When pride still matters

Chapter 273 Frye never fights an unprepared battle

Entering August, Yu Fei officially started this year's Asia trip.

Due to his unique image and skin color, the Asian market has always been Yu Fei's base. Reebok has made greater gains in Asia through Yu Fei than in the United States.

Therefore, the annual Asia tour is also a disguised form of consolidating the fan base here.

Just when Yu Fei left the United States and was far away from the center of public opinion, NBA teams couldn't wait to try the new rules.

The collective bargaining agreement passed not long ago, in addition to the Yu Fei clause, also has an amnesty clause called the Allen Houston clause.

The introduction of this clause is designed to help teams that are stuck in the salary cap by injury-ridden top-paid players, which can not only allow them to avoid triggering the luxury tax, but also bring flexible salary space.

When this rule was first introduced, it seemed like it was tailor-made for Allen Houston.

But in the end, the Knicks did not pardon Houston.

Among the first batch of players who were subject to special terms, the most powerful was Mavericks veteran Michael Finley.

Finley's amnesty was not only due to a decline in strength, but also because the Mavericks also needed tax cuts. After all, Cuban's money did not come from strong winds.

Finley, who is free, wants to start over with another championship team.

The Spurs, Pistons, and Suns made phone calls to Finley's agent one after another.

As a team competing for the championship, the Bucks were absent from this fierce competition.

Because although Finley is good, the Bucks' wing group is already saturated. They can no longer train young players alone. They really do not give Finley the opportunity and space to prove himself.

A few days later, Finley made a completely different decision than in his previous life.

He turned down the Spurs, who were desperate for talent, because the Spurs couldn't provide a starting position.

The Suns are willing to let Finley start.

This is a series of chain reactions triggered by the Suns missing out on Raja Bell.

They are also a team competing for the championship. Even if Finley appreciates the Spurs' system and style more, he still has to consider how he will establish himself in the new team.

The Suns' starting commitment is enough to offset Finley's preference for the Spurs.

As a result, Finley joined the Suns with a veteran's minimum salary.

The strong teams then have to focus on others on the amnesty list.

In addition to Finlay, there are also some famous generals who are also included in the amnesty.

Such as Doug Christie and Brian Grant, but the situation of these two people is different from Finley.

Finley still has oil, but has been optimized by the Mavericks.

Christie and Grant are both veterans who occupy a large amount of the team's salary space but basically do not work.

After the inspection, the strong teams ignored their existence, so the Bucks had nothing to do and brought Brian Grant home with a veteran's minimum salary.

After that, the Bucks were silent again.

As far as this summer is concerned, Yu Fei's 2+1 contract is like a knife hanging over their heads, forcing them to make a difference.

Although Yu Fei's actions were spurned by conservatives in the professional basketball world, he did reap rewards.

Just like the Bucks declared: let the world know we are ready to spend money!

They did spend money to fill up the salary cap and get the roster together before preseason training camp, when they just need to focus on grinding it out.

However, it wasn't all good news for them this summer.

At the end of last month, a piece of bad news made everyone who cares about the Bucks feel uneasy.

Head coach George Karl, who has always looked tough, suddenly announced that he had prostate cancer.

At the end of July, Carl officially underwent surgery.

Fortunately, Carl's surgery was successful.

If nothing else happens, he can come back to coach before the new season.

For the Bucks, this is a blessing in disguise.

There is no doubt that Karl is the most suitable head coach for the Bucks. His offensive system tailored for Yu Fei has helped the team achieve success. His harmonious relationship with Yu Fei can also be regarded as a model in the industry.

Since August, Yu Fei has become a busy and happy person.

According to Reebok's arrangements, he will hold basketball training camps and business activities in cities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and Manila, and accept media interviews. This seems to be a very difficult job.

Among all NBA stars who have embarked on an Asian tour, only Yu Fei has traveled to China, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

For those in the Fei camp, this is a journey to liberate their nature.

The Asian market is not only staggeringly large, but also welcoming and generous.

Especially the Hanfei area makes people linger every time.

If Yu Fei didn't have a clear schedule, Lawson and the others would have spent the whole of August in Seoul and Manila.

At the end of August, due to Hurricane Katrina, Reebok arranged for Yu Fei to return to the United States early.

Whenever there is a major disaster, celebrities will come out and perform the repertoire "I am a kind-hearted person and I can't stand to see people suffer disasters."

Reebok plans to convene its players to raise funds for the disaster-stricken areas through an exhibition game.

However, Nike took the initiative to approach Reebok and wanted to lead the Bucks and Cavaliers to attend Jay-Z's charity gala in New Jersey in the names of Yu Fei and James. This plan is too huge, and there are many relationships that need to be cleared. For Reebok, it also needs to be cautious.

Generally speaking, Nike and Reebok, which are competing companies, will not cooperate because neither one wants to help the other attract traffic.

