Chapter 626

Howard's affiliation became a hot topic in November, and the Rockets don't seem in a hurry to trade. This team is calculating at its core; they always want to make a killing in any trade, and any trade is like that.

As an ancient Zhongguo saying goes, 'knife-and-pen clerks cannot become high officials.'

They are accepting offers from many teams, comparing them, and on one hand they are exerting all effort to squeeze Howard's remaining value, on the other hand they are soothing Howard, asking him to calm down and play for them.

In contrast, the Clippers are enjoying peaceful times.

They have been winning, Fan Xi has firmly occupied the scoring champion position, his average points per game staying above 40. This makes James Harden, in second place, feel desperate; although he has raised his own average to 35, he is still far behind Fan Xi.

Fan Xi took leave at the end of November.

He announced that he would only return to the game after Christmas.

The Clippers' official reason given was personal reasons.

Some speculation is that Fan Xi is troubled by injuries and went for secret surgery.

Some speculation is that Fan Xi wants to settle his family's internal strife, and those hard-to-provoke Fan Xi's female admirers may have already started fighting.

Of course, the most widespread rumor is still that Fan Xi has had a son.

Si Jia Li Johnson indeed gave Fan Xi a son; on November 25, he was named Fan Ze, with the English name Vincent.

Fan Xi stayed in the delivery room for a week, then he hurried back to China.

His eldest son Fan Zhongzheng was waiting there for him.

Fan Xi's parents announced it to the world immediately, and issued a statement in the name of Fan-X Company. This amounted to declaring to the whole world that the 'throne' of their family had an heir.

Because Fan Xi was fooling around outside, the Fan parents, being foresighted, made the first thing after registering Fan Zhong's name in the household register to set up a foundation, putting eighty percent of their property and shares of their sports brand into it, stipulating that Fan Zhong would inherit it upon reaching adulthood.

This amounts to a generation-skipping designation.

Fan Xi could not stop his parents' behavior, since it is their own wealth, and how they handle it is their own affair.

But Fan Xi raised a pointed question: 'What if I have another child with Yifei?'

'Then we just add a name to the foundation's beneficiaries.' Fan Xi's father said bluntly: 'But we won't add any other children's names; you understand what I mean.'

Fan Xi spread his palm.

Fan Xi had been staying in China. Until his fourth child was about to be born, he returned to Los Angeles on December 20.

At that time, the Clippers had already achieved a 22-game winning streak.

On the day Fan Xi's plane arrived in Los Angeles, the Clippers lost to the Miami Heat.

This was expected.

The Heat this year have no weaknesses; their roster is strong, players' fighting spirit is high, and their tactical coordination has reached the highest level.

After losing four years in a row, their desire for the championship has reached an unprecedented level.

They controlled the game from start to finish; although the Clippers played well, the lead was always under the Heat's control, and the Heat finally beat the Clippers by 11 points.

This is truly remarkable.

Because the Clippers had maintained a perfect record before encountering the Heat.

Even though Fan Xi took a long vacation.

To some extent, the Clippers' break is giving other players room to grow. Yannis and Jokic have improved their skills rapidly during this time.

Jokic has already gotten 7 triple-doubles, becoming the player with the most triple-doubles in the current league, and he will also become the rookie with the most triple-doubles in history.

He has continuously been the Western Conference's best rookie, giving no chance to other newcomers.

Compared to the 76ers rookie center who declared the season over after just two weeks of play, he is outstanding to the point of being hair-raising. And that guy named Embiid is still over there saying: 'Trust the process.'

Comparable to Jokic is the Cavaliers' number-one pick Wiggins, who, after adjusting with Irving, has unleashed his talent, easily becoming a member of the 20-point club, and he has the chance to become another rookie since the turn of the century to achieve the Rookie Game and 20+5+5.

This is a gold standard.

Any swing forward who achieves this statistic in his rookie season means he is destined to become a superstar.

Believe that by next summer, the Cavaliers will have to make a difficult decision.

Because all current indications show that, regardless of whether Le Bu Lang Zhang Si wins the championship this season, he will return to his hometown.

