Chapter 549: Chapter 387: Forever Out of Reach

News about the SuperSonics’ plans to trade Shawn Marion spread quickly.

This was not a matter of a breach of secrecy, but rather the trade negotiations had dragged on for too long.

Starting from early February until just before the All-Star weekend, the deal was still not finalized. Presti internally only mentioned that the details were not settled, and later it was revealed that the Miami Heat wanted the SuperSonics to include fourth-year small forward Josh Childress in the deal.

The main reason was that Riley wasn’t in a hurry.

Whether the trade happened or not, since Wade was out for the season and the squad that had previously contended for the championship had completely aged, the Heat’s aim for the season was to tank for the top draft pick–so the worse their record, the better.

Therefore, they had all the time in the world.

On the other hand, the SuperSonics couldn’t afford to drag it out any longer.

But Presti had already guessed that Riley was interested in the trade. The current demand for a higher price was merely a tactic, so he maintained high patience without raising the offer.

Meanwhile, Rashard Lewis lashed out several times, openly cursing Sam Presti.

Then, Lewis’s performance on the court plummeted drastically.

To the outside world, it appeared that Lewis was driving down his own trade value.

Seeing Lewis poised to tank, George Karl put away his usual amiable facade that would chat with anyone; it was all an act. If it weren’t for Big Fei playing the villain, Karl had no desire to be the good guy.

Now that Lewis gave him an opportunity, he actively benched him, citing “injury” as the reason for not letting him play.

Channing Frye briefly received the starting opportunity.

As another Frye within the SuperSonics, his presence had always been low-key, overshadowed by Lewis, who covered all of Frye’s functionality as a starter.

But the opportunity came at him like raindrops and it was hard not to catch.

To make Frye seem like a complete replacement for Lewis, Roy and Fei ran a lot of pick-and-rolls with him at the power forward position.

Frye only needed to fully utilize his shooting advantage.

During this time, Frye averaged 12 points a game with a 39% three-point shooting rate, both the volume and quality of his shots were considered first-rate.

The SuperSonics should have encountered issues like they did at the beginning of January due to the instability, but Fei and Roy’s solid leadership capabilities, along with Frye’s almost seamless transition into a higher role, prevented any adverse reactions.

Because the power forward spot provided so much open space, Frye even began to wonder, “Perhaps Rashard has been overrated?”

The rapid replacement of Rashard Lewis’s niche within the team by his subordinate hastened the trade process.

Seeing that there was no sense in beating the dead bamboo, Riley no longer insisted on having Childress included.

Before the All-Star weekend, the SuperSonics and the Miami Heat reached a verbal agreement.

Because of Shawn Marion’s high salary of 16 million US dollars, in order to balance the contracts, apart from Lewis, the SuperSonics also sent backup point guard Luke Ridnour to Miami, and in return received Shawn Marion and… Smush Parker, Kobe’s archrival for life.

Parker was not whom Presti wanted, but the SuperSonics needed to balance out the contracts by trading away a second-string point guard, so they sought to acquire a replacement from Miami. Moreover, this player couldn’t be too expensive, otherwise the salaries wouldn’t match, and he couldn’t be too strong–since Riley wouldn’t agree. Ideally, it would be someone with playoff experience, whose skills were neither here nor there, with serious deficiencies, almost deemed by scouts as being unable to play in the NBA. Someone scraping by on a minimum salary, fighting for survival in the League.

Smush Parker: “That’s precisely me!”

The two sides reached an agreement, but the trade was still not effective.

That’s because Riley needed to clear out the deadwood from the roster before the trade deadline arrived.

Therefore, on February 13th, what would be Lewis’s last game as a SuperSonics player saw him deliver a 4-for-14 performance, further compromising the team’s interior against the Utah Jazz.

It was also the final battle before the All-Star weekend.

Although they lost, SuperSonics fans breathed a sigh of relief.

They were glad the team traded Lewis, deeming him incapable of shouldering big responsibilities.

“I will remember the games I played here. Whether I am here or not, I will always wish the best for the SuperSonics,” Lewis said. “They shouldn’t leave. No team with a 40-year history should leave.”

Then, the fans realized that Lewis did have love for the SuperSonics. They felt a bit regretful because they didn’t know if Marion would perform better than Lewis.

The commotion caused by Lewis was quelled by the trade.

For those who had been waiting a long time for new developments around Fei, this was somewhat scandalous but not quite.

Some questioned Fei’s leadership capabilities and suggested that “if it was MJ, this would never have happened.”

Laying low, Jordan had recently been oppressed by some force.

The growing clout of Fei cast doubt over who was the “Greatest of All Time.”

