Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

After returning from Denver, Yu Fei's contract negotiations with the Bucks Team entered the final stage.

Although the Bucks Team was reluctant to sign such a short contract with Yu Fei, they also dared not risk completely falling out with Yu Fei's camp by dragging the renewal into the off-season.

Before the trade deadline arrived, Yu Fei and the Bucks Team reached an agreement, signing a 3-year, $35 million extension contract, with the third year being a player option.

The outside world lamented continuously.

Many media outlets believed this would open a new chapter in NBA history, but it might not be the chapter that fans wished to see.

Player GM, Bucks President, owner… all sorts of nicknames that transcended the player himself were attached to Yu Fei's head.

This angered Yu Fei's camp greatly, as they believed this outcome was caused by the Bucks management.

As a championship-contending team, the Bucks didn't have the courage to spend big money, nor the determination to pay the luxury tax to maintain the roster, proven by the loss of Quentin Richardson for nothing and the deadlock over Sprewell's renewal this season.

For a player like Yu Fei, who aspires to impact historical status, once the team doesn't share a must-win belief and corresponding investment for the championship, then their goals and interests no longer align.

Under such circumstances, there are many ways to interpret a short contract, all depending on which perspective you adopt.

If the Bucks Team consequently buckles down and removes restrictions on the luxury tax, then that is Yu Fei's ideal team, and they will have a long-term future together.

If the Bucks Team becomes complacent, wishing to keep Yu Fei without investing continuously, then this short contract will significantly reduce Yu Fei's pain.

After all, two years can pass in a blink.

He's young, he can afford to waste time, but once the Bucks Team wastes these two years, don't expect him to give them the third.

To put himself in such an advantageous position, the price Yu Fei paid was his reputation and a guaranteed $45 million.

The moment Yu Fei signed his name on the contract, Little Harris' assistant asked them to look towards the camera.

With a click, Yu Fei wore a smile, Little Harris' expression was ambiguous, and Trem looked like he had won a battle.

"I believe that one day we will regret this contract," Little Harris said with a smile.

Yu Fei responded, "At least you kept me. I will still fight for the championship."

Little Harris looked deeply at Yu Fei, "Do you really think we still have a chance to win the championship?"

"Of course," Yu Fei replied, "don't you think so?"

Little Harris was very pessimistic, not just because of the ongoing impact of the Palace of Auburn Hills brawl, but also because of Ray Allen's departure, as well as the aging championship roster.

For the next few years to come, the Bucks' only way to strengthen would be through the draft, but Yu Fei, this drafting genius, was particularly keen on remote controlling the management's drafting.

(Martin and Ariza had poor performances in their rookie season)

Little Harris truly saw no hope for a championship.

"I really want to think so," he said subtly.

That's precisely why Yu Fei disliked talking too much with these guys; too annoying, they were. If there's no hope, just say it outright, instead of pretending as if Yu himself couldn't handle the reality.

However, Yu Fei's objectives remained clear.

The main event of the season was still to pursue the championship, and if that was unattainable, at least ensure that the Detroit Pistons didn't win it either.

The incident at the Palace of Auburn Hills changed the Bucks' fortune this season. Originally, Yu Fei wanted the team to keep Ray Allen and renew Sprewell's contract, which meant paying a hefty luxury tax in the future but also ensuring they stayed championship contenders.

However, the Palace incident led to changes in Yu Fei's plan, not only did he lose his greatest ally, but Sprewell was also banned for a year, leaving Yu Fei hoping for players like Martin to rapidly improve the next year.

But he would still settle accounts with the Detroit Pistons.

It wasn't just for himself, but also for all his teammates affected by the incident.

Then came the official trade deadline.

The trade for Weber was finalized; the King sent him to Philadelphia.

Because the trade was leaked early on, and Iverson's good mood in Denver had confirmed it, there was no surprise in the outside world, the only emotional fluctuations were from the King's fans. But upon reflection, they hadn't really lost anything; Weber, as the latest case of the Ewing Theory, hadn't been much help to the team lately. It was time to look ahead.

Antoine Walker returned to Boston.

Baron Davis was traded to the Golden State Warriors, who suddenly looked like the Bucks from the early century, with "three musketeers."

In the final hours before the trade deadline ended, Isaiah Thomas suddenly called Milwaukee, proposing to swap Nazr Mohammed for Zaza Pachulia.

Little Harris was puzzled at the time.

The trade was unnecessary for both sides, so he simply refused. Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire

Later, Little Harris found out that Thomas had his eye on the Spurs' Malik Rose but worried that Popovich wouldn't value Mohammed, so he targeted the Bucks instead.

Pachulia and Mohammed were comparable, but Pachulia had one aspect that the Spurs valued—he was an international player.

Using Pachulia to negotiate with Popovich offered a better chance of success.

But the Bucks Team refused him.

Thomas had no choice but to take Mohammed to the Spurs as his offer.

Ever since David Robinson retired, finding a big man to relieve Duncan's workload was a primary task for the Spurs.

To the Spurs, Mohammed, a plug-and-play blue-collar center, was very attractive; when Thomas asked for only Rose, Popovich pretended to hesitate, saying, "We need to think about it; I'll call you right back."

Whether Popovich immediately high-fived and hugged those around him after hanging up, celebrating that the team's last piece was provided by New York's great benefactor, remained unknown.

Upon hearing about New York's trade with the Spurs, Yu Fei wondered if Popovich had once saved Thomas' life; how else could it be that whatever he wished for came true?

