I remember walking into Barclays Center to cover my first NBA Draft, a sophomore in college. I took in all the sights and sounds around me as I stood on the Barclays Center floor, noticing all the big networks setting up their stations and players gathering on stage to take pre-draft pictures. There was a guy who stood out. Vividly. He had red-and-black plaid pants on and seemed to be making jokes on the stage.
My first thought: That dude has some character. “That dude” was Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Later that night, the Portland Trail Blazers traded Hollis-Jefferson to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Mason Plumlee (and a pick that became Pat Connaughton).