Chapter 140 Decision One

Some time has passed since the end of the 00/01 season.

Speaking of which, on this day, just as Su Feng wanted to go online to see what people were saying about him...

To his utter disbelief, American netizens were actually discussing what position he and Britney took when sleeping...

Outrageous!

"In this day and age, aren't there any serious NBA fans anymore?" Su Feng muttered, staring blankly at the computer screen.

Well... you know what, there really weren't.

Compared to the fury over bedding America's national goddess, what sort of news was the NBA?

So, to find out his current status in the hearts of American fans, Su Feng had no choice but to disguise himself as a Lakers fan and infiltrate a website created by die-hard Lakers supporters.

And here, Su Feng finally got the answer he was looking for.

"I don't think we can get too happy just yet.

Because judging from this year's Finals, I personally feel that Kobe is still one or two levels below Su.

Also, next season with the Raptors, once Jermaine comes back, their overall strength will instantly increase by a level."

"Eddie will also leave next season, right? He can't accept the minimum salary for two consecutive years.

In that case, we'll have to find a decent defensive substitute.

To be honest, looking at the overall strength of the league's perimeter players, Su is truly in a league of his own."

"Yeah, and with Su's睚眦必报 (yázìbìbào - grudge-holding) personality... I can't even imagine how strong he'll become next season."

"So, everyone, the Lakers' rise and fall still depends on us!

Don't be swayed by the recent influx of bandwagon fans!

As the Chinese say, '物极必反 (wùjí-bìfǎn - when things reach an extreme, they revert).

We can't forget the shame of getting beaten in the past two years just because of one championship."

It had to be said...

"Rational fans," regardless of the country...

In Su Feng's eyes, they were all so excellent.

Cough, you might not believe it, but in the future, after the internet becomes more developed, many NBA coaches will love to copy homework from the discussions of these rational fans.

"Actually, I'm not one or two levels stronger than Kobe...

At most, just a little bit stronger."

That day, after seeing the Lakers fans' praise of him, Su Feng felt good.

On the 29th, Su Feng watched the 2001 NBA Draft at his home in Toronto.

As an extraordinary year, the summer of 2001 was indeed very lively.

As early as February of this year, the Grizzlies' management had made up their minds during a visit to Memphis.

Because compared to the desolate Vancouver...

The citizens of Memphis were not only very interested in owning an NBA team, but also, during their visit to Memphis, the Grizzlies' management, who had once been disheartened with the NBA, regained their confidence in the NBA.

It wasn't that the NBA wasn't attractive enough, but that we had chosen the wrong home!

Heaven knows how miserable the Grizzlies' management had been these past two years under the Raptors' dimensional strike.

Therefore, on March 16, after the locals in Memphis passed a public vote expressing their willingness to become the Grizzlies' new home, the Grizzlies, from the management to the old man who opened the stadium doors, were ready to move at any time.

"In Memphis, everyone is holding 'NBA.now' signs, and many of them have even spray-painted their cars and homes with the Grizzlies' logo.

I think we have no reason to refuse Memphis as our next home.

Goodbye, Canada, goodbye, Vancouver!"

Well...

Now, Canada will only have the Raptors left.

And...

In Su Feng's eyes...

This Grizzlies team, as soon as it moved, had the potential to become the next super team.

Because in the 2001 NBA Draft, just like in Su Feng's memory, the Grizzlies used their star forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim to trade with the Hawks for the 2001 third overall pick...

Pau Gasol.

In addition, with the sixth overall pick in the first round, they also took Grant Hill's underclassman, Shawn "The President" Battier.

Plus Baron Davis, who had already completed his training...

No matter how you look at it, this Grizzlies team had a bright future.

In comparison...

Jordan, who was planning to come back and get beaten, seemed very "happy" to Su Feng.

Because ever since his retirement, Jordan's EQ and IQ hadn't just regressed...

It was as if he didn't understand basketball at all.

With the first overall pick in this year's draft, the Washington Wizards, just like in Su Feng's memory, selected Kwame Brown.

Admittedly, in terms of talent, Brown deserved to be the number one pick.

But due to certain physiological deficiencies, plus the fact that Brown was just a kid at this time...

Therefore, in Su Feng's opinion, it was only a matter of time before Brown's mentality would be destroyed by Jordan.

It was worth mentioning that after selecting Kwame Brown, Jordan even called Su Feng triumphantly.

At this time, Su Feng knew that even without 911 in this life, Jordan would most likely choose to come back.

