Basketball Terminal

Chapter 102 Moving forward
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, the NBA trade deadline is in late March. This means that more than half the season has passed, and teams are beginning to make final adjustments based on their performance in previous games. Teams aiming for the championship are striving to address roster weaknesses and fill gaps for a final push. Teams in the middle are trying to make some big trades to see if they can trigger a qualitative change. Rebuilding teams are focusing on the future, collecting draft picks, accumulating expiring contracts, and trying their best to avoid the luxury tax.

Teams at different stages and with different goals have different pursuits. They share resources and get what they need, keeping general managers extremely busy. Meanwhile, players caught up in trade rumors live in constant anxiety, unsure when a phone call or text message could suddenly change their fate.

Li Wei isn't worried about his fate, even though his name has appeared more than once in recent trade rumors. Several teams have offered the Nets enticing packages, hoping to trade quality, immediately impactful interior players for Li Wei, even offering to take on DeAndre Jordan's contract. These include the Celtics, Heat, and Magic, among others, whose offers are quite tempting.

For example, the Magic are willing to trade Aaron Gordon, who has already requested a trade. Orlando is preparing for a major overhaul, and Levi has become a promising future star favored by the Magic's management. While the Magic's management has many operational problems, their ability to discover and develop young talent has always been good. From Hardaway-Shaq in the 90s to McGrady and Howard later on, the Magic have consistently produced some highly popular young stars in the league. However, they often fail to hold onto their good cards, much like failing to hold onto blue-chip stocks—selling them halfway through their upward trend to start a new venture.

Regardless of the offers from other teams, the Nets' management remained unmoved and rejected all trade requests. The changes Levi has brought to the Nets are undeniable, and the team's chemistry is currently excellent; there is absolutely no need for a trade. Owner Tsai has repeatedly emphasized that the team will not trade Levi; he is very important to us.

Some teams interested in acquiring Li Wei weren't in a hurry; they were patiently waiting for the offseason, which they considered the best time to compete for him, not now. Therefore, Li Wei completely ignored the rumors, focusing his energy on his game, training, and life.

In a luxury apartment in the W Center in Manhattan, Kim Mi-won and Lee Wei finished exercising.

"How about I have a child for you?" Kim Mi-won said softly, lying on Li Wei's chest, maintaining the connection.

If she were to act coquettishly or sweetly, Li Wei wouldn't take it seriously. But her calm tone and the way she spoke as if it were a serious matter made Li Wei genuinely nervous. In the United States, quite a few athletes have been ruined by illegitimate children. Don't think that just because you're not married, the law can't touch you.

"Don't joke around. We're all so young, why be so pessimistic?" Li Wei coldly retorted.

Li Wei thought to himself, "I'm not like those black guys who can just run away whenever they want. I'm an NBA player, a celebrity. You can run away as a player, but you can't run away as a team."

Think of Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, a former superstar, the man who was said to be worth trading one-for-one for LeBron James, who ultimately failed due to injuries and illegitimate children. Because of too many illegitimate children, his financial situation was precarious, forcing him to wander around looking for places to play, a far cry from the brilliance of his former self.

Just yesterday, Dwight Howard returned to Los Angeles to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. He and Danny Green won last season's championship rings, which should have been a happy occasion. However, Howard was ejected from the game due to two technical fouls, making headlines and causing quite a embarrassment.

This also reflects Howard's situation in the league in recent years: he has honors, strength, and finally won the championship, but he is not very well-liked.

"I'm not joking with you. But I really didn't intend to, never. It just popped into my head for a moment, and I just blurted it out. Don't take it seriously." The two leaned against each other, and Kim Mi-won's tone was languid and weak, yet more charming than her usual fierce demeanor.

Hearing her say that, Li Wei hugged Kim Mi-won, stroked her smooth hair, and said nothing. He understood the feeling at that moment; people always have certain impulses at many moments, and then learn to control those impulses. After a few more minutes of tenderness, the two got up to shower and tidy up; Li Wei was treating everyone to dinner that evening.

Kim Mi-won drove Lee Wei to the parking lot near the restaurant. Since it was still early, they couldn't resist eating for a while longer. The two enjoyed themselves in the back seat before finally saying goodbye.

"I'm really finding it harder and harder to resist you, Victor. I'm leaving~ I'll miss you forever." With that, Kim Mi-won stepped on the gas and drove off back to Flushing. Lee Wei breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "Thank goodness there's no game tomorrow. Goodness, their appetite is getting bigger and bigger. Even though I'm incredibly powerful, the problem is I only have so much in reserve. If I give it all to you, what about the others?"
Fortunately, Kim Mi-won isn't the type of woman who's obsessed with men. On the contrary, she's very career-oriented and spends most of her time in her shop. Like Levi, she's also working hard in the vast world of New York, building her own world step by step from the bottom.

Li Wei admired this about her. He once suggested that Kim Mi-won try starting a sportswear brand, saying he might be able to help her in the future. Kim Mi-won considered it for a while and declined. Although the profit margins for sporting goods were indeed high, Kim Mi-won wanted to stick to what she knew best. She said that relying on others was ultimately not a good idea. "You do your thing, I'll do mine, and we can all have fun together in our spare time, isn't that great?"

