Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

This quickly evolved into a trash talk battle.

Yu Fei was preparing for his Asian tour at the time, and after hearing Simmons's response, he immediately sought out an exclusive interview with ESPN columnist Bill Walton.

Walton happily accepted.

The reason Yu Fei sought Walton was simple; they were friends, and Walton was a columnist who had publicly expressed his affection for Yao Ming. He also didn't appreciate Bill Simmons's so-called sense of humor.

So although Yu Fei answered many questions in the exclusive interview, the real importance lay in his recent verbal spar with Simmons.

"What do you think about Bill saying you have no sense of humor?"

"If that's his sense of humor, I can only say that his mindset is well suited to the suffering the Celtics have endured since 1986."

Walton's article on Yu Fei further heightened the intensity of the situation, but Simmons did not respond, and Yu Fei embarks on his Reebok-arranged Asian Tour in early July.

Yu Fei's first stop was Japan.

For some reason, Yu Fei was quite popular in Japan, as the Japanese media dubbed him "America's Rukawa."

Naturally, Reebok hoped to translate this popularity into tangible benefits.

Yu Fei attended a vast array of events within a week and faced an endless stream of interviews every day. During these interviews, Yu Fei finally discovered what the Japanese people liked about him. Being handsome and having a different skin color were only secondary factors, the main reason was his famous "upset" behavior in D.C.

Even though Yu Fei was of Asian descent, the Japanese seemed to have a knack for treating visiting NBA players "pretty well," giving Yu Fei the "VIP treatment" as per tradition.

Yu Fei didn't dislike this "VIP treatment," but it was clear that they did not yet understand him and hadn't tailor-made their approach.

To use an analogy, I wanted the pre-weight gain Koxiang Minako, but you arranged a Hoshimiya Ichika for me, isn't that inappropriate?

The biggest problem for Yu Fei was the lack of opportunity to play basketball.

He wanted to play and had the time, but there were no courts or training facilities available.

So, when he left Japan, he asked Reebok staff in Korea and China to prepare a court for him to practice on.

"I can't go a month without playing basketball!"

As Yu Fei proved his strength during his rookie season, Reebok's emphasis on him grew continuously, and of course, such a small request could easily be fulfilled.

Additionally, Lawson informed the Korean side in advance about Yu Fei's likes and dislikes, preparing them for his visit.

Thus, Yu Fei continued his glamorous Asian tour, and although he maintained discipline, the NBA was simultaneously creating ripples of its own.

After a few years of absence, Jerry West officially came out of retirement in mid-July, accepting an invitation from the Memphis Grizzlies.

For West, this comeback was not timely, as his trading window period had already passed.

Over the past month, he had been trying to convince the Grizzlies' owner to trade Shane Battier for the Wizards' Yu Fei, but until the Bucks succeeded, the Grizzlies had not attempted an offer.

The owner did not want to acquire a rookie who even Jordan could not tame.

Kevin Garnett's hefty contract made it impossible for the Timberwolves to retain Chauncey Billups, as they didn't want to pay an excessive luxury tax. Your next journey awaits at empire

This led to Billups becoming a hot commodity on the free market.

The two teams vying for him were the Bucks and the Detroit Pistons.

But in the end, Billups chose to follow his childhood idol, Joe Dumars.

Meanwhile, Lakers forward Devean George, who completed his three-year rookie contract (the last year's team option was not exercised), tested the free agent market.

Surprisingly, the primary choice for George, who had been nurtured by the bustling city of Los Angeles for three years, turned out to be the frigid land of Milwaukee.

The reason? George didn't provide one, but his style did fit the Bucks' system.

Larry Harris attempted to offer a 3-year, $9 million deal, but George's agent rejected it: "The Lakers will match this contract. If you truly want Devean, you'd better be more generous!"

After much consideration, Harris finally offered Devean George a 3-year, $16 million contract. It was a 2+1 contract, with the third year as a player option.

As expected, the Lakers would not pay such a high price for a pseudo 3D player who seemed to lack standout qualities beyond outside shooting.

The Lakers refused to match, and Devean George joined the Milwaukee Bucks.

Feeling ownership of the team for the first time, Larry Harris began to adopt a bold and aggressive team-building strategy.

Even though he and George Karl were at odds, if the Bucks were to become more competitive and be rejuvenated under his leadership, he would have more say in the future.

Having strengthened the team with Devean George, Harris gradually turned his attention to the old and useless Glenn Robinson and the notorious troublemaker, Anthony Mason.

The former was not only regressing in his play but also carried an unbearable contract — Big Dog's infamous rookie contract, 10 years, $70 million, with three years remaining and salaries exceeding $10 million in the last three years.

Normally, this would be an albatross of a contract to unload, however, if you look hard enough, there's always someone out there willing to offload their burdens.

The New York Knicks were also looking for a new home for Latrell Sprewell.

Sprewell was an unpredictable player, with a combined salary of $25 million over the next two seasons.

Unpredictable, yet earning the salary of a superstar.

Moreover, he was a player with a notorious reputation, leading rebuilding teams not to want such a player corrupting their rookies, and championship teams reluctant to add such a volatile element. But Harris was seriously considering this trade.