Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The Supersonics were willing to let Yu Fei and Kwame Brown, who had participated in the Olympics, report to the training camp a few days late, knowing that they needed more time to rest. But Yu Fei felt that he had rested enough, so he arrived at the Furtado Center on the day the training camp started. Since Fei showed up, Brown naturally had no reason to take time off. Unlike last year, this year's Supersonics had a few more experienced veterans on the team. Ever since Fei was traded by the Wizards Team, Tyronn Lue had internally mocked Jordan every time he saw the former. "Greatest of All Time, look at the good deed you've done." Fei could have made the Wizards Team a top powerhouse in the NBA, just like Tom Brady did for the Patriots. But the Wizards Team chose cash over the future. In the end, although they got some money, Fei proved that the profits he could bring were dozens of times that amount. Having wandered in the NBA for many years and having played for many different coaches, Coach Lu felt that he had absorbed a wide range of coaching philosophies and was completely capable of transitioning to a coach after retirement, just like Doc Rivers. When he learned about his intentions, Fei actively invited him to the Supersonics. Coach Lu had served under the Zen Master in his early years, but he really couldn't grasp the latter's Zen principles. By comparison, it was much easier to learn the Duckworth-Lewis method of coaching that Rivers espouses. But only being able to give motivational speeches wouldn't last long, so Coach Lu really wanted to learn under an experienced champion coach. Fei's invitation was exactly what Coach Lu wanted. After Coach Lu arrived, many people came to him to inquire about the stories about Fei back in D.C., because he was one of only two players in the team who had been teammates with the rookie Fei. Kwame Brown seemed too flashy, with his endless bragging which, while praising Big Fei, would also slip in boasts about himself, so people didn't quite believe what he said. "So, what do you want to know?" Coach Lu asked. Roy curiously asked, "Did Frye really clash with MJ that often?" At that moment, Fei's domineering voice could be heard from afar. "KD, what exactly have you been doing this summer? How come you haven't improved at all?" As he spoke, Fei knocked over Durant in a drive and burst under the basket for a slam dunk. "Greg Oden is about to make his comeback, and you want people to think you're a draft bust?" Fei asked arrogantly. After a season of training, Durant had already mastered the way of communicating with Fei. His expression was serious as he pointed out, "Your drive just now was a foul." "So what?" Fei sneered, "There's not a single referee in this world who would blow that whistle, you know why?" Of course, Durant knew, but he pretended not to. "Because I'm a superstar and you're just a rookie who's just starting to show promise!" Fei bluntly said, "You don't even have the right to foul!" At this time, Coach Lu said to Roy, "If Big Fei were in KD's position, he would deliberately knock down Frye in the next round." But Durant responded with continuous crossovers and a jump shot using his height. This series of moves proved that Durant hadn't wasted his summer. His ball handling and offense had obviously improved. "It's too bad Frye met a 40-year-old MJ; otherwise, it might have been a different story," Roy said. He didn't believe Durant was a pushover, but he still lacked understanding of Fei back then, since he had never faced Fei in that condition. "Maybe." Coach Lu had also thought that Jordan couldn't handle Big Fei because he was old. But seven years had gone by and he gradually felt that it had nothing to do with age; two similar men, two identical personalities, two steel-like self-awarenesses are incompatible. No matter what age Jordan was, clashing with rookie Fei would have been unavoidable. But this hypothesis was doomed to remain unproven. During the first scrimmage of the day, Karl deliberately assigned new recruit Matt Barnes to guard Durant. Moreover, Karl said to Barnes, "We need you to put enough pressure on KD; if you can't do it, you're worthless to us, and we'll send you to the Clippers." Fei's disdain for the Clippers was as well-known as his preference for women who were older and had voluptuous figures. "Was it Frye's idea?" Barnes asked. Karl laughed and said, "You can take it any way you want." In the past seven seasons, Barnes had switched six teams. He was a part of the "We Believe" Warriors Team that humiliated Nowitzki and the Mavericks in 2007. That year was key for him, as he transitioned from an NBA nomad to a necessary piece of the puzzle for his team. Last season, he was with the Celtics; this season, he was with the Supersonics. The difference was, before it was him looking for teams, now it was teams looking for him. This is the difference between an NBA player and a drifter who might get cut from the NBA at any time. Since Fei needed him to give Durant a hard time, he did just that, because that's exactly his job. Barnes's discoverer, Don Nelson, said there wasn't a word that