In June 2001, the entire league's management was immersed in an unusual sense of anxiety and confusion.
In the lead-up to the draft, all scouting reports and predictions from authoritative media outlets were filled with pessimistic words such as "lacking a cornerstone for building a team," "an unusually weak draft class in history," and "only slightly better than the disastrous 2000 draft class."
Unlike previous years, when Tim Duncan and O'Neal were the undisputed number one picks, this year there isn't a single truly big fish. Even ESPN's most experienced draft experts can't predict who will be the final number one pick. While the top eight picks are locked in on a few names, the actual order of selection is like rolling dice.
The cause of this unusually chaotic situation is the extremely fragmented nature of this year's draft...
Extremely scarce immediate impact capabilities, coupled with an excessive but crude display of inside talent.
Of the 54 draft candidates, an astonishing 27 are over 2.11 meters tall. But what's giving general managers a headache is that a record number of high school players have emerged from this group of big men. Everyone wants to gamble on the next Kevin Garnett or Kobe Brian, but looking at these 18-year-olds with rough skills and lack of practical experience, no one dares to easily stake the future of their team on them.
In this situation, Lin Qi chose to invite the top draft picks, including several big men, to the training facility for an open tryout.
Lin Qi needed to see for himself just how capable these young people really were.
The wooden floor was polished to a shine, and the squeaking sound of several large sneakers rubbing against each other echoed in the empty stadium.
Standing at the center of the court are the four most watched, and also the most perplexing, centers in this draft class. Their talent is obvious, but the questions surrounding each of them are as prominent as their height.
First on the list is Kwame Brown from the Green Academy in Georgia. Bearing the title of "Number One High School Player in the Nation," he possesses a near-perfect interior frame and exceptional athleticism for a big man. Scouting reports consistently compare him to Chris Webber or Kevin Garnett in the NBA.
Second on the list is Tyson Chandler Chandler from Dominguez High School in California. Despite his seven-foot height, he can run fast breaks like a guard, possesses exceptional mobility, and has a wide defensive coverage. The media considers him a combination of the next "Marcus Camby " and " Garnett ".
Third on the list is Eddie Stephen Curry from Thornwood High School in Illinois. He's a heavyweight, muscular center with an incredibly soft finishing touch around the basket. Because of his audacious low-post dominance, the media has dubbed him " Baby Shark Shaq."
The last one is Chris Paul Gasol, a mysterious giant from Barcelona Club Spain seems out of place among the three United States high school students. As a Europe prodigy who just won the Spanish King's Cup MVP, scouts compared him to Tony Kukoč, the Chicago Bulls Bulls' Sixth Man of the Year of the era.
Apart from Gasol seemed somewhat reserved and silent, the other three high school students all carried the arrogance of prodigies. They were already used to dominating the high school league and crushing their peers with their bodies.
It wasn't until Lin Qi pushed open the gym door that Kevin Garnett, dressed in loose training clothes and chewing gum, followed behind him.
The moment Kevin Garnett appeared, the eyes of the rookies instantly changed. It was the instinctive awe of kids who had watched him play on TV since they were little, when they faced a real NBA superstar. Kwame Brown and Chandler, in particular, tensed up involuntarily when they actually faced the "model" from their draft reports.
Lin Qi clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention, and turned to Garnett, saying, " Kevin, I'm giving you a task today. Help me find out what these kids are capable of. Do some one-on-one offense and defense drills."
Before the rookies could even get nervous, Lin Qi deliberately raised his voice, speaking to Garnett in a way that could be heard throughout the entire arena.
"But you better tone it down. These rookies aren't used to the physicality of the NBA yet, so you're not allowed to bully them with your body. Got it?"
Garnett raised an eyebrow. No need for physical bullying? No problem. Breaking the mentality of these rookies without resorting to pure brute force is his specialty.
"Don't worry, boss." Garnett flashed a white grin, walked to the center of the court, and beckoned to the rookies, "I'll treat you guys 'very gently.' Who wants to go first?"
Kwame Brown, riding the wave of being the "top pick," was the first to grit his teeth and step onto the court.
Five minutes later, Kwame Brown's eyes were completely vacant.
There was almost no physical contact; Garnett followed Lin Qi's "advice" completely. But his wingspan, lateral quickness, and relentless trash talk left Brown questioning his existence.
"That's it? They said your template is me? Your feints wouldn't even fool my grandma!"
"High school student, hold the ball steady! How did you drop it again? Did you put butter on your hands?!"
Under immense mental pressure, Brown's movements became extremely stiff. In one attempt at a post-up move, he had barely turned when Garnett, anticipating his dribble, subtly extended his long arm...
"Smack!"
A clean steal. The ball slipped from Brown's hands and rolled out of bounds.
On offense, Garnett showed no mercy. Three consecutive jab steps followed by a deft fadeaway jumper, and the ball swished through the net. Brown's prized physical attributes seemed like clumsy puppets in the face of his true "model's" overwhelming basketball IQ.
Tyson Chandler Chandler, who came on next, fared even worse Brown.
Chandler's biggest selling point is his amazing mobility. His draft report even stated that he has "excellent face-up feel and the potential to develop a mid-range shot or even a three-point shot." As a result, the media compared him to Garnett.
But in front of the real "master," his still-developing techniques seemed like slow motion.
In the most brutal possession, Chandler had suffered consecutive setbacks, was determined to redeem himself. He decided to showcase his proud face-up isolation play and prove his offensive talent to the "model" in front of him. He received the ball at sixteen feet, faced the basket in a triple-threat stance, took two jab steps, and then suddenly pulled up for a jump shot, attempting to avoid a zero-point game with a mid-range jumper.
But he was facing Kevin Garnett...
Garnett didn't fall for Chandler's feint at all. The instant Chandler jumped, Garnett took off in sync. Just as Chandler raised the ball above his head, fully expecting to flick it out, Garnett stretched out his long arm and cleanly caught the ball in mid-air!
Catch the hat mid-air!
Chandler was still in the shooting motion when he lost his balance in mid-air and stumbled to the ground. Meanwhile, Garnett was holding the basketball in his arms.
Not a single goal was scored.
Not only did he miss, Chandler didn't even manage a single decent, uncontested shot.
In less than twenty minutes, the offensive and defensive drill ended. The two top high school centers in the country had been completely overwhelmed by Garnett's pure defensive skills, judgment, and terrifying presence. They sat on the sidelines, panting heavily. The shame of not scoring a single point made them so as not even have the courage to look Garnett in the eye.
"Next!" Garnett, barely breaking a sweat, held the ball in one hand and shouted to the sidelines with lingering enthusiasm.