Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 383 - 246: I’ve Sweated for the Team, I’ve Bled for the Team

The preseason training camp for the 2004-05 season seemed no different from the previous years.

When Yu Fei arrived, he saw Haslem hard at work practicing his jump shots.

Not practicing threes was Haslem’s final stand, but he believed that there was still a need to develop his mid-range game.

After watching for a while, Yu Fei went to greet the two rookies selected by the team this year.

Kevin Martin and Trevor Ariza were among the earliest to arrive at the camp, and one glance was enough to understand their styles.

Martin’s quirky shooting motion and the silky smoothness of his touch, along with Ariza’s explosive athletic talents, were immediately apparent.

Even though the Bucks’ two draft picks were widely criticized after the draft, and many within the team also had their doubts, Yu Fei believed they would vindicate themselves sooner or later.

However, growing too slowly wasn’t good either; they needed some friendly advice.

After a while, the two rookies noticed they were being watched by one of the big names on the team.

"Frye...?" Ariza called out, "KM, look, it’s Frye!"

Ariza put down the ball he was holding and came forward to greet him with natural familiarity, "Yo, Frye, I’m Trevor Ariza. It’s an honor to be on the same team as you!"

Yu Fei asked playfully, "Were you just practicing dunks?"

"Uh... just warming up."

Yu Fei advised, "If you want to help out as soon as possible, you should practice your long shots, not dunks."

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"Got it, I’ll start adding 300 shots a day from today on."

Only 300? Yu Fei looked helplessly at Ariza.

Although he wasn’t worried that Ariza would be a problem, from what he could see, it might take Ariza several years to grow slowly.

At least for now, Ariza was not the high-quality 3D player Yu Fei remembered. He didn’t even resemble the prototype of a 3D player. Although he only played one year at UCLA, as a highly touted talent comparable to Jordan, his shooting percentage was only slightly over 40%, and his three-point percentage was even lower, barely over 20%. It’s worth noting that the NCAA three-point line is much shorter than the NBA’s, so his NBA three-point shooting would likely be even lower.

Martin was more reserved than Ariza. He simply introduced himself to Yu Fei and then stayed quiet.

Yu Fei wasn’t worried about Martin. His technique was already mature; the only thing he lacked was confidence. Giving him more chances to play in actual games would naturally bring out his abilities.

"Kevin, have you chosen your number yet?" Yu Fei suddenly turned to ask.

Martin hesitated before responding, "I originally wanted to choose No. 23, but the coach said, no one here can pick No. 23."

Yu Fei was a bit surprised.

Is Karl worried he might trigger PTSD over Jordan if he sees someone wearing No. 23? Not even allowing No. 23? How domineering! Since when had I, Big Fei, forbidden anyone from wearing No. 23? It’s annoying when people take things into their own hands. But the suggestion is good; all those a**holes wearing No. 23 should die! Of course, my little brother gets a pass since he aims to surpass the one wearing No. 23.

"So you haven’t chosen yet?"

"Not yet."

"Then go with No. 22," Yu Fei said. "It’s quite close to No. 23."

Martin probably would have preferred No. 24, but Yu Fei added, "Additionally, you wearing No. 22 and me wearing No. 44, it’ll look like we’re partners."

Martin immediately abandoned the idea of wearing No. 24; with such a lift from the team’s big brother, he had no objections. Plus, he felt his style meshed very well with Yu Fei’s.

He had watched the Bucks play and knew how Yu Fei played the game.

"By the way, do you know who the last No. 22 on our team was?" Yu Fei asked further.

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Of course, Martin didn’t know.

"You might have heard his name," Yu Fei said. "The last No. 22 was Michael Redd."

Martin quickly said, "I’m honored..."

"Don’t be honored just yet," Yu Fei said indifferently. "Do you know why Redd left? He left because he couldn’t secure a starting spot. Now, you’re our new No. 22, and you need to live up to Redd’s will, Kevin."

Martin started to panic. What did that mean? Was he being told to fight Ray Allen for the starting spot right away?

"Don’t be nervous, you have plenty of time. What I mean is, you should aim to measure up to Redd and strive to be as exceptional as him." Yu Fei seemed finally ready to leave, but not without giving Martin a few more jabs, "By the way, did you know that I am the only one in the team who advocated for selecting you in the draft? You didn’t know? Well, now you do."

"If you don’t perform well, people will blame me for it, and I’ll be very angry with you. If I’m angry with you, your days might not be as easy as they are now. Do you know Kwame Brown? Do you know how he got tormented after making the most famous No. 23 in history angry?" Yu Fei said with a mild smile, "I had the fortune to observe Jordan for a year. If you want to experience what Kwame Brown’s life was like, I will help you."

Martin trembled with fear. Yu Fei no longer seemed like the affable big brother from just a moment ago.

Who knew what was lurking behind that smile?

