When pride still matters

Chapter 590: Fated people will meet each other

The summer of 2014 was undoubtedly a retirement season.

Among the players born in the 90s who played up to this year, the oldest had already played in the NBA for 15 years.

15 years, which is three times the average career of an NBA player and is also the end of the career of most players.

Therefore, it's not just Ray Allen and Shane Battier who are retiring this summer.

Steve Nash, who also came from the 96 golden generation, ended his career.

Nash is one of the older members of the 96 generation, and his retirement is considered normal now. It’s just a pity that he didn’t retire with a championship.

In the past two years, Nash almost left the team, and both the Heat and the Nets extended olive branches to him.

But because he refused to play as a substitute, Nash ultimately failed to reach an agreement with the two teams and chose to stay in Phoenix and grow old with the Suns.

Until this summer, Nash finally couldn't bear the burden and ended his hopeless career, and the Suns will start rebuilding.

From then on, the epoch-making "SSOL" Suns team came to an end.

In addition to Nash, two other members of the 96 golden generation also announced their retirement.

One is Jermaine O'Neal, who had a rough time at the end of his career but had no regrets.

Since leaving the Pacers, O'Neal Jr. has moved to many teams and finally realized his championship dream in Seattle.

Moreover, he has always been sober. After winning the championship, he did not linger on the aura of the championship empire, but took the initiative to choose to leave, signed a series of middle-class special contracts, and achieved a double harvest of honor and income.

But this year, his body can no longer cope with the high-intensity games in the NBA.

Even if he still wanted to continue playing, no team was willing to offer him a contract.

Because no one was interested in him and he was unwilling to play overseas, he simply chose to retire.

Yu Fei immediately sent his best wishes: "Jermaine, congratulations on completing a great career. I still remember our competition on the court and the time we fought side by side in Seattle. I believe we have spent wonderful years together, and I wish you all the best in the future!"

In addition to O'Neal Jr., Derek Fisher, who has a close relationship with Kobe, also announced his retirement this summer.

However, Fisher's retirement is more like part of his personal plan rather than being forced by a decline in his competitive state.

Last season, he played for the New York Knicks and still averaged 5 points and 3 assists per game, performing well as a backup point guard.

This summer, the Knicks announced that Phil Jackson would take over as team president.

The first thing Jackson did after taking office was to retire Fisher and directly appoint him as the team's head coach.

In the eyes of outsiders, the Zen Master's move is quite similar to Pat Riley's handing over the baton to Eric Spoelstra after he retired from the head coaching position.

They admit that they are too old to devote themselves to coaching, but they are unwilling to give up their basketball philosophy, so they pass the coaching position to those who can continue their philosophy.

Today, Spoelstra has led the team to win two consecutive championships, and he is showing signs of becoming a famous coach.

In contrast, Fisher's situation is more like that of Doc Rivers. As a coach, Fisher's advantage is that he has played for many famous coaches and has learned a lot about many tactical systems. In addition, he has served as the chairman of the players' union and has rich administrative management experience, so working behind the scenes should not be a problem.

However, a rookie head coach who has never served as an assistant coach and has no precipitation time is usually just a flower frame. The Zen Master hopes that Fisher can use the resources of New York to carry forward the concept of triangle offense, but many industry insiders are not optimistic about Fisher's coaching ability.

Regardless, Fisher took on this heavy responsibility.

Compared with other players in the same class, he planned his career very rigorously.

The five-star general who always appears in documentaries once said: "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." The veterans of the 90s are gradually fading off the stage.

What about those opponents who had grievances with Yu Fei?

They are also gradually disappearing.

Billups returns to Detroit after a tepid season with the Clippers.

Richard Hamilton became a free agent last season. He wanted to stay in the NBA, but no team was willing to give him a chance.

His situation is exactly the outcome Ray Allen least wants to encounter.

The NBA eventually eliminated him, and Hamilton chose to retire in a "voluntary" way.

The grudge between him and Yu Fei will also solidify over time.

Old Prince Tayshaun Prince is also nearing the end of his career, but he can still play.

He accepted the Timberwolves' invitation and signed a two-year contract.

