Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The second victory over the Lakers felt completely different from the first.

Because tonight's Lakers were far from comparable to last season's team.

At the time, the Lakers were still at the peak of their strength, striving for their third championship, and although they ultimately needed Dick Bavetta's divine whistle to achieve their goal, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Lakers back then were ten times stronger than they are now.

After finishing the interviews, Yu Fei returned to the locker room, where the scene was just as usual.

Some players had already gotten dressed and were ready to experience Los Angeles's nightlife, while others had just returned to the locker room, preparing for their interviews.

Others were receiving massages from the trainer and dipping their legs in ice buckets, with ice packs on their knees—usually, these were the veterans.

But Yu Fei noticed that Anthony Mason was also tending to his old arms and legs.

This self-proclaimed tough old-school enforcer, who looked as strong as King Kong, was also covered in scars.

After a while, George Karl came over; he was satisfied with the win over a bitter rival, but he didn't want his players to become complacent.

"The Lakers are just a team with 4 wins and 10 losses," Karl added impatiently the Lakers' latest defeat to their record, yet he appeared utterly composed, "If you're proud of that, it's truly pathetic."

Well, who was it that seriously motivated the troops before the game, describing this match as oh so special?

This was George Karl's problem; he liked to pressure his players, to fire them up, but when he achieved his goal (winning), he couldn't finish the job.

He refused to offer inspiring pep talks, because he was a traditional, tough old-school man, and hard men don't do such things.

After briefly congratulating the victory and reminding the players not to be arrogant, Karl left.

Everyone could tell that Karl almost seemed to be walking on air, light on his feet.

He was overjoyed at having beaten Phil Jackson.

"Damn!" Sprewell complained, "I think George is happier than any of us!"

Ratner said self-deprecatingly, "But he'd rather enjoy it alone than tell us, 'You bunch of mutts were great tonight!' Do we not deserve it?"

The team began denouncing Karl's ruthlessness.

Only Anthony Mason pulled his legs out of the ice bucket, stood up, and walked towards Yu Fei.

Some people watched him warily.

Yu Fei's buddy Lawson directly blocked the way, "What are you going to do?"

Mason said, "I need to talk to Frye."

Lawson said, "Whatever you want to say, you can say it now."

"No, I hope it's just the two of us," Mason meant either Yu Fei would go out with him, or everyone else had to leave.

Lawson didn't think Mason had good intentions, and he certainly wouldn't allow Yu Fei to be alone with this dangerous man.

Yet, Yu Fei gently patted Lawson on the shoulder, "Don't worry, Tony, nothing's going to happen."

Yu Fei signalled Ratner with a glance, asking him to set an example.

Ratner wasn't sure if it was a good idea to leave Yu Fei alone with Mason, his thoughts similar to Lawson's; being alone with Mason was definitely risky.

Especially since Yu Fei had just threatened Mason with a trade earlier tonight.

But Yu Fei insisted on clearing out the room.

"Well then, let's wait outside," Sprewell took the initiative and told Yu Fei and Mason, "Later, I'll take you guys somewhere fun. Don't take too long!"

The players gradually got dressed and left the locker room, with Ratner being the last one to get up.

He was still worried.

Yu Fei gave another glance, and then Ratner left with Lawson.

"Now that it's just the two of us, what do you want to say to me?" Yu Fei asked casually.

Mason's expression was serious, like a defendant arguing his case in court, "I said I wouldn't become a problem for you."

It had to be said that Mason kept his word, as so far, he hadn't directly become a problem for Yu Fei.

But becoming Yu Fei's problem wasn't limited to direct confrontations.

As long as Yu Fei was committed to leading the Bucks to success, he needed a stable team. With Mason being a starter and often playing during crucial stretches, his stability was vital to the team.

When Yu Fei was on the court, Mason was a qualified starting power forward, but when Yu Fei sat out, he became a monster that devoured ball possession, severely disrupting the tactical flow and causing the team's offense to stagnate completely.

Mason had become a problem for the team, and thus, indirectly became Yu Fei's problem as well.

"But, if when I'm not on the court, your usage rate suddenly spikes to over 30%, then you become my problem," Yu Fei said, introducing a novel term that furrowed Mason's brow, "What are you talking about?"

"To put it simply, you're holding the ball for too long."

"I can assist."

"You can indeed assist, but at what cost?"

Yu Fei said, "Ray was in great form tonight, until I went off, he was our best-performing player on offense. But once I was out, he started not getting the ball. If you really understand what organizing means, what ineffective organizing is, I believe Ray wouldn't have been deprived of passes afterward. You gave him a tough night, and before that, many others had already been negatively affected by you."

Mason treated ball possession as the privilege of a star, and when he dominated it arbitrarily, it made him feel like a star himself.

But Yu Fei's blunt threat of a trade during the game snapped him out of his daydream.

