Y13 [EN]: Chapter 226

Y13-226 2011-2012 Regular Season

“Is there a player you want to pick first?”

Charles Barkley broached the subject first, and Shaquille O’Neal looked at Barkley with a dubious expression.

“Oh, no! I’m not saying I’m going to pick you as my first pick, Shaq~”

“What do you mean, no! I knew it! Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already thought about a few players for my first pick.”

Barkley looked intrigued, and Shaquille shrugged and casually said to Barkley,

“Ricky Rubio, Kyrie Irving, Paul George?”

“Hey, don’t joke around. Don’t you think the same as me?”

…

“Just watch the draft later. It’s no fun if I say it in advance, right?”

O’Neal said, “Right?” with a grin. As the live broadcast preparations were completed, the PD [Production Director] sent a filming signal, and the two finished their conversation while looking at the camera.

“We greet you with BBVA RISING STARS. One of the events of the All-Star Break that has changed this season, the Rookie Challenge has been changed to the Rising Stars Challenge, and Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley, who are standing here, will directly pick the members of Team Shaq and Team Chuck!”

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley waved their hands with playful expressions, and Kenny Smith stood in front of the board with the player list and greeted.

“The rules are as follows. Team Shaq and Team Chuck each have 8 picks, and the last 4 picks will be drawn blindly by Kenny Smith, the commissioner of this Rising Stars Challenge, to complete the team. The players are divided into 3 groups. (B) is Backcourt (Guard), (F) is Frontcourt (Forward-Center), and (X) is Flex, which refers to a flexible position. For the first 7 picks, you must pick at least 3 backcourt players and 3 frontcourt players. Of course, flex players can be classified as either backcourt or frontcourt.”

Kenny Smith gestured to the two of them as if telling them to look good to him, with an arrogant expression.

“Team Shaq will be coached by Steve Kerr and Ron Adams, and Team Chuck will be coached by Mike Fratello and Maurice Cheeks. They are all commentators now. Now! Shall we start forming the teams? Each time you nominate a player, you have a 24-second time limit.”

“Shall we pick the first member to be on Team Shaq? Shaquille O…”

Shaquille O’Neal shouted a person’s name before Kenny Smith could even finish his question, as if he had been waiting for it.

“Blake Griffin!!”

“Hahaha.”

Charles Barkley chuckled at O’Neal’s immediate answer. Kenny Smith, who asked the question, also smiled lightly and asked O’Neal again.

“Shaq? You have 24 seconds per draft, shouldn’t you think about it a little?”

“NONO. Griffin, Griffin. I was determined to pick Blake Griffin as my first pick no matter what. Don’t try to take Griffin, who is already in my arms!”

When Kenny Smith asked again, Shaquille O’Neal only repeated NO and Griffin as if there was no need to reconsider.

“Oh, he doesn’t hesitate for even a second and shouts it out right away. It seems he already had it in mind. Even if I told him to think about it a little more, he would firmly say Griffin again.”

Kenny Smith burst into a hearty laugh when O’Neal finished his first nomination so quickly. Kenny Smith shouted, ‘It’s a draft, so make it a little more suspenseful!’ and Shaquille O’Neal covered his ears with his big hands as if he couldn’t hear anything and closed his eyes.

“Haha. To be honest, out of the 20 players on this list, two are already far ahead of the other 18. It’s just a matter of choosing between the two. It’s a simple choice, and even the positions are different, so O’Neal, who values big men, will definitely not have to worry about it. Of course, he won’t change his mind.”

Barkley nodded as if he understood and dissed Shaquille O’Neal, saying, ‘He’s a simple person, isn’t he?’ and Shaquille O’Neal slightly retorted to Charles Barkley’s words, saying, ‘Someone as simple as me!’

“So, Barkley, you’ve decided who to choose too, right? O’Neal has chosen one, so you’ll automatically pick the remaining one, right? Now! Then, let’s talk about it, which player will Team Chuck pick for the second pick?”

At the commentator’s question, Barkley shrugged, hesitated a little, and then opened his mouth with a laugh.

“I’ll choose Youngjae Yoon.”

Kenny Smith, with an “of course” expression, picked up the magnet with Youngjae’s name written on it and placed it at the very top of TEAM CHUCK.

“Didn’t you not get your desired choice because you picked later than O’Neal? Weren’t you also eyeing Blake Griffin?”

Smith asked Barkley as if probing him, but Barkley answered Kenny Smith’s question skillfully with a “it’s okay” expression.

