson being selected, Tang Tian was the only one left of the offseason hard training trio.

The draft on stage continued.

At this time, Fagan had returned. It seemed that Walker had finished his media interviews over there.

"Kemba went to chat with Michael (Jordan)." Fagan came over and sat down next to Tang Tian, then said.

Tang Tian nodded.

Fagan must have played a significant role in Walker being selected with the sixth pick.

Just then, his phone vibrated. He took it out and saw that it was from Thompson.

"I won this time, I'm waiting for your good news."

The content wasn't much, but from Thompson's words, it could be seen that he was a little smug.

That was right, he had been abused by Tang Tian every day for the past two months, but his draft pick was higher than Tang Tian's, so he naturally wanted to be "smug" for a while.

"Soon." Tang Tian replied to the message and put the phone away.

At this time, the lottery picks had been selected almost.

The Rockets used their 14th pick to pick the remaining brother Marcus Morris of the Morris brothers.

The lottery picks ended here.

The lottery picks were actually a dividing line. Before that, the rookies who went were all from the lottery teams of last season, and they would get a lot of opportunities, but those outside the lottery were all playoff teams, and if they wanted playing time, they could only rely on their strength.

Outside of the lottery, the choices of the teams were also relatively random, and there were many differences from the prediction lists of the media before.

The draft had unknowingly come to the 25th pick, and it was the Nets' selection time.

"Tang, where's Tang?" At this stage, the four people in the commentary booth were a little tired from chatting. Kenny Smith suddenly said.

After UConn played Duke, Smith was particularly optimistic about Tang Tian, and he finally remembered him at this time.