basketball never sleeps

Chapter 310 The Reason Why God is God

"Tomorrow is Media Day, isn't he coming back yet?" Hill asked Ray Allen beside him while wiping his sweat in the training hall.

Ray Allen glanced at the entrance to the training facility and frowned almost imperceptibly. "Soon, he said he'd be back today."

"To be honest, his leadership style is really... reassuring," Hill commented, offering a high level of emotional intelligence.

In his more than ten years of professional career, this was the first time he had ever seen the rest of the team arrive at training camp for a week, except for their leader.

Generally speaking, even the laziest player will at least show some effort out of a sense of responsibility once he becomes the leader.

Hill understands this all too well. He was the leader of the Pistons, and that title was both a crown and a Damocles' sword hanging over his head, forcing him to be the hardest working player on the team. It was as if only by setting an example could he have the "just authority" to lead the other players.

Regardless, the SuperSonics are a championship contender. Does that mean Mo Wen is satisfied with winning four consecutive championships?

But considering the precedent of Danzi retiring after his first three-peat due to a lack of competitive passion, it doesn't seem impossible.

Hill was somewhat worried about his prospects of clinging to someone's leg.

Ray Allen, standing to the side, didn't say anything. He took a breath with a tense expression and then called to Guy next to him to get back into training.

Throughout the holiday, he frequently saw Mo Wen—he saw him in all sorts of reports, but he never saw any news about him training in basketball.

The SuperSonics' training camp was also organized and supervised by him, who was still recovering from surgery. From the perspective of a self-disciplined player, Mo Wen's behavior can be described as quite excessive.

Fortunately, practice makes perfect. The experience of being dominated by Morey during last year's offseason helped Ray Allen overcome his arrogance and become more patient.

Winning the championship taught Ray Allen a profound truth: the process is important, but the result is the most important.

At 10 a.m., Mo Wen returned to the team as scheduled. If it weren't for his distinct skin color, his casual attire would have made him look like a fan who had sneaked in.

After greeting his teammates one by one, Mo Wen hadn't even had a chance to say a few more words when Presti came over and called Mo Wen away.

The team roster is now basically finalized, with only the Erwaltson trade still pending.

Watson has the ability; he performed quite well as a backup point guard and occasionally as a shooting guard on the road to the championship last season.

The SuperSonics' two star guards both average over 33 minutes per game, and the SuperSonics can't give Watson the playing time he needs. He only stayed because there's a chance to win a championship. The management also felt that spending $500 million to support a guard who averages 20 minutes per game was a bit extravagant, especially since the team had previously signed Atkins, a small guard of the same type.

Both sides wanted to part ways amicably after winning the championship, but there are too many combo guards like Watson on the market, making it difficult to find a suitable trade.

Fortunately, the SuperSonics' championship win gave Watson a boost in prestige, and the year of coaching and championship experience made many people interested in him.

The SuperSonics currently have sufficient roster depth in all other positions, especially at forward, with nine players across three positions, ranging from young to experienced, from overweight to slim, from tall to elegant – a truly diverse lineup. The sheer variety is comparable to a…deluxe fruit platter in a KFC restaurant.

However, at the guard position, with Payton and Jones announcing their retirement and Watson being relegated to the yellow team, the only backups are young guards Atkins and Sessions, a rookie.

However, considering Mo Wen's own durability and the fact that Guy and Damien can both fill in as shooting guards, it seems that the manpower is not that tight?

Mo Wen wanted to trade for a first-round pick to play around with, since there are quite a few promising talents in the next few years, but Presti rejected it outright, and he even seemed a little angry.

How could you be so selfish! ·jpg
Just kidding. Because he failed to re-sign Milicic and only signed Scola, who is not well-known in the United States, he has already been labeled as an "incompetent idiot" in the eyes of fans. If he trades an immediate contributor for a draft pick, he might be fired by fans before the new season even starts.