Because clearly, Su Feng's performance in nearly dominating the NBA in the past two years had made Jordan restless.

"Kwame is fantastic! I've watched his games, and he can definitely become an even better player than Ben!" Jordan said to Su Feng on the phone.

Hearing this, Su Feng, knowing that Jordan wanted to give him a warning, wasn't afraid at all. He lazily asked, "Really?"

"Of course! How could my judgment be wrong?

In this league, besides you, who understands basketball better than me?" Jordan laughed.

Su Feng: "..."

Well...

He didn't know why, but if Jordan had to say that, Su Feng really wanted to be an out-of-touch fatso.

"Poor Kwame Brown..."

After hanging up the phone with Jordan, Su Feng had already mourned for Kwame Brown for three seconds in his heart.

As a draft that bridged the gap between the past and the future in Su Feng's memory, the 2001 NBA Draft also differed from Su Feng's memory in many key selections.

With the second overall pick, Baylor this time steadily selected Tyson Chandler, the former American high school student who had been beaten by Yao Ming in the past.

However, due to the impression that Su Feng had left on people by beating O'Neal before being too rigid, in the fourth overall pick...

The Bulls wavered between choosing "the next Su Feng" and "the next O'Neal."

However, don't cry, Bulls front office...

Because in Su Feng's eyes, neither Eddy Curry nor Joe Johnson...

Could become the next him, or the next O'Neal.

In the end, the Bulls selected Joe Johnson.

After the Bulls selected Joe Johnson, the Warriors were overjoyed and selected Eddy Curry as if they had found a bargain.

It had to be said that before Logo Man and old Nelson brought wisdom to the people of Golden State...

Oakland, this damn place...

Was just so stupid.

It was one thing to select Eddy Curry...

Did you know that after selecting this guy, the Warriors' management actually claimed in an interview that Eddy Curry's talent was equal to two Yao Mings.

"So... how much courage did Fish Leong give this Warriors team to say such mindless things?" Su Feng thought in confusion.

As a result, with the Warriors being foolish, the Timberwolves, who were not punished in this life, decisively traded up for a draft pick and selected Carter's successor with the sixth overall pick in the first round...

Jason Richardson.

In addition, the Cavaliers selected Diop with the seventh overall pick, and the Rockets selected Richard Jefferson.

Next, it was time for the Toronto front office staff to start showing off their skills.

"John, the Spurs have traded down their draft pick, should we change our original plan?"

"Huh?"

No...

How poor were the Spurs to do something like trade down a draft pick?

At this moment, Davis was dumbfounded.

Because the Raptors, who were originally planning to trade up for a draft pick to intercept Tony Parker...

Now, it seemed that they only needed to stay where they were.

When Su Feng learned of this news, he wasn't surprised at all.

Because in his original timeline, if the Spurs didn't select Parker, Parker might have even fallen to the second round.

First, NBA teams in this era generally didn't value European guards very much. Second, without confirming whether international players could immediately land in the NBA, there weren't many teams willing to bet on international players. And third...

If it weren't for encountering himself, a cheater, Popovich's operation to trade down in this year's draft would have become a classic.

In short...

This wave was Su Feng's dimensional strike on Popovich.

Because before the Raptors planned to select Parker...

Apart from Su Feng himself firmly believing that Parker's strength was no less than Nash's, the Toronto scouts knew nothing about this young man from France.

Therefore, how could the Spurs have imagined that the Raptors would use their 27th overall pick in the first round to intercept them, who had just completed a trade with the Celtics and gotten Bruce Bowen for free?

However...

After learning that the Spurs had used their 18th overall pick to trade with the Celtics' 28th overall pick, Su Feng immediately became vigilant.

Because in this life, with the Spurs not selecting Duncan, Su Feng had made preparations in this year's draft.

That was, the Spurs might not choose Parker, but would instead pick a reliable player from the 2001 interior group.

After all, this Spurs team already had Billups.

However...

Judging from the Spurs' wave of trading down, Su Feng could be 100% certain...

Popovich was planning to select Parker.

Then, that also meant...

The Spurs were planning to trade Billups in the upcoming summer.

"Was Billups really that hard to train when he was young?" Su Feng wondered, stroking his chin.

In any case, as one of the most intriguing parts of the NBA, after clearing up the Spurs' thoughts, Su Feng didn't need to worry too much about the Raptors' operation to intercept Parker.

The only thing that Su Feng was more worried about...

Was...

The 2001 first-round 18th overall pick that the Celtics had obtained by trading Bowen and their own draft pick.

