Wizards draft office.

Ernie Grunfeld put down the phone.

Just now, he made a choice.

In front of him were many trade proposals for the No. 5 pick.

Their initial choice was the chips offered by the Suns, the 14th pick + the offer for Leandro Barbosa.

But this offer was replaced by offers from other teams after the draft began.

Even if Kerr added Robin Lopez on this basis.

Because Barbosa still has three years left on his long-term contract, and more importantly, he is not the forward-guard swingman they want most.

As for the draft picks, they are not something they value now, because Arenas has returned from injury and they are eager to return to the playoffs and save the sluggish market.

Therefore, combat effectiveness is their priority.

Similarly, they also rejected the Bobcats' trade proposal centered on the No. 12 pick, because the Bobcats also could not provide the kind of swingman they wanted (cheap contract, capable, and able to start).

He finally chose between the following two offers.

One is from the Timberwolves, Randy Foye + Mike Miller, and then the Wizards sent the No. 5 pick + Etan Thomas + Oleksey Pecherov + Darius Songaila.

The other one came from the Bulls, Tyus Thomas + John Salmons, and the difference between the chips they sent and the first one was that there was one less Pecherov.

Let's talk about the chips they sent out first. Etan Thomas, a real garbage contract, played only 26 games last season, averaging 3 points and 2 rebounds per game, with a contract of more than 7 million, but only one year left;

Oleksei Pecherov, the 18th pick in 2006, is a draft pick that has proven to be a complete failure. He played for two seasons and his statistics were only 3 points and 2 rebounds. They were originally planning to give up their contract this season. If they were traded with the Timberwolves, they could just execute the third year to balance the situation.

Darius Songaila, a backup center who had 7 points and 3 rebounds last season, still has a 2-year, $9 million contract. He is the only positive asset, but his value is limited.

So in general, they used the No. 5 pick to trade for a player who can play immediately, and then got rid of the junk contract.

Now let’s look at what they got in return.

First, the Timberwolves. Foye was the No. 7 pick in 2006, a 1.93-meter combo guard. His performance in the first two seasons was average, but in his third year as a rookie, which was last season, he averaged 16 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists per game, but his 40% shooting rate was a bit low.

Mike Miller, a 6'7" swingman, was in his ninth NBA season last season. He averaged 10 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, making him a rotation player with a one-year, $9 million contract.

Then let’s talk about the Bulls.

Tyus Thomas, the No. 4 pick in 2006, is a 6-foot-6 power forward. Thomas is a little special. When he was drafted that year, he was considered a core-level inside player of the team, a violent power forward who could fly and dodge. However, he did not get many opportunities in the Bulls in the first two years and only became the team's starter last season.

Then his entire career trajectory is upward. Last season, he averaged 27 minutes per game, contributing 10.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. He is the Bulls' inside barrier and an important factor in their return to the playoffs.

Salmons, a 6-foot-2 swingman, was in his seventh NBA season last season. He averaged 18.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, with a 47.2% shooting percentage and a 41.5% three-point shooting percentage, which was the peak of his career. He also had a one-year, $5 million contract.

Salmons was traded last season from the Kings to the Bulls. He is a master of chaos and played particularly well in the playoffs last season. He was an important factor in the Bulls' ability to play the Celtics to a seventh game.

So after comparison, this choice is actually not that difficult.

Moreover, the Bulls put out two starters from last season at once, which showed their sincerity.

So the final plan was that they sent the No. 5 pick + Etan Thomas + Darius Songaila, and got Tyrus Thomas + Salmons + a future second-round pick.

…

"I'm not going to Memphis, I'm going to Chicago?"

When Schwartz ran over and told Xu Yong the result, he was really a little confused.

Because he just told reporters that he was looking forward to joining the Grizzlies.

"Yes, it was the Bulls who selected you with the second pick, not the Grizzlies," Schwartz explained, and although he knew it sounded stranger, it was true.

