Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 509 - 350 Your Biggest Contribution Can Be to Get Lost

Chapter 509: Chapter 350 Your Biggest Contribution Can Be to Get Lost

After arriving in the locker room, Brown and Durant also followed.

Durant introduced Yu Fei, “This is the ‘Senior Team’s locker room. Um, Frye, they should have reserved a spot for you.”

“Senior Team?” Brown asked, “Am I in it?”

Durant found that being a nice guy was really hard because he couldn’t just tell the truth.

“I think… I don’t think so.”

“They’re this disrespectful to a two-time champion?” Brown said, “I’m the top center in the league!”

...

Durant immediately distanced himself, “Kwame, this isn’t up to me.”

Complaining, Brown walked out of the Senior Team’s locker room alone.

Just like Durant said, through Yu Fei’s influence, Brown had entered the Dream Team’s training roster, but in the coach’s eyes, he was essentially there for practice.

The last three world competition defeats had proven to Americans that the shorter, blue-collar centers popular in NBA courts just couldn’t stand up to the traditional giants in international basketball matches.

Yet the old generation of American big men had either declined or retired from the national team, and the best three centers of the new generation were Howard, Brown, and Greg Oden.

Oden still needed to grow, and Howard was, in every aspect, a luxurious upgrade over Brown. Thus, Brown was destined to only be a member of the practice team.

The practice team had another name in Las Vegas, known as the “Scramble Team.”

This team’s roster featured one constant: uncertainty.

If the national team needed to make cuts, the first to go would be from the Scramble Team. If there was a player from the Scramble Team who performed well, they might be called up to the Senior Team. In turn, the “Potential Team,” represented by newcomers like Durant, if they played well, also had the opportunity to join the Scramble Team.

After that, Yu Fei changed into his training gear and headed to the court with Durant.

Yu Fei’s arrival drew a lot of attention.

For five years, he had repeatedly turned down calls from Team USA, and many people had given up hope on him.

But suddenly, Yu Fei saw the light. Not only did he stop his consecutive five-year tours of Asia, but he also decided to spend two months with Team USA.

What was his purpose? Of course, it was to redeem the glory of the Dream Team.

However, his presence was not just a psychological burden for some but also brought unexpected trouble for the coaching staff.

To ensure smooth communication between the coaching staff and Yu Fei, Team USA urgently invited George Karl to join as a consultant.

Before Yu Fei arrived in Las Vegas, Coach K had asked Karl, “What kind of complications do you think Frye will bring to Team USA?”

“In terms of basketball, I only know that Frye on the FIBA court will be more powerful than Frye in the NBA,” Karl explained. “However, Frye’s conflicts with certain individuals could become a hindrance to the Dream Team’s progress.”

Coach K’s mood instantly sank to the bottom of the sea.

Even though Coach K was focused on college basketball, he was aware of the fallout between Yu Fei and James.

And in Coach K’s team-building plan, James was set to be the Dream Team’s starting small forward, with Yu Fei as the starting power forward—because in every aspect, he seemed to be an elevated replacement for Carmelo Anthony.

But would Anthony accept this arrangement willingly?

When the Dream Team suffered a defeat in Japan last year, Anthony was the only player who could return to the United States with his head held high. He could say that even if the team lost, he didn’t lose.

Since 2004, like LeBron and others, Anthony had been fully committed to defending the glory of U.S. men’s basketball—although the outcome was rather lonely. But Anthony’s technical characteristics were very suited for international play; his strong physique allowed him to play the four in FIBA, yet the main reason to position Anthony at the four was that they couldn’t place LeBron there.

Because LeBron wasn’t ready, and it wasn’t suitable skill-wise.

This led Coach K to a frightening possibility: What if Yu Fei didn’t accept the power forward position? What if he insisted on competing with James?

Now, Yu Fei had arrived on the court.

There were dozens of people on-site, divided into red, blue, and white teams, with many voluntarily going over to greet Yu Fei.

Yu Fei seemed very relaxed.

It was worth noting that the stars from the 2003 draft, except for James, all went over to say hello.

Chris Bosh was actually suffering from a foot injury and had been preparing to head back these past few days. Seeing that Yu Fei had arrived, he hobbled over to pay his respects.

“When Coach K said the strongest had arrived, I wasn’t too pleased,” Bosh chatted casually. Yu Fei noticed his neck was really long, especially since he was still dressed in casual clothes. “But when I heard it was you, man, you really are the strongest!”

Yu Fei asked with a smile, “What happened to your leg?”

“I got hit during a game a few days ago,” Bosh said regretfully. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to catch up with this competition.”

Yu Fei consoled, “It’s okay, the most important thing is the Olympics next year.”

