NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 135 Various Recruitment

It's not surprising or unexpected that Jeremy Lin came to recruit Jia Fei; it's normal. However, the Rockets' contract was indeed not competitive at all. It was worth $5 million over two years, with the second year being a team option. For him, such a contract was really not as good as taking a one-year minimum salary.

Mo Gu really has a lot of confidence. Just because domestic fans consider you their home team, does that mean you'll always be their home team? Yao Ming has already retired, how long do you plan to continue profiting from his legacy?

Jia Fei recalled that in his previous life, Jeremy Lin had lost his starting position that season and was later traded to the Lakers. He suggested that Lin act as a lobbyist.

Jia Fei didn't explicitly reject Jeremy Lin, which was a way of giving him face, but he never really considered joining the Rockets. One reason was that the team's owner didn't want to spend money, another was Morey's influence, and yet another was that he didn't want to play second fiddle to Harden. He remembered that Harden became a ball hog as soon as he joined the Rockets, and he couldn't expect to get much ball possession playing alongside him. What he needed was a 3-and-D player, not another outside star.

Jia Fei is currently a 3D player, but his goal is to become a star player.

That evening, Jia Fei logged into the system to check the task list and see what tasks he could accept.

After looking around for a while, he accepted a task: "Sign a multi-year, fully guaranteed contract."

He felt very hopeful of completing this task in the coming days.

Jeremy Lin's recruitment is not the end, but the beginning.

Starting on the second day, Jia Fei received many recruitment offers, including phone calls, text messages, and even visits from team management to invite him to join.

Agent Jeff Schwartz was also constantly listening to offers from various teams, screening and comparing them, communicating with team management, and continuously informing Jia Fei of the information.

It's already late June, and the annual NBA draft is about to begin.

Jia Fei's contract has not yet been finalized, but many teams have basically been eliminated from the competition.

Currently, Jia Fei's four potential destinations are the Kings, Raptors, Pistons, and Hawks.

The highly anticipated 2013 NBA Draft was held on June 27, 2013, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, USA.

This year was widely considered a weak draft class, and in the end, the Cavaliers, with the number one pick, selected Anthony Bennett...

Jia Fei remarked that the Cavaliers had excellent luck in drawing the number one draft pick, but he had to admit that in selecting Bennett, they were on par with the basketball god.

Similar to their previous draft, the Thunder selected New Zealand's Steven Adams with the 12th overall pick in the first round. This pick was acquired in the trade for Harden, so Adams was essentially trade bait for Harden.

The Thunder used their first-round pick (29th overall) to select Kentucky shooting guard Archie Goodwin.

They then used the 32nd pick in the second round to select Spanish shooting guard Abrines.

After the draft, discussions arose regarding the Thunder's rookie selections. Some speculated that the Thunder might have already prepared for the departures of Kevin Martin and Jafi, otherwise they wouldn't have used both of their draft picks to select swingmen.

Kevin Martin and Jafi's departure from the Thunder isn't big news, because even if they re-signed both of them, or even just one, considering Serge Ibaka's multi-million dollar contract expiring next season, the team's total salary next season would exceed the cap. This is something owner Anthony Bennett doesn't want to see. To avoid paying the luxury tax, he was willing to trade away James Harden, one of the "Thunder Three," let alone Kevin Martin, who is over 30, and Jafi, who, while promising, is still a rough diamond.

Replacing these two players with rookies to fill the roster, using the rookie bonus to offset the starting lineup's big contracts, keeping the championship hopes alive without paying the luxury tax—Putin is truly a genius. Sometimes it's the owner's wallet that puts him in his place; otherwise, I really don't know how he could pull off such a move!

President Pu is the man whose "limit is only the sky"!

Jia Fei didn't read the online discussions and speculations of the media; he was comforting his girlfriend, Sharapova.

Maria Sharapova suffered a shock defeat in the second round of Wimbledon to Portugal's Mario de Brito. This is her worst Grand Slam result since the 2010 Australian Open.

Wimbledon holds special significance for Sharapova, as she won her first Grand Slam title in 2004 at the age of just 17.

"Jia Fei, I'm so sad, I hate losing!" During her video call with Jia Fei, Sharapova fully expressed her inner emotions.

"Yes, failure is so unbearable, competitive sports are too cruel!" Jia Fei could empathize with him. He himself was a professional basketball player, and when he was eliminated by the Grizzlies, he was really depressed for several days.

"I have a slight shoulder injury, and the next tournament is the Western Bank Classic. I'm considering whether to participate!" Sharapova said weakly.

“Then come to New York, let’s train together. I need to train too, I’m getting fat!” Jia Fei laughed.

"Great, that's wonderful!" Sharapova smiled. She was finally able to see Jia Fei again and train together, a scene she had always dreamed of.

After the video call with Sharapova ended, Jia Fei told Kemba Walker and the others about Sharapova's upcoming trip to New York.

“I’d be 200% happy to have your girlfriend come over. She can stay at my place; I have plenty of rooms!” Kemba Walker said, patting his chest confidently.

"That won't work. We'll stay in a hotel then. I'm planning to start training. What about you two?" Jia Fei asked for their opinions.

“The two of us? We’re ready anytime!” Kemba Walker said with a smile, looking at Art Mayork.

Art Mayork nodded: "I'm available anytime."

Jia Fei was truly impressed by these two old men; it was a real waste of their talent that they didn't go into crosstalk.

The next day, Art Mayork excitedly approached Jia Fei and Kemba Walker to tell them that he had received a contract offer from the Hawks!

This is indeed good news. Art Mayork hasn't played much in the NBA since he was drafted. For the past two years, he's either been in the NBDL or waiting for a chance to return to the NBA. Unexpectedly, the Hawks have offered him a contract.

For him, the contract wouldn't be huge, but as long as it wasn't too outrageous, he was willing to accept it. He also felt embarrassed to keep staying at his former teammate Kemba Walker's house, where either Kemba Walker or Jia Fei would pay the bill. He wanted to experience the thrill of paying the bill himself, but unfortunately, he was broke. Now, the opportunity to make money had arrived!

Jia Fei was happy for him too. The Hawks, why does that name look so familiar!