Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Yu Fei openly recruited agents, indirectly announcing that he would forego his college eligibility to enter this year's NBA Draft.

In Quentin DiMio's view, it was too subdued. Given Yu Fei's local prestige, he could have made a big splash by inviting media from the State of Washington to a press conference and then announced his draft decision just like Kobe Bryant did in his time.

Looking back on Kobe's approach, Yu Fei considered it reckless and frivolous. Kobe had announced his intention to bring his talents to the NBA in front of dozens of media outlets, nonchalantly wearing sunglasses.

Back then, people saw Kobe as too ostentatious and flamboyant, and his actions brought him many negative reviews.

Actually, it was a move made out of necessity, because, by the standards of the time, Kobe didn't have the immediately obvious super talent like Kevin Garnett. Promoting himself in this way was one of Kobe's strategies to get noticed by more and more people.

Now, with no more doubts about the maturation rate of high school players in the NBA, Yu Fei didn't need to promote himself like Kobe once did.

Besides, he was only fifth nationwide in the 2001 class, and three of the four players ranked ahead of him had decided to enter the draft without resorting to Kobe's methods.

That was wise, and Yu Fei did the same.

Choosing a reliable agent was the most important thing at the moment compared to creating a spectacle.

Many agents were interested in Yu Fei, but the only one who truly entered his heart was recommended by Sonny Vacarro—Arn Herschel Tellem.

Tellem was 47 that year, a Jew from Philadelphia who initially worked as a lawyer until he switched to being an agent in the early '80s, first representing baseball players until 1996, when he began to represent a high school basketball player named Kobe Bryant.

Kobe's success broadened Tellem's ventures into basketball, and using Kobe's example, he targeted clients who were young players ready to join the League—preferably those straight out of high school.

Tellem was unstoppable from there, becoming an angel in the eyes of those who wanted to jump directly from high school to the NBA.

Tracy McGrady in 1997;

Darius Miles in 2000;

And this year, Kwame Brown, Eddie Curry, and Tyson Chandler were all under his wing.

Furthermore, Tellem was not like the vampire agents such as David Falk and Dan Fegan, who were loathed by NBA executives; his reputation in professional basketball was excellent, known for being upright and empathetic.

Yu Fei thought this was rare. He didn't need an agent like Falk, who dared to bleed NBA teams in a specific era, because the NBA would become more and more professional. The value of a player's contract would entirely depend on his own ability and demands; nor did he need an agent like Fegan, who instigated players to sign "yin-yang contracts" and arrange one-on-one workouts with chairs.

Yu Fei's concern about Tellem was that he already had too many players under his umbrella who would be selected in the 2001 Draft.

"When I encounter problems, will you be able to appear right away?" Yu Fei asked.

Tellem gave Yu Fei a bright smile, "Anything within my scope of business, if you face a problem one second, my call will reach the team's office the next second."

Yu Fei then asked, "What if it's beyond your business scope?"

Tellem joked, "If one day you suddenly want to kill everyone in the locker room, I won't buy you a gun."

Yu Fei chuckled. Tellem gave him a very reliable impression.

Truthfully, he didn't know if this person was the most suitable choice. The biggest difference between him and other time travelers was the lack of sufficient qualifications. After all, how could the experiences of a vibrant teenager from his former life help a seventeen-year-old youth he had embodied in? He had never even stepped out into society.

Yu Fei made his considerations based on character, qualifications, professional opinions, player evaluations, and the impression from their meeting.

Tellem had a good character, extensive qualifications, a key recommendation from an industry heavyweight like Vacarro, and first-rate clients led by Kobe and McGrady singing his praises. After meeting him, Yu Fei felt he was very dependable, and with his long track record of representing high school players, as the next high school player to enter the NBA, Yu Fei believed he couldn't find a more suitable candidate than Tellem.

That very evening, Yu Fei introduced Tellem to Yu Fenglin.

Yu Fenglin's impression of Tellem was strikingly consistent with Yu Fei's.

From that point on, there was no doubt about it.

Two days later, Kevin began negotiating the agent contract with Trem.

Having never experienced such a thing in his previous life, Kevin was dizzy with all the professional jargon, and it took him half a day to understand the various terms.

After another half day of negotiations, Kevin and Trem's agency contract was finalized as follows.

