Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

"I'm going to kill you!" Griffin roared with hatred, "I'll definitely kill you!"

Yu Fei responded, "Come on then, I'm standing right here, you loser. Show me how you plan to kill me!"

The scrimmage was interrupted, and Griffin was persuaded to retreat to the medical room, while Yu Fei, by rights, should have been ejected from the game. However, the White Team only had five players.

Initially, The Celtics' coaching staff wanted to pull someone from the Black Team to join the White Team, but this was refused by the other four White Team players.

Therefore, Yu Fei had no choice but to continue playing, carrying two technical fouls that didn't really count for much.

At the same time, The Celtics had made a decision, regardless of Griffin's injury, he should no longer play alongside Yu Fei.

The farce ended, and the game continued.

The Celtics' head coach, Jim O'Brien, gathered the assistant coaches to discuss what had just happened.

"This might be the most absurd thing that has happened in a trial in nearly a decade. How could they start fighting?" O'Brien said regretfully.

"The first one to throw a punch was Eddie," said Frank Vogel, who had a good sense of justice, making a fair comment.

Chief assistant coach John Carroll laughed and said, "But Frye's counterattacks were ruthless. Those two punches, had they occurred anywhere outside the court, Eddie could have taken him to court."

The Celtics' scouting director Lester Conner, who had been tracking Griffin for years, wasn't surprised by such an incident: "Eddie has always been hot-tempered, and lately, many people have been comparing him to Frye. Our punishment standards are also somewhat problematic. Dick (the referee) didn't control their emotions in time, so it's understandable that this incident happened."

O'Brien wasn't interested in continuing to listen to this lip service. What he really cared about was, "If we use our media relations to hype up what happened on the court today, will it affect their draft prospects?"

Carroll, hearing this, felt their head coach was scheming something.

Fighting is a negative for a player, not to mention fighting during a trial.

If you can fight during a trial, what happens when it's time to compete for a position within the team? It would be chaos, right?

"How would we hype it up?" Vogel asked.

This was yet another matter entirely.

For the media, distorting facts is easy. Just by changing the narrative, the whole perception can shift entirely.

Since they wanted to sensationalize, what was the purpose of the hype? Was it to belittle someone or elevate someone else?

Given the circumstances, it was certain that The Celtics wouldn't be selecting either Yu Fei or Griffin, so if they were to use the incident to their advantage, it would definitely be aimed at denigrating one of the players.

O'Brien, looking at his assistant coaches, said, "Perhaps we could emphasize the two punches Frye gave to Eddie."

John Carroll laughed, "Eddie Griffin's agent would definitely be very interested in this."

Vogel opposed the idea: "Frye's agent is Arne Trem, and there's no way he'd be fooled by this."

"Don't worry, no one will know," O'Brien said, "Eddie won't let this go, he will definitely blow things out of proportion. When that happens, we can just act as an anonymous insider to achieve this subtly."

Vogel had many things he wanted to say but didn't know where to start.

The Celtics' internal atmosphere was toxic. They could entirely adopt a different approach, like trading up for a higher draft pick. Yu Fei's draft prospect wasn't untouchable. Playing these kinds of tricks now, aren't they just laying mines for themselves?

Yu Fei had no idea that The Celtics' coaching staff were secretly plotting together.

With Eddie Griffin gone from the court, Yu Fei no longer had a direct matchup, so he covered positions from one to five.

By matching up against other lottery prospects, Yu Fei gained a rough understanding of his own abilities.

For the time being, Yu Fei would find it difficult to play in the NBA's frontcourt, but luckily, his mobility was enough to qualify him for an NBA-level small forward position.

Ironically, without Griffin, the Black Team played better than before.

Their offensive core revolved around White and Brown.

Yu Fei began to match up extensively with White, suppressing his opponent with strong one-on-one defense and a rich arsenal of offensive skills in both the front and backcourt.

On the other side, Brown simply outplayed both Roy and Joe Johnson.

In terms of physical ability, Brown was the most outstanding on the court.

By the end of the first half, Brown had scored 16 points, helping the Black Team keep a tight grip on the score.

Looking at Brown, Yu Fei said to Roy, "He also came from a community college. Are you really not considering it?"

"You're saying he comes from a community college?" That was news to Roy.

