When pride still matters

Chapter 365 Since then
The Sonics ended their first game of five consecutive away games with a clean victory.

"You know, I like Vince, we are good friends, and I sincerely hope that he will be happy in Orlando." Yu Fei told reporters, "Also, I was just playing that ball casually, Vince, you know I’m not targeting you.”

Even in the regular season, as long as there is a wonderful moment that is difficult to replicate, reporters will continue to ask what happened at that time.

Yu Fei brought exactly this answer tonight.

He first shook Carter away, and then cleverly hit the ground and changed direction to pass the ball to assist Durant in hitting a three-pointer.

"I learned that passing movement from Pete Maravich's teaching video." Yu Fei said modestly, "Actually, I'm not good enough at it to be as comfortable as Pete."

Another reporter asked: "Since you moved to Seattle, the SuperSonics' support at home has increased by 20%. Do you think this will help you keep the team in Seattle?"

The support rate increased by 20%, which means that the Sonics have gained nearly 20 supporters.

They can certainly help, but not enough.

Yu Fei said: "I don't know, but this is a good momentum."

From the perspective of a personal business empire, he needs to be widely involved in various businesses.

People who hate him think of him as a clown, but people who like him think of him as such.

Why Fry Yu?
"Because if it were a public company, I would buy it."

Fortune plans to transform Yu Fei into a real business tycoon, not just an athlete. They want to put Yu Fei on the cover of a special issue that will list the twenty-five most powerful people in business, starting with Steve Jobs, then Rupert Murdoch, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Google’s co-CEO, and more. "Fortune" is also preparing to add some clever text next to Yu Fei's cover photo:

"I won't answer this question, you don't respect Kwame." Karl responded, "You should ask them how to deal with Kwame. Kwame is a two-time championship, they are nothing."

On the other side, Kwame Brown gushed about how he, as the league's No. 1 center, suppressed Dwight Howard on the court.

Brown's bragging has become a habit.

The reporter asked Carr: "What do you think Kwame Brown should do against Al Jefferson and Zach Randolph?"

Because Jordan has reached the end of the road of "basketball player", no matter how much he catches up, he can only fall behind, and Yu Fei is forced to "be more than just an athlete."

Next stop, the SuperSonics will move to New York.

"Warren, my five years in Milwaukee brought 300% profit to the Bucks, but Seattle is a much bigger market than Milwaukee." Yu Fei said, "The number of millionaires there is also the largest in the country. (One), if I can be successful there, I think Sonics investors can get a tenfold return."

That night, Yu Fei had dinner with Buffett and took the initiative to mention the big market in Seattle to him.

The Sonics generally agree with Brown's self-promotion.

George Karl was a big supporter of Brown.

"I know that people think Yao and Dwight are the first and second centers in the league, but in my opinion, I am also qualified to enter the discussion on this topic." Brown said reasonably, "You can go and watch the third quarter Dwight had nothing to do with me, and I scored 10 points on him. I scored even more points than him tonight, and I didn’t know I was going to be ignored, which is really baffling to me.”

Yu Fei arrived in New York one day earlier than his teammates.

On this day, Yu Fei and Quint DeMeo, the president of his media company, came to the Time Life Building in New York. To do a shoot with Fortune magazine. The magazine rarely puts athletes on its cover, with Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods being the exceptions in the 1990s. Now it's Yu Fei's turn.

Yu Fei's stylist carefully designed the cover look for him.

Judging from the matter of keeping the Sonics in Seattle, he really needs to rely on his personal influence to complete some work that ordinary people cannot achieve.

--Warren Buffett
"More than an athlete" has always been James' development path.

Because he has other plans.

The Oracle of Omaha asked with a smile, "Fry, what do you want to say?"

"If I can't count on the city, I need some smart guy with the financial resources and the vision to bring my team the best stadium possible."

For wealthy people, the NBA has always been a blue chip stock.

The value of franchises has increased more than tenfold in the past two decades.

The problem is that NBA teams are limited, and many owners operate the teams as if they are a century-old franchise. Unless they encounter uncontrollable resistance or are unable to maximize profits due to venue restrictions like the SuperSonics, everything will happen. Own the team for the long term.

For Buffett, although investing in NBA projects makes money, it takes too long and the benefits are just that. Unless he has the ability to attract money at the level of the Lakers and Knicks, it will be difficult to catch his eye.

