When pride still matters

Chapter 127 The person who grabbed the headlines
The Wizards' trade for Yu Fei should have been a big deal, but as it turned out, it made far less waves in the professional basketball world than expected.

In fact, the media and the audience cannot be blamed for this, just like Wang Feng, who was trying to make headlines, met the little elk who was doing his hair on an indescribable buttock.Some things are more important and more attention-grabbing than yours.

Game 2002 of the [-] Western Conference Finals was such an event.

Over the years, many WWE fans have said that the NBA, like WWE, is rigged, and NBA professionals have always scoffed at this.

But now, they can't explain what happened last night.

How to explain it?The Lakers scored 31 points in the fourth quarter and then had 27 free throws?How to explain Scott Pollard getting an air foul two feet away from O'Neal and then graduating with six?How do you explain Chris Webber and Doug Christie's clean and wonderful interceptions being called defensive fouls?How do you explain Kobe elbowing Mike Bibby in the nose and then Bibby being called for a foul?

If there must be an explanation, it is that the league does not want the Lakers to be eliminated.

As a bystander, Yu Fei's answer is "script".

This is the league's playbook.

They don't necessarily want to favor the Lakers, they just want this series to last seven games, and the process must be thrilling.For example, in Game 1, O'Neal left the game with six fouls, Kobe had five fouls, and the Kings narrowly won by [-] point.

This is the 2002 Western Conference Finals. In the same game, O'Neal couldn't look at his opponent for the first two days, and his opponent couldn't look at him for the next two days.The problem is that the "manipulation" tactics in Game [-] are so obvious that some people can handle this and some can't.

"If I'm destined to lose, why should I fight so hard?"

That's what Chris Webber said at the end of Game [-], hinting at the outcome of the Western Conference Finals.

So the situation is like this, Yu Fei was traded, but the fans don't care.

This is just like Yao Wei is about to be elected as the No. 2002 pick in the 2002 NBA draft, and Chinese sports fans don't care, because the [-] World Cup has begun, and the national football team is in it. The sports section of "Jiulang", the largest domestic news portal, only has football.

Although Yu Fei has not met Yao Huang yet, he believes that they will become friends.

Then, Yu Fei returned home and discussed future plans with his mother.

In terms of living environment, Washington is far larger than Milwaukee.

Now Yu Fenglin's restaurant has opened in Washington, and her business is doing well. Yu Fei thinks that his mother should stay here.

"I really don't understand why they want to trade you?" Yu Fenglin said, "Don't you play very well?"

It was difficult for Yu Fei to explain the ins and outs of professional basketball to her old man, "Well, it's hard to say."

Finally, that's it.

Yu Fenglin stayed in Washington, and Yu Fei took Lawson and his assistant to Milwaukee.

Although the season is not over yet, and there is still some time before Yu Fei officially puts on the Bucks jersey, he needs to go to the Bucks to meet with the top management first, and then hold a formal press conference to leave some good impressions on the fans.

This is the norm.

So on the morning of Game [-] of the Western Conference Finals, Yu flew to Milwaukee.

Here, Yu Fei met the general manager Larry Harris who was smiling but hiding his secrets, the head coach George Karl who was obsessed with him, and the mysterious owner Herb Kohl.

"Fry, did you have a nice trip?" Harris took the initiative and gave Yu Fei a half-body hug.

Yu Fei smiled and said: "Not bad."

"Welcome to Bucks Nation!" Harris set the tone on behalf of the entire organization.

Karl didn't show that closeness. He liked Yu Fei, but he wouldn't act as if he knew Yu Fei very well when they first met like Harris.

Then there's Cole, the boss.

"Fry, what do you know about Milwaukee?" Kerr asked.

Yu Fei said: "I'm sorry, Senator, not only do I not know Milwaukee, I also know nothing about the Midwest."

The biggest difference between Herb Cole and other bosses is that he is not only a businessman, but also a senator from Wisconsin.

Hearing Yu Fei's words, Cole smiled: "So, you don't even know how to express love to people in the Midwest?"

Turtle, I'm here to play ball, not to court, that's pretty much it.

Yu Fei smiled stiffly: "I guess this place is similar to other places. If I love someone, I will say ILY to him."

Unexpectedly, Cole was quite serious, "It may be like this in other places, but not in the Midwest, especially in Milwaukee. If you want to show love to someone, the most direct way is to help him clean the gutters."

If Cole said "her", Yu Fei would think he was driving, but he wasn't, so maybe what he said was true?

"Oh, that's interesting." Yu Fei said, "I know."

Cole smiled again, "Young man, I don't believe the reports outside. I know you are not that kind of person. I also believe what George said. You will bring us victory. Welcome to the Midwest!"

This was the first meeting between Yu Fei and the three powerful men in the Bucks.

Afterwards, Cole left.

Harris and Yu Fei chatted for a while and then went to do other things.