"You mean, the Bulls asked the Grizzlies to select me?" Xu Yong sorted out Schwartz's words.

"Yes, they made a deal, but you know the deal needs to be approved by the league, so this is the result," Schwartz continued to explain.

At this time, a staff member came over to remind Xu Yong that he had to go to the press conference.

Players selected in the lottery must go to the designated press conference site after being interviewed by reporters on the sidelines.

Xu Yong nodded, asked Schwartz to go back first, and then followed the staff to the press conference site.

The journey was not long, but he thought a lot about it.

He doesn't know too much about the Bulls this season, but the Bulls probably don't have the chips to directly trade for the second pick, and he doesn't know how they did it.

Moreover, the Bulls already have Rose as an outside core, which is different from the core he expected.

I don’t know why the Bulls want him so much. You know, the price of getting the second pick must be not too small.

Fortunately, he is an optimistic person and had adjusted his mentality before going to the press conference.

Looking at it from another angle, going to the Bulls may not be a bad thing.

Because although he didn't know much about the Bulls during this period, he remembered that the Bulls would undergo major changes in the summer of 2010, with new head coach Thibodeau and Boozer also coming to the Bulls. At that time, the Bulls were a serious championship team.

Unlike the NCAA, becoming an NBA champion is the highest honor, so it is certainly a good thing to be able to compete for the championship.

And doesn’t this give him a year to develop?

Even if the Bulls spent the money to select him with the second pick, they will certainly focus on training him, which does not conflict with whether Rose is there or not.

After all, no one stipulates that a team can only have one core player. For example, the Celtics have three now, right?

And you have to know that if history does not change, a super team with three top core players will soon emerge.

Fighting against the Big Three on the Bulls?

For someone of his personality, it’s exciting just to think about it!

What's more, the Bulls is the team that Jordan once played for, and going to such a team is also a very exciting thing for him.

So, after he actually sat down, his mood became very relaxed.

"Xu, we just received news that the Bulls completed a trade with the Grizzlies for the No. 5 pick and a future unprotected first-round pick. You will report to Chicago. How do you feel at this moment?" As soon as he sat down, a group of reporters raised their hands. A reporter who stood up after being called asked.

Xu Yong quickly filtered the information given by the reporters.

The No. 5 pick plus a future first-round pick in exchange for the No. 2 pick. Why does this sound so familiar?

By the way, there was a similar transaction in history during the 2018 draft. At that time, the Mavericks had been renamed the Mavericks. They used the No. 5 pick plus a future protected first-round pick to exchange for the No. 3 pick from the Hawks, and used the No. 3 pick to select Luka Doncic, the core of the team for the next decade.

The Hawks used their fifth pick to select Trae Young.

It takes two to tango. The reason why this deal was reached was the result of the common interests of both parties.

For the Hawks, they wanted to select Trae Young, but Young did not have the prospect of being a top three pick at the time. It would be a waste to select him directly, and trading down was the option that maximized their benefits.

For the Mavericks, their biggest worry was that the Grizzlies, with the fourth pick, would snatch Doncic away, so they paid an extra, strictly protected first-round pick to bypass the Grizzlies.

So essentially, the Bulls did this to prevent the Thunder and Kings from snatching him away.

This is definitely a perfect move because the Kings gave him a draft commitment.

As for the Grizzlies, Schwartz had previously told him that Thabeet did not perform well in the tryout, and Rubio and Harden would not go to Memphis for the tryout.

It is not cost-effective for them to directly use the second pick to select Thabeet, and it is too risky to blindly select others. In this case, it is understandable that they want to maximize their benefits.

Maybe they know some inside information about the Thunder and Kings draft.

However, the price the Bulls paid was definitely more than just an unprotected first-round pick next year, because the fifth pick itself did not belong to them, and getting the fifth pick was the bulk of their payment.

Of course, all these just flashed through Xu Yong's mind. Facing the reporter's questions, he remained calm and said happily: "The Bulls are a young and energetic team. I am very excited to join such a team with a bright future."