Kenyon Martin, who had a fierce rivalry with Yu Fei at the time, also got a one-year minimum salary contract when the free market was nearing its end.

Martin has lost his former influence. The team wants him only because he is a veteran.

For Martin, the end of his career is approaching.

Whether they were former friends or enemies, they are all quietly leaving the field, but Yu Fei still has to fight for the first championship in the history of the Clippers.

When he returned to the United States from China, he did feel that he was no longer young.

Looking across the league, there are very few players with more experience than him.

The rest are his descendants.

This is what he looked like when he was 32 years old. What if he plays until he is 40?

Maybe it's right to leave when it's time to leave.

He warned himself in his heart.

It was almost September, and Yu Fei took some time to visit Hu Jinqiu who was participating in an AAU competition.

Last year, Hu Jinqiu came to the United States after receiving the "Yu Fei Scholarship". It only took him a few months to enter the vision of college scouts.

Soon, he was rated as a four-star center in the 2015 class by major rating agencies.

The highest rating organization that gave him the highest ranking was ESPN, which ranked Hu Jinqiu 2015th in the United States in the 30 class.

This is the top four-star level in the high school rankings, and those who can be ranked to this position basically have the potential to be the main force in March Madness.

But ESPN is different from several other rating agencies in one respect.

ESPN considers Hu Jinqiu as a power forward, while other star rating agencies consider him a center. This subtle difference leads to different rankings. The star rating agencies that consider Hu Jinqiu as a center all rank him in the middle of the four-star position, while ESPN believes that Hu Jinqiu's height, coupled with his outstanding speed and vitality, is a very suitable four-position player for the modern era.

Hu Jinqiu's four-star rating basically meets Yu Fei's expectations.

Unlike Zhou and Wang who were selected by the NBA, Hu Jinqiu does not have strong static talent and solid basic skills in the interior. He relies entirely on his outstanding speed and vitality at the same height as well as his remarkable enthusiasm to show himself.

Due to his lack of talent and fundamentals, he does not have the potential to be rated five stars, but his desire for improvement may allow him to achieve further growth in the NCAA.

Therefore, every time Yu Fei came to see him, he would ask him to shoot for him like a teacher checking his homework.

The result is encouraging. Hu Jinqiu already has the ability to shoot mid-range shots from the front and can also shoot three-pointers from the top of the arc. These characteristics were not obvious in high school. When it comes to the higher-level NCAA, an inside player who can shoot will greatly enrich the team's tactics in modern times.

"Are there any new offers recently?" Yu Fei asked.

Hu Jinqiu's expression collapsed: "Just one family."

"That shouldn't be the case. You played well in AAU." Yu Fei said in surprise, "Don't worry about it. You won't go to college until next year. The most important thing now is to improve yourself."

Then, Yu Fei asked: "Which university gave you the offer?"

Hu Jinqiu suddenly blinked: "It seems to be called Duke"

"Good boy, you're waiting for me here!" Yu Fei asked unexpectedly, "Has Coach K looked for you?"

"He came to watch my game a while ago."

Yu Fei nodded. Duke was indeed an ideal place to go. He had come into contact with Old K when he was on the Dream Team. This man's abilities as a coach were impeccable in all aspects. Over the past few decades, NBA teams had tried to poach him many times, but all failed.

It would be good for Hu Jinqiu if he could play under Old K, but there are also hidden dangers. The competition at Duke is too fierce. It would be of no use for a four-star high school student to play at Duke, because his teammates might all be quasi-lottery picks in the NBA or five-star high school students from the same or previous classes.

But then again, it is precisely because of such a fierce competitive environment that it is possible for players to break down barriers on their own.

For example, Rui Hachimura was no match for Hu Jinqiu in the Asian Youth Championship, but he went to Gonzaga and sat on the bench for a year. The next year, he seized the opportunity to come to the fore, and in the third year he became an absolute main force and entered the lottery zone. This incredible triple jump can only happen in a giant club.

After having a basic understanding of Hu Jinqiu's current situation, Yu Fei paid more attention to him.

