NBA's King of Talking

The team's training camp began the following day, with less than a month to go before the preseason of the new season, and the Harden trade was still not completed!

But Harden showed up on the second day of the team's scrimmage. He participated in the practice, but he was even less talkative than before, and left in a hurry after the practice ended, which further shows that his heart was no longer in the team.

On October 11, the Thunder played their first preseason game of the 2012-13 season, facing the Rockets on the road.

Harden came off the bench in this game, and there was nothing particularly special about it.

Harden played in the final preseason game on October 25th, and he still hadn't been traded. But rumors were flying: some said he'd be traded to the Raptors, some to the Pistons, and others to the Rockets.

Jia Fei knew that sometimes the most talked-about places were the least likely to be visited.

On October 28, Yahoo Sports reporter Woj reported that the Thunder and Rockets had reached a trade agreement regarding Harden!

The news immediately sparked heated discussions across the United States. As the last big fish of the offseason, Harden's destination was a matter of great interest to many.

The Thunder subsequently confirmed the news, and soon after, the details of the trade were made public…

The trade went like this: The Thunder sent Harden, Lazar Hayward, Aldridge, and Daquin Cook to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and three 2013 draft picks (two first-round picks from the Raptors and Mavericks, and one second-round pick from the Bobcats).

With this, the "Thunder Trio" officially disbanded...

After the trade was announced, a reporter revealed details, explaining that the reason it was delayed until just before the start of the regular season was because they couldn't agree on the details. The reason was that the Rockets wanted Jia Fei as part of the trade, while the Thunder were adamant about not giving him up.

Finally, the Rockets relented and selected Daquan Cook as one of the trade assets.

When Jia Fei saw this, he didn't know whether to laugh or feel regret. He didn't want to go to the Rockets, but it was clear that going to the Rockets would give him a better chance of getting more possessions and playing time.

But he is still grateful to President Pu, at least he saw his value. With Lazar Hayward and Daquin Cook gone, he has two fewer competitors, and his chances of making the rotation next season have greatly increased.

“We made a lot of efforts, but we were unable to re-sign Harden,” Sam Presti said. “We ultimately couldn’t reach an agreement with Harden, so we chose to make a trade with the Rockets and got a scorer like Kevin Martin, a very young player like Lamb, and future draft picks. I believe these will all help our team.”

After the deal was officially announced, Kemba Walker called Jia Fei.

"Oh my god, Ja, I never thought you and Jeremy would become teammates. I'm so envious of you guys. Are you going to live together again?" Kemba Walker laughed.

“I didn’t expect this either, and I didn’t plan the deal. Anyway, I’m happy that Jeremy came! But living together is fine, I’ll stay alone!” Jia Fei said.

The Thunder's roster is as follows after the trade:

Centers: Perkins, Thabeet

Power forwards: Ibaka, Collison, Perry Jones, Orton

Small Forwards: Durant, Jia Fei

Shooting Guards: Thabo Sefolosha, Kevin Martin, Lamb, Liggins

Point guards: Westbrook, Reggie Jackson, Eric Mayno

The Thunder's roster is already at 15 players, and they can't sign any more unless they make a trade. It seems the team has fewer players at center and small forward, but more at power forward and point guard. In fact, Collison can also play center, and both Sefolosha and Liggins can play small forward; they are all capable of playing two positions.

Jia Fei can swing down to play the shooting guard position (2) or swing up to play the power forward position (4). He feels that the traditional division of positions is somewhat unreasonable, and the division of modern basketball is more scientific, namely ball handler, wing, and inside player.

In Jia Fei's vision, if the team's starting lineup remains unchanged, and assuming Kevin Martin plays Harden's role as the sixth man, Collison as the backup center, and Reggie Jackson and Mayno compete for the backup ball-handler position, there are only eight players. Therefore, there should be one backup wing position, with Lamb and Liggins as his competitors.

While Lamb has a long wingspan, he's only 196cm tall and has a slender build, making him a poor defender. He's actually better suited to play guard than wing. And with Kevin Martin already occupying that position, his direct competition is strong, and he might fall out of the rotation.

Of course, the coaching staff could also arrange for Lamb and Kevin Martin to play together. However, this would create a problem: the team's second unit defense would be unplayable. The second unit's weakness is not offense but defense. Therefore, in terms of both roster compatibility and current immediate impact, Jia Fei is more suitable to play alongside Kevin Martin.

As for Liggins, Jia Fei believes that if the team felt he could beat Lamb to get into the rotation, they wouldn't have traded Cook and Hayward.

Jia Fei found it quite amusing that he had suddenly become Lamb's rival. The two had been roommates and teammates at Cornell University, and now, a year later, they were teammates again.

Is this fate?

On October 31, the Thunder held a press conference to officially announce the signing of their new players. Lamb will wear jersey number 11, while Kevin Martin will wear jersey number 23.

After the press conference ended that day, Lamb and Jaf went to the latter's rented apartment.

"Jia, do you really live here?" Lamb asked in surprise, because he found the apartment to be very small, like a studio apartment with only one bedroom and one living room.

Jia Fei nodded: "Yeah, if I don't live here, where do you think I'll live? It doesn't matter if the house is small, I'm all alone."

"Then where will I stay?" Lamb asked curiously.

Jia Fei almost peed his pants laughing: "Where do you live? Ask yourself, Jeremy. Are you going to live with me?"

Lamb nodded seriously: "That's what I plan to do!"

"..." Jia Fei was practically dizzy. "Jeremy, we're not in school anymore, we don't have to live together! You can see for yourself, there's no way two people can live in this place!"

"I know!" Lamb seemed unwilling to give up. "We can rent a two-bedroom apartment, that will do!"

Jia Fei: "..."