When pride still matters

Chapter 252 The thunder fades away

During Yu Fei's suspension, it can be said that the eight opponents the Bucks encountered were not easy to beat.

They are the Lakers, Celtics, Spurs, Pacers, Heat, Pacers (three games), 76ers, and Kings.

Seven of the eight opponents are playoff-level teams, including championship teams like the Spurs and Pacers. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is the most intense schedule in the league in recent times.

Even so, suffering an eight-game losing streak is unacceptable.

Of these eight opponents, the Bucks are most likely to win against the Celtics, but the closest thing to winning was the first game against the Lakers.

That was Ray Allen's most motivated game.

Kobe was sluggish throughout the game, shooting 13 of 4 and scoring 12 points on 20 free throws. Ray Allen made 16 of 11 and scored 32 points. However, the Lakers bench produced a player who will score with Kobe in the future. Brian Cook with 81 points.

Cook was the surprise player in this game, scoring 25 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lakers narrowly defeated the Bucks by 4 points.

In the subsequent seven games, the Bucks lost each game by at least 5 points. Ray Allen's performance was anticlimactic, from being strong against the Lakers to being helpless against teams such as the Spurs and Pacers.

The game against Celtic was the most unacceptable.

The Celtics are truly a bad team. After Angie came to power, he carried out a series of operations and turned his immediate strength into draft picks, which anyone except Pierce could sell.

When playing against a team like this, winning is the most basic thing. The question is how many points to win.

But the Bucks didn't win, but lost by 11 points.

Ray Allen was isolated and helpless. His teammates refused to cooperate with him and did not like to pass the ball to him. Even if he felt hot, he did not get enough support. Even if Karl called a timeout and asked the players to pass the ball to him, it would be of no avail.

This made Ray Allen frustrated. He felt that he had lost the respect of his teammates and the status of the team.

On December 2004, 12, Yu Fei returned from his ban and faced the Bulls in his first game.

The Bucks' starters are Yu Fei, Ray Allen, Brent Barry, Devin George and Dikembe Mutombo.

Karl tried to play one senior and four juniors, putting the burden of winning on Yu Fei.

Yu Fei did not disappoint. He scored 35+10+10 in his first game back and led his team to end their losing streak.

Before, Yu Fei could only feel the internal changes through game videos. Now, when he played in person, he realized how helpless Ray Allen was now.

His teammates didn't beat him or scold him, they just adopted an uncooperative attitude.

This is cold violence.

But the impact is no less than the internal strife caused by fists and kicks.

Yu Fei's approach is to pass more passes to Ray Allen, but his choice alone cannot dominate the thoughts of his teammates.

The malice of the palace is still spreading.

Ray Allen stayed out of the action that day, and he was ostracized within the Bucks.

He was absent from the most important conflict in his life.

Yu Fei's comeback cannot change the internal tearing that is intensifying.

In the second half of the month, under the leadership of Yu Fei, the Bucks barely maintained a winning rate of more than 50%.

This kind of winning rate can at most keep them in the playoffs, and they need luck to move forward.

In the last game of 2004, the Bucks challenged the Rockets away from home.

Yu Fei and Tracy McGrady battled throughout the game, while Ray Allen made 10 of 2 shots from the field and was completely misfired, being refuted by George Karl.

The Bucks ultimately lost by 3 points.

That night, Ray Allen refused a post-game interview and stayed alone in the locker room without speaking to anyone.

However, no one would take the initiative to talk to him.

Until Yu Fei came back from the media interview room and found that Ray Allen was still there.

Ray Allen also saw Yu Fei.

His feelings about flying were too complicated.

This young man was arrogant and did not take anyone in the team seriously. He also bossed around and acted domineeringly.

What he hates most is that Yu Fei's team always attributes the Bucks' success to Yu Fei alone.

It was as if the rest of them were air.

This resentment came to a head when Yu Fei declared that the Bucks were his team.

However, none of this matters now.

The Bucks have no hope of pursuing three consecutive championships. If this continues, they will not even be able to guarantee the playoffs.

Ray Allen paid the price for his aloofness. What he never expected was that at the moment when everyone had drawn a clear line with him, Yu Fei would still pass the ball to him.

This makes it difficult for Ray Allen to have a comprehensive view of flying.

Because he felt that he had misjudged Yu Fei.

Is this person young and energetic and doesn't know how to interact with others, or does he have deep intentions and ulterior motives?

Ray Allen sighed, none of this matters anymore.

"If I had been fooling around with you that day, wouldn't things have gotten to where it is today?"

Suddenly, Ray Allen asked.

"I think so."

Yu Fei replied calmly.

"Do you think they will ever forgive me?" Ray Allen asked.

In fact, the real question should be what he needs to do in exchange for forgiveness from his teammates.

Yu Fei has also thought about this. How can Ray Allen win back people's hearts? He felt this was no longer possible.

The brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills was the most violent brawl in NBA history. This fight happened because of Ray Allen, but he stood idly by after his teammates stood up for him. In any case, this is inexcusable.

Therefore, Yu Fei's answer can only be: "I don't think so."

"So I'm Milwaukee's biggest problem right now." Ray Allen said to himself.

Yu Fei didn't answer and just stared at him.

