The league is demanding that NBA teams' preseason camps be transparent with the media, driven by David Stern's "close to the public" policy.

He wanted the outside world to know what NBA teams were doing at this time.

As the most trafficked sports site on the internet in the United States, ESPN won't miss this opportunity.

They sent all of their sports reporters who were dedicated to NBA writing, Mark Stein, Howard Cooper, Lawrence May, David Aldridge

Among them, the person who is most fascinated by basketball is undoubtedly Mark Stein. He's determined to be the ultimate in the NBA Observer.

Stein's first stop was the Washington Wizards, while his second stop was the Milwaukee Bucks.

Yesterday he didn't get the chance to interview Jordan.

When he asked Doug Collins what he was trading for Fei, Collins was in a difficult position.

"That's the NBA, and when a trade happens, it happens."

Collins said a word of nonsense.

Stein didn't get an answer, so he wanted an answer from Yu Fei.

That's why he chose the Bucks for his second stop.

Speaking of which, he also has a relationship with the bucks. Before the start of last season, he predicted that the Bucks would advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with a second-place record in the East and then lose to the Magic, who were first in the East.

As a result, the Bucks didn't make the playoffs, and the Magic were all supported by Maddy after Grant Hill's reimbursement and only managed to make a first-round pick.

In all fairness, can he be blamed for poisoned milk? He wasn't the only one who was optimistic about the Bucks and the Magic at that time. In fact, the Bucks did mean that at the start of the season.

They started the tournament with a 9-1 record and looked like they weren't going to take second place in the East, but first place in the East.

Then the Bucks went to Waterloo and started to lose constantly. Losing not only stirs up old conflicts, but also new ones, and George Carr is a coach who never shy away from issues and likes to criticize his players in front of the media. The Bucks' new signing, Anthony Mason, was also blunt. The Bucks' original three musketeers also said they didn't like Karl's criticism.

The Bucks fell from No. 1 in the East to the brink of the playoffs at incredible speed.

"What's going to happen this year?"

This is what Stein asked George Carr.

"Let's wait and see!" Karl repeated, "Let's wait and see! ”

How about Fry?

"Better than I expected." "You can see what makes him extraordinary even if you just look at him from the sidelines, he's the kind of plug-and-play type of player. ”

Later, Stein comes to Sprewell, and he wonders if the madman back home is used to the coldness of Milwaukee.

"It's really not as bustling as New York, and I can't find much entertainment, but it helps me focus on basketball."

How do you get along with Frye?

'We're still getting to know each other, but I think he's the kind of guy who can play well, and you can tell that at a glance.'

Sprewell's assessment of Fly is surprisingly consistent with that of George Carr, which amuses Stein.

Stein then walked to Anthony Mason, the root of all evil in the lottery, to the recognized "culprit" who allowed the Bucks to slide from the Eastern Conference runner-up to the lottery.

As a voice advocate who was more willing to criticize his teammates after the game than the manager, Mason defended himself in front of Stein: "There are problems that have to be pointed out, a team that doesn't face up to problems has no future, and I never regret it. However, there are a lot of new players this year and I think they are all very good, so I feel like I need to make some changes. But if I see the obvious problem and we don't change it, you'll still hear me pick up the microphone and say something that doesn't sound good. ”

There are a lot of people complaining about Ling's ball handling problems, what do you think?

"It's not a problem, it's my habit."

How about Fry?

"Don't look at him as a sophomore, I don't think there's anyone better than him."

Before asking Yu Fei a question, Stein still needs to meet with the "only remaining musketeers".

Ray Allen is a pleasant interviewer, not as rude as most black players, and he talks elegantly, like a white man in a black skin.

Stein didn't have racism, but he felt that if every black person was as knowledgeable as Ray Allen, racism would disappear completely.

Another reason why the Bucks were on their way last season was that the loss caused the conflict between Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson to intensify.

Milwaukee's barren media energy downplays the Bucks' internal struggles.

But Stein learned from his sources that the two had struggled to get along late in the season.

That's why the Bucks have to trade one of them.

"Has your relationship with Glenn been repaired?"

This is a question Stein posed to Ray Allen.

Aaron replied, "Fix a relationship that never existed?" No, I wouldn't do that. ”

"Will the departure of many old faces affect your preparations?"

"No, I'm a forward-looking person."

"Who is the leader of St. Francis?"

"I hope it's me, but it's an open matter."

Then, Stein asked the key point: "Do you think Frye will be that person?" ”

Ray Allen's eyes were like lightning, staring at Stein, "He has this potential." ”

Stein knew Aaron's ambitions, and he knew how unpleasant it was for him to admit that Yu Fei, a sophomore, had the qualifications to compete for the boss.

Unfortunately, Rey-ray, this is the real world.

Stein walked towards Yu Fei.

That all-saint francis training center with the help of three people.

Moreover, Stein knew that those three people were not Bucks insiders, but Yu Fei's trainer, physical trainer, and assistant.

"Fry, can I interview you?"

Anthony Lawson wanted to come over and get rid of Stein because Yu Fei's training wasn't over yet.

