NBA: Be the GOAT starting today!

The next morning, Zhou Yi woke up to find that Daddario had already left the hotel.

This tall girl from the Upper East Side spent a wonderful evening with Zhou Yi.

Looking at the phone number left on the table, Zhou Yi smiled and put it in his pocket.

Life is not a spring that bounces back higher the lower it is compressed. Occasional relaxation and comfort can become fuel for pursuing dreams.

After finishing his Cadillac project, Zhou Yi returned to Davidson College to continue his training.

Afterwards, Cadillac's GG will be launched across the United States and across the ocean, and Zhou Yi's handsome and glamorous image will appear in front of hundreds of millions of people along with the GG.

Time passed day by day during training, until mid-May.

The NBA Commissioner's Office is located at 645 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, on the 20th floor of the Olympic Tower.

David Stern sat behind a red oak table, his gaze sharp and calm behind his glasses as he looked at the report in his hand.

This elderly man transformed the NBA from a struggling second-rate league into a multi-billion dollar global sports and entertainment empire, and has been at the helm of the NBA for 25 years.

Sitting at the red oak table was a bald man wearing glasses, NBA Vice President Adam Silver.

He was David Stern's designated successor and the de facto head of key NBA operations, including global promotion, draft lottery, and labor negotiations.

"Sacramento Kings 25%, Washington Wizards 17.8%, Los Angeles Clippers 17.7%..."

"Looks like these guys are all itching to snatch the number one pick in this year's draft."

Stern looked up at Xiao Hua and continued, "So where do you think Wonder Boy Zhou should be sent?"

Stern's words were full of certainty; when Zhou Yi stepped onto the NCAA final stage, he had already been identified by the commissioner as the number one pick in the 09 draft.

With an outstanding NCAA record, exceptional basketball talent, and being of Asian descent, he is poised to rake in huge profits in the Asian market.

This all means that whichever team the Wonder Boy joins, his performance and earnings will be greatly improved.

The NBA has always touted the absolute fairness and transparency of the draft lottery, but behind the scenes, it's all a pre-arranged charade.

Interests, business, money, and shady dealings are the true nature of this alliance.

"Perhaps the Sacramento Kings would be a good option; they need a star player like Zhou to attract ticket buyers."

A subtle, unnoticed hint lingered in Adam Silver's gaze: the Maloof brothers, owners of the Sacramento Kings, had been mired in a debt crisis in recent years.

If the Book of Changes could be delivered to the King, the Marouf brothers would experience a financial turnaround.

"The King of Sacramento? That's not a good decision."

"The Maloof brothers are not focused on basketball at all right now; they are only interested in saving their casinos."

Stern pondered Shoren's answer, then put the report back on the table and walked to the window to overlook the bustling Fifth Avenue in New York.

"Send that prodigy to the Clippers, Los Angeles is a great place."

"The Clippers need a good small forward, and the matchup against the Lakers will attract a lot of fans."

"If he is a genius and becomes a star player in the league within four years of his rookie season, then we will support him to become the face of the overseas market."

"If he proves unreliable, the Clippers will choose the next player, and we'll let him go."

Stern's words made Xiao Hua pause. The president's decision disrupted his original plans. After thinking for a moment, Xiao Hua said:

"But the Clippers' owner isn't a very good guy. Sterling is stingy, and I heard he has some other bad tendencies."

With his back to Xiao Hua, Stern watched the pedestrians hurrying past on the street below, a glint of shrewdness flashing in the old man's eyes.

"He'll be out of here. A big basketball player is eager to get on the table. He's got his eye on the Clippers and this wonderkid."

......

The NBA Draft Lottery, held in late May at the NBA Headquarters in Secox, New Jersey, was broadcast live by ESPN.

When Clippers president Andy Russell won the first overall pick with the third-best chance, Sacramento Kings legend Chris Webber in the audience had a look of utter frustration on his face.

The Kings fans in the arena had already started chanting obscenities: "We need Zhou! It's a rigged affair!"

The Sacramento Kings need a player with talent and market value, and Zhou Yi is undoubtedly the best choice.

But everything was a pre-rehearsed script, and the Kings were destined to miss out on their desired players.

Zhou Yi watched the lottery show with Curry at Davidson College.

When Zhou Yi saw that the Clippers had drawn the number one draft pick as in history, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to other teams that might get the number one pick, the Clippers are a pretty good option.

The bustling city of Los Angeles, the world's third-largest city, offers Zhouyi (the Book of Changes) a significant opportunity to gain media attention and enhance its commercial value.

The Clippers currently have Baron Davis and Gordon at guard, and Kaman, a short-handed German center, at center.

At the small forward position, Al Thornton is not a very strong competitor for the team.

At the same time, the Clippers are a team that only has history but no star players.

Here, Zhou Yi can become the team's number one player.

After watching the draft lottery program, Zhou Yi returned to his room.

As usual, I opened the system and saw that Zhou Yi had a training progress bar under each of his training skill packs.

During this month, Zhou Yi turned down all business deals except for Cadillac.

Inside the Davidson Arena, Zhou Yi focused entirely on training.

After a month of intensive training, Mashburn's ball-handling skills and Harden's Euro-step skills are about to reach their maximum level.

Hamilton's stamina talent progress bar is already more than halfway through, and Zhou Yi estimates that this talent will be maxed out in the later part of the regular season.

Just as Zhou Yi was pondering the choice of the next skill pack talent, a phone call came in.

Zhou Yi answered the phone, and his agent Austin's voice came through.

"Zhou, your shoe contract is now down to just two companies competing for it. Nike and Adidas have made it to the final round, and we'll be meeting with them at the end of the month to negotiate."

"Okay, Austin."

After chatting with Austin for a while, Zhou Yi hung up the phone.

At the end of the month, Zhou Yi will finish training with Davidson and devote himself to shoe contract negotiations and team tryouts.

With his schedule in mind, Zhou Yi opened his phone and refreshed his social media.

A bombshell report has been released: gossip media outlet TMZ has broken the news.

"Clippers owner Donald Sterling was recorded talking to his girlfriend. In the nine-minute recording, Sterling used extremely insulting language to discriminate against Black people."

The news report also included a recording of Sterling's phone call.

"Nigg"

"Dirty Black people"

Sterling uttered these words, which are among the most sensitive in the United States, and the news instantly caused a sensation across the country, quickly becoming a trending topic.

In Zhouyi's memory, the recording scandal involving Clippers owner Sterling broke in 14, which directly led to the Clippers changing ownership.

The team's owner became Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, a billionaire basketball enthusiast.

But now it happened five years earlier than expected, and Zhou Yi felt as if a powerful hand was manipulating everything.