"I will not let myself become a problem for the team." Ray Allen has never been so sincere. "If one day I become a problem, I will leave, so I will apply for a trade."

"Good luck."

Yu Fei said.

Hearing the news, Yu Fei felt a sense of relief.

He believes the only way to solve the Ray Allen problem is to let him go. But selfishly, he doesn't want the other party to leave - you really can't find a secondary attacker who can average 20 points per game and bring 40% three-point shooting rate - so he has been on the court. Show support by passing the ball to your opponent.

This is completely opposite to Yu Fei's intention.

He didn't know why he did this.

In the end, the reason he convinced himself was that doing so would preserve Ray Allen's value, and when the time came to trade, the team would be able to sell it at a good price.

Ray Allen's departure will create a major butterfly effect on another guy's career - Sprewell will get the big contract he wants.

I'm afraid Senator Cole would rather die than spend tens of millions of dollars every year on an old guy who would get himself suspended for a year and destined to be worse every year for a chokehold fan, and then have to pay the same amount of luxury tax for this. .

But if the salary space that belongs to Ray Allen is used to give him, even if he is reluctant at all costs, he will admit it with a pinch of his nose. After all, in the end, the person who will be affected by this contract is Yu Fei.

Because Sprewell's contract is destined to be a premium contract, and this premium contract could have been taken apart and signed to provide immediate combat effectiveness. Now that it is used by an old man, the team has no room for reinforcements in the free market. You can only rely on the draft to tap your potential.

This result is due to Yu Fei, who is still young and can accompany Sprewell through the last contract, and has the patience to wait for young people like Kevin Martin to grow up.

"Da Fei, do you think he has to leave?" Lawson knew very well how much help Ray Allen could bring to Yu Fei.

Yu Fei said: "Probably."

"No solution?"

"No, even if there is, I can't think of it." Yu Fei shook his head.

"What a pity," Lawson said regretfully.

The next day, Ray Allen applied for a trade to the Bucks through his agent.

The reason was not stated, but the meaning was clear.

"If the trade doesn't happen, Ray will test the waters of free agency next summer."

This is the last day of 2004. Ray Allen, who has played for the Bucks since 1996, decisively applied for a trade.

The Bucks didn't hold back. They knew what happened in the locker room and why the team had struggled so recently.

They agreed to the deal, but there were many difficulties in the deal. The biggest difficulty was that it was impossible for the Bucks to obtain equivalent returns. Because Ray Allen asked to leave before the trade deadline, otherwise he would test the free market after the contract expires, which has caused his value to plummet. Moreover, what the Bucks want is another expiring contract. Only in this way can they offer Sprewell a big contract. Otherwise, the luxury tax will become a monster next year.

As a result, the options left for the Bucks are actually pitiful.

However, the news that Ray Allen was on the shelves was like the smell of blood among the sharks, immediately attracting the attention of many teams.

The one who makes people laugh the most is Isiah Thomas.

Last year he took away Michael Redd from the Bucks, and now he wants to use Redd and other additions in exchange for Ray Allen.

It’s not just good horses that don’t eat grass that turns back, but good deer don’t either.

The Bucks simply rejected the Knicks.

Then came the Raptors’ offer.

Not long ago, the Raptors sent away Vince Carter, who had deep grievances with the team, officially starting the Bosh era.

Suddenly, the Bucks were ready to trade Ray Allen, which made them feel like God was playing a trick on them.

Because Carter's trade gave them a few pieces of shit, one of them disliked the dirty toilets in Toronto and refused to come (Mourning). As a result, the return the Raptors received from Carter's trade can be said to be minimal.

If the Bucks had wanted to trade Ray Allen at that time, the two sides might have hit it off.

Although Carter was at a low point in terms of trade value at the time, he and Yu Fei had a good chemistry during last season's All-Star Game and they chatted well. If a trade were to be made, Carter would definitely be the most suitable.

But now, the Raptors estimate that the Bucks only care about Chris Bosh and Jaylen Rose.

Bosh, they won't sell him until he kills him.

So we can only use Ross to make an offer.

The Bucks still refused.

In January, the Bucks still maintained a 55% winning rate, the All-Star weekend was approaching, and Ray Allen's trade also made breakthrough progress.

Just like the Raptors wanted to get rid of Carter, the Kings wanted to get rid of Webber.

But Weber's contract is so big that the Bucks don't want to touch it. What they want is the "old cat" Cuttino Mobley, whom the Kings traded from the Magic at the beginning of the season.

This year is also Mobley's contract year, and he has stated that he will not renew his contract with the Kings. To them, this is a short scorer with a usage limit of half a season. Now Ray Allen is also in a contract year, and his usage period is also half a season. season, but the latter is obviously an optimized version of the former.

The Bucks want to change, and they have no reason to disagree.

However, the Bucks don't want to be taken advantage of. Mobley's salary is not enough to match Ray Allen's contract. The Kings also need to come up with other additions or bring in other companies to trade. Considering that Ray Allen is obviously better than The fact about Mobley is that the Bucks not only want people, they also want some future draft picks.

The two sides argued for a few more days, and finally finalized the deal on February 2.

The Bucks sent Ray Allen to Sacramento in exchange for Cuttino Mobley, veteran Greg Ostertag and a 2007 first-round pick.

(End of this chapter)