On July 1, 2007, the Milwaukee Bucks declared: "We are still in contract extension talks with Frye, and we promise to do everything we can to bring him back." ”

But that's basically a diplomatic rhetoric, and the Bucks don't want to disappoint fans prematurely.

After the championship celebration, Yu Fei informed the team through his agent that he would "test the waters" of the free market, and if there were other options, perhaps he would come back and leave by signing and swapping, thus leaving the last bit of assets for the team.

The Bucks' top brass naturally understood that those behind Yu Fei who wanted him to leave Milwaukee finally succeeded.

But what they never understood was that maybe Yu Fei himself wanted to leave. Even Yu Fei did not have an accurate answer to this point.

A large street that stretches from Broadway to the East River in the southern part of Manhattan in New York City is only a third of a mile long and only 11 meters wide.

This is the most famous street – Wall Street.

Yu Fei will be in talks with Clay Bennett, the current owner of the SuperSonics, here.

Bennett arrived at the agreed location 20 minutes before the negotiations began.

Because the man who did the game was the "Omaha Prophet" whom Bennett respected very much.

Because of the team's concerns, Bennett called in the new general manager of the SuperSonics, who spent a lot of money to poach Sam Presti from San Antonio.

"Boss," Presti asked, "is the news true?" Is Frye really planning to come to Seattle? ”

Clay Bennett is middle-aged, with short hair, a square face, more than 1.9 meters tall, and a body as strong as a cow, he doesn't look like a billionaire, he looks like a red neck in the southern countryside.

Bennett had sharp eyes, like eagles, and he said, "I don't know, and I don't want to know." ”

Although Presti has been playing professional basketball for many years, he is a rookie in the position of general manager.

Of course, he knows what kind of influence Yu Fei has on professional basketball.

Will the Chosen One, who has just ushered in another peak in Milwaukee, really give up the prosperous Chosen Country and come to Seattle, where the future is uncertain?

What does it mean if he comes?

Presti didn't have time to think about it when she saw Bennett stand up, and a flattering smile appeared on his usually serious face: "Warren, long time no see." ”

"Every time I see you, I will sigh, how can there be such a strong guy in the world?"

Warren Buffett joked.

Bennett looked at the empty seat across from him, "I heard that there was a stronger guest than me today?" ”

"Haha!" Warren Buffett laughed, "I bet he really doesn't look as strong as you." ”

Yu Fei and his team appeared ten minutes before the appointed time.

There are only three people, namely Yu Fei, agent Arne Trem and assistant Kevin Lin.

After a brief greeting, Buffett got up and went to the bathroom, giving Yu Fei and Bennett a chance to open the conversation by the way.

It's not difficult at all.

Yu Fei first congratulated the SuperSonics on selecting Kevin Durant in the draft, saying it was a wise move, and Bennett also praised Yu Fei's performance with the Bucks.

Presti then brings the conversation to the next stage: "Fry, as far as I know, you can test the waters of the free market this summer. May I think so, you're leaving Milwaukee, and our meeting today is a de facto recruiting negotiation? ”

"Don't worry, Sam." Trem pushed Presti's question back, "Before we start talking about this, Frye wants to confirm one thing. ”

Presti asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Trem asked directly: "Does Mr. Bennett still think that the superSonics will stay in Seattle?" ”

"We remember when Mr. Bennett bought the team last year, he pledged with Schultz Howard that he would continue to make the SuperSonics a cultural totem in Seattle, and we wondered, does that still count?"

Unfortunately, this is an area that Presti, the general manager of the team, is not able to set foot in.

For him, Bennett is the boss and he's just the general manager. As long as Bennett pays him a salary and believes his professionalism doesn't dictate, even if Bennett wants to move the team to Darfur, he will have no problem with that.

Presty couldn't answer the question, and he turned to look at Bennett.

Bennett stared at Yu Fei like a predator: "Why do you want to know this?" ”

"You know." "Frye won't leave Milwaukee easily, it's his kingdom, it's where he founded his dynasty, and there's only one thing that can take him away from Milwaukee - saving the superSonics on the verge of relocation." These are the aspirations of the 3 million hometown fathers, and he must respond to them. But he wondered if it was too late. ”

"Hmph"

Bennett snorted with extreme disdain, and although the voice was slight, both Yu Fei and Trem could hear it clearly.

"There are no 3 million people." Bennett said lightly, "I can vouch for the fact that there aren't that many Seattle-dwellers who have that desire, not even half of them." ”

Yu Fei said, "How many people do you think?" ”

"Up to 900,000." Bennett didn't say where his stats came from, he just swore by them, "And that includes guys who are just willing to talk about it, but don't really want to give anything!" ”

"900,000?" Yu Fei smiled lightly, "This is already more than the total population of Milwaukee combined. It's worth it. ”

Bennett's face changed, and Yu Fei continued: "Mr. Bennett, please answer me honestly, has the decision to relocate been implemented?" ”

Even a Russian businessman like Bennett has heard of the name of Taifei, and he knows what kind of existence this person is in the professional basketball world.

