NOVPUBChapter 962: Chapter 568: Flowing Power_3 Chapter 962: Chapter 568: Flowing Power_3 However, the Spurs seemed more and more listless in the game, as if they had exhausted all their passion in the Western finals.
Coming into the finals, they were not facing an assumed victory, but a fierce assault from the Miamians, who were without last year’s opponents, the San Antonio People.
After four games, the Miami Heat were leading 3 to 1. There had never been a comeback from 1-3 in NBA Finals history, and the Miamians believed they were very close to victory.
On the day of the fifth finals game, Yao Ming joked to reporters, “If we don’t take down the Spurs, I won’t shave for a year.” Although it was a joke, Yao Ming often joked about his beard when he was younger. Back then, when domestic reporters asked him what he would do if the national basketball team didn’t make the top eight, he made a similar “promise.”
Now, he was no longer troubled by the national team’s games. In his 11-year NBA career, he was one game away from the ultimate glory, and this time, he would not go easy.
That night, the Miamians were at their best, almost everyone performing excellently, especially Yao Ming who was the most dominant.
He faced Duncan in the low post, switching from left to right hooks that casually hit their mark, and after pick-and-roll, he pulled out to the perimeter and embarrassed Duncan with precise three-point shooting, confronting him with a concept he still refused to accept—that big men should also take a lot of three-point shots, and it is even better if they are more accurate than perimeter players.
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Duncan refused to accept this concept, while Yao Ming, who had never become a superstar, understood the importance of adapting to the times. He knew that this would bring him a step closer to the championship. Only those who see the gap are willing to put in 100% effort to do something they fundamentally disagree with, just to bridge that slight difference.
The final result did not disappoint him. 127 to 101, the Miami Heat crushed the Spurs with a pure offensive show, lifting their first championship trophy in franchise history. At the end of the game, Wade jumped onto the technical table, shouting excitedly.
The celebrated 03 golden generation ultimately saw its leader crowned, and it was Wade, the one no one had initially favored. Moreover, he was the only player from the 03 generation who had never changed teams. Despite several rifts with the team and thoughts of leaving, he was always persuaded by Riley. Now, that trust had received a handsome reward.
However, Wade still had some regrets, “It would have been great if it were Frye,” Wade said, somewhat indistinctly.
That night, the Miami Heat celebrated wildly in Miami, Yao Ming got drunk for the first time in a long while, and sent Yu Fei a text at midnight, the content of which he completely forgot the next day: “You’ve experienced this eight times in the past decade? You little Red, how come, I’m not convinced!!!”
When Yu Fei saw the message the next day, he was baffled and simply replied, “If you’re not convinced, just suck it up.”
The 2012-13 season thus came to an end.
It was a season that invigorated league practitioners.
The SuperSonics dynasty had ended, Yu Fei was about to leave Seattle, the league welcomed a new king, and as this new king ascended to his throne, the anti-monopoly rules that cursed the SuperSonics dynasty would also take effect on them.
Starting next season, Stephen Curry’s max salary would also take effect, and their rookie bonus ended.
At that time, four max salaries would become a heavy burden for the team.
Whether they would grit their teeth like the SuperSonics and seek a defense for a season or just enjoy it while it lasts remains to be seen.
The Clippers were about to change owners, though Sterling threatened to sue the league, the racism he committed—second only to anti-Semitism in the United States—meant that he wouldn’t receive any support even if he had a justifiable reason.
The off-season was about to arrive, and to ensure a smooth period for the Clippers, a new owner needed to be found quickly. 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
However, the Clippers’ geographical setting and decades of a fan base grown from fan abuse—comparable to that of the national football team—meant no shortage of people willing to take over the team.
Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Wellington Manor
This was the home Yu Fei set up in Los Angeles.
After the season ended, he returned here to be with his fiancée and son.
Yesterday was the first day of the offseason.
NBA teams were busily handling the tasks at hand, as the time at the end of the season often marks one of the busiest periods for management due to the draft being just around the corner.
However, this year’s draft class was rated rather low, and some scouts even believed that it could be compared to the disastrous draft class of 2011.
The most talented, Nerlens Noel, was once hailed as “Young Anthony Davis” in high school, possessing defensive skills similar to AD’s, but he had encountered a major injury before he could showcase his other talents.
Consequently, Noel’s draft prospects became very unstable. And apart from him, this year’s highly-touted rookies almost did not reach the talent level of lottery picks from previous years.
Against such a backdrop, the Clippers’ general manager, Arne Trem, considered recruiting Yu Fei to be an even more important task than drafting. Thus, on the first day after the season ended, he paid a visit to Yu Fei.
“Arne, how do you have time to visit me?” Yu Fei asked with a smile.
“Of course, it’s to recruit the greatest player in the world,” Trem replied.
“You know the Clippers aren’t within my consideration,” Yu Fei stated bluntly.
“But there are only two NBA teams in Los Angeles, and Elizabeth is here, and so is the extraordinary,” Trem, who understood Yu Fei’s thoughts, said, “I think you might join the Lakers, their history is already splendid enough that even the addition of the GOAT would merely be one more deity in the pantheon. But the Clippers are different.”
Trem continued, “Born in disgrace, destroyed in disgrace, nearly forty years of building the team and not a single accomplishment worth boasting about. Our only fame comes from how terrible this team is. Frye, you have left everyone else behind in history, now it is time to set a higher hurdle for your pursuers. If you can lead such a terrible Clippers team to greatness, your legacy will truly be invincible.”
Invincible? Yu Fei pondered.
“The Clippers would keep you close to family, offer you new challenges, and give you access to the largest market in the world. Most importantly, all of this would be without Donald Sterling’s involvement,” Trem added, “he is about to be kicked out.”
As Trem spoke these words, Elizabeth Olsen was present, showing great enthusiasm, clearly hoping that Yu Fei would agree immediately. But Yu Fei did not give an immediate clear answer, instead, he brought up something seemingly unrelated, “If I could choose, I wouldn’t leave Seattle.”
Trem listened silently.
“In Seattle, all my expenses are waived because I am their hero. Everywhere I go, I feel the love from the fans,” Yu Fei said with a laugh, “I believe that’s what I deserve. I kept the SuperSonics in Seattle, won them a $500 million new stadium, and made that Oklahoma dummy, Clay Bennett, earn a hundred million US dollars a year. I am their god, why should I leave? But how did things get to this point?”
Yu Fei’s gaze turned icy as he remembered the unpleasant past.
“Because some people just don’t appreciate what they have; they forget who brought them those benefits,” Yu Fei continued, “It taught me one thing—never fully surrender control to someone else, no matter when.”
Trem caught the real message Yu Fei wanted to convey from his words.
Control…control… How could a player take control? In his six years in Seattle, Yu Fei had at least four years of absolute control, but when Bennett decided to no longer pay an exorbitant amount to secure Yu Fei’s legacy, that control vanished.
The employer’s control is everlasting, while the labor’s control is merely a fleeting force. It only works when you can either intimidate the other party or make them profit.
So, if Yu Fei wanted to have control that didn’t depend on force, he had to take the step—owning a share in the team to remotely control it.
That was exactly the plan Trem presented to Sterling initially. Clearly, he truly understood Yu Fei.
Although the League mentioned that a new owner would be determined as soon as possible, Trem wasn’t sure whether the new owner would be willing to collaborate with someone as dominant as Yu Fei. Now, he could only wait quietly.
However, he believed that Yu Fei was not completely uninterested in the Clippers because he suddenly talked about this year’s draft right afterward.
