Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Surprisingly, when the Supersonics won three consecutive games during their five-game road trip in Cleveland, their last two away games ended in failure.

Since 2005, Yu Fei's team had never suffered two consecutive losses.

This was proof of the dominance he represented.

But the main reasons for these two losses came from off the court.

To be precise, from Seattle.

A few days ago, Sports Illustrated attempted to ask local politicians about the difficulties the Supersonics faced in building their arena.

Nick Licata, the chairman of the Seattle City Council, said, "The fundamental reason is that the Supersonics' economic and cultural impact on Seattle is close to zero."

This statement immediately angered thousands of African American citizens, as basketball is a major sport for their community.

What was more affected was the citizens' confidence in the Supersonics.

In early next year, the Supersonics will once again propose a new stadium financing plan to the city government, and under such circumstances, the public statement of such an opinion by a local government official undoubtedly cast a gloom on the Supersonics' prospects in Seattle.

Roy reacted extremely strongly to this event.

Normally unemotional during games, he failed to display a normal state of performance in the last two away games.

Yu Fei decided to take control, but the whole team's morale seemed to be affected, and their rising form came to an abrupt halt.

The two consecutive losses made George Karl aware of the problem.

They could not place the burden of controlling the game on Roy simply because Yu Fei was transforming his playing style.

Otherwise, if Roy encountered issues, they would disrupt their own formation.

Karl decided to optimize the system, and as for the off-court influence, he ignored it completely.

When the Supersonics returned to Seattle, a large number of reporters were waiting for Yu Fei and his team to respond to Nick Licata's comments.

"I think this is a kind of subconscious racism," Yu Fei said. "Basketball has nothing to do with skin color, but it is indeed the main sport participated in by African Americans in the Seattle area. For forty years, the Supersonics as a city's totem and cultural symbol have influenced countless people. If he says our cultural impact is zero, does this prove he feels that the cultural influence of African Americans isn't part of the culture?"

As for the economic aspect, Yu Fei had his argument too.

"Whether they admit it or not, the capacity of Key Arena indeed limits the Supersonics' economic income. If they want the Supersonics to bring economic impact to the local area like other big-market teams, they should support us just as they did with the Mariners and the Seahawks," Yu Fei countered. "I don't understand why, as a team from Seattle, we can't have a more beautiful stadium?"

The "racism" Yu Fei emphasized indeed put Licata in hot water.

This is a slippery slope that is untouchable in all sectors of the United States.

Licata clarified his statement immediately and claimed his words were too superficial and failed to convey what he meant to express. However, he remained firm in his claim that the Supersonics' economic impact on the local area is almost zero.

A few days later, Licata appeared on an interview show and continued to speak on the topic of the Supersonics.

When the host asked about the responsibility of the city government if the Supersonics were to relocate to another city due to the inability to secure a new arena, Licata answered, "I believe it's zero. The stay or departure of the Supersonics is not for us to decide. The decision is made by the franchise itself. We have already given them a beautiful arena and used taxpayers' money to renovate it for them; they shouldn't be asking for more."

"If the Supersonics leave, we can only express regret. But from an economic standpoint, it almost has no impact on us. You can discuss this topic with any economist, and they will tell you that whether the Supersonics are here or not, Seattle will still be a major city in the United States. You can argue until the end of the world, but I stand by my view that the Supersonics' economic impact on Seattle is zero."

Unfortunately, Yu Fei is not yet capable of countering Licata's economic arguments.

Because he is right.

The Supersonics were not making money; even before Yu Fei's arrival, operating on their own initiative and even with the highest attendance rate in the league, they could still be in the red.

This is because since the 90s, with the rise of Jordan changing the economics of the NBA, Supersonics had never long held a commercially viable superstar. Shawn Kemp once had this potential, but at that time, the Supersonics were a team with "ambition."

Rather than developing Kemp's commercial value, they preferred to increase their competitiveness. Thus, they offered a mediocre white center a higher salary than Kemp and refused Kemp's request for a pay raise, effectively ruining Kemp's morale.