"No matter what, don't save money for the capitalists!" Presti said earnestly, adopting an air of "I am one of us."

Mo Wen shrugged and didn't dwell on it anymore. He just thought that with his current playing style, unless he was willing to sacrifice his own stats, picking some superstar prospects would only limit their growth rate.

To be fair, championship experience is surprisingly valuable. After screening through all the options, Presti still had four trade targets left, including someone like JR Smith.

However, in addition to Watson, the Hornets also want a first-round pick.

Presti also strongly recommended this candidate. JR was not traded to the Nuggets and stayed with the Hornets, averaging 15+5. He is more than qualified to be the sixth man for the SuperSonics and can also largely avoid the potential injury risks of Ray Allen.

But Mo Wen shook his head and rejected the idea. JR was in the final year of his contract, and given his troublesome personality, making him a substitute would probably be more difficult than Watson, and it would be counterproductive to disrupt the locker room environment.

The remaining three are old friends Coach Lue, Bogans, and the muscular Willie Green, none of whom are particularly famous and are not in the same league as Watson, who is already a championship guard. Therefore, the SuperSonics can still get two second-round picks from their trade.

Given the comparison of their combat strength, it's no wonder that Presti would strongly recommend JR.

After some consideration, Mo Wen decided to go with Bogans.

Bogans previously played for the Rockets, but he was too mediocre to leave much of an impression. Mo Wen mainly valued his good defense, average three-point shooting, honest personality, and the fact that he was 27 years old and in his prime.

Teammates' offense is generally not a problem for him. After all, if the greatest point guard in history needs excellent teammates to perform, then what's the difference between him and a certain GOAT who is an all-around player but cannot win a championship without excellent role players?

Once the trading target was determined, Bennett "coincidentally" came over to meet with Mo Wen for a meal.

Looking at his warm and gentle demeanor at the dinner table, one might mistake Mo Wen for the team's owner.

After finishing his meal and seeing Mo Wen off, Bennett made sure to remind Presti, who was standing nearby, to do everything he could to meet all of Mo Wen's needs.

Presti was not surprised by this at all.

Because he knew what Mo Wen had brought to the team last season.

Bennett has completely stopped mentioning the team relocation, not only because the league officially approved the Hornets' move to Oklahoma City after a vote at the August owners' meeting, successfully stealing their home, but also because of the SuperSonics' terrifying profits in Seattle.

Schultz reportedly lost $60 million after taking over the SuperSonics, but if he can hold on for another year... the cramped KeyArena might not be able to break even in a year, but it could recover about 70-80% of the losses.

The impact of the "bet of the century" in the latter part of the regular season was no longer limited to Seattle and Washington state. Fans across the United States and even around the world pushed the price of SuperSonics tickets to record highs. In the playoffs, it even rivaled Los Angeles and New York, with various merchandise either being restocked or on their way to be restocked. There were also sky-high advertising slots that he had never heard of when he worked for the Spurs, as well as the high broadcast revenue sharing for reaching the Finals...

Moving? Bennett's mind is filled with nothing but dollars... no, it's filled with the thought that Mo Wen's contract will only have 3 years left next summer, and he needs to renew it as soon as possible!

……

"Look who's back, our busy star. I thought I'd have to wait until I got home to see you on TV again." Ray Allen was a little sarcastic, but when he saw Mo Wen change into his training clothes, his face lit up with a smile.

"Then I'll go?" Mo Wen spread his hands and changed direction as well.

"Fuck you, you're leaving today. Don't ever come back again," Ray Allen said coldly.

"Don't do that, you're making me think we're filming some melodramatic soap opera." Mo Wen rubbed the goosebumps on his arm.

Ray Allen remained silent, only repeatedly raising his middle finger.

Catching the basketball that flew towards him, Mo Wen's demeanor seemed to suddenly change in this familiar training hall. Hill wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but even though Mo Wen still had that relaxed smile on his face, as if he hadn't quite come out of vacation, he gave Hill an extremely dangerous feeling.

