On the evening of February 6, local time in the United States, there were nearly 48 hours left before the door closed on the NBA trade deadline this season.

Within 48 hours, Yang Yiming and Yu Xiaochun wanted to operate the player's transaction for the first time in their lives.

Their goal is for Derrick Rose to finally join the Rockets.

Of course, the final deal will require the assistance of the bigwigs who have been in the league for a longer time. But for now, they need to meet with Rose first and convince him of his plans to join the Rockets.

48 hours, tick-tock. Time is of the essence, and every second counts.

1/

Orlando Marriott Seaport.

Yang Yiming got off the plane and went straight here.

This hotel is very familiar to him. The Rockets were away from Orlando before, and they stayed here.

11:35 p.m.

When he entered the door, the hotel concierge obviously still had an impression of Yang Yiming and greeted him. Yang Yiming smiled and bowed. Exchanging glances with each other, the concierge suddenly realized that it was not Team Rocket who was staying today, and was about to ask, Yang Yiming put his finger to his lips and signaled not to be quiet.

There are no other new arrivals at the front desk of the hotel, only the lobby bar is still full of people. Yang Yiming glanced at it, and sure enough, he didn't see any of the players he was familiar with, so he went straight through the lobby and pressed the elevator to go up to the third floor.

The nameplate next to the button on the third floor of the elevator reads: Fitness Center/Swimming Pool.

The elevator doors opened. The lights in the gym were dimmed, Yang Yiming looked left and right, and went straight to the indoor swimming pool on the other side.

In the huge pool, there is no sound of paddling, only a black figure, floating on all fours in the middle of the blue transparent water.

He couldn't see the face of the floater clearly, but Yang Yiming knew that it was the person he was looking for.

Derrick Rose.

The thick braids on his head were soaked by the buoyancy of the water, like the tentacles of jellyfish, one by one.

Rose's body, with visible muscle textures, like a tight steel plate, is drifting with the current. His eyes were closed, as if he was enjoying the moment of relaxation.

Roses blooming in the water.

Not intending to disturb Rose, Yang Yiming tiptoed, found a deck chair by the pool, and sat down first.

2/

0:12.

The clock by the pool, silently passing through midnight.

There are less than 48 hours left until the closing of the trade.

Yang Yiming heard the sound of rustling in the pool, he turned his head to look, and found that Rose, who had been floating, turned over in the water and swam towards the shore.

Rose climbed up the handrail to the shore, and Yang Yiming greeted him and handed over a dry swimming towel.

"You...?" Rose certainly didn't expect to meet him here.

"Mr. Ross."

"Just call me Derek." Rose's voice was low, and he took the swim towel from Yang Yiming's hand and wiped his hair and upper body.

"Derek."

"Well, let's make a hit. I should have called you a bang... Is that right. ”

"Yes."

"You're coming for me?"

"Well, I flew straight from New York to Orlando. Everyone else went back to Houston. ”

"Hmm—" Rose seemed uninterested in the information, and only snorted through his nostrils.

"You played a game against the Magic at night..."

Yang Yiming regretted it a little after saying this. The Cleveland Cavaliers won and then lost the game, not only was their 16-point lead in the first half all wasted, but they only waited a pitiful 9 points in the fourth quarter.

Rose was also one of the most disappointed Cavaliers tonight, shooting 0-of-7 from the field in 15 minutes of play, with a measly 1 rebound and 2 assists.

"I'm sorry, Derek... I know, it's always bad to lose..."

"It's fine." Rose carefully dried his dreadlocks again and put the swim towel over his head, like a boxing champion who had just fought a round, his face hidden in the shadow of the bath towel.

"You seem to be playing well lately, and so are you." A phrase emerged from the shadows.

"Ahh Well, I guess so, I do. ”

Yang Yiming originally wanted to use basketball to open the conversation, but he just touched the embarrassing situation of Rose and the Cavaliers, but he didn't expect the other party to mind too much, which made him a little overwhelmed.

"Don't be embarrassed, this is what you won, and you should be proud."

"Thank you."

"How does it feel to win?"

"Not bad." This time, Yang Yiming learned to be obedient, telling the truth.

"I guess so." Ross nodded approvingly and said, "That's what basketball is, only those who win can experience all the joy." Ross sighed, "But basketball is too elusive." One moment you think you've won a game, you've won a championship, you've won the whole world, but the next moment, all of a sudden, you can't win a game. ”

"Just like we do now." Rose squeezed out a wry smile of helplessness.

Yang Yiming nodded. He had a feeling that what Rose said was not only about the Cavaliers, but probably about himself.

Maybe there is really room for convincing him to participate in the transaction.

3/

Yang Yiming has reason to think so.

As Ross said with this perhaps unintentional emotion, he is the man who once won the world on the basketball court.

The top pick in the 08 draft, playing for his hometown team Chicago Bulls, won the best rookie that season, and two seasons later at the age of 22 he was able to win the regular season MVP, becoming the first person in history.

Signing a five-year, $94 million contract with the Bulls, known as the "Rose Clause," will help all of his future rookies have the opportunity to get a 30 percent of the team's salary cap in advance. At the same time, he became the first brother in the global basketball field of Adidas, and Rose's jersey sales ranked first among all NBA players in the world that year.

Until injuries knocked him out.

Meniscus tear.

Twice.

Until he can no longer run and break through like the wind and bloom like a rose. Leaving his hometown team, being traded, becoming a free agent, being a substitute on the bench, or even being rumored to retire.

Derrick Rose seemed to have just won the whole world, changing the sky at a faster pace and slipping through his fingertips.

So when Rose finished changing his clothes, returned to the hotel room, and sat neatly dressed in front of Yang Yiming, he was a little unsure of how to speak.

When you're on an almost similar trajectory trying to grasp the world that the other person has won, how do you explain that to the other person?

"I'm sorry, I want to be like you when you are, can you help me?"

Yang Yiming assumed he couldn't say that.

Sitting in front of him was his former idol. Ross's sneakers, team uniforms, and posters, Yang Yiming has all had them. He fantasized about one day playing with Rose, from the time he started learning to play – and even becoming teammates, but it was definitely not the case at the moment:

Rose took refuge with his team.

But now they are really the most likely to play together.

He knew he had what Derrick Rose most wanted right now.

A healthy body.

A chance to win the championship.

Regain the joy of basketball.

These are enough to echo the fire of longing that still burns in the eyes of the roses. Add fuel to the fire.

The flame that seemed to ordinary people had become muddy with the change of body and face.

Only those who truly love basketball can see that Rose's flame may have dimmed, but it has never been extinguished. He also wanted to fight.

He did not bow to fate.

Yang Yiming didn't want to be the savior of the other party. The word savior sounds too dramatic, but if there is one person who can save his former idol, the 30-year-old man in front of him who has been favored and fooled by fate, Yang Yiming would rather that person be himself.

He told Rose all these thoughts one by one.

Pleading, discussing, and inducing.

Plunging into the trade market, joining the Rockets, and then doing what may be the last fight of his career will be the best choice for the former MVP at this time.

When the two chatted until the sky was bright again, Rose finally nodded in agreement.

With less than 43 hours left until the transfer deadline!