This not only destroyed the championship prospects for the Payton-Kemp era of the Supersonics but also ruined Kemp. After being traded to the Cavaliers, the Supersonics began to decline. They waited for Jordan to retire, witnessed a league lockout, and then faced a market downturn. The excessively small Key Arena, compared to those large arenas which could lease hundreds of shops, yielded too little profit.

Schultz Howard's request for the city government to give them a new arena was repeatedly refused.

Then, the Supersonics started tanking; all their hopes rested on a new arena, which became an increasingly distant dream.

During Schultz's era, the Supersonics alienated their fans; despite the high attendance, Supersonics' products were no longer popular in the Emerald City.

So they incurred losses year after year, living as a disgrace to big-market teams.

Therefore, Fei couldn't refute Licata now.

In recent years, the Supersonics indeed suffered losses year after year.

However, based on the information he had, his arrival had revitalized the surrounding market of the Supersonics and regained favor with sponsors.

Following this trend, there might be a pleasant surprise in the Supersonics' financial statement after this season's end.

But Fei didn't know if he still had time.

Because there was something very wrong with the way the Supersonics were operating.

With Thanksgiving approaching, NBA teams would shift their focus locally.

They would hold numerous community events to bridge the gap between the team and the fans, which, though seemingly routine tasks, could establish bonds between the team and the locals.

Locals would feel like they are a part of the team, as they could easily interact with players worth millions or even tens of millions of dollars.

Yet, the Supersonics' related activities were few and far between.

When Fei was in Milwaukee, the Bucks would sell commemorative items during Thanksgiving every year, which would sell out just by having Fei endorse them.

The Bucks could earn a third of a season's ticket revenue solely from sales of holiday merchandise.

Meanwhile, it seemed as though the Supersonics' management had an aversion to money, with their lack of business sense.

The week before Thanksgiving, the Supersonics were mostly playing home games, but aside from a few players, no one was assigned to participate in community events.

Average players might enjoy the free time—as Fei once did in D.C., hating such activities.

However, the Supersonics were in desperate need of fan support at the moment.

Ignoring the community would only alienate the fans further.

November 19

The Supersonics had no games today, nothing scheduled besides the usual training.

Fei took the initiative to visit the office of Sam Presti.

Presti was reviewing a report that had just been delivered by a scout.

"Derrick Rose isn't bad, let's pick him next year," Fei joked.

Unlike other general managers in the League, Presti was very young—he could even be said to be the youngest GM in NBA history.

He was only 30 years old this year. What did that mean? It meant that even after personally picking three MVPs, sending two on their way, and leading a team through a rebuild until he had a promising young Thunder squad for the 2023-24 season, he would only be 46 years old.

His youth meant that Presti didn't carry the aura of an elder like other general managers, and he was willing to joke with players.

Fei wanted Rose?

Easy.

Presti said earnestly, "If you really want to play with Derrick, I can arrange for you and Brandon to sit out the rest of the season, and then we could dive full speed into the lottery zone."

It was quite a good idea, actually, but there was no time to lose.
Your next read is at My Virtual Library Empire

Fei responded pointedly, "I have no objections, but by that time, will the Supersonics still be in Seattle?"

Presti knew that Fei wouldn't seek him out for no reason.

He casually put down the scouting report and said with genuine sincerity, "Our contract with Key Arena doesn't expire until 2010; you don't have to worry until then."

"Even if we're still in Seattle by that time, the way we treat our fans now, we'll lose all our supporters within a few years," Fei said. "It's not about taking a step forward or backward. We need to have a presence in the community, but right now we hardly have any community events. I want to know the team's plans and why we are gradually distancing ourselves from our fans."

Presti didn't expect Fei to come for this reason.

"I'll arrange something right away," Presti said.

Fei asked, "Arrange what?"

"Plenty of, frequent community activities that make fans feel loved," Presti said. "I hope you won't find them too tedious."