Some cynical commentators will say: because of James's departure, the Cavaliers have gotten so many number-one picks in these years. The hometown has leverage now, and Akron's son should also return. After all, Wei De is growing older day by day, while Irving and Wiggins are growing day by day.

After losing to the Heat, the Clippers also lost to the Bulls.

After acquiring Tony Parker, the Bulls were revitalized; Tony Parker's tank still has fuel. Moreover, when he sees Mili Xiqi, he performs excellently, after all they once shared Eva's user manual. But Mili Xiqi is a bit stronger than Tony Parker; Tony Parker only uses it lightly, while Mili Xiqi uses the carrier to produce two kids.

The combination of Tony Parker and Derek Rose has pushed the Bulls' defense and counterattack to an unbelievable extent; their penetration of the paint has reached an unimaginable degree. Parker once was the NBA guard with the highest paint shooting percentage, and Derek Rose needs no further comment. However, this season Rosa will focus more on outside shooting… his progress has been remarkable.

It must be said that Rubio and Leonard were blown away by them in this game.

After losing two games in a row, fans began to miss Fan Xi.

But Fan Xi simply had no time to worry about the game.

Anne Hathaway's child was born safely, named Hilde, We need to output lines: English name is Fan Ping.

It is worth mentioning that Hathaway's child and Si Jia Li's child look very alike. This feeling is quite subtle.

Fan Xi even made a cold joke: 'I have so many Sagittarius sons; I can guarantee that if they play basketball in the future, they will definitely be shooting experts.'

Of course, they could also be super forwards in football.

Troy has now gone to Europe; his current passion is all in football, and at just two and a half years old, he has already begun training his ball sense on the grass field.

To this end, his wealthy mother Jennifer has already begun investing in a football club. Therefore, she wants to withdraw her shares in the Kuaisuan.

At that time she spent 1.5 billion US dollars; besides the dividends of these years, this portion will now rise to about 2.5 billion US dollars.

Very astonishing.

The Kuaisuan's team market value is second only to the New York Knicks… there's nothing to be done; the Knicks are simply heaven-sent, with God feeding them.

Christmas.

Fan Xi organized a unique meet-and-greet, with Anne Hathaway and his child, Si Jia Li Johnson and her child, Megan Fox pregnant, and also the nightstand war god.

Everyone was happily mingling, each exchanging Christmas gifts.

Fan Xi really liked this atmosphere; he began to understand the joy of ancient men.

When the children had all gone to sleep, everyone's discussion turned to… we need to buy a piece of land, then build a super‑super‑big house.

Inside there should be an amusement park, a basketball court, a castle… a pirate spaceship….

These wild, fantastical ideas are not hard for Fan Xi to realize nowadays—whether buying land or building a house, making the interior extravagantly lavish.

The next day, Fan Xi had the professional manager go check it out.

At the same time, Fan Xi returned to the team.

When shooting coach Arenas saw Fan Xi, he said, "Jie Ke, I feel you've got a lot more happiness on your face—do you have some happy news to share with us?"

Fan Xi smiled and waved his hand, discussing the game with him to change the subject.

Overall, Fan Xi was very pleased with the Kuaisuan's performance over this period. He realized the Kuaisuan had become a super team.

Even without him, the Kuaisuan had the strength to break out of the Western Conference.

But at the same time, this also meant the Kuaisuan was about to face a new roster overhaul.

No team can accommodate that many superstars—salary is one factor, ball possession another. Superstars are made by ball possession; if possession drops, even players who could be superstars will gradually decline.

Just like before… with Leonard and Butler, Fan Xi must make a cut.

Of course, these are matters for next season.

This season, everyone's main task is… to make the whole league feel the Kuaisuan's dominance.

But just as Fan Xi was preparing to head to New York for an away game, a shocking piece of news was announced.

The Rockets gave the basketball world a little Houston shock.

Dwight Howard was traded to the Miami Heat, and the Heat's package included Hibbert acquired from the Pacers, plus draft picks, cash, and two trade sweeteners.

Hibbert and Howard are the same type of player, but from any angle Howard is better than Hibbert and more suited to the Heat.

This time the Heat aren't just the Three Giants—they're the Four Giants.

