Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 510: Chapter 351 Unforgiving

Coach K had initially held onto a fantasy about Fei and James’ relationship, considering they had once been so close. Even if they had parted ways, he didn’t expect it to have reached a point where one couldn’t exist with the other.

But, to his real surprise, on the very first day that Fei arrived in Las Vegas to report, he caused such a scene that James couldn’t save face.

By the time Coach K arrived at the scene, Fei had already said everything he had planned to say.

Seeing Coach K, Fei greeted him politely, “It’s very nice to meet you, Coach K.”

Amazingly, Coach K felt a sense of comfort.

Big Fei didn’t seem as rebellious as the rumors suggested, at least he showed due respect to him as a coach.

So, even though Big Fei had publicly smeared filth all over James’ face, Coach K still tried to smooth things over, “Frye, is there some misunderstanding between you and LeBron?”

Upon hearing this, Karl turned his head away at Coach K’s side.

Brother K, you still don’t understand Big Fei.

“There’s no misunderstanding, the issue between us is very clear,” Fei said, keeping a smile, but the words that came out gave people the shivers. “Simply put, I cannot accept this man as my teammate. If he can abandon his team for his own reputation during the Eastern Conference Finals, then he might do the same with the Dream Team’s honor for something else during a world tournament. I absolutely will not fight alongside such a person.”

Even Russians aren’t this direct.

But Big Fei just wouldn’t give a damn about saving face; he trampled on James’ head in front of everyone, even suggesting to Coach K to kick him off the Dream Team.

Coach K went dark, uncertain how to respond to Big Fei. He noticed James’ increasingly ugly expression, but now, he couldn’t defend James’ dignity. All he could do was try to end this farce as quickly as possible.

“Frye, as you know, we’ve just gathered,” Coach K said. “The final roster is not yet certain. We’re not going to decide now who stays and who leaves.”

“Oh, I see.”

Fei looked at James, and said like a superior, “I’ve always known that even a pile of shit has its value as fertilizer, though your contribution to the national team isn’t even worth shit, I’m willing to tolerate you a few more days.”

“FUCK YOU!!!” James roared, “This is not up to you to decide!”

“You better shut your damn mouth, you weakling!” Fei sneered, “You should thank me for giving you a few more days to prove you’re worth more than a pile of shit!”

The easing of tensions Coach K had hoped to see didn’t happen; instead, it was Fei’s aggressive stance that caused a major upheaval in James’ emotions.

Having known him for years, Coach K had never seen James pushed to such an extent by anyone.

Veterans from the training team came forward to break it up.

First was Kobe, who pulled Fei away, “Are you looking to cause trouble on your first day? Let it go…”

Then Kidd whispered to James, “You should understand Big Fei better than us, don’t add fuel to the fire.”

Then others joined in, and James was just humiliated, as the one being belittled and insulted was him; he was just fighting back, so why did everyone act like he was at fault?

Why didn’t anyone help him when Fei attacked him?

Why did Fei think he was the ruler of the training team? He was just a rookie on the national team, where did he get such confidence?

James, his thoughts in complete disarray, was persuaded back to the locker room, while Fei chatted with Kobe on the sidelines.

Members of the blue-jerseyed Potential Team were all terrified.

Durant looked eagerly at Kwame Brown, “Does Big Fei really like me?”

Brown, who was thoroughly enjoying the show, upon hearing Durant’s question, thought for a moment, “I think, at least, Big Fei doesn’t dislike you.”

“Really?” Durant suddenly broke into a massive sweat, “I once asked an inappropriate question on his radio show when I was a kid…”

“I know about that,” Brown said with a chuckle, “Don’t worry, Big Fei isn’t that petty.”

Durant was a natural from Old Washington Regulars, and he started to focus on basketball exactly when Big Fei was a rookie arriving in D.C.

Media under Jordan’s influence had built an image of Fei as a lawless thug, disrespectful to veterans and coaching staff, with a hair-trigger temper, volatile nature, and vengeful attitude.

This impression was deeply embedded in Durant’s mind.

But Fei’s manner of dealing with listeners on the radio was not rough, and he was also quite gentle when they had met earlier. However, his treatment of James sent chills down Durant’s spine.

“How did things between Frye and LeBron flare up?” Durant asked.

“It’s complicated,” Brown shook his head, “It’s not something that can be explained in just a few words.”

On the other side, Kobe could have never anticipated his first role on the national team was to play peacemaker.

“You know? The theme of Las Vegas was supposed to be ‘love and peace.’ We came here for the same goal, to save the reputation of American basketball. We need to redeem the Dream Team, and now, you’ve turned it into a mess.”

Kobe’s words took Fei aback.

All you competitive bastards not taking your holidays, gathering here up competing for first place, and now you talk about ‘love and peace’?