In addition to helping with daily life, he also contacted his good brother Lawson based on Hu Jinqiu's physical condition and prepared nutritious meals and training plans through his training team.

This is the fun of the development game. Yu Fei’s biggest expectation for Hu Jinqiu is to become a player who can play steadily in the NBA for several years like Yuta Watanabe.

As long as he can do it, he will completely surpass his previous self.

Since September, Yu Fei has basically stayed at home, only doing recovery training through the gym and court at home.

There were all kinds of noises on the field.

The sounds of the ball bouncing, the goal being scored, the iron being hit, and the crying of a child.

The 2-year-old Yu Bufan spoke incomprehensible words, trying to attract his father's attention. Unfortunately, his cheap father just thought it was another meaningless soliloquy of a child.

When Xiao Bufan found that this was useless, he used his most effective weapon - crying.

Kwame Brown laughed and said, “Fry, have you ever heard of that proverb?”

Yu Fei asked: "What proverb?"

"The child is not the father's child, the child is just the father's follower."

“That’s not a proverb.”

"It is from now on." Brown pretended to be a philosopher and said in a profound way, "This will remind future generations."

So this is why some black men perform "holy cutting" when they get their girlfriends pregnant? Just because they don't want the child to be their follower?

Yu Fei did not make this racist joke out loud. He walked over to Xiao Bufan, and a magical thing happened - the child stopped crying.

At this point, Yu Fei could only ask the nanny to put the child to sleep before continuing training.

This was Yu Fei’s life before the preseason training camp.

It is also the calm before the new season arrives.

In mid-September, training camp for the 2014-15 season opened.

Like last year, the Clippers' training camp continues to be set up in Los Angeles. The advantage of this is that those who have contracts do not have to be separated from the players and go in and out of the training camp every day like going to get off work.

The downside is that a lot of information from the training camp will be leaked to the media.

People like Rivers, whose thinking is still stuck in the past, would like to find a place for closed training, but the Clippers management always makes the choice with the most traffic.

Yu Fei arrived at the training camp very early.

They can't get all the staff together today.

Because Yao Ming had just finished playing in this year's Men's Basketball World Championships, the team gave him a few extra days of vacation.

But Yu Fei had little interest in Yao Ming, the old Deng. He came for Klay Thompson and Nikola Jokic.

After all, these two will be the key figures for the Clippers to soar in the future.

Yu Fei met Thompson first.

Thompson was walking leisurely in the training hall with a cup of coffee. If someone asked him how he felt about the new season, he would say: "I only care about when we play against Golden State."

It's no secret that he hates the Warriors.

Judging from the result of the transaction, the Warriors basically regarded him as the culprit for their loss to the Clippers last season, but could the series really end up with a 4-1 score because of one person's problem?
"Clay, are you getting used to being back in Los Angeles?" Yu Fei asked jokingly, "Is your father okay?"

Thompson's trade to the Clippers was a nightmare for his father, Mychal Thompson.

Thompson Sr.'s dream was to see his son play for the Lakers like he did, but those were the Lakers' evil empire period. Not to mention the lottery, they didn't even have a first-round draft pick, so it was impossible for them to select Thompson.

Fortunately, Thompson was selected by another California team, so at least he can play in California.

Unexpectedly, the Warriors used his son as a scapegoat for their loss and traded him to the Clippers.

Thompson almost got depressed. The Clippers? What kind of shitty team is this? When he was playing, he didn't even consider the Clippers as an NBA team. He thought it was the worst team in the league, bar none.

Times have changed, of course, but it was still difficult for Thompson Sr. to adjust.

Thompson said with a smile: "He forced me to apply for a trade, otherwise he would not recognize me."

"Oh I hope you've worked that out."

“I said no,” Thompson shrugged, “so my dad hasn’t spoken to me in months.”

Yu Fei encouraged: "As long as we win the championship, everything will be fine."

"Do we really have a chance to win the championship?" Thompson didn't expect Yu Fei to be so ambitious. "I mean, just us?"

Yu Fei asked back: "Don't you think that bringing in you and Yao would be a huge reinforcement for us?"

"Of course, definitely, but" Thompson didn't have much confidence at this time.

