Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

With Adidas and Nike laying the groundwork, negotiations with Reebok went much smoother for Yu Fei's camp.

Reebok knew that their offer to Yu Fei depended on the contracts from the other two companies. Thus, they themselves did not prepare much, only waiting for Arne Trem to inform them of the contents of those contracts.

When Reebok's current CEO, Paul Arrington, heard Trem's asking price: a 5-year, 200 million US Dollar deal with a 15% profit share annually, they were indeed shocked.

This was a figure far beyond their expectations, but if the other two companies offered such terms, they would have to follow suit, unless they were willing to risk losing Yu Fei.

"Give us some time," Arrington said, "I believe that we will ultimately come up with the best contract."

"No problem, we have plenty of time," Trem said.

The night passed.

The next day, the SuperSonics returned to Seattle with the championship trophy in tow.

Back in the Emerald City, another celebration awaited them.

But for the management of the SuperSonics, the season was not yet over; they were about to face the 2009 NBA Draft.

According to the assessment of various team scouts, this draft class was considered the weakest since the year 2000.

The consensus number one pick, Blake Griffin, despite his explosive athleticism, had a short wingspan for a power forward and had suffered a season-ending injury the previous year.

Among the rest of the lottery favorites, aside from Hasheem Thabeet, none seemed to withstand serious scrutiny, appearing to lack the talent typically seen in lottery picks.

Stephen Curry, who rose to prominence after being selected for the Dream Team, hovered in the top three of the mock drafts due to a playing style in line with contemporary basketball trends.

However, scouts remained skeptical about Curry's NBA prospects.

This skepticism was based on Curry's far-from-NBA-level athleticism and the possibility of him transitioning to a point guard in the NBA.

The rest weren't even worth mentioning.

This draft was coined "the year of the point guards," but the guard rated number one before the college season, Brandon Jennings, had to forgo the NCAA due to academic issues and went overseas to start his professional career early. Instead of solidifying his status as the top point guard in his class, he completely exposed his weaknesses.

Sam Presti liked this kind of undervalued draft class.

Generally, GMs prefer strong draft years.

A strong year means that the overall quality of the draft class is visibly higher than in a normal year, and in a standard strong draft year, an NBA team can find players with decent talent even in the second round.

But Presti never liked the hype of strong draft years.

Dazzling external talent can cloud one's judgment; he preferred the draft classes that were overlooked.

GMs who pursued talent not only could be deceived by unfulfillable potential but could also disdain draft classes that were skillful but lacking in raw talent.

This provided an opportunity for GMs with less favorable draft positions to pan for gold.

This year, however, Presti was essentially trying to make bricks without straw.

Since the SuperSonics' 2009 first-round draft pick had already been traded away as part of the deal that brought Yu Fei from the Bucks to the Sonics, this year their only draft pick was the 30th in the second round.

That is, the very last pick of the draft.

By the time it came to this position, whether it was good produce or bad had been picked over already, and what was left, which was most likely unwanted by anyone, would likely be the real garbage.

Although Presti believed his eye for drafts was second to none, he wasn't a waste picker.

Theoretically, any 30th pick in the second round would be a success if they could last three or four years in the NBA.

There have been countless second-round picks who never played a game in the NBA and were eliminated, not to mention the last of the second-round picks, which isn't much different from being undrafted.

Just as Presti was contemplating whether or not to make some trades, Yu Fei arrived.

This godlike endorser, who never knew how to stay put or perceived any boundaries within the SuperSonics, boldly entered his office and inquired about the progress of the draft work.

"Our draft position isn't high this year," Presti said diplomatically, "Finding a suitable candidate will be difficult."

"Tyronn (Lue) is going to retire. I think what we need most is a backup point guard," Yu Fei was very clear about the team's drafting needs.

Presti had already guessed his purpose for coming.

"Do you have any recommendations?"

Presti didn't like others meddling in his work. Players play, coaches coach, and the GM is the designer of everything. This was his ideal team structure.

But then a god came to the SuperSonics.

This man, who had quintupled the team's season revenue in two years, made it certain that no one within the team could say no to him.

Presti would not forget how Yu Fei had made him take notice of DeAndre Jordan before last year's draft began.