As far as the NBA market is concerned, Nike occupies a dominant position in the United States. As for Reebok, since Iverson reached his peak in the summer of 2001, only Yu Fei can pose a threat to Nike.

But coincidentally, there is a close connection between James and Yu Fei, who are both highly praised by Nike, and the world has become accustomed to seeing them as the contemporary black and white duo.

Since there is a problem, it would be a pity not to take advantage of it, not to mention doing good deeds to boost their respective reputations, which is not harmful to both parties.

Reebok asked Yu Fei for his advice.

Yu Fei's first reaction when he heard the news was to call James, "Is it your idea?"

"Fry, don't you think this is a good idea?" James said pitifully. "Let's do something good for those poor people who are suffering."

The reason why Yu Fei guessed the "mastermind" behind the scenes right away was because this charity match was just one of the programs of Jay-Z's charity gala.

As a superstar in the music industry, Jay-Z and James have a close relationship. Nike will not connect this line for no reason, so it must be related to James.

Yu Fei thought for a moment and said, "I can't guarantee that everyone in our team will be here."

"It's okay, I can't guarantee it." James said domineeringly, "As long as we arrive, we can represent the entire team."

This is true, but Yu Fei still wants to lead an official Bucks team to participate.

Yu Fei sent text messages to his teammates, and the young players who were in special training, such as Martin, Granger and Ariza, all agreed, while the veterans refused as expected.

So Yu Fei invited Leitner and Mason who had retired.

Although both of them have retired, they are still Bucks legends.

September 2005, 9, New Jersey, Continental Airlines Arena.

Yu Fei believes that the Cavaliers will tremble because of James' participation in this charity gala.

Thinking about the relationship between James and Jay-Z, combined with the fact that Jay-Z is a minority shareholder of the Nets, doesn't he want to lure his little brother to New Jersey?

Taking into account the needs of the concert, the stadium for the charity match was smaller than the actual match stadium. Moreover, the two sides only played for 10 minutes and basically did not defend.

So, this is the show for Yu Fei and James.

The two dribbled to the frontcourt, faced the surface defense, and rushed to the basket for dunks with accelerating speed.

As far as the performance itself is concerned, Yu Fei is the more eye-catching one.

Xiao Zhan is still flexing his muscles and dunking, while Yu Fei has already started shooting long three-pointers.

In the last minute, Yu Fei's three-pointers were farther away than each other, and all of them hit.

The atmosphere at the scene changed from the initial enthusiasm to the final frenzy.

You know, due to the dark history between Yu Fei and the Nets, James is more popular in New Jersey. It can be said that this is like his home court, but at the end of the charity game, Yu Fei won the full house.

"Shet! This Chinaman can do it!" Puff Daddy said excitedly backstage, "He's like the child of a magician and Larry Fucking Bird!"

There were many superstars at the scene, but Beyoncé was the only one who participated in NBA activities many times. She had been in contact with Yu Fei and knew his temperament, so she said with a smile: "Diddy, you'd better not say that to him face to face."

"Thank you~~~~" Diddy said nonchalantly, "It's too late for that kid to be happy when he heard what I said!"

The atmosphere at the scene was extremely hot, but James' brothers were not happy.

Although the charity game is irrelevant, this is obviously LeBron's home court.

However, Yu Fei is the kind of player who is better at performing.

Everyone who has watched this charity match will be deeply impressed by the special pair of fifth-generation Tianxuan shoes at Fei's feet.

Nike executives also wanted to use the game to promote James' new generation of boots, but Reebok's preparations were obviously more in place. They prepared a pair of mandarin duck shoes for Yu Fei.

"Frye really never fights an unprepared battle."

Rich Paul said meaningfully.

James doesn't have as many ideas as the people around him. Just like Yu Fei, they just play the game in an exhibition way.

It's just that Yu Fei's skills are more suitable for entertaining the audience.

"See you later." James said, "I want to introduce you to my friends."

"Jay-Z?"

"There are others."

Yu Fei was deeply impressed by the team culture among black people of strong alliances. According to his understanding, James knew Jay-Z before entering the NBA.

Jay-Z naturally brought James into his circle. As James gains a foothold in the NBA, his status in Jay-Z's circle will also be consolidated.

Yu Fei has met many Asian or Chinese celebrities who are developing in the United States, but everyone smiles, nods, and takes a photo together. The so-called friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, and that's it.

Of course, Asians/Chinese are already disadvantaged in Hollywood, and they don’t have an industry leader like Jay-Z to lead the team.

Now that Xiao Zhan is willing to bring himself into Jay-Z's circle, how should he repay him? How many points will you score less next time you face the Cavaliers? Forget it, this kind of thing goes against sportsmanship. Although Yu Fei doesn't have much sportsmanship at all, he still has to have a basic bottom line.

Why not find a chance to take Xiao Zhan to Paris Hilton’s party and have a great time?

PS: Chapter 2 will be later

(End of this chapter)