boyutpedia Chapter 535 The Free Market Begins!
Chapter 535 The Free Market Begins!
Xiao Hua, holding a card, returned to the audition stage.
Countless cameras began to be pointed at Xiao Hua, who looked like an alien.
The many rookies sitting below, who had not yet been selected, were all waiting nervously. Some even put their hands together in prayer, hoping that the next name to be called out by Adam Silver would be theirs.
As he walked down the red carpet to the microphone, Adam Silver did not announce the Atlanta Hawks' selection for the 15th pick.
Instead, he took out another card from his pocket, then smiled and said into the microphone, "The Alliance Office has just approved a transaction."
"The Brooklyn Nets traded Ben Simmons, Zeng, and three first-round picks to the Timberwolves."
"In exchange, they acquired Karl-Anthony Towns, the power forward for the Timberwolves."
As soon as he said that, the audition venue erupted in a commotion, followed by thunderous applause and cheers.
Many of the rookies sitting in the "Green Room" looked back and saw that the clapping was done by fans sitting on the second floor.
These fans were all wearing Nets jerseys, clearly Nets supporters who had come to the event.
This is the Barclays Center, after all; for these fans, getting here is too easy.
While the fans were applauding, many others seemed somewhat incredulous, looking down at the messages on their phones.
They originally came hoping the Nets would draft a rookie with the 28th pick.
Unexpectedly, it was Karl-Anthony Towns of the Timberwolves who arrived!
This……
This is fucking awesome!
Although they had been preparing for this for a long time, they had guessed that the Nets would make big moves in the summer.
But they really didn't expect the deal to happen so quickly.
Many Nets fans, whether they knew each other or not, started high-fiving each other and then began chatting, seemingly having their own ideas about the new season's roster.
As for the talent show itself, what's the point of even having a selection process?
For the Nets, which rookie is a better fit than Towns?
It's just a pity for Lillard, who has been flirting with Wang Xiucheng all along.
As for the three first-round picks they gave up, with Wang Xiucheng on the team, the Nets' first-round picks will obviously not be worth much in the near future.
To be able to trade these worthless first-round picks for Towns, I have to say... it's fucking awesome!
As for Benxi?
Who is he?
……
With the last draft pick's name announced, the 23 NBA draft officially came to an end.
What will make fans remember this night is not just the "once-in-a-century" Wenban Amazon.
There was also the trade between the Nets and the Timberwolves.
In fact, this trade was not the only move made by the Nets on draft night.
Although they traded their first and second round picks from 23, the Nets still used $251 million in cash to buy the Sacramento Kings' second-round pick this year, the 54th overall pick.
The king's initial asking price was 250 million.
But for some reason, the Nets insisted on offering $251 million, and there was no way to disagree...
The Nets ultimately used this pick to select Choi Young-seok, a player from China.
This also allows the Nets to continue the tradition of having two Chinese players.
Besides Choi Young-seok, the Chinese players participating in this year's draft include David Muoka and Lin Wei.
However, apart from Choi Young-seok being selected by the Nets, the other two were not selected.
Furthermore, none of the three of them showed up.
Choi Young-seok and David Muoka are currently training with the national team.
Interestingly, the 55th pick after Choi Young-seok was Isaiah, who has Chinese ancestry.
The draft is over, but for the general managers of the league's teams, the work has just begun.
The free market officially opened on July 1st.
Of the 30 teams, not many actually have room for growth.
Most of them are teams like the Rockets, Pistons, Hornets, and Spurs, who traded away their star players in order to tank.
But there's an oddball this year: the Brooklyn Nets, last season's champions.
The Nets traded Towns on draft night, which ironically caused their salary to continue to decrease.
We've now reached a point where simply cutting a few more non-guaranteed contracts could bring salaries below the wage cap.
That sounds incredibly absurd!
But that's exactly how it is.
In one of his articles, Woj analyzed in detail the reasons and process behind the Nets' phenomenon.
First of all, when the Nets traded for Wang Xiucheng last year, they also acquired John Wall in the process.
And that same year, they laid off Wall, who still had a year left on his contract.
Then, on draft night this year, the Nets traded Ben West for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Ben West's salary for the new season is $3789 million, Zeng's is on a minimum salary of less than $100 million, and Towns' is $3597 million.
The difference between the two sides is nearly three million.
This brings the Nets very close to the salary cap.
Throughout the entire day of the 1st, transactions were reported by major journalists almost every few minutes.
Draymond Green, who had been linked with the Brooklyn Nets, ultimately signed a four-year, $100 million contract extension with the Golden State Warriors.
Austin Reeves signed a four-year, $56 million contract extension with the Lakers.
Yuta Watanabe, who had been teammates with Wang Xiucheng for a year, joined the Suns on a one-year minimum salary contract.
The Celtics, who were overshadowed by the Nets for a whole year last year, even made a big trade before the draft, before the Nets even drafted.
In a three-team trade, the Celtics sent former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis and two first-round picks.
Wojnarowski interpreted this trade as the Celtics continuing to build their three-point shooting prowess.
It turns out that the team's center, Horford, is getting old and can't gain any advantage against the Nets. He can't defend, keep up with, or make shots.
The Celtics' solution is to trade for another center who can shoot three-pointers.
This is similar to the Nets' trade for Towns.
The Lakers have also made quite a few moves.
They signed several players in quick succession as soon as the free market began.
Rui Hachimura, Doc Rivers, and D'Angelo Russell all opted to re-sign with the Lakers.
After announcing at an awards ceremony that he would continue playing for a 21st season, James went to China.
21 seasons, which is also the second longest NBA season in history, after Vince Carter's 22 seasons.
The old man's legend will continue.
Wang Xiucheng's former team, the Rockets, had the highest salary cap space in the entire league this summer.
First, the Rockets selected Nash as their head coach for the new season.
Then, starting on July 1st, they began signing contracts on a large scale.
First, the Rockets signed guard Fred VanVleet, who has championship experience, to a three-year, $130 million maximum contract.
They also signed Randall to a four-year, $32 million contract.
They also signed Jeff Green to a one-year contract for $600 million.
Furthermore, the Rockets are also looking to sign a small forward.
Coincidentally, the Rockets and the Nets are both targeting the same person.
This person is Dillon Brooks.