Bishop of the Devil

Soon, it was the Pistons' turn to make their roster.

Richard took a look and saw that the Pistons' protection list was pretty much what he thought...

Yao Ming, Gerald Wallace, Nash, Laga Bell, Boozer, Joe Johnson, Prince, David Lee.

On the exposed list, Milicic, Josh Howard, Hu Weidong, David West, Arenas and others are among them.

Clark is a free agent and is not considered.

The Pistons' roster did not exceed Richard's expectations, and he had already made up his mind to choose Milicic.

Jordan watched from the side as Richard began to observe the Pistons' roster and couldn't help but sigh.

"Hey, it would be perfect if there was no rule that each team could only choose one person."

"We can directly take over all the Pistons' exposed roster players, and that will create a strong team."

Richard laughed. Jordan was definitely right. If they could get all the remaining players from the Pistons, their Pirates would have an easy start.

But this is obviously impossible...

While the two were talking, Richard's phone rang. He grabbed it and saw that it was Dumas calling.

After Richard left the Pistons, Dumars returned to his old position as the team's general manager. Now he called Richard for some unknown reason.

"Li, is it convenient to speak now?" Dumas's voice sounded helpless.

"Convenience, what's the matter?" Richard glanced at Jordan beside him.

"That's right, we are going to use the 29th pick in the first round in exchange for your Buccaneers to select Darko Milicic in the expansion draft." Dumas said with a wry smile.

Judging from Dumas' tone, he was obviously unhappy...

Richard was startled, this was interesting. He had been in the team before and publicly said that he would choose Milicic in the expansion draft.

Why did the Pistons make such a request?

Are you afraid that you will lie to them and play hard to get, deliberately saying that you want to choose Darko Milicic, and then choose Josh Howard or David West?

Or do you mean to deliberately send warmth and want to give yourself a first-round pick for nothing? !

Judging from Dumas' tone, it seems that the latter possibility is more likely.

What Richard didn't know was that the old Davidson really thought about it for a long time before making this decision.

It's a way of sending warmth, of course, but also for the interests of the team.

You must know that the Pirates are not owned by Richard, Jordan also holds half of the shares.

If Jordan were to kill Milicic, wouldn't it be difficult for Richard to handle it?

Under such circumstances, the old Davidson simply sent warmth. Anyway, Richard is gone, and a last pick in the first round is not of much value.

Even if there is some value, it is definitely not as valuable as Josh Howard or David West.

The value of these two people is comparable to the top ten picks in the first round!

It's better to use it to ensure that Richard can choose Milicic more smoothly.

From the perspective of the Pistons, despite what Richard said, Milicic just has no value...

At least compared to the value of Josh Howard or David West, it is much different.

"Okay, man, thank old Mr. Davidson for me. He is a good man." Richard said with a smile.

This is almost a piece of pie-in-the-sky good news. Richard picked up a first-round pick for nothing.

Although the pick is really embarrassing, the 29th pick in the first round, it is still good to use it to get Varejao or Ariza.

The following 2004 draft was neither a big year nor a small year. There were no outstanding players in the second round, which is what Varejao and Ariza said.

In the first round, the number of stars is quite impressive, including Howard, Okafor, Ben Gordon, Deng Yingqiao, Iguodala, Devin Harris, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, Tony Ah. Len and Kevin Martin.

If the Pistons' draft pick was not such an embarrassing 29th pick, then Richard would probably choose Tony Allen, the backcourt defensive anchor.

But now it seems that there is definitely no chance. The Pirates are so poor that they have no leverage to improve the 29th overall pick.

The reason why it will be the 29th pick, not the 30th pick, is because the Timberwolves' draft rights have been revoked.

However, there are a total of 30 picks in the second round, and the Timberwolves still retain a second-round pick.

…

After hanging up the phone, Richard thought for a moment. The Pirates still had a first-round pick No. 4, a first-round No. 29 pick, and a second-round No. 4 pick.

Three picks in total, not bad.

"Lee, what did the Pistons say?" Jordan asked curiously.

"They are willing to give us a first-round pick and let us choose Milicic." Richard did not hide it and told Jordan directly.

"What? This is impossible. We will never choose Milicic. Even if they give a first-round pick, the value is far less than David West or Josh Howard." Jordan looked a little excited.

"No, Michael, I already promised them."

"What? Li, why did you agree to them? This is obviously a loss-making deal." Jordan was a little crazy.

He suffered a loss from Kwame Brown, so he doesn't want to get involved with Milicic at all. If Milicic can't play, he will probably be accused of poor selection.

Judging from the current situation, Milicic is obviously a parallel import, and it is strange that he can be beaten.

Seeing Jordan looking so excited, Richard couldn't help but sigh.

"Michael, I remember we said at the beginning that I would do all the work on lineup construction. I wonder if you remember this?"

Jordan looked startled, "Remember, but you really have to think about it carefully, Milicic is a trap!"

"I know your team-building style. You like to use the inside as the cornerstone to build the team. It's better to choose David West. He has good strength. I think it is more reliable to choose him."

Jordan tried to dissuade him. He valued the Pirates very much and didn't want anything bad to happen from the beginning.

"Don't worry, Michael, I know what I'm doing."

"I have read the list and selected six players in total." Richard handed his list to Jordan.

Jordan has also finished selecting. What makes Richard speechless is that Jordan's list is full, with at least twenty players' names.

Richard was dumbfounded. Jordan really accepted everyone who came. Almost every team selected a player.

On the Bulls side, Jordan finally chose Pippen.

"Michael, we will select three players in the draft. If the Pirates have a full fifteen-man roster, then we can select up to eleven players in this expansion draft."

"Considering that at least fourteen players will be selected, we will select three restricted free agents and will not sign them at that time to avoid additional salary expenditures at that time."

"What do you think?" Richard said to Jordan with a very clear mind.

Jordan nodded, there was no problem with Richard's thinking at all.

Now that they are the boss, they have to consider the cost. They must know that if they choose players with guaranteed contracts, they will have to spend money if they want to lay them off...

"Okay, Lee, then we will select eleven players and three more restricted free agents to make up the number."

"I only have one request, bring Pippen over. I know his strength very well. There is still energy in the tank right now, and his experience can also help these new players."

Richard really wanted to tell Jordan whether it was useful to choose Puffy...

However, Pippen's salary was not high, and there were no good candidates. Richard finally agreed to Jordan.

…

Originally, Richard was planning to choose Grant Hill, but in the end he gave up the idea. It would not be too late to consider it after Hill's two-year contract ended. At that time, the price/performance ratio would be better.

Milicic, Mourning, Bobby Simmons, Alvin Williams, James Jones, Jason Kapono, Pippen and the rest of the no-names.

Looking at such a list, Richard couldn't help but smile bitterly. This might be the worst lineup he has ever coached since time travel.

Even if there are some gains in the draft a few days later, this lineup is definitely not luxurious. Looking at the league, it may be regarded as relatively bottom.

But there is nothing we can do about it. After all, we are a new team and we don’t expect to win the championship in the short term. It would be good if we can put together a framework.