Chapter 740: Chapter 498: Countdown to the Fall of the Empire (Combined)_4 Chapter 740: Chapter 498: Countdown to the Fall of the Empire (Combined)_4 Therefore, he couldn’t miss the opportunity to strengthen the team.

You do your best and let the heavens do the rest, that’s all.

This was the first NBA trade deadline of the 2010s, and even when considering the history of the NBA, it could compete for the most thrilling trade deadline ever. Had the Nuggets not dropped out halfway, many more significant events would have occurred.

But the thunderbolt had been placed, and the Nuggets’ bomb would explode in the summer.

Even without Denver’s self-inflicted blow, the trades that took place on the deadline were enough to drive sports journalists crazy.

The most unexpected thing was that the SuperSonics actually stood pat.

Presti kept his word–no trades meant no trades, even if the sky fell, he wouldn’t budge.

Seeing that strong teams from both the Eastern and Western conferences had made reinforcements, Presti patiently waited for news from the trade market.

The day after the trade deadline ended, the Cleveland Cavaliers bought out Larry Hughes.

This was the opportunity Presti had been waiting for.

Hughes’ contract was substantial, but since the Cavaliers lacked competitiveness in the short term, rather than paying him to stay, they let him go. Since they couldn’t trade him away, their only option left was a buyout.

Hughes wasn’t so bad that even the Cavaliers didn’t need him; it’s just that, for strong teams, it wasn’t worth making a trade for him. If he were bought out, then signing him for a minimum salary would be an extremely cost-effective deal.

As a guard who was capable on both offense and defense, Hughes held tremendous value off the bench.

The Lakers, Mavericks, SuperSonics, and Celtics all threw their hat in the ring for him.

This kind of recruitment is often accompanied by promises from the team’s core players.

Thus, Presti asked Yu Fei to make a recruitment call to Hughes.

“What do you want me to say?” Yu Fei joked, “Come to us, we need you to help us win the championship?”

Presti asked, “Haven’t you ever spoken to him during the numerous times you’ve faced off on the court?”

“I’ve questioned his defense many times on the court…”

Presti had a bit of a headache.

“You still have to make this call,” Presti said, “The Lakers are recruiting him, too. I heard LeBron made three phone calls.”

Yu Fei replied, “I think one call from me should be enough.”

“As long as you make the call.”

Presti was genuinely worried Yu Fei wouldn’t make the call.

But Yu Fei knew the situation; whether Hughes joined or not didn’t have a major impact on the big picture, but the team had to do something to counter the public’s perception; Presti needed Hughes to join.

Everyone in the SuperSonics knew that Presti wasn’t inactive in trade dealings simply because he didn’t want to trade; it was because they couldn’t execute a trade to improve the team’s capability. Doing nothing was the best option.

But the insiders knew, while the outside world cared not for these matters.

Look at the Lakers, look at the Spurs, look at the Mavericks, look at how they were doing it?

Yu Fei made the call to Hughes.

He began with a question: “Do you want to win the championship?”

“Why is that everyone’s first sentence?”

“So, do you want the championship?”

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“I guess.”

“If you want to win the championship, your choices should only be Seattle and Los Angeles,” Yu Fei said indifferently, “But you have already played in Cleveland with LeBron; you know he can’t do it.”

Hughes asked, “How do you know Kobe can’t do it?”

“After leaving Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe has achieved nothing,” Yu Fei said “humbly,” “I’ve been lucky, six championships in the past seven years. Of course, you can bet on Los Angeles, but before you decide, it might be best to call PJ Brown, Gary Payton, or anyone else who ever turned me down.”

A day later, Larry Hughes signed a one-year minimum salary contract with the Seattle SuperSonics.