Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 940 940 561 This Summers Actions Next

?Chapter 940: Chapter 561: This Summer’s Actions, Next Summer’s Fruits_2 Chapter 940: Chapter 561: This Summer’s Actions, Next Summer’s Fruits_2 So the answer was clear, James was not interested in staying.

Although Kobe was a major star, he was an aging one, and he was essentially tied to the Lakers; as long as the Lakers didn’t want to let him go, he would stay in Los Angeles.

Thus, this summer there was only one major star available, and “The Decision 2” was already on the horizon.

Aside from James, the free agent market had two other All-Stars, namely Chris Bosh and Steve Nash.

Bosh had grown disenchanted with the SuperSonics and decided to test the free agency waters.

Nash’s peak years were essentially over, and although the Suns still made it to the playoffs last season, they were knocked out in the first round.

For Nash, it was a matter of two choices.

End his career with the Suns or venture out, like Karl Malone once did, to take one last shot.

The problem was, having lost Durant, the SuperSonics no longer possessed unbeatable competitiveness; if Stoudemire’s recovery did not meet expectations, they might not even make it out of the Western Conference, and aside from the SuperSonics, which team had absolute strength?

The Miami Heat might be an option.

But they didn’t need Nash, because they had a younger version of Nash.

Thus, it was difficult for Nash to make a decision.

Beyond this, there was a slew of minor players becoming free agents, all wanting big contracts with good teams, but however you looked at it, there were only two major news stories this summer.

One was Durant leaving the team, and the other was James’s next team.

The first mystery had already been revealed; only the second remained.

James didn’t seem in a hurry to make a decision. He first announced he would enter free agency, then declared he would represent Team USA in the London Olympics.

This immediately brought to mind Las Vegas in 2007.

Yu Fei was also on the roster for Team USA. Would he participate?

The media were eager for excitement.

Back when Yu Fei crushed James in Las Vegas, social media was still in its infancy. Nowadays, people could only recall that event through old news stories and firsthand accounts, but now, if Yu Fei pulled something similar on James, the footage might even leak.

The topics, stunts, and traffic were all too significant.

The public was anticipating a showdown between Yu Fei and James.

But the Greatest of All Time had no interest in trifles.

“I already declined the invitation from Team USA.” That was actually the reason James decided to join Team USA, only assurances that Yu Fei would not participate invoked his patriotic spirit fully. “Because my child will be born this summer, this is the only important thing for me, and I don’t want any distractions. For Team USA, I can only wish them luck.”

“Wish them luck? Including LeBron James?”

This was the most ‘liked’ response under Yu Fei’s Twitter post.

Yu Fei simply replied with the hot internet slang “LOL,” which means something like “2333.”

And so the summer arrived.

The first thing Sam Presti had to do was sign rookie contracts with Irving and Crowder.

These things were expected.

For so many years in the NBA, rookie contracts had been standardized; there was no room for negotiation.

Though the contracts for second-round picks might require additional consideration, this year they had no second-round picks as both Irving and Crowder were first-rounders, so they just followed the rules.

Presti was surprised by the relationship between Irving and his father.

Since Presti came from the Spurs organization, he was as concerned about the mental and physical health of young players as a Spurs scout would be, rejecting any players who clearly lacked sound judgment.

Based on all data available from Irving’s birth to the present, Presti considered Irving a high-caliber professional basketball player.

The biggest difference between him and many African American players raised by single mothers was that the single parent in his life was his father.

Irving’s mother had died of organ failure and sepsis syndrome when he was too young to remember, destroying the future his parents had planned. From that point, the only important thing in Drederick’s life was to help his son realize his dream of becoming an NBA player.

That moment, the dream had come true.

Drederick had educated Irving exceptionally well, whether it was in interpersonal manners or basic etiquette, much like a good young man from a middle-class white family.

“Sir, when can I meet Frye?” Irving asked innocently. “Will he be playing in the summer league?”

Presti smiled and asked, “Kyrie, do you still want to go back to high school competitions?”

“I understand,” Irving said. “So, when can I meet Frye?”

Frye… That was also a major task for Presti this summer.

“It should be soon,” Presti said. “You’ll meet him sooner or later.”

“Okay, then we’ll take our leave,” Irving said politely. “I’m honored to join the team!”

Presti had never been so certain of his choice.

Years later, this too would become a question, and Presti would ask himself in a far more serious tone: When did I become blind?

Two days later, on June 30, the SuperSonics celebrated their fourth consecutive championship.

Those attending the celebration included hundreds of thousands of Seattleites, a mix of zeal and a tinge of sorrow, city dignitaries, world-class corporate leaders from Redmond, and of course, the stars of the celebration—the majority of the SuperSonics players.

Yes, the majority.

The traded Durant and the free agent Bosh were not included.