But Bosh was still worried. The competition in this year’s Team USA was fierce. Missing this year’s qualifiers meant that next year he would have to compete again with those who had already meshed well with the team, a not so easy task.

“I heard there are three team captains. Melo and D-Wade have already met, but Captain James has been slow to come over and greet. Do you think he’s got something against me?” Yu Fei asked, looking at James from a distance, who still hadn’t glanced his way. “We’re both fatherless kids. I can’t afford to be impolite.”

Bosh didn’t know if personality defects were related to being from a single-parent family, but he certainly wasn’t bothered by it, as his parents were together and he had grown up in a happy family.

“Frye, you don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“There’s no captain in this year’s national team,” Bosh glanced at the position where the veterans including Kobe were. “Because the old guys are back.”

That was the dilemma for the coaching staff.

Last year, when active number ones like Yu Fei and other veterans were absent for various reasons, they could let James and the others be captains.

But this year, everyone who should and shouldn’t be here was present, and letting James and the others be team captains would appear disrespectful to the rest.

Therefore, the position of the captain of Team USA was undecided.

The main reason was the absence of respected and accomplished veterans in the team.

If there had been someone like Magic Bird of Dream Team I, even Jordan would have shown a bit of deference, but now, Yu Fei’s inclusion had disrupted the balance.

He was not yet 25, but already had four championships to his name and an overwhelming momentum. Although he had made no contributions to the Dream Team before, now, if he so wished, no one could take the captaincy of Team USA from him.

After listening to Bosh, Yu Fei felt a sudden, inexplicable urge.

“Chris,” Yu Fei asked, “do you think I could be the captain?”

Bosh, who had been eyeing Yu Fei like a tyrannosaurus, suddenly shrank back in his mind.

These recent years had seen Yu Fei’s outright reversal in public opinion. Not only had he led the Bucks to their second consecutive championship, influencing continuously, but also his media company had started to flex its muscles. This summer, his transfer under the guise of saving the SuperSonics had earned the respect of most people.

Young with four championships, talented and virtuous, who else would dare to be Team USA’s captain if not him?

Bosh said with a solemn face, “Big Fei, if not you, then who?”

Yu Fei chuckled, “Get well soon. If I become the captain, I’ll guarantee you a ticket to Beijing next year.”

Yu Fei was generally considered to have a difficult personality, but in fact, he did not have many enemies in the league.

It just so happened that the ones who were his enemies were all very famous.

What Greatest of All Time, what most dominant center in history, what King, the next generation ruler… Compared to these individuals, Kenyon Martin should ask himself honestly if he deserved to be among them.

Then, Yu Fei walked towards James.

Although some wanted to come and greet him, everyone was perceptive.

Yu Fei was headed in the direction of James, and all his attention was on James.

Greeting him at that moment might lead to accidental injury.

So everyone just watched from the side.

James became increasingly uncomfortable. After Yu Fei’s public fallout with him, although he was vexed that Yu Fei left no room for reconciliation, he also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Because if Yu Fei played the first, then he could play the fifteenth.

But he did not expect Yu Fei to come directly to him.

James couldn’t retreat, nor could he advance, so he simply stood there waiting for Yu Fei to come over.

“The deserter from the Eastern Conference finals doesn’t think that running to my team will make us get along, right?” Yu Fei said cuttingly. “LeBron, where do you plan to run off to this time?”

The space in the training facility seemed to freeze.

The so-called “everyone’s been very nice to me” atmosphere Durant mentioned had come to an end.

“Your team?” James asked, “Since when did this become your team? You’ve never contributed a thing to this team!”

“What contributions have you made to this team then?” Yu Fei retorted, “Is it helping them historically get eliminated from the Olympics, or bearing the name of captain while playing like an undercover? What contribution did you make last year in Japan? Why couldn’t you even beat the Greece Team? Do you know that 90% of Americans can’t find Greece on a map, just like I have no idea what contributions you’ve made to this team.”

Coach K hurried over, but Yu Fei had already ignited the dynamite and wasn’t finished yet.

“Let me tell you how you can make a contribution,” Yu Fei pointed at the door. “You can get lost from here, and then watch me lead them to conquer the world from your TV. That might be the biggest contribution you can make to this team.”

Many people on the spot didn’t understand Yu Fei.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

But James’s experience would let them come to know this man more deeply.

Frye was the one who had vehemently hyped up a pre-league James, and who had openly cursed Bill Simmons on his behalf.

Frye was the ruler who constantly made James look foolish on the court.

Now, the one launching an attack like a venomous snake after drawing a line with James, was also Frye.

Bosh and the others wouldn’t forget the smiles Frye had once shown them, but the thing is, when Frye comes to hate you, all past goodwill turns into darts falling on them.

The Potential Team’s youngsters witnessed this scene, and in that moment, they learned more than they had in a week of being sparring partners here.