Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1140 - 629: Unique_2
Chapter 1140 -629: Unique_2
Or rather, he didn’t have the right to oppose.
The core players of the Clippers were all personally directed by Fei to management for selection, trade, even going himself to recruit.
Although at the beginning of these operations, the management was ridiculed, now, nobody dares to laugh at the Clippers’ maneuvers.
Rivers also got the most talented team of his coaching career.
If a disliked Player GM can do things to this extent, then his authority is irresistible.
Rivers wouldn’t ponder whether the GOAT’s autocracy, ignoring him and making decisions on his own, would undermine the authority of the coaching staff; he just knew that the GOAT wouldn’t ruin his own team at the end of his career.
If he has never done anything wrong, then all you have to do is to heed his command and charge forward.
Fei noticed Antetokounmpo’s displeasure.
The Greek had every reason to be unhappy.
As the super Rising Star with cornerstone potential under the age of 24 in the eyes of the general managers of all 30 NBA teams, he has been heavily courted since his debut and is also a highly promoted superstar by Reebok.
Long before Jokić arrived, he believed he had the ability to take over Fei’s position.
After Jokić came, even though he knew Fei valued him, he didn’t think this undisciplined Serbian fatty could pose a threat to him.
He had been selected to the All-Star game for three consecutive years, and this year even became a starter, which could be considered top ten in popularity across the League.
Jokić? He slacked off right after becoming an All-Star, played a terrible game without criticism, and was given the team’s primary ball-handling responsibilities to accommodate him.
The Clippers’ next stop is the Denver highlands.
The executives of the Nuggets watched Jokić eagerly; they once regarded him as a draft target years ago, only to be intercepted by the Clippers.
Of course, such feelings of regret came with strong hindsight.
If the Denver folks knew Jokić was this outstanding, they would never have chosen him in the second round.
However, as Jokić exploded for 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists on the Denver highlands with the primary ball-handling rights, the Nuggets’ management couldn’t help but lament to reporters, “Nikola was supposed to be a member of the Nuggets.”
At that time, Antetokounmpo displayed his remarkable athletic talent to the Denver audience with two coast-to-coast slam dunks starting beyond the three-point line.
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“Giannis is a human wormhole—unlimited limbs and impossible strides, overturning our understanding of space,” praised Jeff Van Gundy.
Reebok’s marketing machine also hyped up Antetokounmpo as a seven-foot-tall Magic Johnson.
Promotion is one thing; Antetokounmpo believing in it himself is another.
Is Antetokounmpo really a taller version of Magic Johnson? Of course not.
But in the main timeline, the Bucks, with Antetokounmpo as the absolute core, could afford to spend the entire rookie contract period to mold him into a seven-foot Magic Johnson. When they found that this approach didn’t work, the architect of the plan, Jason Kidd, was fired. He was promptly replaced by Mike Budenholzer, who had a clearer vision of how to harness the Greek’s talents.
Budenholzer immediately put the almost fully developed Antetokounmpo at power forward, paired with Brook Lopez, who had developed a three-point shot, thus beginning the Greek’s journey towards back-to-back MVPs.
However, the Clippers’ Greek Freak had not truly failed in the strict sense.
His only failure to date was losing in the divisional finals during his rookie season with Fei.
But is reaching the divisional finals in the rookie season really considered a failure?
Afterward, they achieved back-to-back championships; Antetokounmpo never encountered any setbacks. Restricted by the opponent? With the GOAT as a safety net and a strong team to cover for him, he was never targeted as the primary problem, so he could still dream of being a seven-foot Magic Johnson.
But Fei wants to enjoy his later years; he doesn’t have the time to let the Greek trial and error, so he directly established Jokić’s status.
The Greek’s mentality and expectation issues can be adjusted slowly because he can’t turn the sky upside down right now.
Antetokounmpo did not confront Fei’s decision with a negative attitude.
He just looked unhappy, but he still knew he needed to give it his all.
To provide more training time for the team’s rookies, the Clippers also established “night training sessions.”
Usually, only rookies and fringe players would attend, but from that day on, Antetokounmpo began attending night training sessions.
He still seemed naive, attributing Jokić’s gain of the primary ball handling rights to his own shortcomings and lack of effort.
But he was only half right.
His performance as a seven-foot Magic Johnson wasn’t good enough, but lack of effort? Fei could say with certainty, he had never seen any player train more desperately than the Greek.
Although most African American players in the United States come from chaotic streets, armed with stories like, “If I didn’t play basketball, I might have died in gang shootings or gone to jail for drug trafficking,” most of these are just for sculpting the narrative of the American Dream. But the Greek truly grew up as an illegal immigrant and was not recognized by the Greek government until he was drafted by the Clippers.
Such a person would never tank; without opportunities, he’d create them.
Thus, Fei was not at all worried about any issues arising with the Greek.
Then, the NBA season progressed to its busiest phase.
Trade deadline.
The Clippers’ roster is complete, however, first-round pick Pascal Siakam’s adaptability to the NBA clearly wasn’t as good as Brogdon’s.
