When pride still matters

Chapter 387 I can never catch up
News spread like wildfire that the Sonics planned to trade Shawn Marion.

This has nothing to do with confidentiality issues, it's just that the transaction has been delayed for too long.

From the beginning of February until the All-Star weekend, the deal had not been implemented. Presti only said internally that the details had not been discussed. It was later learned that the Heat wanted the Sonics to bring fourth-year wing Josh Child. Reese.

Mainly because Riley wasn't in a hurry.

Regardless of whether the deal is successful or not, because Wade is out for the season and the team that originally competed for the championship has completely aged, the Heat's goal this season is to aim for the No. 1 overall pick, so the worse the record, the better.

So they have plenty of time.

On the contrary, the supersonic speed is not good and it will be delayed.

But Presti has guessed that Riley is interested in the transaction, and the current price increase is just a means, so he maintains a high degree of patience and the principle of not increasing the price.

During this period, Rashad Lewis broke through the defense several times and publicly cursed Sam Presti.

Then, Lewis' on-field performance plummeted.

Parker is not what Presti wants. It's just that the Sonics released the second-team point guard in order to balance the contract, so they want to add one to the Heat. Moreover, this person cannot be too expensive, otherwise the salary will not be equal, and it cannot be too strong - because Riley will not agree - it is best to be someone who has playoff experience, but his level is not up to or down, and he is seriously biased, almost Players who are questioned by scouts about not being able to play in the NBA and who work hard to survive in the league with a minimum salary.

As a result, Channing Frye briefly got the chance to start.

Before the All-Star break, the Sonics and Heat reached a verbal agreement.

Seeing that the blackmail could not be solved, Riley stopped forcing Childress.

The turbulent SuperSonics should have had problems like they did in early January. However, Yu Fei and Roy's steady leadership capabilities, coupled with Frye's tenure, had almost no adverse reactions.

However, opportunities came to him like raindrops, and it was difficult for him not to catch them.

Rashard Lewis's ecological niche in the team was quickly replaced by the lower player, which accelerated the transaction process.

Now that Lewis gave him a chance, he took the initiative to push the opponent to the bench and refused to play because of "injury".

Since Shawn Marion's salary is as high as 1600 million US dollars, in order to balance this contract, in addition to Lewis, the Sonics also sent backup point guard Luke Ridnour, and then exchanged Shawn Marion and Small from Miami. Parker, Bryant's lifelong enemy.

Smash Parker: "That's literally me!"

As soon as he saw that Lewis was showing off his posture, George Karl put away his usual amiable face that he could chat with everyone. It was just his disguise. If Da Fei didn't want to be a villain, Karl wouldn't want to be this good old man.

So, on February 2, Rashard Lewis's last game as a SuperSonics player brought fans a 13-for-14 performance, and was even broken by the Utah Jazz in the paint.

In order to make Frye look like he was really capable of completely replacing Lewis, Roy and Yu Fei played a lot of pick-and-rolls with him in the fourth position.

As another Frye in the SuperSonics team, his presence has never been strong, because the starter has Lewis who functionally covers him.

During this period, Frye averaged 12 points per game and shot 39% from three-point range. Both the quantity and quality of his shots were top-notch.

Frye just needs to take full advantage of his shooting advantage.

The two parties reached an agreement, but the transaction still did not take effect.

In the eyes of the outside world, Lewis is lowering his transaction value lower and lower.

Because Space Four's job was so easy, Frye even had the idea of ​​"Maybe Rashad is overrated?"

This is also the last game before the All-Star weekend.

Because Riley needs to clean up the scraps in the team before the trade deadline.

Although they lost, SuperSonics fans breathed a sigh of relief.

They are glad that the team traded Lewis. This kind of person is simply not worthy of the position.

"I will remember the games I played here, and whether I am still here or not, I will bless the Sonics," Lewis said. "They should not leave, and no team with 40 years of history should leave. .”

Then, fans discovered that Lewis loved the Sonics. They regretted it a bit. Because they don't know if Marion will be better than Lewis.

The commotion caused by Lewis was quelled by the trade.

For some haters who have been waiting for Yu Fei's new situation for a long time, this is not black material.

Some people questioned Fei's leadership and believed that "if it was MJ, this would never happen."

The reclusive Jordan has been oppressed by some kind of force recently.

Yu Fei's increasingly powerful momentum has made "GOAT" questionable.

Moreover, today is different from the past. Yu Fei has left the secluded Milwaukee. Seattle is a broad stage. Everything he does will be amplified. When people carefully study all his achievements in the past six years, they can find that he is not far away from Jordan.

