Chapter 541: Chapter 379: Things are Changing

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Christmas had passed, and the year 2007 was drawing to a close.

The SuperSonics finished the year with a three-game winning streak.

On the first day of 2008, Clay Bennett, a year and a half after forming a consortium to acquire the SuperSonics, released his first positive signal that the “SuperSonics might stay in Seattle”.

Bennett announced that he would remodel the existing training facility and office building of the SuperSonics this summer, and that he would deeply involve himself in the team’s operations over the next few years.

This seemed to be a common future plan, but for Bennett, it was anything but routine.

Since the moment he bought the SuperSonics, he had been preparing for relocation; thus, every action he took was finalizing things before leaving, aimed at distancing the team from its fans.

Now, he was planning to spend money to renovate the training facility?

It was also on this day that Bennett stated in an internal meeting that the latest financing proposal was flawed after evaluation and not suitable to be submitted to the city government.

Then, Bennett made that problematic financing proposal public.

Without looking, one wouldn’t know, but on inspection, it was alarming.

The financing proposal suggested building a $500 million integrated sports stadium in the worst site…

Given the site chosen in the proposal, it could never be approved by the city government.

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Everyone at the meeting agreed with Bennett’s opinion on the proposal, but they wanted to know how such an unreasonable financing proposal had been drafted.

If not for the boss’s “wisdom,” wouldn’t they be presenting a doomed proposal to the city government?

But Bennett thought that it no longer mattered; what was important was that they had identified the problem, and now they needed a brand-new financing proposal, which meant they needed more time to prepare.

Yu Fei did not pass on the news that Warren Buffett was willing to invest 20% of the construction funding for the new stadium to Bennett.

Because they didn’t have a plan yet, at least not until a new financing proposal came out, Yu Fei could share the news. And, 20% investment was a vague concept; if Bennett went crazy wanting a $1 billion stadium, would Buffett invest $200 million? So, until Bennett produced a reliable financing proposal, Yu Fei wouldn’t say anything.

The news of Bennett killing the original financing proposal signified that things were changing. Because Yu Fei had heard from Adam Silver that the financing proposal Bennett initially intended to submit was terribly flawed, meant to be rejected just going through the motions, a waste. But now, Bennett decided to create another financing proposal.

This indicated that Bennett had deviated from his original plan.

What Yu Fei could be sure of was that the SuperSonics would still be in Seattle after this season ended.

That was his first stage of success.

But it was far from enough.

With no immediate concerns, Yu Fei decided to focus on the court.

After entering the new year, the SuperSonics, just like the Lakers, faced a challenging schedule.

In the first month of 2008, the SuperSonics would face nine playoff-level teams.

And half of these teams had a strong frontcourt.

The SuperSonics’ potential weaknesses, which had been active at the start of the season, gradually emerged in January.

Youthful players led by Durant were too inexperienced; they could play well for a while, and then poorly for another.

Especially Durant, when opponents couldn’t target Fei, they would find ways to target those around Fei.

Roy quickly figured out how to tackle various targeted plays, but Durant quickly showed that he could be easily crumbled upon contact, falling over with a bump.

When opponents increased their intensity, his shooting touch rapidly declined.

But the same problem occurred with others as well; Childress and Channing Frye both hit slumps, and Rashard Lewis often had to play the five when Kwame Brown ran into foul trouble, affecting his shooting touch as well.

The issue with the frontcourt was continuously radiating throughout the team.

This made Sam Presti seriously consider trading Rashard Lewis.

Undeniably, Lewis was a great fit for Fei.

One could even say that on the offensive end, Lewis was the most suitable power forward for Fei in the entire league.

But the SuperSonics were not a team ready to contend for a championship; they lacked depth and bench strength.

The only reason they thought about contending was because of Fei’s joining.

The basic expectation for the league’s number one player is that no matter which team he joins, he should make that team championship-worthy.

That was the case for the SuperSonics.

According to Presti’s original plan, the SuperSonics still needed to tank for another one or two years to accumulate prime talent, but things were moving too quickly.

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Yu Fei set the tone as soon as he arrived.

Lewis also stayed.

But the subsequent problems only began to surface today.