The only person who could once trade straight for James also brought his talent to the South Coast.

The Heat have upgraded and renewed once again.

The Divine Calculator truly lives up to its name—his move is a big one.

Howard's joining the Heat had many teams shouting, "Wolf!"

This isn't just 3+1=4 forming the Four Heavenly Kings; it's truly an impregnable fortress.

What else sets the Heat apart?

On both offense and defense, they possess top‑tier dominance.

"The Heat really are sparing no expense this time—they have to pay the luxury tax at the maximum rate. Salary cost plus luxury tax must reach 1.5 billion USD…" Mike Brown gasped on the plane.

He said to Fan Xi, "They can be said to have emptied their coffers just to beat you."

Fan Xi shrugged. He really felt the madness.

This is the madness of breaking nothing, establishing nothing.

This is truly the wolf has come.

The Eastern Conference will become a sea of blood and wind.

"The Heat have only lost three games this season; they're going to break the record this season." Leonard usually doesn't speak, but when he does he hits the nail on the head.

"We've only lost two games so far; we can also break the record." Jokić said proudly.

These Kuaisuan players all have a fearless, nothing‑can‑stop‑them attitude.

The Heat formed this super‑galactic warship, and they were only surprised for half an hour, then they regained their calm and confidence. They all felt that even so, there was nothing to fear.

Since Jie Ke can beat them four times, he can surely beat them five times.

When the plane, after a long cross‑country flight, arrived in New York, Fan Xi saw Dwight Howard's enthusiastic face in the hotel lobby.

He displayed his number‑12 jersey on TV.

He seemed to have returned to his Orlando days. His smile was so pure. He had finally returned to Florida after many years of wandering.

He said, "I'm back!"

"I'm here for only three things! Win the championship! Win the championship! Win the championship! Or… win the championship!"

Howard held up three fingers, just as he did when he and Le Bron James joined the Heat, doing a classic math problem.

Then he also said, "Being traded to the Heat was my strong demand; I only have one team I'd accept a trade to, and that's the Heat."

"I want revenge, and I know this is the best place for revenge."

"I must make those who defeated me feel regret, and they must pay the price for offending me. I know there's a group here who share my ideals, and together we can surely overturn the whole basketball order."

"Le Bron, me, Wade, Bosh, Ray Allen… we're half a dream team; can anyone in this world beat a dream team? No! We're invincible."

"The league must accept our rule!"

Saying this, he roared at the camera.

He emitted a stimulating sound.

He was excited, and the Miami reporters and fans on site were also excited.

It's obvious they now have unprecedented courage. They all believe the arrival of the Magic Beast will truly change the league landscape.

Jieke Fan's era of dominance has ended.

This is their consensus.

At the Golden Curator's qualification press conference, not a single word mentioned Fan Xi, yet all the arrows pointed to him.

Fan Xi sat in front of the TV, his expression quite calm.

He knew Howard's words were aimed at him.

But Howard, as usual, speaks without thinking; the world now has many teams that can beat a dream team. A dream team is no longer an invincible ever‑victorious general.

At least, in the past two World Series, Fan Xi has defeated them.

They have only now gathered half a dream team.

Happy, will it be too early?

At that moment, Fan Xi received a phone call.

It was Zhan Mu Si Duo Lan calling.

"Jie Ke, Jie Ke! Great news, great news—Miami has formed a super luxurious lineup; hurry up and defeat them, then come to the Knicks!"

As soon as Zhan Mu Si Duo Lan spoke, it was the old revolutionary optimism.

If you weren't familiar with him, you might even think he was speaking in a weird, sarcastic tone.

But he really does think that way.

He's now just slacking off, waiting for Fan Xi to play two years with the Knicks, then spare no effort to get Fan Xi, so that Fan Xi can come to the Eastern and sweep away all the demons and monsters.

"There will be a ceremony before tomorrow's game starts; your statue is ready—please come to Madison Square Garden for the unveiling."

Zhan Mu Si Duo Lan got down to business.

His statue really has been completed.

Moreover, according to him, it's imposing and towering—you could say it's the Statue of Liberty of the basketball world.

…