When pride still matters

Chapter 586 Scepter
This is undoubtedly a successful season for the Clippers.

Yu Fei caused a frenzy of response in California, just like the Seattle SuperSonics caused in Washington State.

Considering the commercial added value of Los Angeles, the Clippers' rapid growth trend in business is even more amazing. Since the first week of the regular season, the Clippers have achieved success in all indicators. Season ticket sales, player peripherals, souvenir sales, social media search popularity... In this era of rapid change, they have reached the peak in every indicator related to "traffic".

In many ways, they have surpassed the Lakers as the most-watched franchise in L.A. For a team that was reeling from last season's humiliation, it's nothing short of fantastic.

The media people couldn't figure out whether this was a chain reaction caused by the GOAT or a lucky break from Donald Sterling's resignation.

But Yu Fei knew that not winning the championship would be a failure. A season of being alone in Carey would not add glory to his career, at most it would just prevent this year from becoming a stain on his resume.

From his perspective, that wasn't enough.

"From a historical perspective, being eliminated in the regional finals is a failure for me." Yu Fei boasted in a low-key way that ordinary people could not understand. "I will not make excuses. This year's failure is my responsibility. I could have done better."

The media simply couldn't understand how a player who averaged 38 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists in the conference finals could do any better.

Unlike Yu Fei, Rivers believes this is a breakthrough season for the Clippers and is of historic significance.

"Before this year, being a member of the Clippers was a disgrace to professional players, and no one wanted to play for us. But after this year, that history is over. We have changed the world's deep-rooted negative perception of this long-lost team, which is a huge success for us!" Rivers always knows how to inspire people. "For me, this is not the end, our goal is to reach the position that Frye once touched in Seattle!"

Rivers' words reminded people of Seattle's "Empire".

If this is Rivers' goal, it is undoubtedly an amazing goal. But he also said that this ceiling has been proven to be achievable by Yu Fei. The GOAT was able to lead this year's Clippers to the conference finals. Doesn't this prove that the ceiling really exists?

As long as he is matched with the right teammates, he can make the Clippers flourish.

So the media asked, "What plans do the Clippers have this summer?"

"Well..." Rivers said with a smile, "I have no comment!"

That night, Griffin walked out of the media interview room alone. He used to be the most popular interviewee for the Clippers, but now, everyone has lost interest in this "quit" who failed at the critical moment.

The Western Conference semifinals against the Warriors was the peak of Griffin's reputation. If he had been injured at that time and missed the Western Conference Finals, the outside world might have evaluated him much better than it is now. But who would have thought that Griffin, who was at his peak, would be no threat to Duncan?

He even needs the GOAT to get into the paint to fight against Duncan.

If he needs the GOAT to do these things, then what's the point of the GOAT having him as a teammate?
The poor performance against the Spurs dealt a heavy blow to Griffin's reputation. Now, he has become the "softie who dares not take a tough shot in front of old Duncan" in public, and his exit due to injury in the fourth quarter tonight further damaged his image.

At that crucial moment, the team needed him to stay on the court, but he chose what seemed to be the most reasonable decision.

No one can blame his choice, but no one can accept the result on behalf of the fans.

Especially those Clippers fans who have been through so much, they don't want this dream season to end. They hope that Griffin can at least stand up like a man tonight and help GOAT stop Gasol, but he didn't do it.

Griffin could feel the disappointment.

When asked if he had ever considered continuing to play with the injury, he hesitated.

"I'm not a medical expert," Griffin gave an official answer. "Only doctors can decide whether I should continue to play. The situation at that time was... the doctor did not allow me to continue to stay on the court."

In places with huge traffic, this seemingly rational decision is always the least popular.

Especially in a team like the Clippers, which has never been about rationality.

The next day, a Clippers fan suspected to be a fan of Yu Fei made a sarcastic comment on Twitter, which was pushed to the trending search: "If Brandon Roy had chosen to listen to the doctor's advice, the Supersonics Empire would never be what we see today."

This is Griffin's dilemma, he needs to face these irrational and unfounded accusations.

The Clippers are quite open-minded about this.