"Alright, tomorrow is media day. Let me see if you guys have practiced well during the holiday." Mo Wen smiled kindly at his teammates, like a lion king standing on a mountaintop.

It was strange to hear this from Mo Wen, someone who hadn't trained much all summer, but the veteran players of the SuperSonics looked very serious.

After all, a bear that has awakened from hibernation is still a bear!

After a summer of hard training, Guy did not disappoint Ray Allen's expectations and stood in front of Mo Wen first.

Knowing that Milicic would leave and that the team had no intention of bringing in any new big names, Ray Allen, who was worried about the team, and Payton, who was transitioning to a coaching role, set their sights on Gay.

A freshman, a small forward, capable of three-pointers, averaging nearly 10 points per game in the playoffs, and winning a championship with his team—such labels easily evoke thoughts of Mo Wen's past.

Combined with Gay's talent, which once put him in the top three of the draft, this Gay, who was essentially empty-handed, absolutely deserves the description of "this kid is terrifyingly good".

Gay, knowing about Morven's background, gladly accepted Ray Allen's training plan, hoping to make a name for himself like Morven next season.

The constant praise from the media after winning the championship, along with the sweat of the entire summer, gave Gay ample confidence and assurance. In his imagination, he should be like Mo Wen when he first joined the Heat, first becoming the third option, and then gradually taking over...

I've been playing all summer, and I've been training all summer. This is the perfect opportunity for us to establish ourselves as the third strongest team in the supersonics!
Looking at Guy's face, filled with confidence, excitement, and ambition, 23-year-old Mo Wen suddenly felt a sense of "youth is wonderful".

Then, when facing Gay's breakthrough and pull-up jump shot, Mo Wen jumped up in sync, reaching Gay's eyebrows in mid-air, and finally slapped the basketball away.

Hill's eyelids twitched as he saw everything up close. He felt that the media's integrity was getting lower and lower. In order to highlight Mo Wen's inspirational story, they even made up lies like Mo Wen's mediocre talent.

But if Mo Wen's talent is real, then how did he almost fail to be selected back then?

Fuck, what's real and what's fake?

After a fierce battle, Mo Wencai narrowly won the one-on-one duel with a score of 11:1.

As Gay was slammed down under the basket after being dunked on, he looked up and gazed through the net and rim to the ceiling. He guessed there must be a flock of birds singing outside right now.

He wanted to go home.

“I have a suggestion, Rudy.” Mo Wen extended his hand towards Guy. “How about you try being a substitute next season?”

Guy, his eyes vacant, opened his mouth, but in the end lowered his head. He couldn't think of any rebuttal; the truth was that he had tried his best but only managed to score one three-pointer.

A year ago he was a greenhorn, now he's 95% new, he's improved, but improvement seems to have no effect on this man.

“You’ve made a lot of progress this summer, but if you start alongside me, it’ll be hard for you to show any improvement. You’ll just be typecast as a functional player. If you’re playing as a substitute, you can take on more responsibility. But that depends on what you’re thinking,” Mo Wen advised earnestly.

Guy looked up, somewhat puzzled. How could someone who's already so bad at the game be considered to have made significant progress?

"Don't be discouraged. LeBron improves every year, but he still can't beat him." Ray Allen, feeling sorry for Gay, reached out and helped him up.

Hearing Ray Allen's words of comfort made Gay feel much better, but he still felt uneasy. "I'm a champion, what champion does LeBron have?"

The series of one-on-one duels, which were never in doubt, led Ray Allen, who was observing from the sidelines, to discover the reason for Mo Wen's strength. It was not only his personal ability, which far surpassed that of others, but more importantly, his ability to enter a state of 100% concentration at any time.

Compared to his counterparts, Mo Wen maintained a higher reaction frequency, and his concentration was as if he were still playing in the Finals last night.

