Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 515 - 355: Savior

Chapter 515: Chapter 355: Savior

At first, James being absent from training because of an injury seemed like a trivial matter to some.

After all, anyone who’d been humiliated in front of such a large audience would need a few days to recover.

But as the days James missed increased, from three days, to five, and then a whole week, speculation about his return also grew.

“I’ve been keeping in touch with LeBron, I know his situation, and I know he needs time,” Coach K said, “I can wait.”

However, a few days later, James’s camp officially announced: a long-term toe injury means LeBron must take a break from basketball, this was the biggest challenge he was facing, and although he was still willing to play for Team USA, for now, he would focus on his personal health…

...

I like you, but not in that way.

I’m willing to give my all for you, but now there’s a problem.

Our future could be great, but it needs time.

Yes, all goodbye letters are more or less the same.

LeBron James withdrew from the Dream Team due to his injury, but probably only 1% of people believed he was injured.

It was just a clichéd excuse for a graceful exit, because they couldn’t very well say: “I hate Frye and can’t beat him; do you think with how much I loathe Frye, I’d still shamelessly stay to be his backup? Since I hate Frye so much, why should I stay here? I’m out, good luck to you all.”

Although James’s camp stressed that their withdrawal had nothing to do with anyone else, it was purely due to injury concerns.

However, most people believed it was Yu Fei who drove James out of Team USA.

Because the details of that scrimmage had become public knowledge, with many basketball experts vividly recounting every incident that happened.

There was also a clip from Yu Fei’s camp that was deliberately circulated, making the legendary articles about that scrimmage and the conspiracy theories that followed James’s withdrawal from the national team seem credible.

On the day James left the training camp, Kwame Brown was promoted from the Scramble Team to the Senior Team; he would compete with Dwight Howard, Tyson Chandler, and others for the only two center positions available.

It could be said that Brown’s promotion to the Senior Team was a concrete manifestation of Yu Fei’s influence in Las Vegas.

For the FIBA competition, Brown had neither Chandler’s physique nor Howard’s athletic talent; he was the last choice between the two, but because he had Yu Fei’s backing, he was given a higher priority than Chandler in the coaches’ eyes.

At the same time, Brown didn’t believe he was entitled to be a protege covered by a big shot by default.

He couldn’t make himself taller, nor could he awaken a transcendent system to enhance his physique, but he could practice his shooting and turn himself from a pure paint area presence into a versatile pick-and-roll player.

However, shooting couldn’t be mastered overnight, but Yu Fei was happy to see Brown push beyond himself, which was beneficial for them.

While Team USA was training intensively in Las Vegas, the teams in the League were also focusing on reinforcements for the upcoming new season.

Among them, the Cavaliers, Lakers, and Spurs were the most eager.

The Cavaliers’ urgency came from a sense of immediacy.

James had finished his four-year rookie contract, and his 2+1 contract would come into effect in the new season.

They only had two years to beef up the team’s competitiveness, hence they had to strengthen the roster with all they had, otherwise, two years later, James might very well leave.

The Cavaliers first found hope for reinforcements from the Kings Team in the Western Conference.

The Kings Team was looking to offload Ray Allen and Ron Artest, and although the Cavaliers’ first target was Ray Allen, they had to choose Artest because the Kings’ asking price was too high.

Artest’s trade value had plummeted with his toxic performance for the Kings.

The Cavaliers acquired the renowned “Big Fei counter armor” Artest for Drew Gooden, Ira Newble, and a 2009 first-round pick.

However, this seemed to be the only move the Cavaliers could make; lacking trade assets and salary cap space for big signings, but securing Artest was not a failure. When they faced Yu Fei again in the new season, they wouldn’t have to worry about who to put on him.

The Spurs and Lakers shared the same anxiety.

Kidd had been wanting to leave San Antonio, and Kobe was tired of playing a solo act; he hoped the Lakers would use their resources to bring him a second star.

This got the Lakers and Spurs flirting with each other.

In terms of relationships, the early century grudges between the Lakers and Spurs were hefty, and they’d avoid trading with each other if possible.

The offers from the Eastern Conference weren’t attractive, and in the West, the two teams that showed strong interest in Kidd were precisely the ones the Spurs least wanted to trade with.

On one hand, there were the Lakers, and on the other, the Mavericks, who’d be glad to see them fall; who to trade with?

The Mavericks were generous, willing to offer the highly promising Devin Harris, but the Spurs understood that Kidd could really trouble them for the next few years if he joined the Mavericks. With the Lakers, if the trade was equitable, getting Kidd wouldn’t dramatically improve their strength besides appeasing Kobe.

Between two enemies, one competing for the championship and the other an old foe since self-destruction, still playing in the first round–who to trade with? The decision was pretty obvious.

While Kidd and Kobe were uncertain of their future, the Lakers and the Spurs reached an agreement.

The Lakers traded Caron Butler and Vladimir Radmanovic to the Spurs for Jason Kidd.

