Anthony the Reborn

Chapter 7 NBA Draft
"Good morning, gentlemen and ladies, and to fans across the United States, and to the American fans watching on **TV and the Canadian fans watching on CBCTV, welcome to the 2003 NBA Draft at Madison Square Garden, You are welcome to join us, and some fans who are coming this way, thank you for your strong presence, let's start, the No. 2003 pick in the NBA in 5 is from the Cleveland Cavaliers, they have [-] Minutes to make a decision."

David Stern read out a long series of opening remarks, which is very familiar to Anthony, but he was only playing games before. Although he would be a little excited, it is completely different from the feeling at the scene , especially now that it is closely related to myself.

He is very likely to become the No. 2003 pick in [-], and his starting point is higher than that of Carmelo Anthony. Maybe he will be able to change Anthony's tragic fate in the future.

5 minutes is a short time, but it seems like a long century to Anthony and his relatives and friends.

Not far from Anthony's seat, LeBron James in a white shirt and his family and friends are also nervous, including Dakomilicic, who is wearing the same suit and red tie as Stern. He is a European player, and his family and friends Fewer people came, but no matter which side it was, they were anxiously waiting for the verdict of fate.

"Bang... bang..."

Anthony's heart beat faster and faster.

Five minutes later, David Stern came out again, and the crowd let out a roar like a tsunami.

David Stern took out the card in his hand, and the Cavaliers team logo slid on the screen behind him, showing that the Cavaliers are selecting players at this moment.

"No. 2003 pick in the [-] NBA Draft, selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers." David Stern paused as he read this.

The players in the small green room, including the audience held their breath, waiting for the name of the 2003 No. [-] pick to come out of David Stern's mouth.

"LeBron James."

Anthony's breath was stagnant, and he squeezed his fist involuntarily. He looked up at Mary and Daphne, as well as his two brothers and two friends. Their expressions were not very good.

James' relatives and friends uttered excited roars and kept cheering, which reached Anthony's ears, making him feel even more upset.

Man is an insatiable animal. When you have no expectations, giving is enough to satisfy people. But when you have the opportunity to get better, but you don’t get better in the end, you will become very frustrated and resentful. , This is the biggest characteristic of human greed.

Originally, if Andrews hadn't told Anthony that he and Grant had reached an agreement, he felt that it would be a good choice to enter the NBA according to Anthony's old path, but he really had the expectation of the No. [-] pick, and Andrews was full of confidence. , It directly made him feel like falling from heaven to hell.

"19-year-old small forward from St. Vincent St. Mary High School."

David Stern continued to introduce James' personal situation, and clips of James' high school games began to play on the big screen.

Soon, NBA staff sent James a cap of the Cleveland Cavaliers. James kissed his mother on the cheek, hugged his friend, and then walked towards the stage under the guidance of the staff.

Watching James walking towards the stage, Andrews' face turned pale. How could this be?It was clear that they had an agreement with Grant earlier, so why did they choose James, a high school student?

The entire table was silent and no one spoke. Andrews looked particularly embarrassed, but he had no choice but to make an agreement with Grant only verbally. The so-called oral agreement was not bound by actual terms. Any party who violated the agreement would be There are no consequences.

In the silence, 5 minutes passed quickly, and David Stern walked out again, this time with the Pistons team logo flashing behind him.

The players and spectators in the Little Green House once again focused their attention on the white-haired old man in front of them.

In the draft office of the Nuggets, Kiki Vandeweghe sat there with a smile on his face. He watched Grant choose James, a high school student, and he couldn't help being elated. Several staff members, let them keep bragging to Grant's ears about how good James is, and how many shortcomings Anthony has. Judging from the current results, his plan has succeeded.

Seeing that the Pistons began to choose, he couldn't wait, because he had done the same thing to the Pistons' draft team, and he trusted his instinct that Anthony was about to enter Denver.

"The second pick in the NBA in 2003, chosen by the Detroit Pistons." David Stern paused as usual.

The scene was still extremely quiet, only the voices of a few children sporadically.

Anthony stared intently at Stern. He felt a little bit of anticipation, but also a little tangled up in his heart. His heart beat violently again uncontrollably.

"Dako Milicic."

Milicic stood up, bowed to the people around him, and then hugged the friends around him, and the staff handed over the peaked cap and walked towards the stage.

"really……"

Anthony's heart fell back at a high speed, and he shuddered involuntarily. He looked up at Milicic who was taking a photo with Stern on the stage. He finally realized one thing. He has traveled through time, but he can't change history. Walk in the direction he should go.

"Are you heartbroken? Do you want to change the fate of this tragedy?"