He is not yet a member of the "Splash Brothers", nor has he scored 37 points in a single quarter, nor has he had heroic moments of saving the team many times at critical moments in the playoffs.

This is the lack of confidence shown by a player who has not yet been baptized by glory.

"There is no 'but'," Yu Fei said firmly, "Our goal is not only to win the championship, but also to become the greatest team in NBA history!"

Thompson asked in surprise: "Greater than the Supersonic Empire?"

"No," Yu Fei replied, "greater than the Celtics during Bill Russell's era!"

Thompson was stunned.

After Equals flew away, he slowly took a sip of coffee and thought: This is why he became the GOAT.

In the Clippers, Yu Fei met many acquaintances, but the one who surprised him most was the former Warriors consultant - Jerry West.

Last season, it was West who threatened to resign and forced a halt to the one-for-one trade between Griffin and Thompson that had almost been completed.

As a result, the Warriors had to pay a higher price to get Griffin during the offseason.

This time, West did not stop the Warriors management because he knew that no one would listen to his advice.

If the Warriors succeed with this deal, it means that West made a mistake and delayed the team's success. If they still fail, will he say something sarcastic like "I told you so"? No, that's not his style.

West chose to resign and go home.

The day after he resigned, the Clippers' offer came in. Owner Steve Ballmer wanted him to serve as a team consultant.

Although West was tempted, he also had concerns.

Old Buss has passed away, Sterling has stepped down, the Clippers now have Yu Fei, and the team clearly impacted the Lakers' position in Los Angeles last season. The two teams are now true derby rivals.

The Lakers management can tolerate him giving advice to the Warriors in Northern California, because no matter how strong the Warriors are, they will not threaten the Lakers' foundation in Los Angeles. But if he plays for the Clippers, the situation will be completely different.

In the eyes of Buss and others, he will become a traitor to the Lakers.

West knew the cost, but he couldn't resist the temptation to get back involved in the front office.

"13 years ago, I watched your game at the ABCD training camp," West said with nostalgia in his first words. "Even now, I still can't believe you've made it this far."

Yu Fei's memory of that period has become vague, and he doesn't even remember what he did in the training camp.

But he still remembers the valuable advice West gave him when he hit a wall in Milwaukee.

"You told me in 2005 that my next step would be the low post. Since then, the low post has become an integral part of my game. I owe you a favor, Jerry," Yu Fei said.

"I don't remember these things, GOAT." West said with a playful tone, "You don't owe me anything."

Yu Fei doesn't like being called GOAT, but he doesn't object.

Especially when young players called him GOAT, it meant respect. However, when he heard a respected person like West use this title, he felt inexplicably ashamed.

"It's okay, I just need to remember it. You can always call me anytime."

Yu Fei said seriously.

In the past, when Yu Fei's reputation was at its worst, West had some negative views on him. But after 2007, West, like everyone else who was conquered by the GOAT, began to have pure respect for this extraordinary player.

West didn't need to say these words, but they reflect who he is.

GOAT remembers all those who helped him, just as he will never forget his hatred for Michael Jordan.

West still remembers how Yu Fei was obsessed with Shaquille O'Neal, just as Bill Russell would remember the character weaknesses of his opponents when he interacted with them privately and exploited them during the game.

This is an indestructible character. Therefore, Yu Fei would choose "Basketball Hell" as the final destination of his career and leave a key chapter for his epitaph.

He firmly believed that he would not fail.

West hated to admit it, but he was drawn to the possibility.

That day, the opening day of the training camp was uneventful, and Rivers did not arrange a competition because the players had not yet arrived. The team's rookie Nikola Jokic was named on the "Honor Roll" for drinking carbonated drinks in the training camp.

Rivers told him: "If you can't quit this, I bet you'll be back in Serbia in three years!"

Jokic immediately responded loudly, which the audience will never forget: "Why didn't anyone tell me that NBA players can't drink carbonated drinks!!!"

"You said he will become the best player in the league, right?" Brown looked at Yu Fei with a smile.

GOAT said helplessly: "Forget about that."

(End of this chapter)