Arnold Auerbach.

The "Red Auerbach" who still refused to bow to the new era...

If you really have the ability, then prove to me who you'll choose next!

Madison Square Garden, about 10 minutes later, Auerbach gave Su Feng the answer.

Because he had felt O'Neal's unparalleled power in this year's Finals...

So, after painfully parting with Bowen, the Celtics selected another fat man from Indiana in this year's draft...

A fat man who, in Su Feng's previous life, had worked with Marc Gasol to make Duncan lose his composure in the playoffs.

Zach Randolph.

Although Randolph was a whole size smaller than O'Neal in terms of physique...

In Auerbach's opinion, at least this guy could carry.

In addition, during Randolph's workout, this fat man's mid-range shot also attracted Auerbach.

As everyone knew, the key to the Raptors' sweep of the Lakers in the past two years was their famous "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy.

Because the Raptors' lineup in the 98/99 season was too strong, in Auerbach's eyes, the 99/00 season was more valuable as a reference.

As a result, Auerbach found that although O'Neal was badly beaten in the game at that time, because he had a considerable range, he not only successfully created space for Su Feng, but also restrained O'Neal to a certain extent.

Therefore, although Randolph had many problems in the scouting report, Auerbach, who had always been good at managing troubled children, was not afraid at all.

Because in Auerbach's own words...

Geniuses were always different, like Patrick Star.

"Duncan plus Randolph... what kind of magical combination is this?"

Toronto, Su Feng was shocked.

But in addition to being shocked...

The Celtics' choice was actually okay in Su Feng's opinion.

Because the Celtics' luxury tax was already full, unless they were willing to pay more money in the future, they could only use Randolph for a maximum of four years.

And if it was four years...

Based on his current plan to stay with the Raptors for another two years...

The Raptors, with a max-level O'Neal, were not afraid of this Randolph who had just left the novice village.

Moreover, considering that he would also need time to develop after changing teams in the future...

So this wave...

Other teams would probably suffer.

"Shaq, cry, cry, it's not a sin, even the strongest person has the right to choose to hug thighs~"

Toronto, just as Su Feng was humming a song...

Madison Square Garden, shortly after the Kings selected Gerald Wallace, under Popovich's astonished gaze, the Raptors "fully paid" for Parker, the top supercar, with the 27th overall pick in the first round of 2001.

And now...

Popovich, who was still dreaming of using Billups to trade for a pile of building blocks, supplemented by Parker, so that they could take off in place...

Almost had a heart attack on the spot!

And Parker, who was sitting at the draft site in New York, was stunned for a moment!

Tor...

Toronto Raptors?

No...

Had I ever gone to Toronto for a workout?

Also, no Raptors scout had contacted me in the past year...

"Hey, Tony, pay attention when you're being interviewed later, try to say more good things about the Raptors!

Because Toronto just called me, and they promised me that you'll be an important part of their team next season!"

Parker: "!!!"

Sorry, please forgive Parker's slip-up just now.

Because as a player who was only 19 years old...

Plus, he had been living under the influence of the French media all day...

He really couldn't control his emotions.

After all...

Su Feng was his idol.

Therefore, did the three lives and three generations that had been agreed with the Spurs matter anymore?

Of course not.

What mattered was that Parker would be wearing the Raptors' jersey next season.

And he would appear in the French media, next to the great Su Feng.

See, in the eyes of Su Feng haters, that dunk by Su Feng at the 2000 Sydney Olympics was just two points.

But in the eyes of the fans, that dunk...

Was more than just a sky?

"Popovich wants to trade with us?"

Toronto, John Davis was amused when he heard the temporary news reported by the front-line operations team.

Then, he immediately replied to the Raptors' front-line operations team: "They want Tony Parker, right?

Okay, let them use Chauncey Billups to trade for him!"

Chau...

Chauncey your mother!

Wake up, John, Parker is just a rookie at this time, and Billups is a star guard who can score "16+7" per game!

Use a star guard to trade for your rookie?

Popovich exploded on the spot.

Because he had never seen anyone as black-hearted as Davis in his life!

And what made Popovich even angrier was...

When Parker went to the stage to give his acceptance speech, he not only didn't mention the Spurs, but also said word by word: "When I was very young, I dreamed that one day I could play with 'the.king'!

Therefore, I'm very grateful that the Raptors used this draft pick to select me!"

Popovich: "..."

These days, were murders all about heart stabbing?

No love, completely no love.