"Not just him," Yu Fei recounted as if listing treasures, "Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, Sam Cassell, Mitch Richmond, Latrell Sprewell... they all came from community colleges."

Yu Fei truly hoped that Roy's life wouldn't change because of his presence.

For ordinary people with inconspicuous talent, making one wrong decision could affect their entire life.

If Roy didn't attend community college, if he could have been admitted to a First Division League university without going through community college, and then polished his skills in that league for a few years, would he still be the same Roy?

If a twist of fate caused a few years' delay, then everything was over.

After hearing Yu Fei's words, Roy also fell into deep thought.

In the second half that followed, Yu Fei was disappointed to find that Eddie Griffin hadn't returned, so he had no choice but to focus all his energy on Rodney White.

As a destined lottery pick, White's technical repertoire and talent seemed that of a role player, with neither strong nor weak points, which made him easy to target.

Yu Fei's outside shooting and inside penetration proved too much for White to handle.

At the final whistle, 62-49, the White Team easily defeated the Black Team, which was lacking in the paint.

Yu Fei was undoubtedly the player of the game, and the Celtics' players of interest, Joe Johnson and Kendrick Brown, also performed well. Rodney White was a disappointment, and Eddie Griffin lived up to his reputation. When he threw punches at Yu Fei, to the Celtics coaching staff, it was a moment of "He really is just like the rumors."

Among this draft's potential lottery picks, only Eddie Curry, like Griffin, denied the rumors about his public image when questioned, "I'm not that kind of person."

So, when Griffin proved by his actions that he really was that kind of person, it wasn't good news for him.

After the scrimmage ended, Jim O'Brien invited Yu Fei to dinner.

Yu Fei said he needed to ask his agent first.

O'Brien laughed, "Kid, not everything requires an agent's involvement."

"Alright then, where shall we eat?" Yu Fei quickly got into his role.

O'Brien liked his quick adaptability, "There's a nice French restaurant nearby."

"Coach, though French cuisine is delicious, it's not filling, and I'm still a kid," Yu Fei asked, "Does Boston have a branch of Pork Cutlet Hermit...?"

Unfortunately, Boston didn't have a branch of Pork Cutlet Hermit, because only Kent City had a Japanese restaurant by that name. Although the owner claimed it was a nationwide chain, today, Yu Fei punctured his lie.

O'Brien, mistaking Yu Fei's love for Japanese food, chose a high-end Japanese restaurant. Yet, even if such a fancy establishment served something like pork cutlet, it wouldn't be enough to fill a stomach – much like French cuisine, they prioritized refinement over quantity, as if feeding pigeons.

Although the food was tasty, Yu Fei didn't feel full. Considering O'Brien had promised at the dinner table that "the Celtics would draft you with the tenth pick in the first round," Yu Fei restrained his complaints.

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"If you thought the quality of the 2000 draft was bad, then you shouldn't have high hopes for the rookies of 2001 either. This year's first pick could fall on a green player like Kwame Brown from Green Academy, an 18-year-old high school student, or Eddie Griffin, a freshman from Seton Hall University. Regardless, it will take years for the first-round picks to bring positive feedback to their teams." — ESPN Column: NBA Draft Preview

"The Wizards Team's draft strategy depends heavily on whether Michael Jordan returns to play next season or not. As the team president, Jordan's first instinct might be to opt for a talent like Brown, who is a forward with a lot of potentials. However, as a player, Jordan might have other choices." — The Washington Post

This year's draft raises far more questions than it provides answers. The NBA's knowledge of these seven high school players (Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Frye Yu, Ousmane Cisse, Eddie Curry, DeSagana Diop, and Tony Key) is severely limited. Clearly, the good times when teams could expect immediate and significant improvements from the drafts are over. The NBA Draft has become a futures market. — Sports Illustrated

Breaking news! During yesterday's Boston Celtics tryouts, Eddie Griffin was involved in a heated altercation with Frye Yu. An informed source revealed that Frye hit Eddie twice in the face, and the situation was serious. Eddie Griffin accused Frye Yu of being a legitimate murderer: "Even though everyone says I'm an asshole, I'm telling you, I'm not that kind of person. Look at my eyes, look at my nose, that *** is the one who is!" — Boston Globe