Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 483 - 333: Is There Still Enough Time?

Chapter 483: Chapter 333: Is There Still Enough Time?

The Greece Team danced in jubilation, celebrating their victory as if the imagery of winning the world championship was enough to forever etch into Carmelo Anthony’s memory.

Coach K attended the post-game press conference with an expression of detachment, his eyes looking lost, as if he had suffered a significant blow.

Jerry Colangelo, the director of USA Basketball who organized this team, had puffy bags under his eyes, and his voice was low and heavy.

Chris Sheridan from ESPN asked, “Does this result meet your expectations?”

“The outside world expected us to win the final victory, but we failed before the final came,” Colangelo said bitterly, “so it does not meet the expectations.”

“How do you view Frye’s evaluation of the Dream Team?”

“He was willing to spend half a month in Japan to be on the spot and support us, but unwilling to spend more time joining us and fighting alongside us,” Colangelo said. “Honestly, I don’t know how to evaluate that.”

“Greece Team only averaged 81 points per game in this World Championship, but tonight they scored 101 points with a 63% shooting percentage. What happened to our defense?”

Colangelo was at a loss for words, choked up, when he remembered what James would always say after a loss.

“We will find the problem by reviewing the tape.”

In the Team USA locker room, the atmosphere was incredibly tense.

They could easily blame the 2002 World Championship failure on George Karl and the 2004 Olympic failure on Larry Brown.

Because under Karl and Brown’s management, Team USA lacked a good team atmosphere.

But Coach K’s Team USA did not have that kind of problem.

LeBron and Wade were shrewd, and although Anthony was arrogant, he did not bring negative influences.

Yu Fei and Kobe’s withdrawals had a big impact, but Team USA still was the most talented team in the world.

Yet now, they had suffered another defeat.

This was the third consecutive time the invincible Team USA had fallen in a major world competition.

Yu Fei’s comments quickly spread from outside to the locker room.

The players of Team USA were exceedingly embarrassed; they had benefited from distinguishing themselves from Yu Fei by answering the national team’s call, but one defeat was enough to deprive them of all the praise.

The honor of the country is not so easy to bear, because once you fail, what you represent will be disgraced as well.

“Why would he say that? He’s not even here!” Anthony complained discontentedly, “He clearly just wanted to enjoy a pleasant vacation in Japan with the local belle, he doesn’t care about the Dream Team!”

These words, Anthony would not dare to question in front of Yu Fei.

But in Team USA’s locker room, many shared the same sentiment.

Why would Yu Fei kick them when they were down at this moment?

They forgot how they used to leverage public opinion against Big Fei when they joined the Dream Team.

However, the one who felt the biggest blow here was undoubtedly LeBron James.

Because Yu Fei specifically emphasized that he would not go 0 for 4 from the FIBA three-point line.

And the person who went 0 for 4 from downtown in the game against Greece was James.

No one could blame Yu Fei for this because mocking Big Fei with patriotic acts under the guise of joining the national team was James’ camp’s wheelhouse.

It could be said that James’ camp initiated this practice, and others on Team USA were merely imitators.

Therefore, this was just Yu Fei’s counterstrike.

But it was already causing enough negative impacts.

James didn’t say a word.

He reflected on his encounters with Yu Fei over the past few years, whether in regular season meetings, playoff showdowns, or national team games, in the end, Yu Fei always came out on top.

Especially in the national team games, their defeat to Greece allowed Yu Fei to win without fighting.

James could not imagine how the outside world would evaluate this matter.

The pervasive “Frye problem” would once again buzz in his ear like an inescapable fly.

“LeBron, you should talk to Frye,” Wade said. “There may be some misunderstanding between you two.”

Ever since Yu Fei scored 70 points against the Cavaliers in the semifinals, James had concluded that the other was just using him as a stepping stone to elevate himself.

Tonight, Yu Fei poured salt in his wounds by directing the blame for the failure squarely at him.

“There’s nothing left to talk about between us,” James said. “He can say whatever he wants, I don’t care.”

Whenever Wade tried to mediate between others and Yu Fei, it ended in failure.

Last time it was Shaquille O’Neal, this time it’s LeBron James.

But was the feud between Yu Fei and O’Neal really that hard to resolve, and was his quarrel with LeBron really that serious?

Wade remembered how, during the draft year, Yu Fei had supported James.

As a rookie in the same class as James, Wade and the others were quite envious that James had a big brother to support him even before entering the League.

No one expected that their relationship would deteriorate to such an extent a few years later.

That evening, Chris Sheridan, representing ESPN to cover the Dream Team, invited Yu Fei for an exclusive interview.

Yu Fei accepted the invitation.

In the interview, Sheridan asked many sensitive questions.

One of which included whether Yu Fei would join the next Team USA.

Watching the World Championship games had shaken Yu Fei’s resolve not to play for the national team, not because he had a change of heart, but because he realized that joining the next Team USA was the best opportunity to expand his personal fame.

Because the Dream Team was currently at an all-time low.

James and the others couldn’t redeem the team.

Yu Fei had already been recognized by many insiders as the only one who could lead Team USA back to the pinnacle.