It was a four-year contract, with Trem taking 4% of Kevin's future rookie contract as a commission. However, Kevin also needed to give Trem 6% of the income from his rookie contract for off-season travel expenses, litigation attorney fees, and promotion fees for commercial activities. Kevin could choose not to provide this money, but if he didn't, he would have to handle these matters himself.

All rookies would provide this money, and Kevin was no exception. Moreover, the commission Trem was charging was very low. Normally, agents would take a 10% commission on contract income, but he only wanted 4%, which was a bargain price. Kevin agreed to this without hesitation.

Then there was the issue of agent authorization, which meant whether the agent had the right to represent the athlete in signing commercial endorsement agreements or contract negotiations. Kevin first entrusted Trem with full authority to negotiate his player contract and then gave Trem the right to negotiate commercial endorsements.

The contract was filled with numerous clauses and requirements.

Kevin and Trem started discussing the contract during lunchtime. By the time they reached an agreement and completed signing, it was already dinner time.

"To celebrate the signing, dinner is on me tonight," Trem said with a smile, "Let's commemorate this day with the best steak."

At that moment, Quentin DiMio interjected teasingly, "Aern, it's time to get to know your client better. Compared to steak, Frye prefers pork chop rice from Pork Chop Immortal."

The news of Kevin signing with an agent rapidly reached the top, and the college coaches who had hoped to recruit him frantically during the summer vacation reluctantly gave up their attention to him.

Then, the media and city broadcast in Kent City began to actively promote Kevin.

Kevin would be the first NBA player to come out of Kent City, and he was the pride of the Kentites.

Seattle shamelessly branded Kevin with the title "Son of Seattle," which, to the Kentites, was ridiculous and despicable.

But this was like James always saying, "I'm just a kid from Akron." Cleveland is Cleveland, Akron is Akron. Similarly, Seattle is Seattle, Kent is Kent. Although these cities are very close geographically, their boundaries are clear.

In late April, just before the NBA playoffs, Kevin went to Seattle to shoot a promotional video for Adidas.

Thus, the moniker "Son of Seattle" grew even more prominent, after all, Kevin had never had the opportunity to film a promotional video for Kent.

After the Seattle shooting plan was over, the hype for Kevin in the State of Washington started to intensify.

Kevin's name began to make its way into the offices of NBA teams, but what truly gave him an undeniable prospect for the top fifteen picks of the 2001 NBA Draft was the explosive feature about him published by Sports Illustrated on April 30th. Written by the magazine's most prestigious chief writer, Gary Smith, the lengthy article was titled—

April 30, 2001

"The Chosen One" (The Chosen One)

Epigraph: Frye Yu believes he is the chosen one by God, but to those who worship him, his destiny is not only to become the greatest basketball player from the State of Washington but also to change the world. Will fame crush him?

"...A few months ago, when Frye led Kent Meridian High School to its first state championship with a dominant performance, he developed a charm that transcended regional limits, and Seattle went crazy about the young man.

It was an extraordinary night. A salad, a piece of bread, a steak, half a potato, a slice of cake on the table, the clinking of forks, someone making jokes on the stage, and the mixed murmur of conversation filled the room. Then a fat man with messy hair stood up. His voice trembled, tears welled, choking on sobs while swallowing his cries, and all the mundane things dissipated.

"Please forgive me... but when I talk about Frye, I get very emotional... My heart... is so full of... joy... when I realize... this young man... will be able to... help so many people... He will transcend the sport... and bring to the world... a heroism never seen before... The world will be better... for his presence... and his emergence... I only claim a small part in it... because I know God himself chose me and K-M... to nurture this young man... and enable him to contribute to people... He is our treasure... Please accept it... and use it wisely... Thank you."

Blinking away tears, the man found himself surrounded by the respect of his students and the applause of their parents; everyone stood up. Never in the history of Washington had a school principal talked about a student in this way. Most principals leave before their students enter this field or remain silent; few students are praised like this because no one wants their student to wander and get lost in the wilderness of absurdity and sorrow that comes with becoming famous too early.

When the party was over and everyone was ready to leave, a well-dressed Latin American woman in her fifties—whom we see in every country club—came up to them and said, "Frye, when I watch you compete with other players, it feels like I'm watching my own son."

At that moment, we could feel the tremble of the cosmic compass as humans looked into the eyes of someone from another race and saw their own kin.

Is Frye Yu 'the one'? Will he have a chance to change the desolate state of Asian Americans in professional sports? Only time can tell, but my answer is the same as the Kentites, the Seattlites, and the Washingtonians.

He is "The Chosen One."

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