novelODS Chapter 48 For money, it's not shameful!
Chapter 48 For money, it's not shameful!
The days of tryouts flew by, and when Zeng Zhen and Schwartz returned to Los Angeles, it was already June 11th, two weeks before the NBA draft.
Zeng Zhen's team announced that Zeng Zhen will focus on training and will no longer accept any tryout invitations. The media and fans are well aware that Zeng Zhen must have received some draft promises at this point.
According to sources, Zeng Zhen has likely received a draft commitment from the Pacers.
Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry instructed executives to speak anonymously to reporters: "LeBron greatly admires Zeng Zhen and hopes that Zeng Zhen can become a member of the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers management will also do everything possible to raise the draft position to select Zeng Zhen."
Immediately afterwards, news came from Portland: "Zeng Zhen is an extremely outstanding scorer. He can seamlessly integrate into Portland's system. We hope to build a competitive young team. He and Brandon Roy will be the nightmare of all backcourt players."
The Orlando Magic only had the 22nd pick, but general manager Pat Williams wanted to draft Zeng Zhen. He believed that Dwight Howard was Shaquille O'Neal, while Zeng Zhen was Kobe Bryant. He frantically called the general managers of the top 10 draft picks, hoping to get their picks to ensure that Zeng Zhen was selected.
However, most of the general managers who answered his calls refused. A few were willing, but they demanded an exorbitant price in exchange for Dwight Howard, which scared Pat Williams half to death.
He was after someone else's draft pick, but the other team wanted his star player.
At the same time, after discussing with coach Popovich, Spurs general manager Buford also decided to trade up the draft pick. They had the 26th pick, which was no longer enough to select Zeng Zhen.
Similarly, when Buford called them, some of the top 10 draft picks directly demanded one of the players from the GDP trio as the main asset in a trade, which put Buford in a very difficult position.
This is destined to be a complex game.
It's not impossible for teams with top-ten draft picks to trade their picks, but the trade assets would be extremely high.
They either need to be All-Stars or high-potential core players; otherwise, general managers wouldn't dare risk being criticized by fans to trade away draft picks.
At this stage of the draft, not all teams are qualified to participate in the gamble of selecting Zeng Zhen.
Of course, some teams don't want to select a guard at all, so the number of teams that actually have the opportunity and willingness to select Zeng Zhen is very small.
Meanwhile, other promising rookies have also made headlines.
First, the Bulls' management called Rose's team some time ago to express their concerns about his brothers' (who have gang connections) backgrounds, fearing it would affect the team's image.
Rose was furious when he found out and told his agent to tell the Bulls, "If you're worried, don't draft him!"
This rumor seems to have put Rose's status as the number one draft pick in jeopardy.
Then came the Beasley height controversy. As a top prospect for the second overall pick, Beasley's height data became inconsistent during this period.
Kansas State University listed his height as 6 feet 10 inches throughout the season, but during a team's physical measurements, his actual height was measured at 6 feet 8 inches, an error of about 5 centimeters. This discrepancy in height data has raised questions about his true height and has caused some teams to question Beasley's playing style.
Reporting someone as tall or short is a different treatment. If someone is like Durant, who is clearly tall but reports as short, people will just joke about it. But if someone is clearly short but reports as tall during the draft, it will cause dissatisfaction.
Beasley's draft position is so high, and he's not an undrafted player like Wallace, so key statistics about him could cause market fluctuations.
.....
As for Zeng Zhen, although he was no longer going to try out, Schwartz still arranged two interviews for him before the draft.
One is ESPN, and the other is CCTV.
The ESPN reporter who came to interview Zeng Zhen was a Chinese-American woman. She greatly admired Zeng Zhen and believed that Zeng Zhen proved that Asian guards can also dominate on the basketball court: "Zeng, you have set a good example for us. You have created a yellow whirlwind in the NCAA."
The interview went very smoothly, with the reporter asking questions that were pleasant for both parties. The questions mainly focused on Zeng Zhen's growth story, from a fringe player at UCLA to a star player at March Madness, and now a near-lottery pick.
This experience is very inspiring, and it's clear that Schwartz did some public relations work on it, hoping to cultivate Zeng Zhen's image as an inspirational figure.
The CCTV reporter said to Zeng Zhen, "Zhen, you are receiving a lot of attention in China right now. More and more fans want to see your games, and they want to learn more about you through various reports."
At the end of the program, CCTV also played a video of an interview conducted on the UCLA campus.
Both Black and white students expressed their love and support for Zeng Zhen, saying they were fans and would continue to follow him after he entered the NBA.
In the interview, Zeng Zhen showed his personality and mature and tenacious character, which made domestic fans more and more curious about Zeng Zhen. They wanted to see what kind of magic this young man who made a name for himself in the United States had on the court.
As a result, fans quickly uploaded full videos of the NCAA semifinals and finals to video websites in China, and they also edited Zeng Zhen's highlights and spread them on QQ and Weibo.
You won't know how good Zeng Zhen is until you see him; once you do, fans are completely captivated by his skills.
Zeng Zhen dominated during March Madness, facing every opponent he encountered, none of whom seemed as good as him.
After these videos appeared, the number of voices in China that mocked Zeng Zhen for overestimating himself based on preconceived notions, who had never seen Zeng Zhen's matches, suddenly decreased significantly.
Although most fans are not very familiar with Zeng Zhen's draft assessment, they are full of expectations when they learn that foreign media generally believe that Zeng Zhen is likely to be a lottery pick.
Of course, besides his nationality, another reason is that Zeng Zhen is just too handsome.
Zeng Zhen's looks aren't just popular with American girls; they have a similar allure in China as well. He has a huge female fanbase, with many female fans initially mistaking him for a newly debuted male celebrity...
Because of this trait, even the cosmetics brand Lancome China approached Schwartz through its channels, wanting Zeng Zhen to be their spokesperson.
When Schwartz and Zeng Zhen saw the brand endorsement, they were both as if a new world had opened up for them, and they were both shocked.
"Zeng, maybe I should contact more fashion magazines to interview you and change your image. You shouldn't be so ambitious..." Schwartz laughed. "You could totally explore the female market in the NBA."
"Forget it, I don't want to be mocked on the field by the opponents for having female fans. It makes me look weak." Zeng Zhen replied helplessly. Although he didn't want to admit it, Zeng Zhen had discovered over the past period that he had more female fans than other players, and some female fans even formed a fan club specifically for him.
"This beauty brand offered $1 million a year, all you have to do is shoot two GG videos and post some new product tweets. Should I turn it down?" Schwartz said, pulling out the contract.
"Uh, so what if the fans are female? It's not a problem. They're all very cute. If anyone insults them, I'll beat them to a pulp..." Zeng Zhen quickly changed his attitude and hurriedly looked through the contract.
Quickly, I signed my name!
For money, it's not shameful!