Of course, he also knew that Yu Fei had quadrupled the market value of the Bucks in five years.

Why have the Bucks been so rich in the past two years? On the one hand, they are willing to spend money on Yu Fei, but on the other hand, they make far more money on Yu Fei than they spend.

There is no team that doesn't want Yu Fei unless they can't get along with money.

But there is no businessman in the world who can't get along with money.

Bennett had an answer in his heart, but he knew that Yu Fei would definitely not like this answer.

This businessman, who looked extremely powerful on the outside, was a little difficult to respond to Yu Fei's question at the moment.

"No, we're not there yet." Bennett kept his mind in check and hid his true thoughts, "I never wanted to make Seattlemen lose their hypersound, but it's hard to keep that promise. ”

Trem asked, "What's the difficulty?" ”

Bennett brings up the cliché: "The Key Arena is no longer suitable for the modern NBA's business model, and for the sake of modern NBA economics, we need a larger, more versatile, and more profitable complex." ”

Yu Fei already knew about these news.

He didn't need to listen to it again here at Bennett.

"I know these things." Yu Fei said, "But the lease of you and the key arena will not expire until 2010, which means that there is still time before then." ”

Since Yu Fei entered the NBA, he has been known for his talkative and venomous tongue inside and outside the circle, and he has two extremely famous sentences, one is "victory is the only one" after beating the Lakers in his rookie year, and the other is his response to Nowitzki's so-called "leave everything to time" after leading the team to win the championship last season: Is there still enough time?

Bennett understands NBA economics, but that's not why he's obsessed with moving the SuperSonics away, and he doesn't understand NBA star economics, so he doesn't know why Frye Yu would risk losing everything to give up a team that has a good chance of helping him win three straight championships and turn to a rebuilding SuperSonics team.

Bennett doesn't understand this, and there's no need to understand this.

Do you know what he knows? As an NBA owner, he knew that if his team had a chance to sign the league's No. 1 man, he would have to find a way to sign him.

But he believed that Frye Yu's heart-wrenching question would one day fall on him.

"Yes, we still have time." Bennett's fierce-looking face showed a stiff smile, "Maybe we can work together." ”

Yu Fei gave Trem a look, and the two sides began to formally negotiate the signing.

It is said to be a negotiation, but in fact, the content of the discussion is completely about flying yourself.

Trem said Yu Fei's request.

The SuperSonics need to sign George Carr as head coach.

The SuperSonics need to sign Kwame Brown with a contract above the middle level and pursue Laga Bell with another contract at the top of the middle class.

SuperSonics need to reserve a salary cap for Vince Carter, and the recruitment will be done due to flying.

Yu Fei will join in the form of a sign.

In the meantime, Warren Buffett has returned, and he wants to know if the two sides have reached a deal.

Yu Fei smiled: "Next time I may have to invite you to Seattle to watch the game." ”

"I believe the experience there is definitely better than in Milwaukee." Warren Buffett laughed.

Bennett said, "Not necessarily. ”

So everyone laughed.

A negotiation over the fate of the future of the Bucks and the supersonic came to an end, and the Yu Fei camp and the supersonic team reached a verbal agreement.

That night, Kevin Lin gave Yu Fei an idea: "Since you want to move around, you can make a big noise, how about a national live broadcast like LeBron?" ”

"I'd rather leave without saying hello." Yu Fei said.

"Why?"

"I don't want that."

Yu Fei didn't say why, if he wanted to say why, then the reason might be hypocritical, that is, he didn't want to hurt Bucks fans further.

If you decide to move to SuperSonics in a public broadcast, it will leave a permanent scar, because the video will remain on the Internet forever.

He's already ended the Bucks' career in the most ideal way, so why stab them before leaving?

The matter was settled, and there was no follow-up.

Before the free agency market opened, Bucks fans had been waiting for the team to officially announce that they had reached a contract extension with Yu Fei.

However, what fans were waiting for was the league's official announcement: "The Milwaukee Bucks sent Frye Yu to the Seattle SuperSonics in a sign-and-trade format in exchange for Earl Watson, Damir Wilkins and a 2008 first-round pick, and a 2010 and 2012 first-round pick." ”

Like a foretold death, Bucks fans had a premonition about it a year ago, but didn't believe Yu Fei would leave until it happened. But now, the plane to Seattle has taken off, it will go into the clouds, and the roar can be faintly heard, but it is not the engine of the plane, it is the roar of Milwaukee, and when the world is quiet again, the Milwaukees have understood that the god-like young man is really gone. Probably never come back.

(End of chapter)