Chapter 732: Chapter 496 The Final Advice_3 Chapter 732: Chapter 496 The Final Advice_3 This was the lowest day for the SuperSonics since Yu Fei was transferred there in the summer of 2007.

After everyone dispersed, the top management regained their sanity.

Bennett found Presti and asked, “Who should we get to replace George’s job?”

“First, hold a press conference to announce this to the media,” Presti said, “after that, it would be best to ask Frye for his opinion.”

Bennett nodded heavily, “Exactly, the players know better than us who makes a better coach!”

Presti greatly admired how his boss could put ‘Without Frye’s approval, we can’t let anyone replace Karl’ in such pleasant terms.

In the afternoon, the SuperSonics held an official press conference for Karl.

“Painful chemotherapy is inevitable, and now my greatest wish is to still be able to help the team during my treatment,” Karl said, “I believe that the SuperSonics are a dynasty-level team, and no matter who takes over my job, I will provide the necessary assistance.”

The news shook the outside world.

Yu Fei’s mouthpiece, Marc Stein, said mournfully on ESPN, “This is like Michael Jordan losing Phil Jackson in 1998!”

That night, Yu Fei and Karl went to a Chinatown restaurant together.

Karl ordered mustard potstickers, bacon fried rice, lobster French crepes, and braised lamb shank–all his favorites.

After the dishes were served, the restaurant’s head chef, also a decorated Michelin-starred chef Lon Symensma, approached them: “George, Frye, is everything alright?”

Clearly, he had seen the news of the day.

“Couldn’t be better, Lon,” George said as he took a bite of lamb shank, “I will never forget this taste.”

Symensma nodded, “Enjoy your meal.”

Yu Fei silently ate his steak until Karl said, “Frye, eat more vegetables.”

Yu Fei looked at him puzzled.

“My poor diet is the main culprit for my illness,” Karl said, “If you don’t want to end up with this damn disease at my age, you better listen to me.”

Yu Fei picked up a piece of broccoli with his knife and fork, “I will take your advice.”

Afterward, they dined and talked about the past, Karl mentioned that back in Milwaukee, it was impossible to find such good restaurants.

Yu Fei admitted that was one of the reasons he had left Milwaukee.

That made Karl burst into laughter.

Yu Fei laughed as well.

Marc Stein said losing Karl was like Jordan losing Jackson.

He didn’t like the comparison.

Of course, if one had to draw a parallel to Jordan’s experiences, Karl’s departure was perhaps more akin to Jordan’s father being murdered in 1993.

His mother had long been running a business in D.C., and he only had Karl, an elder figure, by his side, who had played the role of both a mentor and a father for the past eight years, could calm him down when he couldn’t control his temper, and Karl’s timeouts always worked when his on-the-spot judgment was off.

Karl was also the only one who knew how he had gone to Milwaukee, his incredible rise, how he had moved from Milwaukee to Seattle, and how he had gone from being an American failure to an American hero.

Now, he had to stop here.

Karl’s last piece of advice was to eat more vegetables.

Yu Fei accepted that.

Later, after Karl officially left his position, Presti approached Yu Fei to ask for his opinion on the new coach.

Yu Fei opposed recruiting a new coach from the outside.

He preferred choosing a successor from Karl’s coaching team so that if Karl wanted to return later, it would be easier for the team to manage.

Thus, the SuperSonics directly abandoned the idea of external recruitment for a new coach, instead choosing the right candidate from within Karl’s coaching team.

Karl’s coaching team was quite large.

However, only four truly provided Karl with assistance in coaching.

Ron Adams, who followed Karl for many years, was poached by the Warriors last season. Now, the most experienced assistant coach is the defensive coach, Tim Grgurich, who is a townsman of Karl’s from Pittsburgh. He has experience coaching college basketball and even developed the Amoeba Defense, which is popular in both college and NBA today.

His problem is that he only understands defense, relying entirely on the players to perform offensively. This trait destined him to serve as only a defensive coach in the NBA.

Then there is John Welch, whose main responsibility is to handle statistics. His tactical knowledge, both offensive and defensive, is not enough to qualify him as a head coach.

The rest are mostly former players.

One is Adrian Dantley, a notable NBA figure, who, while serving as an assistant under Karl, mainly took charge of offensive training for the players.

Next is Tyronn Lue, whom Karl was keen on fostering.

Karl thought Lue had potential, but even with all the potential, Lue was still a player last season; now having only taken on the assistant coach role for half a season, could he really handle the responsibilities of leading?

Most importantly, Lue was still not even 33 years old.

A young man without substantial credentials, lacking systematic understanding of tactics and strategies, and devoid of knowledge about the framework of the system, could take over Karl’s SuperSonics?

Looking at Karl’s coaching roster, Presti felt nothing but despair.

Choosing anyone felt like hastening their own demise.

In the end, the decision fell into Yu Fei’s hands.

Presti could not make the decision.

This decision had to be made by Yu Fei.

These four misfits–whom do you want to lead the team?

Presti had assumed Yu Fei would choose Tim Grgurich, who had the most experience, was the most mature, and had the closest relationship with Karl.

However, Yu Fei presented an attitude of promoting the capable without avoiding relatives and directly named Tyronn Lue.

Presti panicked.

“Tyronn is too young…” Presti said, “He is not yet capable of coaching.”

Yu Fei said, “Others will help him.”

This was precisely why Presti thought Lue couldn’t become the head coach.

“If Tyronn becomes the head coach, I don’t think the other assistant coaches will offer help since each of them feels more qualified to be the head coach…”
Yu Fei said with a smile, “The others I’m referring to are players including myself.”

Presti understood then.

It wasn’t about who became the coach, but rather, whom the players wanted as the coach.

Here, Yu Fei was representing the other players; he wasn’t intending to impose his personal will on the team but stating a fact–let the players vote to choose their coach and Tyronn Lue would definitely be the assistant coach with the most votes.

There was no special reason; Lue had won just by being likable.

This was also why Karl thought he had the potential to be a good coach.

Having a rapport with everyone was a rare trait.

At that moment, Tyronn Lue’s life gears started turning.

His chance should have come in 2016; for a novice coach, six years of preparation wasn’t too much or too little. However, being thrust into the NBA’s most challenging coaching role after only half a season as an assistant was a hellish trial for any novice coach.

Tyronn Lue had no choice; he knew when the opportunity came, he had to seize it.

He accepted the role he was chosen for.

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That day, he went to see George Karl and invited the other assistant coaches to have dinner together. That evening, he told the assistant coaches about his selection. Their expressions were complicated; Karl provided guidance, and Lue remained humble.

That night, the SuperSonics’ coaching staff reached a consensus: they had to preserve the victorious fruits left by Karl. No matter who held the coaching reins, they must continue to advance as a team.

On February 16, the young commandant Tyronn Lue led the team formally on the road.

It was his first game as a coach; their opponent was the San Antonio Spurs.

The former Lakers head coach from the ’80s, envious of Magic Johnson’s accolades and the massive US Dollar 20-year, $25 million contract during the championship seasons, switched to positional play when Magic was injured in the following two seasons. Even upon Magic’s return, he refused to change his tactics, adamant on winning with his own plays. As a result, he squandered the chance to defend the title in 1981 and was ousted by Magic Johnson through palace intrigues in 1982.