"Don't dare to decide?"

Anthony recalled those two lines of black words that appeared on the computer. He chose to dare, but can he really change?
"A bunch of bastards!"

Andrews couldn't help but swear, but immediately he returned to silence.Although the future of players is not necessarily determined by the draft, but when you think about the success rate of rookies, the second round cannot be compared with the first round, and the lottery and the No. [-] pick cannot be compared. Most of the time, a team chooses the No. The cornerstone of the team, the lottery is full of too many unknowns, and the status represents the contract, and the contract represents money, which is related to how much money will be made in the future. It is no wonder that Andrews will lose his composure in public.

"Melo, my child, don't worry, mom believes in you." Mary comforted her son at this time.

"Brother, I believe in you too, you will be the next one!" Daphne vowed.

Anthony wanted to say something, but in the end he just looked at Daphne's lovely face and said, "Yes."

"The Nuggets are in Denver Highlands, that's not a good place, Toronto is in Canada, I hope they don't draft you, but let you go to Miami, it's a big city, and the Heat didn't play last year, that old guy It should not be far from retirement, and if you go, it will be the cornerstone of the team." Andrews analyst said.

"I hope." Anthony said with a smile.

As soon as he finished speaking, David Stern walked onto the stage for the third time.

In the draft, David Stern, an old man who is over sixty years old, has to go in and out sixty times, which can be described as exhausting.

In the Nuggets draft office, Kiki Vandeweghe rubbed his hands. Although he already knew the result, he still looked forward to that moment.

The players on the court, including Dwight Wade, Chris Bosh, Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, all of these players are expected to enter the top three, and at the moment they are very disturbed. This is the top three. last chance.

The audience was also unusually quiet, even the noisy children were silent.

The logo of the Nuggets began to float on the screen on the stage, and David Stern was holding a card to announce the ownership of the 2003 NBA No. [-] pick.

"2003rd overall pick in [-], selected by the Denver Nuggets."

David Stern paused habitually.

"If... If it was really me, what should I do? Can I really change this tragic history? Or will I follow the history and go through Anthony's tragic career again?"

At this time, thoughts were surging in Anthony's mind, and he lowered his head quietly waiting for the fate to pronounce the sentence.

"Carmelo Anthony."

Anthony felt a "thump" in his heart, and stood up reflexively.

"Yeah!" Daphne exclaimed excitedly.

Tears of excitement flowed from the corners of Mary's eyes. Her son has succeeded, and all the sufferings he has suffered are over.

"19 years old, freshman from Syracuse University."

With David Stern's introduction, overhead cameras followed, and Anthony and Mary embraced and kissed on the cheek.

After taking the peaked cap handed over by the staff, when he got up and was about to walk to the stage, he looked up and saw Hinrich in the distance giving him a thumbs up, and he seemed to be saying congratulatory words, because the distance was relatively far away. , coupled with the noisy surroundings, he couldn't hear clearly, so he could only respond with a smile, and then walked towards the stage.

"Melo, Melo..."

Fans wearing Nuggets uniforms in the stands began to shout Anthony's name crazily, posing in various exaggerated poses, expressing their excitement for getting Anthony.

Anthony walked slowly up the steps of the stage.

When he was off the stage, he was still troubled, but the moment he stepped on the stage, he turned around and looked at the tsunami of more than 2 people in the stands, that feeling disappeared in an instant, and he stood there, feeling a little dazed for a while .

Not only the 2 people in front of him, but also thousands of others watching him in front of the TV, in front of the computer, and even in his motherland on the other side of the ocean, at this moment he is the focus of the whole world.

David Stern saw that the young man in front of him did not come over to shake hands with him to take a picture like the others, thinking that maybe it was because he was too excited. He was already over sixty years old, so naturally he would not care about young people. He walked down from the podium and walked towards the edge of the stage where he was.

The audience roared excitedly, not knowing who led it.

"Melo! Melo!..."

One after another, the uniform shouts made Anthony's limelight even overshadowed James.

For the first time, the president of the NBA was so far away from the podium.

Anthony's thoughts were brought back to reality by the shouts of the crowd, and he was feeling strange.

"Hey, Mello."

As soon as Anthony turned his head, he saw Stern greeting him with a smile. The half-haired old man had a kind feeling.

"David." Anthony excitedly held Stern's hand, his inner emotions were agitated.

"Let's pose for a photo," Stern said, turning to face the audience.

"Oh... oh, good..." Anthony stammered and turned around.

For a moment, flashing lights were everywhere, and Anthony and NBA Commissioner David Stern took a documentary photo of his draft at the edge of the stage.

(End of this chapter)