Chapter 538: Chapter 376 We’re Already Very Close

We’re getting close.

“Sorry, Phil.” George Karl came up to the Zen Master, shaking his hand like a complete victor. “I won tonight.”

Perhaps no one could understand how satisfying it was for Karl’s team to beat the Zen Master.

Among the many coaches in the NBA who claim to be arch-enemies of the Zen Master, only Karl had exacted revenge. Their record in the finals is 1 to 1, and as for the regular season matchups, if we leave out those before 2002, Karl has won twelve of the last thirteen encounters with the Zen Master.

What is domination? This is domination! Just like Big Fei’s merciless twenty-five consecutive victories over LeBron!

He and the Zen Master were true rivals, with others merely harboring delusional fantasies after their failures against the Zen Master.

And a few years ago, Jackson never took Karl seriously.

As a nine-time champion, within his sight, the only one worth his attention was the late Red Auerbach.

In recent years, as modern players constantly chase historical status, the perceived value of championships from before the merger era (before 1977) has been diminished.

If the value of old players’ championships should be halved, the worth of a coach’s championships is even less.

In terms of the number of championships, the Zen Master and Auerbach share the same number of titles. According to the theory devaluing ancient championships, the Zen Master should undoubtedly surpass Auerbach, becoming the NBA’s greatest coach in history.

However, Auerbach seemed to have foreseen this day would come. During the OK Dynasty, he made the opinion public that “Phil is great, but he only led the most outstanding stars to success; in my time, I was responsible for everything,” thereby turning the debate over the greatest coach in history very low.

Auerbach’s point was that the Zen Master now only needed to focus on coaching, whereas in his era, coaching was just one part – drafting, trading, traveling… he handled it all. If it weren’t for such responsibilities falling on the head coach back then, Auerbach wouldn’t have retired early.

Jackson may be the best coach, but Auerbach was the godfather. Those who reaped the benefits without sowing should keep away.

It has to be said, Auerbach successfully elevated his status to another level.

No matter how many more championships the Zen Master wins, he will always be the most successful coach in NBA history, but the one he’s striving to surpass, Auerbach, exists on a higher plane.

What the Zen Master didn’t expect was before he could grasp the godfather’s power and continue his sprint towards Auerbach, the very Karl whom he had once beaten decisively obtained an SSR card unexpectedly. Winning four championships in five years, not only did he establish a status in the martial world akin to Pat Riley’s, but he also launched a fierce assault on the Zen Master himself.

At this moment, looking at the smug expression on Karl’s face, Jackson felt displeased.

He forgot the teachings of Zen Buddhism.

“George, your victory is only temporary,” Jackson said. “If the Supersonics leave Seattle, the decision made by you and Frye will be the most ridiculous thing in the NBA in nearly twenty years.”

Karl had always told himself that from the moment he gave up his career and shares in Milwaukee to follow Yu Fei to Seattle, their fates were inextricably linked.

Karl was only responsible for coaching; leaving the Supersonics in Seattle, such a great deed, was destined to be the legend of a select few.

“Don’t say that, Phil.” Karl always remembered what he had to do. He was just the coach, nothing else. But if someone wanted to devalue Yu Fei, he would certainly not stand idly by. “I think even if Frye can’t save the Supersonics, the most ridiculous thing in the NBA in the past twenty years won’t be this. Do you know what the most ridiculous thing in the NBA has been in the past twenty years?”

“It’s the key players who achieved countless successes with you refusing to play for you at critical moments.”

“It’s the general manager who promoted you from an unknown to the head coach thinking you were the biggest threat to a great dynasty-building team.”

“It’s you watching the internal conflict within the OK Dynasty but doing nothing, leading to that irretrievable situation in 2004.”

“It’s you being defeated by me in 2004, returning to Los Angeles shamefully, yet still unable to beat my team, only able to issue weak prophecies. Now let me tell you what will happen next.” The corners of Karl’s mouth were harder to suppress than AK from ‘Valiant’; he said with immense self-satisfaction. “Frye will achieve unprecedented success in Seattle, the Supersonics won’t go anywhere, and you will become footnotes to this legend, just like MJ back then!”

The two parted ways in dissatisfaction, and the atmosphere after the game suggests that the relationship between the head coaches is much tenser than between players.

Yu Fei and Kobe shook hands, and Yu Fei also said something to Kidd like “the reason the Lakers lost tonight is that your offense was too poor.”

Kidd was left speechless.

It was after entering the players’ tunnel that Kobe said, “If we want to defeat Seattle, we need a better inside.”