So, after picking up a Jamal Tinsley with a reverse hand, Popovich decided to find a toilet to cry in for a while.

At this time, with the start of the second round of the draft, Su Feng was also in trouble.

Because clearly, he had misremembered Jason Collins' pick.

As early as the first round, Collins had been selected by the Rockets.

But fortunately, the second-round rookies in 2001 were good enough.

For example, the famous Arenas was still sitting at the draft site in self-isolation...

However, Su Feng had never considered this guy from the beginning.

Because of style and personality issues, after the Raptors selected Arenas, they couldn't let him watch the water fountain, right?

Then wait for him to shoot commercials in the future, using the Raptors as the background?

What a joke, with Su Feng, Carter, Nash, and Parker, with Su Feng and Carter able to play off-ball, there was enough basketball to go around.

Therefore, Su Feng wouldn't do the stupid thing that some short-cut coaches did in their articles, "hmm selecting" a bunch of star players and putting them aside, and then fantasizing that they could play well.

In short, building a team was like building your own computer.

You had to do it according to your budget and the performance you wanted.

Otherwise, the kind of thing that happened to Huang Xiang, who spent tens of thousands of dollars to build a computer, but its performance was crushed by someone else's two-thousand-dollar computer, was too common on the basketball court.

And so, after trading up a few spots and adding a little cash to the second-round 21st overall pick, the Raptors selected Jason Collins' younger brother...

Jarron Collins.

Both brothers were good interior role players, with similar performance and roles, so after making the mistake, Su Feng found that the Raptors seemed to have earned something...

After all, in this way, Su Feng didn't have to worry about anyone throwing soap when he and Ben were showering.

Similar to what Su Feng remembered, the Warriors still selected Arenas with the second pick in the second round.

As for Okur, the high-position artillery from Turkey, he was selected by the Pistons.

At this point, the 2001 NBA Draft came to an end, and Su Feng was ready to start his pleasant cultivation journey.

…

Before starting his summer cultivation, Su Feng opened the Iron-Making System as usual.

In the 00/01 season, due to completing the "Devil's Challenge" mission, plus the entire second half of the season, Su Feng was madly scoring and madly bricking, so after completing this season, Su Feng had a total of 2.975 billion Iron-Making points, excluding the Iron-Making points he had accumulated before.

In addition, because he won the scoring title this season, Su Feng also successfully completed the legendary fragment filling of the "Su Feng.no1" and "Su Feng is the most handsome" areas.

While receiving a reward of 450 million Iron-Making points, Su Feng could continue to piece together the next large area of these two areas.

In other words...

In the 00/01 season alone, Su Feng received 3.425 billion Iron-Making points!

"Then it looks like I can complete the 10 billion goal in two more seasons!"

Looking at the system interface, Su Feng vaguely saw his beautiful and bright future.

The fake future warrior, LeBron James x.

The real future warrior, Su Feng √.

Iron-Making System, yes!

"Huh, am I this close to getting the [Evergreen] badge?"

In addition, while appreciating his legendary moment tree diagram, Su Feng also found that he only needed to light up three more fragments to get the [Evergreen] badge that he had always dreamed of.

As a super plug-in that could delay the decline in ability caused by aging after the age of 30, the [Evergreen] badge was one of the key cores for Su Feng to hammer Stephen Curry into a six-time runner-up in the future.

Therefore, looking at the final requirements for obtaining the [Evergreen] badge...

Su Feng didn't have the mood to learn English with Britney.

Before the age of 30, win a league assist title.

Before the age of 30, complete a single season with 400+ three-pointers.

Before the age of 30, win three scoring titles.

To be honest, looking at the last three fragments of the [Evergreen] badge, Su Feng always felt that this Iron-Making System was hinting at something to him.

Because looking at it this way, even if he planned to stay with the Raptors, this system would force him to make "Decision One"?

After all, if he continued to stay with the Raptors, judging from the Raptors' current personnel composition, it would be difficult for Su Feng to light up that league assist title fragment.

But when he left the Raptors and formed a "single-core team," this fragment would be very easy to light up in Su Feng's opinion.

Because at that time, Su Feng would not only launch an attack on the assist title, but he would even make a good example for Westbrook before he entered the league.

"Speaking of which, I'm also very close to the next upgrade of [Dead Eye]..."

It had to be said that, just like ESPN said, the 00/01 season was an extremely great season for Su Feng personally.

Because as long as [Dead Eye] could be upgraded two more times...

