Chapter 443 1998 NBA Draft 1
Jake and Eva sat at a table next to Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter and their family, it was a request from them to be together and the organization saw no problem with that, they talked a little and the three were very excited for the NBA draft.
After the order of the teams that would choose the players in the draft was defined, sports commentators began to make guesses as to who would be the 10 chosen first, in these choices Jake was the second pick, Carter being the fourth pick and Jamison being the fifth pick.
With so many commentators saying that Carter and Jamison remembered that Jake said that they would be among the 5 first picks of that draft, that day they just laughed, but now it could be a reality, anyway it was certain that their dream of playing in the NBA would be accomplished.
"Welcome to everyone who came to watch the 1998 NBA draft here at TNT sports, today it will be decided which NBA teams will have 58 young players, we will see who will be the 10 first pick of this draft.
"I'm Ernie Johnson and I'm talking about General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia."
"With me here today we have sports commentators Hubie Brown, John Thompson, and Rick Majerus who will comment on the chosen players and the teams that will choose them in this draft."
"Young players are the stars of today and everyone wants to know which teams they are going to, but we must not forget to talk about the possible NBA lockout that could happen on July 1 because the team owners and the players will not reach an agreement."
"If this happens even this season it can happen with fewer games or in the worst scenario we may not have an NBA season if this happens these young players will not have a debut season this season."
"That's right, Ernie, because of this situation this NBA season could be canceled and that will be bad for team owners and players, but especially for fans."
"What is being offered by team owners may harm players and more than that, players fear that if they accept bad conditions another NBA lockout may happen in the future when the owners are not satisfied and want to pay less to the players."
Sports media members and basketball fans were really concerned that this NBA season could be canceled or at least there would be fewer games, players and owners already knew it would happen and were preparing for it.
Media members and fans alike were saddened by this lockout because the NBA was the only major sports league in the United States that had never lost a game because of a work stoppage, and that would change after that season.
"Let's stop talking about the NBA lockout because this NBA draft is about to start, let's listen to the NBA commissioner David Stern."
"Good night everyone, and welcome to the 1998 NBA draft, I thank all the fans who are following this draft, everyone knows the rules and so let's start this draft with the Los Angeles Clippers team who will have 5 minutes to say who will be the first pick of that 1998 NBA draft."
"Now the Los Angeles Clippers team will have 5 minutes to decide who will be their chosen player and the first pick of this NBA draft, who do you think they will choose Hubie Brown?"
"I think they can choose Jake Smith or Michael Olowokandi, analyzing the needs of the Los Angeles Clippers team for sure Jake Smith could be the main player for that team in the future."
"But most likely they will choose Michael Olowokandi, he is a player with a lot of potential and is the Center they want and can be important for the defense and attack of the Los Angeles Clippers team."
"I agree with that too, Michael Olowokandi is the player who seems to best fit the needs of the Los Angeles Clippers team, but I would definitely choose Jake Smith because he can change the future of any NBA team."
Eva was nervous even though she knew that Jake had an agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers team and the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake was relaxed because if David hadn't said anything it was because of the Los Angeles Clippers team hadn't changed their minds.
After a while David Stern came back to announce who the Los Angeles Clippers team had chosen, everyone was tense waiting to see who they would choose, the other teams also had 3 players chosen and awaited the Los Angeles Clippers team's decision.
"With the 1998 NBA draft first pick, the Los Angeles Clippers select Jake Smith."
With the official announcement, Jake and Eva celebrated a lot and the fans who were at the General Motors Place in Vancouver also applauded and liked that Jake had been chosen as the first pick of the 1998 NBA draft, the fans of the Los Angeles Clippers team were very pleased to have Jake as chosen.
Eva was very happy with this and was thrilled because she knew how Jake loved basketball, she knew that Jake didn't need to be a player because of the money because he would earn a lot more by becoming an entrepreneur with so many deals that he did.
Jake's friends were also naturally watching this NBA draft, Matthew, Oliver, Joseph, Clara, Anna, Tiffany, roommates, Kate and many others stopped what they were doing to watch the moment that Jake would join the NBA, and everyone was proud when they saw that he was the first pick of this draft.
Jake put on the Clippers cap and knew it would be for a short time, all the cameras were focused on Jake who was smiling a lot and was even thrilled to make one of his biggest dreams come true before he got that second chance.
Jake went up to David Stern and greeted him and the two took a photo together, it wouldn't be on that day that the Lakers 'team would make the switch with the Clippers' team, they were already thinking about completing the agreement in Los Angeles on Following.
"Contrary to what we expected, the Los Angeles Clippers team made the safest choice and chose Jake Smith in the first pick, everyone expected them to choose Michael Olowokandi for what the Clippers team needed, but Jake's choice was right."
"For sure, Michael Olowokandi has an exciting history in basketball of playing for just 2 years at the University of the Pacific and already becoming one of the most important players in College basketball."
"He may become one of the biggest stars in the NBA like Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Olowokandi may be one of the biggest names in basketball, but for now he's just a bet on that draft."
"Jake Smith is already one of the players that we all know will be a great NBA star for years to come, he is a complete player great in attack and good in defense, if he does half the points, assists and steals he did helping team Tar Heels to win the NCAA tournament twice it will already be a good choice for the Los Angeles Clippers team."
The Clippers team general manager Doc Rivers was in Los Angeles and spoke to Elgin Baylor, as Baylor knew that Jake would not be a player on the Los Angeles Clippers team for a long time he decided to just praise Jake.
"Now Doc Rivers is with Los Angeles Clippers team general manager Elgin Baylor."
"Yes, Ernie, I'm here in Los Angeles with Los Angeles Clippers team general manager Elgin Baylor, Elgin, how difficult was it for you to decide to choose Jake Smith in this draft?"
"It was not very difficult, it was a decision that the team had already decided a few days ago that if it were possible we would choose Jake Smith in this draft, he is an excellent player and will be important for our team."
"It was thought by all commentators that the Los Angeles Clippers team would choose Michael Olowokandi as the first pick in this draft, what has changed for you to choose Jake Smith?"
"We really had a great interest in Michael Olowokandi for our team, but the situation for our team changed and we decided that choosing Jake Smith would be better for our team."
This change that Elgin Baylor was saying was that the Los Angeles Lakers team offered three players who could greatly improve the Los Angeles Clippers team if they chose Jake Smith and switched with the Lakers' team.
In this situation, it was much more sensible if they got these 3 players than betting on Michael Olowokandi, in addition, it was possible that they could still choose Michael Olowokandi because they had the twenty-second pick yet.
"Craig Sager has the number one pick now, let's go to them."
"Thanks, Ernie, I'm here with Jake who was expected to be among the top 5 picks in this draft, because of the excellent season you had in your two seasons on the Tar Heels team."
"But the Los Angeles Clippers team was not expected to choose you as the first pick, what do you think about that Jake?"
"I am very happy to have been chosen as the 1998 NBA draft first pick with so many talented players, I am very happy to have entered the NBA which has always been my dream and I hope I can play well for my team in the coming seasons."
"You have a very different style of play being a PG who scores a lot of points in three-point shots and often prefers assists and also defends well with steals, do you think that your style of play can help deceive opponents or do you think about defining an attacking style in the NBA?"
"I don't think much about it in games, I'm PG and I organize my team's attacks according to the team's coach's instructions, if I have freedom in the attack I'll choose the best way to score and get my team to victory."
"If the defense is putting a lot of pressure on me, I can try assistance if a teammate is better able to score or I can get the dribble to get rid of the opponent."