Karl took Yu Fei to visit the Bucks' training facility and started chatting.

Last season, Karl's coaching style impressed Yu Fei.

Karl looks like a monkey in heat who can't find a mate. He obviously seems to be a tough coach, but he can't do anything against people like Anthony Mason.Therefore, Yu Fei actually equated Karl and Collins in his heart.

In fact, Yu Fei felt that doing so was a bit disrespectful to Collins.

But if you want to compare the resumes of Carr and Collins, five Collins are not enough to beat one Carr.

Just leading the team to the finals and playing six games against Collins' favorite teacher, Dadan, was something Collins could not even dream of.

"I heard that you and Michael didn't get along well in DC?" Carl happened to bring up the bottle of water that couldn't be boiled, "Why?"

Yu Fei knew that Carl was also from North Carolina.

Jordan traded him to the Bucks maybe because George was his senior.

Therefore, Yu Fei does not expect Karl to understand his behavior.

"How is that possible? We get along very well." Yu Fei opened his mouth and everyone knew the joke, "Michael is my mentor and friend, and I will always respect him."

Carl laughed.

Because he couldn't control his smile, the beer belly below his neck looked like it was constantly rolling, as if it was about to burst at any moment.

Is it that funny?Yu Fei was almost infected by Karl's smile.

"Okay, let's not talk anymore. Now you are a Bucks player, and DC is a thing of the past." When Karl said this, his voice changed, "By the way, Frye, do you have any plans for this summer?"

Yu Fei nodded and said, "Yes, I have many arrangements."

"Then do you have time to participate in the training camp of the US team?" Karl looked at Yu Fei with a keen eye, "Maybe you will have the opportunity to wear the US team jersey and play in this year's local world championships."

Yu Fei knew that George Karl was now the coach of the US team.

But Karl didn't know that the first catastrophe for American basketball was about to come. He thought the world was still the same world, a world where the American team could dominate the world's basketball at will.

Moreover, because his relationship with Karl was not good, the Bucks' star Ray Allen refused to be recruited by the US team for training due to injury.

If Yu Fei also refuses, Karl will lead a US team without Bucks players to the World Championships.

This is exactly what Yu Fei is about to do.

"You know, George, I have experienced a lot in the past year, and I am very tired." Yu Fei showed boredom, "What I need most now is rest."

And he needs to rest not this year, but every offseason in the future.

Carl got it.

Yu Fei doesn't want to play for the national team, which is understandable considering what he went through with the Wizards.

"I understand, it's okay. You can rest peacefully. I want to see a fully charged you at the beginning of the training camp next season."

Although Karl felt sorry, he didn’t think too much.

What Karl didn't expect was that soon, Kobe, McGrady, O'Neal, Garnett, and Duncan would all announce their plans to "not play for the U.S. team this year."

Then, Karl will have to lead a team composed of inferior all-stars and full of internal conflicts to participate in the World Championships, and then experience the great shock of world basketball.

That was the seed planted by the Dream Team in Barcelona ten years ago, and now it has sprouted.

Then came the NBA Finals.

With Chris Webber "disappearing" in Game [-] of the Western Conference Finals and Mike Bibby performing bravely but unable to recover, the Lakers once again advanced to the finals. Opposite them was the biggest dark horse of the season - the New Jersey Basketball Team. Nets.

This is a special era. The Kings and Nets have played an insignificant role in the history of the NBA over the past few decades. They have never been the subject of sports narratives. Suddenly, the NBA has entered the era of zone defense, and the Kings' play style has become somewhat restrained and the Lakers' style has become somewhat restrained. , Kidd completed a magnificent turn in the Nets, making this team that was considered barely able to even make the playoffs before the start of the season become the best in the Eastern Conference.

However, after the Kings tragically lost the Western Conference Finals, the cold sports world seemed to indicate the end of this fairy tale.

The Lakers used four games to let the Nets understand that the result of desperately rushing out of the Eastern Conference does not mean that they are only one step away from success.Because there are countless teams that cannot take that final step.

The Lakers swept the Nets out of the game and won their third consecutive championship.

The 2001-02 season has come to an end.

The following is Yu Fei’s performance and honors in his rookie season.

常规赛出战73场，场均得到19.4分8.1篮板6.6助攻1.1盖帽1.2抢断，三项命中率为47%、83%、35%。

季后赛首轮被篮网3比1击败，场均得到23分10篮板6助攻1.5抢断2盖帽，三项命中率为45%、80%、34%。

Honors: Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie First Team.

As for next year?

Yu Fei told reporters in Milwaukee: "I have just arrived in Milwaukee and don't know anything, but I know that we did not enter the playoffs last season, so I will be pragmatic and go further than my rookie season in DC. "

"How far exactly do we have to go?"

"Winning a championship shouldn't be too much."

PS: Please take a break, there is only one chapter today

　The Wizards chapter is over
　　
　
(End of this chapter)