NBA: A collection of super busts

Even without Wade's prior warning, Ye Feng wouldn't have believed a single word Riley said.

This guy would probably say the same thing to all the super rookies who come here for trials. He's a complete tyrant head coach with an extremely strong desire for control. He doesn't treat players like human beings, and even the head coach is just a tool he can kick aside at any time.

If it works well, then everyone's happy; if it doesn't, then goodbye.

Mourning and Wade are both well-known victims.

Even the shrewd Shaquille O'Neal, upon arriving in Miami, was persuaded by Pat Riley to opt out of his contract. After Riley promised "I will never trade you," he took a pay cut and signed a new long-term contract.

Ye Feng would rather go to a run-down place like Minnesota or Cleveland than work with Riley in Miami. He wants to live a few more years!

So he immediately started talking nonsense.

"It's an honor. The Heat are the team I most want to join. I really hope to make a name for myself here and lead the team to create a dynasty."

"I believe I can win a championship in Miami, and not just one, not two, not three, not four, not..."

"That's enough." Riley felt sweat beading on his forehead, and he even felt a little impatient and disgusted with Ye Feng's arrogance. "Let's get four first, and we'll talk about the rest later. I'm just curious, if we want to win that many championships, the team will definitely face a lot of difficulties."

"What do you think was the most difficult problem in winning the championship?"

"That's injuries, of course!" Ye Feng said. "We need to learn to make choices. We can do some load management during the regular season, allowing the players to rest as much as possible and enter the playoffs healthy, and then dominate in the playoffs."

"Playing with an injury in order to gain 1-2 wins in the regular season is a very unwise move."

"What if the team needs you to play while injured?"

"I think we should look further ahead; a healthy me can do much more for the team."

"What if the team needs you to take a pay cut to help them make signings?"

"I believe that player recruitment is the team's business, not mine. I will not complain about the team's lack of player recruitment because I am not willing to take a pay cut, so I do not think the team should complain about me not taking a pay cut because of a lack of available space."

In the time that followed, Riley asked Ye Feng several more questions, and the answers he received were all very unsatisfactory to him.

Riley even discovered that he hadn't received a single satisfactory answer.

What he wanted was a humble, hardworking, and completely obedient puppet king, not a troublemaker with his own ideas.

After talking with Ye Feng, Riley maintained his composure and manners, personally getting up to see Wade and Ye Feng off from the training facility. He didn't say anything more along the way, only shaking hands with the two of them at the end, wishing them a safe journey.

After the two men left, a young man with a Southeast Asian appearance who had been following Riley asked, "Sir, we'll be trying out Chris Kaman the day after tomorrow. Will you be there?"

"Aren't you going to ask me who I want to choose, Eric?" Riley looked at the young man with a slight smile on his face.

Erik Spoelstra, the Heat's current assistant coach and director of scouting, is one of Riley's most trusted people on the Heat.

The guy's serious and unsmiling demeanor reminded Riley of his younger self, at least much more likable than the idiot with the big belly and loud voice he had now, who resembled old Nelson.

"If you need my advice, you will ask me. If you don't ask, I will continue to arrange your subsequent trial training plan."

"So if it were you, who would you choose? Considering their talent, playing style on the court, and their performance in the interview." Riley then described the two very different interview situations.

"I think Ye might have done it on purpose. Before he went in, he chatted with Wade for a bit, most likely asking him about his interview."

"I've been tricked?" Riley chuckled. "Is this kid creating a better opportunity for his buddies?"

"That's possible," Spoelstra said. "According to intelligence, none of the top four teams have invited Wade for a tryout so far. His current confirmed itinerary is to go to Chicago and Oakland."

"But Ye's situation is much better; his next stop is Toronto. There are even rumors that Memphis has extended a tryout invitation to him."

"Fifth pick is Ye's bottom line, but it's also Wade's highest bid. I think that's why he deliberately talked nonsense during the interview. It's like we suspect that Wade deliberately threw the game in the last few minutes of the Finals so that Ye could get the Most Outstanding Player award."

"These two lads, are they really brothers?" Riley narrowed his eyes but didn't speak.

He felt that the more someone emphasized these bonds, the more they talked about brotherhood and friendship, the easier it was for them to be manipulated.

Perhaps, the two of them could take it down together?

.......

A few days later, Ye Feng, having said goodbye to Wade, arrived in Toronto. This time, no one with first-round prospects trained with him, and during the tryouts, he naturally dominated the field once again.

However, what made him somewhat uncomfortable was that the team's general manager, Glenwood, didn't even meet with him after the tryout. Only a guy who called himself "Kevin O'Neal" chatted with Ye Feng for a few words and expressed his liking for Ye Feng, saying that he would definitely get the team to select him.

From O'Neal's words, Ye Feng knew that the person in front of him was the team's lead assistant coach and a potential head coach candidate.

Well, the team's head coach this season, the league's most decorated coach Wilkens, resigned after the regular season ended, and the Raptors are currently in a chaotic state without a proper head coach.

Ye Feng also expressed his friendly attitude and desire to join the team, and wished O'Neal success in becoming the team's head coach.

Overall, although the tryout was a bit chaotic, Ye Feng and O'Neal had a good chat. When they parted, O'Neal, who was originally dejected and had little hope of becoming the team's head coach, was energized by Ye Feng's rosy promises and felt that he would definitely be elected.

"Coach Kevin, I'm incredibly eager to play for you! Maybe we can become another fantastic and powerful player-coach duo in the league, like Hakeem Olajuwon and Novak Tomjanovich! I feel a special connection with you!"

"Me too! I'll give it my all to get the team to choose you and recommend you to everyone!"

When the two parted, a radiant O'Neal gave Ye Feng his personal number, saying that he could contact him anytime if needed.

The reason Ye Feng chatted so happily with O'Neal was mainly because he was open to being drafted by the Raptors.

Especially since, although he was somewhat unhappy with the Raptors' actions, it was just that the general manager wouldn't see him. Maybe Glenwood's wife, whom he hadn't seen for a year, was having a baby and that's why he couldn't show up?

If his wife gives birth this time, he won't have to give birth again next time.

At the very least, Ye Feng left a perfect impression on the Raptors this time, which would be a major advantage if there were a second tryout.

Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future.

The reason Ye Feng was so proactive in expressing goodwill was not because he was so eager to join the Raptors, but because the system had assigned him a task.