“No. I personally rate Youngjae Yoon higher than Blake Griffin. Even if I had the first pick, I would have chosen Yoon, not Griffin. Yoon’s performance this season is one of the best among second-year players ever. How many cases are there where a second-year player takes on the ace role in a defending champion team, not a lower-ranked team? Simply having good stats is different from being able to play the ace role in a strong team like the defending champion. Even though there is Dirk Nowitzki, who had an MVP-level [Most Valuable Player] season last year.”

At Charles Barkley’s words, Kenny Smith also asked Shaquille O’Neal, ‘Do you think so too?’ and Shaquille O’Neal made a troubled expression and told his thoughts.

“Until right before the recording, I was worried about whether to pick Griffin or Yoon. If I had to pick just one of the two, I would have picked Blake Griffin because I thought I needed a big man. Youngjae Yoon, he’s really attractive. But I just thought my team needed a solid big man.”

That’s how Youngjae was picked as the second player, the first for Team Chuck.

“Now, it’s time to pick the next second player. Shaquille O’Neal?”

…

“Shaq, it’s your turn.”

Shaquille O’Neal pondered for a moment with his lips pursed, then confidently shouted the next player.

“Kyrie Irving!”

“Okay. As expected. If you picked a big man, you have to pick a guard next.”

Kenny Smith moved Kyrie Irving’s name tag as if he knew it. But Smith put Kyrie Irving on TEAM CHUCK instead of TEAM SHAQ, and Barkley was horrified and stopped Smith.

“Oh, Smith? Not there. Irving is not on my team.”

“Ah, what a mistake. I personally wanted to see the combination of Youngjae Yoon and Kyrie Irving.”

“Now, shall we exercise the next second pick? Barkley?”

“Um, I’ll pick DeMarcus Cousins.”

That’s how they each picked 8 players, a total of 16 players, and Kenny Smith randomly picked and placed the remaining 4 players, and the rosters of both teams were decided. Brandon Knight, Tristan Thompson, Evan Turner, and Kawhi Leonard were not selected until the 16th pick and were randomly assigned.

[Team Shaq – Shaquille O’Neal Team]

(F) Blake Griffin (LA Clippers/2nd year)

(B) Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers/1st year)

(B) Ricky Rubio (Minnesota Timberwolves/1st year)

(F) Greg Monroe (Detroit Pistons/2nd year)

(F) Markieff Morris (Phoenix Suns/1st year)

(B) Kemba Walker (Charlotte Bobcats/1st year)

(X) Landry Fields (New York Knicks/2nd year)

(B) Norris Cole (Miami Heat/1st year)

(B) Brandon Knight (Detroit Pistons/1st year)

(F) Tristan Thompson (Cleveland Cavaliers/1st year)

[Team Chuck – Charles Barkley Team]

(B) Youngjae Yoon (Dallas Mavericks/2nd year)

(F) DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings/2nd year)

(X) Paul George (Indiana Pacers/2nd year)

(F) Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves/1st year)

(X) MarShon Brooks (New Jersey Nets/1st year)

(B) John Wall (Washington Wizards/2nd year)

(X) Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz/2nd year)

(F) Tiago Splitter (San Antonio Spurs/2nd year)

(X) Evan Turner (Philadelphia 76ers/2nd year)

(X) Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs/1st year)

*The order is the order in which they were nominated.

“Well, all nominations are complete. We are voting on Twitter for the expected winning team of Team Shaq and Team Chuck. Thank you for your participation. Voting was in progress even before the teams were decided, and O’Neal is leading Barkley by 65% to 35%.”

“O’Neal mainly has first-year players, and Barkley mainly has second-year players. It wasn’t intentional, but it’s an interesting point. And the X players are mainly swingmen [players who can play multiple positions] who go back and forth between 2nd and 3rd, but O’Neal’s team has only 1, and Barkley’s team has 5. O’Neal’s team seems to have a more flexible player composition.”

Shaquille O’Neal said that he was not worried about the first year, with a confident expression as if he didn’t care.

“I am very satisfied with the team composition. Let’s properly humiliate Barkley. I am confident that I picked better than Barkley. Barkley’s team lacks too much flashiness. My team is the one that can get a big response at the All-Star Game.”

Barkley scoffed at the flashiness and opened his mouth with a proud expression as usual.

“O’Neal is too confident, isn’t he? I am also very confident. The players I picked are players who are good at teamwork and can lead the team to victory. And O’Neal seems to have only considered the player’s name value. It seems like he sent the positional balance far away to Andromeda [a distant galaxy, implying a great distance]. Since there are many second-year players, they will show their experience. Look forward to it.”

The Dallas team headed to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on the morning of the 17th for an away game against Philadelphia on the 17th.

“Wow, it’s an away game in Philadelphia.”

