Chapter 18
May 16, 2017.
"Can we please change the channel?" Tavon asked Haziel who was busy watching a horse race. Tavon would usually leave the angel to his own business, but tonight was different. In just a couple of minutes, the NBA Draft lottery would start. The event that will decide which one of the fourteen teams get the first pick. The team that will land the highly-touted prospect Tavon Cash.
Haziel ignored Tavon's bickering and continued to watch the race while shoving a handful of Cheetos Puffs into his mouth. Determined to watch the lottery, Tavon kept insisting and started to shake Haziel by the shoulder. A few moments later, Haziel finally conceded and looked up to Tavon. "Why do you want to change the channel?"
"The NBA Draft Lottery, of course! Did you forget?"
"No, it's just there's more important things to watch on the television right now," Haziel sighed as he turned his gaze back to the television. "Why do you even care so much? It doesn't matter what team you'll play for. You get drafted, you dominate the NBA, I go home. Simple as that, Tavon."
Tavon shook his head. He slapped the Cheetos Puffs bag out of Haziel's hand, causing a heap of Cheetos Puffs to fall on the floor.
"Why, Tavon? Just why?" Haziel asked Tavon, dumbfounded by his poor Cheetos being soiled by the floor.
While Haziel's guard was down, Tavon snatched the remote from the angel's hand. The remote was covered in grease and Cheetos dust, which was something that Tavon grown accustomed to for the past month since leaving the Miami campus. "Man, why don't you use your clean hand when using the remote? I thought angels are supposed to be more tidy than this."
Tavon quickly wiped off the remote with his pants and changed the TV channel to ESPN. The draft lottery had already started as Mark Tatum had just revealed that the fifth pick will go to the Sacramento Kings. That leaves four teams still in the running for the first pick: the Celtics, the Suns, the Lakers, and the Sixers.
"You do know that we know the results already, right?" Haziel says as he picks up all the fallen Cheetos on the floor. "Since you're not in the NBA yet, things in this universe are still running on the same course as the other universe. Even though you're affecting the mock drafts, you're only replacing Markelle Fultz as the main player to tank for while Fultz slides into Lonzo Ball's role as the #2 player of the draft. Once you get drafted, events in the NBA of this universe will diverge from other universes."
Tavon did not realize this fact until because the outcomes of the seasons in Indiana high school basketball and college were different because he was around. He assumed that a parallel universe would randomly change results of some events; however, that did not seem the case here. What was supposed to be highly anticipated event in Tavon's basketball career turned anti-climatic quickly. Suppose that the draft lottery ends the same way as it did in his previous life, then the first pick would go to the Boston Celtics. In that case, the Celtics would trade that pick to the Sixers. If Tavon was the consensus projected first overall pick instead of Fultz, would the Celtics still trade the pick? That question now rings around Tavon's mind.
"And the fourth pick for the 2017 NBA Draft goes to...the Phoenix Suns." So far, the draft lottery is playing out the same way it did in Tavon's previous life. The Suns, who had the second highest lottery chances at 19.9%, dropped out of the top three while the Sixers move into it.
"See? Silly human, I told you," Haziel gloats while throwing the Cheetos into the trash.
Disappointed, Tavon placed the remote on the table and walked over to the fridge. He took out a Subway sandwich from the fridge and put it into the microwave to warm it up. It was a Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki footlong, not Tavon's favorite thing to get at Subway but he did not mind eating it.
While Tavon was occupied with preparing his dinner, Haziel tiptoed towards the coffee table to get the remote. Tavon, however, was aware of the situation occurring behind his back. Once the microwave finished heating up the sandwich, Tavon grabbed one half of the footlong and threw it in Haziel's direction. The sandwich flew through the air in a perfect spiral so elegant that would make Uncle Rico shed a tear, hitting Haziel right in the face. Haziel was knocked down mere inches from his target to the recently cleaned floor, which was now plastered with teriyaki chicken and vegetables.
"Oh my, Tavon!" Haziel shouted as he slowly stood back up. "How can you waste such good food like that?! Derek Baldwin would've donated that sandwich to charity! Matthew 26:8, Tavon! 'But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?'"
"I don't wanna hear any of that coming from you. How about you act more angelic for once?"
"You humans don't know anything about angels..." Haziel mutters quietly as he grabs a piece of teriyaki chicken off his cheek and throws it at Tavon who dodges it easily. He sat down on the couch, picked up the remote, and changed the channel back to the horse race. "Tavon, it doesn't matter what team gets you. Regardless of how terrible the situation of that team, I will make sure you do not get harmed. I promise you...except if you go to the Lakers."
"What's wrong with the Lakers?"
"Magic Johnson."
"What about Magic- oh no, don't tell me."
"Yes, it is about that. Magic is bald. I know your luck around these hairless individuals, and I am not sure even I can save you from his wrath. Not only is he bald but he has AIDS. Watch out, Tavon. If you work out with the Lakers, be careful with any fluids they offer to you. You might get infected. I can't have my ride back to Heaven be infected with that."
"Screw you, man. Dang...." Tavon throws the other half of the footlong at the back of Haziel's head. If Tavon played football instead of basketball, scouts would be drooling over his arm.
"Tavon, stop wasting food!" Haziel turns around and yells in frustration.
"Then stop with the bald stuff!"
"I can't do that. I didn't want to believe it, but you have ridiculously bad luck against bald people. You're winless against any team that has a bald person, coach or player. At least LeBron has wins in the Finals. You can't even beat someone without hair."
"I'm done talking with you. Good night."
"You still need to clean up the mes-" Haziel tries to tell Tavon who went to his room before Haziel can finish his sentence.
Because Haziel changed the channel before the draft lottery showed who got the number one pick, Tavon had to check on his phone instead. Haziel was right. Everything in the draft is exactly the same. Celtics first, Lakers second, Sixers third. Something Tavon found funny was the video of LaVar Ball celebrating the Lakers getting the second pick as if he expects them to draft his son. With Lonzo's draft stock plummeting dramatically, people think LaVar just gone senile. That Lonzo was just a high school wonder. Nevertheless, the Ball family did not matter to Tavon. He has to focus on the next thing on his list: pre-draft workouts.