Moreover, in addition to being an official GOAT contender, Yu Fei is also the savior of American basketball and the savior of Seattle professional basketball.

All kinds of lofty auras fall on a superstar who is at his peak, and combined with his performance on the court, it is not inconsistent at all.

Jordan found that the world had gradually forgotten his performance.

Because Yu Fei looks charming.

This reminded Jordan of what Larry Bird once said: "Sooner or later we will be forgotten."

This sentence sounded incredible to people at the time.

Will basketball Jesus be forgotten?
What if one day, people lived in a world where Draymond Green made more three-pointers in his career than Larry Bird. So, yes.

99% of great people will be forgotten. Greatness has a shelf life.

Jordan is that Jordan. He is the Jordan who is ashamed to be called GOAT in interviews because he has never played against seniors of other generations; but at the same time, Jordan is also the same Jordan who can publicly say that he is a benchmark of greatness. .

And Jordan can still be this kind of Jordan. When James took away the Heat's coaching seal from Wade with his indefensible performance in the 2011 Finals, his decision changed from pure black to chaotic black. The narrative angle of The Fourth Estate prevents you from accurately assessing the far-reaching impact of "The Decision," which would soon come to be known as the beginning of modern player empowerment. When James returned to Cleveland, he completed what the Fourth Power recognized as "the most valuable Finals in history" and thus pushed himself into the "GOAT" discussion.

But the voice in Cleveland is too small, and James needs a bigger stage to spread his reputation. Los Angeles is a great place where James can truly rock the throne with a special narrative.

That is, Qiao is a high mountain and Zhan is a long river.

Moreover, it had been almost 20 years since Jordan last played, and everyone's memory of him gradually became blurred. As a result, Jordan became the strongest player that people had ever heard of, and James seemed to be the strongest player that everyone had ever seen.

So you will see Jordan, who eagerly seized the window period when the world was locked at home due to the pandemic and released the authorization for "The Last Dance". This stinky and long movie expanded "Extreme Jordan" tenfold. The self-proclaimed documentary is just to let those Generation Z (people born between 1997-2012) who have never seen him play understand how awesome your Uncle Joe is.

The most unfortunate thing for Jordan now is that Yu Fei in this world has advantages that James at that time did not have at all.

Yu Fei let the world see Jordan's ugliness.

At the same time, from a narrative perspective, Yu Fei is as perfect as Jordan.

Four championships in six years, undefeated in the finals, averaging a triple-double, and countless other deeds.

These made the sense of oppression that Jordan should only feel in 2020 come earlier and become more intense.

Jordan, who had originally decided not to participate in the 2008 All-Star Weekend, came to the scene again.

As he expected, New Orleans' reconstruction was not ideal, and promoting his brand here would have little commercial impact.

The only thing they have to do here is participate in charity activities and spread love to the locals.

But what's the use? Children prefer Yu Fei. They want the latest Tianxuan sixth-generation boots. As for AJ? That is a feeling that belongs to adults.

In the field of basketball, Yu Fei single-handedly propped up Reebok's appearance, achieved success in Asia, and competed with Nike in the United States.

According to Nike statistics, Yu Fei’s popularity among Generation Z is even more astonishing.

That man's time has come, but many old-fashioned people are not ready yet.

Halfway through the event, Jordan saw many children wearing the Bucks' No. 44 jersey, which made him so angry that he was not in the mood to continue.

His promotion in New Orleans ended abruptly, he quickly returned to the hotel, and then called LeBron James to ask for a meeting.

For James, Jordan had some heartfelt advice and high expectations.

Jordan hasn't seen James for a while, but not meeting him doesn't affect his attention to him. Last summer, he suggested that James hone his shooting skills and then change his style of play. He has personally proved that people who hold the ball for a long time cannot succeed.

But James has questions: "Why can that person succeed?"

Jordan answered this way: "He has a group of good players around him. Who is around you? In Cleveland, you have to face it alone, but the existing style of play is slowing down your development progress. In addition to allowing you to obtain beautiful data There is no other use for it.”

However, who doesn’t love data?
James accepted half of the advice and spent last summer improving his long-range shooting stability.

However, Yu Fei's unexpected transformation in Seattle put him one step ahead of James.

Thinking of this, Jordan couldn't help but shake his head.

"Michael, what's wrong?"

"I'm wondering," Jordan looked at his beloved wife, "will LeBron never catch up with that bastard?"

(End of this chapter)