Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Admittedly, Sprewell was erratic, but he played with absolute commitment.

They didn't have to worry about Sprewell slacking off like Robinson did.

George Karl was always complaining that management never brought him players with fighting spirit, right? Didn't he miss the days in Seattle with Gary Payton? Well, now he was going to get a player with even more energy than Payton, so he couldn't complain anymore, could he? Stay tuned for updates on empire

However, as the trade talks progressed, Knicks General Manager Scott Layden made a demand that infuriated Larry Harris: "Any trade involving Latrell has to include Travis Knight (C)."

Knight was a seven-foot white center, drafted by the Lakers the same year as Kobe, then sent to the Celtics and finally went to New York with Glen Rice as part of a trade, but he didn't fit the Knicks' tactical system. He played only a few games and had to be paid four million US Dollars a year.

Getting rid of Glenn Robinson's contract surpassed many other concerns.

Harris called Yu Fei before finalizing the deal.

He wanted to know if Yu Fei could coexist peacefully with Sprewell.

Harris apparently forgot about the time difference.

When he made the call to Yu Fei, it was night time in Korea.

Harris heard a woman's voice on the other end of the line.

Oppa! Oppa! That's how the woman was calling out.

"Frye, is it inconvenient right now?" Harris asked.

"Hmm..." Yu Fei hummed with pleasure, "It's nothing inconvenient, what's up?"

Harris went straight to the point, "Can you get along with Latrell Sprewell?"

"That 'getting along' needs to be tried out first—oh, Ji Hyo, don't be so rough."

"Do you have any conflicts with Latrell?"

"Hmm—no."

"Then I won't bother you anymore."

Harris immediately made a call to George Karl, even though they weren't on good terms, because the other party was the head coach and he had to communicate with him about such a major trade.

When George Karl found out Harris was planning to exchange that troublemaker Glenn Robinson for Latrell Sprewell, he excitedly asked, "Why not? Make it happen!"

But what Larry Harris didn't tell Karl was that, because the Knicks insisted on including Travis Knight in the trade, they also had to let go of Karl's protégé Ervin Johnson—a seven-footer center who shared the same name as the legendary Magic Johnson but played center.

When the trade happened, George Karl was furious.

"That bastard! He did this on purpose!" Karl roared, "He's trying to mess up my team so he can build his own! Damn it!"

People around Karl had to work hard to prevent him from continuing to smash things.

Meanwhile, Yu Fei was unaware of what the trade of Ervin Johnson meant to Karl.

At that time, he was about to leave Korea for China. Before leaving, he thanked the Park businessman who had meticulously arranged his trip to Korea, saying, "Thank you for the hospitality!"

Afterward, Yu Feifei headed towards his long-awaited Sirius, while the NBA's off-season dramas continued.

Bidding farewell to Glenn Robinson, who had served the team for many years, and welcoming the equally problematic Latrell Sprewell was the Bucks' last major move of the offseason.

In Cleveland, Andre Miller, whose rookie contract was expiring and was facing a team option, sought a max contract, and then the Cavaliers decided to let him go on his own.

Without a doubt, aside from outside shooting, Miller had become one of the top point guards in the League, but the Cavaliers were eager to get rid of him simply because of money. But if a lousy team sends away its best player over money, it indicates the player's performance did not meet team expectations.

What excuse did Cavaliers General Manager Jim Paxson give? He could not bring change because the team was still losing, and the blue seats (empty seats) at Gund Arena outnumbered the working-class fans.

With the Cavaliers having traded for Alexander Courtney last year using Yu Fei's signing rights and sending Wesley Person, who had his career-best performance, to Memphis in exchange for Nick Anderson—an already retired player—and now having completely lost faith in Andre Miller, it's hard not to recall their actions since 1999.

Since 1999, this had been the Cavaliers' method: draft a rookie, and if he doesn't show immediate results, drop him the following year. If he does show immediate results, try to lowball him before the first three years of his rookie contract; if he doesn't accept the lowball offer, let him walk.

The only exception was the frequently injured Big Z.

Their decision to trade away Yu Fei's signing rights last year and to pursue a trade for Miller this year, to virtually give away Person to the Grizzlies, and then to hire John Lucas as coach for the team, all proved one thing—they were determined to tank the new season because LeBron James would be entering the draft next year.

Besides the Cavaliers, who loved to stir things up, the off-season had been relatively calm this year.

The trade of Big Dog for The Madman was the number one headline of the offseason.

On the day the Lakers won their third consecutive championship, the Kings Team proved that the Lakers were no longer unsolvable in the zone defense era, at least for Western teams, the Lakers had become beatable.

Therefore, the Kings Team retained their championship-contending roster.

The Spurs patched things up and quietly signed Manu Ginobili, whom they had drafted in 1999.