NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 337 Fusion Rate 100%

In the few days since Jia Fei and Art Mayok left, a lot has happened in the NBA free agency market.

On July 1, the first day of the free agent market, Yahoo Sports reported that the first signing of the season had been completed, with Woj revealing that Anthony Davis had reached a record-breaking 5-year, $1.45 million contract extension with the Pelicans.

The Spurs, on the other hand, signed Leonard to a lucrative 5-year, $9000 million contract extension, also securing a large deal for him.

Compared to Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard, Jia Fei is currently still serving his 4-year, $3300 million contract, earning less than $1000 million annually. Considering his achievements, he was undoubtedly the lowest-paid, most high-performing player in the league last season.

Jia Fei didn't feel he'd lost out by signing the four-year, $33 million contract. Keep in mind that when he signed, his scoring average was only in single digits. The Hawks offering such a contract was considered extremely bold and risky at the time. As it turned out, they won the gamble, so they deserve the rewards—that's fair.

On July 2, the Hawks and Paul Millsap reached a three-year, $55 million contract extension agreement, with the final year being a player option.

Jia Fei remembered that Milner's contract was slightly larger in his previous life, perhaps because Milner's presence affected the forward's statistics, thus impacting the total contract value. However, the contract was still substantial, averaging over $1800 million annually, making it a large contract.

On the same day, the Toronto Raptors and DeMarre Carroll reached a signing agreement for a new four-year, $5807 million contract.

Carroll also signed a big contract, but not with the Hawks, but with another team.

It's understandable that the Hawks let Carroll go; a pseudo-3-and-D player like him would be too expensive at over $10 million in today's salary cap. Carroll lacks consistent ball-handling and offensive skills, his defense is mediocre, and his three-point shooting isn't particularly reliable. He's a decent role player, but with almost no room for growth.

Clearly, the Raptors acquired Carroll to fill in for strong wing players like Jia Fei and Paonan. With the backcourt already boasting the "garbage duo" DeRozan and Lowry, finding a 3-and-D player at the small forward position is perfectly reasonable.

Jia Fei was somewhat dissatisfied that since the Hawks didn't intend to re-sign Carroll, why didn't they conduct a sign-and-trade? They could have used draft picks to form a three-team team to acquire a stronger player.

The Hawks didn't make any major moves on draft night, except for acquiring guard Tim Hardaway Jr.

Jia Fei was thinking that if the Hawks didn't make any big moves, then compared to last season, it would be like they had lost Carroll, a 3-and-D forward, for nothing. Their strength hadn't improved; on the contrary, their flanks had become even thinner.

This made him a little worried about the new season. Facing fierce opponents, as the defending champions, they will inevitably become the target of the entire league, and the road to defending the title will be full of difficulties!

He suddenly felt somewhat relieved that he hadn't impulsively renewed his contract with the team early. For some teams that are content with their modest success, you really don't know what to say.

You can't say they're wrong. Some teams aren't that eager to win the championship; they value overall team revenue more and are content as long as they remain competitive without necessarily making big moves. This cautious strategy certainly reduces the risk of major failures. However, in today's fiercely competitive NBA, if you don't improve while others do, it's tantamount to regressing.

For the Hawks, Danny Ferry's incredible stroke of luck in bringing in Jia Fei helped the team win their first championship in over half a century, a truly impressive feat. Meanwhile, the Knicks and Nets, both from the major metropolitan area of ​​New York, have been making some impressive moves in recent years, yet they've never even reached the NBA Finals, earning them the nicknames "Muddy" and "Rotten Nets" from fans.

Back in Atlanta, Jia Fei went home, logged into the system, and checked the mission completion status.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the task marked in red, "Invite your idol Allen Iverson to dinner," should be completed.

Upon checking the taskbar, sure enough, the task was already marked as completed!

Jia Fei felt a surge of excitement; he was eager to see what the reward would be. Although the task wasn't particularly difficult, it was a red-level task! This was the first time he'd ever received a red-level task!

Upon clicking, two options appeared: Option 1: Fusion level directly reaches 100%, but there is a certain probability of missing the entire season! Option 2: Fusion level increases by 2%, with no side effects!

Jia Fei was completely dumbfounded. What the heck? There was actually a multiple-choice question! But the fact was, the mission reward really did present a multiple-choice question, and this choice was putting him in a difficult position.

Option one is undeniably tempting, offering a 100% fusion rate, eliminating the need for painstakingly accumulating points – a one-step solution. However, nothing in this world is perfect; the price of this shortcut is a chance of missing the entire season. Option two, on the other hand, is more moderate, offering a 2% fusion rate increase. Considering how difficult it is to increase fusion rate at this level, a 2% increase is a considerable reward.

Which one to choose? Jia Fei fell into a brief moment of contemplation. Option one was too tempting, but the price was equally high; option two wasn't bad either, but it just didn't feel quite right compared to option one. If his fusion rate were above 95% right now, he would choose option two without hesitation, but that wasn't the case!

After hesitating for about a minute, Jia Fei made his decision. He chose option one, even if it meant taking a risk, he was determined to give it a try. Compared to option one, option two offered a significantly less rewarding reward.

He still wanted to take a gamble!

In an instant, Jia Fei discovered that his "Iverson Peak Technique Integration" had jumped from 92% to 100%!

At this point, Jia Fei had perfectly combined the physical and technical talents of peak Iverson, truly becoming "two Iversons"!

But his joy was short-lived. The system alerted him that he was suffering a backlash and would be out for the rest of the season!

What? My luck is really that bad?

In an instant, Jia Fei went from heaven to hell, and he couldn't feel happy at all. He knew what being out for the season meant; it meant he would lose his chance to defend his title, because without him, the Hawks' chances of winning the championship next season would be harder than climbing to heaven.

Jia Fei was still somewhat skeptical. He tried practicing at home and found that his legs were weak, and he felt powerless when jumping, as if his whole body had been hollowed out...

It's over, I'm really finished!

Jia Fei felt completely powerless; he was like a lump of mud, unable to demonstrate his athletic ability despite having no injuries.