With the Duke Blue Devils eliminated in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, this year's NCAA Tournament championship matchup has been officially set.
The No. 1 seed, Villanova University, will face the Kentucky Wildcats in San Antonio!
"This year's NCAA final will be very interesting!"
"Villanova University and the Kentucky Wildcats don't have any consensus hot prospects for this year's NBA Draft!"
At the TNT evening talk show, the TNT crew, led by Kenny Smith, gathered to discuss the interesting phenomenon of this year's NCAA Tournament.
"Perhaps this year's March Madness means that we can no longer only favor teams with consensus hot prospects!"
"Some teams with average overall talent, on the contrary, will make people's eyes light up!"
"And this is precisely the exciting part of March Madness!"
"Until the very last moment, you truly don't know who the final champion will be!"
The final matchup of this year's NCAA Tournament still surprised many American fans.
Teams with top draft picks were eliminated one by one, while two seemingly "average talent" teams fought their way through to battle for the championship!
NBA Executive Discussions
"Bob, this is the young man from Korea I mentioned to you before!"
Meanwhile, in Oakland, at the Oracle Arena, Warriors core player, Stephen Curry, sat in the general manager's office talking to Bob Myers: "Jinwoo, a freshman from the Kentucky Wildcats this year!"
"I've heard of him; his name has been very prominent recently!"
Bob Myers handed Curry a coffee and sat down, saying, "I also read the scout report, and this young man's dynamic talent and the abilities he showed on both offense and defense are both outstanding!"
"That's right, Draymond Green and I watched his game live, and Jinwoo is an incredible talent!"
Curry looked at Myers meaningfully: "Bob, you should understand what I mean!"
"Stephen, you want me to draft him this year?"
Myers said, carefully considering it.
Based on Jinwoo's current ability and talent, he indeed has a very high floor, at least lottery-level, and it's even very possible for him to break into the top five picks.
But the Golden State Warriors are currently on the path to defending their title, and even hope to create a historic dynasty.
Yet, at this critical juncture, the team's core player suggests the team select a potential rookie to develop?
Although Curry is also thinking about the team's future, this indeed conflicts with the team's plans for the next 3-5 years.
If the team wants to achieve dominance, there won't be enough cap space or time to develop Jinwoo to his full potential.
Moreover, letting a super rookie of this caliber join the Golden State Warriors would simply be a waste of talent!
"Bob, Jinwoo is an extremely talented young man, and I believe that if you integrate him into the team, he will bring the team what it wants!"
Curry seemed to have noticed Myers' hesitation: "I even feel that he will seamlessly integrate into the team's tactical system!"
"Stephen, I have never denied Jinwoo's excellence..."
Myers said with a serious face, "But the team currently has no room for any major operations in the draft; if we want to get him, we must dismantle the team's roster!"
This is the current situation of the Golden State Warriors.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and the key veteran players on the bench have almost completely locked up the team's salary cap.
But as defending champions, and with a high probability of completing a repeat this season, you're asking management to dismantle the roster for a young man from Korea?
Unless Bob Myers has lost his mind, there's no way he would do that!
The Phoenix Suns Debate
"In this year's draft, we must select Deandre Ayton from Arizona State University at all costs!"
In Phoenix, USA, at the Talking Stick Resort Arena, inside the team's executive meeting room, then-General Manager Ryan McDonough took a deep drag from his cigar, and in a cloud of smoke, he said wildly, "Deandre Ayton is absolutely the most talented player in this draft class!"
"He has all the potential to become a superstar, and he will also be the end of the small-ball era!"
"And the twin stars formed by him and Devin Booker will be the next O'Kobe duo!"
Although Ayton's Arizona State University was eliminated early, he is still the undisputed top pick in this draft.
As for the reason?
No one would refuse a player whose floor is Joel Embiid and DeMarcus Cousins, and whose ceiling is becoming an all-around player like David Robinson!
And McDonough's intuition told him that Deandre Ayton was definitely a genius!
He is a super rookie who can lead the team to a rapid rise!
However, then-head coach Igor Kokoškov (Philip Kokoskov) did not agree with McDonough's opinion.
He shook his head and held up two fingers, saying, "Deandre Ayton is indeed excellent, but his lack of focus on the defensive end and his passive attitude towards confrontation mean he will never become a true superstar!"
"And I think Luka Dončić, who is already famous in the European leagues, and Jinwoo from the Kentucky Wildcats, are much better targets for this year's draft!"
After Coach Kokoškov finished speaking, the entire meeting room erupted in a flurry of discussions.
Many people nodded secretly, clearly agreeing with Coach Kokoškov's statement.
It's 2018!
The entire league is dominated by small-ball tactics, and a big center of Ayton's caliber is not suitable for today's league!
But McDonough frowned and glared fiercely at Coach Kokoškov.
He was very dissatisfied with this coach who openly contradicted him.
Taking a deep breath and exhaling a puff of smoke, McDonough continued, "Luka Dončić and that young man from Korea are indeed very talented, but compared to Deandre Ayton, they are simply not on the same level!"
"You'd best look at the scout report on Ayton; would you refuse a Hall of Fame player whose ceiling is David Robinson?"
"Furthermore, the team's backcourt already has Devin Booker as a cornerstone; with him, the team's need for reinforcement is not the backcourt, but the frontcourt!"
McDonough spoke, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone in the meeting room.
Perhaps it was due to his powerful aura.
Perhaps it was due to his position as the team's general manager.
At this moment, almost no one spoke up to refute him.
"General Manager, you are absolutely right!"
Seeing that the time was ripe, a very perceptive staff member expressed his opinion at the appropriate moment: "Deandre Ayton will be our only target in this year's draft!"
"We must bring him to Phoenix!"
Seeing someone agree, McDonough stood up directly from his seat: "According to the rumors I've heard, many teams have already started to closely monitor Deandre Ayton!"
"He will definitely be a top three pick in this draft, and we must bring him to Phoenix!"
"I said MUST!!"
Similar discussions about Jinwoo and Deandre Ayton were happening among the executives of various NBA teams.
However, many teams, like the Phoenix Suns, had varying degrees of hesitation about choosing Jinwoo.
No one dared to bet their high draft pick on a young man from Korea who had only played a few college games.
More executives stated that all decisions would be made after the NCAA final.