But Yu Fei stopped him, "Tony, take a break, Mark is my friend." ”

Since Yu Fei wanted to rest, Lawson naturally had nothing to say.

Yu Fei and Stein walked to the sidelines and asked, "Mark, I heard you went yesterday."

Stein looked at Yu Fei in surprise.

Although this is not a secret, there are only two possibilities for Yu Fei to know so quickly, one is that he will follow his own column, and the other is that he still has sources.

Stein didn't believe that Yu Fei would be idle enough to chase after his own article.

So there's only one answer.

"Well, I watched their training yesterday."

"How's it going?"

"It looks good, the Wizards haven't had such an exciting roster in years."

Do Jordan, Cassel, and Starkerhouse add up to make people think about it?

All right

But Yu Fei feels better than the bucks.

If their boss is a little more arrogant and matches Michael Reed's 4-year $12 million, then their strongest four are: Yu Fei himself, Ray Allen, Ratriel Sprewell, and Michael Reed.

You could even call this lineup the "Big Four".

Stein then went on to ask, "Are you still used to it in Milwaukee?" ”

"The shape of the basketball here is the same, the air is the same, and the fans have heads and faces, so what's not to be used to?"

"What do you think about trading you?"

"I'm grateful for that."

Yu Fei's answer made Mark Stein stop thinking for a while.

Grateful?

Well?

Stein looked at Yu Fei seriously: "What is there to be grateful for in this matter?" ”

"I think everybody knows that it was the choice between me and MJ, and that's why I'm grateful to them. It's a testament to how stupid they are, and working for such a stupid franchise is undoubtedly a disaster for me. Five years from now, I'll be the best player in the league, probably not, and MJ will disappear without a trace in professional basketball. They then chose MJ between those two futures, and I'm grateful that I got rid of such a stupid team. ”

Since entering the alliance, Yu Fei has always been known for "daring to speak".

In his rookie season, there are already two classic quotes that are widely circulated: "I didn't lose when the team lost" and "he said he was going to trade me".

But Stein didn't expect Yu Fei to say this point so bluntly.

This made Stein extremely excited, because this was obviously not all Yu Fei wanted to express.

"Can I put these words of yours in my column?" Stein asked cautiously.

Yu Fei said freely: "Isn't this your job?" ”

Stein is arguably the ESPN writer who admires Yu Fei the most, and he is also a rare NBA observer who clearly stood on Yu Fei's side in the "He Said He Wanted to Trade Me" incident.

Now, he finds that he can not only become a supporter of Yu Fei, but even a fan of the other party.

"Is there anything you'd like to say about your relationship with MJ?"

"Nope. My relationship with him is like the two poles in the yin-yang diagram, mutually exclusive, always, and you have all seen it. ”

Stein felt that he had received enough information today.

So he asked the final question: "Is there anything else you'd like to say about MJ?" ”

For a long time, Jordan's team has always had an advantage in public opinion, because Yu Fei has no media power of his own.

His media power mainly comes from his agent and Reebok, but there are still many players under these two sides, and unless Yu Fei grows into the best player under their command, their media power will not go all out to support Yu Fei.

Therefore, Yu Fei needs his own media power. How strong this force is, whether it is Jordan now or James in the future, has shown him.

That's why he courted Mark Stein, ESPN's second-most popular writer in basketball, largely because of the volume he writes. He writes an average of ten articles a week, far more than many of his colleagues, including Bill Simmons.

This is a person worth wooing.

Therefore, Yu Fei is very willing to provide the other party with the information they want.

"Just because I was traded to Milwaukee doesn't mean I'm losing the competition with MJ. Rather, it was because I almost won the competition that I was traded. Because MJ can't fail, Nike needs MJ to succeed, it needs MJ's influence, and MJ hates me, that's why I was traded to Milwaukee. However, it is good that I don't have to continue to compete with a player who is also the owner. Since he traded me by any means, I can only wish him good luck, but I must say that he is no longer the flying man in your eyes, he is a coward who is afraid of failure, and whoever wants to refute this must first figure out why I was traded. ”

In the end, Yu Fei said as predicted: "I will live better than him, this is my determination, I will succeed in Milwaukee, this is the only way to prove the stupidity of this deal." ”

A day later, Mark Stein's "Bucks Training Camp Sights" caused an uproar.

Five days later, the Bucks announced that they had matched Michael Reed to a four-year, $12 million contract, a 3+1 contract with a final year player option.

Two days later, the Bucks held a press conference.

Yu Fei is in the middle like the appointed leader, flanked by owner Herb Cole and head coach George Carr.

What are the Bucks' goals for the upcoming season?

Owner Cole said: "I've been thinking about Michael's [Reed's] contract for the past few days and I know the luxury tax will cost me if we keep him. But Fry wanted to play with Michael, and George thought Michael could help the team, so I made up my mind. We don't want to get back into the playoffs, we want to compete for championships, that's what we're aiming for. We were the second-best team in the East last year, and after bringing in so many good players, there's no reason why we can't be the best. ”

(End of chapter)