NOVEL NEXT Chapter 131 Rey-ray
Anthony Mason started seething with anger, then lost his temper, and finally, he was left deflated.
Most of the Bucks players were worried that Mason would start a fight with Yu Fei.
But that was actually a misunderstanding of people like Mason.
Mason did have a tendency towards violence, but Yu Fei blew him away with solid basketball skills.
No tricks, no fakery, it was a pure display of overwhelming strength.
In such a situation, Mason's cursing was more about cheering himself on, but as Yu Fei continued to outplay him in various ways, his confidence plummeted.
By the final minutes of the game, Mason had basically fallen silent.
Yu Fei dominated the game.
This wasn't only unexpected by Yu Fei's teammates, but even more so by the Bucks' coaching staff.
That unruly Mason, the one who bullied his teammates, the one even Karl was afraid of, had been restrained in a scrimmage by Yu Fei.
The Bucks' coaches thought they understood Yu Fei.
But their main reference for Yu Fei's abilities came from last season's Wizards games.
After tracking Yu Fei's performance throughout the season, Karl thought Yu Fei had reached All-Star level, had high potential, and was capable of growing into a superstar.
However, potential takes time to realize, so he didn't expect much immediate combat power from the second-year Yu Fei. As long as he didn't hit the sophomore wall, it would be a success.
Yet, in his first scrimmage with the team, Yu Fei displayed strength that was clearly superior to that of his rookie season.
Whether it was technical moves or physical condition, both had improved by leaps and bounds.
Your journey continues with empire
Karl didn't know what level Yu Fei was at now, but the fact that he could completely blow Mason away was something no one else on the Bucks could do.
Maybe that Hannibal's mindset of humiliating opponents while beating them was key to his discord with Jordan.
"George, we made a good trade," Coach Ron Adams tried to control his excitement and said with visible delight.
Remembering last season's failure, the humiliation of coaching the Dream Team that summer, the mockery people directed at him now, Karl's lips trembled with excitement, "Yes, yes, he looks amazing!"
"Just needs to cut down on his time with the ball..." Karl nitpicked, "That's his flaw."
Adams was optimistic; he had talked with Yu Fei a few times.
Yu Fei didn't leave the impression of being the "I'm the best" kind of guy like Mason.
"Convincing Frye to shorten his ball time will definitely be easier than persuading Mason," Adams said, "He's a good guy."
Karl joked, "Right, and he also has a 'great personality.'"
At that, not only Adams but the few other assistant coaches present chuckled too.
They all agreed with Jordan's original assessment of Yu Fei, a young man with a great character.
They saw it!
The scrimmage ended with Yu Fei's team winning by a large margin.
Yu Fei notched up 32 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, showcasing abilities that completely surpassed everyone else on the court.
Including Mason's teammate, Ray Allen, who needed his teammates to pass him the ball and hardly anyone did.
For Ray Allen, Yu Fei was not only the person who inherited the "boss's locker," but also someone who completely blew Mason away in a scrimmage, thus gaining influence at the St. Francis Training Center.
This was something neither Ray Allen nor Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson had managed to do.
What surprised him even more was yet to come.
After the game, while Yu Fei was drinking a nutritional drink the trainer had just prepared, Mason came over, shirtless, making the people around Yu Fei nervous.
"I'm not here to cause trouble." Mason spread his hands to show Lawson and the others there was no need to be tense, then he said to Yu Fei, "You won."
This was a fact everyone knew without Mason having to be there to testify.
Yu Fei looked at him, wondering what he really wanted to say.
"I've heard about your situation, I mean, I know what happened with you and Michael in D.C., and that's why I wanted to see how much you actually weighed, and you won, you've got the strength." Mason showed a sign of yielding, but there was a lack of heartfelt concession in his words, "I won't be a problem for you."
Yu Fei took this to mean that if he wanted to take control of the Bucks, Mason wouldn't stand in his way and would even support him.
Is that right? Did he hear correctly?
Yu Fei replied, "As long as you don't affect me, I won't be a problem for you either."
"OK, OK, that's best, man. Welcome to the Bucks!"
The trade between the Wizards and Bucks had happened nearly four months ago, was this guy only now welcoming someone?
Yu Fei smiled as the tension from the scrimmage dissipated, and the atmosphere became cheerful.
Devean George jokingly complained that Yu Fei played too many isolations just now, often ignoring his open shots.
Ratner commented, "Even in D.C., Michael had to look to him for the ball, be content."
This spicy comment indeed brought laughter; everyone had fun and started asking about Yu Fei's run-ins with Jordan.
Yu Fei glanced at Ratner; he had almost forgotten when his relationship with this guy had started to improve—it might've been in the second game against the Lakers last season or perhaps when he led the team alone.
Ratner was the one with the worst relationship with him in the Wizards, yet due to unfavorable circumstances for the team, their relationship had thawed. When they were traded to the Bucks together, Ratner began proactively mending their relationship.