The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 584 - 6: Socialist Basketball_3

Drafting in smaller years really tests the management’s vision.

The Clippers, picking fourth, chose Danny Ferry, while the Hornets, picking fifth, chose JR Reed from the University of North Carolina.

The Hornets’ choice left the Bulls, who had the sixth pick, unable to fulfill Jordan’s wish to pick a player from North Carolina, so they had to choose Stacey King from the University of Oklahoma.

The Boston Celtics, with the ninth pick, naturally selected Michael Smith.

The real highlights of this draft were in the non-lottery area, where the Golden State Warriors picked Tim Hardaway at the fifteenth spot, the Seattle SuperSonics picked Shawn Kemp at the seventeenth, and then the Chicago Bulls picked BJ Armstrong at the eighteenth.

Typically, players picked in these later positions are quite distinctive, but their flaws are also quite apparent.

Tim Hardaway and BJ Armstrong are both shorter guards, while Shawn Kemp is a high school student not fully developed in all aspects.

Such players often don’t get high priority from earlier teams, making it a test of management’s ability to discover, develop, and patiently and bravely handle young talents.

Cliff Robinson was another similar case. Buckwalter estimated that he would likely fall to the second round.

Even less regarded than these flawed players are the overseas players; many scouts don’t even bother to observe and discover players in Europe—Ah Gan is considered trained under the American system, not as an overseas player.

As Stern stepped up to announce one name after another, it quickly became Portland Trail Blazers’ turn at the twenty-fourth pick.

Buckwalter hadn’t been this nervous in many years and felt like a child who had done something wrong.

But thinking of Don Nelson’s furious reaction made him feel a bit smug. Last season in the Western Conference Finals, Nelson had certainly made things difficult for the Trail Blazers.

By the twenty-third pick, the Atlanta Hawks chose Roy Marble, and Buckwalter breathed a sigh of relief knowing no one had snatched Divac.

He immediately handed the prepared envelope to Stern’s assistant then returned to his seat with a nervous heart.

Two minutes later, Stern stepped up, opened the envelope, and announced with a smile:

"At the twenty-fourth pick, the Portland Trail Blazers choose Vlade Divac from Yugoslavia!"

As soon as Stern announced the result and name, chaos erupted on the Lakers’ side.

Buckwalter could imagine Don Nelson cursing and wanting to call the Trail Blazers’ side.

Sure enough, thirty seconds later, the phone rang at Buckwalter’s end, and he heard Don Nelson’s roar through the receiver.

"Buck! What are you guys trying to pull? You’ve already got Ah Gan and Sabonis. Why are you taking Divac, too? Are you trying to form a Socialist Legion? This is America, America!"

Nelson didn’t even mention the interception, directly attacking the Blazers’ ideology.

Buckwalter’s nervousness had evaporated. It was done, and now it was time to negotiate terms.

"Because we have Sabonis, Ah Gan, and Petrović, we know the quality of these players. It’s every manager’s duty to pick outstanding players. Nellie, if you want Divac, how about we make a trade for Kevin Duckworth, what do you say?"

There was a pause on the other end, and Nelson had calmed down. He knew the Trail Blazers had intercepted on purpose.

"No, we are not moving Kevin. Don’t even think about it. You want James Edwards too, don’t you? I’m telling you, forget it! Edwards is the perfect backup for Ah Gan. Even if we can’t get Divac, I won’t trade either of them to you. Go assemble your Socialist Legion by yourselves!"

Nelson then abruptly hung up the phone before Buckwalter could say another word.

Listening to the dial tone, Buckwalter shook his head and muttered, "Madman. Nellie really is a madman... Xie Te, are we really forming a Socialist Legion?"

If Divac joined the Trail Blazers, they would have four players from Eastern Europe and Chinese socialist countries, an unprecedented scenario in NBA history, and likely hard to replicate in the future.

For a moment, Buckwalter panicked, unsure of Don Nelson’s true intentions.

Was this a strategic play between the Lakers and the Trail Blazers, or had the Lakers firmly decided they didn’t want Divac and were letting him rot in Portland’s hands?

Buckwalter prepared to call Jerry West. He needed the advice that West could offer. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Meanwhile, the Lakers, with the twenty-seventh pick, made their choice: they selected Dino Rađa, also from Yugoslavia.

Buckwalter was somewhat stunned. He had been worried the Lakers might take Cliff Robinson in a trade with the Trail Blazers.

But evidently, the Trail Blazers had kept their plans well secret. They hadn’t worked out Robinson, and the Lakers were unaware of their intent.

Instead, they chose Rađa, a teammate of Divac on the Yugoslav national team and originally a target of the Celtics.

Far away in Boston, in the Celtics drafting office.

Auerbach hadn’t been responsible for drafting since 1986.

However, he still liked to keep an eye on the team’s selections and see who else the other teams had picked.