Especially the coaching staff and management, they all believed that this result was already an above-average performance.

The happiest person was the team's owner Steve Ballmer.

The broadcasting contract the Clippers signed with local TV stations in Los Angeles is a relic of the Sterling era.

The contract ended this summer.

Led by Yu Fei, the Clippers have had a great season in terms of both reputation and box office. They can definitely ask for a high price for the next TV broadcast contract like the Lakers did.

This is the GOAT bonus.

The Sonics have already eaten it.

Now it's the Clippers' turn.

This is not something Yu Fei should care about.

Because no matter how Ballmer takes him to the local TV station for an offer, the money will not end up in his pocket.

After the end of the season, Yu Fei not only took a few days off, but also took time to watch the finals.

This year's finals are worth watching.

Whether the Heat will defend their title or the Spurs' "beautiful basketball" will have the last laugh, the process is worth watching.

Moreover, Yu Fei also wanted to know whether the law that the team that defeated him in the playoffs would be unlucky would come true again.

The results are impressive.

This year's Spurs are definitely much stronger than last year's, but the Heat are not like the Heat in the main timeline 14. They are like those teams in history that have reached the end of their rope after winning two consecutive championships and have lost the ability to reach the top again.

There was a reason why that Heat team was swept by the Spurs.

However, the current Heat has absolutely no reason to fail.

Wade is uninjured, and there is also Curry. Ariza has been replaced by the more difficult Jimmy Butler, and the inside group of Love and Yao Ming is not comparable to the opponents the Spurs have encountered in the West.

The ultimate in team basketball meets the defending champion with bursts of star energy, and the result speaks for itself.

There is often only one reason why the power of a team can suppress talent - the party representing talent is actually not that talented.

This is the case with the Heat in the main timeline. Wade's injuries are getting worse, and Bosh at the center position is no match for Hibbert in the playoffs. So what can they do even with James, who has a 2K14 rating of 99?
But now the Spurs are facing the Heat, a star-studded team that can rival the peak Supersonics empire.

The games the Heat won were all double-digit wins, while the games the Spurs won were narrow wins.

The difference in combat power between the two sides can be seen from the score difference.

Back in San Antonio for Game 3, even the Spurs' home air conditioning malfunctioned, but it couldn't reverse the situation.

In the fourth game, the Spurs were defeated.

Team basketball without the belief in winning will give rise to another kind of poison - team spirit means that everyone is responsible, but an ineffective team means that no one can stand up and take responsibility.

They fell into a scoring drought and were subsequently beaten.

Leading 3-1, the Heat were confident of victory and did not give the San Antonio team any chance when they returned to their home court.

4 is better than 1
The result is almost the same as last year, with the main change being who wins the FMVP.

在这五场比赛中，韦德场均得到24分、4个篮板和5次助攻，投篮命中率为46%、三分命中率34%、罚球命中率83%。库里则场均贡献21分、4个篮板和6次助攻，效率高得惊人，投篮命中率52%、三分命中率46%、罚球命中率95%。

It was this difference in efficiency that made the Reebok people make such a fuss in the voting.

Wade's dream of winning FMVP again was shattered.

Curry, who was more efficient and had more media resources, became this year's FMVP. When Curry won the award, Wade's excitement was obviously reduced.

Yu Fei did not think deeply about this scene. In his opinion, both Wade and Curry are candidates for FMVP. Curry is more efficient, and Reebok has accumulated stable support in the media circle over the years, and the entire group has always hoped to bring out new superstars.

Now that Curry has seized the opportunity, it is reasonable to make every effort to build momentum for him.

All we can say is that Curry seized the opportunity, but whether his FMVP will have other impacts on the team remains to be seen.

Yu Fei's focus was not here, he was just simply happy for Yao Ming.

At first, Yao Ming complained that flying too fast had changed the times. Facts have proved that it was the era of space basketball that saved Yao Ming's career.

When Yao Ming decided to gain a lot of weight, the times had changed. Those who don't adapt to the times will eventually be run over by the wheels of the times.

Fortunately, Yao Ming made changes in time.