Su Feng would be very close to breaking the limitations of double-motion shooting.

In short, a bright future had been placed in front of Su Feng.

Next, what he needed to do was to make two improvements in this summer.

On the one hand, he planned to maintain his weight at around 108 kilograms.

At this weight, he could both tank and output, and he would not only not reduce his speed ability too much, but also further enjoy the benefits of the NBA canceling the HC rules.

On the other hand, it was special training in breakthroughs and passing.

Judging from Su Feng's current ability values in these two areas, his dribbling, even if it couldn't compare with the likes of Irving and Iverson, was at least a small Curry.

Therefore, how to develop more suitable breakthrough skills while conserving physical energy was the task that Su Feng had assigned to Grover and Mancias at the end of the playoffs.

And passing...

In the past two years, with Nash's help, Su Feng's current passing ability value had already exceeded the NBA's passing line.

Therefore, in this aspect, Su Feng also needed Frazier to help him optimize his play choices on the court.

It was worth mentioning that on this day, just as Su Feng quickly finalized his improvement plan, he also received calls from the Basketball Association and Nike.

The former, as usual, asked Su Feng if he was willing to represent the national team in the Asian Championships this summer.

The latter needed Su Feng to attend an event that would be held in Miami.

If Su Feng remembered correctly, in the 2001 Shanghai Men's Basketball Asian Championships, the Chinese men's basketball team playing at home was relatively easy to win the championship.

Apart from a large-scale conflict with Lebanon in the group stage, the men's basketball team's road to defending the title would not encounter too many obstacles in this Asian Championships.

Therefore, this year, not only did Su Feng not plan to participate in the Asian Championships, but he even planned to persuade Lao Hu and Yao Ming, who had participated in the playoffs, to withdraw from this Asian Championships.

As for Wang Zhizhi, who had won the championship but didn't get a few minutes of playing time, and Battier, who had been resting at home since April...

They naturally had to let them train...

After all, they were idle anyway, and it was time for Xiao Wang and Xiao Ba to shoulder the burden of the national team!

"Oh, my damn seniority and status!"

Of course, before Wang Zhizhi and Battier went to the Asian Championships, Su Feng also specially instructed them...

If Lebanon was still playing dirty in the game this time, then please remember to let Zhu Fangyu, who had been promoted from the national youth team, be ruthless.

What a joke, fighting?

Who among those dummies in Lebanon was Zhu Fangyu's opponent?

Not to brag, as long as Zhu Fangyu was in this Asian Championships, Su Feng wouldn't have to worry about the men's basketball team losing this fight at all.

"Su, has Nike sent you a notice yet?

This Miami event is specially organized by Nike for you, Vince, and Yao, so don't forget it when the time comes." On this day, perhaps because he was worried that Su Feng was having too much fun with Britney, Su Feng's agent, Duffy, specially called him.

Hearing this...

Su Feng always felt that Duffy had a bit of a misunderstanding about him...

"In addition, Pat Riley also contacted me through private channels, and he wants to meet you while you're in Miami for this event. What do you think?" At the end of the call, Duffy said to Su Feng.

And now...

Su Feng suddenly became energetic!

Oh?

Pat Riley?

Interesting.

Judging from Su Feng's career plan, when his "4+1" contract with the Raptors entered that 1, he would definitely jump out of the contract...

So counting down, it should be the summer before the start of the 03/04 season.

In other words...

That would be the key node for the 03 Golden Generation to enter the league.

Therefore...

Riley and his Heat...

Hmm...

Hmm!

According to the NBA's rules, this kind of private meeting between coaches and players did not violate the regulations.

Even if it did, the league couldn't do anything about Riley and Su Feng.

After all, Riley and Su Feng were meeting as good friends this time.

Plus, Su Feng still had a contract at this time, so Riley wouldn't have the restrictions of representing the team and contacting players in private.

So, Su Feng was very curious about what Riley wanted to talk to him about this time...

Anyway, if Riley wanted to chat about everyday life, Su Feng would just make a friend.

And if Riley wanted to talk to him about the Decision One...

Then Su Feng would have to have a good chat with Riley.

…

ps: The first update is here! Another 7.5k super chapter! Continue to beg for double monthly tickets!

ps2: Why don't you handsome readers guess Su Feng's "Decision One" in advance? Because when the time comes, if Qiao Ba exposes all the foreshadowing, it will be meaningless to guess again. And the plot of Su Feng leaving the team after the end of the 4+1 contract is already clear, so this is not considered a spoiler.
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