Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 391 - 253: Those Who Disrupt the Situation Must Face Retribution

Chapter 391: Chapter 253: Those Who Disrupt the Situation Must Face Retribution

Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Three: He Who Disturbs the Order Shall Be Punished

Latrell Sprewell was idle at home, having entered retirement life earlier than planned as he no longer had to attend training or rush to away games.

But he still had several big problems.

The Pistons fan whom he had choked had pressed minor assault charges against him, and he had many assets that required a significant monthly expenditure to maintain. Although he still had money at the moment, at this rate, he would eventually go bankrupt.

Looking back now, he regretted why he had to stand up for Ray Allen that day.

That weakling was not worth his effort.

It ruined his career and buried his hopes for contract renewal.

Once his suspension ended, it was unlikely he could return to the NBA.

Who would sign him then?

Was he supposed to play overseas in the future? Overseas? Not to mention how it would damage his reputation, how much could he even earn from playing overseas?

He would rather die than go.

Then he began to blame heaven and others, thinking of all he had sacrificed for the Bucks’ back-to-back championships, only to be repaid with what in the end?

Big Fei would certainly not care about him anymore…

Later, Sprewell heard that Ray Allen had requested a trade, and before long, the trade happened.

Ray Allen was traded for Cuttino Mobley and Greg Ostertag.

Sprewell thought that these two were not worth one of Ray Allen’s legs.

But what could be done? Ray Allen had to go, the coward abandoned the entire team at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

But so what if Ray Allen was gone? Did that solve his own problems?

What Sprewell did not expect was that his problem really was solved.

Before the All-Star Weekend arrived, the Bucks officially made an offer to Latrell Sprewell: a 3-year, 40 million US Dollar contract renewal, with the third year being a team option.

This news not only shocked Milwaukee but also the entire league.

After such an event, logic would have it that Sprewell would absolutely have to leave the NBA, but it seemed the Bucks had the memory of a goldfish—only seven seconds long.

The league office was furious.

David Stern had wanted to banish Sprewell from the NBA forever.

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The brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills had already caused more damage than the game itself.

Whether sponsors or TV broadcast partners, they were pessimistic about the league’s ability to improve its image in the next five years.

The Eagle County incident, the defeat in Athens, the Auburn Hills brawl… one after another, these major incidents that went viral did not bring out the allure of professional basketball.

When the decision to impose heavy penalties on Sprewell and others was first made, some people asked Stern whether the punishment was too harsh and whether there had been a democratic vote within the league—people wanted to know if it was a decision agreed upon by everyone in the league.

Stern answered, “There was a vote, and the result was 1 to 0.”

Furthermore, Stern had also sent a memo about on-court violence to all teams, calling for clear communication of penalties for on-court violence and various other regulations to the players.

Now, the Bucks had renewed Sprewell’s contract with a staggering offer.

This thug, who should have been expelled from the league, would return after a year.

Who would he choke next time?

After that, Sprewell returned to the team. Although he could not play in games, he still participated in internal training and practice matches.

Newcomer Mobley brought vitality to the Bucks. Although his strength was far inferior to Ray Allen’s, his shooting was sharp. Despite being a shorter shooting guard, his defense was not bad—it was just that his playing style tended to be solitary, and once in solo mode, it was almost certain he wouldn’t pass the ball.

After coming to the Bucks, Mobley needed to change one of his habits significantly, that is, the frequency of isolation plays.

Yu Fei certainly needed a secondary scorer to carry some of the ball-handling duties, but most importantly, the secondary scorer needed a stable outside threat to ensure that when both the team’s strategy and Yu Fei were unable to break through, they could resort to a pick-and-roll to forcefully disrupt the opposing team’s defense.

In terms of outside shooting, Old Cat’s accuracy was second to none; the lowest shooting percentage of his career was 35%, and this season was his peak in three-point shooting, previously achieving an astonishing 49% three-point shooting rate with the Magic. After being traded to King, it dropped slightly, but he still maintained an impressive 42% baseline.

After arriving at the Bucks, Mobley quickly learned how to cooperate with Yu Fei, focusing on shooting from the perimeter. In a few games, his three-point shooting rate reached an alarming 50%.

Such accuracy would not last, but even if it were to drop later on, he should be able to maintain the standard of a sharpshooter at around 40%.

Mobley’s harmonious influence allowed the Bucks to gradually shake off the shadow of the Auburn Hills brawl, winning consecutive games to welcome the All-Star Weekend.

This year’s All-Star game was held in Denver.

Before Yu Fei departed for Denver, the Bucks officially announced the restart of contract renewal negotiations with Yu Fei.

This time, the Bucks were very confident about the renewal because they had already renewed Sprewell’s contract according to Yu Fei’s demands.

Before the renewal negotiations began, Arne Trem arrived in Milwaukee a day earlier to communicate with Yu Fei.

