Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 390 - 252: The Thunder Rolls Away

Chapter 390: Chapter 252: The Thunder Rolls Away

During Fei’s suspension, the eight opponents the Bucks faced could all be considered tough competitors.

They were the Lakers, The Celtics, Spurs, Pacers, Miami Heat, Pacers (triple-header), 76ers, and Kings.

Among these eight opponents, seven were playoff-caliber teams, including championship contenders such as the Spurs and Pacers, making it arguably the most intense stretch of games in the league at the time.

Even so, suffering eight consecutive losses was unacceptable.

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Of these eight opponents, the Bucks had the best chance of winning against The Celtics, but the game where they came closest to victory was the first one against the Lakers.

That was the game where Ray Allen was most determined.

Kobe had an off night, going 4 for 13 and relying on 12 free throws to score 20 points, while Ray Allen was 11 for 16, scoring 32 points for the game, but the Lakers’ bench unleashed Brian Cook, who would later pair with Kobe to score 81 points in a future game.

Cook, as the wild card in this game, scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Lakers narrowly defeated the Bucks with a 4-point lead.

In the following seven games, the Bucks lost each game by at least 5 points, with Ray Allen’s performance tapering off, from his dominance against the Lakers to his helplessness against teams like the Spurs and Pacers.

The game against The Celtics was the most unacceptable.

The Celtics were a team that was genuinely tanking, with Ainge making a series of moves after taking charge, converting immediate assets into draft picks, and making everyone available for trade except for Pierce.

Winning against such a team is the minimum expectation, the question is by how much.

But the Bucks didn’t win; instead, they lost by 11 points.

Ray Allen was left isolated, his teammates unwilling to cooperate with him or pass him the ball, and even when Karl called a timeout and demanded that the players pass to him, it was to no avail.

This disheartened Ray Allen, making him feel as if he had lost the respect of his teammates and his status within the team.

On December 16, 2004, Fei was reinstated and faced off against the Bulls in his first game back.

The Bucks’ starting lineup was Fei, Ray Allen, Brent Barry, Devean George, and Dikembe Mutombo.

Karl attempted a big-small lineup, putting the burden of winning on Fei’s shoulders.

Fei did not disappoint, recording a triple-double with 35+10+10 stats in his comeback game, leading the team to end their losing streak.

Previously, Fei could only sense the internal changes through game tapes, but now, having stepped onto the court himself, he realized just how helpless Ray Allen had become.

His teammates didn’t verbally or physically abuse him; they just adopted a non-cooperative attitude.

This was silent aggression.

But the impact was no less destructive than a physical altercation within the team.

Fei’s approach was to pass the ball to Ray Allen more, but his singular choice could not sway his teammates’ thoughts.

The hostility at The Palace of Auburn Hills continued to spread.

Ray Allen distanced himself that day, and as a result, he was also ostracized within the Bucks.

He had missed the most crucial conflict in his life.

Fei’s return couldn’t change the internal strife that was intensifying.

In the latter half of the month, the Bucks maintained just over a 50% win rate under Fei’s leadership.

Such a win rate could at most keep them in the playoff race, and advancing in the standings would require luck.

The last game of 2004 saw the Bucks challenging the Houston Rockets on the road.

Fei and McGrady had a showdown throughout the game, while Ray Allen went 2 for 10, completely fizzled out, and was benched by George Karl.

The Bucks eventually lost by a narrow margin of 3 points.

That night, Ray Allen declined post-game interviews and stayed in the locker room alone, without talking to anyone.

Nobody approached him to initiate conversation either.

It wasn’t until Fei returned from the media interview room that he found Ray Allen still there.

Ray Allen also saw Fei.

His feelings towards Fei were too complex.

This young man was arrogant, not deigning to take any member of the team seriously, bossing people around dominantly.

What he disliked most was that Fei’s entourage always credited the Bucks’ success solely to Fei.

It was as if they considered everyone else to be air.

When Fei declared that the Bucks were his team, his antipathy reached its peak.

But now, none of that mattered.

The Bucks no longer had any hope of pursuing a third consecutive championship, and at this rate, even making the playoffs was uncertain.

Ray Allen had paid a price for his aloofness, and what he had not expected was that, even though everyone had clearly distanced themselves from him, Fei was still willing to pass him the ball.

This made it difficult for Ray Allen to have a definitive opinion of Fei.

Was Fei just young and brash, not knowing how to interact with others, or was he calculated and harboring ulterior motives?

Ray Allen sighed, none of it mattered anymore.

“If I had joined in with your antics that day, would things have not escalated to this point?”

Suddenly, Ray Allen asked.

“I think so,” Fei responded calmly.

“Do you think they’ll forgive me?” Ray Allen asked.

The real question should be what he needed to do in order to obtain his teammates’ forgiveness.

Yu Fei had given it some thought as well.

How could Ray Allen win back people’s hearts? He felt that it was already impossible.

The brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills was the most intense in NBA history and it had erupted because of Ray Allen. Yet he’d stood by and watched after his teammates had stood up for him, and no matter what, this was unforgivable.

Therefore, Yu Fei’s only answer was, “I don’t think so.”

“So now I am the biggest problem in Milwaukee.” Ray Allen muttered to himself.