Fei responded, “Clearly, this is a personal feud between him and me. Besides, speaking of mess, I think using the pressure tactic of sudden trade requests at the end of the season and openly criticizing everyone on the team is still a bit more over the top than what I’ve done to LeBron.”

“What do you know?” Kobe snorted, “I have my reasons.”

“I have my reasons too,” Fei said, “I want to see that bastard off the Dream Team.”

Kobe said, “Even if you’re the captain, you don’t have the right to send him away.”

“How did you know I wanted to be captain?” Fei asked, “Do you think I’m suitable?”

Since Kobe had not yet withdrawn his trade request, he had become a controversial figure. The Dream Team’s training camp in Las Vegas provided a haven from the media storm.

Therefore, all he wanted was to train peacefully on the national team and then become a member of Team USA, helping the team secure a ticket to the Beijing Olympics.

The position of captain was not something he intended to compete for.

But Fei, also a controversial figure who had never contributed to Team USA, clearly expressed his intent to be captain right from the start?

“I think I’m more suitable than you,” Kobe said.

“Then let’s see who is more suitable,” Fei said, “I like competition.”

That day, Coach K did not arrange for the Senior Team to have a scrimmaging session.

He wanted to give a day’s time for Fei and LeBron to cool down.

That night, he sought Karl’s advice on how to ease the tension between Fei and LeBron.

“No way, Mike,” Karl said, “It’s not about how you guys mediate, it’s that Frye won’t let LeBron off the hook. Before the new NBA season begins, this is his perfect opportunity to extract interest from LeBron, and he won’t miss it.”

Coach K said angrily, “This is not the place to settle personal vendettas!”

“Is that so?” Karl asked sarcastically, “So when Isiah Thomas was left off the Dream Team’s roster back then, it wasn’t because of his personal vendetta with MJ?”

Coach K said powerlessly, “That’s different.”

“No, it’s the same,” Karl said meaningfully, “Exactly the same.”

Looking into Karl’s sincere eyes, Coach K recalled the day’s events.

A man who had never contributed to Team USA came in and dominated the scene like he owned it.

Fei exuded an aura of control over the room that made others hesitant to defy his will.

So when he publicly executed James, others merely watched until James was about to leap over the wall, then someone stepped up to play the role of peacemaker.

Are today’s Frye and Michael Jordan 15 years ago any different? No, not at all.

“Our longed-for savior…” Coach K said with a pale face, “Could he be the Satan who destroys everything?”

“The unwillingness to forgive might be one of Frye’s shortcomings,” Karl consoled, “But trust me, Mike, it’s his only shortcoming.”

The next morning, Fei entered the gym early.

After lunch, he went to practice low post moves with Brown for half an hour.

Brown, tormented by Fei’s hook shots, complained bitterly but remembered the sweetness amidst the bitterness: “Once, I too had such a great hook shot.”

Fei asked, “Why can’t you do it now?”

“It’s all because of number 23!” Brown complained, “He took everything from me!”

“That guy has retired, I can’t help you with him,” Fei said pointedly, “But how about this, I’ll take away everything from another number 23 for you.”

After warming up, dozens of players from the three teams, red, blue, and white, gathered on the court—these were America’s basketball elite.

Coach K planned to test tactics with a team consisting of Kidd, Kobe, LeBron, Fei, and Howard.

“Coach, I have a question.”

Fei predictably stepped forward.

Coach K looked at him, “What’s your question?”

“What position do he and I play?” Fei asked, pointing at LeBron behind him with his right middle finger.

Coach K thought to himself, oh no, but said, “LeBron plays small forward, you play power forward, but in reality, in our system, the forward positions aren’t that strictly defined…”

“I don’t know about college basketball, but in the NBA, if a player is pushed into a position that doesn’t suit him by the coaching staff, it means he’s not competent enough for his preferred position,” Fei said. “I’ve always played the three spot and won four NBA championships as a small forward, so why should I play power forward here for someone who once scored 70 over his head?”

“!￥!￥#”

Coach K was already enraged because Fei was publicly challenging his authority as a coach.

“What do you propose?” Coach K asked, holding back his anger.

“I think, perhaps it’s because Coach K usually doesn’t watch NBA games, so you don’t know how well-suited I am for the three spot,” Fei said with a grin as he walked over to the Scramble Team’s lineup, “How about this, put me on this team and let me have a direct showdown with that wimp.”

LeBron tried to break out of the lineup several times but was blocked by Kidd.@@novelbin@@

Coach K’s face changed unpredictably, knowing that Fei’s challenge was reasonable. On the court when a positional dispute occurs, having the disputants compare by matching up against each other is a common test. However, Coach K knew that if he agreed, someone would get hurt.

For some reason, he knew who would be humiliated.

Yet, this was the only way now for him to conclude his disagreement with Fei gracefully.

Coach K exhaled, “Let’s do it.”

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