The result of this trade was that New York ended up with a 10-man rotation composed of 3 scoring guards (referring to playstyle, not position), 5 power forwards, and 2 small forwards, while the Spurs, in terms of roster, were impeccable.

"Isiah, good guy,"

Yu Fei remarked reflectively.

Mutombo nodded, "He is indeed a good guy, just has a bit of a temper."

"Big Fei, no slacking off!" Mobley threw a ball over, "The fight begins!"

Mobley's "fight" referred to a half-court three-on-three scrimmage.

This was a little game Mobley brought to the team after he arrived.

The losing team either had to run a "death sprint" or each player forked out 1000 US Dollars.

Generally speaking, whichever team Yu Fei was on, that team usually won, as his build combined with his playing style made him unstoppable in half-court three-on-three.

Hearing Mobley call out, Yu Fei readily accepted the challenge.

Yu Fei easily won the game by just shooting from the perimeter, "Are you guys going to run, or are you giving up the cash?"

"Don't expect to win money off me."

Having said that, Old Cat took his jersey off and began a "death sprint" round.

What's a "death sprint"? It's a training method used by NCAA coaches, and it goes like this:

Specifically, it is a running drill completed within 28 seconds.

First, players start from the baseline to the free throw line, then back to the baseline, from the baseline to the mid-court line, and then back to the baseline.

Still following? There's more. Then the players must run to the free throw line of the opposite court, turn back, and finally run to the baseline of the opposite court before returning to the starting baseline.

It must be completed within 28 seconds, or else it's repeated.

If Yu Fei lost, he would directly pay up, as running the drill was just too exhausting.

It wasn't just Yu Fei; aside from Old Cat, anyone else who lost would also just pay the money, since everyone was used to spending lavishly, and to a league minimum salaried player, a thousand dollars was just pocket change.

This also showed how thrifty Old Cat was; it was clear he wouldn't go bankrupt after retirement.

A few days later, the Bucks embarked on a three-game road trip in the Western Conference.

Their first opponent was the Phoenix Suns, who had risen to dominance that season.

What Steve Nash did with the Suns was like what Yu Fei went through when he was traded to the Bucks.

However, the Suns' performance in the first half of the season seemed even stronger than the Bucks of that time.

The Suns won 31 of their first 35 games, thus leading the standings.

Yet what interested Yu Fei more was their style of play.

The Suns averaged 97.35 possessions per game, the highest since the 1999-2000 Kings Team, and were far ahead in terms of three-point attempts (nearly 25 per game) and accuracy (39.3%). With this pace and their three-point shooting coupled with Nash's exquisite passing and Stoudemire's thunderous dunks, their opponents couldn't withstand the constant scoring from both inside and beyond the arc.

In Yu Fei's opinion, even if this Suns team was transported 20 years into the future of small-ball era, they would still fit right in.

Because they were indeed the pioneers of modern small-ball.

Although the Bucks had the X-Offense that utilized a future 5 OUT lineup, it wasn't their regular playstyle.

The Suns, on the other hand, appeared to be very close to the small-ball era playstyle in their regular offense—they didn't have a sharpshooter specialized in threes alone, but from the statistics, the main part of their rotation, apart from a few big men like Stoudemire, consisted of shooters.

The team had a total of eight players averaging at least two three-point attempts per game. Whether it was Nash, or Joe Johnson, or even Marion with his peculiar form, they didn't hesitate to take the three-point shot whenever they had the chance. This extensive court spacing made the Suns' playing area much broader than other teams, creating a dimensional offensive advantage over traditional teams that still insisted on isolation plays starting from the paint.

On the Bucks' side, after the brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the team had essentially established a one-star, four-shooter system centered on Yu Fei.

That evening, Karl wanted to see which team's offense would be more liberated, the Bucks' one-star, four-shooter or the Suns' S.S.L.O.

Thus, a dazzling offensive showdown was set off.

Both the Bucks and the Suns put their best effort into offense, while the defensive commitment was minimal, leading to high scores in the first quarter.

34 to 29

The Suns exploded for 34 points in the first quarter with an unrestrained pace, leading the Bucks by 5 points at home.

This provided Karl with a better perspective to observe the Suns' style of play.

Although the Suns' stunning average three-point attempts per game were considered heretical, after the Bucks' back-to-back championships, Karl's basketball perspective had been refreshed by Yu Fei.

He instinctively believed that the Suns were shooting so many threes to create scoring opportunities inside.

In basketball, where defense revolves around a unit of five, it's already difficult to limit a shooting expert, which is why most teams start with an accurate outside shooter. But what if four out of the five opposing players can shoot threes anytime, anywhere? Completely defending against a five-out lineup is nearly impossible. That is the fundamental concept behind the Bucks' 5 OUT and X-Offense.

In some respects, the Bucks were the forerunners to the Suns, only the Suns had taken a bigger step forward with their outside shooting.

As these two advanced concepts collided, they provided a novel and delightful experience for the audience.

Fluid, fast, and efficient—in this game, all the most entertaining aspects of basketball were present.

5 OUT is the Bucks' ace in the hole come playoff time, but in this critical period, they needed Yu Fei to take on the core role of the 5 OUT extensively to safeguard the team's performance baseline.

How to maintain rhythm and control the situation was a part of the game Yu Fei needed to learn further.

Today, a more mature and complete Suns team, taking advantage of their home court, ultimately triumphed over the Bucks with a score of 121 to 111.

"There are no losers tonight," said Suns head coach D'Antoni, "Here, I witnessed the operation of the next stage in basketball."