Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1023 - 589 I Thought It Was 2003 Now

Chapter 1023: Chapter 589: I Thought It Was 2003 Now Chapter 1023: Chapter 589: I Thought It Was 2003 Now “Yao’s arrival saved Arne Trem’s precarious career!”

Because of the extremely bad press Trem was currently facing, Yu Fei played down his role in recruiting Yao Ming.

Of course, some credit wasn’t his to shrug off.

After all, many things that had little to do with him were attributed to him by the media; how could such a major event, which almost certainly involved him, be as the outside world proclaimed, that Trem was key to Yao Ming’s signing with the Clippers?

Were Trem and Yao Ming close?

On the contrary, Yu Fei’s friendship with Yao Ming was well-known both inside and outside of the circle.

Yao Ming was willing to come to the Clippers only because of Yu Fei.

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However, this view was only popular among the fan base.

At the level of media led by public opinion, those media close to the Clippers would keep a unified stance with the team, Yu Fei’s camp would remain silent, and those third-party media trying to analyze objectively—even if they could reason out many points—lacked substantial evidence, rendering their arguments just armchair strategies with little persuasive power.

Trem successfully kept his job.

If he hadn’t produced some results, Steve Ballmer might have replaced him earlier.

Ballmer hadn’t acted before because Trem had done the team a service by bringing in Yu Fei, but that service wasn’t enough to offset the “mistakes” he made before bringing in Yao Ming.

Ballmer wasn’t concerned with the pros and cons of operation; once the team’s market value and commercial value were affected, it was time for a reckoning.

However, Trem’s successful introduction of Yao Ming made up for the previous losses.

At 34, Yao Ming was still one of the most commercially appealing stars in the world.

With both Yao Ming and Yu Fei, Ballmer could already see the day when the Clippers would stand unrivaled in the distant Eastern market.

Yao Ming knew the situation with the Clippers well, so at the official press conference announcing his signing, he particularly emphasized Trem’s role.

A reporter asked, “What role did Frye play in this?”

Yao Ming humorously responded, “Frye played Frye’s role.”

The reporter pressed, “Is that even an answer?”

“Yes, only Frye can be like Frye.”

Later, Yao Ming spoke about the significance of transferring to the Clippers.

He admitted that the Clippers were his fourth professional team and very likely the last one. Nevertheless, he was not here to coast; he still had grand ambitions.

“I believe the future holds infinite possibilities, and at the same time, I also believe it’s possible to end my basketball career as a Clippers player,” Yao Ming said. “My greatest wish is to, like Frye, continue to win three consecutive championships after the transfer!”

Once, Yu Fei’s three consecutive championships after a team change sparked much controversy.

But when Supersonics won four in a row, such doubts vanished like smoke.

The “sole empire” of six championships in six years had become a consensus.

Yao Ming expressing his desire to achieve a similar feat like Frye undoubtedly filled Clippers fans with anticipation for the new season.

Coming to the Clippers with Yao Ming was also Klay Thompson, whose arrival seemed much more understated.

Initially, Clippers fans were furious with Trem for trading Griffin for Thompson and Ervin, but with the addition of Yao Ming, emotions gradually settled.

Upon reflection, Thompson’s merits were clear.

On paper, he was the most popular type of 3D player. Setting aside the trade for Griffin, the Clippers strengthened their interior and backcourt with Thompson and Yao Ming, greatly improving the team’s spacing. No longer would they find themselves in the ridiculous situation where the entire team relied solely on Yu Fei to create space.

However, from another angle, Griffin could have stayed, and Yao Ming would still have come.

The Clippers could have had the Griffin and Yao Ming duo.

Thinking of this, some people’s fists involuntarily clenched.

Arne Trem was still unforgiveable!

But these complaints could no longer stir up much trouble.

At least from the outcome, the Clippers had a successful off-season, and what remained was to make targeted reinforcements based on the team’s needs.

The off-season had officially arrived.

The Clippers secured Yao Ming before the free agency bidding war even started, resolving a major summer suspense.

But the summer was far from over.

The Brooklyn Nets Big Three broke up and collectively entered the free agency, making those teams with cap space but lacking star power frantic.

However, the stars in the chaotic free market arrived quickly and left just as swiftly.

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Although this summer lacked a powerful figure to coordinate other free agents to converge in a city to create a new superteam out of thin air.

But no one wanted to turn signings into a waiting game.

Especially when the choices were slim.

The defending champions, Miami Heat, explicitly stated they weren’t interested in the star players on the market.

The Spurs, having lost the finals two years in a row, saw Yao Ming’s departure as their best chance for revenge in the next season and decided to keep their lineup unchanged.

The Warriors landed Griffin, had Joe Johnson, and a host of other contracts, leaving no space to sign a third star—and they didn’t need one.

Having acquired Yao Ming, the Clippers no longer had the cap space to sign a third star player.

Looking at the free agency landscape, only the Cleveland Cavaliers were left as a competitive team with cap space.

However, Anthony and Paul, who had good personal relationships with James, and Howard, who was pursuing basketball joy, all considered the Cavaliers a good team, but unanimously thought Cleveland wasn’t a good place.