Besides, times had changed.

Yu Fei had left the insular Milwaukee, and Seattle was a vast stage where everything he did was magnified. When people carefully examined all his achievements over the past six years, they could see he wasn’t far behind Jordan.

Moreover, Yu Fei was now not only a formal contender for the Greatest of All Time but also the savior of basketball in the United States and the deliverer of professional basketball in Seattle.

All sorts of lofty auras fell upon a superstar at his peak, and combined with his performance on the court, they didn’t feel out of place at all.

Jordan found that the world was gradually forgetting his performances.

Because Yu Fei seemed so charismatic.

This reminded Jordan of what Larry Bird had once said, “Sooner or later, we’ll be forgotten.”

At the time, such a statement was unbelievable to hear.

Could the basketball Jesus be forgotten?

Yes, if one day, people live in a world where Draymond Green’s career three-pointers exceed those of Larry Bird.

99% of the greats will be forgotten, for greatness has an expiration date.

Jordan was that Jordan, the one who was shy to be called the Greatest of All Time during interviews, because he had never played against predecessors from other generations; but at the same time, Jordan was also the Jordan who could publicly declare himself the benchmark of greatness.

And Jordan could be that Jordan, the one whose decision to take the Miami Heat’s leadership from Wade with his indisputable performance in the 2011 Finals turned from pure black to a murky shade. The fourth estate’s narrative angle made it difficult to accurately assess the profound impact of “The Decision,” because not long after, it was called the beginning of modern player empowerment. And when James returned to Cleveland, he won what the fourth estate deemed “the final with the most golden content,” thus pushing himself into the “Greatest of All Time” discussion.

But Cleveland was too small a place to broadcast his fame. Los Angeles was a good place; there, LeBron could truly shake the throne with a special narrative.

So, Jordan is to mountains as James is to rivers.

And by then, nearly 20 years had passed since Jordan last played, blurring people’s memories, so Jordan became the strongest player they had heard of, while LeBron seemed to be the strongest they had seen with their own eyes.

So you could see that Jordan, eager to seize the window when the world was locked in by the pandemic, released the rights to “The Last Dance,” a stinky and lengthy self-aggrandizing documentary that expanded “The Last Dance” tenfold, just to inform the Gen Z, who had never seen him play (those born between 1997-2012), just how awesome Uncle Jordan was.

And for Jordan now, the most unfortunate thing was that the current Yu Fei had advantages that James didn’t possess at the time.

Yu Fei had shown the world Jordan’s unpleasant side.

At the same time, from a narrative perspective, Yu Fei was as perfect as Jordan.

Six years, four championships, undefeated in the finals, averaging a triple-double, and countless other feats.

These made the sense of oppression that Jordan was supposed to feel in 2020 come early and more intense.

Jordan, who had already decided not to attend the 2008 All-Star Weekend, appeared at the event once more.

As he had expected, the reconstruction in New Orleans was not ideal, and the commercial impact of promoting his brand there was negligible.

All they had to do at the event was participate in charity activities, spreading love to the locals.

But what was the point? The kids liked Yu Fei more, they wanted the latest Gen-6 chosen by heaven boots; as for the AJ? That belonged to the adults’ nostalgia.

In the world of basketball, Yu Fei alone propped up Reebok’s facade, had a monopoly in Asia, and now competed with Nike on an equal footing in the United States.

According to Nike’s statistics, Yu Fei’s popularity among the Gen Z demographic was even more astonishing.

That man’s era had arrived, it was just that many conservatives were not ready for it.

Midway through the event, Jordan saw many kids wearing the Bucks’ No. 44 jersey, which infuriated him and left him with no mood to continue.

He wrapped up his promotion in New Orleans hastily, quickly returned to his hotel, and then called LeBron James to arrange a meeting.

For James, Jordan had some heartfelt advice and high expectations.

Jordan had not seen James for a while, but that did not affect his attention to the latter. Last summer, he had suggested that James refine his shooting technique and change his playstyle, having proven that those who hold the ball for long periods can’t succeed.

But James had questions, “Why can that guy succeed?”

Jordan answered, “He has a bunch of good players around him. Who do you have? In Cleveland, you have to face it alone, but your current playstyle is slowing your progress, serving no purpose other than producing attractive stats.”

Yet, who doesn’t like stats?

James heeded half the advice, using last summer to improve his long-range shooting stability.

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However, Yu Fei’s unexpected transformation in Seattle put him one step ahead of James again.

Thinking of this, Jordan couldn’t help shaking his head.

“Michael, what’s wrong?”

“I’m thinking,” Jordan looked at his lovely wife, “will LeBron ever catch up with that damn mutt?”

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