By losing weight and practicing three-pointers, he has become a model of successful transformation from a traditional center.

The successful transformation not only extended his career, but also allowed him to enjoy the dividends of this era when centers are gradually declining.

He was selected to the All-NBA First Team for two consecutive years and won two consecutive championships with the Heat, which basically locked him in as one of the top ten centers in NBA history. He is also very likely to be on the list of the 75 greatest stars in NBA history in the future.

“Now I know what it feels like to be on top of a mountain.”

Yu Fei sent a text message to Yao Ming to congratulate him, and Yao Ming replied quickly.

Yu Fei asked: "How does it feel?"

“It’s too crowded halfway up the mountain. I just want to stay at the top.”

"Welcome aboard. You're already talking like a winner."

The season is officially over. Next up is the much-anticipated 2014 NBA Draft, and then an offseason that could reshape the league.

It is almost impossible for the Heat, who won two consecutive championships, to keep the same team in the new season.

First, Yao Ming's contract expired.

Although the Heat have Yao Ming's bird rights and can renew his contract regardless of salary space, they were already operating under four maximum salaries last season. Despite successfully defending the title, they did not make any money overall.

The burden of luxury taxes is too heavy.

The league's antitrust policy precisely targets these teams that are overflowing with talent.

Yao Ming and his family are willing to stay in Miami, but the Heat are unable to sign another maximum salary contract.

Moreover, considering that Yao Ming was selected into the first team for two consecutive years and won the championship with the team, he can activate the full version of the Yu Fei clause.

Consider his age.

This giant, born in 1980, is already 34 years old.

It is almost certain that this is the last big contract of his career. He definitely wants the full maximum salary, and a pay cut is definitely not an option for him.

Therefore, Yao Ming's situation was very delicate.

Although he is old, he just helped the team defend the title in Miami with his first-class three-point shooting, rim protection and positioning abilities.

In modern times, an inside player who can improve all three skills to the top level at the same time deserves a maximum salary, not to mention that Yao Ming also has tactical value in the low post.

As long as it is a strong team, it needs players like him.

If the Heat dare to let go, there will be a lot of teams that dare to grab it.

No matter what Miami decides, Yu Fei has already notified the team to be prepared.

The salary space cleared by Pierce can be used to offer a full maximum salary to the big fish in the free market.

If not give this contract to Yao Ming, when will it be given?

They really need such an inside player.

This will happen after July, and the most important thing now is to prepare for the draft.

The 2014 draft is known to be full of talent, and even the last pick in the first round can select players with good qualifications.

Clippers general manager Arn Tellem is in a dilemma.

One of their biggest weaknesses exposed in the playoffs this year was their poor interior play.

Therefore, the inside player is definitely the first choice in the draft.

But who should I choose?
Is there a DeAndre Jordan-like missed gem this year?

Tellem is proud of having studied the NBA draft for many years. When he was an agent, he often signed contracts in a Taobao-style manner. However, after signing so many people, the chosen ones like Yu Fei and Kobe are ultimately a minority.

Moreover, these people have another characteristic - they are not the draft picks that Tremm is currently searching for.

Although their draft picks were not high, Yu Fei and Kobe were both lottery picks.

The 1996 draft class and the 2001 draft class were both lottery years. Is it a skill to find talent from the lottery picks in a year with so much talent?
It's like Tellem is willing to bet his life that Jabari Parker is the next superstar in the NBA. Will it work?
They didn't have a top-3 pick and would never have had the chance to select Parker.

The Clippers ranked third in the league in the regular season, which looked good during the season, but not when the draft picks were distributed.

Third means they only have the 28th pick in the first round this year.

It is extremely difficult to select a truly usable player at this pick.

When Trem was at a loss, Yu Fei appeared.

He brought a scouting report.

Yu Fei has been waiting for today.

If you randomly ask any fan with a basic understanding of modern basketball to travel back in time to an NBA tank team in 2013-2014 and be the general manager in charge of the team's reconstruction, they can easily accomplish it.

The steps are very simple. First, select Giannis Antetokounmpo, then select Nikola Jokic. It's done in two steps.

