Chapter 699: Chapter 487: Aftermath of Christmas_2 Chapter 699: Chapter 487: Aftermath of Christmas_2 Yu Fei was informed there was no trouble after his reexamination at the hospital.

Then, the loss of the SuperSonics to the Timberwolves really upset him.

He didn’t understand why the people around him were making such a big deal out of it; he could distinguish between cramps and strains.

All he had was just cramps at that time.

However, the doctor told him, “This was the right decision. You are fortunate not to have suffered any serious injuries till now. Many people have been lucky too, hence they think their bodies are invincible like steel. Ninety-five percent of major injuries originate from minor injuries, and a major injury usually marks the end of luck.”

“You are Brandon Roy’s teammate; you can ask him how he has never been the same since his ACL surgery during his student days.”

Yu Fei did not respond. He knew the doctor was right.

Before the maturity of arthroscopic surgeries, ACL surgeries often had challenging recoveries.

Roy, Kidd, and Stoudemire were exceptions.

But Kidd didn’t rely on physical prowess, Stoudemire had the best medical team in the NBA during his time in Phoenix, and Roy, hampered by a chronic condition since his student days, grew from an undrafted prospect to an NBA All-Star, which was a medical marvel indeed.

However, even the greatest miracles have their limits.

In Roy’s era, ACL surgeries were not yet perfected, which resulted in his imperfect post-surgery recovery.

He managed to play two relatively complete seasons next to Yu Fei, but a full NBA season means over seven months of grueling travels, a daunting challenge even for healthy individuals, let alone someone with a fragile constitution like him.

Yu Fei suddenly realized that their backup point guard was too weak to alleviate Roy’s pressure.

Was this the hidden issue from not drafting Patty Mills in this year’s draft?

After returning home, Yu Fei sent a message to Presti: “We lack a playmaker on our bench. How should we address this issue?”

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Presti’s response came so quickly that one might suspect he was always looking at his phone.

“I’ll handle it.”

The SuperSonics’ loss to the Timberwolves did not cause much controversy internally.

After all, both Yu Fei and Roy were not on the court, and Durant tried his best, scoring 34 points. There was nothing else he could do.

However, like Yu Fei, George Karl also reported the issue of the backup point guard to the management.

Besides that, they moved on.

Only three days remained in 2009.

They still had two games to play, against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Denver Nuggets.

The first decade of the new century was about to end, and the league was negotiating extended contracts with major cable networks riding on the popularity of the Christmas Battle.

Prior to 2008, the NBA’s market image had been marred by one scandal after another, leading to a steep decline in business value.

Yet, in 2008, they offered the world the finest sports fairytale.

The Chosen One saves his hometown.

The rebirth of the Seattle SuperSonics was the NBA’s version of a “Homer epic.”

Now, as the SuperSonics were about to face a crossroad of staying or leaving, the NBA once again artificially turned the Lakers into the Evil Empire last summer, thereby giving this season a clear theme, or main script hoped for by the league.

It was the Chosen Empire of Seattle against the Evil Empire of Los Angeles.

This story had just begun and already achieved unprecedented success. The SuperSonics vs. the Lakers game created the highest viewership rates in the history of the Christmas Battle, reaping huge benefits for all stakeholders. As this trend continued, even if the showdown between the SuperSonics and Lakers did not make it to the finals, it would still garner national attention.

If Stern wanted to create another golden age of professional basketball during his increasingly limited tenure, following the Jordan era, it would be this season.

Professional basketball had once again become a popular entertainment.

After negotiations, the league successfully extended the broadcasting agreements with TNT, ESPN, and ABC until the summer of 2016, with the total value of the extended contracts reaching $7.5 billion US dollars.

Remember that in 2007, the big three networks had tried to lower the next broadcasting contract using the Donaghy scandal.

Initially, the offer from the three networks was 8 years for $7.4 billion.

That was the league’s low point, and a disgrace for Stern.

Professional basketball, which had successfully evolved into a global sports mega-league during his tenure as president, was facing a significant downturn after the prosperous 90s.

At a time when every practitioner felt bleak about their career prospects, Yu Fei played the homecoming card.

The league smoothly orchestrated the momentum for him, and the extended contracts with the three major networks were reduced from eight years to two years.

As it turned out, the league’s decision was correct. Yu Fei’s success in Seattle washed away the negative impact of a series of scandals arising since Kobe’s 2003 Eagle County incident.

Now it was a new era.

The $7.4 billion broadcasting contract for eight years became $7.5 billion for six years.

Following this summer, the long-stagnant NBA salary cap was set to see a significant increase next season.

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Stern could almost foresee how much effort they would have to expend next summer to quarrel with the players’ union.

The first battle of this potential storm would occur during the initial talks at the All-Star weekend in February this year.

Regardless, now was a time for celebration.

However, Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards indicated with his actions: celebrate well, but do not celebrate next time.

According to the “New York Post,” Washington Wizards teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each other in the locker room over a gambling debt dispute.