The players looked exhausted, but they talked in exciting voices like people going on a trip, as if to cheer themselves up.

“Why are you taking that?”

Youngjae tilted his head while looking at Bobois’ large carrier, and Bobois smiled slightly and opened the carrier. Except for light clothing, it was empty inside.

“I’m going to Philadelphia, so I’m going to buy some famous cheese steaks, and my father likes the Philadelphia Phillies [a professional baseball team], so I’m going to buy some baseball caps and baseball equipment and send them to my parents.”

Bobois talked to Youngjae with an embarrassed expression. However, the players, who were glancing at Coach Carlisle, who was not leaving even after time passed, wondered if something was wrong as they saw Coach Carlisle talking on the phone with a serious expression.

“… Bobois.”

Coach Carlisle called Bobois personally and handed his smartphone to Bobois, and Bobois accepted the smartphone with a puzzled expression, wondering what was going on.

…

“Ah. Ah…”

Bobois, who was on the phone, didn’t say anything, and suddenly, thick tears began to fall. Soon, Bobois handed the smartphone to Coach Carlisle, covered his face with both hands, and sat down on the spot.

“Bobois. For now, go to France without thinking about anything.”

Coach Carlisle called a manager and attached him to Bobois so that he could cut Bobois’ ticket to France, and when Bobois disappeared, Coach Carlisle quietly opened his mouth to the players who were curious.

“Bobois will have to go to France for quite some time starting today. It is undecided when he will return.”

“What… happened?”

…

“Bobois’ father passed away.”

At Coach Carlisle’s words, the players looked at Coach Carlisle with shocked expressions, and Coach Carlisle also explained to the players in a serious tone.

“I received a call that he suddenly collapsed last night and was unconscious. But even then, I thought he was okay… I just received a call that he passed away.”

“What is the cause?”

“… Unknown cause. That’s what they said.”

============================ Author’s Note ============================

★Thank you to those who gave advance reservations, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

＠I adapted the actual broadcast. With Youngjae’s record and skills, he is definitely one of the top two players among those under 2 years old, along with Griffin. To be exact, Griffin was drafted in 2009, but he couldn’t play in any games, so in the case of the All-Star Game, he is classified as a second-year player. So, it was recorded as a first-year player at last year’s All-Star Game.

＠Shaq tends to rate big men highly and guards lowly. I don’t know the exact reason. Barkley tends to value swingmen more than O’Neal. I think it’s because he is a unique position as a short power forward. Barkley’s height is probably similar to or slightly taller than Youngjae. I know it’s less than 2M.

＠Bobois actually suffered the loss of his father at this time. After two major injuries, his potential itself dropped a lot, but he was still showing activity as a usable player in the early to mid-season, but in the second half, he completely turned into Boboam. It’s not certain, but I think the influence of his father’s death was not small.

h0h/// Haha, any comments are welcome. I appreciate any questions or tackles.

비켜봐/// Of course, it’s only 3 games… but he’s playing the game by himself.

울트라10/// Of course, he is a good player with off-the-ball movement, but it’s not very good. His catch and shot is less than 30%. He is a player with his own rhythm, so he puts in ridiculous shots, but he can’t put in easy spot-ups;;; It’s strange.

-DarkANGEL-/// Utah’s regret is that they couldn’t win the championship during the Stockton Malone era. It doesn’t seem easy to win the championship for the time being. Among the teams I like, there aren’t many teams that have won the championship in the last 10 years.

유민팜, 이동석동, misscherry, 아이라마, 파이넨시아, 여신유리찬양/// Thank you for your comments. Feel free to add anything ㅎㅎ

친/// That’s right. Even in today’s Houston game, Houston lost their minds in the second half, so they were leading by 20 points in the first half, but they were 40 points behind in the second half and lost by 20 points. Well, Harden being blocked was a big factor. Harden was 0/10 from 3-point range, and his field goal percentage was also a disaster.

사라질영혼/// 엌ㅋㅋㅋ We have too much to give up to do a series of chapters…… ㅠ.ㅠ

goimosp/// As the trend goes, dual guards have become more popular than pure point guards. As the proportion of 3-pointers has increased so much, if the point guard can’t score, the team’s score decreases. It’s difficult if the point guard is more of a man, but he has to be a decent 2nd or 3rd option. Of course, the Golden State Warriors are an exception.

1지노1/// No one knew that Curry would explode this much ㄷㄷ

Luscinia/// Well, with Samsung’s training system, the playoffs next year will be enough. And if you look at the precedents, it seems like he will only receive a slight game suspension and return next season. In Korea, there has been no case of permanent expulsion except for match-fixing.