When selecting the Greek Freak, one also needs to consider using an earlier draft pick to ensure that the player is selected, but Jokic does not have to worry about that at all.

The Clippers' current first-round pick, 28th, is enough.

At this stage in his career, Jokic isn’t a standout.

He represented Serbia in the 2013 World Youth Championship, averaging only 7 points and 5 rebounds per game. There were even rumors that he was "beaten" by Zhou Qi in the game - although this was a rumor, given Jokic's strength at the time, he was likely to be at a disadvantage when facing Zhou Qi from the youth team.

After that, Jokic made rapid progress and gradually became qualified for the draft.

However, in the eyes of scouts, he is just a white inside player with high basketball IQ but extremely mediocre athletic ability.

At this point, his draft prospects were only in the second round.

A few months ago, Jokic was invited to attend the Nike Basketball Summit.

In this game, Jokic played for the "World Team", and the most dazzling star of this team was undoubtedly Emmanuel Mudiay from Congo. Mudiay even called Jokic "Nowitzki".

However, the praise from his teammates did not substantially improve Jokic's evaluation. He still walked slowly and failed to impress the scouts.

Some talents cannot be judged by the naked eye or so-called professional intuition.

Scouts believe more in talent that can be seen with the naked eye.

Therefore, even though Zhou Qi only scored 2 points and 3 rebounds at the Nike Summit, with his 216cm height and 232cm wingspan, he can still enter the lottery zone in the mock draft prediction. Jokic, this seemingly ordinary little fat guy, is still just an average player in the eyes of scouts, who think he is at most a second-round pick.

Yu Fei put Jokic's information on Tellem's desk and said, "Pick him with the 28th pick."

This is not a suggestion, but a notice.

Tellem looked embarrassed, he had also observed Jokic.

"I know him... this Serbian..." Trem said with some embarrassment, "I'm afraid his athletic talent will not be able to adapt to the league's game rhythm."

Yu Fei responded playfully: "You talk as if you have played in an NBA game."

Tellem insisted: "Every scout recognized his basketball IQ, but basketball IQ alone can't make a living in the NBA. Using the 28th pick on him is really..."

"It's really a wise move." Yu Fei interrupted him.

He wasn’t going to argue with Tellem about whether Jokic was a good fit for the NBA.

"I want you to promise me that Adam Silver will personally announce on June 6 that the Clippers will select Nikola Jokic with the 26th pick in the first round!" Yu Fei said firmly, "There is no room for error in this matter!"

This is the epitome of the Clippers.

If Yu Fei does not express an opinion, then others can act according to their own judgment and inform Yu Fei of the results afterwards. Yu Fei will usually not intervene.

But once Yu Fei has a clear opinion, no different voices are allowed.

Perhaps his experience in Seattle made him realize the importance of having the final say.

He increasingly disliked others going against his decisions, especially things that he believed were 100% right.

Trem sighed. When he decided to recruit Yu Fei, he knew this day would come.

"As you wish," Tellem said. "As long as he's still there at 28, we'll take him."

"No, I mean..." Yu Fei's desire for Jokic shocked Tellem. "If someone tries to draft him with a higher pick than us, we must trade forward at all costs to ensure that the Serbian is selected!"

Trem finally understood Yu Fei's determination.

A few days later, the Clippers received good news.

Ballmer excitedly announced that the Clippers had reached a six-year television broadcast contract with a local TV station in Los Angeles.

Starting next season, the Clippers could earn $1.5 million a year from local television contracts.

"I believe that under Yu Fei's leadership, the Clippers' future is bright. This year we broke the best record in team history, and next year we will do more. One day, the Clippers will stand at the top of the league!"

In just one year, the once-worst team in professional basketball became a ferocious, money-eating behemoth.

Steve Ballmer is well aware of the roots of this series of changes.

There is no hegemony in this world without reason.

This is the second time Yu Fei has mastered this kind of power. In the past, when he was in Seattle, he was still immature in his way of dealing with power. Now, he holds the scepter tightly in his hand, and no one can easily get close to him.

(End of this chapter)