Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

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Key Arena

Tonight's guests were something special for Key Arena, not just the Lakers from Los Angeles but also the head of NBA Entertainment.

As the shooting crew from NBA Entertainment followed both on and off the court, the Supersonics players lived like actors, with everyone hoping to create some highlight moments for themselves.

But, as time went by, everyone got used to the presence of the cameras.

Now, basically no one paid attention to the shooting crew anymore.

As the head of NBA Entertainment and also heralded as Stern's successor, the Deputy Commissioner of the League, Adam Silver had come to Seattle for the first time this season.

When Yu Fei announced his transfer to Seattle, Stern's reaction, which persisted in Silver's mind to this day, was unforgettable.

It was a complex expression, filled with anger but not entirely so.

Stern disliked Yu Fei's decision because the Supersonics' relocation plans had already been set in motion.

Why? The Supersonics had only nominally owned a large market, yet they had never shown the ability to capitalize on it. Since Shawn Kemp was traded, there hadn't been a so-called "people's player" for the Supersonics. In contrast, the Mariners, their biggest competitors in the city, had stars like "The kid" Ken Griffey Jr. since the late '80s to Ichiro Suzuki now. They always had box office stars.

Without a star to garner attention, coupled with long-term mismanagement, the growth of local fanbase was negligible. And with advances in time, Key Arena seemed too small—NBA arenas averaged 500,000 square feet (about six and a half football fields), whereas Key Arena only occupied 365,000 square feet (the size of four football fields).

This was the last straw – if a large market couldn't bring in profit, then it was worthless to the NBA. Stern needed to warn all cities with NBA teams: if you don't value your NBA team's presence, like Seattle, then the team must choose cities that do.

Oklahoma had nothing to lose; they would give everything for the upcoming franchise opportunity.

The plans were already in motion, Clay Bennett only needed to follow the steps, and there was a good chance the Supersonics would leave by next summer.

But what did Silver see in Seattle tonight?

The cramped Key Arena was filled with shops, the fan market was booming, and Yu Fei related merchandise was always in short supply on game days. This did not look like a team preparing to leave.

Silver had someone inquire at the shops and learned that nearly all of them had renewed their leases until next June at the highest market rates.

This place seemed full of life, but danger lurked beneath.

"They still need a bigger stadium," Silver said, "But I think there's no more time left."

Clay Bennett would submit a financing proposal early next year, but it was a plan doomed to fail, designed to be unreasonable from the start.

"Adam, here they come."

Silver's assistant pointed to the court.

The Supersonics and Lakers players took to the court one by one.

Key Arena was packed to the rafters, and the crowd was wildly enthusiastic.

Members of the "Save Our Supersonics" organization led the atmosphere with their fervor.

This was an enthusiasm that Silver had never felt from the Supersonics before Yu Fei's era.

In a sense, this passionate crowd was here for Yu Fei. It proved on another level the impact a star could have on the market.

One Kemp brought the Supersonics into their first bull market in history.

But Yu Fei's market appeal far surpassed Kemp's of that time.

Was Seattle's market potential only going to fully show itself in the Supersonics' final season there?

That would be too ironic.

The person beside Silver said, "If I were Clay Bennett, I might not move the team away from here."

That statement pointed out the truth: given a few years with Yu Fei, even with the burden of the home court, he could reap the benefits of a large market for the Supersonics. Once they proved their economic effect and commercial value, the new stadium financing plan would likely get approved.

Time, time, that was the key.

The Supersonics needed time.

Halftime

Yu Fei and Roy approached Kobe and Kidd.

"The kids from ABCD Camp have all grown up," Kobe said, feeling nostalgic.

"Will you sign an autograph for me this time?" Roy asked.

"I don't plan on signing autographs for rivals," Kobe was the same as ever, "I don't think you'd want my autograph either."

Yu Fei laughed, "That's right, Brandon has held a grudge against you for not signing for him back then. His greatest wish is to get your autograph and then use it to wipe his ass."

"Big Fei, I'm not like that..."

Kidd didn't say a word, just listened to their banter before heading back.

"It's good to see that nothing has changed with everyone," Roy said as he turned back, "Kobe is still an asshole."

"There's still a change, though."

An old Kobe fan spoke discontentedly, "In 2001, even Big Fatty couldn't satisfy Kobe; now a 34-year-old Jason Kidd makes him willing to stay and help the Buss family sell tickets."

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Roy thought to himself, could it be that Kidd's ability to set limits was too strong, allowing the Lakers to rank first in the Western Conference, thereby confusing Kobe.

"Does he think the Lakers are a championship-contending team?"

Frankly speaking, aren't the Lakers a championship-contending team? Their only big problem is a shoddy interior, and aside from Kobe, they lack an athletic elite on the wing. Although they're ranked first in the West, they are similar to the SuperSonics in having played the easiest early-season schedule. It's still uncertain where they will end up.

After the warm-up, both teams' starters took to the court.

