Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

On the evening of the tryouts with the Houston Rockets, Yu Fei received a call from his agent at the hotel.

"Congratulations," said Arne Trem to Yu Fei, "Everyone who has seen your performance is impressed, it's just..."

Yu Fei asked with a smile, "Is it that my interview performance wasn't good?"

"Not really, Houston thinks you're very frank, which has its pros and cons, but you've undoubtedly won their recognition," Trem said, "They've promised me that if you drop to the thirteenth draft pick, they'll select you."

If they were really interested, they should consider trading up to improve their draft position.

Yu Fei quickly set aside the Rockets' draft promise.

"How about New Jersey?" Yu Fei inquired.

"It's not the ideal choice for you," Trem said, "Playing on the same team as Stephon Marbury is not ideal for any rookie."

Marbury was probably the player from the '96 golden generation that Yu Fei was most familiar with, apart from Kobe, because he came to play in the CBA at the end of his career.

Unlike Steve Francis, Tracy McGrady, Gilbert Arenas, Carlos Boozer, Ron Artest, Josh Smith, Al Jefferson, and Amar'e Stoudemire, who were all past their prime by the time they came to the CBA, Marbury was more like someone who still had some gas left but had lost his direction in the NBA. The CBA allowed him to rediscover the joy of playing, and his time in Beijing proved his worth as a basketball player.

During the years Marbury dominated the CBA, Yu Fei was still young, and he only knew of Marbury as a legend in the CBA. What left the deepest impression was his unremarkable coaching career with the Beikong team (which hadn't ended yet).

"I don't think New Jersey is worse than Houston."

Yu Fei's fondness for the Brooklyn Nets also came from his past life, a future where the team belonged to Tsai, the owner. Yu Fei liked the Nets and supported Tsai and his lineage, not because of cultural identity with the Chinese, but because this man truly supported Chinese basketball with his wealth.

The annual Tsai Foundation Training Camp selected a group of promising young players to further their studies in the United States. Although Yu Fei wasn't a beneficiary, he had nothing but respect for such initiatives.

Although Trem was curious about what Yu Fei considered "poor," he was more interested in knowing, "Which do you dislike more, Houston or Washington?"

"Houston."

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In Washington, at least he could "fight to prove the scouting vision of the first Big Fei"; what would he get in Houston?

Be used by the owner as a tool to lure Asian fans and be heavily exploited?

Playing hard made no sense; the Rockets' owners, past, present, and future, were all known for being stingy.

Forget about them paying luxury tax for a championship.

It's rare for a player like Olajuwon, who didn't need luxury tax and could win two championships for the team during Jordan's baseball hiatus, not to receive the fortune of retiring with the team. What was the point of playing for such a team?

Before the call ended, Trem gave Yu Fei one last piece of advice.

"If there are no players of the same caliber as you during the tryouts, you can refuse to participate in scrimmage games."

On the surface, Trem's advice was to avoid injuries, but in reality, he was afraid of Yu Fei becoming someone else's wingman.

As an unknown newcomer, Yu Fei was the one who rose to fame by stepping over the heads of America's top high school players; he knew this feeling all too well.

But if he skipped the scrimmages and only took part in physical and technical tests, his advantages wouldn't be as obvious.

Yu Fei considered himself a practical player with a great feel for the game; it was during technical tests that he was average because his shooting wasn't stable enough.

The next day, Yu Fei was the first rookie to report to the Brooklyn Nets' training facility.

Nets Head Coach Byron Scott greeted Yu Fei warmly.

Yu Fei didn't have much of an impression of Scott but felt he was full of passion and energy, a very lively coach.

There was one thing about the Nets that Yu Fei appreciated: they didn't do the whole interview ordeal.

In Scott's words, when they picked Kenyon Martin last year, they didn't even ask for his physical report, only making him complete 20 dunks during the tryouts.

If it were up to Yu Fei, he would opt to hand in the physical report, after all, dunking 20 times was tiring.

Afterward, Yu Fei underwent a physical test. With experience from the Rockets' physical test, this went very smoothly, followed by the technical test.

The Nets took Yu Fei's technical test seriously, not only with detailed shooting tests and positioning tests but also shooting tests with mild interference, the interfering party being Keith Van Horn, whose face read "I'd rather someone at home died than be here for this practice."

Fei didn't know why Scott had Van Horn come as a practice player, considering that Van Horn was famously known for his non-contact defense.

There was a well-known joke about Van Horn maintaining a distance of over a meter from Kemp during matchups, because he didn't want his fingers to get sweaty from Kemp's perspiration.

Facing such a poor defender, Fei's originally unstable shooting surprisingly became stable, making 20 out of 20 close-range shots, 17 out of 20 mid-range shots from five different angles, and even exceeding expectations from the three-point line, making 16 out of 20 shots from five spots.

Byron Scott's heart raced as he watched.

"Damn, he's really good!" Scott exclaimed in surprise.

Assistant coach Lawrence Frank said, "Frye is undoubtedly one of the most promising players in this year's draft."

Scott pondered before asking, "Do you think he's better than Eddie Griffin?"

"It's a close call," Lawrence made his choice, "I would pick Frye."

Fei's performance in the trial today was stunning, but Scott couldn't make up his mind, because they didn't need a wing.

Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, Aaron Williams... The Brooklyn Nets had both quality and quantity in their wings; what they were lacking was a playmaker.

Lost in Minnesota.

Only a playmaker could drive the Nets' carriage forward.

The reason Scott was eager to invite Fei was that he had heard Fei's style of play was reminiscent of Pippen's, but he was taller.

After watching his skill test, Scott looked forward to Fei's performance in the matchup even more.

However, Fei felt that he had done very well in the skill tests today, but there were no potential lottery picks among those who came to the Nets' trial today. Even if he played well, it wouldn't enhance his evaluation, so he decided to follow Trem's advice and declined the matchup, citing discomfort in his legs.

Although he didn't get to see Fei's performance in a five-on-five full-court game, Scott was still interested in him. After the trial, he invited Fei to a nearby French restaurant for dinner.

During the meal, Scott casually asked, "Frye, if I invited you for a private workout, would you attend?"

"I don't know," Fei laughed, "because my schedule is set by my agent."

Scott appeared quite taken with Fei, "I'll give him a call."

After returning to the hotel, Fei called Trem to report in detail about the conversation at the dinner table.

"Don't take Byron's words too seriously; he's known for losing interest quickly," Trem said reasonably, "The important thing is that you performed very well in your skill tests today, and the news has gotten out. Cleveland has just officially sent you an invitation to try out."

"What?" Fei almost blurted out.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, I just find it a bit sudden…" Fei asked, "What's Cleveland's situation like?"

Trem then briefed Fei on the Cavaliers' situation, which was that they were a middle-of-the-pack team which seemed like they could make the playoffs if they pushed hard, but wouldn't get far and weren't determined to tank unless there was an undeniable reason.

Fei had never thought that he would play for the Cavaliers, but if it really happened, he would have to accept it.

Maybe in the NBA, there was a BUFF that "The Chosen One" must start his professional career in Cleveland.

"Rest well tomorrow; the day after tomorrow's trial in Boston is the main event."

Fei was immersed in the fantasy of possibly being selected by the Cavaliers when Trem suddenly said this.

"Huh?"

"Right, your good friend Brandon Roy will also be at the Boston trial the day after tomorrow."

"Huh??"

"You must stay focused at that time because Eddie Griffin will also be there for a trial in Boston."

"Huh???"