Isn’t Bynum good enough?

Kidd understood the crux of the issue better than Kobe.

Yu Fei, who chose to transform the Supersonics, was already becoming a two-way super small forward, and in terms of individual offensive and defensive impact, he was absolutely the league’s number one.

Damn it, with someone as strong as Yu Fei, there’s also a Brandon Roy averaging 20+5+6 per game.

The Supersonics’ perimeter strength is first class, unmatched in the League.

Only Kobe on the Lakers matches up in intensity, and while Kidd is versatile, many of his impacts aren’t reflected in the stats. But against the Supersonics, they need a star whose impact can be seen in the numbers, someone who can really bring a punch like Kobe.

Player’s Tunnel

Yu Fei strolled leisurely with Roy and Brown by his side.

A production crew followed, capturing their casual banter.

“Frye, you were so unforgiving to Jason, won’t there be problems when you meet in the national team?”

“I have no problem,” Yu Fei said calmly, “When I have no problem, Jason doesn’t have any problems either.”

Brown chimed in, “Right, he’ll understand. Big Fei is joking with him as a friend. If it was LeBron, hehe…”

“What about LeBron?” Roy said, “Even if it was LeBron, Frye could still make jokes.”

“Exactly, Big Fei would step on LeBron, then toss out a vicious joke…”

Outside the locker room, Yu Fei and his group ran into Adam Silver and a bunch of league office staff.

“Frye, you played a great game,” Silver said, sounding like a reporter, which puzzled Yu Fei. “Congratulations on the home win.”

Yu Fei nodded, but he was curious about what lay behind Silver’s niceties.

“May I have a word with you in private, Frye?”

Silver said, with a friendly expression.

Yu Fei wasn’t particularly fond of Silver, but although this man hadn’t taken over yet, he was a prime candidate for the next commissioner.

He had lots of insider information, and his sudden appearance in Seattle tonight must have been about more than just the NBA Entertainment Division’s production crew.

The Supersonics’ relocation process had hit pause because of Yu Fei’s arrival, and he wanted to know if the situation had changed.

So, Yu Fei and Silver went to a restaurant outside the arena.

“If you have something to say, just say it,” Yu Fei asked directly.

Silver smiled faintly, “Frye, I like your straightforwardness.”

“Since 2005, Seattle has been the focus of basketball in the Northwest and an important focus of the League’s work.”

2005? If Yu Fei remembered correctly, that was when Schultz Howard first publicly sought government financing to build a new arena–and of course, he was rejected. The League then intervened, and Stern personally visited the Emerald City to support the Coffee King, but to no avail.

“I want to know if the current focus of your work has changed,” Yu Fei said, “Do you still want the Supersonics to leave or…”

“Don’t hurry, Frye, I assure you that you will get your answer. But please let me finish first.”

Even given a hundred more years, Yu Fei couldn’t get used to Silver’s tone of voice, which was like Concubine Hua (Jiang Xin) from ‘Empresses in the Palace’–that affected tone made you want to throw the remote at her face.

Unfortunately, Yu Fei didn’t have a remote, but he did have a knife and fork on the plate in front of him.

It was certain that throwing these two items at Silver’s face would be more satisfying than throwing a remote.

However, he gave up the thought, for after all, he was a dignified, civilized person. How could he do such a thing?

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“During Schultz Howard’s era, we tried everything, but in the end, Seattle refused to support the NBA. They can build gorgeous stadiums for the Mariners and the Seahawks, but for the NBA? No, even though Supersonics once won a championship, even though the team once made the Northwest proud, they were still not willing to pay for it. We can accept this result, but for survival’s sake, we will also make our decisions.”

Survival’s sake? Does that mean the team, taking advantage of being in a big market, deliberately tanks and then moves when the fans truly can’t stand it anymore?

“We need a typical case to warn other major NBA cities,” Silver said. “If even a city like Seattle can lose their team due to lack of support, then your city could face the same risk. Therefore, a plan was born. Schultz would sell the team to outsiders, and everyone who cared about basketball knew from that moment on, the Supersonics were destined to leave.”

“All of Clay Bennett’s promises about keeping the team in Seattle were lies. The plan was this: give Seattle two years to get used to the idea, then make some superficial efforts, such as proposing to the city government to build the most lavish arena at the worst location for six hundred million US dollars, which the city government would never agree to. Then, he could naturally push forward his relocation plan.” Silver’s eyes, like those of a vampire, lacked any human warmth as they shimmered with a cold intent. “We’re very close to the last step now.”

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