Yu Fei knew that even without his participation, Team USA would, starting from the next edition, dominate the world again, so it was a sure win.

But he still needed to do a lot of mental preparation.

After all, it was quite difficult to pretend to be an eagle when you’re a lone wolf.

“I think I’m ready,” Yu Fei told Sheridan, “but nothing is certain. What if I’m injured by then, if I have other circumstances, or, what if I’m not on the roster for the next Team USA training camp? You have to consider these possibilities.”

Sheridan agreed with Yu Fei and hence titled his article, “Frye is ready to lead American basketball back to world dominance,” which attracted countless eyes.

At the end of August, Yu Fei said goodbye to Erica, and returned to the United States with Lawson and Lin Kaiwen.

Another offseason was coming to an end, and from now on, Yu Fei would shift his focus to the new season.

There were two weeks left until the start of the preseason training camp, and Yu Fei planned to fly back to D.C. to spend a few days with his mother. He would also take ten days to train intensely before it was time to report to the training camp.

During this time, various media outlets sought him out, of which, the only one Yu Fei didn’t refuse was Sports Illustrated.

Sports Illustrated had decided to feature Yu Fei on the cover of an issue before the start of the new NBA season, and their staff revealed that Yu Fei had already been internally selected as “Athlete of the Year”.

Just as Yu Fei was basking in the success of the championship victory, Howard Schultz, the owner of the Seattle SuperSonics, called a press conference and, in grandiloquent terms, gave this city, with a 40-year fan base, advance notice of a brutal robbery.

Against the backdrop of the new “40th Anniversary Season” SuperSonics emblem, Schultz, dressed in a grey suit, white shirt, and gold tie, announced he would sell the SuperSonics to an investment group from Oklahoma City, led by Clay Bennett.

Although Schultz’s words aimed to assure SuperSonics fans that Bennett was the best new owner and the team’s future in Seattle was secure, each of his gestures hinted at a diametrically opposite fate.

He said, “My ultimate goal has always been to protect professional basketball in the Northwest Region… Although it is very difficult and personally disappointing for me, I am extremely proud to announce that after careful analysis of all potential possibilities, the Seattle basketball club has reached an agreement with Mr. Bennett, who will purchase the Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Storm… Five years ago, when I sat here with the ability to purchase this team, I remember saying that I saw it as part of my responsibility to the public trust… I have kept that responsibility in my heart and took it very seriously. Today, this responsibility is transferred to this team and Mr. Clay Bennett. I sincerely believe he understands the public trust in Seattle and the Northwest Region and will make every effort to retain this team. We have found a buyer who truly wants to stay here. We would not sell the team to new owners whom we believe would take the team away.”

While this press conference was happening, Yu Fei was working out in the gym; it was Brandon Roy who called him, so he didn’t miss Schultz’s performance.

Yu Fei did not need to be an FBI psychological profiler or a CIA interrogator to pick up on the range of hints Schultz displayed on stage. His speech was slow and measured, with odd pauses and emphasis on certain strange syllables. It looked rehearsed, rather than heartfelt.

“Damn it!” Roy exploded, “This is how he repays Seattle? Selling the team to some Oklahoman yokel who dreams of owning an NBA team in his hometown? Fuck Howard Schultz! To hell with Starbucks! I’m boycotting them!”

Yu Fei reminded him, “Calm down, that Oklahoman yokel is your new boss.”

“If he plans to move the SuperSonics out of Seattle, then he’s my enemy!” Roy said vehemently, “Big Fei, it’s not just me who needs you now, Seattle does too. We can’t let this happen!”

Yu Fei could opt out of his contract next summer, but now, leaving Milwaukee had become a difficult decision, as there was a good team here.

Yu Fei believed that he could win more championships with this team, fully making up for the regret of the 2004-05 season.

On the other hand, the requests of a close friend, the hopes of his hometown, and the business needs of expanding his personal reputation made everything more complicated.

Yu Fei put down what he was doing and called Lin Kaiwen, “Give me a detailed profile of Clay Bennett.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“Colangelo confirms, Frye will be joining Team USA in 2007.” — Associated Press

“Coach K says that Frye (if he joins the Dream Team) would become the new captain of Team USA.” — Milwaukee Sentinel

“Kobe openly expresses his dissatisfaction with the do-nothing Lakers management.” — Los Angeles Times

“Following the franchise transfer, numerous ‘Save Our Sonics’ organizations have emerged in the Seattle area.” — The Seattle Times

“You know Clay Bennett wants to move the SuperSonics to Oklahoma, not just because of the market revenue that fans from the two regions could generate, but also because Bennett is an Oklahoman; everything he has is in Oklahoma, so his purpose and will are unshakable. If someone could influence this matter, that person would be Frye. In my wildest imagination, the only way to stop the SuperSonics’ relocation would be to have Frye descend upon Seattle and threaten Bennett with his departure. But would Frye do that? Would he give up the chosen land of Milwaukee for pure morality, to heed the call of his hometown? I liked what Nowitzki said after losing the finals, ‘Let time solve everything.’ But I like Frye’s answer to that even more — you don’t know if there’s going to be enough time.”

— ESPN Bill Simmons Column

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