Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1113 - 620 Not That Regret_2

Chapter 1113: Chapter 620: Not That Regret_2 Chapter 1113: Chapter 620: Not That Regret_2 “If Robert Downey Jr.’s agent suddenly called Kevin Feige saying he’s contemplating retirement, do you think Feige would go to Downey’s house?”

Yu Fei understood Trem’s concerns, but to say that he wanted to retire now was not exactly right.

He still dominated on the field, still able to defeat opponents on the court, but the problem was desire.

After so many years, winning championships had become a requirement, not a goal.

It was as if failing to win a championship meant failure.

The pressure this brought, along with the physical and mental toll of a long season, made him reluctant about “another season.”

But he knew in his heart that now was not the time to retire.

...

So, he reassured Trem, “Based on the salary cap of the new season, I can get a contract of over 33 million US dollars a year, that’s why I chose to execute the player option.”

“What kind of contract length are you looking for?”

This time, Trem wasn’t just probing; he was straightforward. He needed a clear answer.

“Three years, with the second year as a team option and the third as a player option.”

Everyone knows, Yu Fei was dubbed “Player GM”, so what does it mean for his contract to include a team option? Is he giving himself the choice?

This is nothing but a shrewd move by one of the league’s most powerful players, creating a contract with opt-out options for the second and third years.

Although the outcome was not entirely satisfactory, Trem couldn’t ask for more. At least, the Greatest of All Time would play for another season.

This was crucial for the Clippers.

Although Giannis Antetokounmpo had already grazed the threshold of superstardom, he still needed a truly breakthrough season; Nikola Jokic had not yet fully released his potential.

These two young men were already the bets on the team’s future, and they still needed the protection of the GOAT. Only when they had fully matured and the GOAT could retire with his accomplishments, passing the reins smoothly, would it be the ideal conclusion.

But things hardly go as one wishes.

Having confirmed that the GOAT would play another year, Trem started to focus on serious matters: “In this year’s draft, are there any young players you like?”

Yu Fei certainly was paying attention to this year’s draft, but not because of the Clippers’ picks, rather because Hu Jinqiu, a beneficiary of his scholarship fund and a student in the US, decided to enter this year’s draft.

Hu Jinqiu was born in 1997, still young, and could have polished his skills in college, but this year was considered a weak draft class, while the scouts considered the following two years as strong drafts. If he wanted to enter the NBA through the draft, this year might be the best chance. If not this year, he might have to wait until 2019 for a better opportunity.

By then, there would be too many uncertainties.

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This year in the NCAA, Hu Jinqiu managed to achieve 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block per game, impressively hitting a three-point percentage of 37% with good mobility for his height of 210 cm, thus, many draft predictions placed him at the end of the second round.

Yu Fei originally planned to have the team watch Hu Jinqiu with the 30th pick in the second round, and if he hadn’t been picked by then, to take him.

But upon reflection, it would put unnecessary pressure on the kid.

With his current playing ability and draft prospects, backed by the Chinese market, getting picked in the second round of this weak draft year should be no problem.

Yu Fei thought it over and decided, telling Trem, “I like Pascal Siakam from New Mexico State University.”

“I like the kid too,” Trem said, “The problem is, he’s a bit older, but his draft prediction is in the mid to late first round, and we only have the 30th pick in the first round…”

“This year’s first-round picks are not valuable,” Yu Fei stated.

Trem emphasized that their own draft position was not high, not truly troubled by the pick issues, but instead was probing Yu Fei’s genuine attitude towards Siakam.

If the GOAT was merely making a casual mention, then he could set that suggestion aside.

Now, Trem knew they had to secure Siakam.

And that would be very simple.

Although the Clippers had a bunch of untouchables, they had a high bust rate in selecting rookies over the years.

Last year’s rookie, Josh Richardson, scored an average of 6 points, along with 2 rebounds and 1 assist per game in his rookie season, not bad. If he weren’t playing on a championship team, his stats could have been even more impressive.

The Clippers’ Thompson was still young, and with limited team resources, couldn’t give Richardson many opportunities. Since Richardson had proved his worth and the team needed to make trades, they had to painfully part with this potential rising star.

A few days before the draft, the Clippers packaged Josh Richardson and this year’s 30th pick in the second round to the Memphis Grizzlies, in return for their 26th pick in the first round.

However, this trade was not immediately announced because Richardson still needed to participate in the team’s championship celebration. Before the celebration was over, he was still part of the team.

June 24th, draft day arrived.

This year’s draft had almost no suspense since long before. Ben Simmons had established his dominance in youth competitions early on, just like Durant back in the day, and was labeled with the “Yu Fei template”.

However, Durant was considered to have Yu Fei’s offensive talent, while Simmons was seen as a Yu Fei who wasn’t good at shooting.

Regarding this, Yu Fei felt somewhat helpless—there have been so many similar players in history, why always link them with him?