Yu Fei didn’t reply, just stared at him.

“I won’t let myself become the team’s problem,” Ray Allen had never been so sincere, “if one day I become the problem, I will leave, so I will request a trade.”

“Good luck.”

Yu Fei said as much.

Hearing this news, Yu Fei felt a sense of relief.

He believed the only solution to the Ray Allen issue was to let him leave. Yet privately, he didn’t want the other man to go—you really couldn’t find another attack partner who could average 20 points a game and bring a 40% three-point shooting rate—so he kept passing the ball to him on the court as a sign of support.

This was the exact opposite of Yu Fei’s intention.

He didn’t know why he did this.

In the end, he convinced himself that doing this would maintain Ray Allen’s value, so that when it came time to trade, the team could sell him for a good price.

Ray Allen’s departure would bring about a significant butterfly effect on someone else’s career—Sprewell would get the big contract he wanted.

Senator Kohl was probably dead set against spending millions of dollars a year on an older player doomed to decline each year after being suspended for choking a fan and having to pay an equal amount in luxury tax for him.

But if they used the salary space that belonged to Ray Allen for him, even if with great reluctance, they’d pinch their noses and accept it, because in the end, it was Yu Fei who would be affected by this contract.

Because Sprewell’s contract was destined to be an overpriced one, and although it could have been split for instant combat power, now it was used on an old man, leaving the team no space in the free agent market and only the draft to mine for potential.

This outcome was acceptable to Yu Fei, he was still young, able to accompany Sprewell through his last contract, and patient enough to wait for young players like Kevin Martin to grow.

“Big Fei, do you think he has to go?” Lawson was very aware of how much Ray Allen could help Yu Fei.

Yu Fei said, “Probably.”

“No solution?”

“None, even if there is, I can’t think of it,” Yu Fei shook his head.

Lawson said regretfully, “What a pity.”

The next day, Ray Allen formally requested a trade from the Bucks through his agent.

He didn’t state a reason, but the message was clear.

“If a trade doesn’t happen, Ray will test the waters of free agency next summer.”

It was the last day of 2004, and Ray Allen, who had been playing for the Bucks since 1996, resolutely requested a trade.

The Bucks did not try to retain him, they knew what had happened in the locker room, and why the team had been struggling recently.

They agreed to the trade, but there were many difficulties, the biggest being that the Bucks couldn’t get equal value in return. Because Ray Allen demanded to leave before the trade deadline or else he’d test free agency when his contract expired, this had already tanked his value. Plus, the Bucks wanted another expiring contract in return, so they could offer Sprewell a big contract, otherwise, the luxury tax would be monstrous next year.

With that, the options left for the Bucks were pitifully few.

However, the news of Ray Allen being on the block was like the scent of blood in shark-infested waters, immediately drawing the attention of numerous teams.

The most amusing of all had to be Isiah Thomas.

Last year he had taken Michael Redd from the Bucks, and now, he wanted to use Redd plus other sweeteners to exchange for Ray Allen.

Not only do good horses not eat the grass behind them, good deer don’t either.

The Bucks flatly rejected the Knicks.

Then came the Raptors’ offer.

Not long before, the Raptors had traded away Vince Carter, who had a deep rift with the team, ushering in the Chris Bosh era.

Suddenly, the Bucks were prepared to trade Ray Allen, making them feel as if God was toying with them.

Because Carter’s trade got them a bunch of crap, one of which even refused to come because the Toronto restrooms were too dirty (Mourning), which meant that the Raptors got next to nothing in return for Carter’s trade.

If at that time the Bucks had wanted to trade Ray Allen, perhaps it would’ve been a perfect match.

Even though Carter’s trade value was at a low point at the time, he and Yu Fei had a good chemistry during the previous season’s All-Star break, got along well, and if there really was a trade, Carter would definitely be the best fit.

But now, the Raptors guessed that the only ones the Bucks would be interested in were Chris Bosh and Jalen Rose.

Bosh, they were dead set against selling.

So they could only offer Rose.

The Bucks still refused.

In January, the Bucks maintained a win rate of 55 percent, with the All-Star weekend approaching and Ray Allen’s trade finally making substantial progress.

Just as the Raptors wanted to get rid of Carter, the Kings wanted to offload Weber.

But Weber’s contract was so big it was terrifying, and the Bucks didn’t want to touch it; what they wanted was “Old Cat” Cuttino Mobley, who the Kings got early in the season in a trade from the Magic.

This year was also Mobley’s contract year; he had expressed that he wouldn’t renew with the Kings, making him a short-statured scorer that they could only use for half a season. Ray Allen was in the same contractual situation, with his use also being half a season, but the latter was clearly an upgraded version of the former.

The Bucks wanted the trade, and the Kings had no reason not to agree.

Still, the Bucks didn’t want to play the fool; Mobley’s salary wasn’t enough to match Allen’s contract, meaning the Kings needed to add other sweeteners or drag another team into the trade, and considering the fact that Allen was clearly superior to Mobley, the Bucks wanted not just players, but also some future draft picks.

After several days of haggling, the deal was finally sealed on February 4th.

The Bucks sent Ray Allen to Sacramento, in exchange for Cuttino Mobley, veteran Greg Ostertag, and the 2007 first-round draft pick.

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