Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

``` After the All-Star weekend, trades became the main theme of the League. The most heated discussions were about the Rockets trading McGrady. The Lakers were the first to be involved. They tried to trade Kidd for McGrady. What good would that do for the Rockets? Yao Ming would get the best point guard to feed him the ball, but the other party was already 36 years old, and with only half a season's contract left, it was almost certain he would not re-sign with the Rockets. Compared to McGrady, who still had a contract for a year and a half and could contribute an average of 21+5+5 as an All-Star wing, Kidd's biggest value lay in his expiring contract, which could create salary cap space for the Rockets in the summer of 2009. But the Rockets weren't an attractive team, so cap space wasn't of much use to them. Therefore, the Rockets demanded Andrew Bynum be included in the trade. As a result, the Lakers requested that Yao Ming be included in the trade. If the Rockets agreed, the Lakers could also send out another player who would become a free agent that summer, Jermaine O'Neal. In other words, the Lakers management, who considered themselves the center of the universe, thought the Rockets would dismantle their home for Bynum, sending off Yao-McGrady and incidentally getting half a season's rights to Kidd and Little O. But in the end, the McGrady trade still happened. Riley's magic basketball plan was being implemented with great fanfare. But to complete the plan, he needed to secure Wade. Wade didn't want to wait for Kevin Love to mature, so to speed up Love's evolution and meet the need for a second superstar, Riley included Rashard Lewis in the trade, along with 2009 and 2011 first-round draft picks, to get McGrady from the Rockets. This was the first big bang before the trade deadline arrived. After the trade, Wade almost immediately reached a 4-year, $58 million extension contract with the Miami Heat. As the figures show, Wade took a pay cut while extending his contract, and once the season ended, the Heat's batch of contracts would expire, giving them the space to sign a third star in the free agency market. Then, some media questioned the Rockets' operation. McGrady was the only person in the Rockets who could play as a core ball-handler; by trading him away, who would set up Yao Ming? At this time, the Knicks announced they were buying out Stephon Marbury. The Rockets quickly signed Marbury. "I kind of want to be traded." Yao Ming said to Yu Fei in a text message. "Understandable, but we really can't afford you." Yu Fei joked in the text message, "The bride price from your family is too high." Yao Ming replied, "If you send out Kevin Durant, I'll be wearing a Supersonics jersey tomorrow." "Dream on, what makes you think you can trade your old Bynum for our fresh Durant?" "Damn it!" Wade's extension took one big fish off this year's free agency market. But there were still several superstars on the market, just that, since no one was able to get a satisfactory offer, aside from McGrady, the second huge trade never appeared. The Lakers wanted to use Little O's expiring contract to make a move, but in the end, they felt that rather than trading Little O for another star, it was better to bet on this summer. By then, Kobe, Little O, and Kidd's contracts would expire. The Lakers would have the cap space to sign two to three stars. Considering that the summer of 2009 was going to be the hottest free agency market of the new century, it was definitely worth a shot for the Lakers. However, the premise of making this decision was convincing Kobe that they had big plans for this summer. No one knew what happened, but the Lakers, who should have made significant moves before the trade deadline, did nothing. Kidd would finish his contract with the Lakers. Little O would enter the playoffs lying down. Kobe's team ranked second in the Western Conference, but above them, there was an insurmountable mountain. Not making a trade was tantamount to waving the white flag to the Supersonics. One day later, the trade deadline ended. Observers in the professional basketball world were deeply disappointed. Draft expert Chad Ford angrily said, "Many superstars were set to enter free agency in the summer; by convention, they should have been traded before the trade deadline. This would have completely changed the League's landscape. However, what we saw was just the Rockets sending away T-MAC, a choice that will only make them mediocre. Such a group of timid, defeatist cowards! Clearly, the whole League hopes that Fei can win his sixth championship this year." When the TNT Crew discussed what would happen if Fei won his sixth championship this year, Barkley slammed the table, "Guys, it's definitely going to start a war! I have no doubt that No. 44's die-hard fans will cause a bloodbath with No. 23's die-hard fans." TNT host Ernie Johnson asked, "So, how should we define Fei's four years? I mean, is this a dynasty?" Brent Barry, a staunch supporter of Fei, retorted, "Four real championships in four years, why wouldn't it be a dynasty?" "Buddy, should we call it the Bucks dynasty or the Supersonics dynasty?" Barkley raised one of basketball's most controversial questions. ``` The definition of a sports dynasty has always pointed to teams, not individuals. Phil Jackson, as the creator of two dynasties, defined an NBA dynasty as: a team that wins championships for three consecutive years can be called a dynasty. The most influential