NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 184 Selected as an All-Star Starter

Jia Fei remains ranked 3rd in the Eastern Conference frontcourt, but his position is not secure. Carmelo Anthony is a strong contender, and with their vote counts close, it's possible for either of them to finish 3rd.

The NBA All-Star voting consists of four rounds, and three rounds have been completed so far. Running Man and Xiao Shuai are basically set to start, and the biggest suspense now is whether Jia Fei will be able to start.

The Hawks are also promoting Jia Fei, hoping he can be selected for the All-Star starting lineup.

On January 11, the Hawks narrowly defeated the Rockets at home, completing a season sweep of their opponents both at home and away, and securing their second consecutive win.

Two days later, the Hawks narrowly lost to the Grizzlies on the road, failing to achieve a three-game winning streak.

On January 15th, the NBA official website reported that the head coach for the 2014 NBA All-Star Game Eastern Conference All-Star team has been officially selected: Frank Vogel, head coach of the Indiana Pacers. Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks will serve as the head coach for the Western Conference All-Star team.

Jia Fei doesn't care at all who becomes the All-Star head coach; all he cares about now is whether he can eventually become an All-Star starter.

On January 17, the Hawks lost to the Nets at home, suffering their second consecutive defeat.

After two consecutive losses, their record stands at 27 wins and 12 losses, maintaining their third-place ranking in the Eastern Conference.

On January 21, the Hawks will host the Heat.

In this game, facing the Heat with Wade still sidelined due to injury, Jia Fei delivered a brilliant performance, scoring 32 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He went toe-to-toe with the Heat's fast break, and the Hawks' players all contributed to their victory at home, ending their two-game losing streak against the opponent this season.

After winning this game, the Hawks narrowed the gap in records between the Hawks and the Heat to one game.

This highly anticipated match was considered a crucial one for Jia Fei after the All-Star voting officially began, propelling his popularity to its peak this season. Not only in the US, but also in China, a large number of fans became his supporters, voting for him online and campaigning for him. It seemed as if they had rediscovered new supporters in the post-Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian era.

On January 23, the Hawks narrowly defeated the Magic on the road, achieving their second consecutive victory.

The following day, the fourth round of All-Star voting concluded! The starting lineups for the 2014 NBA All-Star Game were announced on January 24th! Unsurprisingly, the Miami Heat's "Running Man" (a nickname for a player) became the most vote-getter in this year's All-Star Game!

The All-Star starting lineup has also been announced, and this year's All-Star starters are quite impressive!

Jia Fei was selected as an Eastern Conference starter for the 2014 New Orleans All-Star Game!

The news caused an uproar. Previously, Jia Fei's third-place ranking in the Eastern Conference forward line during the first and second rounds of voting hadn't generated such a stir, but now his selection was a done deal, with no further changes expected.

Jia Fei was selected as an All-Star starter, becoming the second Asian player to be selected as an All-Star starter after Yao Ming. His transformation from a substitute last season to an All-Star starter this season is also an extremely rare occurrence in the league.

Thunder naturally became the target of ridicule once again. Although their record was still very good, it was clear that losing Jia Fei was an unforgivable mistake.

However, many people can't help but marvel at the Thunder's sharp eye for talent in the draft, from Durant to Westbrook, then to Harden, and then to Reggie Jackson, all of which demonstrate the management's prowess.

Many Thunder fans are somewhat disillusioned. They believe that if they hadn't let Harden and Jafi, the Thunder could field a super small-ball lineup of Westbrook, Harden, Jafi, Durant, and Ibaka, and even have Jafi and Harden lead the second unit—it's incredibly luxurious. Furthermore, besides these players, young talents like Reggie Jackson and Lamb are gradually developing into reliable rotation players, and they have rookie Adams as a role player in the paint. This team would be among the league's top tier in terms of talent and immediate impact.

Unfortunately, all of this can only remain hypothetical now. The reality is that Harden went to Houston and Jia Fei went to Atlanta.

The All-Star starting lineups are as follows: Eastern Conference starters are Runner, Jia Fei, Paul George, Irving, and Wade; Western Conference starters are Xiao Shuai, Shaq, Love, Brother, and Black Snake.

This is Jia Fei's first time being selected as an All-Star starter in his NBA career! It is definitely a milestone honor for him.

On the evening of the 24th, the night Jia Fei was officially selected as an All-Star starter, he treated the entire team to dinner at a high-end hotel in Atlanta. He signed a four-year, $33 million contract with the Hawks last summer, and with his endorsements, he's not exactly a super-rich person now, but treating someone to dinner is still a piece of cake for him.

Art Mayork, his face flushed from the wine, seemed happier than Jia Fei, as if he were the one selected for the All-Star game. He had also realized that if he could still make a living in the NBA, besides his own efforts, his relationship with Jia Fei meant that as long as Jia Fei rose to prominence, it wouldn't be difficult for him to stay in the league and earn a living.

This league has plenty of cronies; it's common knowledge that superstars always have close associates. Many teams try to curry favor with superstars, and signing their close associates is a good way to do so. Since teams have many roster spots, a small contract won't cost much.

"Jia, becoming an All-Star is truly an honor for our team!" Head coach Budenholzer was overjoyed, raising his glass to Jia Fei. "The All-Star title is definitely not your final destination; the sky's the limit!"

"Thank you, Coach!" Coach Buden's praise was high. Jia Fei was only human, and who doesn't like to hear nice things? He couldn't be an exception. Besides, what the coach said wasn't unreasonable. He didn't even know his own limits, so who could easily make a conclusion?

“I think Detonator must be regretting it now, hahaha…” Mi Shen laughed.

Jia Fei shook his head: "They won't regret it. This has nothing to do with them. President Pu wanted to keep me, and the team wanted to control the total salary, so there was nothing he could do!"

“That’s true. A general manager who’s good at drafting can’t possibly fail to see your potential. It was the same with James Harden before. Even though he was already making a name for himself, the management couldn’t possibly think that his value was comparable to that of Kevin Martin, who was in his 30s!” Mi Shen said.

Jia Fei didn't want to dwell on these things. The NBA is a business league, and owners are people too. Some owners don't care about money and are willing to spend lavishly for the team's honor, while others don't care so much about whether the team wins a championship. They care more about whether the team's market value increases and the team's overall revenue. It's the players and fans who have dreams, but not necessarily the owners.

Some fans keep complaining that the team owner is stingy, but since it's not your money being spent, would you still be so generous if it were your money?