"You’ve got to work hard," Yu Fei said, turning to a now frightened Ariza. "By the way, you were also recommended by me. I don’t know why the team listens to me so much, so I’m also responsible for you, so..."

Ariza said seriously, "Starting today, I’ll add 500... no, 700 three-pointers to my training every day!"

"No, what I mean is," Yu Fei said, "if I see you practicing dunks again, you’ll wash the whole team’s underwear for a month. At least that way you’ll be somewhat useful."

Yu Fei left behind two shivering rookies and turned to head for the locker room.

He thought to himself, is it me who is the bully after all?

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them; he just wanted to use external pressure to help them grow faster. These two were his recommendations, and unlike Pachulia and Haslem, who could be plugged in immediately to fill the Bucks’ desperate need for big men, Martin and Ariza would have to start from the bench of the bench. Opportunities wouldn’t be many, so they had to cherish them. If they played poorly when the new season began, the team might use these two "failure cases" to tell him to leave the professional stuff to the professionals the next time he wanted to recommend someone.

Otherwise, unless he insisted on solidifying his role as player-GM, he would have to watch helplessly as they recruited a bunch of true scrubs.

Moreover, he hadn’t really done anything; it was just a verbal threat. If those guys choked, it wouldn’t be his turn to bully them. They could simply hand it over to Ratner, who certainly had professional expertise in that area, as it wasn’t Yu Fei’s strong suit.

He started to miss Mason.

With Mason around, the effect might have been better.

Alas, it was the first day of missing Mason.

Yu Fei arrived at his locker, put his stuff down, and decided to hit the gym to warm up first.

On the surface, this year’s training camp looked similar to the past, but the atmosphere was significantly different in reality.

Mason’s kind of hooligan was necessary in the role he played.

Apart from hazing rookies, he could also liven up the atmosphere.

This job should have been inherited by Quentin Richardson, but damn it, someone chose to let him go simply to save on luxury tax.

This led to a consequence that could be either significant or trivial—when the Bucks gathered, it was as if classmates who hadn’t seen each other for years suddenly held a reunion; they had virtually nothing to talk about.

No, that’s not entirely true. There was still the topic of contract renewals.

The new season was upon them, and the Bucks had several expiring contracts.

Yu Fei needed to negotiate a contract renewal with the team, just as the contracts of Ray Allen, Sprewell, Ratner, Mutombo, (Devean) George, and others, were set to expire next summer.

What do you think, shall we talk about this? See who gets the bigger next contract?

While Yu Fei was working out, Sprewell came over.

"Big Fei, has the team approached you about a renewal yet?" Sprewell asked bluntly.

"It’s not time for that yet," Yu Fei said. "At the earliest, we’ll have to wait for the season to start."

Sprewell looked worried, "Really? But, my agent has approached them."

Yu Fei asked leisurely, "Then what?"

"They said, before your contract is settled, other people’s contracts will have to wait," Sprewell revealed his true feelings to Yu Fei. "I’ll be honest with you, if this wasn’t my hometown, I wouldn’t enjoy playing here. But since I’ve come back and won a championship, I believe this is God’s final stop for me. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I’ve brought glory to the team, and now it’s time for them to pay their respects to me!"

Sprewell was already 34 years old, but last season he still managed to average 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists per game; he was the Bucks player with the most balanced offense and defense.

Yu Fei discerned the subtext of his words.

He wanted a respectable contract for his twilight years.

For a championship-contending team, salary space is important, and it’s not worth it to give someone like Sprewell, who’s bound to decline each year, a retirement contract.

But Yu Fei believed the only reason the Bucks wouldn’t give Sprewell a large retirement contract was to save money; the reason mentioned above would just be their excuse not to offer him a big contract.

In the upcoming years, the Bucks had many rookie contracts, and even with salary space, no big names would want to come to Milwaukee. Therefore, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give Sprewell a three- or four-year contract. The team had made a fortune from their success these past two years, so why shouldn’t they provide some dignity to a veteran while maintaining their competitiveness?

Having understood all this, Yu Fei knew which side he should stand on.

There were many things Jordan said that Yu Fei disagreed with, but there was one particular statement that he very much agreed with.

"You have to remember that you’re always a player. The ones joining you on the court are not those suited up bastards making a profit."

That was what Jordan told him back in D.C.

Now that he thought about it, it couldn’t be more correct.

Yu Fei looked at Sprewell and said seriously, "You can let your agent pass my words on to them: only after your contract renewals are sorted out will my negotiations begin."

Sprewell beamed with joy; this was exactly the attitude he wanted from Big Fei!

"Great! I got it!" With Yu Fei’s support, Sprewell spoke louder, "I’ve sweated and bled for the two championship banners hanging in the Bradley Center. Aside from you, nobody can say they’ve contributed more than me. Now it’s their turn to give me some payback!"