could describe his significance on the court. He had the ability to annoy, a special skill that got under his opponent's skin. But in last season's Finals, Barnes was powerless against Fei. Fei proved with his fierce strength that all tricks are meaningless in the face of absolute ability. Yet, this was very effective against Durant. Durant complained about Barnes's defense several times, then got angry, attempting to take shots over his head. Unmoved, Barnes continued to pressure Durant, forcing him to take uncomfortable shots, until finally, he completely disrupted the opponent's rhythm. Durant had a terrible game. Shooting 5 for 19 for the game, his team was easily defeated. "He's a pure puzzle piece," Karl said to his assistants, "valuable but not the key piece, and you can tell he really enjoys that role." Another veteran hanging on, Michael Finley, missed the first week of training camp due to an injury. However, after seeing the scrimmage between Fei and Roy, he felt he had come to the right place. On media day, Finley told ESPN's Marc Stein, "We have the best player in the league and the second-best shooting guard in the Western Conference, as well as the best young player and the number one roster depth in the league, I think we can defend our title this year." What's interesting about this interview is that Brown suddenly interrupted with, "Michael, did you forget something?" "Right." Finley, not one for jokes, said seriously, "We also have the league's best center." Brown corrected, "The best interior player in the league. Including all the power forwards and centers." "Exactly." Finley raised no objections. George Karl spoke to an Associated Press reporter about the Supersonics' new style for the upcoming season. "Stop talking about small-ball or big-ball, you don't get it," Karl said, "We could win playing big-ball, but if we play small-ball, no team can compete with us." For rookies, the tough days were still to come. DeAndre Jordan and Anthony Morrow were hazed by veterans, just like rookies on other teams. DeAndre Jordan had an especially hard time. Brown didn't like him. How could he? The team chose a center whose height, wingspan, physical conditioning, athletic ability, and hand size all surpassed his own. After witnessing DeAndre Jordan's physical talent in training, Brown truly didn't understand how such a person was selected by the team. Could Bill Simmons be right? That 90% of the general managers in the NBA are idiots? However, although DeAndre Jordan's physical talent could crush Brown, his skills as a basketball player were quite raw. So, there wasn't any way he could rise to a top position in the short term. Brown busied DeAndre Jordan with menial tasks all day in the name of discipline. When Fei heard that DeAndre Jordan even had to wash Brown's underwear, he couldn't help but say, "Did Christian (Laettner) possess you?" "Big Fei, that rookie knows nothing. I heard he had problems with coaches and teammates in college, I need to teach him obedience and respect," Brown reasoned. DeAndre Jordan simply echoed, "That's right, I have a lot to learn." Since it was a case of one willing to strike and the other willing to endure, Fei felt there was nothing he could say. Another rookie, Anthony Morrow, accepted all of Barnes and the other veterans' hazings. He was always smiling but had a fierce look that suggested he was not to be messed with. All the media visiting the Supersonics' training camp pointed out two things. As long as Fei stayed healthy and as long as Durant kept improving, the Supersonics' back-to-back championship seemed within reach. Because, 27-year-old Fei was still improving, and the Supersonics, instead of being weakened after winning the championship last season, had significantly strengthened their roster depth. The only issue was Shawn Marion's contract. Not long ago, Supersonics' general manager Sam Presti announced a suspension of the talks, which might affect Marion's enthusiasm. But Kevin Durant, the Supersonics' famously sunny boy, remained very optimistic about it. "It's not a problem, definitely not a problem," Durant said, "We all follow Frye's lead. He's a great player, and our goal is to defend the championship. Maybe Shawn would be a little upset, but he would absolutely put personal grudges aside for the championship. We're a mature team, including myself. I can't wait to get started. I've grown up a lot." The last event of media day was Fei's exclusive interview with ESPN's Matt Stein. Stein relayed Durant's "I've matured" comment. Fei sneered, as if he heard a child saying "I've grown up." "He's only 20 years old, he doesn't understand what maturity means," Fei said nonchalantly, "His world is different from ours. I mean, his life is filled with praise and anticipation, and that is not the real world. I really appreciate Kevin's passion for basketball, yes, his life is all about basketball. As far as I know, he doesn't even have a steady girlfriend." Stein couldn't help but ask, "Is that really a problem?" "Of course," Fei said with a smile, "When a man talks about maturity, he must get a certificate from women first, otherwise it's all just self-delusional nonsense."