Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 937 937 560 That Man

?Chapter 937: Chapter 560: That Man Chapter 937: Chapter 560: That Man (Took a quick nap in bed and ended up oversleeping.)
The 2012 NBA Draft was held on June 28th.

With several rookies who could have entered the league last year choosing to withdraw, and the likes of Anthony Davis, a universally acknowledged prodigy, this year’s draft was particularly eye-catching.

Before the draft began, Durant requested a trade, sending shock waves throughout the NBA.

The SuperSonics completed the trade with remarkable speed, showing no intention of waiting for the dust to settle and mend relationships, sending Durant to New York the day before the draft.

As a result, Durant might not even attend the championship celebration on June 30th.

Counting Chris Bosh, the SuperSonics’ four consecutive championships celebration would see the absence of two key players, looking nothing less like the last days of a dynasty.

The SuperSonics obtained the second overall pick, earning them a spotlight on draft day.

The individual selected with this pick could determine the entire team’s future.

Therefore, people wanted to know who Yu Fei favored in this draft class.

However, Yu Fei made no comments.

Whether it was Durant’s trade request or this year’s draft, he had no presence.

Many media found it strange that a person with great influence over the SuperSonics refused to wield his influence, leaving events to unfold unpredictably?

Behind the scenes, Yu Fei couldn’t be bothered to explain his thoughts.

There were many things that wouldn’t change just because he opposed them; rather than waste his time, he would just watch them happen.

Then came draft night.

A year prior, scouts had already made a preliminary judgment about this year’s top draft pick.

After an entire college season of trials, Anthony Davis defended that judgment with an outstanding performance.

So, all the fanfare before the draft was in vain.

People knew who the number one pick would be.

The Hornets’ process of selecting the number one pick was even less interesting than the online rumor about Bill Simmons’s failed interview for the Hornets’ general manager position.

The story went like this.

The Hornets’ owner asked the interviewing Simmons, “Please answer a key question. For you, what’s the status of the 2012 first overall pick? A, completely untouchable. B, untouchable. C, untouchable, but open for discussion. D, touchable.”

Agreeing on Davis’s value but also arrogantly believing that in the NBA, nothing was beyond negotiation, Simmons chose C.

The Hornets’ owner said, “The answer is A, you foolish media person!”

Such a fabricated story happening to Simmons wasn’t surprising at all, especially since he had once tried to become the Timberwolves’ general manager years ago.

Then, the five minutes Stern left to the Hornets quickly passed, and he returned to the stage, announcing the Hornets’ selection of Anthony Davis with the first overall pick.

Cheers filled the venue, a choice that met expectations.

Stern also seemed pleased, near retirement, seeing such a promising young player enter the league, he couldn’t help but feel that the NBA’s future was bright.

What followed was the main event.

“The New York Knicks have sent the second overall pick to Seattle, their choice is critical,”
In ESPN’s draft live broadcast room, Jeff Van Gundy seriously discussed this issue.

“I’ve heard some inside information from the NBA,” Van Gundy said, “It seems that the relationship between Frye and the SuperSonics’ owner has broken down; he’s not pleased with the recent happenings in the team. If Seattle doesn’t make the right selection with the second pick, then, the only thing we can predict is that the SuperSonics’ dynasty is likely to end, and Frye will become a free agent next summer.”

Van Gundy ominously remarked, “At that time, anything is possible.”

Would the master of an empire abandon his empire?

This was a question that no one had ever considered.

Up until now, no one had delved into the nature of the “Sole Empire.”

If Yu Fei needed to, the nature of the empire would also change.

When Yu Fei and Jordan’s GOAT debate was at its most intense, Yu Fei’s advocate, Marc Stein put forward the concept of the “Sole Empire.”

This was because at that time, Yu Fei had achieved consecutive championships after switching teams, while Jordan supporters believed that switching teams meant starting over, and honors needed to be recalculated.

The initial intention of proposing the “Sole Empire” was to string together Yu Fei’s honors, highlighting his individual influence, thereby downplaying the role of the team.

In other words, both Seattle and Milwaukee were part of the empire.

Their commonality was the absolute success during Yu Fei’s era.

If the theory held up, then staying in Seattle or not did not matter to Yu Fei’s camp.

Because if the GOAT could succeed in any city, then no city could become the vessel of the “Empire.”

Van Gundy bringing this up during the live broadcast would soon ferment.

Being a media figure extremely biased towards Yu Fei, it’s hard to believe that his remarks weren’t suggested by someone else.

Was this Yu Fei signaling his intentions externally?

No one knew how things would unfold, but discussions followed based on what Van Gundy said.

For Yu Fei, who was the best choice for the SuperSonics with the second pick?

ESPN’s senior draft expert Jay Bilas unequivocally chose Michael Kidd-Gilchrist as the highest-talent player after Davis.

Why? Simply put, this guy was impeccable, and which superstar would refuse to join forces with the next Gerald Wallace?