Chapter 506: If It

Le Bu Lang Zhang Si appeared in the media again at the ESPY Awards ceremony organized by ESPN.

He himself did not attend, but he recorded a video.

In the video he looks a bit slimmer than during the Finals, which matches recent rumors out of Miami that Le Bu Lang Zhang Si will lose weight, become faster in the new season, and increase his activity on the perimeter.

Undoubtedly, James's every move still draws everyone's attention.

Although Fan Xi secured his status as the top figure in basketball after the Finals, James remains the closest contender, and many still think James will achieve revenge.

Moreover, next season will be his best opportunity.

Thus, he received this year's Male Athlete of the Year award.

This sparked controversy, because the other winners—tennis's Novak Djokovic, track's Usain Bolt, and golf's Tiger Woods—are all truly dominant.

And James lost to Fan Xi, not just once but multiple times.

That is probably why James was not present on site.

Dehuai En Wade helped him receive the award.

Wade also carried out effective body management, losing weight to reduce pressure on his knees.

Recently, his agent revealed more behind-the-scenes details of the Finals, including Wade's closed-door play. This caused many fans to feel inevitable regret over the Finals' outcome.

Many Miami fans began to think that, had there been fewer mishaps, we might already have claimed the championship trophy.

This awards ceremony produced many memorable lines.

The host teased Dwight Howard. "When Dwight joined the Lakers, Kobe taught him how to win a championship, but he didn't learn it." "Howard is the first center to break the tradition that the league's top center on the Lakers guarantees a title, but if he weren't the top center, everything would make sense."

"Chris Paul ended the point guard era, because now no one debates who the top point guard is."

"The Lakers executed a flawless overall relocation, sending their head coach, point guard, and center to Houston. They should feel fortunate that they no longer have a bad neighbor nearby. However, another piece of news is that their bad neighbor moved even farther away."

Of course, this was the talk‑show host's rant about the basketball world, but it spread widely.

It is worth noting that the notoriously sharp‑tongued talk‑show performer never mentioned Fan Xi, even though Fan Xi was the season's most brilliant basketball player.

Thus, the relationship between ESPN and Fan Xi appears irreparably broken.

Dehuai En Wade's private conversation with Kevin Durant backstage after the ceremony was also exposed; Wade said to Durant, "Right now the most competitive team in the Western Conference looks to be yours and Houston."

Durant replied, "The Eastern Conference is far more complicated than the West; how do you view Jie Ke joining the Knicks?"

"I have no opinion; I'm more concerned with your West."

Even though the next day, Wade accused a unscrupulous media outlet of taking his words out of context.

Nevertheless, the information revealed became especially clear.

Wade was very confident.

He did not think any Eastern team could hinder them.

Although he did not directly answer the question of Fan Xi joining the Knicks, it was clear he had not included the Knicks in his plans.

The conversation sparked a strong reaction in New York.

Although Fan Xi had only just joined New York, the city had already entered a self‑protective phase for him. They displayed Fan Xi's past records, and some New York fans posted a biting online satire of Wade: "Dehuai En's confident look is strikingly similar to his demeanor before Jie Ke first knocked him out."

Such remarks undoubtedly poke the Flash's lung tubes.

Wade is the active player who has been directly knocked out the most times, and that is all thanks to Fan Xi.

New York media also slammed Wade's arrogance, calling his remarks absurd, comical, and a trivial stunt. A player who has failed three times in a row arrogantly looks past the league's top player toward the distant West.

Fan Xi noticed the reports and did not respond.

He thought it meaningless.

He has already said what needed to be said at the Clippers championship parade. He came to New York solely to do one thing: win the championship! Win the championship! Or damn it, win the championship!

He doesn't want to argue with Wade, no need for a beef. Wade's decline from his peak is inevitable, whether due to injury or age. Fan Xi no longer sees him as a rival; whatever he says or how he positions himself is his personal freedom.

Amid the external turmoil, Fan Xi was on his own balcony, using a telescope to watch the neighboring lawn; there he could see Troy around eight or nine in the morning, when the nanny would bring him out to bask in the sun.

Although only for a brief ten or twenty minutes.

Fan Xi always prepares an hour for this.

Currently, Fan Xi is still unsure when he can enter Jennifer's house, but their communication has become more frequent than before.

It is worth noting that after Fan Xi moved to New York, a strong push seems to be directed toward the Fan girls.

Si Jia Li Johnson publicly stated that she is now reducing her film work and is beginning to learn how to embrace family life. In the same interview she also revealed that she wants to have a boy and a girl, preferably with black hair and black eyes.

Similarly, another former adversary of Si Jia Li, Megan Fox, expressed a comparable desire.

She said: "Returning to family strongly attracts me. In my fifteen‑year‑old diary I wrote that I would be a gentle mother, and I hope to give my love unreservedly to my children. As I age, the circumstances of the past two years have made me increasingly pursue this feeling."

This led some media to joke that Fan Xi could surpass Dwight Howard within three years to become the active NBA player with the most illegitimate children.

After all, there are just too many Fan girls.

In fact, if Fan Xi kept an open attitude like Howard, he might not even need a year.

…

Time always passes quickly.

From July to August, from August to September, and September swiftly into October.

The long off‑season seemed to end in an instant.

During this time, Fan Xi did not sever his ties to basketball; his figure kept appearing in arenas in Los Angeles and New York.

He even traveled to Las Vegas to watch the Clippers' summer league, though the media cared more about his spring night with Selena, who was holding a concert in Las Vegas, and his later appearance at Jenna's masquerade ball.

