The news caused an uproar in public opinion.
During the live broadcast of the draft, Charles Barkley shouted: "Robbery! The Las Vegas Radiance is committing robbery! This is a blatant draft and trade manipulation! It’s all to get Yao to Las Vegas, to become Ah Gan’s successor! This... this is a complete scandal, why would the Cavaliers do this? Because Jim Paxson is damn Ah Gan’s little buddy!"
Barkley, it sounds like you’re not Ah Gan’s little buddy yourself.
Kenny Smith beside him kept silent, not wanting to expose Barkley.
Everyone knew about Yao Ming being sent to the Radiance, after all, there’s no wall that doesn’t let the wind through.
Barkley, being close to Gan Guoyang, had already known about this matter for a while.
His yelling on the show now is just for the effect of the program.
Later at night, he will inevitably have to drink with Ah Gan to apologize, saying, "Big brother, I was just saying it casually, don’t mind me."
Gan Guoyang indeed didn’t mind, as long as Barkley’s ranting didn’t violate any principles, he could say whatever he wanted.
Every time a reporter asked "How do you comment on Barkley’s remarks about you, Sonny," Gan Guoyang always laughed and said, "Let him say whatever he wants, his mouth is on him."
With Ah Gan’s protection, Barkley was even more unrestrained; everything was scripted and checked before the game, and it was okay to say so.
Yao Ming also quickly learned about his trade, and the stone hanging in his heart finally dropped.
The cap in his hand switched from the Cavaliers to the Radiance, which he put on his head as he accepted the media interview.
"Congratulations, Yao, on becoming a member of the Las Vegas Radiance Team, you will be playing with your idol, how does it feel?"
The translator beside Yao Ming translated the question, and Yao Ming said, "Very excited, though I’m in America, going to the Radiance feels like going home."
The host laughed loudly and asked again, "Did you always think you would go to the Radiance Team?"
Yao Ming replied, "Actually, my favorite team is the Trail Blazers, but unfortunately their record is too good to have the first pick."
Yao Ming’s response was calm and carried a bit of humor, making both the host and the audience comfortable.
On one hand, Yao Ming himself has high emotional intelligence and intelligence, he understands American humor, can make self-deprecating jokes, and he’s not foolish at all.
On the other hand, Gan Guohui’s agent team provided him with specialized media interview training, teaching him how to handle interviews, what to say, how to control his demeanor, and how to express himself correctly for better effect.
Yao Ming is very smart and learns quickly, so in front of the camera, after shaking off the initial timidity, he performed with ease.
Soon, Yao Ming’s interview ended, the host said, "Another Chinese giant has joined the NBA, oh my God, is the 21st century going to be another era dominated by Chinese centers?"
The second pick in the first round, the tanking Chicago Bulls took Duke University’s Jay Williams, the number two pick was made.
The Bulls have been messing around these past two years, Jerry Krause has been racking his brains to prove he can create a championship team without Jordan, with various trades, tanking, selecting talented players, but after years of tinkering, it resulted in a mess.
This season, he sent away Ron Artest and Brand, wanting to promote Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry.
He even fancied building a "Kevin Garnett + Shaquille O’Neal" frontcourt combination, he didn’t learn any lessons from the success Jordan brought him.
Moreover, the Twin Towers lineup has been smashed by Ah Gan countless times, showing that Jerry Krause desires too much to prove himself, insisting on taking a path considered unfeasible.
Jay Williams, although he led his college team to the 2001 NCAA championship and was named the NABC Player of the Year, from a talent perspective, he isn’t a super player who can change the league structure, his ceiling might just be an ordinary star player.
Jerry Krause truly had no one else to choose from, so he picked the one with the biggest name, an All-America NCAA champion guard.
The Warriors picked Old Dunleavy’s son, Little Dunleavy, at the third pick, and the Phoenix Suns picked high school player Amare Stoudemire at the fifth pick.
Stoudemire wore a suit with an extremely long hem, looking like he was a man wrapped in a sheath, black people’s fashion sense is increasingly bewildering.
At the eighteenth pick of the Radiance Team, they selected a player from Argentina, Luis Scola.
However, Scola wasn’t at the draft site; he is currently still playing for another club, he might still be sleeping now.
After securing Scola, the Radiance’s draft office was done, ending their work, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Acquiring Yao Ming and Andre Miller while giving up Brad Miller and Gilbert Arenas made the team’s lineup change once again.
Gan Guoyang asked An Ji if Brad Miller and Arenas had been notified, An Ji said, "I’ve already sent them text messages."
"You should call them."
"Am I not just asking for abuse? Especially Gilbert, he’s very hardworking. I guess he’s crying at home right now."
"Forget it, I’ll call them."
After thinking it over, Gan Guoyang decided to call his former teammates.
The team was very united last season, and the playoff miracle of beating the number one seed was even more miraculous.
Now, to dismantle the lineup for Yao Ming, sending away one inside and one outside player who both performed excellently, Gan Guoyang felt he needed to bid them farewell.
He first dialed Miller’s number, and on the other end of the line, Miller was calm. He had been reluctant to join the Radiance from the start, he only agreed when Old Tang came.