Kim Mi-won is far better than those girlfriends who are only interested in marrying rich and famous men, and then spend all their time on other men after finding one. Li Wei isn't very interested in that type of girl. Girls these days are different from those of the past; they don't work but can manage everything at home, allowing you to focus on your career.

Not only are they bad at logistics, but they also consume a lot of your time and money to accompany you, wanting you to eat, drink, and have fun, and wanting you to provide emotional support, all for the sake of pleasure in bed.

In the NBA, there are numerous examples of players whose performance has significantly declined due to the excessive time and energy spent on dating. The famous socialites and women of the Kardashian family are known for their skill in manipulating star players; James Harden was one such victim. Besides the Kardashians, a group of lesser-known "escorts" roam around NBA players. Their goal is to hook up with wealthy men, not for marriage, but simply to pocket the players' money. This has led many NBA players to share this interest, and the Black players in the NBA don't seem to mind; some even enjoy dating women their teammates have dated, finding it fulfilling and exciting.

Li Wei has encountered quite a few women who actively flirt with him, sending him sexy photos on Instagram and via text message. After some searching, he found that most of them had overly Westernized aesthetics and makeup styles—tanned skin, smoky eyes, high cheekbones, exaggeratedly large breasts and buttocks—and were heavily photoshopped, which didn't really pique Li Wei's interest.

On the contrary, some of the accounts that his younger brother, Li Yue, followed for his older brother were quite in line with Li Wei's aesthetic, and they were located all over the United States. When traveling for away games, it's really tough, and trying fast food is a good option. Every time, Li Wei gets a lot of praise and a complete mess. There's no way around it, the Mighty Duck is just too powerful.

After waiting a short while at the restaurant, the guests arrived. They were Brett Briermayer, the Long Island Nets coach who had just returned from Orlando; Matt Ricardi, the Long Island Nets general manager; Shannon Scott, a good friend of Levi's from the Long Island Nets; and Paul Ebua, a Cameroonian.

The Long Island Nets recently ended their season at Disney World. After losing Levi, the team's record immediately plummeted, and they failed to make the playoffs. Coach Brett's fears came true; he lost his best player, and the Long Island Nets were stripped of their soul. No matter how hard they tried, a championship remained an unattainable dream.

Li Wei didn't cut off contact with the Long Island Nets. He would follow the G League results every week and chat with the players in the group chat. As Li Wei's NBA career progressed, most of his teammates went from initial congratulations to surprise, and then gradually fell silent, because they were no longer on the same level.

Only close friends like Shannon Scott and Ebua maintained a good relationship with Li Wei, with Shannon still hoping to curry favor with him. As for General Manager Ricardi, Li Wei didn't know why he had come along. He soon found out because Ricardi said he was about to leave the Long Island Nets to work in Dallas.

“Donnie Nelson is very interested in you.” Ricardi was Donnie Nelson’s envoy.

"Could he arrange a job for Ebua and Shannon first?"

"If you go to the Mavericks in the future, everything will be fine." Ricardi has already submitted his resignation to the Long Island Nets and will become the Mavericks' assistant general manager.

It's blatant recruitment, but that's how the NBA is; talented players are always being poached.

Brett remained silent, appearing disheartened by his disappointing first season as head coach. With Ricardi's departure, a complete overhaul of the Long Island Nets next year, providing training opportunities for new coaches and players, is a foregone conclusion. Brett has returned to the Brooklyn Nets' coaching staff, but with so many assistant coaches, he's essentially ineffective.

As for discovering Levi? It had little to do with Brett; it was the credit of the scouts, coaching staff, and management. And Brett, as head coach, couldn't even make the G League playoffs without an NBA-caliber player like Levi, so you can imagine how poorly the management viewed him. He knew he wouldn't stay in Brooklyn for long and started looking for a way out.

Shannon and Eboue, like other players in the G League, are looking for new jobs. Their agents are trying to find them opportunities overseas. Levi wants to help them, but his current status is far from being able to offer his friends playing opportunities.

Levi remembered Shannon's favor about the used car, while Ebua, that crybaby, cried again after a few drinks. Unable to survive in the American league, he decided to return to the Italian league. Although his time in America was tough, freezing cold, and filled with embarrassing moments, far less comfortable than in Italy, the journey of pursuing his dream was always thrilling.

With his dream shattered, he is about to return to his starting point, to where he began, and his feelings must be extremely complicated.

After finishing the meal, Ebua was flying back to Italy the next day. Before parting, he hugged Levi tightly and said, "You're the only one who survived. Keep going, buddy. We'll be watching you. Go forward with our dreams, go as far as you can."

Li Wei nodded and waved goodbye to everyone. The Long Island Nets team was thus completely disbanded; not a single member remained, and none appeared on the roster for the next season. It had completed its historical mission, and Li Wei bid it farewell, heading to higher places to continue his journey.

(End of this chapter)