He felt he needed to reach a new understanding with Yu Fei.

That was, he could help Yu Fei lead the team, but when Yu Fei was off the court, he needed to have the ball.

However, before he could make this demand, Yu Fei had already made it clear to him that his privileges were a crime against the team.

If he wanted the ball, he would become Yu Fei's problem.

This infuriated Mason, who felt he had given in quite a lot, being polite enough to the rising sophomore star, but he never won his respect.

"I'm telling you, this is the way I've always played!" Mason said angrily. "I won't change myself for you! This is my style!"

Yu Fei shrugged, "Then what else is there to talk about?"

With that, Yu Fei made a move to leave.

"Wait!" Mason called out. "You want me to completely abandon my original style, so what do I get in return? If you're just trying to use me to show off, I'll damn well not agree to that!"

Yu Fei didn't think he'd have any chance if he and Mason got into a fight in the locker room.

But he also believed Mason would not physically attack him.

Because no one knew better than Mason that he was the most influential person in this locker room.

"If you use the energy you save from not holding the ball on defense, you will still be an outstanding power forward," said Yu Fei. "You can provide the interior defense we need the most."

"My versatility, plus your defense, and the shooting of Ray, Michael, Sprewell, Chris, DG... I think we have a chance to compete for the championship."

Championship???

For a moment, Mason thought he had heard wrong.

Yu Fei said he wanted to lead this lousy team, which didn't even make the playoffs last season, to win the championship?

But it was this lousy team, which didn't even make the playoffs last season, that was currently ranked first in the Eastern Conference.

And they had recently crushed last season's runners-up, the Brooklyn Nets, and then decimated the defending champions, the Lakers, on their home court. Was it unreasonable to aim for the championship?

Even so, Mason remained incredulous.

The two sat in silence for a minute.

Suddenly, Mason turned around to pack his stuff.

"At least give me an answer," Yu Fei said. "Are you willing to cooperate or not?"

After packing up, Mason said roughly, "I won't listen to any more of your bullshit. I'll observe for myself whether you are serious or just boasting!"

That ended their time alone.

For Yu Fei, trading Mason was definitely not the best option.

Because the Bucks' interior was really weak, if they made it to the finals, even if they didn't encounter the Lakers, they were likely to face either Duncan or Nowitzki, and without a strong defensive presence inside, it could become a breakthrough point for the opponent.

If Mason could change his ways and focus on his role as a power forward, the Bucks would be even stronger.

Seeing that Yu Fei and Mason were at peace, the rest of the Bucks team breathed a sigh of relief.

Afterward, under the leadership of Sprewell, they headed to the nightclub and partied late into the night.

Yu Fei only stayed for a short while before leaving; despite the numerous entertainments the nightclub offered, he didn't want to indulge too much. Those inviting glances from women delivering themselves on a plate were enticing, but every time Yu Fei thought of the trouble that would come with getting too involved with them, he lost all desire.

He wasn't abstinent; he had desires too, but he wouldn't hook up with women of unknown background in Los Angeles—not even if it was arranged by Sprewell.

After leaving, Yu Fei grabbed a bite with Lawson to make up for the energy spent in the game, then they headed back to the hotel.

The next day, the headlines in professional basketball were occupied by three stories; the biggest was Yao Ming scoring 30+10 against the Mavericks. But what truly put him in the headlines was Barkley's immortal kiss on Donkey's Butt.

Next was Yu Fei's "promise." After the game against the Lakers, Yu Fei told the media that if the Wizards end up doing better than the Bucks in the future, he would also kiss Donkey's Butt.

Last was the seemingly endless drama with OK, basically empty, discordant bluster from both sides.

The following day, before the Bucks left Los Angeles, the media were still waiting for them at the airport.

"Sorry, Frye is not accepting interviews right now."

Lawson and Assistant Clark blocked the reporters trying to put microphones in Yu Fei's face, and then Yu Fei, wearing headphones and carrying a small backpack, walked into the airport.

Some reporters inevitably felt that Yu Fei was becoming arrogant, as typically only superstars would refuse media exposure—lesser-knowns were eager for more interviews.

But Yu Fei was just following his agent's strategy.

Don't let the media people think you're easily accessible, or they will be brazen.

Set thresholds for "contact," making them see the opportunity to interview you up close as a sign of status. This was Jordan's way of taming the media.

Since Big Dan had already demonstrated to the younger generation how to deal with the media, Big Fei naturally took a leaf out of Big Dan's book.

Ray Allen, on the contrary, did the opposite, accepting a group interview outside the airport.

While Allen was answering various questions from reporters, George Karl appeared.

He glanced at Ray Allen somewhat surprisingly, then told the reporters, "Why are you guys clustering around this guy? He wasn't even the fifth best performer for us last night. Have you forgotten his terrible game last evening?"

PS: More updates coming tomorrow.