"I need some time to observe the prospects of this project." Buffett believes that this investment will definitely make money, but how much will it make? He has no bottom. "However, I believe there are many people willing to buy your account, you just need to let more people know about this business."

"I know, Warren, but we are friends." Yu Fei smiled, "I would rather let my friend have the best bite of meat."

The two chatted for a long time, ranging from investments in Seattle to the Internet economy, which has become increasingly popular recently.

"Next time I take a video, I want to dunk on you," Buffett joked.

Yu Fei doubted that Buffett could jump at all. However, as long as there was a professional director, it was not impossible for Buffett to make "Basketball Fire".

"Like I usually dunk on people's heads?"

"No, like when you dunked on LeBron."

Buffett's casual joke made Yu Fei suddenly realize that they were about to go to Cleveland to play an away game.

The shadow that cannot be shaken off is like a ghost behind you, accompanying you wherever you go.

This is LeBron James' life after last season's Eastern Conference Finals.

It stands to reason that it is exciting for James to lead the Cavaliers back to the conference finals after thirty years. However, they were easily swept by the Bucks, defeated by Yu Fei, and even missed the second game of the conference finals due to injury. Four games, and he signed the letter with strong political connotations, just to distinguish himself from Yu Fei and gain a temporary victory in public opinion through political correctness.

Although doing so avoided being severely beaten by public opinion in the sports world, it also earned him the hatred of the most terrifying thing in the basketball world - Frye Yu.

What happened in Las Vegas made James almost ruined in the basketball world. Anyone who watched that game will no longer compare James with Yu Fei.

Yu Fei used thunderous means to defeat James and successfully seize the starting three position of the Dream Team. James, who could not bear the humiliation, left the Dream Team in the name of injury through path dependence. But this time, no one believed the reality of the injury. sex.

A wimp, a coward, a loser.

These words, which were originally only used by Yu Fei, are now used by everyone without any psychological burden.

James' dream world was destroyed. He spent a summer taking 1000 long-range shots every day, and openly joined Jordan's camp, making the two parties de facto allies and letting Jordan guide his low-post offense.

But these are not enough.

Jordan pointed out one point: "You have no limitations on the psychological level. There is no doubt that you are a great basketball player, but my biggest realization before defeating the Pistons is that I can't do it alone. Only Scottie became 'that one' People', I can lead the team to success. But you don't have someone like Scottie Pippen next to you."

What Jordan said is the only narrative angle that the James camp can stick to at the moment.

James has no helpers.

If he has star helpers like Sprewell, Ray Allen, Reid, Martin, Granger, Aldridge, Roy, Durant, and Rashard Lewis, James can also lead the Cavaliers. go toward success.

Now, James has Ron Artest by his side, who is famous for his talent. But Jordan still believes that this is not enough.

"The Cavaliers don't look like a successful team, and if they don't make big changes next summer, maybe you should make the best choice for your future."

James is a sane person but no matter how sane he is, if someone is saying every day that he deserves a better team, then he himself will think so.

The reason is simple, the Cavaliers are not worthy of him.

The King wants a better palace, just like the Sonics want a bigger arena. That's fair, isn't it?
The SuperSonics swept the Knicks in New York with a high score of 124 points, and then moved to Cleveland.

There are countless followers of the King here. They made ugly posters of Yu Fei and demonstrated outside the airport. They also issued a lot of insults and screams, as if doing so would cause Yu Fei to suffer additional harm.

Yu Fei looked at them with pity.

They don't seem to know that James is executing the first year of the 2+1 contract. They don't seem to realize that the Cavaliers are still not good enough to keep James.

"I'm very happy that the fans here are still full of fighting spirit." Yu Fei told reporters outside the airport before boarding the team bus. "If LeBron has as much fighting spirit as his fans, maybe there won't be garbage time tonight. But unfortunately, based on what I know about him, the probability of garbage time tonight is 100%, because as we all know, LeBron is an addicted deserter. In the Eastern Conference Finals last season, he ran away. Las Vegas soon after Sri Lanka training camp, he escaped again."

"What I'm worried about now is whether one day in the future, he will lose confidence in Cleveland and flee to another city. If this happens, how should Cavaliers fans face him?"

In an instant, Yu Fei angered all the Cavaliers fans. Crazy curses sounded from all directions. The staff was worried that the situation would get out of control, so they asked the SuperSonics team bus to leave the scene quickly.

(End of this chapter)