This showed that Yu Fei indeed had unique insights into the draft.

Now, since Presti was directionless, there was no harm in listening to Yu Fei's suggestion.

Yu Fei said, "I think that Australian guy from Saint Mary's College is not bad."

Fei Yu deliberately did not mention Patty Mills by name because he didn't want to seem too professional.

"I've seen a few of his games, and I think his playing style would fit well with us," Fei Yu said, "If he enters this year's draft, we might keep an eye on him."

"Any other recommendations?"

"No, this isn't actually my job," Fei Yu said, "That's your work."

It was something that he was at least aware of.

"Alright, Frye, thank you for supporting our work," Presti tried his best to strike a balance between being amiable and casual in his approach to Fei Yu.

He didn't want to appear too subservient but also didn't want to deliberately distance himself.

Tilting too far in either direction would be dangerous for him; the former would cost him his self-respect, while the latter could cost him his job.

"Sam, what's your take on this year's free agency?"

Fei Yu changed the subject.

"There is no doubt it's the biggest free agency in history, with many stars," Presti said.

"With so many big fish entering the pool, we can't come back empty-handed, right?"

Hearing Fei Yu's words, Presti suddenly remembered Shawn Marion's stance at the end of the season.

Marion realized that once he left the SuperSonics, he would lose what he wanted most: the spotlight.

Moreover, he would also miss the chance to help create a three-peat.

Suddenly, a max contract for retirement was no longer his top priority, and he showed a willingness to take a pay cut to stay with the team.

Obviously, Fei Yu didn't know about Marion's attitude, so Presti did not plan to share this piece of information. He asked, "Who's most likely to come to Seattle?"

"Jermaine O'Neal," Fei Yu said, "And Chris Bosh."

There, it was over.

Was this information reliable?

Presti skipped over Little O and asked the main question, "Have you talked to Chris?"

"No, but we've played together on the national team, hung out at nightclubs, and enjoyed massage services on the Fragrant River... If he wants to leave Toronto, I'm sure his first choice would be to play with me."

Presti knew that Bosh had already refused the Raptors' offer to extend his contract and decided to test the free agency waters.

Now... there seemed to be no chance left for Marion to stay on the team.

Marion was a good fit for the SuperSonics, his value on the defensive end greater than that of Bosh, but Chris Bosh was an All-Star power forward, in his prime, averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds per game, and his playing style was very suitable to be alongside Fei Yu and Brandon Roy.

If Bosh arrived, the long-standing issue with the SuperSonics' power forward position would be resolved.

"I understand; we will be prepared."

By 'preparation,' Presti meant letting Marion peacefully explore free agency, with Seattle always his home, but no longer having a spot for him.

That evening, Fei Yu went home and called Chris Bosh.

"Chris, which team are you planning to join?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Oh? What are you waiting for?"

"I was waiting for your call, Big Fei."

"You seem to know I would call you?"

"I didn't know, but Big Fei, your call means a lot."

Fei Yu did not recruit Bosh over the phone, but they agreed to meet in a few days.

Meanwhile, Presti informed Marion's agent that the SuperSonics appreciated the Matrix's contributions over the past two years, but the team had decided to look ahead.

Then, Presti also called the agent of Channing Frye, whose rookie contract had expired. Although Frye fit the team well, Seattle only needed one Frye, and they wouldn't keep another—well... Presti certainly wouldn't say it that way, but Channing Frye's career with the SuperSonics was over.

It wasn't a matter of skill or style.

It was a matter of saving money, clearing cap space, and maintaining future salary flexibility.

The SuperSonics currently only had one big contract, and that was Fei Yu's supermax deal.

However, Brandon Roy could seek an early extension this summer. Having made the All-NBA Third Team twice in the past two years, he could trigger the 'Derrick Rose Rule' and sign a max contract worth 3% to 5% more than the normal maximum.

Presti was thinking beyond just Durant's remaining two years of his rookie deal.

A few days later, ESPN broke the news that Fei Yu and Bosh were seen playing golf in Los Angeles.

Then, Mark Stein, a direct mouthpiece for Fei Yu, broke the news: "Chris Bosh will join the Seattle SuperSonics."

And so began one of the busiest summers in NBA history.