Originally, Yu Fei was not concerned about the renewal because his second contract was destined to be spent in Milwaukee, and the NBA had strict standards on renewal contracts, so there was basically nothing to worry about.

If both parties were interested, then they would sign.

Four years, five years, both would be fine.

Agents usually pursue long-term, top-salary contracts for security.

Based on current standards, Yu Fei could sign a 5-year, 80 million US Dollar extension contract with the Bucks.

However, Trem suggested that Yu Fei do the opposite, “Big Fei, our basic logic regarding contracts is, if you need long-term stability, then we sign a long-term big contract. But, if you are a player who is chasing historical status, it is better to control the impact of the contract in the short term.”

The thing Yu Fei admired most about Trem was how he could make “You should sign a short contract” sound so complicated.

“So?” Yu Fei asked.

“After the brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the Bucks fell apart. You guys are highly unlikely to contend for the championship this year, but in the next few years, you’ll still be playing here. If your boss was Jerry Buss, I would believe he’d open his safe and spend all his money to strengthen the team, but Senator Kohl? I don’t have that confidence,” Trem said, “Signing a short contract doesn’t mean you want to get away from here quickly. It’s a way to put pressure on them. You have to make them feel they might lose you, and then they will spend money to build a strong team for you.”

It was a simple concept. After leaving Miami Heat, James did just that.

But nobody had done it until then.

Wanting to be the first to eat the crab, one must first consider whether their teeth are hard enough.

This move would subject Yu Fei to a lot of criticism in the short term, but in the long run, it was beneficial for him to control his future.

Yu Fei asked, “How many years do you want me to sign?”

“Three years,” Trem replied.

“3+1?”

Arne Trem smiled faintly, “2+1.”

“Like Sprewell?” Yu Fei asked.

Trem said, “Yes, like Sprewell. Now everyone knows you secured a big contract for Sprewell. Doing this will not only solidify that impression but will also show the world that you and Sprewell are fully committed, and it will help you avoid some negative media narratives.”

“Alright, this is up to you now.”

Then, Yu Fei suddenly asked, “Did Reebok talk to you about this?”

Trem said playfully, “If it was Reebok, they would suggest you sign a 1+1 contract. Believe me, they’d love for you to leave Milwaukee right now.”

The next day, when Trem proposed a 3-year contract with a player option for Yu Fei, the Bucks management went into panic.

And Yu Fei went straight to Denver for All-Star weekend.

This was the biggest disagreement Yu Fei had with the team since he transferred to the Bucks.

For the Bucks, locking in their prime asset for as long as possible with a big contract is something every management would do.

It’s a one-off deal.

Once the contract is signed, the team legally controls the player, and the level of the team’s operations and building depends on the management’s ability and the owner’s willingness to invest.

The first return of Jordan in 1996, by signing one-year contracts with the Bulls, forced the team to maintain a championship roster, and this was the earliest example of using short contracts to dictate the team’s direction.

Now, Yu Fei didn’t yet have the status Jordan had back then but had already inherited the wisdom of his predecessors, choosing to use short contracts to strip the team of its security, instilling a crisis that “if we don’t build a good team, we might lose our star.”

For players, this was a revolutionary move.

Yu Fei’s approach caught the attention of LeBron James all the way in Cleveland.

However, those who wanted to change the game were naturally resisted by conservatives and traditional forces.

The media were the first to challenge Yu Fei, followed by a slew of anonymous NBA practitioners and some retired GMs.

“The scariest thing in the world is when someone takes external praise for reality. Frye truly believes he is The Chosen One, disregarding basic rules and industry practices, deciding to manage his team in an unprecedented way. He is not just a basketball player; he is also the president of the Milwaukee Bucks,” The New York Times fired the first shot, followed by other major newspapers.

This was the kind of “criticism” Yu Fei had anticipated; he wouldn’t make a big deal about it and would go on with what he was supposed to do.

Seeing Yu Fei’s predicament, players still under rookie contracts were all terrified, even James shelved the idea of “I’ll also sign a 2+1 in the future.”

No matter what, a 2+1 was still too extreme. At least go for a 3+1.

After arriving in Denver, Yu Fei answered at least 58 questions about his contract in one day.

He maintained a smile throughout and replied to the media’s inquiries with the same set of responses, “I’m not concerned about this, it’s the agent’s job.”

“You mean to say, you didn’t know?”

“I’m informed, but negotiation is my agent’s business, I know about as much as you do.”

Yu Fei went back and forth, revealing no useful information, but one thing was certain, his thoughts were completely aligned with his agent’s.

Later, Yu Fei went to find LeBron at the hotel, only to discover that his buddy wasn’t very agile.

“Bron, what happened to you?”

“A minor injury from a few days ago,” LeBron said regretfully, “I wanted to participate in the dunk contest this year, just like MJ did, to give the fans an exciting performance. It seems like I can’t do it this year.”

“Are you still going to play in the All-Star game?”

“Yes, I can push through.”

“Oh…”

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