After returning from Las Vegas, Fan Xi went to the Boston summer league to watch the Knicks' games.

In Boston, Fan Xi sat with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce; they appeared to get along well, with candid photos showing smiles.

But in fact, Fan Xi had some "conflicts" with Pierce in private.

Paul Pierce said he will blow up the New York Knicks next season.

Pierce continues his trademark sharp‑tongued banter.

His mouth is a weapon widely recognized as difficult to defend on the NBA court.

Fan Xi asked him: "How do you solve the ball possession problem with Carmelo Anthony? How do you make Deron become a meek top-of-the-arc passer? Also, how do you deal with your current flab?"

Fan Xi merely countered with three questions.

Pierce then felt humiliated and said to Fan Xi: "Anyway, we'll kick your ass hard."

Fan Xi thought this was a boring topic and stopped talking to him.

On the other hand, Kevin Garnett mediated, and his adult jokes really did get some laughs.

Besides watching the summer league, Fan Xi also held basketball training camps in Los Angeles and New York, spending all his time in the gym.

Interestingly, Joe Johnson joined in midway.

Originally Fan Xi was looking for him to practice one-on-one, after all Joe Johnson is one of the best active isolation players.

Joe Johnson's offensive firepower is very formidable; at times Fan Xi felt like he was facing Kobe.

Joe Johnson's skill level is high, and his build is taller than Kobe's.

But he lacks the killer instinct that Kobe has.

When Kobe had the ball, his attacks were extremely resolute. Joe Johnson seems to lack a bit of ruthlessness. This is probably why he's rated as 99-degree hot water, just shy of boiling.

Fan Xi and Joe Johnson's one-on-one matches were evenly matched.

At the end of August, an unexpected person joined.

This person was Josh Smith.

Josh Smith was a teammate of Joe Johnson on the Hawks, with explosive athleticism, capable of playing both power forward and small forward.

He got along well with Joe Johnson, and also had a good relationship with the Knicks' former head coach, now head coach Mike Woodson.

This is the foundation of his New York trip.

He is currently a Pistons player, but his relationship with the team has reached an irreconcilable stage.

The Pistons are eager to rebuild, but Josh Smith hasn't performed up to his salary.

The Pistons have been trying to trade Josh Smith all summer, yet no team wants to take on this power forward with nearly forty million left on his contract.

As he ages, this high-school phenom inevitably runs into the limits of his athleticism.

His skills have never improved.

When he entered the league, he was often compared to James, but not everyone is like James.

James is the extreme of the athleticism school; his physical gifts have peaked, and his skills keep improving year by year.

Josh Smith wants to change.

So he came to find Fan Xi.

Fan Xi is the only point guard widely recognized as having the Midas touch, although he (Josh Smith) had some minor on-court disputes with Fan Xi when he was with the Hawks early on.

However, when Joe Johnson mediated, Fan Xi agreed to let him join his training camp.

Fan Xi and Josh Smith did some sparring.

Josh Smith's athleticism remains explosive, and he hasn't suffered any major injuries these years.

Just, his skills really haven't improved much.

But for Fan Xi, this is enough.

The Knicks don't need an elite ball-handling isolation guard; having a forward with extraordinary athleticism who's good at disrupting play is great and can greatly enrich tactical layers.

So when Josh Smith left, Fan Xi told him: "No matter whether you can negotiate a buyout with the Pistons, as long as you're willing to join New York, I will definitely not vote against it."

Of course, Fan Xi also didn't make any decisions for New York.

He is the owner of the Clippers, not the Knicks. Although James Dolan said Fan Xi could treat this as his own team and freely acquire players,

but Fan Xi still exercises restraint.

Working a job means having the mindset of a worker; don't always think about making decisions for the boss.

Besides Josh Smith, Old Brown resolved Prince.

Prince officially joined the Knicks family in September.

Moreover, Stoudemire entered Fan Xi's training camp before arriving in October; Stoudemire and Fan Xi are old acquaintances.

When Fan Xi was still a rookie, he once blocked Fan Xi's hotel door, hoping Fan Xi would join the Knicks and form a super trio with him and Anthony.

But it didn't work out then.

If they had succeeded then, perhaps Fan Xi's later glory wouldn't have happened.

Stoudemire's injuries have fully healed, his athleticism has declined somewhat, but he's an excellent finisher; give him the ball and he'll score easily. Moreover, in pick-and-roll, he's stronger than all the power forwards Fan Xi has ever teamed up with combined.

Nowitzki's pick-and-roll ability… without elite shooting as a foundation, it's basically zero.

Blake Griffin is a power forward who likes to handle the ball himself; despite his superstar athleticism, he's confident in his ball-handling and passing.

Stoudemire, by contrast, is very pure: he can provide high-quality screens, then after a pick-and-roll either roll quickly or directly shoot a jumper; even if defended, he can hold the ball, take two steps, and finish.

Many attribute the Suns' success solely to Steve Nash, which is unfair.

Stoudemire is likewise a superstar cornerstone of that team.

After training with Fan Xi for a week, Stoudemire publicly declared in an interview: "My first career championship is finally coming. I know exactly what I'm saying."

"I used to know Jieke Fan was strong, but I didn't expect him to be this strong. Wait and see—you'll be amazed next season."

Stoudemire laid his cards on the table.

He even happily said: "I'm glad that in that trade, the Nets didn't think of me. Otherwise I'd have gone to the Nets, Melo would stay in New York, and wouldn't he be the one to win the championship?"

This is a biting satire.

Over the past period, Stoudemire and Melo's cooperation has not been harmonious.

So he had to take a jab at him.

…