Thinking about this, Ray Allen felt somewhat relieved.

God is God because He is God.

Mo Wen regained absolute authority over the team as easily as if he had changed into work clothes, at the cost of his teammates being somewhat dazed.

"Is this the level of the NBA? How did your US team lose to Argentina before?" Scola asked Hill with some doubt after being defeated by his own best inside footwork.

“Maybe… he’s Chinese?” Hill replied, his tone awkward but polite.

……

On October 1st, the SuperSonics held a media open day, where the entire roster gathered to take their official photos for the new season.

Under the guidance of a New York socialite, Mo Wen abandoned the simple spiky hairstyle and instead opted for a more complex slicked-back look.

The sound of the shutter clicking like raindrops tells you the effect is good. It's foreseeable that the cover of the next issue of various sports magazines will once again be dominated by this person.

However, while the media are optimistic about Mo Wen, they are not so optimistic about the Supersonics.

The SuperSonics are ranked only third in Sports Illustrated’s new season power rankings.

ESPN ranked the SuperSonics third, Fox Sports ranked them fourth, Bleacher Report second, and TNT third...

Aside from Seattle media and Chinese media, you won't even see any other media outlet ranking the SuperSonics, who easily won the championship last season, as number one.

Major betting platforms have given similar answers, with the SuperSonics' odds of winning the championship ranging from 2nd to 4th.

Aside from die-hard supersonic enthusiasts, the general reaction to this is consistent: it's reasonable.

While other teams were having team-building events with their superstars, the SuperSonics almost lost a key inside player for nothing. The top three rankings were only because of Mo Wen, who is considered the best player in the world.

"That's so stupid, so incredibly stupid. I really don't know what you guys were thinking, putting a team with a player who's on par with peak Michael Jordan and just won four consecutive championships in third place?" Barkley expressed his dissatisfaction with his colleagues' choice. "Putting everything else aside, Jordan was able to win a championship with Scott. Even though Mo has lost Darko, he still has Ray. If you add those two to a group of talented role players, how could they not win a championship?"

"Don't get excited, Charles. I understand. I've actually thought about this question too. I can't say whether the current SuperSonics or the '98 Bulls are stronger. This question is as complex as debating whether Alexander the Great or Napoleon had the greater military talent. But we need to be clear about one thing: with the summer over, the league has entered a new era." Kenny Smith pressed his hand down to signal Barkley to calm down.

"If everyone maintains the status quo, I still think the SuperSonics will defend their title even without Milicic. But as you know, the Lakers, Celtics, Spurs, and Magic have all engaged in a crazy arms race. The Cavaliers, who were badly kicked in the ass last season, are rumored to be close to completing a star player addition to their frontcourt. And then there are the still strong Warriors and Mavericks."

"In our time, everyone believed in one man, one city. I don't mean to be sarcastic, Charles, but the truth is, the toughest All-Star opponents Michael Jordan faced were Anfernee and Shaq, Stockton and Malone. But what are they going to face now? Imagine starting from the second round of the Western Conference, every team will have at least two All-Stars, just like the SuperSonics, and with a more balanced inside-outside combination. And if they make it to the Finals, they'll face the Eastern Conference champions with at least three All-Stars. Wow, this is hell, isn't it?"

"But there's only one basketball, isn't there? Stacking up star players doesn't guarantee success!" Barkley retorted.

“I think what’s more important than a basketball is that basketball is a five-person team sport, isn’t it? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone to the Rockets to ride on Hakeem’s coattails.” Kenny Smith raised the corners of his mouth, steer the conversation back to his comfort zone.

"How can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air? Teaming up... how can teaming up be called 'clinging to someone's coattails'? Can you call it 'clinging to someone's coattails' when it comes to star players?" Then came some incomprehensible words, such as "the salary cap is reasonable" and "dreams," which made everyone in the commentary room burst into laughter, and the air was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)