The world seemed to quiet down all at once.

Kidd escaped from Saint City, and Kobe was freed from the dilemma of a one-man show, welcoming a Hall of Fame point guard who would pass the ball, defend well, and certainly not compete with him for shooting rights.

But Yu Fei didn’t waste a second feeling happy for his idol; he even thought that from a compatibility standpoint, the Spurs now just needed to sign a reliable point guard to return to their peak. Unless Caron Butler couldn’t get along with Popovich…

Wait, the key issue is, will Kidd, the headstrong point guard coach, also clash with Phil Jackson?

Could this be a trade that buries both teams?

However, although Fei was in Las Vegas, he kept busy, making calls to veterans on the free market in his spare time, inviting them to play in Seattle.

While Fei’s formidable reputation made many wary, the achievement of four championships in five years was indeed very attractive.

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James Posey, whose championship dreams had been dashed by Fei several times, had originally planned to sign with the Celtics at a discount.

But Posey’s initial plan was to go to Milwaukee to join Fei.

If you can’t beat them, join them, who doesn’t like such a challenging path?

As a result, when Big Fei actually went to Seattle, Posey patiently waited for the situation to change until the Celtics formed their Big Three. He was ready to leave, but a call from Fei swayed his mind back.

Posey didn’t believe the Supersonics could win the championship next season, but he believed that Big Fei could lead the Supersonics to contend for championships within three years, just like he did with the Bucks.

Even though the Celtics’ bandwagon seemed easier to achieve the goal, Posey was still persuaded by the future depicted to him by Fei over the phone.

“Boston might help you win a championship, but aside from that title, you won’t retain anything else, whereas in Seattle, our goal is to save this team. If we win a championship, I promise you, three million Seattleites will take your and my names to their graves, and their descendants will sing our stories for generations.”

The prospect of saving the Supersonics, the reassurance brought by Big Fei’s resume, and Posey’s own first-hand experience of Fei’s ability convinced Posey to give up the idea of hitching a ride with Boston, signing a mid-level 3-year, 15 million US Dollar contract with the Supersonics.

In terms of ability, Posey was not on par with Fei, Roy, or Lewis; he might not even be considered the fourth-best player on the team, but his arrival addressed the biggest gap in the existing Supersonics lineup—lack of defensive intensity on the wing.

Everyone knew that if Big Fei was willing to defend, he was an elite defender, but ultimately, he had to focus a lot of energy on offense. For most of the season, the Supersonics needed someone like Posey to share the defensive burden.

The Supersonics’ seemingly imbalanced roster in terms of offense and defense became more reasonable with Posey’s arrival.

After recruiting Posey, Fei also tried to recruit Grant Hill, but Hill had already committed to Phoenix.

Fei expressed regret about this, then went on to recruit the next person.

At the same time, Coach K confirmed the Team USA roster for the FIBA Americas Championship qualifiers.

LeBron James’ exclusion from the roster caused controversy, but overall, there weren’t many surprises in the list of players.

The only surprise was that Kwame Brown edged out Tyson Chandler to join Dwight Howard as the pivot for Team USA.

Some media with ulterior motives were curious how much influence Fei had on Brown’s selection to the Dream Team.

Fei coldly asked, “What, do you have doubts about Kwame’s selection?”

“I mean, there are a few other candidates who also look good, and Kwame doesn’t have a clear advantage.”

“Really?” Fei asked, “Then tell me, aside from Dwight, how many American centers under 30 look better than Kwame, and which of them have a more outstanding record than Kwame?”

What Big Fei meant to say was: You claim they’re stronger, but how many championships do they have?

Bringing up championships may indeed be unreasonable, but when it comes to such close comparisons, a track record can play a decisive role.

On the day of departure, Coach K formally announced Fei as the captain of the new Dream Team. This was the result of fierce competition over half a month. Initially, Kobe tried, but later, he gave up because he was not really interested in it. Kobe didn’t contend, and no one else had the credentials to compete with Fei.

Over time, Fei established his leadership in Team USA, with Coach K helping his cause, allowing Fei to wear the captain’s armband for Team USA.

At the departure ceremony, reporters asked Fei how he became the captain of Team USA.

Fei replied, “It’s obvious, you just need to take one look at us, and you’ll clearly see that I’m handsomer than everyone else here. These guys don’t look like leaders, they look like bodyguards standing next to me. I think that’s the reason Coach K made me captain.”

“To hell with you, Big Fei!” Kobe complained, “I’d rather you said ‘I’m the captain because I have four rings’…”

The basketball world is rapidly changing, and the anti-hero Fei is becoming a true hero. He is the Jordan stopper, the Shaquille O’Neal slayer, the founder of the Bucks dynasty, and the destroyer of professional basketball, the creator of short contracts. Now, his new identity is the captain of the Redeem Team, the man saving the Supersonics, but of course, you can call him directly.

Just call him the Savior.