Dynasty Project Begins

After the 2014 draft concluded, the top three picks—especially Wiggins—naturally became the center of everyone's attention.

Right after the draft, Wiggins signed a five-year, $11 million shoe deal with Adidas.

He had reached the peak of life overnight—that was exactly the kind of guy Wiggins was.

The defending champions had always had little presence at the draft. Even with Link attending in person, people showed no interest in the Grizzlies' selections.

Other than die-hard Grizzlies fans, practically no one remembered what Memphis had done in the draft.

Just look at how Jamal Franklin had turned out, and one could see what a second-round pick meant to a championship-caliber team. Perhaps by this time next year, Dinwiddie and Jokic would be the ones getting traded.

So forget fans elsewhere—even many local Memphis fans were indifferent toward Dinwiddie and Jokic.

The draft was over. What people cared about now was the upcoming free-agent market and trade market.

Would LeBron James remain in Miami? If James left, would Bosh stay? Would Anthony team up with Kobe? And where would veteran stars like Nowitzki and Gasol end up?

Those headlines alone were enough to send fans into a frenzy.

Yet the Grizzlies themselves attached great importance to these two second-round picks.

The day after the draft, Dinwiddie and Jokic reported to the Grizzlies.

Dinwiddie was not surprised to have been selected. Though he had slipped into the second round, he had always believed he would not go undrafted.

All he wanted now was to prove himself as soon as possible and establish a foothold in the NBA.

Jokic, on the other hand, was clearly very surprised by his current situation. He had thought he had completely botched his workout with the Grizzlies, and never expected to return to Memphis.

The Grizzlies' plan for Dinwiddie