NOVPUBChapter 999: Chapter 581: Becoming the Focus of Attention Chapter 999: Chapter 581: Becoming the Focus of Attention Yu Fei’s past resurfaced as a video of Shaquille O’Neal spouting racist comments, enraged from losing his starting position to a rookie center from across the ocean, was dug up.
The speed of dissemination in the age of social media is like an infinitely spreading virus, capable of broadcasting news all over the world in a very short time.
As a result, it has created a peculiar phenomenon.
That is, the current judgment of Shaquille O’Neal, the retracing of his past remarks, and the accusations of racism are far more intense than when the incident first occurred.
Facing external pressure, Shaquille O’Neal felt a huge crisis looming; he knew that it wasn’t an era when racist slip-ups could be laughed off anymore.
To preserve his reputation, his only choice was to apologize.
Therefore, Shaquille O’Neal traveled to Miami, inviting Yao Ming to a formal press conference.
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He publicly apologized to Yao Ming at the press conference.
At the time of the incident, Yao Ming could still forgive Shaquille O’Neal, and now, after so many years, he naturally wouldn’t pursue it further, thus he accepted the apology, giving Shaquille O’Neal a way out.
The matter could be considered closed at this point.
Through Shaquille O’Neal’s swift act of contrition, all parties failed to react to their fullest, with Yao Ming’s choice to forgive as the most critical factor.
Yu Fei wasn’t surprised by this, as Yao Ming, being a foreigner, wouldn’t easily harbor malice against others.
In Yu Fei’s view, the world’s pace isn’t worth the attention; Shaquille O’Neal’s apology to Yao may calm public opinion, but does it truly end there? Yao accepted the apology, but Fei didn’t. To him, Shaquille O’Neal would always be a fat pig who once insulted all people of Chinese descent with the term “little worm.”
After Shaquille O’Neal’s racial controversy subsided, Dwight Howard’s trade request captured all the attention before Christmas.
Following the incident, Paul, rumored to be the core figure behind Howard’s dissatisfaction, merely expressed regret.
“I respect Dwight’s decision, we’ve been through a lot together, and regardless, I will wish him well,” he said.
However, as more and more revelations came to light, Paul’s image within Howard’s camp gradually began to resemble a villain.
He liked to complain, he was prone to petty behavior, and it was strange for him to act as the leading brother in a team of The Big Three with no clear leader.
In terms of seniority, Anthony joined the League in the 2003 class, Howard in the 2004 class, and Paul entered the League in 2005; thus, Paul has the least experience among them.
In terms of honors, Howard ranked as one of the top two centers in the League, Anthony as one of the top four small forwards, and Paul as a strong contender for the League’s number one point guard, but no matter what, the three are of the same caliber.
Since none of The Big Three were “superstars among superstars” like Yu Fei, they should each stick to their roles, as The Celtics’ Big Three once did, performing their own jobs well.
But Paul didn’t want that; he was a born leader.
In reality, most of the core point guards who make their mark in the NBA have some desire to control.
They are highly sensitive to their own directives and demand strict adherence to their tactical control; the moment something happens that doesn’t suit their preference, they go crazy.
And Paul happens to be the type of strict father-like leader who loves to criticize his teammates for not being good enough.
Anthony didn’t take his complaints seriously, but Howard had already been unhappy for a while.
Yet, for the sake of a championship title, they had endured it for the past two seasons. But the continual failures had exhausted Howard’s patience.
Once pressure and resentment build up to a certain point, just a minor incident can exacerbate the conflict.
After Anthony’s injury, the tension between him and Paul disturbed the balance of Howard’s silent endurance.
Paul began to pay more attention to Howard’s performance, noticing his lack of enthusiasm in practice and problematic attitude, always responding with a chuckle when asked about it. Playing basketball gradually became a source of pain for Howard, prompting him to request a trade.
After Shaquille O’Neal’s racial discrimination controversy ended, Howard held a press conference. Referring to himself in the third person, he said, “Dwight doesn’t want to hurt anyone. I just want to do what is best for Dwight. And what is best for Dwight is to play basketball happily.”
NBA stars referring to themselves in the third person have done so for decades.
The most recent case involved James, who said in the infamous “The Decision” broadcast that he too wanted to do what was best for LeBron.
Clearly, this had become a formula. While Howard was adopting this formula, he also coined the concept of “happy basketball.” 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
When reporters asked if he would change his mind, Howard firmly denied it, “No, because Dwight just wants to play basketball happily.”
Although the Brooklyn Nets claimed they would try to persuade Howard to reconsider, in reality, they had already begun listening to offers from other teams.
After all, Howard’s contract had less than a season left. If they forced him to stay, he might opt out of his contract at season’s end, leaving the team directly. Therefore, trading him now was the most beneficial move.
As things developed to this stage, the collapse of the Brooklyn Nets’ Big Three was a foregone conclusion. The Eastern Conference would lose a top team, making the Miami Heat even more invincible in the division.
Howard’s trade saga drew bids from multiple teams, but even so, the offers that interested the Brooklyn Nets remained few and far between. After all, to get an equivalent return in a trade for Howard, another superstar would need to be exchanged. But who would want to trade their own superstar for someone in search of “happy basketball”?
