The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 644 - 248: The Apple Turns Red, Signifying Maturity_5

Chapter 644: Chapter 248: The Apple Turns Red, Signifying Maturity_5

Yao ultimately ended up with a "stress fracture"...

This was Yao’s fate, and he didn’t feel sad at all.

But this gave Su Wan and "Vampire" a bargaining chip for negotiations. He directly expressed his thoughts, "From now on, I won’t participate in any Asian or World Championships that are not related to Olympic qualification. If you want to succeed in these events, you have to pick more outstanding newcomers to fill my absence!"

When they heard him say that, they immediately panicked, basically meaning, "Su Wan, you had promised us that as long as we don’t ask you for money, you would participate in every international event."

But it wasn’t put so bluntly.

Su Wan wasn’t in the mood to go around in circles with them, "Now, you can try asking me for money!"

His assertive attitude left them speechless.

After a moment of silence, "Vampire" spoke again, softening his tone, "Su Wan, consider the impact. Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team is a whole. We can make exceptions for you, but it’s not easy to handle for the others."

Su Wan sneered, "Are you referring to participating in international competitions, or the money issue?"

"If it’s about participating in international competitions..."

"My reason is to make way for the newcomers, to give more of them the opportunity to play internationally and to train them!"

"With Yao injured, does the Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team have anyone who can fully replace him?"

"Vampire" didn’t respond.

Su Wan was observing their expressions and soon picked up on the real issue—they were actually concerned about the money. His tone turned stern, "If you find it difficult to manage both my non-participation in international events and not paying, then..."

"Just don’t take any money!"

"This money was earned through our own efforts anyway. As for training, I can’t see it!"

"When I was injured during the youth training, and no one paid attention to me during the transfer period, I never received any care."

"Or does..."

"Allowing me a green light to play in the NBA a few years ago count as training!?"

At that, "Vampire’s" face changed immediately, "Su Wan, watch your attitude. We’re just following the rules. I know you have a lot of influence in the NBA, but in Huaxia, you must realize you’re a domestically registered athlete. You need to follow the organization’s arrangements..."

Su Wan smiled, "Then what if I just cancel my registration?"

"..."

"Vampire" fell silent again.

Even as an outsider, Yao’s career was obviously nearing its end after the "stress fracture." In the next Olympic round, it had to be Su Wan.

If Su Wan really quit,

he couldn’t bear that responsibility...

Seeing "Vampire" speechless, Su Wan didn’t plan to continue the conversation. He wasn’t there to negotiate; he was there to inform them, "I will soon make an announcement. Whether you want to cooperate or not is up to you!"

Less than half an hour later, "Vampire’s" assistant brought over a phone. On the newly launched Weibo app in 2009, Su Wan posted a new status:

"Fans should already know, Yao has suffered a stress fracture!"

"Perhaps some netizens don’t know what a stress fracture is. I can enlighten you all—simply put, it’s from playing too many games!"

"And after Yao’s injury, I suddenly discovered that there’s no one domestically who can fill his position in the front line."

"For many years, due to Yao’s presence, no outstanding national number five newcomers have emerged!"

"This makes me somewhat worried!"

"After Yao, there’s me."

"But what about after me?"

"If one day I also suddenly suffer the same injury, where will the Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team go from there!"

"In my view, although winning the silver medal in ’08 is a wonderful memory, we must admit behind the seemingly prosperous outlook, many of the golden generation of Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team have aged. We need fresh blood!"

"To ensure that more youngsters can emerge for the national team, I declare that from today on, I will no longer participate in Asian Championships and World Championships that are not related to Olympic qualification, giving the opportunity to those who come after me!"

"Of course, I also promise here that when the Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team needs to fight for Olympic tickets, I will unhesitatingly don the Huaxia Men’s Basketball uniform and stand on the international stage!"

"In my view, playing in three more Olympics is far more meaningful than participating in more Asian or World Championships!"

"I look forward to a Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team without me being as excellent as it has been over the past 8 years!"

This statement, in the end, caused quite a stir. From the comments, some understood, some didn’t, and some even stood on a moral high ground and criticized Su Wan.

Su Wan didn’t care about those. He believed that once these guys realized how badly Huaxia Men’s Basketball Team would lose internationally without him, they would also realize the "crisis" he mentioned wasn’t unfounded.

He focused more of his energy on personal training.

This time he again sought Grover to help him enhance control over his body.

And he continued to reinforce his mid-range training.

But this time, Su Wan also dragged Artest in front of Grover.

The guy had been wallowing in New York for two years, and Su didn’t know exactly what state he was in, but as Su remembered, the Artest of 2010, although he helped the Lakers win a championship, wasn’t in great shape.

Which indicates that a self-indulgent Artest was definitely worse.

Su had Grover train Artest.

Mainly to make his physical fitness abundant again.

This was Grover’s forte.

When Michael Jordan was 35 or 36, he still managed to play full games largely due to his incredible willpower but also because of Grover’s training.

And Artest was only 31 this year!