contemporary sports writer, Bill Simmons, set the standard for dynasties as: winning at least five championships within a decade. The NBA's own definition of a dynasty is: winning three championships over a span of more than three years while maintaining long-term competitiveness. All these standards point to teams and represent the highest praise for a team that has been successful and great over a long period of time. According to the NBA's definition, the Bucks, with four championships in five years, already qualify as a dynasty. By Bill Simmons' theory, Yu Fei's five championships in six years also constitute a dynasty. According to the Zen Master's criteria, doesn't three championships in three years count as a dynasty? The problem is, Yu Fei switched teams. This has introduced a BUG into each theory. Those passionate about dynasty narratives and who like to deconstruct dynasties essentially agree on the team nature of basketball. A dynasty is not an accolade for specific individuals. Yet the presence of Yu Fei challenges this notion that has been established since Bill Russell's time. "There is no Bucks dynasty, nor is there a Supersonics dynasty," Barry controversially said on TNT, "The past six years have belonged to Frye alone." Upon hearing this, Barkley, for the sake of the show, stood up from his chair, continuously loosened his tie, then looked around wildly with a face that read, "Where's my baseball bat? I'm going to smash this shameless Fei fanatic." As a North Carolina alumnus and a potential Jordan supporter, TNT Crew member Kenny Smith serves as the promoter in the show, mainly amplifying the effects of the comic relief (Barkley). But upon hearing Barry's words, he couldn't help but say, "I hope Ray Allen, Michael Redd, Kevin Martin, Danny Granger, and Shawn Marion aren't watching this episode." This represents the political incorrectness of establishing a one-person dynasty in the world of sports. Especially for someone like Kenny Smith, who has championship experience, they believe their role in the championship team was unique and indispensable. When an uncritical Fei fanatic like Barry throws out the concept of a one-person dynasty, it first invalidates Yu Fei's other teammates. This is also why this matter is so controversial. Yu Fei's opponents will highlight his teammates, while the proponents of the one-man dynasty also have disagreements. People like Barry, who followed Yu Fei in winning championships and believe they owe it all to Big Fei's dominance, are in the minority. The debates and problems are growing exponentially as Yu Fei approaches the throne. The All-Star Weekend has ended, and the NBA is shifting towards the end-of-season phase, while the basketball world is fiercely debating over the right to define Yu Fei's dynasty after the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) controversy. The League is the biggest winner. Since the Donaghy affair, the NBA hadn't had such a widespread, yet not damaging to the league's image, hot topic for some time. The topic of Yu Fei overshadowed everything else, making the controversy regarding the number of steps in a layup at the start of the season a trivial gossip. Still, some talked about the matter, and the powers behind Yu Fei didn't want to let James go. But Nike, behind James, wouldn't just stand there and be hit. Nike chose to expand the issue by dragging every star into it. The matter was showing signs of calming until the Rockets suffered a defeat in Cleveland; James achieved a near-The Shot with a crab dribble and displayed a one-sided state regarding the number of free throws. Yao Ming left behind the famous "See you in Houston." The incident began to ferment again. At this juncture, when the media was vying for the right to define Yu Fei's dynasty, the League held an emergency meeting to discuss the layup step-count issue. An anonymous referee from the League said that for a long time, there have been two opinions among referees: some advocate for the strict enforcement of the travel rule as defined, that is, after receiving the ball, only one more step can be taken; others tacitly allow players to take two steps after receiving the ball. Stern hopes to end this split in opinion, and recently he has been drafting a new rule aimed at legalizing the action of taking two steps after receiving the ball to make a layup. March 2, 2009 The impactful rule amendment proposal regarding layup 012 officially came out. Stern's intention was to quieten the external discussions about traveling, but the new rule led to the future occurrence of various excessive step layups. This was unforeseen by the decision-makers at the time of formulating the rule. But they were satisfied with the status quo. Although they changed the layup rule that had been established since the birth of basketball, not many media cared about the rule change, and even fewer realized its impact. From their perspective, it was a good thing. From then on, no one had to scrutinize James's feet anymore. As a result, more people joined the battle for the right to define Yu Fei's dynasty. And under the scrutiny of the outside world with no blind spots from all angles, Yu Fei and his Supersonics were rushing towards the Bulls' record of 96. PS: I need to take a day off tomorrow to attend the wedding of a college roommate. After tomorrow, I will be the last unmarried person in my college dormitory. This may be why I have repeatedly written about marriage and gifts these past two days. My mind is indeed in disarray.