Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 953 953 565 Bennett Knows the Answer_3

?Chapter 953: Chapter 565 Bennett Knows the Answer_3 Chapter 953: Chapter 565 Bennett Knows the Answer_3 Without any other superstar players on the team, nor a helper averaging over 15 points per game, he led the Houston Rockets to the ninth spot in the Western Conference with an average of 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists per game.

In terms of statistics, he looked better than Irving, but Irving, as a rookie who also had Reebok spending a lot of resources on promotion, coupled with having Yu Fei as a teammate, and with his own flashy style of play, naturally had much more popularity than Harden.

As another rising star under Reebok, Harden might have had the best stats, but only the local popularity in Houston was enough to make him an All-Star substitute.

That was enough.

Playing the All-Star game at home often gives players more opportunities, and only the foolish would try to steal the show from the host.

As the All-Star weekend approached, so did the trade deadline.

The situation was filled with urgency for the SuperSonics team.

They finally realized, they might lose Yu Fei.

Clay Bennett tried to contact Yu Fei, attempting to repair their relationship, but just as he had once sidelined Yu Fei, now Yu Fei was sidelining him.

Having no other choice, Bennett could only ask Presti to once again request contract renewal negotiations with Yu Fei’s team.

Presti found this extremely troubling.

Yu Fei’s team had already decided to wait until the end of the season to make any decisions, and now forcing him to make a move was destined to be in vain.

However, as Bennett demanded, Presti had no choice but to comply.

A few days later, news spread again that Yu Fei’s team had rejected the SuperSonics’ early renewal negotiations.

This was like reliving the wound from the beginning of the season, deepening the speculation that “Yu Fei might leave.”

Yu Fei no longer talked about contract renewals or the future.

He wished that the public’s focus would be on the present.

That was also the word he mentioned the most during the All-Star weekend activities in Houston.

Subsequently, in the Rising Stars Challenge, Irving led the extremely talented first-year team to a rare victory over the sophomore team.

This was not hard to understand, as the 2011 draft class was historically weak in talent, with not even one player so far showing All-Star potential. In contrast, the 2012 draft class was full of stars, with first-overall pick Anthony Davis, second pick Irving, and fourth pick Bill, who showed their exceptional talent and strength in just half a season.

This was a victory for Reebok.

Among the rookies, the most standouts Irving and Lillard were both Reebok players. Nike, despite investing heavily in Anthony Davis, who had limitless potential, seemed to have a player in the mold of Dwight Howard, who was currently just a supporting player. Even if he achieved something in the future, the commercial value of an inside player could never compare with that of a perimeter player.

With Derrick Rose still unable to return from an ACL injury, Reebok had almost grasped all the potential star perimeter players of the new generation.

On the Nike side, only Durant could compete, but one Durant was hardly a match for Reebok’s constellation of stars.

The All-Star game, aside from the playoffs, is the stage that best showcases the strength of sponsors. Reebok’s influence was pervasive in Houston, where stars like Yao Ming and Harden, representing two generations of Reebok, had firmly captured the local basketball market.

Also because of the booming basketball market, Yu Fei was extremely busy these days.

For some, joy, for others, sorrow. Reebok was on the rise, while Nike was on the decline. Now, James was returning to Cleveland and gradually mending his popularity; Kobe was striving for the reputation of “one man, one city” in Los Angeles; Durant faced skepticism in New York even before his empire had stabilized.

The Knicks were not doing well. Although Durant could score, his playmaking was lacking; DeAndre Jordan excelled defensively, but his offense was weak. So far this season, the Knicks fought hard to win and lost decisively. Luckily, the lack of competition among the lower-ranked teams in the Eastern Conference barely kept their playoff hopes alive. But New Yorkers would not be satisfied with just a playoff appearance.

Therefore, the Knicks’ top priority was to find a core guard who could both unleash Durant’s offensive prowess and feed DeAndre Jordan the ball.

However, such guards would not be traded easily, so whether this issue could be resolved still depended on luck.

Nike was helpless in this situation and could only wait.

Several days later, at the All-Star Game, Chris Paul of the Brooklyn Nets led the Eastern All-Star Team in a fierce attack, attempting to turn the tables.

Yu Fei and Kobe stepped in just in time to stop the decline, and then Harden went on a scoring spree, helping the Western All-Star Team establish a lead.

From then on, the Western All-Star Team was unstoppable, and Harden ultimately lifted the MVP trophy.

That evening, Yu Fei noticed Kobe seemed restless off the court and asked him, “You’re not also after the MVP, are you?”

“No, I just want to get back to Los Angeles as soon as possible,” said Kobe. “I hope I can still see Dr. Buss one last time.”

Yu Fei fell silent.

Last summer, Jerry Buss’s health began to deteriorate, but in this age of social media devoid of privacy, he accomplished something nearly impossible—keeping his condition unknown to the public until his final moments.

Because everyone in the professional basketball world respected him, they did not wish to trade his privacy for traffic.

The day after, Jerry Buss, the most successful owner in modern NBA history, passed away in Los Angeles.

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Furtado Center in Seattle
Clay Bennett couldn’t believe Dr. Buss was gone; he was the person he respected most in the NBA.

At the beginning of last year, when the League proposed to revise the revenue-sharing system, Dr. Buss mentioned that there was an owner who managed multiple businesses—making hundreds of millions of dollars outside of basketball, while he himself devoted his whole heart to operate the Lakers Team. Now that owner wanted to share the Lakers’ profits? Dr. Buss wasn’t against profit sharing; he just stated his point of view, and the room fell silent instantly.

Few realized the pinnacle of power in the NBA comprised 30 owners, who could be categorized into large, medium, and small markets, with Dr. Buss being one of the most esteemed among them.

Eventually, Dr. Buss agreed to the revenue-sharing system, as it was the trend of the times.

Afterward, Bennett sought advice from him about operating a team.

Dr. Buss laughed and said, “You already hold the greatest treasure in the NBA, do you still need to ask me?”

Bennett immediately reacted, “Are you talking about Frye?”

“Just remember, the star power in professional basketball is stronger than Hollywood. You have to make good use of their power and let their success benefit the team,” Dr. Buss advised.

That advice echoed in Bennett’s mind.

Now, he had completely ruined his relationship with Yu Fei and wondered who else he could turn to for help.

He wanted to call Dr. Buss, but that man was no longer there.

That man would be remembered as one of the greatest NBA owners in history, and only after losing him did the Lakers’ fans realize his true worth.

Clay Bennett didn’t need to wait until a loss to understand how precious it is to have the Greatest of All Time.

But how had they gotten to this point?

Bennett knew the answer to that question all too well.