NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 355 Should We Use Assistance?

The offseason went by so fast...

Fans are already looking forward to the new season, but there are still more than two months until it starts.

In early August, Jia Fei held a training camp in Los Angeles.

Those participating in this training camp are all players he has good relationships with in the NBA, either teammates or former teammates. Besides him, there are former Thunder teammate Reggie Jackson, former Hawks teammates Korver, Horford, and Cup Cat, his close friends Kemba Walker, Art Mayok, and Lamb, and Clippers teammates Felton, Wesley Johnson, Bryce Johnson, and Harrell.

Jia Fei organized the training camp with the aim of improving together, and also for his personal goal of getting back into shape. He had been away from the league for a whole season, and he needed to quickly regain his form to showcase his talent in the upcoming new season.

The upcoming 2016-17 season is crucial for Jia Fei, as it's his first season with the Clippers. Unlike when he joined the Hawks, where he was merely a role player and faced less expectation and attention from opponents, he is now a league MVP and a top superstar. If he fails to regain his form next season, there's no doubt he'll be under immense pressure.

Whether it's to prove himself again or to live up to the Clippers' trust in him, he needs to prepare for next season.

While Jia Fei and his team were training hard at their camp, the Olympic Games were also in full swing in Rio de Janeiro, South America.

"Jia, why don't you go to the Olympics?" Reggie asked jokingly.

"I'm still recovering from an illness, and the US has so many talented basketball players, so they probably don't need me!" Jia Fei replied with a smile.

"Actually, Jia did receive the invitation, but he politely declined!" Art Mayork was clearly a straight man and didn't want others to mistakenly think that Jia Fei hadn't received the invitation.

“Jia, you can actually represent China in international competitions. Your parents used to be from China!” Kemba Walker offered a new perspective.

"Representing China..." Jia Fei muttered to himself, but he didn't express his stance to anyone else. What he needed to do now was to let the whole world know next season that he had returned as the king!

The NBA teams have largely finished their offseason recruitment, and now it's time to prepare for the new season. If any teams still want to strengthen their rosters, they'll have to wait until mid-season for better opportunities.

After acquiring Jia Fei this season, the Clippers did not go all-in on other star players. The management had discussed this with him, and he felt that the management had done the right thing.

Don't trade for the sake of trading. The best approach is to decisively acquire the right target when it appears. The Clippers currently have young players and a wealth of draft picks, and with an MVP superstar like Jia Fei at the helm, they won't have trouble finding suitable pieces to join them.

This team will usher in the "Jia Fei era," and the Lob City team led by 58 is now a thing of the past.

One day in mid-August, a hot news story broke during the otherwise quiet offseason. American celebrity Jay-Z revealed some details about his good friend Chris Paul (here we'll call him 58) leaving the Clippers this summer.

Many fans were very interested in this, so as soon as the video was released, it went viral on social media, becoming a topic of conversation during the boring off-season.

Jay-Z stated that 58's decision to leave the Clippers stemmed from his questioning of the team's building strategy. The team didn't believe he and Griffin could lead the team to a championship and wanted to bring in Jia Fei. The team hoped he would stay and support Jia Fei.

58 doesn't think he's old. He's still one of the league's top point guards. He can only accept being a dual-core player with Jia Fei, and he won't allow himself to be just a pure supporting guard.

58 indicated that in Houston, he would become the core point guard, and he wouldn't need to hold the ball for as long every game. Harden could share the ball-handling responsibilities with him. In Houston, he would become one of the two core players, which he felt would better reflect his personal value.

This incident sparked heated discussions online. Some criticized the Clippers for "using and discarding" them, while others accused the Clippers' 58-year-old from the run-and-gun style of being arrogant, asking how it was unfair to him to play a supporting role to the MVP. Of course, there were also those who criticized Jia Fei, saying that if he hadn't come, the Lob City spirit could have continued. Why did he come? Wouldn't it have been better if he had stayed with the Hawks?

The heated online discussions left Jia Fei somewhat speechless. Fortunately, these were all stories from before he signed with the Clippers, and he hadn't promised to sign with them at that time. So, he didn't need to take the blame for these struggles or conflicts.

However, the story took an unexpected turn, or rather, a second story emerged...

Two days after Jay-Z revealed this, former Clippers player Blake Griffin, who had been traded to the Pistons, posted on his social media that the Clippers had asked him if he wanted to stay and team up with Jia Fei before trading him.

Shabazz said he didn't like Jafki and didn't want to be teammates with this Asian superstar, let alone support him. So he decisively rejected the team's offer, and the team decided to trade him.

This news caused an uproar... Many fans felt that the Clippers management was going to make changes to the 58 and Shaq combination, and the most direct reason was that they believed they could get Jia Fei.

Many fans have started praising Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and have no more sympathy for Blake Griffin. The owner is truly bold, daring to trade away two star players even before securing a commitment from Gary Jabeur. That's impressive.

The Clippers' move to replace Blake Griffin and 58 with Jerry West has reduced the number of star players, but increased their overall level and made them younger, effectively completing a rebuild in an instant. Furthermore, they now possess a wealth of draft picks and expiring contracts, making them potential blockbuster buyers at the upcoming trade deadline and next offseason.

Blake Griffin originally intended to use this incident to garner sympathy for his plight and to encourage people to criticize the team for being heartless and call Jia Fei a troublemaker. However, what he did unexpectedly offset the sympathy he received from the 58 incident. People began to admire Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, and the Clippers management also gained a wave of goodwill.

Jia Fei was both amused and exasperated by these news reports. The fans were quite endearing; they'd actually become fans of owner Steve Ballmer. So, sometimes it's important to be moderate in seeking sympathy. Regarding the 58 incident alone, the Clippers management is bound to face criticism, but with Blake Griffin's actions, people are turning against them.

Ultimately, Jia Fei is a high-profile player with a championship and two MVP awards. Whether it's the 30-year-old 58 or the injury-prone Shaq who can only dunk, it's not shameful to support him. It's just that you guys didn't want to support him, and you can't blame anyone else for that! This can't be considered a true case of crossing the river and burning the bridge. The team did give you the opportunity to choose.