The Lakers' starting lineup was Kidd, Kobe, Odom, Walton, and Bynum.

If you look at it by the standards of a playoff team, the Lakers' roster is enough.

But by the standards of a championship-contending team, Walton's level is more suited to a reserve, and Bynum is too green to play Shaquille O'Neal's role in the Triangle Offense.

At the start of the game, the Lakers got possession, and Kidd pushed for a fast break. It seemed slow-paced, but that was just because of Kidd's speed, running slow doesn't affect passing quickly.

Kobe had just taken his position in the frontcourt when Kidd's pass was already on its way.

Before Kobe even called for the ball, it had flown into his hands.

This kind of crisp decision-making brought an exhilarating offense that could significantly boost offensive efficiency.

Against Durant's mismatched defense, Kobe made a straight-up, leaning back jump shot and scored.

0 to 2

Roy, unwilling to show weakness, picked up the ball and threw a long pass from the backcourt to the frontcourt.

It moved so fast, as if there were only a few seconds left in the game and the SuperSonics had to initiate their offense from the backcourt.

Yu Fei received the ball and broke through Walton's defense, charging under the basket and passing back to Brown, who caught the pass and couldn't help but exercise the dominance of the league's number one center, pushing Bynum aside with force.

"Nobody can stop me!"

Brown roared.

Yet Brown's bold words did not intimidate his opponents.

The Lakers' fluid passing gave Walton a chance to shoot, but he missed.

Bynum, who was taller and heavier, leaped fiercely to grab the offensive rebound and scored on the second attempt.
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Yu Fei held the ball, drew a double team, and passed it back to Durant, who scored with a jump shot.

The SuperSonics rhythm, inheriting from the Bucks, although Yu Fei brought only Brown and Karl from Milwaukee, as long as they play a similar offensive system, coupled with Yu Fei's continuous influence and Karl's daily training, the SuperSonics would gradually become a team with a standard small-ball offensive tempo.

The biggest difference between small ball and big ball is the fluidity of offense, quick decision-making, and decisive shooting, which is why their offense appears smooth.

And the Lakers were not playing small ball.

At this time last year, they were a team that couldn't win unless Kobe scored 40 points.

But now, with Kobe averaging only 26 points, the Lakers have lifted their entire offense into an upward trend.

All these changes can be attributed to Kidd, who averages near triple-double statistics with 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists, unrelenting on defense and orderly on offense. His ability to quietly change a team cannot be demonstrated in a team as well-organized as the Spurs, but in the chaotic Lakers, his impact on the overall offense was directly evident.

Back when Kidd was with the Brooklyn Nets, Yu Fei didn't feel this because he hadn't seen Kidd without the Nets. Now he has, but Kidd, because he was a benchwarmer for three years in the Spurs, hadn't shown this special ability earlier.

Four minutes into the game, the Lakers kept pace with the SuperSonics in offense, playing to a 12 to 12 tie.

Both sides displayed a fierce offensive momentum with high efficiency, which characterized the opening of the game.

Then, Karl called a timeout.

Karl decided to sub Durant out and bring Posey in, while also moving Yu Fei to the point guard position and Roy to shooting guard.

"If we want to disrupt the Lakers' offensive rhythm, we can't let Jason Kidd direct the team this easily," Karl said to Yu Fei. "Frye, I still remember how you dealt with the Brooklyn Nets back in Milwaukee. Now, let's show your hometown folks as well."

Yu Fei shrugged his shoulders, it seemed like the enjoyable tit-for-tat rhythm was coming to an end.

Every time he played against a Phil Jackson-coached team, Karl was extremely careful, not wanting to exhibit any flaws or weaknesses.

In the past few years, Karl maintained a near-perfect record against the Zen Master's team when he was in Milwaukee.

If Karl remembered correctly, starting from the 2002-03 season, he had an 11-1 record against the Zen Master. Although it didn't compare to Big Fei's 25 consecutive wins against LeBron, considering the fate of his hairline, he definitely wanted to win again tonight.

After the timeout, it was the SuperSonics' offensive turn.

The Lakers continued to have Walton guard Yu Fei, but Yu Fei called for Roy to set a pick and forced a switch on Kidd. But Kidd thought, you want me to switch? I'm not switching, not only am I not switching, but I will double-team with my teammate.

On-the-spot decisions, as long as they don't result in outrageous mistakes, are neither right nor wrong. Kidd wanted to use a double-team to force a turnover from Yu Fei, who just used Walton's defensive vulnerability to pin Kidd down, charging on the right and finishing against Bynum's help defense with a switch-hand layup off the glass.

"Why is dealing with your double-team easier than one-on-one?" Yu Fei taunted. "Or maybe you should call more people to double-team to see if it's a matter of manpower or numbers."

Kidd's face turned ugly, and Walton hardly dared to look at him.

"Just switch directly next time,"

Kidd said calmly, unaware that the Chosen One's execution was imminent.