While in Milwaukee, George Karl could let Ratner and Horry, the one-dimensional inside players, start without any psychological burden just to coordinate with Yu Fei on offense, because they had tough guys like Haslem, Pachulia, and Mutombo on the bench.

However, the SuperSonics didn’t have such a deep reserve of inside players, so Kwame Brown’s pressure increased a lot. If he got blown out or ran into foul trouble, the inside line would become a sieve.

This was the reason the SuperSonics barely maintained a 50% win rate in January.

They won one and then lost one consistently, because the frontcourt was too weak, and besides Yu Fei and Roy, the other guards were not reliable.

Yu Fei, out of a need to hone his low post skills, significantly increased his low post offense, and as a result of playing more in the low post, his outside shooting percentage dropped, ending up at only 34% for the half-month.

“It’s worth it! As long as Frye accumulates enough experience, he will become a dominant low post player,” George Karl said during an internal meeting, “We are still in the top four in the Western conference; the record is not the problem, the issue is the frontcourt, and we do need to strengthen it.”

Presti then suggested trading Rashard Lewis.

And his reasons were very convincing.

“The only reason Rashard stayed was because of Frye. He never wanted to stay in Seattle. As soon as our prospects dim, he’ll choose to leave,” said Presti, “Channing Frye can do most of what Rashard does. If we can trade Rashard for a tougher inside player, it would alleviate our weak frontcourt.”

Karl asked, “That’s not out of the question, but who are we targeting?”

“The Pacers have been wanting to trade Jermaine O’Neal,” Presti asked, “I heard Jermaine and Frye are good friends?”

Karl nodded, “That’s right, they have a good relationship.”

“How do you like that target?”

“I don’t think it’s good.”

Presti thought Karl would support the trade.

But Karl had even more convincing reasons: “In the past few years, Jermaine has had a record of injuries, especially these last two seasons; his injuries are very serious. We need someone who can hold their ground under the basket, not someone who’s a long-term hospital resident. Most importantly, Jermaine is no longer Jermaine.”

Presti also realized that he was desperately seeking a quick fix.

Because his boss–Clay Bennett–had shown unprecedented concern for the team recently. He wanted to know why the team’s frontcourt was so bad, and why, given their frontcourt was so bad, there were no moves being made.

Since trading for Little O was not suitable, thoughts of an even bolder move began to surface in Presti’s mind.

“George, what do you think about the other O’Neal?” Presti said, “Miami is shopping him around.”

A mysterious smile appeared on Karl’s face.

“Is there something wrong?” Presti thought he had merely suggested a potential trade target.

Karl asked, “Do you miss San Antonio, Sam?”

“Occasionally.”

“If you bring that guy to Seattle, you can prepare to head back,” Karl said, “Frye will personally see to it you leave.”

The issue was partly solved by Yu Fei in the following days.

After internal discussions, the SuperSonics’ coaching staff and management decided against making any trades, as there were no suitable candidates; instead, they preferred to wait until the trade deadline to see what was available on the free market.

Then, Yu Fei remembered P.J. Brown, who was at home unemployed.

At the end of last season, PJ Brown hadn’t renewed his contract with any team. Although he could still play, he didn’t really want to, unless a team could weave a credible championship contender narrative for him.

Although now older, PJ Brown, who had made it to the All-Defensive Team three times during his prime, remained an iconic blue-collar center of the NBA at the turn of the century. Many top teams hoped to have such a figure sitting on their bench.

While the SuperSonics extended an invitation to Brown, the Western-leading Spurs and the League-leading Celtics also sent their invitations.

When it came to championship chances, PJ Brown would naturally choose the Celtics, his first choice, but he didn’t outright reject Yu Fei.

“Big Fei, if you can beat Boston on the night of the 24th, I will join your team,” Brown said to Yu Fei.

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Normally, Yu Fei wouldn’t care where this old man chose to wind down his career, but times had changed. To help ease his good buddy (Kwame)’s pressure, he genuinely needed this old man to come to Seattle as a backup.

So directly, he said to PJ Brown, “You can book your ticket to Boston for the 24th right now.”

“You’re conceding?”

“No,” Yu Fei said, “I mean you can watch with your own eyes how I’m going to beat Boston.”

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