nycdaug Chapter 534 The Nets' Third Big Man, a Blockbuster Trade on Draft Night!
Chapter 534 The Nets' Third Big Man, a Blockbuster Trade on Draft Night!
Realizing it was a live broadcast, Woj sat down again, but this time he took a deep breath.
"Mr. Woj, is there any news?" the female host asked upon seeing Woj's appearance.
“Yes.” Woj didn’t put down his phone. Instead, he looked at the text message again, seemingly in disbelief, and read it carefully letter by letter.
The female host could tell from Woj's serious expression that this might not be a simple draft pick trade.
But by then, Adam Silver had already returned to the stage for the audition, so she couldn't ask any more questions.
"The Charlotte Hornets, who have the second overall pick in the first round, selected small forward Brandon Miller from the University of Alabama..."
Miller, sitting in the "Green House," stood up excitedly, hugged his family and friends, and then, led by staff, went down to the stage, put on a baseball cap with the Hornets logo, and went on stage.
It took Woj a full half minute to put down his phone and push up his glasses, which had slipped down from looking down for so long.
"I just received news that the Brooklyn Nets are in talks with the Minnesota Timberwolves about a trade involving Towns!"
"call……"
The air seemed to freeze, and the female host didn't react for a long time.
Towns?
Towns of the Timberwolves?
It seems there aren't many players in the league named Towns.
What did I just say? The Nets want to trade Towns?
"Mr. Woj, could you elaborate?"
"My information is incomplete; it only says that the Nets are in talks with the Timberwolves about a trade involving Towns."
Woj had regained his previous nonchalant demeanor and said, "We all know that the Nets have huge salary cap space this summer and will definitely try to bring in a third star."
"But I didn't expect the Nets to start making moves on draft night."
"I believe the Nets and Timberwolves have been in talks for a long time."
"The timing of this announcement suggests it involves tonight's draft picks."
Woj paused for a few seconds, then continued, "If they trade Towns, the Nets will likely make Ben Simmons the main player."
"This also means that the Timberwolves will officially decide to build the team around Edwards."
As Woj spoke, he flipped through another phone, looked at some document on it, and then continued.
"Another reason I want the Timberwolves to trade Towns is related to salary."
Towns' salary next season is $3597 million.
"But last year, Towns signed a four-year, $2.24 million super contract extension with the Timberwolves ahead of schedule."
"This new contract, with an average annual salary of over 5500 million, will begin to be implemented in the 24-25 season."
“Minnesota is a small market after all, and it’s hard for them to afford three super contracts for Towns, Gobert, and Edwards.”
"I have received information that the Timberwolves will immediately extend Edwards' contract at the beginning of July, with the expected salary reaching 5 years and $260 million."
"So, when Towns and Edwards' new contracts begin to take effect next year, it's not surprising that the Timberwolves would trade Towns at this time."
……
With Woj's announcement of the trade at the draft, Towns' name immediately became a trending topic in both the US and China.
Especially in China, since the Nets were involved, the news spread quickly even in the morning.
In the Tencent live stream, Wang Meng, Yang Yi, and others who were broadcasting the NBA draft stopped introducing the rookies and started talking about Towns.
"Point guard Westbrook, shooting guard Wang Xiucheng, small forward Durant, small forward Towns, and fifth Claxton."
When Yang Yi read out the Nets' possible starting lineup for next season, he was surprised himself.
"Towns played power forward when he was with the Timberwolves. If he comes to the Nets, he can naturally play center. Then the Nets' roster will truly be a lineup where everyone can stretch the floor and shoot threes."
"Don't forget, Towns won the Three-Point Contest."
As Yang Yi was speaking, Wang Meng interrupted him, saying, "We see that the Mavericks, who have the 10th pick, have started making their selections..."
"Wait a minute." Yang Yi suddenly interrupted Wang Meng again at this moment.
Yang Yi looked at his phone, his face showing excitement. "Shams tweeted that the trade between the Nets and the Timberwolves is complete."
"So fast?"
Mina, who was standing next to her, instinctively covered her mouth and said something.
Wang Meng quickly picked up his phone to check, and sure enough, Shams' latest tweet was about the trade between the Nets and the Timberwolves.
"The Nets traded Ben Simmons, this year's 28th overall pick, this year's second-round pick, and two unprotected first-round picks to the Timberwolves."
At the draft, the trade was quickly confirmed by Woj.
Woj also added a detail.
"In addition to Ben West, the Nets also gave up last year's rookie, Zeng Fanbo, from China, in this trade."
This unexpected turn of events left Yang Yi and Wang Meng somewhat bewildered.
Yang Yi said, "This is a trade of the number one pick for the number one pick, but in fact the Nets gave up three first-round picks, including this year's first-round pick, and one of this year's second-round picks."
"Although Benciunas doesn't have a three-point shot, he can still help the team on defense."
"As everyone has seen in this year's playoffs, Ben West is capable of limiting the opponent's key players on the defensive end."
"Whether it's Harden or Tatum, Benci doesn't suffer in terms of physique or speed."
"And when Wang Xiucheng was double-teamed and marked, Benci still had the ability to control and distribute the ball."
"But Ben West's attendance has always been a problem, coupled with his three-point shooting issues, he is indeed not a good fit for the current Nets."
"Trading Ben West for Towns is a huge price to pay for the Nets, with three first-round picks, but the improvement this trade will bring to the Nets will be enormous."
"The only thing is that Zeng is going to the freezing cold of Minnesota."
"Fortunately, being from Northeast China, Xiao Zeng should adapt to the place relatively quickly."
"Zeng had a 41% three-point shooting percentage last season, which is definitely an elite level shooter. However, due to limited playing time, Zeng's stats were not very impressive, especially since he didn't get many opportunities in the playoffs."
"By trading Towns, the Timberwolves clearly need to add a big shooting guard."
"Although he can't be compared to Towns, Zeng is cheap, and that's what the Timberwolves are after."
"Of course, being able to make money for the team in China is also a very important reason."
……
Seeing that the staff had submitted all the documents to the alliance, Wang Xiucheng felt relieved.
In fact, Wang Xiucheng had already asked Shawn to contact the Timberwolves after the Finals.
When Sean heard Wang Xiucheng specifically ask for Towns, Sean's first reaction was that Wang Xiucheng had gone mad.
However, given that Wang Xiucheng was a small business owner and Cai Congxin had not yet expressed his opinion on the matter, Sean had no choice but to approach the Timberwolves.
Surprisingly, the Timberwolves actually have the idea of trading Towns.
Sean had only one thought in his mind at that moment: The Timberwolves have gone mad!
So these days, Sean has devoted almost all his energy to this deal.
Finally, this led to the trade that shocked the league on draft night.
With the completion of this trade, the Nets have finally reassembled their Big Three.
The era of the Big Three, led by Wang Xiucheng, Durant, and Towns, has arrived.